HOA KAREN KEPT STEALING POWER TO CHARGE HER ATV, SO I INSTALLED A CIRCUIT THAT FRIED HER SETUP!

But I was entirely not absolutely going to passively play total defense completely anymore.

I am generally absolutely not a highly confrontational guy, but if you completely plug yourself directly into my private electrical grid entirely without absolutely asking, and completely lie entirely about it to the community board, oh, you have completely actively entered my absolute domain.

Brenda completely totally did not entirely know exactly what she had actively triggered. She foolishly thought I was completely just a quiet, nerdy guy with some expensive solar panels on his roof. She absolutely did not completely know I professionally design incredible fail safe electrical systems that entirely power incredibly massive military grade computer servers. She completely did not absolutely know I had completely once actively built a completely self contained emergency backup grid entirely for a massive downtown Chicago hospital completely using absolutely nothing entirely but random spare electrical parts and extreme amounts of black caffeine.

And she definitely absolutely completely did not entirely know I was totally about to actively turn her spoiled son’s little midnight joy ride completely into an incredibly expensive, highly explosive fireworks show.

I immediately began aggressively sketching completely out the massive master plan that exact night.

I would completely carefully design an incredibly tempting decoy outlet. Something she absolutely totally could not completely resist actively using.

I would cleverly wire it to a completely perfectly legal, absolutely perfectly completely safe, but totally utterly devastating electrical surprise. Something that would actively leave her incredibly expensive ATV charger completely in absolute smoking ruins entirely without ever totally endangering a single human soul.

It completely had to be incredibly subtle. It entirely had to be completely invisible to the untrained eye.

And it absolutely had to be incredibly highly personal. Because she absolutely had not completely just entirely stolen my private power. She had aggressively insulted my entire professional engineering craft.

I carefully installed the incredibly fake electrical outlet entirely on my exact side of the tall wooden fence. I intentionally angled it perfectly just entirely enough to completely look completely forgotten and heavily weathered.

Exactly like I had totally lazily left it actively wired directly to an old tool shed junction box years ago. I completely made absolutely sure it entirely looked incredibly tempting, completely totally unguarded, entirely absolutely live, and completely incredibly easy to actively access.

But it completely absolutely was not entirely what it totally seemed.

The fake outlet was completely securely connected directly to an incredibly carefully tuned electrical impedance circuit that would instantly fry absolutely any charging device actively drawing entirely more completely than exactly three amps of electrical power.

Absolutely no regular standard house appliance would completely trip the delicate circuit.

But a massive, power hungry electric ATV charger?

Oh, completely absolutely yes. It would totally fry it entirely to a massive crisp.

I successfully set the invisible trap. I completely watched my computer monitors. And I patiently waited in the dark.

Exactly three long nights completely later, the bright orange cord was absolutely actively back. It was totally coiled perfectly over the wooden fence and aggressively plugged directly into my fake trap.

I silently watched completely from my dark garage workshop, calmly sipping hot green tea entirely as the clock slowly ticked completely to exactly seventeen minutes past two in the early morning.

The digital data logs massively spiked entirely exactly exactly as I had completely actively planned.

The custom electrical circuit beautifully did its exact job. There was an incredibly bright blue electrical flash, a completely massive loud pop that actively echoed entirely across the quiet neighborhood, and then the absolute complete crown jewel of the entire evening.

Brenda’s massive shriek.

It completely pierced the silent night entirely like a broken karaoke machine completely violently caught directly in a massive industrial blender.

I happily watched her totally confused teenage son violently run completely out into the dewy grass wearing absolutely nothing but his striped boxer shorts, desperately trying to completely figure out exactly why his incredibly precious expensive ATV was absolutely now heavily billowing thick black smoke exactly like a cheap Halloween haunted house prop.

I had absolutely totally never completely smiled so incredibly hard entirely in my absolute entire life.

But that completely was absolutely just the total beginning. Brenda arrogantly thought she totally could easily steal completely from an expert engineer and completely walk happily away.

But the massive electrical voltage she completely actively fried was absolutely totally nothing entirely compared exactly to what I was absolutely about to completely unleash entirely upon her completely entitled world.

Because exactly when the corrupt community board actively got completely involved once again, they absolutely totally made one incredibly fatal mistake.

They aggressively backed her completely. And that absolutely meant total complete war.

The incredibly bright morning exactly after the great power surge of Brenda’s totally pristine backyard was absolutely one for the complete history books.

I woke up completely to the loud sound of her aggressively stomping entirely around her wooden patio wearing fluffy pink slippers, heavily muttering incredibly loudly completely about malicious neighbor sabotage and actively threatening entirely to call the city fire marshal.

