Happy New Year.

I thought I’d kick 2023 off with a weekly (or at least semi-regular because I can’t commit) recap. I love recapping stuff because it’s an easy way to knock things out super fast and feel like you’ve accomplished something. It’s why I regularly do weekend recaps on Insta Stories instead of posting on the main feed, which requires much agonizing over the pics and text. But unlike Stories and much like the main feed, this blog won’t disappear after 24 hours so I most likely will keep it less fun, er, silly here. After all, people are watching!!! And if a writer is writing it must be good and contribute to the world in a very meaningful, important way!!!!

I think I just talked myself out of writing this recap and you out of reading it.

Damn.

OK, I’m back in. Here we go.

THINGS I LEARNED

1. Gun violence is the leading cause of death for kids in America (Wtf??!?!?!??!?!?! But also, ofc it is).

2. Solange loves baths.

3. Doctors back in the day didn’t tell patients they were dying, and their families were like: Cool, bro. Also, that Salinger was basically Holden. For example, here’s something he wrote in a letter to his beloved editor.

“My ego gets more enormous every day. . . . Sometimes I’d like to give up writing altogether. It’s really a sick man’s profession. I’m even reaching the point where I can’t read any other writer unless he’s good and demented.”

4. Writers are rejects. (OK I knew that but let’s pretend I just learned that for the purposes of this section.)

There were really only two reasons to write: desperation or revenge. She told us that if we couldn’t take rejection, if we couldn’t be told no, then we could not be writers.

Also, in a truly fruitful mentor/mentee relationship, sometimes the mentor becomes the mentee and vice versa over time.

5. Everyone’s wrong.

Stick to what you believe in because you’ll be just as wrong as everyone else.

6. NY Mag doesn’t have an app (Wtf?!?!?!).

THINGS I DID

Inspired by Julia Rothman.

Went to the office via bike/ferry. The commute is my fave part of office days.

I had Covid the last few weeks of December and missed seeing family and friends in Virginia for the holidays. I also missed studio days, so of course I overcompensated by going to the studio every day this week. ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED.

Most days I go to the studio in the afternoon after a morning of work, a family walk with Henri and Franco, and breakfunch. On Friday, though, I did a full day. I can’t say I got more work done, but I did do a lot of strolling around the neighborhood.

THING I WROTE

A new comic. As a treat for making it this far, here’s a panel I ended up not using. It was a little nonsensical, but as a standalone it’s kind of awesome. LMK if you have any guesses on wtf this is without reading the rest.

 

Have a good week ✌️