Before we get to the usual roundup, let’s talk about addition by subtraction…and go over a few things I’m happily no longer doing since we last shared this space.
I’m happily no longer:
Sporting the green #opentowork frame around my LinkedIn profile picture
Receiving dozens of job alerts a day from LinkedIn, Indeed, Idealist, etc. etc. etc.
Revising and re-revising and and re-re-revising and re-re-re-revising my resume ad nauseam to apply for jobs I don’t even really want only to hear crickets or be summarily rejected or, worst of all, contacted then ghosted.
Taking Zoom meetings about allegedly red-hot leads with recruiters who show up late wearing t-shirts (like the undershirt kind) and backwards baseball hats. I’m all for casualwear but apparently I draw the line at pajamas. Show a shred of respect for crying out loud. Put on a sweatshirt, bro.
Painstakingly cataloging every job-search activity should the Department of Unemployment Assistance contact me for proof of my efforts.
Feeling woozy every time some well-intentioned soul tells me to find my passion and whatever it is, do that. (IMO, that’s a very impractical approach to finding a decent job and making an honest living, but that’s a matter for a whole other time because today doesn’t have enough hours in it for me to even begin to scratch the surface of that topic.)
Repressing extreme anxiety over having no f-cking idea what comes next and having zero power to change it as I cannot give myself a job with the income I need to be able to afford basic necessities like eggs.
Long story short, I am no longer doing or feeling any of the bulksh-t associated with being out of work because—effective May 1—my life will look like this: same desk, new job.
Yep, you read that right…I have a new job.
I’m not going to say too much about it now (I signed the paperwork, but don’t want to jinx anything), though I will say that I’m extremely (nervously) excited about it. I had gotten so bogged down with feeling like I needed to find my Marie Kondo-like joy, even once I learned that she was way over tidying up and it’s so-called life-changing magic. I also was feeling so much societal pressure…like one can’t be “normal” or “successful” without a full-time job. But once I made peace with the fact that life-changing magic was off the table, I was happy to seek a job that wouldn’t define me but that would offer me plenty of opportunity to have an impact while being challenged and energized…and once I realized that, the path became clearer. I realized with certainty that I do want the rest of my professional career to be as a “nonprofit leader” and that my preference was to leverage the experience I had gained in my last nonprofit role (rather than flush 7.5 years down the toilet), continuing to build programs that keep communities safer. Once I had that clarity, I landed this role within two weeks—the swiftness with which the process unfolded was a strong reflection of the organization, I thought. Overall, I see it as more proof that things work out the way they are supposed to when they are supposed to, and especially so once you stop trying to wrestle one shape into a hole of a different shape. I’ll say more once I’m actually on the job and it’s officially official, but you all are part of the inner circle who I want to know now.
So there’s that.
Another thing I’m doing is stewing about the state of this nation. Can we get through a week without a mass shooting? I’m still enraged over what happened in Nashville and wonder aloud, “who needs seven guns?” And ok, maybe it’s a Second Amendment thing…so I’ll submit…maybe someone does. But still…lots of red flags in this story, but you know what isn’t a red flag? That the shooter maybe was transgender. Look, gender and gender identity isn’t what caused this and regardless of gender and gender identity, this shooting was preventable. It’s all about gun laws.
Then you have the #TennesseThree, the three state legislators who “brought disorder and dishonor to the House” (🤦🏼♀️) in speaking out for gun legislation. They quickly became the #TennesseeTwo, the two of the three who were expelled. The Black ones. Other than because she is White, why didn’t Gloria Johnson “suffer” the same fate, expulsion? Anyone? The double and triple standards that allow us to rationalize any bad behavior are eventually going to be the undoing of America. (As an aside, Justin Pearson is probably the person in my Bowdoin alum universe of whom I am most proud. So there’s that. Go U Bears. Fingers crossed that he gets reinstated today.)
Before even one of the #TennesseeTwo could be reinstated (yay) there was another mass shooting (f-ck), the one in Louisville. Condolences to the families and loved ones of all the victims, including KY Governor Andy Beshear who lost two good friends in the shooting…but shame on him for not vetoing that bill two weeks ago, the one that makes KY a “Second Amendment sanctuary,” a safe haven from any firearm-, ammunition-, or firearm accessory-related federal bans or regulations. There are no laws in KY to stop someone with mental health or substance abuse issues from owning guns. And—get this—guns used in crimes aren’t disposed of in KY. They get handed over to the State Police who auctions them off.
