I don’t do sh-t. How the hell am I so busy?
Let’s try to piece it together here, shall we?
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how I spend my time.
As someone who is either underemployed (meaning I write a lot of content and get paid for practically none of it) or pretired (meaning I not quite ready to retire but am in the pre-retirement stage due to my age and employment status), depending on the day, I sometimes feel a different kind of pressure, one that comes in the context of a society that tends to love labels and status and glorifying busy-ness.
So let me set all that aside and take a few moments to catalog what I’ve been up to. It is “What I’m _________________ Wednesday” after all.
Reading…
This is an elephant in the room with me, so I am addressing it first—might as well get it out of the way. I was in such a good routine with my reading (actual books) for a long stretch but have really lost that rhythm of late. I mention it here in the hope that maybe it will get me to recommit, keep me accountable.
I spend a lot of day reading news and newsletters and whatever else to try to stay informed about the state of the world, and another good chunk of time reading job descriptions, but by the time I’m done with that, I haven’t been doing much else.
In any case, when Connie Chung’s memoir, Connie, was first released, I had zero interest. Then I read a rave review that noted the audiobook is the way to go as Connie herself narrates. So I threw a hold on it at the local library via Libby, and after a several months’ wait, fortuitously checked it out right before last month’s trip to FL. I don’t have a very good history with audiobooks, but figured I’d give it a try. And when I wasn’t walking with Connie (my mom), I walked with Connie (Chung) and thoroughly enjoyed her story. She’s one of those public people who you think you just naturally know everything about because of the public-ness of their peoplehood, but when you actually learn the details not only is it interesting, it makes them so much more multidimensionally nuanced—and provides a great reminder that pretty much everyone goes through a f-ckton of sh-t. (Also, audiobooks have no pictures, which I like to see with a memoir.)
I also have started toying with Joseph Fasano’s book The Magic Words. It’s kind of like a cerebral version of Mad Libs for people trying to get creative with writing poetry. I’ve only done one poem, multiple versions—they all suck but I’m going to keep at it. I like the way it stretches my brain.
I am going to try to get back on track with reading books. Whatever that means. My “to-read” piles are toppling over, my Kindle(s) (yes, plural) are stocked…so I really have no excuse. I’ll figure it out. (Maybe I need to start by re-reading Atomic Habits and make reading an atomic habit, like bed-making. 🤣🤣🤣)
Watching…
I’m still watching the usual stuff (Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, Survivor, Amazing Race, The Voice, and Grey’s Anatomy) and while there’s not a ton of noteworthy stuff to say, a few things are worth mentioning, namely:
I’ve really warmed up to Ryan Seacrest as the WoF host. He’s brought a new energy to the game and involves Vanna way more than Pat ever did (I feel like Ryan treats her as an equal not hired help), a friendly reminder not to conclude to readily based on first impressions. My first impressions were not favorable and if I had quit watching as a result, I’d miss all the goofy contestant screw ups that make me laugh.
That Mary Todd Lincoln category on Jeopardy Monday night was interesting.
Straight off of Broadway, but strangely jarring… The relationship between Joe and Eva on Survivor is heartwarming. No spoilers on the plot, but…sigh…it’s sweet.
There’s one couple racing that each week we think “she better leave him as soon as this race is over.” He is such a controlling dick. Again, no spoilers. But when they had a race leg in Kyoto, I was transported back to my visit there in 2019. Time erases a lot of things, but it also sharpens the focus of others. While the specificity of detail that I retain over time decreases, I still feel the effects of that experience, and they feel more amazing the more time passes.
Re: The Voice, every season I’m reminded how many amazingly talented people are stocking shelves at a grocery store or singing in the church choir or a bar band nights and weekends. The world is full of extraordinary people living ordinary lives. Doesn’t make them any less amazing—just less notorious.
I can’t recommend The Pitt (Max) enough. I have already mentioned it here, but now that the first season has concluded, I can even more confidently recommend a watch. I will repeat my trigger warning here, though. If you have any hospital-related PTSD you might want to avoid it—the sh-t gets real. The show is remarkably done, the characters are amazing, and the “each episode is one hour of the shift” construct works very well—it never feels like it’s too much or too rushed. It’s so good.
