Welcome to summer! Sort of. Maybe. Where I am, the Pacific Northwest, it is wonderfully rainy and overcast this weekend, not a very “auspicious” start to the summer but I told my neighbor that I personally think it’s a good omen in an age of “Fire Season”. But maybe if you love the sun and the concept of Summer, you are dismayed by this weather! Or maybe you live in the other ¾ of the country (or elsewhere altogether) and are experiencing a soul-crushing heatwave. If it’s the latter, I’m very sorry, may Shu, ancient Egyptian god of wind, bless you with a heavy, pleasant-smelling breeze through your open windows. 🙏

And then there’s… everything else going on, also.

😬

In better news, I have finally put away the massive thumb-isolating brace I received in urgent care at the beginning of the month. While I’m still rolling low on dexterity checks, I’m at least getting back into a more normal workday. More on that in a minute.

I’ve been poking around on my Beehiiv account and adjusting the newsletter template, and I think I’m figuring some things out. But, I think I want to send out a little missive when I’m ready to deploy those changes, as I’ve probably written enough for this issue. Just, you know, make some admin updates, do some housekeeping, maybe run a couple poll questions to check in on how you’re enjoying these emails? I’ve been plotting in my head sooo much this month and that can be dangerous because either I start acting on those thoughts or I don’t and feel bad about it. LOL. Which is worse?! Just uh, fair warning, in case you get a random mid-week email from me.

Okay let’s see what’s up this week.

☑️ Did Things - Group biz coaching call, virtual tea w/someone from my cohort, started working out again, had maintenance through to look at Yet Another Broken Window Blind (an ongoing series), made a small test batch of gochujang caramel cookies, had lunch w/ a friend at a new-ish noodle spot, meandered the local Chinese Garden, finally set up a second monitor on my desk (again), ordered an iPad(!), enjoyed the glooooomy rainy start of summer, kvetched on the Internet perhaps more than was necessary.

🚫 Didn’t Things - I actually haven’t been tracking much of the things I set out to do and haven’t gotten done in these recent weeks, largely because I am still recovering from injury and drug reactions and am just trying to do the bare minimum and not set any deadlines that I’d probably miss. Which has been a valuable lesson(?) in slowing down.

📋 Soon Things - I have some cohort coworking early in the week, and my iPad arrives later in the week, but beyond that things are pretty open and I’m looking forward to seeing what I have the energy for. I bought some cheap AF sticky notes to try doing analog kanban planning, so we’ll see. Also REN FAIRE IS NEXT WEEKEND and I don’t know what I’m going to wear!! (I don’t think I’ll be finishing my chainmaille in time for this one…)

(This section is not about uhhhh war, but perhaps the quote above is still applicable to such.) People are often thrown when I say I don’t work before noon. The people that get it, get it. I’m not a morning person, I’m rarely a get-up-and-go person, and I’m certainly not a “10am brunch with the girls” person. If I leave my home before 11am for you—if I even consider it—then I fuck with you, you know?

Of course, there are outliers to my hard line about “work starts at noon”. Big shoot days, I have to start those early to adequately pace myself between setting up, eating, getting ready, getting Ready, setting up some more, shooting, cleaning up, etc. and those are often an alllll day endeavor simply because I do need to do Everything myself. Or if my brain is Fired Up and willing to focus, I’ll boot up the PC and get to it while I’m still enjoying my first cuppa (after at least half an hour of morning snugs with Irma). But that’s not my natural state. I’m not self-employed so that I’ll be obligated to do specific things at specific times in specific places. I’m self-employed because I just want to live my life! 8am-12pm is my Me time, my house chore time, my skincare time, my Irma time.

