'Call me, beep me, if you wanna reach me'

A VERY GOOD PLACE TO START

If you're just joining this wild ride, welcome! 👋

Here are a few posts I recommend starting with to get more acquainted with my work.

'If you want more love, why don't you say so?'

'Even when you're out of focus I can see you workin'

'Speed it down and slow it up'

Let's start from the very beginning:

In celebration of hitting 100 subscribers (thank you!) I figured I’d do a formal introduction of myself—consider it a welcome, a check-in to who I am today and what I’m currently into. So, let's get into it, shall we?

the basics

Name: Dre Thomas. I actually wrote a column about all my names and the different versions of myself that comes with them a few weeks back titled: I’m Batman.

Age: I’m 35 y'all! I celebrated my birthday in June with a little virtual party to ring in another year around the sun.

Hometown: Okay, hmm, this is a tough one. Where am I from? Well, I was born in Oakland, CA, but I've lived all over the place. At a young age, my family moved from Oakland to Inglewood, then to Watts, to Huntington Park, South Central, and back to Inglewood. So, I guess my hometown is just Southern California if that counts.

I like to say that I was born and raised in Los Angeles and grew up in New York. That should settle it.

College: I went to college quite a few times but it didn’t take. Back in LA, I was studying to become a Psychologist, and then a Social Worker. When I moved to New York, I shifted to studying Graphic Design. I was always uncertain of what I wanted to do professionally and quickly got bored with any major I selected. Eventually, I decided to take the L and move on with my life.

Where do I currently live? Well, in New York City, thank you very much. I moved here in 2011 and never looked back. Since then, I’ve lived in every borough (except Staten Island, but does that even count?). Each borough suited the season of life I was in, so I couldn’t even tell you which is my favorite. The Bronx was my first stop, and it will always hold a special place in my heart. Brooklyn was the most communal, Manhattan the most convenient, and Queens has been the quietest and most low-key.

Career: I'm a Marketer at heart. Throughout my career, I've had the opportunity to work at great companies with great people, and I'm so happy about that. From large global corporations to small local nonprofits, it's been a wild ride. From 2017 to 2024, I ran my nonprofit organization called Smile On Me. It was a lifelong dream, and I'm so proud and grateful that I was able to bring it to life.

Madeline included a section about pets, but since I don’t have any and prefer not to have animals in my house, I’ll use this space to share my favorite movie snacks—a large popcorn and a Snickers. Yes, you read that right. There’s something about the sweet and salty combination that pairs perfectly. I’ve discovered that only Regal theaters carry Snickers, so whenever I go to AMC, I have to sneak one in—shhhh.

icebreaker questions

Feel free to share your answers to these in the comments!

Tattoos? I have twelve…and room for more! My favorite tattoo (at least for this month) is my niece’s name, Kayden, on the back of my left arm. I got it in 2017 when she was only 5 years old and when I showed it to her she said, “Why doesn’t it say we’re friends?” I couldn’t help but laugh and laugh. Why not take some time getting to know my niece? She’ll get under your skin if you let her.

Favorite thing to collect? I love journals, notebooks, pens, pencils, post-it notes, index cards, all those kinds of things. My favorite stores are Muji, Kinokuniya, and Papier. The other day, I managed to leave Kinokuniya without buying a single notebook—now that's growth!

Coffee order? I only drink coffee at home because I get overwhelmed by the names, sizes, and extra options when ordering out. Every day I drink one good cup of coffee that my husband prepares in the machine before he heads to work (God bless him). When I wake up, all I have to do is hit brew. For creamer, I typically go with French Vanilla from Dunkin Donuts and prefer to drink out of thick diner mugs.

Favorite food? Ice cream, of course. My latest favorite has to be Ben & Jerry’s Half-Baked 🤤

Favorite movie(s):

• Thriller: Jurassic Park (is it a thriller?)

• Action: Nobody

• Comedy: The Week Of

Favorite TV Show: Seinfeld, of course. I actually participated in a Seinfeld trivia night a few weeks ago, and it was a blast.

Favorite book(s)? I'm obsessed with C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy, especially the second book, Perelandra. If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend you do. I have a column in my drafts with my review of the trilogy that I can’t wait to share with y’all!

Early bird or night owl? (birds are gross) Definitely an early bird. It wasn’t always this way, but since becoming a mom, I’ve embraced early mornings and actually love it. Now that my daughter sleeps through the night, I usually wake up around 0530 or 0600 to enjoy my coffee, write, pray, read, and have some time to myself. It’s lovely.

Gold or silver jewelry? Gold, now and forevermore. Buy me something :)

Favorite beauty brand? Glossier! Buy me something :)

My not-so-favorite column: I go back and forth on whether or not I should delete this column—it wasn’t wonderful at all. It was one of those ‘let me write something up quickly just so I stay consistent’ types of columns.

My favorite column: Beautiful people with beautiful problems is by far my favorite with, I’m Batman as a close second. I have a few up my sleeve that I think you’ll really enjoy—we’re just getting started!

I hope you all learned a little more about me and I hope I made you smile a bit today.