April's End Dispatch: Procrastination and Things of a Less Complicated Nature

So guys, Wednesday is May 1st 2024. Meaning that it is fully the fifth month in of a year that hasn’t quite felt like it started, that sounds like a year from far away…

I find that time is starting to pass in a strange way. The (week)days feel long since I stopped commuting. Get to lunch, then to 6pm, then to bed, then rinse, then repeat. On the other hand, the months are flying by. I know distinctly the beginning of the month: the first days where things feel reset, new, fresh. And then something happens in the middle. Then I know the end of month, marked by an astonishment that the middle has ended. What happened to the resolutions I made 30 days ago? The good thing about the end of the month is that the beginning of the next month is around the corner.

On this last Sunday of April, I realize that I’ve put off writing this whole month, not for fear of being bad, but for fear of making thoughts real. I’ve been practicing a sort of writing-edging. Notice a thought, ponder the thought, put a pin in said thought, come back to it later in a more articulate way. The problem with this approach? I haven’t written anything at all. Some would call this procrastination. I think i’ll call it making thoughts real. These thoughts include:

• my disdain of private school educated people adopting Carhartt & trucker hats, and why I think it is in poor taste to cosplay being blue collar

• Tumblr Core/2010s is back and I don’t know how to feel about it if I’m being completely honest (I also sold all my American Apparel Tennis Skirts on E-Bay)

• This cryptic AF note I wrote to myself at the end of 2023

  

Anyways, there’s surely more to say on those points above that I can’t form into words at the moment. So instead of those thoughts, perhaps a few complete thoughts on what I enjoyed this April and things of a less complicated nature:

Music

• GUTS Deluxe, Olivia Rodrigo: I went to her show at MSG (shout out Michael <3) and it may have been the best show I’ve seen in my life. And that’s saying a lot because I saw the 1975 in 2016. I have no notes for Ms. Rodrigo.

• Only God Was Above Us, Vampire Weekend: Dare I say this album is leagues beyond Father Of The Bride? I love how they play with generational narrative and underground tunnels.

• I Can Change, LCD Soundsystem: The subtext here is that I’m rewatching GIRLS.

Film & TV

• The Holdovers: I finally made it through seeing all the best picture nominees this month. Paul Giamatti absolutely ate in this - I feel like this film didn’t get enough marketing support? Nothing I love more than a little pretentious plot.

• Challengers: Tennis? I left the theater and palms were sweating. The soundtrack helped me run 5 miles today. Also there’s a scene where Zendaya applies Augustinus Bader’s The Body Cream. I pay close attention to things of this nature.

Food & Drink

• 2022 Glou Glou, Las Jaras Winery: Anything from Las Jaras is guaranteed delish. Versatile, punchy, good with tomato sauce.

• I have decided that I like Cobb Salad and I will be making it at home: This Alison Roman recipe slaps. and It really takes 35 minutes based on my calculations, not 50.

Purchases

• I bought a bike: a little beach cruiser to take on the mean streets of Philadelphia.

• New Yorker print subscription: Moment of realness: I have got to get my screen time under control. So I resubscribed to the New Yorker in good old print and it’s been helping.

Okay that’s all I have for now! Here’s a pic of me drinking cider from earlier today.

<3 you,

Sydney