An umbrella that got me through many a stormy day in my rainy college town. A book set in 1870s Yucatan, reminding me of the history of the places I visited in April when I was ignorant of Mexico's past. A notebook full of Substack drafts that might never turn into essays. A notepad I use to keep track of my tasks at the office, ans topics to research when the work is done but the day isn't. A keycard to an office building full of finance bros, where my humanities background sticks out like a sore thumb. A single bandaid for the inevitable papercuts that come your way when you write all your first drafts on paper. A pen I stole from my previous job as a small compensation for every time I was undeservedly yelled at. A stack of train tickets from 2007 that I found at the bottom of a pile of forgotten files that I couldn't just throw away. All thrown together in a tote bag from a Laotian charity that provides prosthetics to victims of the cluster bombs that still go off 50 years after the US dropped them.
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from one pile i have found old university lecture handouts / meningitis vaccine pamphlet / a christmas card from my postman / business card from an indian restaurant in bristol / the results letter from my pap smear / lots and lots of birthday cards / doodles on scrap paper when iβm bored at work
Mar 15, 2024
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It's basically just an analog notes app, but it's something separate from your phone that allows for a little more disconnection from technology. Plus, it's tangible. So you can have a visual representation of the amount of thoughts or ideas that you've had over time. You'll have a collection of mini books that you can go back through and see where your mind has been. I'm about to finish my third little guy, and it's fun to have a collection of pages that represents my ingenuity and reminds me of memories I've forgotten. Sometimes I make myself laugh when I go back through or I contemplate something I said or I disagree with a comment I made a while back, or I feel inspired to rehash something I'd written.
Today I went back through and found a drawing I don't remember doing. I found a short grocery list from who knows when. I found a bunch of ideas I want to go back to. I found these comments too: "A vape is sitting on the subway seat next to me. Should I hit it and see what happens?" and "I'm on the six early in the morning and just watched a homeless man light another homeless man's crack pipe. Sharing is caring."
Mar 7, 2024
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Stashing them everywhere with bright Kaweco fountain pens just in case words need to be scrawled out on paper.
Feb 20, 2024
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I'm a July baby. Growing up, I spent most of my birthdays alone. Some years because my friends had left the country. Some years because I'd left the country. Some years because I had no friends. And with every year passing, the pressure to spend my birthday surrounded by friends and family and to have a good time increased. Every year I felt like a failure when I couldn't make it happen. So I stopped telling people it's my birthday.
But today is my 28th birthday.
Jul 17, 2024
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"If the two of you are so good together, why don't you make a move?" my friend asked me in a dream about the guy I was ever so slowly falling for. Those words echoed through my mind for months, from the first date till the final breakup.
Jun 14, 2024
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I hadn't seen my friend since New Year's Eve. Now it was October, her wedding day, and she barely gave me the chance to gush over her gorgeous dress, her makeup, her jewelry.
"You look happier," she said. "Your energy has changed. It's much calmer now. I'm happy for you."
I love her for taking the time out of her special day to notice me like that.
Oct 13, 2024