The Friday Dispatch: April 14, 2023
Kids, your father (Duo the Duolingo owl) and I have something to tell you
Hi! It’s hot! Like, 87-degrees, RealFeel-92-degrees hot. Finally, some good weather!
My enthusiasm is, perhaps, bolstered by my outfit. The Easter Bunny added a very cute leggings-and-sports-bra set to my basket this year, and it is the perfect ensemble for reaching the high eighties in April. Floral. Cropped. Breathable. It suits the mood of the day for me.
Aujourd'hui est un jour spécial!
That’s French for “today is a special day.” Today, I hit my 365-day milestone in Duolingo! I can’t believe I’ve practiced my French for a whole year. Between high school and college, I took five years of Spanish, two years of French, and one year of Italian. As a result, I speak a horrifying salad language that produces sentences like “Voglio live très más.” But thanks to Duolingo, I can now render passably-French sentences in extremely slow conversations! Do I celebrate by brushing up my Spanish or Italian, or by introducing a new language to the lineup? Ultimately, I think I’ll be able to comprehend more from others, but become less comprehensible myself. Good/bad? We’ll see! Look, I got a badge:
I Am Back In New York And Still Off Social Media
After a great visit home to Missouri, I’m back (other) home in NYC! Dottie is here and glad to see me. She likes cotton candy now. I picked a great time to return, because I was greeted with perfect weather and tons of errands. It’s a little embarrassing that I only start to feel like a full person after the thermostat breaks 75 degrees, but suffice it to say I brought back no fewer than eight pairs of shoes (thanks Momma!) and will be wearing all the sandals into the ground.
I’ve done a great job of not going on Twitter or Instagram this month, with nary a venture except for work-related things (and one DM from my little brother). That said, if you see any cool memes I might like, or open lit journal calls, please send them my way!
I Read/Watched This/That
Lessons in Chemistry was a delightful surprise. I knew nothing going in – in fact, I confused it for The Love Hypothesis – but it wound up being one of the funniest, most heartfelt stories I’ve read in a long time. Maybe my favorite “found family” group of all time. I cried a lot, I laughed out loud, I read it on the bus and got off on the wrong stop. A great gift from my little brother.
My brother also brought me Novelist as a Vocation, by Haruki Murakami. I’ve wanted it since I first heard the title. I’m SO excited for this one. Queued up after that is Big Swiss.
The Tetris movie is incredible. I saw it was labeled as “thriller” in Apple TV’s database and thought “That can’t be right!” But it is. I knew, to some degree, what would happen, but I had no idea how. Very worth a watch.
I’m getting into Little Mix. The song Love Me Like You came up on my Spotify, and now I can’t stop listening to them. I feel very Elder Zillennial – and saying “Little Mix” makes me think of the “Little Debbie” sketch on Jimmy Fallon1 – but man, they’re catchy.
Things I Did Not Buy This Week
The airport in Kansas City has a new terminal. It’s THE new terminal. I thought I had it good when LaGuardia revamped my go-to terminal (B!) but man, the new MCI is something else. I didn’t buy any of the cool Kansas City merch in the stores (or the barbecue inexplicably ready for purchase at 8.30am) but there was plenty to browse through:
My brother and I went to Walmart, and I looked, in vain, for a license plate with my name on it. The “boys’” license plates were in the toy section and the “girls’” were near…aquarium stuff? I admire their progressive outlook on gendered names, though! Bubba is a beautiful name for a baby girl.
Later, at a thrift store, my brother encountered…A HAT WITH MY NAME ON IT! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? My mom and I were both rendered speechless upon seeing it. It turns out “the Hattie” is a style of cap you can buy in bulk from S&S ActiveWear. True to my needs, it has a concealed ponytail opening (patent pending) and a makeup-proof sweatband (patent status unclear). I didn’t buy this because my parents bought it for me. BIG week for my brother to find cool stuff for me!
I did not buy Tar and Tag on Blu-Ray for the sole purpose of displaying them next to each other…but I thought about it after seeing them at Vintage Stock. I think this is hilarious.
I didn’t buy ANY notebooks while I was home because my dad gave me two nice big sturdy ones! I am so prepped for the back half of NaPoWriMo.
Target was out of The Lip Bar’s Soft Kiss lipstick in the shade Firecracker, but an in-store ad made me think it might be an affordable dupe for my beloved, discontinued Urban Decay Anarchy. I want to try it IRL before buying, though.
Speaking of neon pink, a woman at the airport had awesome fuchsia bags from Tote & Carry. They’re so bright – I love the yellow even more than the pink, too. This may be a gift I give myself many paychecks from now.
I drank four boba teas over the course of my visit with my family – thank you, Momma, for every single one! I had brown sugar, matcha, brown sugar again, and lychee, in that order. We even tried a new boba location that had smiley cups:
With that, I say goodnight, and happy Friday. I hope you all have a great weekend, and keep writing. I’ll have more poetry thoughts for you come Monday!
Emphasis on the -ittle!