While I was away
Life turned into Mercury retrograde turned into more life
Honestly, I don’t even remember all the books and media I sat with in June and July because I was too busy living and enjoying the hell out of it, which is, frankly, a welcome turn of fortune for me. 1 However, there are now 200+ unread emails in my inbox to show for it. No regrets 🙃
In June I prioritized celebrating my 35th birthday all month, then I went home to visit family in early July, and then I needed to lock tf in on my work at the end of July. Now it’s August and here I am 20,000+ words into my dissertation proposal and realizing I haven’t shared anything with you for a couple of months.
By way of apology, please accept this show-and-tell from the last couple of months while I get back on track.
Realizing I’m just like my father despite my best efforts
I miss the summer thunderstorms back home most of all. LA could never
Courage for me has looked like choosing freedom over fear
Turtles!
Why didn’t I stay in OKC?
If I had more time and energy, I’d attempt to connect my return home with the journey of my problematic second-fav Odysseus2 and the concept of nostos3 to make these personal musings more widely relevant. Alas, I have neither more time nor energy. More soon ❤️
I did manage to listen to Kelela’s new project during my flight home and loved it immediately. Additionally, my flight listening rotation for the last 1.5 years or so has been Electric Dusk by Leon Thomas, Lianne La Havas’ self-titled masterpiece, A LA SALA by Khruangbin, and the If Beale Street Could Talk soundtrack from Nicholas Britell, which the (proverbial) coroner will have to pry from my cold, dead ear canals.
I prefer petty gawd, lover boy Achilles to Odysseus.
See “Odyssey: A Reader’s Guide to Homer’s Epic,” https://www.britannica.com/topic/Odyssey-epic-by-Homer.