Last month, we offered up a spot to y’all to do something brave — be one of three speakers to get on stage and share a moment of personal failure in front of a crowd at an event called FuckUp Nights.

The reader who was up for the challenge: Tori Dunlap, a marketer, blogger, coach, and founder of Victori Media. Why would she want to go public at last night’s event?

“Being able to publicly acknowledge shame — the more we can talk about that publicly, the more we feel less alone,” she said.

TORI’S F*CK UP: Not listening to her intuition and taking a job as a social media manager that was the wrong fit. “I got distracted. I ignored all the red flags and focused on the green instead,” she said. Among the issues? The company’s culture and a boss who didn’t help her grow. She left each day feeling misrable and defeated. After nearly three months, she realized she needed to leave.

THE RISK SHE TOOK: “I committed one of the biggest personal finance no-nos, which is quitting a job without having another one lined up. But I’d do it again, 10 times over,” Tori said. In the year since she quit her job, she’s found a new gig as a digital marketer at a financial tech startup.

GOING PUBLIC: “I have a public persona. I have peers who see me as someone who has their shit together. I thought it’d hurt my brand and my credibility [to share my failure],” she said. Instead, by talking publicly and writing about her experiences, people reached out to her, sharing their own, similar stories. Admitting her mistake, Tori said, “made people see me as a quote-unquote ‘real person.’”

ADVICE SHE’D GIVE TO SOMEONE IN A SIMILAR SPOT: Have an emergncy fund to support yourself. “Whether it’s for a bad job situation, a medical bill, a bad relationship — [having one] gives you freedom,” she said.

Big props to Tori for sharing her story, which you can read more about on her website, victorimedia.com. Want to check out FuckUp Nights yourself? Stay tuned to their website and their Facebook page so you can catch their next event. And for more on what went down at last night’s FuckUp Nights — an Evergrey partner event — check out today’s Instagram story.

Today in Microsoft multi-millionaires. Three local men of means have been keeping us talking lately. What about?

• Paul’s legacy: Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen died on Monday after a lifetime of contributions to science, sports, and all things local culture. How will our arts scene remember him? Here are the grateful tributes. Less thrilled about Paul’s contributions to society is socialist city councilmember Kshama Sawant, who called him out for, in a word, his capitalism. (Crosscut, Kshama Sawant’s Facebook)
• Bill’s boost: The other Microsoft co-founder, Bill Gates, gave $1 million to the campaign behind a state initiative to put a fee on carbon omissions together with his wife, Melinda. “Climate change may be the toughest problem humanity has ever faced,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post about his support. The campaign’s raised $11 million in all. And if it passes, it’d be the first of its kind in the country. (KING 5, LinkedIn)
• Satya’s salary: Finally, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s total pay is getting some attention. He made $25.8 million in 2018. That’s up 29 percent from the year before, thanks to stocks and such, and 154 times the company’s median employee pay of — wait for it — $167,689. (The Seattle Times)

O, Cannabis! Recreational marijuana is officially legit in all of Canada. There are plenty of puff pieces on what that means for the country and the budding industry it suddenly dominates (😉). But if you want the local scoop — or as close as we can get to that in the Pacific Northwest — relive Legalization Day with this live blog from our Canuck neighbors three hours north. (Vancouver Sun)

Voilà, view. The Alaskan Way Viaduct — also known as State Route 99 — has been giving drivers a front-row waterfront seat to this changing city since 1953. It’s coming down for good early next year, a big (tolled!) tunnel will replace it, and the laments are trickling in. “In the mile between the Battery Street tunnel and SODO,” writes Crosscut’s Rob French, “practically the whole story of Seattle — past and present, grand and depressing — is laid out before you.” (Crosscut)

THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY

We’ll see you tomorrow. — The Evergrey