Life is just a pile of paperwork jammed between restaurant visits
This week, we all learned something together. Maybe you didn't notice, but I sure did. What we learned is that I can't get a newsletter out every calendar month. And that's okay. I'm doing the best I can with this. I've saved up notes over the past few weeks, a few links, and taken portait-orientation photos proactively.
As a kid, and even as recently as I finished college, I had very little idea what adult life entailed. Certainly, due to the economy (so fun!...) and digital changes in culture (also so fun!...) adult life in 2019 is different than what adult life was in 1999 or 2004. When I spoke on the phone with my mom last week, we shared a laugh over how to-do list items move from list to list, and what else can you do? You can only cross off so many items in a day. These days I mix a text file (todo.txt or Tues.txt or 0415.txt or something), a weekly paper planner, a few Trello boards, Indy Hall Slack accountability pals, Google Calendar, and the occasional scrap paper to organize what has to get done. Is it working? Sort of. Would I be better off with only one system? No, I don't think so. Some folks love to claim they use The One Best System. I can't believe that. I refuse to think they get more done. Maybe they feel better about what they're getting done. It's impossible to know, isn't it?
Alright, let's do what we do here!
Reading:
I've given up on several books I've been "reading" for the past few months, though I'm still also making my way through Springfield Confidential. I did finish Sourdough, which was incredibly lovely and worthy of your summer reading list. What's new to my pile is that I started reading the RISK! book. RISK! is a podcast series that really helped me out 6-7 years ago when I needed to listen to it, before I moved to Philadelphia and before I had done some internal work on who I was and what I want out of my life. It played a large role in showing me the power of true, personal storytelling. The book is a compilation of stories from the podcast and it also contains Q&As with the storytellers. This is one of those "fun, but doesn't it count as work for me?" reads that I love the idea of then struggle to find time for because, yeah, where IS the boundary between work and fun reading?
Eating:
Here's a sentence that's been sitting in this draft for a few weeks now: "If you have leftover champagne, and I'm not recommending you do, you can experiment with deglazing a pan of caramelized onions."
At home, in addition to champelized onions, I've been making roasted lemon chutney, a weekly bread loaf, and of course banana bread. The latter, if you don't know, is my mother's famed recipe. I've played with spices and substitutions in it since I started making it regularly about fifteen years ago. It only recently occurred to me, after discussion with my housemates, that I have simply got to nail down how much cardamom I want in my standard banana loaf. I've erred on the side of too little for too long! Speaking of cardamom, as mentioned last month, it's MANGO KULFI TIME. The recipe I shared makes a huge batch and the result is unbelievably crushable.
My wallet and my belly feel like I ate out a lot these past few weeks. Highlights included deviled eggs at Good Dog, taro(!) ice cream from Arctic Scoop on East Passyunk, my first ever visit to South Philly Barbacoa, pizza at Crème Brûlée, opening day at Liberty Kitchen, and lovely group dinners at Perla and Laurel. To counteract these indulgences, I should say that I'm cooking a LOT of greens 'n' beans for lunches...
Meeting:
Last minute notice, but my stand-up class show is at Philly Improv Theater this coming Saturday afternoon. One word that has been used to describe my stand-up style is "Kaufmanesque." Later that evening, I'm hosting a First Person Arts event at the Woodmere Art Museum, "I Want to Be: Stories Inspired by Jerry Pinkney." Through FPA, I'll also be speaking at the National Museum of American Jewish History for "My Mother's Closet" and helping facilitate a Sexual Assault and Harassment Symposium. Back on the comedy side of things, look for me doing something strange and brief for Monologues at PHIT on 5/9, then an improv show with The N Crowd at Ruba Club mid-month.
Beating:
We can probably agree that Beyonce's Homecoming was very good. Great. But let's talk about other marching bands and brass bands, hmm? Did you know I keep a Dropbox folder of such groups playing cover songs? I started collecting them about three years ago for a joke at Indy Hall and just kind of kept accumulating. Get work or cleaning done to this playlist and try to tell me you didn't have more fun. Another somewhat Homecoming-related thing I listened to recently was a two-part series on the Every Little Thing podcast, about the history of cheerleading, which connects in the second episode to stepping and cheerleading at HBCUs.
Two more quick links for listening: a newly re-produced 2011 mashup album that combines Indian pop music and American hip-hop and The Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra, a 70s era supergroup of musicians who just loved jamming together. In all my years of falling down Jefferson Airplane and Grateful Dead research holes, I don't think I learned of PERRO until the other day.
Deleting:
A friend bought a house and Kelsey & I agreed to "help paint" one day. This term, it seems, covered a lot of tasks that weren't painting. (I'm relieved, to be honest.) One task I took upon myself to complete was scrubbing down her stove hood, which the previous residents had neglected. It seems I relish in degreasing. Invite me over some time and I'll show you!
We're trying to cut down on food waste in our house. "A third of all food that we raise or grow never makes it onto our plates, and that waste accounts for around 8% of global emissions," I read today. One way we've raised awareness is subscribing to a compost service. I know we could compost in our backyard or indoors but given our space and inclination constraints, paying $18/month to send our coffee grounds and wilted romaine away is worth it.
For my official May newsletter, I promise to include photos of bread and a thoughtful essay. I hope the above links and ideas tide you over until then.
What are you reading and eating and all that?
Neil