Hey fam! I know it’s been a while, but I’m suuuuuper excited to be doing another one of these Lives, because today I’m going to be sharing the tutorial you’ve all been waiting for! We’ve covered dating and breakups, we’ve covered changing careers, we’ve covered finding new hobbies, we’ve even talked about how to buy a hospital. But today I’m going to be telling you the secrets of the most important life skill.

That’s right! After over two years of you asking for it, I’m finally going to be showing you how to make—can you guess what it is?—your very own friend group from scratch! And this is the real deal. None of that pre-packaged, GMO, off-the-shelf, school or work-assigned friendship kind of stuff. I’m going to be talking about fully organic, farm to table friendships. At the end of this video, you’ll have the knowledge to build something that looks exactly like what you see on my page every day: hashtag real friends.

Now, this is going to be a long one, and I know this is an inconvenient time for an Instagram Live, even for my most loyal followers, so if you’re not able to stay tuned the whole time, here’s what you’re going to do: on the last post, the one with me posing with the golden pigs, you’re going to like it and comment FRIEND, and if you’re following me already I’ll DM you a free, one-page summary of what I’m covering tonight. I’ll also be sending you a discount code for you to subscribe to my online course on How to Make Authentic Lifelong Friendships. That’s usually a $3,000 course, but with this discount code it’ll only be $1,000.

That’s right! A $2,000 savings! I’m doing this deal tonight only, so if you miss it it’s gone. Get that comment on that post tonight, or miss out on the deal of a lifetime.

Okay, well with that out of the way, onto the topic of the evening.

But first! I want to give a shoutout to my sponsor, Westbrook Realty! And to remind you, I only accept sponsorships from brands that I’ve used and can personally vouch for—and it is without any hesitation that I can recommend the fine folks at Westbrook for any of your realty needs. Like, literally, I couldn’t do what I do if it wasn’t for their expert realty services. Are you in the market for a commercial space to trap—I mean—haha, sorry, I mean, to, umm—let me start over, haha: Are you in the market for a commercial space to HOST your new friends? Maybe something new? Or maybe something historic, something old with good bones? Well then call the folks at Westbrook Realty! They’ve helped all kinds of people find a second and even third place to hang out.

Okay well let’s get started. The first thing you have to know is that the organic method I‘m going to be sharing with you takes a very long time. Of course, I think it’s worth it. And it’s simple: it’s only a twenty-seven step process, easy to memorize, and easy to repeat. Gone through a breakup? Had a falling out? Found a new city? Whenever you find yourself in a time of transition, you can do this same, twenty-seven step process and boom, a new set of lifelong friends. But some people get discouraged—heck, even I’ve gotten discouraged!—so you have to know going into it that it will take two, maybe three years before you see results.

That’s the first thing to know. Before getting into those steps though—and then I promise it’s all steps from here on—I want to mention, as I do every time, if you don’t have two or three years, or if you do but you’re just impatient for friendship, you can always become a member of my offline community of TRUE FRIENDS for just $300 a month. Check the link in the bio.

Okay, so step one: be desperate.

—Iván

→ Up Next

• Mary Ann’s Book Club was reading Yesteryear for the next discussion, which was tonight, July 27. You have fully missed it, but if you ever get around to reading it, know that a bunch of us have read it and would be happy to talk to you about it.
• Offsite: Tomorrow! July 28! Madeleine’s alter ego, Eve Addams, is co-hosting a performance slam called Love, Death & Roses at The Bug Theater. 12 performers will compete head-to-head (bracket style) across 3 rounds (2, 3, and 4 minutes) for a prize of $150. Judges will decide who advances to the next round by throwing roses, and all kinds of performance art—music, storytelling, poetry, dance, standup—is fair game. As long as you don’t use any glitter. $15, or free (after reimbursement) for performers.
• Every Wednesday forever (including this next one, July 29) is Weekly Wednesday Worknight. $5, or free for members.
• PowerPoint Party No. 41 is on Saturday August 1. Still confirming the list, but (probably) hear from,: Jason, Alex, Ryan, Dan, Allyson, Madeleine, Christof, Joe, Lauren S., Lauren T., Beth, and Emily Pool.
• Madeleine’s next Creative Writing Workshop is on Monday, August 3, and the theme is Nature.

