This is a post about 3 things that I find delightful, along with a January experiment recap + February experiment idea, and 4 songs sprinkled throughout.
delightful thing #1: seasonal strides
Ry by Christian Löffler
sounds like gentle solitude and blue skies, movement and moving.
Spotify . SoundCloud . Youtube Music . Apple Music
Oh the joy of fresh powder and feeling of improvement.
I would never consider myself an athletic person, but there are a handful of recreational sports I immensely enjoy. I know what you’re thinking, however this one isn’t about pickleball for once, but skiing. I didn’t always feel this way, there’s just something exhilarating about feeling the wind in your face as you float-slide (somewhat) swiftly down a winter wonderland.
Having spent most of my life between 30 degrees North and South, I am a foreigner to snow. I’m amazed by it. I’m awed by it. I’m intimidated by it. My fingers always go numb. I’m like a fish out of water; a parakeet on ice?
I learned to ski in my mid-twenties, which put me about 20 years behind a lot of friends, so it started out being mostly tough and a little fun. But, being surrounded by people who are miles ahead of me, in skill and ability, and sometimes literally, has been incredibly helpful. When I was starting to learn, it was helpful tracing friends’ paths so I knew when and how much to turn, how to position my body, and how fast I should go. It’s always helpful to have a pace setter.
And while it hasn’t stopped being tough — just tough in different ways — it does get more fun, and I try to remind myself of this when I try new things that are hard at first. Some things are effortful before it has a chance at being effortless.
delightful thing #2: buy the colorful ones
What’s Enough pt.2 by Junior Mesa
a trippy, poppy tune that is just a little bit sunny
Spotify . SoundCloud . Youtube Music . Apple Music
The second thing that has brought me delight are these tables knives that feel like a fun everyday luxury. I got the multi-colored set to brighten up a weeknight dinner, which is kind of a big step for a recovering beige-ass-minimalist — 4 differently colored steak knives?! Wild.
delightful thing #3: this tree
You Are Mine by Jay Robinson12
an oldie but goodie. no really, although this was re-released in 2022 as a B-side, and was first re-discovered and released in 2007 by a Columbus, Ohio archival record label3, this song is actually from the 70's, exact date unknown. A “lost” soul band4 for lost souls. there is so much unsolved mystery behind this song and artist that the intrigue makes me like it more.
Spotify . SoundCloud . Youtube Music . Apple Music
It’s rainy and miserable in this very moment, so naturally I look to the sunnier past with fondness. Two week ago, this magnificent tree stopped me in my tracks and I hope it delights you too.
For curious readers, I’ve inexpertly identified this as a Cootamundra Wattle (Acacia Baileyana).
experiments
Yikes! by duendita
there’s something so delightful about the range and rhythm of deundita’s voice and the way she sings. also, though it wasn’t the intention of the artist, the lyrics might describe how I feel about my relationship with social media.
Spotify . SoundCloud . Youtube Music . Apple Music
In the name of taking an experimental approach at life, I am getting rid of one thing a month to see how it affects my attention.
January Results: IG ignorance is bliss
For a January without Instagram, did I. . .
Shop less? I believe I shopped less for “unnecessary” items, but I feel like a lot of “necessities" came up this month (see delightful thing #2 above).
Still know what my closest friends are up to? Mostly. I started utilizing the Pin feature on iMessage and have pinned my threads with close friends who don’t live in my city. As someone sometimes prone to texts-back-immediately-or-in-two-weeks-syndrome, this has been helpful (correct me if I’m wrong).
Consume less memes and funny cat videos? Yes and I am kind of upset about it. Please send me more memes and cat content.
Check Twitter more? To my misfortune, yes.
Silver lining is that I’m so tired and done with Twitter. Maybe it’s just my feed, but Twitter feels consistently more negative than any other popular social media app I’ve used. The format itself breeds high-shock-value headlines with little actual value. Sure every now and then you come across something funny, but for the most part it feels oversaturated with rants and complaints. Similar to Intagram, my attention jumps from one unrelated topic to another when I’m on Twitter. I’m definitely not saying anything many others haven’t commented extensively on, but I’m just here to RT a resounding agreement.
Have more time to do all the things? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
In those undirected moments where my attention has nowhere to go — be it a short bus ride or a slow line — was I more present? Honestly I’m not sure. I think it has a ways to go.
Would I recommend deleting Instagram? Of course.
Will I continue having it deleted: Yes, at least for now5.
February Experiment: Clean slates of mind
How many tabs do you have open right now? (Real question I want real answers to.)
Worn shirts belong in a laundry basket. Dirty dishes belong in the dishwasher. Cabinets, drawers, and fridge doors are by-default closed. The toilet paper roll should hang over and not under. And browser tabs should be closed when not in use.
If you’ve been following this for a bit, you’ll know I’ve been battling this war with myself for a while. But I hope a February of closing all my tabs every night will help me establish a new habit.
Every night before closing my computer, I will close all the tabs on all the browsers on all the desktops on my computer. I will start from a clean computer slate every day.
Predictions for a month of closing all my tabs every night
I’ll still know where to find the webpages I need.
The important stuff will still be remembered and get done.
I will move away from relying on open web pages as a “back-up" list and method of remembering to-dos (admittedly one of my worse traits).
It will force me to find a system for organizing and following up on all the open webpages on my browsers.
My computer will thank me (not sure how to measure this).
Jay Robinson was the lead male vocalist of Penny and the Quarters (see 4)
not to be confused with DJ Jay Robinson of North Wales, UK.
Eccentric Soul: The Prix Label compiled and released by The Numero Group
Penny and the Quarters is a band from the 70’s whose song “You And Me" became a hit 40 years later when it used in a 2010 film starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams
Ok, I might pop in every now and then but for the most part don’t count on me to reply to you on insta. If I watched your story this weekend or finally replied back to you, it’s because I’ve decided I’ll intermittently check IG on web.
Eleven, across two windows:
- 1-4: The permanent ones (Gmail, work email, calendar, Google keep (same one...))
- 5: This tab
- 6-7: An article I'm gonna read next, and a blog post idea doc that I have open because that article might be a blog post idea.
- 8-11: The other window is four tabs for a presentation on working on (a notes doc, the deck, another deck I'm stealing slides from, a blog post that I'm using as source material for the section of the talk I'm working on.)
But I admit that this is about as low as it gets, so you caught me on a good day.
ps plz tell me the brand of that jacket in the picture i would like to buy one.