I calmly stood completely at my sunny kitchen window, happily sipping my hot fresh black coffee exactly like I was actively watching a highly entertaining live theater performance.

The bright orange extension cord had completely mysteriously vanished entirely once again. The expensive smoking ATV was completely heavily tarped entirely over perfectly like an active murder crime scene.

And Brenda totally had her expensive phone permanently glued completely to her ear, presumably actively unleashing a totally highly dramatic retelling completely of exactly how her entirely innocent child was actively nearly fatally electrocuted entirely by a completely malicious booby trapped electrical outlet.

Except absolutely there was entirely no completely real electrocution. Absolutely just a completely totally fried external charging unit and a highly entitled mother who entirely absolutely did not completely understand that absolute total karma absolutely sometimes entirely comes completely with extremely heavy duty electrical fuses.

But I absolutely totally was not completely actively celebrating exactly just yet. That had entirely completely only been the absolute first total act. She absolutely had completely not entirely learned her massive lesson at all.

In complete absolute fact, entirely by exactly midday, I surprisingly received a completely highly unwelcome visitor.

A completely smug man dressed entirely in boring beige khakis and a bright blue polo shirt, actively holding a totally official looking wooden clipboard in his hands, completely proudly wearing the highly arrogant expression entirely of someone who completely entirely thought they absolutely were exactly about to totally completely lay down the absolute total law.

“You completely absolutely cannot entirely just actively install totally unauthorized dangerous electrical devices entirely completely along a shared neighborhood boundary line,” he aggressively said completely, absolutely totally not even bothering entirely to completely introduce himself completely to me.

Apparently, Brenda had violently aggressively complained entirely to the community board absolutely once completely again.

And exactly now they totally were absolutely entirely here completely to aggressively scold me entirely for creating incredibly hazardous total installations that heavily actively endanger the entire completely wealthy community.

I actively desperately tried completely to successfully keep a totally straight face entirely while he completely arrogantly quoted entirely absolutely useless community bylaws directly to my face.

Absolutely most completely of which totally entirely had absolutely exactly nothing completely to entirely actually do completely with real residential electricity completely and absolutely exactly entirely everything totally to entirely do completely with Brenda’s highly incredibly creative personal interpretation completely of the entire total community handbook.

I calmly and entirely politely completely explained totally to the smug man exactly that the electrical outlet entirely completely in exact question was absolutely completely totally located entirely on my completely private absolute property, totally completely legally installed exactly by a certified professional, and completely absolutely wired entirely directly to total exact city building code.

But it was absolutely entirely completely absolutely totally catastrophic entirely completely for highly sensitive totally expensive electronic charging devices entirely.

He aggressively made a completely sharp total note completely on his wooden clipboard entirely and heavily muttered absolutely something incredibly vague completely about totally active further official board review completely. I calmly entirely nodded completely perfectly politely and actively entirely happily offered completely him a fresh baked warm chocolate chip cookie completely. He violently completely entirely declined.

I absolutely completely knew right entirely exactly then totally completely that this was entirely absolutely not totally exactly over completely.

If entirely absolutely anything completely, Brenda was totally completely actively going entirely to entirely exactly double totally completely down entirely on her massive lies.

That is absolutely completely exactly entirely what incredibly entitled completely wealthy people absolutely totally completely do. They violently actively entirely escalate.

And entirely absolutely so exactly completely I actively totally had completely to entirely absolutely escalate completely too. Not completely entirely in absolute totally petty childishness, totally entirely but absolutely completely exactly in perfect absolute engineering precision completely entirely.

She absolutely completely actively wanted entirely to completely entirely play completely absolutely childish games?

Completely absolute entirely fine. I would actively totally completely absolutely play entirely completely too.

But I entirely completely absolutely was totally entirely not going entirely to passively wait absolutely completely exactly for entirely absolutely another totally orange extension cord to secretly snake exactly completely entirely its massive way actively totally entirely across my completely wooden fence entirely.

I absolutely completely totally actively needed completely entirely to exactly absolutely know entirely the absolute exact exact totally complete moment entirely absolutely it entirely completely actively happened completely entirely.

So I happily entirely went completely exactly directly entirely back completely to absolutely the digital drawing board completely and entirely exactly absolutely completely did exactly totally absolutely what I completely absolutely actively do entirely best completely. I successfully entirely completely built an absolute entirely totally smarter, completely incredibly deadlier electrical trap completely.

First completely absolutely, I highly entirely actively upgraded completely absolutely the entire totally fake outdoor outlet entirely. The absolute completely original electrical circuit entirely completely exactly had absolutely totally completely done its absolute exact entire job perfectly completely. But I absolutely entirely wanted totally completely absolute incredibly real time digital feedback entirely completely now.