This past week I sat in on a few sessions of a “creative rest for entrepreneurs” virtual summit, not for my own sake per se but simply to check the pulse of what other female entrepreneurs were saying about rest as/for female entrepreneurs (so like, still for me actually yes). The quote above is from Adikpe’s talk, “Create a Peaceful & Profitable Workweek“; you can find her website/blog here. I came to know of the summit via energy coach Olena Sadoma, whose newsletter on energy-conserving approaches to business I enjoy. Her talk, “How to Rest More Without Falling Behind” left me with this bonus quote:

Easier said than done? 😅 I’m working on it! Hence, the strategy being moving slowly, moving intentionally, not sitting down at my desk at 9am every day just because that’s “normal”. I’ll work when I work and I’ll work all the better for following my natural flow of energy.

Would love it if my brain wasn’t so “inspired to create!” at 1am tho…

No real work updates this week; I really don’t have much to say as I haven’t done much. I’m just trying to get through this month hitting some basic tasks and expectations on my fansites so that I don’t lose all my subscribers. My hand is functional, but still limited, and the severe joint pains I had from the antibiotics have retreated into something resembling my personal normal amount of discomfort. I surprised myself this past week with my ability to eat with chopsticks(!), a feat of dexterity humbled soon after by losing my grip on a pitcher of water and pouring half a cup of Brita across the counter. Ah, well. I remind myself that progress is progress, even when it is also a setback.

My mouse sits idly by on my desk, switched off to save battery between rare moments of use. The Wacom-turned-track pad suffices for the basics, though I still take frequent breaks to wiggle my fingies. I maintain my steady rotation of ice packs at the end of the day. Since it’s been a month, perhaps it’s time for me to brave the healthcare phone tree of trying to access a referral to a specialist? Will they tell me anything different than I already know, am already doing? Bleh.

I do want to say, acknowledge, how silly it feels to have my entire month upended by a single cat bite. It’s frustrating to think you’re healthy (“healthy;” I know I’ll never be proper healthy lol) and you’re hyped to do the work, you’re in a good mindset about the work, you have a plan, and then injury and drugs and medical offices and rest and recovery and physical therapy and everything you want to do takes ten times longer if you CAN even do it, or you just resign to do it in pain because that’s normal for your life. It’s exhausting!

I know some of you know what this is like, and I’ve appreciated your solidarity and commiserations. And for the others, I hope you never have the opportunity to understand.

I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge how frustrating experiences like this are. All I want to do is create art and to build a resource for my community and I hate that I keep hitting roadblocks. Heck yes I am going to keep driving around/digging under/climbing over those roadblocks, but I’m exhausted by the extra effort it requires to make the same amount of progress as someone who is more resourced with either health or money.

I ordered a new (to me, refurbished model) iPad not because I’m swimming in cash flow and want the fun new tech, but because I honestly see it as an accessibility accommodation for me to continue to work right now. It’s a purchase I’ve been putting off for a couple years, and I’m excited to have something that will afford me more versatility in where and how I work; it’s a tool that will enable me, and I try to retain that mindset as a form of stubborn optimism. So, I hope that this will maybe be the last dispatch wherein I speak much about this stupid injury (barring any notable updates), and that I can shift my conversation around it to focus more on the mindset of adaptation and allowing oneself to need new/different tools as our bodies evolve.

The scars aren’t even that cool. 😾

I mentioned that I finally set up a second monitor on my desk… again. I’ve been trying to avoid it, largely because desk is, well, not large. But (speaking of accessibility) my brain functions really well with visual organization, and it’s easy for me to synthesize large displays of disparate information. If I did this same work in a pre-computer era, I’m sure I’d have a deliciously messy desk about it! When I’m writing a lot, or editing, the screen real estate is helpful to keep me from getting distracted every time I switch tabs/windows—I have closed SO many tabs that were mid-upload. 😅 So I went and purchased a second monitor stand to match the one installed on my main screen. It’s not fancy, it’s actually a bit clunky by some standards, but it’s the ideal small-footprint monitor stand for me.

