On My Mind

A random assortment of thoughts as I procrastinate packing

Hello friends,

My whiteboard in December

I’m in the middle of moving, so my newsletter schedule is all over the place. I’m typically an organized, routine-based person. For many years I’ve kept track of my writing on a whiteboard in my office. I had one column for work-related writing and one column for this newsletter. When I quit my job in January, I erased the whiteboard and never made a schedule for February. I wanted to see what this newsletter would look like outside of my strict(ish) schedule of four posts a month, including:

• 1 recommendation roundup

• 1 reading roundup

• 1-2 essays

I also wanted to give myself space to rest and project manage this move. FOP Avalon Griffin texted me when I quit my job and said, “One of my tips is literally to take 2-4 weeks off after you quit and don’t think about writing.” I didn’t, and she was right. I’m writing a book this year and I wanted to hit the ground running, starting a daily writing practice on Day One of no job. But on Day One, my brain wouldn’t work and I remembered what Avalon said and took two weeks off.

I met with a friend/mentor/editor recently and she helped me nail down what my book will be about. I made an outline and texted it to her and she recommended I give myself due dates and start writing the first five essays. But like I said, I’m mid-move. This week I’m packing and next week I’m moving. Once I’m settled, I’ll put due dates on my calendar and start typing up my handwritten drafts.

Here are some things I’ve been doing instead of packing:

As I begin my metamorphosis into Country Kim, I got my hair cut in a strip mall in Hendersonville and my stylist (shout-out Lindsay!) told me to watch Younger on Netflix. Boy, am I in deep with this show. There are seven seasons and I’m currently in S6. I have no idea how I didn’t know about this show as it is basically SATC, but in 2021 and in publishing. Darren Star doesn’t miss! Obsessed.

I’m spending a lot of time thinking about my lips. Every day in perimenopause is a chance to discover a new thing that itches. That small part of your back that you can’t reach and have never thought about now itches with an intensity that will bring you to your knees and requires twice daily application of the Good Lotion™️? Normal, fixed it. But now my lips are cracking, but like, in the creases. I am losing my mind. The two most common culprits are too-big chicken sandwiches and flossing. I’ll let you guess which one I’m willing to give up.

I went to r/perimenopause and couldn’t find anything useful, so I made the mistake of going to big reddit and ended up on r/skincareaddict, which is a wild ride. I “learned” that my dry ass lips are because of: dehydration, low vitamin d, and/or low b12. A topic for another time, but I’m currently in regular appointments with my eating disorder registered dietitian, so I asked her. Alas, none of those problems or deficiencies apply to me. So back to coating my lips in Aquaphor 24/7 and trying to eat my chicken sandwiches with a knife and fork. I guess?

I’m still processing all the things I deprioritized while I had my job (a lot of guilt to unpack!), but I’ve been enjoying doing things like TALKING TO MY FRIENDS, responding to texts and reading newsletters I pay to receive. I also took two classes. I took a class from Abortion Care Tennessee and I took one of Garrett Bucks’ Barnraisers classes. Both great! 10/10 would recommend! Let us all go forth and learn how to support someone through a self-managed abortion.

Lastly, I’ve been off FB for about ten years, so I had no idea about the joy and entertainment of FB Marketplace. I’m fascinated with the pictures people include of the item they’re selling. The number of listings I’ve seen for floor lamps where the only picture is of the base. What does the top look like? How tall is it? None of my business apparently.

If I text you this week, ask me if I’m packing.

Talk soon!

Kim