My notebook is the soil where I sow the seeds of thought. Time is the germinator; reflection and revision the harvest, and now: I share the fruit.
October 2024 (snippets from my notebook)
Every October is a new nesting doll containing all the Octobers you’ve had before. This one was warmer than the last which was colder than the one before.
Reading through my October 2023 notes makes me realizes my attention is still caught in the eddies of many things, though this year it’s less frazzled. Or maybe I’m just more tired, more out of juice. The mellow man mellows out more.
Before the end of Daylight Savings, I enjoyed walking out to my car in the mornings. The sky is beautiful. Even at 6:50am, the day hadn’t broken in, so I saw stars; Venus always the last one to go.
On the 18th, I cycled through three hoodies. The first was comfy but not warm enough for when I went outside for errands. The second was warm but not worth the risk of staining while cooking dinner. Hence changing into the third.
The last week of October was blue. Living alone is hard. Life is a team sport, so going it solo is a lot. I’m in charge of the cooking, cleaning, shopping, budgeting, scheduling, all of it. And there’s the bullet point list of things I leave undone, standing in front, blocking me from a sense of rest. I love teaching, but no one sees me getting to do it. Celebrations are private, so is the monotony.
Photography
Photography is one of the things I’ve done less of. Not much to show.
Goodies
Botanica ☞ Botanica is a newish genre of music. Very sound designy and textured. There aren’t a lot of full tracks out there (at least not that I could find) but here are little snippets. Demotapes is one producer that comes to mind. Porter Robinson’s Lifelike from his album Nurture feels close as well.
Lifeline by MARO ☞ I had this on repeat through a lot of October. The guitars are so nice.
Stuff from Instagram ☞ I mean, these things are cool.
Reading Notes
On virtue (from ):
“Virtue should not be thought of as a handmaid of heroism, but instead as an undercurrent of everything one does. Day-to-day matters are more important than theoretical great acts, and failure to give them proper attention is its own cowardice. Let every small thing you do be as careful and good as it can. The virtuous person should live so well that they leave breadcrumbs of virtue everywhere.”
Anti-algorithmic (a snippet from Robin Sloan’s newsletter):
“What happened (and this always presages a good experience with art) was that I surrendered to the strangeness, and the strangeness started to make sense. I entered OOF’s world, rather than insisting the band fit into mine, which is, of course, the demand of the Spotify playlist.
“You’ve got to give things a chance. You’ve got to let them seep into your brain. It takes time! I have spoken, often, of the dream-state that makes fiction work. It’s like an energy field, and it cannot, will not, simply snap into place; it eases in, just as sleep does, as dreams do.”
Cheers!
p.s. I’ve been writing online for three years now which honestly feels like a small number, but the steady accumulation has led to a lot of good. I’ve become a better writer (hopefully), I’ve become more self-aware (hopefully), I have a record of myself for myself, and I’ve made great connections online. Thanks for reading!
Your a great teacher! To bad I didn't have you as my teacher when i was in school 😉 you woulda been my favorite.