I’ve had a few dual-screen setups over the years. I was previously using this mechanical-arm style Huanuo dual-monitor stand (which was fine though a bit cumbersome at times) but it wasn’t compatible with the L-shaped desk I set up a couple years ago. I had first ordered my current stand because it was simple, increased the usable space on my desk, matched my little desk lamp, and because it has the ability to rotate monitors 90 degrees in either direction, which is a point of versatility I love having for my displays.

My full desk setup (and I don’t even mean my PC… just the Desk and Desk Life Accessories) is more complicated than I want to get into just yet, but I’m sure I’ll get around to it at some point in the future. So lmk if you have thoughts or questions on this!! Part of the reason I started accessorizing my desk so much is that I realized in 2021(?) that I was actively avoiding working at my desk because I just… didn’t like it. The ergonomics were uncomfortable, I was staring at a wall, the vibes were off. And if we want to hit that flow state of efficiency with only a few hours of desk time per day, we need the vibes to be immaculate. And, I think I’m getting there!

Also, not for nothing but when I ordered this second monitor stand, I opted for the cheaper open box/used option from Amazon and, guess what, it’s perfectly fine, all parts included. I got mine for $19 but right now there’s a one for $16, so!

🎬 Movie Watching - I randomly watched A Perfect Pairing (2022) this week and despite the very slapsticky vibes of “small California girl brought the wrong shoes to work a sheep farm in Australia hurhurhur” in the first third, it was a pretty pleasant little romance flick. I do always enjoy a bit of the “two different worlds” trope!

🎬 More Movieing - Last night I needed some non-thinking time with large men doing Action, so I sat down for The Accountant 2 (2025). I had been pleasantly surprised by the first one years ago, and friends had good things to say about 2. I did enjoy it and I felt okay having missed this one in theaters; I want more of Justine’s elite hacker squad of weird kids in the basement computer lab. Also I continue to think Affleck is best when he’s not THE lead, or at least just doesn’t talk too much, so he was well matched with Bernthal’s charismatic gabbing. Most wholesome movie I’ve watched about brothers bonding on a family trip so far this year.

📺 TV Watching - If you’re wondering why I haven’t posted much on the TV front lately, it’s because I’m still focused on the Highlander series. I just started in on Season 3! This was a series I watched way back when and it’s been so so satisfying to revisit. Explains a lot tbh. So it’s either that or Game Changer/Make Some Noise/whatever on Dropout if I need a laugh.

🌊 Wearing - If you’re into the Clean Girl aesthetic I’d recommend seeking out a whiff of Salt Air from Skylar Clean Beauty. It starts off very much smelling like morning coffee enjoyed seaside in an oversized flannel, and as the day warms up it turns into something resembling tiramisu on the restaurant’s back patio while you watch the sun set before the evening chill sets in. It’s my go-to scent for early summer because it is so versatile in terms of seasonality, and readily adapts to the PNW’s mutable weather patterns.

☕ Drinking - The local Chinese Garden has a really lovely two-story tea house, and my friend and I ordered two different teas; I ended up buying a little pouch of the Portland-based Jasmine Pearl Tea’s Mapache Blend which is perfect Juneuary vibes IMO. They describe the flavour as coffee-like, which I wasn’t getting (but, it is quite dense and savory for an herbal tea), but maybe I’m just not brewing it strong enough for those coffee vibes. I bet it would be delicious as a sweet sun tea.

Such a surreal time to be alive, isn’t it? I can’t imagine what the post-Brat Summer summer will look like. And then there’s little ol me, writing to little ol you, sharing mundanities of my life in a weird attempt to form a connection through these weird times. Well, connection and solidarity, really, as we’re all stuck in this mess together. Some amount of escapism is justified if we are expected to self-regulate in this era of hypernormalization.

July is the start of Quarter 3!! Oof. Halfway through the year already? I need to sit down and do my twice-yearly taking stock of what I have accomplished, and what’s not working. Always feeling forever on the precipice of getting this machine working smoothly. How’s your Q1+2 been? Send me an update on some of your stuff. I’ll be catching up on replies this week, and I’m looking forward to talking with y’all. Be kind out there. 🖤

xox,