This was going to be a Five for (LAST) Friday post. Then (maybe) a Six for Sunday. Here we are on Thursday – so you’re getting (definitely not) Ten for Thursday. Just a few things that have been happening, that I wanted to share, while I plan out a few upcoming posts.

1. I left my apartment! For four days! And took a mini-trip! More to come, but it did involve a) being outside, and b) a FLW house, just for Birchie.
2. I made a savory granola and oh, my goodness, it’s addictive. First time for me, and it will not be the last. I can share the recipe that I adapted if others like.
3. Contract starts in less than a week (sigh), which means that the emails are ramping up, as is the non-research work. While I said that nothing changes much for me in the summer, well, the truth is, it kind of does. These transitions are always jarring, and the same is true of this year. I am taking on more teaching responsibilities, too, and (gulp) mentoring people? Apparently, they have the idea (or, perhaps misconception is a better word) that I know what to do. This is a change, and it’s a tough one for me.
4. My reading life has completely changed, friends. And it’s all because of you. I have always said that audiobooks are “not for me”, particularly for fiction. I’ve tolerated them for a few years for nonfiction, but it wasn’t my favorite option. All of that changed with the CBBC read of My Brilliant Friend. I did not love the book (standard apologies to Julie, Engie, and, I think, Birchie?), but I did love being able to listen to the book while doing mindless things. Think swiffering. Who needs to think while swiffering, really? Ditto chopping veggies, which seems to happen a lot in my world. Then I started to use my library account and take advantage of Libby. While the selection at my library isn’t great, it’s started to flow a lot better thanks to filling up my holds list and holds starting to come in. This is going to have to be its own post, but THANK YOU to all of you who have evangelized about audiobooks these last few years. It took me a while, but I am a convert.
5. Question for those of you who use social media: Are you on Threads? I deleted the other app because of the owner, and while I am on Instagram (and follow many of you there), I would like to occasionally check in on a more text-based app. Thoughts? (The algorithmic “preview” of Threads on IG is kind of drawing me in, which is why I am considering this…)
6. I thought out my Fall schedule for being on campus vs. being at home, and it is going to be a rough transition. Sarah will appreciate knowing that I was actually demoted from my pay-through-the-nose parking lot to the Flex garage, which a) costs more over the long term, and b) is at the bottom of this long, gradual hill up to my building that is rarely salted/treated in the winter in a timely manner. Like I said, the transition from my preferred balance of more at-home work vs. in-office work is going to be daunting. I’ll stop my griping there, though, because honestly, my situation is pretty darn good. Just… changing.

I hope you are all doing well here in mid (!!!) August. Take care of yourselves, and enjoy the last weeks of summer.

Hope your road is a long one.

May there be many summer mornings when,

with what pleasure, what joy,

you enter harbors you’re seeing for the first time;

~A few lines from Ithaka, by C.P. Cavafy

I have been discombobulated and out of sorts all week. Trying to get a blog post up but hitting a frustrating writing wall. (So you get this short one, instead…) Dealing with several things that came up suddenly at work that require most of my attention, taking it away from what I should be working on. Worrying about my friends who are in areas with horrible fires (Nicole, San, Julie, I hope you are all okay…). Thinking about everything I need and want to organize and declutter (especially the digital clutter…it’s taking over my life, I swear) and how taking that on seems insurmountable right now. The classic too much to do, too little time challenge.

So, I’m turning to you, my friends, for your wisdom on a few things…

• How do you find out where to donate or share unusual items that may not be appropriate for your average Goodwill? Do you all just take everything there and figure that they’ll know what to do? There are 2 things I’m thinking of, specifically:
  • This, um, unusual small appliance that makes fresh non-dairy milk. No, seriously. You buy these pouches, run a cycle where it mixes the pouch contents with water, and presto. Fresh almond, or oat, or cashew milk. And I can say that the milk is amazing – fresh, tastes great, etc. But I do not have room to store it, nor do I drink that much milk! (In my coffee, really…) Where on earth would you donate that? I have it up for free on NextDoor – no traction, not surprisingly…. Thoughts?
  • Canvas bags that are in really good shape. They’re big, though, and I honestly have no use for them. My old bags that I got from various stores, etc., I plan to just pitch. But these are truly nice bags. Where would you donate those?
• OK, I swear I asked this before, but maybe not? I need to look like an adult for a couple of things in August and September. Sigh. I am not good at looking like an adult. Nor am I great at looking non-schlumpy, in general. So this is going to be a challenge. But one thing that I’m hoping you can help me with is… tinted moisturizer. My face gets very, very red and I can never predict it. But if I can wear some tinted moisturizer to kind of, well, even it out, that might help. I don’t want foundation, or anything fancy. I’ve used various types in the past but that is way back pre-Covid so… yeah. Thoughts from my more put-together friends? Thank you in advance.
• Cross-body bags? I have a great shoulder bag, but want something smaller to sling across my chest. I swear Elisabeth mentioned one recently, but can’t find the post. I want it to hold my phone (in a clunky case), wallet (small), keys, etc. So it doesn’t have to be huge, but not tiny, either. Thoughts?

