Towel Drying Season
Writing this while standing on one foot at the Apple Store. Not kidding. My screen stopped working three hours ago. I was typing a response to Abby’s Insta message and the touch screen just gave up. The big pickle is that when your touch screen stops working you can no longer prove two factor authentication. This has been Katherine’s big season of broken iPhone screens. It’s been a journey.
I think my guy Tony (names of the innocent have been changed) wishes I would go sit on one of the boxes over in the corner, but I am going to stand here, typing on this awkwardly low table because if nothing else, I have my stubbornness. Plus one of the guys in the corner looks like Douglas Emhoff. Yesterday, I was getting my nails done, and I’m pretty sure Brittany of Patrick Mahomes and Brittany was also getting a Friday mani - not at West Plaza Nails, at Nail Society. Big weekend for almost celeb sightings.
Not Douglas Emhoff just talked to me. We’re all just trying to be patient with Apple right now. Is it more likely that Douglas Emhoff is wearing basketball shorts at an Apple store in Kansas City or that Brittany gets her nails done in public? Hard to say.
Here’s the kicker: I am wearing the Athleta mask I got for free that says “Kindness,” so I when I said, “this just sort of seems like bullshit that I am the 1% of cases you didn’t fix right the first time.” Tony II can do the math of little bit pissy + “Kindness” + “RUF at Pittsburgh” t-shirt = Enneagram wing 8.
Listen Tony II, I can tell you used to have gauges, so we all know your earlobes smell like death. And along with my stubbornness I’ll always have that.
Anyway, one of my very favorite things in the whole world is when it’s beach towel drying season. Tony II at the Apple store can’t ruin my day when I have a beach towel drying. Because if there’s a beach towel drying, I probably got a little bit more tan. I love being tan.
And that, you actually can take away from me via:
losing the tan over time
reminding me about how tan now means wrinkly later
Ok. That’s enough of an intro for now. Be sure to become a paid subscriber for a more.
This sentence now has links to the my instagram, and old issues of the newsletter.
An intro post-script: This morning (Sunday) I made a list of things I am praying for, and it all felt like too much, too big. Like there’s just no way. And then we sang “Jireh” at church, and it was one of those, ok God, thanks, you got me, nice, thank you, alright, message received.
Number One: Un-Gunk your AirPods
My thing with AirPods is that for the price, they should just be better (I know. Freaking Apple). And they shouldn’t be such a magnet for ear gunk. My 18-month-old AirPods had gotten to the point where I had to have the volume all the way up even just sitting in the office, and connectivity was spotty at best. Then I saw a TikTok about using this blue stuff to clean your AirPods, and it works like a charm. Truly, I’ve turned the volume down, and connectivity is better.
Number Two: The Line
If you are looking for a true-crime adjacent, well-reported, podcast mini-series, I loved “The Line.” It’s only available on Apple Podcasts right now, (I know. Freaking Apple) but it’s perfect for a day of travel. It’s about the blurred line between right and wrong in the American military and more specifically the case brought against Eddie Gallagher.
It’s the kind of podcast that really makes you think. And it’s well executed.
Number Three: Early Morning Riser
I was so charmed reading Early Morning Riser, it’s not so much big on plot as it is on characters and the little things that make them who they are. There were more than a few occasions when I wished I had pen in hand to underline the ways Katherine Heiny captured particularities just right. It’s a step above beach read while still being fun enough to read at the lake house. I bought it at Powells when I was in Oregon, what is it about bookstores that makes them so magical?
Number Four: Just a big ole article round up
I am on record as not-a-fan of Brett Kavanaugh. So this piece that made him look a bit like the Aaron Burr of the Supreme Court was worth the read for me. (The Atlantic)
This twitter thread showing little correlation between COVID deaths and the things we thought maybe prevented/correlated to COVID death is super interesting, but mostly sad. Because correlation or no, a big price has been paid in the name of COVID.
This interactive piece on the devastation of the Tulsa massacre was powerful, informative, and well-designed. (NYTimes)
I am such a fan of these Business Insider articles connecting pop culture and congressional redistricting; make the most of your search engine optimization, we love it. (Business Insider)
I found this article about the diversity, equity, inclusion industrial complex that grew rapidly last summer fascinating. I was especially convicted by the point that companies often want to be given education, and ways they can change moving forward, but they don’t want to rock the status quo. (The Cut)
Don’t waste your free NYT clicks on this one, unless you really love talking about the shortages in today’s economy. Which I do love talking about, and find both scary and interesting. (NYTimes)
Someone took it upon themselves to study if conversations end when people want them to, and it turns out they almost never do. Just read the abstract of the study. (PNAS)
I’m not as into following along with the NBA as I am with the Royce family on Instagram, but this profile on Kevin Durant made me want to get into it. (NYTimes)
He moves with a pure, unforced economy of motion, a frictionless glide, that makes him look almost indifferent to the action around him. He looks so elemental on a basketball court that you almost expect to find him mentioned in James Naismith’s 13 original rules for the game.
Number Five: Belger Crane Pottery Class
In May, Laura and I took the beginning wheel class at Belger. Although we did have an ongoing joke about taking helpful advice as personal insult, it was a blast and I’m glad we did it.
It was good for me to take just a one month class, to try something new, to be bad at something, but walk a way with a finished product that I’m only halfway embarrassed about. It felt like a big up front cost, but they give you more than I knew what to do with in the unlimited studio time.
If you’re not local, take a one month art class wherever you are.
The next non-grad school activity I am taking up is Johnson County Parks & Rec Tennis lessons. Stay tuned as I shift brands into full-JoCo. Let me know if you hear of anyone trying to sell their Lexus.
Currently reading: Ezekiel // Deuteronomy // Sorrow and Bliss // Dostoevsky in Love
Unrelated: I have never been happier for anyone in my life than I am for our next door neighbor whose name I don’t know. She has a boyfriend, and he is so cute, and drives a pickup, and she just seems so happy. And I am happy for her. You go girl.