After voting in a local election where my vote didn’t really matter (the turnout is so low and the same players always win because they’re the only choices), I’m having a bit of an existential crisis. Does any of this matter? (It does… please VOTE!) Do any of you read this? (Thank you to all 700+ of you from the bottom of my heart.) Life goes on despite my spiraling. My family had a fun start to the month, and I’m happy for the reminder that this is what life is all about. We went to the Touch-a-Truck festival our local public safety Community Action Team put on and got in ALL of the trucks. The kids had a blast!
R - Reading
🎧Audio: Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams wasn’t as scathing or groundbreaking as I expected, but I still think everyone should read it. So many places we work are toxic, and Sarah’s insider stories perfectly capture Facebook’s overreach.
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, a YA Thriller that’s soon to be a TV show.
I also decided to revisit Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry. I read the first 10% last month, but it wasn’t the right time for this mood reader. So far, it’s going better… except for that first guffaw at the 12% mark.
📕Physical Copy: I read A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare and fell back in love with Shakespeare’s wit.
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg had me hooked from the first page. The book follows siblings Claudia and Jamie Kincaid as they run away from home to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
E - Eating
bruschetta chicken with rice pilaf
mushroom gravy smothered pork chops with English peas and mashed potatoes
restaurant spaghetti
rotisserie chicken with pasta salad
gyros
P - Playing
The Narrow Road to the Deep North on Prime Video, an Australian miniseries based on the book by Richard Flanagan. The show tells the story of Dorrigo Evans, an army surgeon whose short affair with his uncle's wife sustains him through his darkest days in a Thai-Burmese prisoner of war camp during WWII. I’m not sure how historically accurate it is, but it was beautiful and haunting. The depictions of war and love are equally raw. It’s not a show everyone will enjoy. The characters aren’t likeable and there are no heroes, but it made me feel everything so deeply.
O - Obsessing over
This retro anime clock for focus work.
R - Recommending
Long-time All Songs Considered listener over here. It doesn’t get much better than NPR’s take on the best new releases every Friday morning.
T - Treating myself
A bit of digital organization. I tidied up my iPhone Notes folder and my Notion dashboard this week. I’m also trying out a new budgeting app that I found through Substack.
Hope you had a great weekend!
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I can relate to your spiraling, you’re not alone. 🙏 Your heart and intention matter in big ways that can’t always be seen but they are felt. 💞 And tell us about that sticker book in your book stack! We millennials love our stickers!