I’m hoping to recombobulate, at least on work stuff, today. I hope you are combobulated, yourselves, and again, that my friends in fire danger zones are okay. <3

https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/recombobulationsigns

Two important principles I need to remember:

Principle 1: The rule of holes: When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.

I’m not entirely sure how I managed to forget this rule for living, but, well, I did. I’ve found it relevant in work and life recently. At work, I’ve stopped digging on some projects that just needed to be put aside. They’re not priorities for now. I may never pick them up again. But I was in a hole, and I needed to just. stop. digging.

In life, this quote came to mind when I realized that my desperate desire to catch up on past blog posts from all of you was keeping me from knowing about what’s going on in your lives right now. So, although I would love to read every word, I think it’s time to stop digging. I’m getting even further behind and I’m not close to catching up. I am probably going to have to unsave a bunch of posts. Please know that I do care about what’s going on in your lives – but I would rather be more up to date than stuck in the past. You all are too important to me!

Principle 2: Never assume, because, well, you know why. 🙂 (And if you don’t, make a comment and I’ll share what Mrs. Markle told my 6th grade class…)

Friends, I almost – key word, ALMOST – trashed a hard drive that has about 30 years of my life on it. I know. I assumed it was just time machine system snapshots from my old laptop. I was so, so wrong.

I thought I’d somehow lost all my files from my PhD program and before. I thought I’d somehow lost any and all documents that were related to my life in the early 2000s. And it turns out that no, I hadn’t. They were on the hard drive. The hard drive I almost took for recycling today.

I almost cried. It was such an unexpected gift. I know, you’re thinking, dude, it’s a hard drive. But when you have a path like mine (lots of twists and turns, and yes, Engie, I still owe you a list of all the jobs I’ve held), it helps to have a bit of digital memory to help me recall all the good and bad moments along the way. For me, those files remind me of where I’ve been and how far I have come.

So never, ever assume. Please. Check the hard drive. Ask the question. Find out why someone did something, rather than assuming they did it for x reason. I’ve never regretted doing so, and I hope you don’t either.

Take care, my friends. Happy weekend. I look forward to catching up on your current lives soon.

It’s Tuesday, so time to subject you to a few more bits and pieces from life in the past few weeks…

I’ve noticed that my life does not really change in rhythm when summer begins. I cannot remember who all has posted about the change to “summer life” when kids are out of school. I know Elisabeth has mentioned it, and I know it’s what I experienced as a kid. But now, life is more constant. I don’t mind that, but when I forget it? When I realize that summer isn’t going to be what it was (too many) years ago? There’s always a bit of, well, deflation.

However! I have been able to do more (non-work) things, and even better, read a lot more. I’m more willing to take a break in the middle of the day, or pause my incessant dive into the news to listen to an audiobook. I’ve connected twice with Engie, and once with Birchie. I’ve plowed through books – both e-books and audiobooks. I’ve had lunch with friends. It’s been… good. Not the same as playing Legend of Zelda with my brother all summer (no, seriously), but really good.

In that spirit, a few things that grabbed me recently…

From Mary Somervell, a writer from New Zealand whose Substack newsletter I found somewhat randomly: “Imagine setting out on a voyage without a destination. That’s life. You never know what lies just beyond the horizon. If you think you can get there, you probably can. Are you moving away from or moving towards something? Downsizing or rightsizing? Retiring or rewiring?” (emphasis mine)

This idea of moving away or moving towards is a fascinating one, and something I need to think about for my own life. I feel like I’ve been moving away from who I was for a long time, and now I am moving towards who I want to be. In big ways and small. How do I want to shift into the second half of my life? The first half was pretty darn good…can the second half be even better? Time to find out…

Switching topics completely, I am a mood reader. I am fascinated by Stephany’s structured approach to her TBR. For me, it’s literally what feels right to read (or listen to!) at that time. Case in point – I was slogging, really slogging, through a thriller that was not grabbing me 10% in, and was debating giving up. I had a long and tiring day that meant I was up and wired later than usual (which is to say, not very late…), and I just needed some evening distraction. By chance, I read about Erica Bauermeister’s book The Scent Keeper in a blog post, and decided to give it a try. Friends, I was pulled into that book so fast you could see the (virtual) pages ruffling as I zipped through it. I haven’t been so, well, captured by a book in a long time.