← July 18–25

Nostalgia

Do you remember the Ren Faire? How you all showed up in various levels of thematic dress? How Michelle immediately got a flower crown, and later got a metal rose that was a sentimental reminder of her childhood? Or how Dan took charge with the map and directed you all over? How if one of you accidentally took the lead you stood back and waited for him? Do you remember the jousting? How one of the Lords was named Lord Ivan and you joked about how hilarious it would be if I had a secret you didn’t know about? The heat, the dust, the umbrellas, and the very much not-frozen piña coladas? Huzzah?

Do you remember the hot Monday? How we spent that day, and so many days that summer, in the dark of the closed blinds? That over lunch we talked about backpacking and hiking and dogs? How that was the afternoon that Beth sold her espresso machine?

Or the evening of the Odyssey outing? How we again sat in a big group, and then stood in a big group, and then again and again stood in groups talking about the story? How real it seemed to some of us?

Our bartaco walk to retrieve food? Our careful non-spoilery conversation about the movie over lunch? How, after recapping Madeleine’s reaction, Norton said “That’s high praise”?

And do you remember the listening party? How we chatted and snacked? How we shared our story and got great feedback? That we took a break to talk about lead and asbestos, and then heard Josh‘s pieces?

How at the same time some of you were at Allyson’s to celebrate Lauren T.? That you put a birthday hat on Livvy’s belly? That so many of you felt for a kick? That Lauren T. answered the birthday questions? How we showed up late, but still in time to celebrate? That we talked about buying a hospital? How all the dogs were there?

Do you remember the afternoon with Mark? The In the Making? How we witnessed the first Golden PIG, planned for the future, cheered for math, learned about Caro, looked through a notebook, stole food, and put together a corset?

Or the catastrophically smelly Friday, with all the open windows?

And the Cuppa closing sale? The big crowd, the old friends, the chatter? How it easily spilled into Overtime, and we sat and read and drew and tufted? How we met Toby and Billie?

Bureaucratic Minutiae

• Ren Faire technically fell within last week’s timeframe but I got mixed up about it.
• We have Sharpie’d instructions onto the frame of the projector screen to make it easier to assemble in the future.
• At Worknight: Madeleine and Ivan booked flights to Transom; Mary Ann readied Ridwell recycling and progressed reading Yesteryear; Sabrina worked on cutting fabric petals; Mark finished a book and notes; Morgan finished a book report; Livvy worked to handle Company finances and made an inventory list; Madeleine engaged with unread emails; Jessica pushed one code commit; Joe learned full body poly design in Blender; Will worked on the comments feature; and Allyson made her sister’s birthday card and wrote a review for Mark’s myofascial release work. Writeup by Allyson
• At In the Making: José shared his livability app, Sylvia reported on Salon-planning progress, Norton demoed his in-progress graphics library, Carolina told us about her collage practice, Allyson took us through her notebook, Joe showed us the start of a video game and announced the official release date of August 4, 2028, and Lizzie walked us through the making of her corset.
• Congratulations to Joe for winning a PIG, and to José for being the very first to win a Golden PIG.
• (The implied scenario of last week’s intro was a particular Greek hero getting waylaid.)
• Finally, a reminder that The Company is a member-supported gathering place. If you’d like to pop in for a workday and you know one of us, reach out to schedule a time and we can let you in for free. If we don’t know you yet, reach out so we can get to know you, or come by an event and say hi.

Photos

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This issue of Paperwork was written by Iván with additional reporting from Lauren T., and was shot by Lizzie, Iván, Norton, Lauren T., and Allyson. Photo selection and editing by Iván and Jessica S. Editorial support was provided by Livvy. This issue, and The Company itself, was made possible by the support of our members, Halie, Drew J., Justin, Mason, José, Mary Ann, Trevr, Allyson, Lizzie, Elijah, Michelle, Jim, Jacob, Mark, Sabrina, Beth, Dani, Chris, Will, Rebeca, Sarah, Alex, Jessica P., Jessica S., Ben, Sam Ad., Christof, Ryan, Lauren T., Madeleine, Simon, Adam, Gus, Lauren S., Earl, Bennett, Sylvia, Morgan, Joe, Case, and Vivian.

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😘