R. Michael

R. Michael I'm a married, gay, neurodivergent father who went from cooking for billionaires to building a farm in Nicaragua. Michael.

The stories are mine, but if you look closely, you might realize you're staring in a mirror. The official page for Open Road Adventures, a storytelling project by R.

Everybody's got a voice in their head that likes to show up at the worst possible time.For some of us it's not occasiona...
26/04/2026

Everybody's got a voice in their head that likes to show up at the worst possible time.

For some of us it's not occasional. It's 24/7. And if you've got ADHD, that voice has a co-pilot. So now you've got one guy telling you you're not good enough while the other one is making sure you can't focus long enough to prove him wrong.

I spent an entire Sunday trying to finish something I'd been working on. Hadn't showered in two days. Couldn't find a word I'd used a thousand times. And the whole time, the guy in my head is going, "Maybe this isn't for you."

Cool. Thanks. Super helpful.

I wrote about what it's actually like to live with that voice when your brain is already working against you. Not the clinical version. The real one.

Link in comments.

I'm genuinely curious if you do, or have done, this.I spent a lot of years making up stories about why other people woul...
17/04/2026

I'm genuinely curious if you do, or have done, this.

I spent a lot of years making up stories about why other people wouldn't like me. It's what happens when you grow up without any real self-confidence. Rejection hits hard, so you find a way to get ahead of it.

For me that meant rejecting them first. The voice in my head would decide they were already judging me, so I'd judge them back before they got the chance. Felt like winning. Sort of.

The thing is, I made all of it up. Every story. Every reason. None of it was real.

I was just scared.

I wrote about it this week. I'll pop a link in the first comment if you want to read the full story.

My husband set up a barrel sauna. Filled the soaking tub. Asked me to put my phone down at the bar.I struggled with ever...
04/04/2026

My husband set up a barrel sauna. Filled the soaking tub. Asked me to put my phone down at the bar.

I struggled with every single one of those things. That’s not a relationship problem. That’s what an ADHD brain does with silence.

New piece, link in the comments.

This is Chase at the Bowline Hotel in Astoria. Wrapped in a blanket, completely unbothered.He's better at this than I am...
03/04/2026

This is Chase at the Bowline Hotel in Astoria. Wrapped in a blanket, completely unbothered.

He's better at this than I am.

Link in the comments.

Bowline Hotel in Astoria reached out the day before we arrived. Just checking in, asking if there was anything they coul...
02/04/2026

Bowline Hotel in Astoria reached out the day before we arrived. Just checking in, asking if there was anything they could do.

My husband mentioned the feather allergy. They called. Handled it. Offered us an upgrade we hadn’t asked for.

That’s not hospitality. That’s operations. There’s a difference.

Link in the comments.

Two people can live through the exact same experience and come out the other side with a completely different version of...
01/04/2026

Two people can live through the exact same experience and come out the other side with a completely different version of what just happened

I'll throw a link in the comments if you would like to read the full piece.

What does it mean to be present? Not the concept, the actual physical act of being somewhere without your brain immediat...
31/03/2026

What does it mean to be present?

Not the concept, the actual physical act of being somewhere without your brain immediately searching for stimulation.

Showing up and being there are two different things, and most of the time I'm doing the first one while my brain is somewhere else entirely running its own program.

My husband is patient in a way I don't always deserve. He can feel my anxiety building throughout the day. He tries to create moments, or situations to help me relax.

We spent a weekend in Astoria recently, at a hotel that did everything right before we even walked through the door.

And on our last night, in a suite on the river, he tried to give me one of those moments. I tried to meet him there.

This week's piece is about what that costs. And what it means that we both keep trying anyway.

I'll put a link in the comments.

26/03/2026

When you see clean, specific dietary labeling on a menu. Not a vague “GF available” footnote but actual dish-by-dish clarity. That’s a signal.

It means someone in that kitchen cares about the whole table, not just the ones who don’t ask complicated questions.

I'll throw a link in the comments if you want to read more about it.

Twelve years on yachts will teach you things culinary school won't. Like how to fold a cloth napkin into a remarkably co...
25/03/2026

Twelve years on yachts will teach you things culinary school won't. Like how to fold a cloth napkin into a remarkably convincing p***s.

​Our server asked for a tutorial. He then paraded it back to the kitchen to show the rest of the staff.

​Sitting at a copper bar in the dark, teaching the staff the dark arts of linen origami. That’s the kind of high-friction utility they don't teach in the Ivy League.

There are people in your life who are required to believe in you. Your spouse. Your kids. The friend who has simply alwa...
24/03/2026

There are people in your life who are required to believe in you. Your spouse. Your kids. The friend who has simply always been there.

And then there's the person whose only investment is in the truth.

New piece is up. It's about a dinner at Andina in Portland's Pearl District, a forty-year friendship, and what a gluten-free menu taught me about being seen.

Link in the comments.

Portland Proud. New piece up about why. Link in bio. hrc bluestardonuts
21/03/2026

Portland Proud. New piece up about why. Link in bio.

hrc bluestardonuts

Dirección

Tola

Página web

Notificaciones

Sé el primero en enterarse y déjanos enviarle un correo electrónico cuando R. Michael publique noticias y promociones. Su dirección de correo electrónico no se utilizará para ningún otro fin, y puede darse de baja en cualquier momento.

Contacto La Empresa

Enviar un mensaje a R. Michael:

Atajos

Compartir