Splash No. 155 - Some Notes
Some Notes
Since Monday, I've been participating in 1000wordsofsummer, a challenge which involves writing 1000 words a day for 14 days straight! So, for the past few days, I've woke up early to tap away at my keyboard until I reach that goal. And now, as I lay in a sea of the many words I've put out, finding a great structure for the newsletter feels difficult. Here's some random thoughts and ideas I've been thinking about:
In the suburbs, everyone seems to live in individual bubbles, cordoned off by their cars or their homes and seem to have a larger sense of personal space among the giant grocery stores. In the city, there's no room for that, and everyone must coexist more closely, like we're a part of one big organism. When I walked through the park, a group lost track of their volleyball and it rolled towards the path. An older man walking on the sidewalk stepped away from his conversation for a moment to kick it back.
Pareidolia is the phenomenon in which people tend to see faces in the shapes and objects that aren’t there. It’s why cars seem like they’re smiling and power outlets look horrified. In everything, our brains are looking for others. We’re helpless to it.
This is a very happy time for me, and I hope it stays that way for a while. But eventually things will change and I'll probably feel worse in some time. But for once, I have faith that I can come back to where I am now. That there's robustness in the joy that I can find now.
A lot of poems are better when read aloud. Here's one of my favorite readings of one of my favorite poems.
Oh God, I'm writing in a list format two weeks in a row. Is this is how things will always be, or have I just procrastinated on writing for two weeks and defaulted to writing in the simplest possible format? It's the latter — we'll be back to normal essays next week.
Drops of the Week
PLAYLIST - Speed Run - I've been doing guided workouts with Nike Run Club and they have this great playlist to accompany speed runs! Really gets me going.
ARTICLE - "The Millennial Vernacular of Getting Swole" by Anne Helen Peterson - great article that digs into the bizarre body standards that have guided the behavior of millennials.
BOOK - Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill - I've read and recommended this book before, but it's my favorite book and deserves a second mention since I'm rereading it right now.
With each day, we can move closer to a more equitable world. Reminders:
Donate to Asian Americans Advancing Justice Atlanta Mutual Aid Networks
Anti-racism resources
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Wordily,
Nikhil