For some light-hearted laughs in <30 minute episodes, Mid-Century Modern with Nathan Lane and Matt Bomer is a gem. Linda Lavin is fantastic in this, and while I didn’t realize she was in it, I do know she will not be in Season 2 if there is one. (ICYMI, she died at the end of last year.) I love this one for when I’m at the gym on the bike.
We also started watching Severance (Apple TV+). We know too many people who were recommending/talking about it, so we had to see what the “cool kids” were all abuzz about. It’s a little too sci-fi (plus it’s edgy, dark, and out there) for my usual tastes, but it does hold my interest. Key plot points unfold a bit too slowly for my liking but midway through the first season, I am invested—I need to see what the finished sweater looks like when all the knitting is done. As it were.
The Masters this year was gripping television from start to finish. I know some people would rather watch paint dry while listening to the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard than watch golf, but I find something soothing about it. The green of the greens; the quiet, measured, soothing voices of the announcers; the sound of the ball sent into flight…all so calming. But beyond that, this year the competition showed the best and the worst in the golfers while reflecting the golf journey we all face—extreme and unpredictable highs and lows.
I followed some of the coverage on Blue Origin’s (controversial) all-female mission that purported to break stereotypes but really reinforced them—namely in their special spacesuits and their screaming in the capsule, as if it were for amusement and not for science. I struggle with them being called astronauts—as if somehow their training and experience is equivalent to say, that of Suni “Stuck in Space” Williams. It was a gimmicky show of wealth and ego if you ask me. The waste is unthinkable. I mean, they act like they’re all groundbreaking scientists trying to empower women everywhere. Meanwhile actual practicing female scientists are getting their jobs and life’s work hacked to sh-t. It’s all a load of B.S. Katy Perry and Gayle King kissing the ground upon disembarking as if they’d been stuck up there for months and not for minutes, and as if they actually did something besides pay a shit-ton of money for the privilege was a total crock. The only research I could see happening was “do breast implants explode in ‘space’?” 🤦🏼♀️ All that said it was reported there were two actual scientists on board but I’m not sure it’s because they were scientists or because they were wealthy. 🤔 Plus, if the “mission” is 11 minutes long from takeoff to touchdown, were they in space long enough for any findings to be valid about what happens “in space”? I mean, come on, right?
All I know is that when I go to the grocery store—which takes sometimes in the 15-minute range (and also costs an astronomical amount of money now too), I’m going to start calling it a “Mission to Shaw’s.” There are more things wrong with this kind of “space travel” than there is right with it. Maybe the folks at Disney World could make Space Mountain a little faster and a lot higher and make “astronauts” out of all of us. (And would Lauren Sanchez have been on that rocket penis if she weren’t riding Bezos’?)
I also watched the WNBA draft Monday night and I love that women’s sports continue to grow in popularity. No surprise that Paige Bueckers was picked number one. I was glad she got her NCAA championship in her final year—and she made UCONN slightly less unlikeable. Slightly.
The “To-watch” list is CVS-receipt long but we continue to chip away.
I’ve also had these two great IRL viewing experiences since I last wrote:
Last Tuesday, we hit Fenway Park for my first Red Sox game of the season. I have a great friend who has great seats so when I was notified that those tickets were available, it was an offer I couldn’t refuse…despite the forecast which ultimately resulted in this admonition from a writer at The Boston Globe:
It’s April. In New England. You get what you get and you don’t get upset. (But they could discount the beers.) But the four of us who went are real baseball junkies, which meant we bundled up, got to the park early, and stayed until the final out—even though it was freezing (I read somewhere it was 23 degrees with the wind chill) and the home team was losing (and ultimately lost). I have such fond memories of going to Fenway and the frigid temps did nothing to diminish my experience, to slow my reminiscing, or to stop me from drinking a beer and toasting Papa, who took me to my first Sox game ever, some 50 years ago.
