Some Things, Vol. 1

Some things I’ve been doing, enjoying, or that have otherwise been taking up space in my brain—for better or worse, and in no particular order

Welcome to the first installment of Some Things—a feature I hope will satisfy my urge to share little tidbits of what’s happened and is happening in my world, while not committing to any sort of cadence whatsoever.

I’ll plan to publish these as inspiration strikes—sometimes they’ll recap a specific period of time (like a monthly roundup, which this first volume kind of turned into), but I’m not promising to publish them monthly; you may see them pop up more or less often than that, not attached to any particular timeframe, events, seasons, etc. They’ll feature some things¹ I’m enjoying, have been doing, listening to, eating, watching, thinking about, and more.

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January was, somehow, both the longest month ever but also has seemed to go by in the blink of an eye. While it wasn’t personally terrible or anything, I’d say on a bit of a global scale it’s been a bit rough. Horrendous wild fires, massive protections rolling back as soon as the new administration took office, TikTok (an app which I’m barely on) was banned and unbanned², and probably (definitely!) more.

I’ve really compartmentalized the days since the New Year as something new and fresh, and there have been some things that have made this period more enjoyable, some new things I’ve been doing, some experiences I’ve had. In no particular order, here are some things recently:

• To the point of January being really long (and that too much has happened!), I really enjoyed

  Hunter Harris
  ’ piece Stop Being January in
  Hung Up
  , because seriously…enough January!!

• I fulfilled a little t(w)eenage dream and saw Wicked on Broadway, after my dear husband gifted me tickets for Christmas. I cried before lights at the Gershwin were fully dimmed. Mary Kate Morrissey and Alexandra Socha were absolutely perfect in their respective roles, I know many have played the duo before them but I feel so lucky to have seen this pair. AND William Youmans is back playing Dr. Dillamond, the role he originated, which was very cool to see. Also, I’m pretty sure one of the flying monkeys watched me cry³ from their perch during For Good.

  

  

• Related: Seeing Wicked the movie last month has reignited a little bit of my inner theater kid, and I’ve been listening to a lot of show-tunes. Currently (when I’m not listening to Wicked, of course), the original Tick Tick…Boom soundtrack (2001, off-Broadway) has been my go-to. Andrew Garfield did a great job in the movie, but Raul Esparza⁴ will have a place in my heart, permanently and always.

• I have been attending co-working sessions to get work done through

  Internet People
  and
  Writing Club
  and, not to be dramatic, but they have changed my life with these simple little sessions. Being on a zoom call with other people with the intention of getting work done seems so simple, and I think the simple brilliance is part of why I’ve stuck with it thus far. Also, I can’t resist a good Miro board and there’s something satisfying about writing little stickies that other people can see and then moving them to a ‘done’ pile. They’ve been great for both work and writing.

• Related: I’ve also started blocking out ‘focus time’ on my work calendar, which has been absolutely crucial for my productivity. I started doing this just to make sure I could attend the co-working sessions I booked, but have started doing this for larger blocks of time too, when my schedule allows. I even moved a few of my standing 1x1s to better help with this, to free up some good focus blocks.

• Also in the productivity realm: I have been actually writing out a to-do list at the beginning of each day and reviewing it at the end of said day, and doing this every single day has been incredible for my productivity and ‘keeping-it-together-ness’. I did buy a cute little note pad to help, but obviously regular paper works just as good. This purchase was frivolous, but it helps my ADHD brain just have something was a specific purpose, ready to go, that I can just fill in. In a notebook these to do lists get lost for me.

• It’s been so cold that I’ve been actually enjoying drinking hot coffee every morning (and this is coming from a cold brew 24/7/365 person).

• Because I’ve recently hurt my wrist (just a little overuse injury, nbd) I had to ditch the weigh lifting split I’d just started in the New Year. While this is a total and absolute bummer, I’ve been recently enjoying Pilates? Who am I? I’m really not a Pilates girly, but I think it’s helping strengthen my pelvic floor after pregnancy and for the first time in over two years, through pregnancy and postpartum, I actually feel some strengthening and connection to my core which is great. I still believe in the power of picking up heavy things and putting them back down, but it’s been nice to have something that I’m enjoying in this season. I’ve been using the Peloton app, and particularly like Kristen and Rebecca’s classes.

• The EltaMD UV Daily Sunscreen is simple, slightly hydrating (while not being a moisturizer with SPF, which I don’t like), and blends in pretty well. It goes over my moisturizer nicely (Dieux Instant Angel, which I’ve enjoyed for awhile but worth calling out here) and is a great base for makeup.

• I’ve downloaded and have been playing the Pokémon Trading Card Game⁵ and while I’m slightly embarrassed to admit this, it is both fun and silly. And I’m actually kind of good at it, and often win against those whom I always assume are teenage boys but may very well be other millennial moms.

• I’ve specifically enjoyed reading other publications on Substacks from other mothers, as it’s been fascinating to see their experiences through their eyes and look at how it mirrors my experiences. I had a really nice connection with

  Meghan Jean-Felix
  of
  magic on sunday
  via a note she posted, and loved the piece that she wrote after our interaction. Some others I’ve enjoyed:
  Mother Love Letters
  ,
  Bang Voyage
  ,
  Ordinary Animals
  , and
  💩 Pandora's Box of Shit
  (for the lols).

• I’ve “rediscovered” Pad Thai (an idiotic thing to say about Pad Thai, I know, please keep reading) and have ordered it every time we’ve gotten Thai food over the last couple of months. Pad Thai is wonderful. It really is so good. At some point, when I was like 15 and an idiot, I decided Pad Thai was ‘basic’ and I thought I was so much cooler for ordering Massaman Curry or Pad See Ewe or Khao Pad or Khao Soi or whatever (I told you I was an idiot - you can roll your eyes). I guess throughout the years I stopped believing that but also told myself that while Pad Thai is good, I like the other dishes more. I don’t know what came over my but a few months ago I saw Pad Thai on the menu and I thought YES. This is what I’m craving right now. I took a bite and thought Yes, this is exactly what my life has been missing. And now I’m in an extreme hyper-fixation phase where I want Pad Thai at least once a week.

• I’ve talked about this before, but I’m currently watching the entire One Chicago franchise⁶ (Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., and Chicago Med) in the order in which they aired. I even found a spreadsheet on Reddit to help keep track of it all⁷.

Eating Pad Thai while watching Chicago P.D. (or Med…looks like Jay is talking to Will here so I can’t actually tell which show I’m watching).

Anyway, that’s Some Things for now—catch you next time when I have a new batch of things that have taken over my life in one way or another.

What are some things you’ve been enjoying, experiencing, or otherwise dealing with?

1. Some of the things are things I’ve bought, spent money on, etc. This post does not have affiliate links or sponsored content. Just sharing things I like!

2. I think? Idk — every time I try to follow this one I feel a bit dumb lol.

3. Like…actually. I looked up and they were on their little perch looking down at the audience and when I looked up I got a little knowing nod (lmao). I love theater for this very reason.

4. ADA Barba revived Law and Order SVU imo.

5. Official name: Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket - mouthful

6. Two Dick Wolf mentions in one piece? Jeez…

7. This isn’t the first time I’ve done something like this. This is how I watched Buffy and Angel and found it was the only way to keep the overlapping plots straight. I did not watch Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice like this and I really wish I did.