13 Things Thursday: 17
It's been a wild month. Let's get into it.
First off, it’s my dad’s birthday today—Happy Birthday Daddio! If you see him, make sure to wish him a great day. He’ll probably be living his best life out on a boat fishing later on. :)
First, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the recent assassination attempt on Trump and how scary and uncertain everything feels right now. Atika and I recorded our second podcast episode called “How to Talk Politics Without Losing Friends” before all this happened, but this highlights how desperately we need civility in our political discourse. I think this post in Sharon McMahon’s The Preamble sums it up perfectly, encouraging us to move away from dehumanization, hatred, and fear, and towards truth, justice, and peace.
Speaking of our podcast, we’ve recorded 4 episodes so far! Our initial goal/plan is to record 10 episodes for our first season, then gradually release them. We’re learning as we go with microphones, recording software, and changing things up as needed. It’s been really instructive and challenging, but rewarding, too. I can’t wait to share more. If you’re not already, follow us at @openminds_unleashed on Instagram to stay up-to-date on when we release!
I’ve written about vulnerability hangovers when sharing creative projects and putting yourself our there, and I’ve experienced that on a whole new level when podcasting. I’ll probably write a post about it soon and my theory on why this happens, but there’s something about not being able to edit what you say that makes one feel particularly exposed. I have a feeling this experience will be a huge growth opportunity for me.
It’s been a summer full of travel and seeing loved ones from near and far. First, I took a trip to Colorado for a reunion with my Penn State friends. It’s never enough time when we get together, but I love how we can pick up where we left off, no matter how much our lives have changed.
Shortly after that, I went to visit my family in PA for the July 4th holiday. I met my cousin’s 6-month-old daughter, watched fireworks, swam, went fishing, and helped my parents pull off a last-minute fish fry. It was full, and yet relaxing.
The downside is that a bunch of us came down with Covid, myself included. :( It finally caught me after over 4 years of avoiding it, like that Mario gif with the spinning fire bars. I guess there’s a first time for everything! Thankfully it’s been pretty mild overall, but it’s annoyingly persistent. My symptoms haven’t gotten much worse or better over the last few days, but it just seems to linger, like a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of my shoe. After over a week, I’m hopeful that I’m reaching the end of it.
Me avoiding the rona for the last 4 years Since I’ve been stuck at home with Covid, I haven’t been able to do nearly as much as I want to do, both in work and life. So this post from Oak Moon Tarot that talks about lessons from The Tower card and rest was very timely for me. The Tower is often a reminder that we’re not in control, representing the universal shake-ups that crumble systems and structures that no longer serve us. Thanks to extreme capitalist conditioning, rest feels vulnerable for us, and threatening to the system at large. We feel at risk of being left behind if we’re not producing. We know logically that it’s not realistic to be in constant motion, but that doesn’t stop the guilt or shame that creeps in when we dare to take a break. In moments like this, rest is a challenge to these outdated notions, and also acceptance of the things we can’t control.
I’m doing a lot of reading this summer, so here’s an update.
Finished Reading:
~Soul-Led Living by Nikki Novo: It took me longer than I’d like to admit to read this, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I’ve learned so much from Nikki about developing your intuition, and this book provides really helpful advice and personal stories to illustrate the concepts she discusses.
In Progress:
~Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas: I’m loving these books so far! I finished Throne of Glass, and I’m currently reading Crown of Midnight, the 2nd book in the series. Disclaimer: For anyone reading on Kindle, do not buy the 8-book bundle. It clumps them all together in one big book instead of separating them out, which is really annoying. I’m reading them in order anyway, but I hate that it only shows as 6% complete after reading the entire first book.I recently read an interesting Substack post about Chemophobia, an irrational fear of chemicals. This article discusses how an overall lack of science literacy contributes to misinformation, which could lead to negative public health outcomes if taken too far. I’ve definitely fallen into the chemophobia trap with personal care and cleaning products, and there are still certain things I try to minimize or avoid. That said, I’ve learned a lot over the years and developed a more balanced, less fearful view. The more I learn, the less I worry, and that’s probably better for my overall health. Our bodies are more resilient than we know. I’ve also discovered that many companies have reformulated products to meet consumer demand, so there are a lot more options available for all sorts of preferences. I’ll expand more on this in future posts.
We inherited a fancy-pants HE Samsung washer when we moved to our home, and while I like it, let’s just say it’s been a learning curve to figure out all of its features. I love top loading washers, and I prefer to be able to rinse my laundry detergent cup as the basin is filling, but in most modern washers the lid locks when you start it, which makes that impossible. However, I recently discovered the Active Water Jet feature, which allows you to push a button to fill the little basin on top for hand washing, or…rinse your detergent cup. Mind. Blown. Literally had this washer for almost 3 years and just discovered it a few weeks ago thanks to TikTok. Total game changer!
Speaking of fancy appliances, after much trial and error, I decided to sell my Dyson airwrap. My thick, heavy, straight hair just doesn’t seem to want to hold a curl with it, which was the main draw. I think I need something with a bit more heat to preserve my style. There are other multi-stylers on the market now that claim to have longer-lasting results, but I’m holding off on big hair tool purchases for now. In the meantime, I’m experimenting with different styling techniques using the tools I already have to see what works for me.
As I was selling my Dyson, I was really weirded out by Facebook marketplace initially. There’s a lot to look out for so you don’t get scammed, so be sure to take precautions to protect yourself. Thankfully I ended up having a good experience, and the girl who got it is already loving how much it cuts down her styling time.
I recently read about a couple MLM companies moving to an affiliate model, which is upsetting to a lot of distributors who have made a living off of recruiting and building teams in addition to product commissions. While it’s obviously disruptive to those in the higher ranks, my hot take is that it might be better in the long run. I feel like so many people will buy from influencer links, but hesitate to purchase from an MLM to avoid the recruiting pressure, even if it’s someone they know personally. Perhaps if they remove the team/recruitment model from the equation, more people would want to buy from affiliate links to support their friends, which might lead to better outcomes for people at the lower ranks who didn’t want to build teams in the first place. What do you think?
Speaking of rest…I’ve hit a wall with writing and editing this post and am just going to let this post be what it is, meandering thoughts and all. :) See you in the next one!
