Pushing Through

I was looking through my Substack and:

Why am I like this?

Anyway, I will be clearing out my drafts in the upcoming weeks. I will push through my current thoughts and send them out even if they’re not totally coherent and nicely written.

Social Thoughts

I recently did a “stand up party” where people came over, but only if they prepared a standup routine and performed it in front of everyone. It was incredibly funny. Shak forbade me from inviting too many people because he didn’t want to be overwhelmed but I want to do it again, maybe in a bigger space next time.

I’ve been reading Getting Things Done—I’ve been trying to finish this book for years—and have been “capturing” my ideas for more social gatherings. Things like karaoke or having people over for homemade sushi or walking through Cambridge solely to chat with random people so that we get better at it (by which I mean talking to people, not walking).

After moving somewhere new, there are stages to getting settled in. Initially you have to “perform” for people so that you can meet like-minded friends and hang out enough times to establish a rapport. I was telling people that I really like hosting these parties (presenting PowerPoints, standup routines, etc.) because you don’t have to be “on” all the time. Honestly, I just want people to come over to my place and entertain me in exchange for food.

But the unstructured social hang is also incredibly valuable. We’ll eat chocolate cake as we process the election on a Sunday afternoon. I’ll evacuate the emergency TJ’s peanut butter cups from their hiding place and provide company to a friend in crisis. One night, I was walking home and I saw a stray cat, and this random girl walking in the opposite direction was also looking at the cat, and then she was like, “Lin?”

And I was like, “Omg hi Jess, we’re making quesadillas, do you want to come over?”

I love that about Cambridge. That’s the kind of urbanist life I want.

I’ve just learned to embrace the things I want to do. Like Costco had a deal where you could buy two sets of lounge pants for $5, but only if you bought ten of them. So I, of course, rounded up nine other people to go in on this with me. That reminds me, I need to plan a sweatpants party . . .

Without further ado, here are some failed drafts that I’m going to delete now because I don’t remember what I was going to do with them.

Apocalypse

What about a post-apocalyptic world where older versions of cars still communicate with some centralized system that’s designed to fix everything on the roads? Like potholes? And then it keeps searching for the system when it no longer exists?

Reconnection

A friend called me after I published a Substack post and said, “I started reading your blog and then I wanted to talk to you.” I really loved that.

Parking

When I first learned to drive, my mother took me to a parking lot. On my first try, I parked perfectly within the lines, which was something that would never happen to me again. At that time, my mom said something in Mandarin that roughly translates to, “Blind cat finds dead mouse.”

Working Out

I’ve discovered that I do get the urge to work out, but my urge to work out strikes at midnight. I’m like Cinderella if she was sponsored by Nike, but Shak makes us go to bed at 11pm. It’s not me, it’s Shak’s sleep cycle.

Okay, we’re getting there.