Fenway—always glorious. I can’t say my life is one big run of bad luck as I recently won Lucky Seat tickets ($39 for tix that retail at $145) to see Shucked (the musical) at the Opera House last Wednesday. I went with my cousin, first to dinner (more on that later in the “eating” section), then to the show which, in summary, was great. Sweet, fun, funny, and just what we need in today’s oft-contentious world. The show features two female cousins, which didn’t really mean anything special to me until the second act (when Maizy and Lulu sang the song “Friends”)…it offered one of those rare moments when you take time to stop and appreciate something in your life, not necessarily something you’ve taken for granted but more something that you just haven’t actively appreciated in a way that best honors the something, in this case that special thing I call #cousinlove. And not to belabor the point but it raises an important question—if the point is enduring love, can it ever be belabored?
Almost showtime!
I’m going to bridge what I’m watching and what I’m listening to by sharing something that straddles both categories—videos of some pretty fun Coachella performances. Here are two of my faves—watch, listen, and enjoy:
(I love the Go Gos…despite Belinda’s apparent face transplant. Billie Joe is a bonus!)
Listening…
Well, thinking about Kyoto brings me to the Phoebe Bridgers track of the same name, which I love…so when Phoebe formed boygenius, it wasn’t shocking that I loved their work. I recently spoke of “Sugar in the Tank,” a new single by another boygenius member, Julien Baker (and TORRES, album dropping Friday) and it’s probably no surprise that I’ve been digging the recent release by their third member, Lucy Dacus—Forever is a Feeling. The songs “Ankles” and “Bullseye” (with Hozier) are early standouts.
I anxiously awaited Mumford & Son’s new release Rushmere and felt a little cheated when it was only 10 songs (two of which had been released in advance of the full album) and a total album length of 34 minutes. I was lukewarm to it during my start-to-finish listening sesh, but like the songs much better when they’re interspersed randomly in some Spotify-generated playlist. Maybe the tracks didn’t feel lyrically or musically diverse enough to hold my interest back-to-back and maybe that’s why the spread-out listening is a better experience. For me anyway.
I like the one song by Noah Cyrus (“July”) and the one song by Fleet Foxes (“Can I Believe You”) so again, it’s not a huge surprise that I like their collab, “Don’t Put it All On Me.” I used that song as a jumping-off point to let Spotify take the reins and got a great soundtrack to accompany my long walk through the Esker on Monday.
Eating and drinking…
I recently woke up with a mad craving for whipped ricotta toast with fresh berries and honey. The problem was I had no ricotta, bread, or berries in the house. So I went to the store and bought (only) bread, ricotta, and berries…and as I was checking out the attendant told me she was going to share a secret with me. She leaned in and said “you go home, you toast that bread, spread that ricotta on it, and then put some of those berries on it. And if you have it, add some honey.” (Her secret is safe with me.) Funny thing is, one day I was lazy and didn’t whip the ricotta and it wasn’t nearly as good—I feel like next time I see her I need to tell her she needs to step up her game and add “whip ricotta” to her “recipe.” 🤣🤣🤣
I saw and was intrigued by this Spicy Pork and Refried Bean Soup, so I gave it a go. Taste-to-ease ratio is very high.
These Easy Burritos keep popping up on the menu at The 220, only this time with ground pork—I had a pound extra after making that soup. All versions were good but if I had to rank them it would go beef, chicken, pork, turkey. But in a photo finish top to bottom. They are so good.
This weekend’s dreary weather called for some beef stew and Chocolate Pretzel Shortbread (for good measure).
Before seeing Shucked, my cousin and I went to Sip Wine Bar & Kitchen for our pre-show meal. Beyond being exceedingly convenient (just a few doors down from the Opera House), the food is great (I had tuna loin with crispy rice cakes) and the wine is outstanding (I love the Paul Buisse Sauvignon Blanc). Then, at the show, we ordered the special Shucked drink which was whisky, blueberry syrup, and lemonade—festive and delicious!
On the subject of drinks, while we were disappointed the weather didn’t allow us to watch The Masters outside, it did not stop me from mixing up the unofficial drink of the tourney, the Azalea, inside. Also festive and delicious.
Cheers.
I hope that however you’re spending your time it’s making you happy. It makes me so happy that you spend some of your time here with me—I appreciate your time, attention, and support so much. More than you know.
Love you too.
Audio accompaniment to this week’s bit, freestyle: