Your Weekly Dose of EEE #6: Media Appearances, Ted Lasso, and Events

Recommendations for an entertaining weekend

From an impromptu visit to Independence Park in Beverly, MA. It was super cold and windy, but it’s the ocean! Photo by author.

Hey, friend.

I hope you didn’t worry too much last week. I know I was sad the last time we talked, and then I kind of disappeared, but the two actually weren’t related. I also want you to know that, despite my prediction that I wouldn’t be obstructed with writing Notes this week, I ran into quite a lot of obstructions, including:

• Not knowing what to write

• Not wanting to write

• Needing to write other things

• Having other things to take care of, like actual day job tasks and washing the oatmeal out of my hair (long story)

But, here we are, and here we were on Wednesday, when I shared a poem—not my typical fare, but if you missed it, I’ve gotten a lot of good feedback on it, so read it! It’s short, and it comes with a voiceover (also atypical for me).

What’s Exciting Me?

Last week was busy for a lot of really depressing reasons, but also some really exciting reasons.

• I was on the radio—twice! Neither was to promote the book, but I did have a very popular radio host plug it (which resulted in exactly zero book sales, but whatevz). I was there to talk about my local news business and the landscape of local news in Massachusetts and across the country. If you’re interested in listening, you can hear the prerecorded interview (or read the transcript) here (of course my dog makes an appearance before I do) and the live spot here (March 15: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back, around 35 minutes in).

• I had a really great book talk at my local library and sold/signed a stack of books.

• I have another event coming up this Sunday at a local brewery. If you’re local, check it out and get your free ticket here!

• I have 1000 followers on TikTok, which means nothing other than that I can go live now! Which is great, because that’s a great way to connect with readers. If you’re on TikTok, come see me!

What’s Entertaining Me?

There’s a lot on this list this week. With the conclusion of The Wire and the Trans Rights Readathon happening across TikTok, I’ve had no shortage of material.

📺 The Wire is over, but I think I’m going to have to watch the finale again because I was very sleepy and don’t remember how it ended. Season 5 was a little nutty, tbh. Seasons 3 and 4 were my favorite. We started Abbott Elementary last night and it was good. My favorite thing about it is that the episodes are super short. I know a lot of teachers who like it, so I’m excited to watch more.

Gah, and I almost forgot to mention Ted Lasso!!! I deliberately didn’t watch it last week because I wasn’t feeling the greatest and I wanted to be clear of mind, body, and spirit before consuming this pure perfection. I’ll also be metering them out once per week (on Tuesdays, if you must know) just like in the olden days. I really want to savor this bittersweet final season.

📖 For the 🏳️‍⚧️ readathon, I just finished A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall. It’s a regency romance with a trans main character, and I really loved it. I’m not a huge reader of romance (read: I don’t read romance at all), but this one was just so beautiful and well-written that maybe I won’t flat out refuse next time someone recommends one. I’m about 1/4 of the way through Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki. Whoa, man. This one is a wild ride. So far it centers on a runaway trans girl, a “Queen of Hell” who steals souls, and a family of interplanetary refugees. I really like it so far. It’s like reading a Christopher Moore book but more drama and less comedy. I’m also reading Number One Fan by Meg Elison. It’s nothing like Misery and nothing like what I’m used to reading from her. And it’s viscerally painful to read in parts. But I am hooked.

🎼 Until I Found You by Stephen Sanchez. More like this, please.

What’s Enlightening Me?

Simple thoughts today: Hug your people. Appreciate the little moments, the quiet ones and the loud ones and the ones in between. Savor that brush of hands against one another, the smell of hair and the music of laughter. Drink in those boring moments, and the hard ones, and the ones you don’t think you’ll make it through. You’ll miss every single bit of it.

Take care, friends.