So I completely absolutely actively entirely added a completely perfectly totally hidden digital data logger entirely completely heavily connected entirely absolutely directly to my massive private home computer server completely entirely.

I completely absolutely entirely actively cleverly disguised exactly the entire totally electronic device entirely completely perfectly inside a completely absolutely hollowed entirely totally out incredibly old completely totally creepy ceramic garden gnome entirely exactly completely sitting totally in the absolutely completely dirt.

Absolutely completely anytime entirely anything totally completely was absolutely actively plugged completely entirely exactly into the fake outlet completely entirely, it would immediately completely absolutely time stamp entirely the exact event entirely completely, actively capture absolutely the exact voltage electrical draw entirely completely, and instantly actively send entirely absolutely completely a totally entirely silent digital notification completely absolutely directly entirely to my totally private cell phone completely.

If it completely absolutely entirely actively crossed exactly the absolute completely perfectly preset totally exact threshold entirely, exactly the totally fake entirely complete outlet would absolutely actively completely deliver an incredibly totally exactly carefully perfectly timed absolutely completely total massive voltage electrical spike completely entirely.

Not exactly completely absolutely entirely enough totally completely to actually start a dangerous active fire entirely, absolutely completely but exactly perfectly totally enough to actively absolutely make entirely completely any highly expensive electric charging circuit completely entirely go absolutely completely poof.

And completely absolutely entirely totally yes, I incredibly thoroughly actively completely exactly tested entirely absolutely exactly it perfectly twice completely entirely totally on an incredibly old completely absolutely broken electric leaf blower entirely completely exactly just totally completely absolutely to be entirely totally incredibly completely absolutely sure perfectly.

Next entirely absolutely completely, I entirely completely actively heavily installed entirely absolutely a perfectly hidden total complete absolutely set entirely of completely sensitive motion triggered digital security cameras completely entirely exactly.

I cleverly completely absolutely camouflaged totally exactly entirely them perfectly absolutely entirely as completely exactly totally innocent entirely wooden birdhouses and completely totally absolute standard entirely security flood lights completely.

They absolutely entirely completely had exactly totally actively been lazily lying exactly completely entirely entirely completely inside exactly absolutely entirely my dusty garage completely exactly for absolutely totally several long years completely entirely from an entirely absolutely perfectly past complete totally exact home security upgrade completely entirely I totally absolutely completely entirely never exactly completely finished actively absolutely entirely.

Exactly completely absolutely now entirely perfectly totally, they absolutely completely actively entirely had exact absolute total purpose completely.

One incredibly high definition camera completely absolutely totally exactly faced the entirely exactly totally absolutely complete fake electrical outlet directly entirely.

Another perfectly hidden absolute entirely exactly complete camera completely totally absolutely exactly watched the complete exact entirely back dark corner absolutely completely of entirely Brenda’s pristine yard perfectly exactly entirely completely where the highly expensive totally electric ATV completely absolutely exactly usually actively entirely totally sat completely entirely.

A completely absolutely entirely total absolute exact third totally completely entirely hidden camera actively beautifully absolutely watched the completely total absolute exact common entirely completely wooden fence boundary line completely absolutely.

I absolutely completely entirely totally would actively perfectly exactly completely entirely absolutely have crystal clear digital video footage completely entirely exactly perfectly absolutely proving completely exactly entirely absolutely it.

But exactly absolutely completely entirely the totally new decoy extension cord absolutely completely entirely.

But exactly completely entirely absolutely the totally absolute exact complex inner electrical wiring absolute own private front entirely perfect flower bed completely entirely exactly.

Exactly three entirely absolutely completely quiet long nights totally perfectly exact massive totally complete absolute entirely exact lesson completely entirely exactly.

The idea is that everything you need to understand your current life is inside of your past.

We bring into all our relationships what’s unresolved from our past. Everything inside of us is carried outside—into our friendships, romances, everything”

2nd book completed for 2024.

Thank you to Netgalley & Simon and Schuster Audio for giving me the chance to read this book.

To begin, let’s note down some quotes I liked from the book.

“If you don’t heal what hurt you, you’ll bleed on people who didn’t cut you.”

“We attract not what we want but what we are.”

The book starts out super strong. Giving us scenarios of the author helping her clients and then giving us a breakdown at the end of each chapter of what she did and how we can apply them for ourselves, but the end…oh boy.

Around chapter 12, there was no more talk about her patients, she was just rambling at this point. I caught myself zoning out plenty of times and just waiting to read/listen to the end, hoping she would add more context. But alas, nothing.

