Let’s get it out of the way immediately: I am very relieved at how the 2020 election shook out. 🙌
That Saturday morning, I leapt out of bed when I saw the news break on Twitter. I thought I must have been dozing back to sleep, so I turned on the TV to confirm. I almost immediately popped open the first of two bottles of my favorite Widow I had waiting in the fridge, optimistic we’d have a reason to celebrate. For the first time in four years, I felt my shoulders relax fully, and I felt a huge psychic weight lift off of my body. It was a magical moment I’m not likely to forget anytime soon.
Does the work stop now? Is Uncle Joe perfect? No and no, but I will absolutely welcome this course correction back to civility, respect, honoring basic human rights, and—dare I say it?—feeling safe in my own country.
The holiday season looks different this year, but that’s okay. 🎄
The abrupt end of restaurant patio season (paired with a rollback of covid-19 reopening phases) has made the past two months a bit quieter than the summer. We’ve found ourselves mostly at home with books and movies, but prioritizing our safety and well-being is worth it. In lieu of the usual holiday parties, we have been able to have a few socially distant cocktail moments with friends in backyards or large porches, braving plummeting temperatures to do so.
Thanksgiving was celebrated just the two of us and a litany of Zoom calls and Facetimes with loved ones. Patrick cooked enough food for an army, and we both enjoyed leftovers for a full week after the holiday.
Sending (and receiving) holiday cards from friends and family has been a lovely distraction and a welcome bit of consistency in celebrating the season.
I’ve gotten so used to working from my dining room table in sweatpants, I’m not sure I’m going to be able to return to “real” work anytime soon. 💻
My colleagues continue to be great and everyone seems to be finally hitting their stride of remote-first working. I’ve felt more productivity and growth personally in the last two months than the entire year previously. We’ve been able to cope with remote work enough to actually make some improvements instead of just trying to keep the status quo going, and I’m very proud of the work we’ve accomplished.
I also renewed my Hubspot certifications in Inbound and Email marketing, because you never stop learning.
What I’ve been reading since my last update 📖
Christopher and His Kind
Christopher Ishwerwood (in progress)
The Beautiful People’s Beauty Book: How to achieve the look and manner of the world’s most attractive women
Princess Luciana Pignatelli
The Loved One
Evelyn Waugh
In Montmartre: Picasso, Matisse and the Birth of Modernist Art
Sue Roe
The Berlin Stories: Mr. Norris Changes Trains and Goodbye to Berlin
Christopher Isherwood
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Truman Capote
Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman
Sam Wasson
The Deviant’s War: The Homosexual vs. the United States of America
Eric Cervini
What else has been taking up my time 👍
Terrible holiday movies (including but not limited to: Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square, A Christmas Kiss, The Christmas House, One Royal Holiday, and The Princess Switch 2: Switched Again)
The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Potomac, and Salt Lake City
Heaven’s Gate: The Cult of Cults on HBO max
My annual listen to The Sixteen’s recording of Handel’s Messiah
An incredibly lovely day trip to the deCordova Museum, Ponyhenge, and Walkden Pond
Kinfolk magazine