Kevin the Peacock, and full permission to be a weirdo

Trusting our weird ideas.

Credit: Ximena Natera, Berkeleyside/CatchLight

I want to tell you a small story that keeps making me smile.

I often visit my friend Rob in a sweet little Oakland neighborhood called Rockridge. A few months ago, he told me that there is a wild peacock who lives there. His name is Kevin. (Such a good name.)

Kevin hangs out on the block right next to Trader Joe’s, and apparently the whole neighborhood has quietly reorganized itself around him. Cars slow to a crawl. People pull over and gawk. Everyone drives very carefully, as if they’ve entered a sacred peacock zone.

And then—this detail pushed me over the edge—apparently Kevin has been hanging out with a stray cat. Can you just imagine them? The more Rob told me, the more enchanted I became.

Around the same time, I was already making my “I Brave for Good Clouds” magnets, and in a sudden burst of inspiration, I thought:

I should make “I Brake for Kevin” magnets!
Just for that neighborhood. A hyper-local inside joke. Completely unnecessary. Totally delightful. A celebration of something uniquely theirs.

I made them quickly. So excited. And then—predictably—the voices showed up.

Is this a stupid idea?
A total waste of money?
Shouldn’t I be doing something more productive with my time?

But I sent a photo to Rob. And then to Sasha. And they were delighted. Truly delighted.

So I walked into this wonderful new community space called The Local Economy and nervously asked if they’d like to carry them.

They said yes.

And get this - people got it! The Kevin magnets were selling... And then they sold out. People came in asking for them when there were none left. And today I dropped off a whole new stack.

I’m sharing this today because I believe there is some real wisdom in following our weird and wonderful ideas.

Those little bursts of inspiration—the ones that arrive fully formed and buzzing with delight—feel so pure to me. Unpolluted by strategy. Untouched by overthinking. Some of our best work lives right there, in that fleeting moment when something makes us laugh or feel lit up and we choose to follow it anyway.

So today, consider this your permission slip:
✨ To feel like a weirdo.
✨ To pursue the idea that makes no sense on paper.
✨ To trust delight as a form of intelligence.

May you keep saying yes to the small, strange sparks that want to come through you.

Happy holidays friends!
xo Andrea

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