In other words—the gun used to kill 5 people in Louisville very well could be auctioned off so it could be used to kill more innocent people. Can you even imagine???
Lawmakers have blood on their hands. So too do lobbyists. What is one life worth, let alone the over 200 lives lost this year already due to mass shootings? (More than 11.5K have died this year to date from gun violence. It’s f-cking absurd.) When do people stop following the money long enough to realize that all these needless deaths aren’t worth it? Honest to God. Our forefathers are rolling over in their colonial graves right now. This isn’t what they meant. The Red Coats aren’t coming. Stand down. FFS. Props to the TN governor for strengthen background checks and for calling for red flag laws after the fact—it may prevent more senseless deaths. Seriously though, the state of federal and local legislation is a disaster. I’m with Dr. Jason Smith of the University of Louisville Hospital, who had this to say after the shooting:
I'm a doctor. I don't know what the answer is. But to everyone who helps make policy both state and federal, I would simply ask you to do something because doing nothing, which is what we've been doing, is not working. We have to do something because this is just getting out of hand across our city and across this great nation.
Ignoring problems will not make them go away.
Now…on to what else I am doing, besides the obvious fact that I am enjoying not doing 1-7 above and am feeling a lot of emotional freedom as a result. Here’s the rundown of things I’ve been checking off my list.
On the stove/in the oven/on the table…
This past Sunday was Easter, and we hosted Kerri’s family. What a day! We served my favorite meal, brunch, and the warm sun allowed us to spend quite a bit of time outside after we ate.
The secret to a great brunch, IMO, is all in the preparation—in getting as much ready as possible in advance and then in carefully mapping out what needs to go in the oven when, and coordinating as much as possible so that multiple items cook at the same temperature. When we woke up on Sunday, the oven went on, the potatoes went in, Kerri was under strict orders that she could not start the bacon after 9:15, and everything unfolded according to plan…all the food was served at 1, and it was totally stress-free once the guests arrived at noon, allowing us to pop the bubbly and join the gang for mimosas. It was an Easter for the ages.
The previous week, my niece from MI who goes to college in Boston came over on Sunday to spend the day and chill. It was so awesome—she’s 19 but we have never spent 7 hours doing nothing, just the two of us. We had dinner and for dessert I made this Nutella bread that my sister (her mom) recommended. It was very easy and very good, especially served as suggested, buttered and with strawberry jam.
You know I love me a good bourbon drink, and I’ve been all about this Blackberry Bourbon Sour of late. It may be fair to say that I’m obsessed with @servedbysammy on IG. The guy is a cocktail savant.
Plus let’s face it…any excuse to make a drink that calls to be served in a coupe glass, right?
On the TV…
You may or not recall a while back I wrote about my viewing experience with Mae Martin’s two-season (Netflix) show, Feel Good. If you’re interested in that, here ya go. If not, scroll right on by the link below.
Anyway, I find Mae pretty funny, and I like her style. So when she released a comedy special, Sap (also on Netflix), it went to the top of my list. It was good, though I felt like I wanted the audience to laugh harder…and interestingly enough I found Mae’s bit on identity to be more touching than funny. She makes no excuses or apologies for who she is, but she’s not militant. She’s self-deprecating and on the level. People like Mae will change the world. And that should give us all hope.
I caught the Joni Mitchell Gershwin Prize Concert on PBS and all I have to say about that is OMG. I know that Brandi Carlile is The Joni Whisperer, and we owe her a ginormous thank you for getting Joni back on stage and exposing her music and her brilliance to newer generations. But still there’s something about Brandi that annoys me, with her golden microphone and her gaudy western cowboy outfits…I need to get past all that because she brought Joni back, and this concert was a joy. My three fave performances were Annie Lennox doing Both Sides Now, Cyndi Lauper doing Blue, and Graham Nash doing A Case of You. Though Joni herself singing The Circle Game was pretty sublime too. Highly recommend.
