Sycamore Press September 2024: A Stroll to a Stampede

Wow! Things are really picking up now. I’ve been super busy: work-wise, socially, personally, et cetera. This is partly why the news is hitting your mailbox nearly a week into the month of September.

Even though the academic Fall has commenced, summer rages on. That said, I think I’m coping with it reasonably well, besides one point on which I’ll elaborate a little bit later. In fact, we’ve got quite a bit to cover, so let’s get into it! Oh, and sorry in advance for how long and rambly this gets. If I had the time, I would have written you a shorter e-letter, or whatever.

DON’T LET ME DOOWWN
DON’T LET ME DOOOWN

— The Beatles, “Don’t Let Me Down”

General Life Updates

It’s still very hot. Early this month, I had a work thing at the zoo. I could only see the actual zoo part in short bursts during breaks, and it actually closes to the public at like one o’clock in the afternoon during the summer.

Anyway, I hope the animals at the zoo are doing OK. I bet the reptiles are hanging in there, at least. One of the animals I did get to see was the komodo dragon, and it was chillin’ big time in the sun. Love it.

That whole vignette feels so far in the past now, which I guess speaks to how much went on in the ensuing weeks! For example, I totally forgot that I did a D&D one-shot with (mostly) strangers (which was really fun) until just now when I went back to proofread this section.

Ooh, this was a big one. Griffin was in town! (You know Griffin, right?) It always feels so natural to slip back into our classic riffing. Doubly so when we’re having wacky misadventures like trying to navigate Phoenix in rush hour traffic or eating a hot dog with a pickle on it (…and relish) or playing mermaids in the pool at, like, midnight. I took several bad pictures of Griffin, and Griffin took several excellent pictures of me (which you’ll probably see elsewhere). It all happened in a flash while Griffin was also doing some unrelated cool journalist stuff in town, and it offered this brief and precious sense of relaxation and joy for which Sonora & I were really grateful. Come back soon!

Also, I have a random question: you ever see those scented sticks in the bathroom of, say, a fancy hotel or something? You figure you can take one those for a little scent-to-go, or no? Send your thoughts to asksycamore@mailbox.org.

Work has been busy too. I’m taking on a lot of responsibilities this semester, and it’s already a bit much. At the same time, I’m proud of myself for holding it together somewhat and for all the experience I’ve gotten.

While some important things have started to fall by the wayside in the time crunch, my tight schedule has also spurred me to take care of several lingering to-dos. I’ve started to get some physical mail out to (or back to) people, for instance.

Anyway, check out this particularly pretty (albeit not very scientifically meaningful) micrograph I took! The microscope is very expensive. We hope that it doesn’t get wet or fall over or something.

To round out August, I took a perilous trip to the G.C. in a very small car with four other people and very little planning. So it was such a relief to get there, even if the touristy stuff at the South Rim detracts a bit from the wonder. Afterwards, we drank wine in nature and slept on the ground, which I can never complain about. I wish I’d remembered my toothbrush though — especially since I had a can of sardines for breakfast in the morning.

I got some new shoes, which I’m pretty excited about, but I think I’ll actually save that story for later. Needless to say, I’m really excited to do some more walking around. I sometimes forget what an amazing leisure activity that used to be for me back home: setting a goal to get somewhere — especially when it seems like you’d need a car — and making a meal or an errand into this whole sort of adventure.

This brings us back to the one thing that’s still really bumming me out. If I want to go for a long walk anytime soon, I’ll need to get up pretty early. Like I said, it’s still really hot.

Food & Drink

As usual with this segment, I’ll try to keep things brief. But I’ve got to mention that I stayed up until a quarter to eleven at night making this delicious mushroom bourguignon because it took me so long to wipe off the two pounds of mushrooms I bought. So I was determined to capture the moment, however badly.

As much as I love to share my own cooking when I can, Griffin Week brought the best of food and drink. Visiting friends aren’t the only great reason to visit Fry Bread House in Phoenix, which always delivers this whole different level of satisfaction.

The universe had clearly also taken notice that Griffin and I were reunited, because a case of Hamm’s made its way from the land of sky blue waters down to the dusty Southwest just in the nick of time.

Arts & Entertainment

My art consumption has trended down, which I’d normally take to be a kind of bad indicator for how things are going in my life. But, looking back, there were some reading and listening experiences worth mentioning.

None of the music I clung to this month was totally new to me. For some reason though, I spent a lot of time with Rockin’ and Romance by Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers. For my money, it has a few of Jonathan Richman’s best songs, like “Down In Bermuda.” There’s something so sweet about all of it, and I guess it’s really no surprise that Richman knew how to capture “that summer feeling” well before he released a song named for it.

Maybe it his (and his band’s) sunny, ring-a-ding-dang-doo harmonies that pushed me towards some 1960s tunes in earnest. Either way, both The Beatles’ “Don’t Let Me Down” and “Vege-Tables” from the Beach Boys’ Smile Sessions were in my head virtually 24/7.

Just as planned, I read Mark Fisher’s Capitalist Realism, which resonates just as much today as I imagine it did in 2009. Speaking of stuff written around 2007, I randomly read almost all of the webcomic Octopus Pie, which ran from 2007 to 2017. I think I started to get bummed out as the characters got older and their lives changed in some of the same ways that mine has though.

I’m working on The Apple In The Dark by Clarice Lispector, but it’s been kind of slow going. The writing is beautiful, and it has this kind of ruminative pacing so far. I bet I’d make a lot of progress if I had a long flight or a train ride or a week in the mountains or something.

Creative Corner

Note to self: I really need to stop worrying about putting time and effort into art stuff, especially for the newsletter. Case in point: I spent zero minutes thinking and maybe five minutes drawing with the mouse and produced Monkey Vape (2024), my magnum opus.

Stay tuned for more goofy doodles, I guess.

Reflections

Holy moly. More than anything, I want to thank you for reading this far. I’m glad I took the time to finish writing tonight. The newsletter has become one of my favorite things, and a lot of that enjoyment comes from the response I get when it goes out.

I don’t have too much else to say besides that I’m hoping to have some really exciting stuff lined up for next month in a form that’s ready to share with you. Oh, also, I think my hair is gonna reach a turning point soon based on some old photos of my previous metamorphoses! Lots to look forward to. In the meantime, stay groovy and remember to appreciate the little things in life.

XOXO

—N

P.S. Sorry for overusing colons.