Edition #3: On Thinking Very Far Ahead
Plus, are we broke or simply out of touch, micro dosing and making millions, and a scary little creature that was recently discovered
A Note from the Editor
Can you feel it in the air? I'm not talking about the frigid temperatures that miraculously erase the smell of garbage from the streets of New York, I'm talking about the preholiday pizazz. It's subtle at first-- everyone takes a beat longer to reply to work emails, the banana bread on the community snack table gets eaten in a single day because no one is doing the diet thing right now, and if you listen closely you can hear Christmas music blasting out of someones AirPods.
While I'm all about soaking up the forthcoming joy and relaxation that this time of year commands, I'm also a planner. The end of one season means the start of another, and as I get older it feels more and more dire to enter the year with clear intentions, a plan for how to achieve whatever small milestone that will bring me closer to myself, whether it be a rigid career goal or something more subtle.
But I'm not thinking about January 1st. Instead, I've been thinking about next summer, and that line of thinking started in October after reading this essay. Summer of 2020 doesn't feel shortsighted, it feels sustainable. It gives me ample time to prepare, to make a few necessary changes, and perhaps most importantly, it takes some of the pressure off the impending New Year. Because as the essay says, "most change is glacial until it sneaks up on you; it's days and days of watering and weeding."
Cheers my dears. Where do you want to be next summer? Rather, who do you want to be?
Three Pieces of Content Worth Consuming:
Are We All Broke, or Just Out of Touch? If you're a big city dweller, you probably don't balk at an $18 cocktail or a $50 weeknight dinner, because those otherwise unreasonable spending habits are very much normalized by your peers. Maybe that's how a couple making $350k/year can feel like they're hardly scraping by. Most interesting takeaway: the 10% really do feel strapped, and really don't understand how much better they have it than the 90% below them.
Poop, Micro Dosing, and Making Millions. Selling cheap lingerie to strippers, green tea patches to health fanatics, and spray tans to people who get spray tans are all previous feats of serial entrepreneur Suzy Batiz, but most know her as the founder of Poo-Pourri. Batiz sounds like a quirky character on an HBO show that I'd really, really like to watch. Case in point, she sent her son to an Ayahuasca ceremony to treat his depression. HEAR THAT, MOM?
Eating Alone Isn't as Easy as it Sounds. Maybe it's a sit-down dinner or a piece of buttered toast with black coffee in the morning before rushing off to work, but enjoying food together plays a natural role in most romantic relationships. So what happens when, after years of shared meals, you find yourself alone? A thought-provoking piece about food, loss, and navigating between the two.
Perhaps You Should...
Sniff Your Way to Next-Level Coffee Snobbery
Sniff and slurp your way to next-level coffee snobbery (also an interesting holiday gift idea). I first heard about coffee cupping via an internet black hole, and it sounds both bizarre and fun. This video explores the unknown world of the coffee-obsessed, and someone compares paying $28 for a cup of coffee to paying the same price for a glass of pricey wine/craft beer. To that I say...coffee doesn't get me tipsy.
(Extremely Polarizing) **Bonus Content**
When I first saw the photo of this creepy little animal, I thought "what the f*ck?" Upon showing the photo to a few friends and coworkers, I'm now thinking "what the f*ck is wrong with these people?" And now I've got to know what you think- is this rat-like deer adorable or utterly terrifying? Either way, it's back from a 30-year hiatus.
A Quote From A Book You Should Read:
"Everything distracted me, but most of all myself. "
-Just Kids by Patti Smith
This newsletter is best served with a side of conversation, so drop your opinions, reflections, and thoughts in the comments below and let’s get to talking.
Or, share the most thought-provoking piece from today’s edition with someone you love, then call them up to discuss, debate, and percolate. As a wise woman once said, “Great minds discuss ideas.”