Hello and happy Friday! It is officially Big Salad Season, during which I only want to eat mixing-bowl-sized salads full of chip crumb dust and spicy dressing. I’ve perfected my Lenwich salad order by getting spinach AND kale which takes forever to eat and makes my jaws sleepy.
Yellowjackets is GOOD
Hey, speaking of jaws! Everybody in Yellowjackets is eating or being eaten. This has been on my to-watch list for a while and I FINALLY binged the first season this week, much to my friend Amy’s delight. I knew that if I started it, I would not be able to stop until I ran out of episodes, and that’s exactly what’s happened. Eleven episodes down, and I’ll get caught up on the rest soon enough, so I can watch the rest of season two as it airs.
Should I Throw My Phone in a River?
Listen, first of all, I wouldn’t really do that. Bad for wildlife. But! Spending the month away from Twitter/Instagram has made me begrudgingly remember that I am, in fact, more productive without them. And I’m having fewer arguments (in my head) with real people’s fictional personas from Twitter1, which I think has improved my mood. I have posted one dopey note on Substack Notes, but I don’t really want to get in the weeds of a Twitter clone, because…that’s unproductive. I also deleted the Reddit app off my phone because I was spending way too much time reading about phone scams, servers encountering rude customers, and people accidentally self-sabotaging their cars. I know I’ve said this before, but I miss my BlackBerry every day. I’m trying to retrain my brain to see my phone as a productivity tool, by downloading apps that help me get tasks done, and putting them front-and-center on my home screen.
And I love my phone case.
I Liked This Stuff You Should Too
I went to the launch event for Lane Moore’s new book, You Will Find Your People. And what do you know, I made friends in the signing line! I also wrote a poem about it, which you can find in the Wednesday Draft Dump if you’re a paid subscriber.
I got to see Jason Anderson in concert for the first time in nine years, and it was nine times more magical. Last time, it was at the Trunk Space in Phoenix (the original location!); this time, it was in Brooklyn. I went solo but I was also very much part of the crowd, who sang along to every note in every song. You can find his music on streaming platforms or Bandcamp, but also, Jason is touring. You should follow his Substack and, if he comes anywhere close to where you live, go see his shows.
I’m loving Mrs. Davis, a TV show I truly think was made especially for me. Betty Gilpin is a cowgirl-nun in Reno, pitted against an aggressive AI that knows everything about everyone. Maybe this is why I want to throw my phone in a lake.
Yellowjackets, obviously. If you can, set up the Showtime free trial on your Amazon, binge-watch the first season in 36 hours, and then catch up on season two at a leisurely pace.
Did you know the lace cookies at Whole Foods come in a dark chocolate version?! It’s good that I don’t live near Whole Foods, because I would eat 14 of these every week, and nothing else.
Things I Did Not Buy This Week
I keep getting suggestions for groups on Facebook that are all about art/crafting. I don’t really draw or paint, and I’m not great at most fabric crafts, so they’re just nice to look at. But I did almost buy a prompt book and pens after seeing this person’s incredible ballpoint broccoli:
There’s a Spider-Man NYPL card out now. I didn’t go get one yet, but I probably will because I need to renew my card at some point soon.
I also spent time on the Lush subreddit, looking at reviews of shampoo bars I will never buy. Apparently, The Perfume People offer a number of inexpensive duplicates of Lush scents, but I don’t even know which Lush scents I like…yet. If any Lush diehards try these dupes, please let me know how they compare!
I tried on this sparkly dress at a thrift store because I thought it might be a good outfit for the Taylor Swift concert. The moment I put it on, Taylor started playing over the loudspeakers (a sign!), but also, my entire butt showed because it was so short (a much clearer sign).
Okay! NaPoWriMo is almost done, so come Monday, we’ll return to regularly-scheduled programming. But Sunday, paid subscribers will get the final Draft Dump of 2023, so…stay tuned.
I almost never get in fights ON Twitter but I do rage-scroll a lot!