March Digest
In my "got wine drunk and signed up for a marathon" era
As this month Marches to an end and despite my growing fears of federal detention, (despite having all the rights of a citizen, as this administration; is proving the rules are the rules until they change ‘em) the beginning blossoming of spring shines enough alluring light for me look into the future with excitement. This is coming from a girl who, last night, drunkenly signed for the annual bridge run taking place the very first weekend in April. I’m excited! I’m unprepared! I need an outfit!
Circannual rhythms drove me to repot all my plants while the rising cost of groceries inspired building on to my mom’s backyard garden. In addition to the packets of squash, green bean and pumpkin seeds, I purchased sacks of manure from our local garden store. That along with peat moss and pearlite are the components to Mama Judy’s soil mix. Her garden is the stuff of dreams and has me bookmarking her techniques on cutting and grafting for fruit propagation.
Now that I’ve finally seen Wicked, I can say that I felt the exact opposite of that flying final number. Job hunting, selling myself and dealing with rejection had me feeling ~liiii-mi-tiiiiid~ There were moments where I felt listless, wishing I had better sense of direction on what avenue I want to pursue professionally. I even started looking into going back to school, the telltale sign of a career crisis. In the last week, I have only just started to pull myself out of a scarcity mindset when it comes to gaining a job and instead, seeing this time as a opportunity to explore my varied interests.
In March, I was inspired by the descriptive food writing concocted in Edna Lewis’ The Taste of Country Cooking and Piglet by Lottie Mazell. As an admitted applicator of run on sentences, I was especially impressed by the latter, who layered descriptions into weighty paragraphs displaying the huge burdens of its title character. I also came across the children’s book Love, Escargot. As someone who wants to write a kid’s book and hates snails, I was impressed by how much I enjoyed this very original idea. Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s Chain Gang All-Stars was my dystopian read of the month. The story’s critique on the prison system was both horrific and a page turner.
This year, I gained a renewed interest in Youtube creators. I was on a travel/lifestyle blog kick, discovering creatives like soggyrice3. This month I took a turn down the road of cultural historians like Musings of a Crouton and black sociology from Intelexual Media. I absolutely binged through her series on the 90’s. Her videos also highlighted writers Jean Heller and Jillian Lauren and renewed my interests in editorial and investigative writing. Also, special shoutout to writer Melvin Backman. We actually went to the same high school. I look him up every now and again and recently sleuthed out that he’s following an interest in fashion writing. As I am doing my own pivoting, it’s nice to see it happening in others I admire. I was especially enjoyed his interview with Montag director Dustin Wills, but that’s because I’m a smoker in remission.
Speaking on going without, this is the month I took a silent monastery retreat. Forty minutes from my house is the state’s only monastery, open to visitors in need of a space to clear their head or mushrooms. While the center is open for day visits, being unemployed, I opted for a four day silent stay. During orientation, I was strongly advised to keep my mouth shut and examine my inner thoughts. The stay is serine enough with the center being tucked into the deep river marsh. Although by day three, I was itching to ask what drew the resident monks to a life of contemplation.
I was at least able to yap enthusiastically when reunited with my high school theater friends. That is until the owners of the neighborhood Hibachi Fusion ushered us out due to noise complaints from other customers. At least that restaurant still serves the same portion size as it did 10 years ago with no recognizable price increase. The same can’t be said for Local’s, a city sushi chain whose rolls now look like the results of Ozempic. Good thing I also discovered Shiki this month. It’s the oldest sushi bar in Charleston and where I had the fanciest sweet potato roll of my life. Back to my theater friends, it was good to reconnect and see that we were as unchanged as Hibachi’s menu. Sure one’s a lawyer now and another has kids but at least no one became a Tr**p voter or abuser. We were all able to fall back into the comfortable rapport we had in countless after school rehearsals.
My listening choices were also reflective of my adolescence as I have been playing Staind’s 2003 single So Far Away on every car ride. Other listens included the podcast Lucky Boy. The four part series reflect on the abuse of a UK boy by his female teacher. Another podcast that has entered my regular circulation is This American Life. I enjoy how they fill each themed episode with different story telling techniques from a variety of people.
For the first time ever an influencer brand trip did its job and got me to purchase a product. First, my IG discovery tab introduced me to Ash Holme, a drop dead gorgeous creator whose inspired me to grasp my inner cheekiness. Ms. Holme in turn introduced me to Rihanna’s Fenty x Puma Avanti LS when she went on the activation trip to the retired singer’s hometown. I had been looking for a green sneaker and the soccer inspired shoe is right on trend. Other new purchases included carnations, a flower I have a newfound appreciation for due to their blooming reveal and long display life. In an effort to smooth my skin texture, I copped The Ordinary’s retinol serum. I’m less than a month in and my rough winter skin is already gone.
In closing, the theme of this month is improvement. I’m reaching for actions that are good for me. My mom is healthy enough after her stroke that she’s started cooking again. I discovered that crew are my preferred sock length and that it’s important to push through in moments of difficulty. I’ll close this out with one my final find this month: Infinity Song’s Sinking Boat, a track reminiscent of indie soft rock that makes me feel like I’m dancing around a growing fire’ in jubilation of the now despite the ever present troubles.
All the best,
SB