And it reminded me of moments I had as a teen reader, as a young reader, when I would, as I still say, fall into the story. It may not be a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, or one that gets great ratings, but if a book grabs you like that? You follow.

The same has happened with nonfiction, but perhaps that is a post for another day. 🙂 In the spirit of what I just wrote, a quote to send you off into Tuesday. Be well, my friends.

“The one thing I regret is that I will never have time to read all the books I want to read.”
― Françoise Sagan

Are you a mood reader? What books have grabbed you recently? How do you see your future unfolding, in terms of moving away from or moving towards something?

I had a great post queued (side note: is there a better word to type than “queue”? I would say no…) up for today. And then, yesterday happened. Warning: This post will include political comments, which I have not typically shared here. But the state of our country, the impending sense of doom I feel, and the potential demise of democracy are too much for me to ignore. If this isn’t your thing, or if you strenuously disagree with me, please skip this post.

It’s been a bad week for Democrats, anyone who believes in democracy, anyone who longs for a more equitable society. Up until yesterday, I was actually doing well, for me. I tend to get sucked into political news, especially, and I was fighting against that by listening to audiobooks (a point I will come back to later!) and generally trying NOT to get sucked in. And then yesterday happened. The insane decision handed down by what I consider to be a corrupt Supreme Court has me terrified about what the next five months will bring. I spent the day listening to every story I could on the Post’s app. And I felt myself getting pulled into the idea of “what happens next?” In light of the debate last week, a debacle for which I have no words, the intransigence of the political elites and their refusal to consider any alternatives, and now the prospect of an unhinged felon having untrammeled power if/when he is elected, my brain went to “what can I possibly do?” I admit, it didn’t immediately go to, “Vote”. Instead, I wished for dual citizenship, that I had sought jobs in Canada (I briefly considered it when leaving Philly in 2017). I thought about whether relocating to California would be any help (it’s long been a dream but one I haven’t seriously considered NOW). And I don’t know what to do. I know that for myself I need to step back and I hope to do that today. But oh, long term, I grieve for what could have been. I know there are some of you whose views align with mine, so I’d love any suggestions you have for reframing, for shifting my perspective, for helping me out of this neverending cycle of doomsday news.

TL;DR: I had hope, it’s diminishing rapidly, and I’m seeking any sources of light I can find right now. Thank goodness for all of you and your blogs. I’m more grateful to you than I can say.

Rapidly changing topics! I have managed to take some small steps and break out of my inertia! I took those donations to the thrift shop and saw a friend for lunch that same day. I’m working on my focus during work hours and not responding to emails right away.

And! I’ve delved into books that grabbed me (I am definitely a mood reader) and also started listening to audiobooks. Friends, this has been a life-changer for me. For years, I was adamant that I could not listen to audiobooks. I’d never succeeded before; why would I now? And then! I discovered The Dutch House on audio. Unlike Engie, I liked it. Then I started borrowing more books through Libby. Yes, the library. I put audiobooks on hold. I discovered that nonfiction on audio really grabs me. I found that I could listen to so many more books than I could read. And it’s been so. much. fun. I will probably do a mini-post on the books I’ve listened to thus far, but several have been wow-inducing (Hidden Valley Rd., Sitting Pretty, The Power of Regret…). They deserve their own post. So, thanks to all of you who have advocated for audiobooks and the library. I’m finally – finally – getting it.

I hope to have a better day today. I hope you all are okay. I hope that my political rant hasn’t alienated the small readership I have. I hope you take care of yourselves if you are feeling like me. And again, I hope you know just how much connecting virtually with you all means to me. <3

As long as there is one upright man, as long as there is one compassionate woman, the contagion may spread and the scene is not desolate. Hope is the thing that is left to us, in a bad time. ~ E.B. White