Winning is Contagious
Adult Homework II
On a walk, I realized that Adult Homework has the same initials as Ad Hoc, and took it as a sign to keep it going. Here are my detailed, opinionated notes on what I’ve been reading, watching, doing, learning, and buying. At the bottom, there are “homework assignments” for you to incorporate this week.
The full post (as well as the Ad Hoc archive (a.k.a. anything older than six months) is for paid subscribers. If you’ve recently upgraded your subscription, thank you!!! I want to do something special for you soon.
I’ll admit it: I’m feeling uninspired. I wake up, too lazy to take the F to the climbing gym (pro tip: do not sign up for a six-month contract with a gym that requires you to get on the subway), and work out on a flower-patterned grey yoga mat in my bedroom. It only takes twenty minutes for me to get bored. Then I walk to work, soothing my brain with the same rotation of 10 pop songs or Amy Poehler’s podcast. I think I need a change.
Funnily, I read two books with diminutive animal names. Bunny by Mona Awad and Kitten by Stacey Yu ( Stacey ever-so-kindly sent me a preview of her novel before it comes out this August). My grandma had a beagle that she named Bunny, and it was the only animal I’ve ever loved. Bunny (the novel) applies the pet name to a group of cultish, cloying, vicious college girls. Kitten is the nickname of Yu’s freshly graduated protagonist, who is (spiritually) lost and likes to be taken care of. To describe a woman as an animal can be subversive and revealing, purposefully diminishing. I finished both books and felt a little bit hollowed out.
You probably need these pants to survive summer in Manhattan.
Also, my wise and fashionable mother (JOOSY) has proclaimed it the summer of bandanas. These and these are nice options.
On Saturday, Chris and I waded through a sea of orange and blue trying to find a bar with no line, a big TV, and air conditioning. We ended up watching the game at my apartment, eating onigiris and sipping apple cider from the Hudson Valley. But when the Knicks won, we joined the crowd outside, where I was surrounded with contagious, collective joy. I grew up in New York, and I have never experienced anything like it. Everyone I turned toward was suddenly my friend.
The next day, I went to Whole Foods and got a free bottle of my favorite kombucha. It made me wonder if winning is contagious.
In the past month, I’ve probably spent ~50 cumulative hours researching, considering, and almost-buying a new bed frame. I have asked myself silly questions like, “Will I want to lead my head against an upholstered piece of fabric when I read my book at night?” and “Do I need a box spring”?” and “What the hell is Japanese joinery?” I attempted to haggle people on Facebook Marketplace (unsuccessfully) and scoured reddit pages for pictures of wood stains or reports of cracking and creaking. On Tuesday, I told myself, IT’S NOW OR NEVER, and I pulled the plug on this one from Nectar. It’s more than I wanted to spend, but I figured a bed frame has a justifiable cost-per use. If you have it and hate it, please don’t tell me. One day I will buy a Thuma.
Isa and I are hosting a lunchbox pop-up in New York on Saturday, June 27th from 12-2pm (location TBA). We’ll be selling bento boxes and the cutest pickled daikon radishes in the shapes of flowers and stars. Follow me on Instagram for the latest updates.
From Drop 1. My friend Orehasfeelingstoo started a Substack and you should read it. Her first post? I am having a quarter life crisis!!!
This is not sponsored, but I discovered this app that lets you “unlock” free stuff around New York. It’s mostly food and drink (I got a strawberry matcha at a trendy cafe near my office) but there are also hidden gems. I got this pair of criss-cross earrings from Ana Luisa, a jewelry shop I’ve been a fan of for years. The caveat is that you have to post on your Instagram story. Some people might feel weird about that. I personally don’t mind. Anyway, the name of the app is…