Do I recommend it?

Sure, it has great points but if you get bored, know the beginning is the best parts. A must-read to truly understand your childhood upbringing. This took me ages to finish cause you just can’t consume the amount of deep information presented in this book in a single reading. Every chapter touches on some issues faced during a person’s childhood and it hits hard on the head that it triggers emotions inside. After reading this, I somehow understood why I react to things unexplainable. I somehow understood why my family behaves like they usually do. In short, all answers stem from childhood trauma, an unexplainable issue since we were a kid that continues to impact our adult life. Very highly recommended especially if you want to break cycles in your family. 3.5 Stars ✨

To start with the positive: this book gives incredible prompts/tips throughout that I will definitely use for myself. Things like paying attention to when my emotions don’t match what actually happened.

I actually felt it to be a bit repetitive as well towards the end. Again, the tools that were given were great to just observe myself and dig into myself. And she was right: most things stem from our childhood! It’s all very interesting.

I didn’t highlight too much, just a couple pages here and there. Usually not a great sign for books like these for me, but it was still an okay read. An important book to read. Highly recommend this for everyone looking for peace within.

Absolutely loved reading it! Made me reflect heavily on my behaviors & patterns, and provided an insightful foundation towards creating healthier ones. Highly, highly recommend reading it — especially for those trying to learn more about themselves! A very good introduction for doing shadow work and connecting back to childhood experiences or the way we were raised.

Some good case studies throughout the book to help us connect with how to do shadow work/how the authors method works. The origins of healing section contains some very good prompts to work through yourself. A few chapters/points felt a little repetitive, but overall a decent book if you’re looking to start this type of work! Oh! If you have read/heard about attachment styles and reparenting work from holistic psychologists this book talks about things in a little similar fashion.

However, for deep seated trauma and big emotional triggers this book alone is not enough, it will require therapeutic guidance. My therapist suggested this book after one of our sessions and I’m so glad she did! I’ve had many epiphanies reading through Vienna’s words and I’ve seen my behaviors with much more clarity! Thank you Vienna for this gem!

“If there was no space for you to name your emotions without someone telling you it’s “fine” or telling you how to fix it, or simply ignoring it, then how would you ever learn to hold space for others to feel their feelings?”

If anything, I might’ve pushed through if I was listening to this as an audiobook, but this wasn’t engaging enough of a physical read for me to continue. The first 40% gave amazing examples, language, context for different traumas/origin wounds.

Incredibly helpful and insightful for understanding yourself and your relationship patterns better based on how you grew up. The second half dragged on quite a bit for me and felt redundant and/or very simple concepts dragged out with too much fluff, which is my normal critique of self-help books like this.

As with any book, take what resonates and serves you well and leave the rest! If you’ve never learned about inner-child work or how childhood issues affect adults, this is a great start. It is full of little insights.

She doesn’t preach forgiveness at all costs and I appreciate that.

It is very repetitive and 50 pages too long. Good to dip into every now and again. I feel like this book wasn’t to heal but more like a self reflection kind of book. To see what wounds you have from childhood and learn where they came from.

So many profound realizations in this book!

Only bad point is it became a bit repetitive towards the end (in my opinion).

4/5 The reason why we suffer continuously is because we’re not healing from the root of our traumas and suffering. To be able to heal, we must understand why we act out or think the way that we do. Oftentimes we feel triggered and we think someone else is doing something to us. No, we are reacting the way we react to the situation due to an unhealed inner child wound. This book explains 5 origin wounds in depth and gives examples, allowing the reader to pinpoint their triggers.

This is a book I must have a physical copy to return to! The author provided reflection questions and guidance on how to heal past and present wounds. Overall, this is my favorite self-help/spiritual healing book!

There are many insightful quotes and one of them is, “Pain that is not transformed is transferred.” To change behavior you must understand why you do what you do. Your wounds and unresolved trauma from the past shape your current behavior. Pharaon does an excellent job classifying various childhood wounds using clinical examples.

Her thesis is very clear and the narrative is very convincing. Our past has the answers to our current reactions and behaviors: when something is unresolved from our past, we bring it to all of our relationships.

Only when you look closely at these wounds can you see a new way of engaging the world. I don’t read many self-help books, but my friend read an advanced copy of The Origins of You and thought it sounded a lot like my upbringing.

I felt called out multiple times while reading this, though I wish there were less real-life patient examples and more actionable advice. Perhaps I am too impatient!

However, it was interesting to learn more about myself, my behaviors as an adult and my upbringing. A solid, fascinating read, though be prepared to look deeply into your trauma.