Back to School
Currently reading:
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury
Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver by Mary Oliver [ongoing]
Books finished this week: 0
It was a good run . . .
Library updates:
I’ve written before——and talked a lot with friends about——how I cycle through types of media, depending on my mood. I’m either reading nonstop, watching endless hours of TV, or catching up on every movie I meant to watch in the last six months but never got around to. I had a good book run for a little while, but last weekend, I became a full TV girlie, polishing off Baby Reindeer and the first half of the first episode of Bridgerton on Sunday afternoon and evening. And then I finished the first season of Bridgerton on Monday, using it as the soundtrack to my work day.
I know I’m literally years late to Bridgerton, but I very much enjoyed it! It’s super easy to binge and you don’t have to think about it very much (aside from . . . that scene–looking at you, Daphne!!), and I found myself rotating through girlish giggles and a fluttering heart, murmuring, “He’s just so hot,” in the spicy scenes, and occasionally chanting, “Kill him, kill him, kill him,” when someone I didn’t like was getting beaten up. Something for everyone!
My only complaint was about the spice. I have nothing against sex scenes, but in the back half of the season, it was really laughable how certain people would try to fuck their problems away, rather than just saying words to each other. I found myself saying to the TV, on numerous occasions, “Stop fucking and have a conversation, for the love of god.” They didn’t listen to me, and I tried to stop thinking so much while watching.
Anyhow, I went to Cooperstown this weekend (as a guest of the Hall of Fame, thank you very much) for the opening of their new exhibit, “The Souls of the Game: Voices of Black Baseball,” and an exhibition game yesterday, which included Hall of Famers. Just got back this morning, and it was a really nice way to kick of summer——even if it took almost six hours to get up there on Friday and then my friend and I had to leave at the crack of dawn today. Still, baseball! Nice weather! Road trips! Hooray!
In other news, my new semester started this past Monday, and it already feels more like school than the spring semester did, which is a good thing. We all had to post introductory messages in a forum and it’s been really nice getting to know everyone, and though my class for the first half of the summer is about the publishing process, I’m actually looking forward to it. Looking over the reading and assignments each week, I can already anticipate this is going to be a lot of work, and probably hard work most of the time. But I’m excited to devote more free time to school and to continuing to prioritize my writing.
Finding that balance is still a work in progress, and once it gets warmer I will be at the beach as much as humanly possible. But I feel like I’m closer to understanding what I enjoy and what I want in my life than I ever have been before, and I’m going to do my best to focus on the important things every day.
Closing thoughts:
Make plans, but also let your plans be living things. If you want or need to cancel, do it. If you want to adjust, do it. If you need a break or you want to be around people, make it happen.