Been watching the Bruins record-setting season continue, and it’s been a blast. My dad would have loved this. Sometimes watching makes me really miss him, but I always feel him close by when I do—gotta take the good with the bad…my dad was the best and I’m always gonna miss him. Sigh. Anyway, last night as Todd Angilly was singing the National Anthem I thought, per usual, “I hope someone knows where the AED is” and “Oh my God someone please teach him how to pronounce ‘perilous.’ Please.” After watching them set the NHL record for most wins in a season (63) on Sunday it was fun last night watching them chase three records, and with a a 5-2 win, they broke/tied them—a 46-year-old NHL record for the most points in a season (was 131, now it’s 133), broke the Bs record for most home wins (34), and Linus Ullmark tied a 40-year-old Bruins record for most wins by a goalie in a season (40)…though he did go out in the 3rd period with an injury (uh-oh). (It was also fun watching them celebrate the career of another Bowdoin alum, long-time Bs announcer/host Dale Arnold (and he mentioned Bowdoin on the air)…those Bowdoin folks are everywhere, especially when you throw detained journalist Evan Gershkovich into the mix. Lots of Polar Bears making headlines lately. #IStandWithEvan)
The (Boring) Bachelor concluded as expected from night one, with Zach proposing to Kaity, after doing Gabi dirty. I don’t know why I watch. I like to believe there are much healthier ways to meet a nice match. Love, like life, is not a game. Shows like this kind of make a mockery of committed relationships under the guise of trying to help people find committed relationships. 🤦🏼♀️
Other than that, not too much on TV of late, which is unfortunate if you’re a TV show or movie languishing on my “To Watch” list. I’m not even that into Jeopardy these days. I mean, I’ll watch if I’m home but I haven’t been rabid about catching up on the recordings either.
On the nightstand/desk/Kindle…
I’m still reading Zoe Chance’s Influence is Your Superpower (first mentioned here), and I’m taking it slow because I really want this stuff to sink in and I want to internalize it. I’m learning a lot so far, and haven’t really even got to the real influence part yet. But the discussion on the power of saying “no” is quite compelling.
I continued on my Taylor Jenkins Reid kick when Malibu Rising became available at the local library. The three books I’ve read of hers have all been quite good, and I love that the stories are completely unrelated, yet TJR introduces connections between them. It kind of makes you feel like you’re in on a little secret. I’d characterize her work as “high-end beach read.”
I detoured from The Shadow of the Wind to read Malibu Rising but quickly returned to it, because when your 24 year-old nephew enthusiastically recommends a book, you do what any good aunt would do—read it.
It’s quite good, and it makes me want to go to Spain, Barcelona in particular…it’s long been on my list and I can see why my nephew loved it. He got a partial semester abroad in Barcelona that was abbreviated due to COVID, but the city definitely took a piece of his heart. This is Book One (of four) in a series called The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, so I need to ask him if he’s read them all, and ask him what he thinks. I need to know whether my “To Read” list is going to grow like my “To Watch” list has. 🤦🏼♀️
I’m also picking at the edges of Nick Offerman’s Where the Deer and the Antelope Play, because it was available at the library and because it’s a book about walking. I mean, you can’t write a newsletter called The Pedestrian Pundit without having a thing for walking…and reading books about walking. I’m guessing the loan will expire before I finish it so I’ve placed another hold for both the Kindle and audiobook versions. Maybe this is better suited to the audiobook format. We’ll see.
It’s too early to render a judgment on this one…and also I need to focus on Influence and Shadow. I can’t juggle and I have too many books in the air right now.
On Spotify…
Been losing myself in U2’s Songs of Surrender, a multi-disc set reimagining 40 of their songs, in a stripped-down fashion that highlights the depth and richness and insightfulness and sheer brilliance of the lyrics. It’s made me re-appreciate how talented they are…and it also makes me want to get them to come to the house this summer and play a 40-song acoustic set in my backyard. I’ll give them plenty of food and drink. How fun would that be?
I’ve also marked my calendar for April 21, when Everything But the Girl releases their first new music in 24 years. I can’t wait…but how is it possible that Amplified Heart has been my go-to my emo music for so long? Highly encourage you to (re-)visit the album here:
There you have it, what I’ve been up to over the last month or so. I think I’ll go have a cup of coffee, ponder the two+ decades since EBTG left the music scene, and actively appreciate you being here with me…all accompanied by the sweet sounds of several high-powered leaf blowers literally right outside the window as the landscape crew has come together for Spring Cleanup.
Thanks for your time and support—it means more than you’ll ever know.
Love you too.
Yes for sure! Also, not having to fill out the job search log is such a relief!
Congrats on the new job! So happy for you!