I’m back! In case you missed last time, you’re receiving this because you’re a supporting force in my life; someone I’d like to stay in orbit with. Below I’m sharing a bit about what life’s like these days.
No expectation at all to respond. Writing + sharing this is only 5% of the fun. I hope much more joy comes in the follow up walks and conversations I’ll have with some of you.
If we haven’t chatted in a while, I’d love to hear from you — even just a “hi”. You can text or [email](mailto:[email protected]?subject=saying%20hi,%20from%20orbit).
If you’d prefer not to receive updates from me, no worries. I know we’re all busy; just let me [know](mailto:[email protected]?subject=please%20unsubscribe%20me%20from%20your%20updates).
What’s happening in my outer world
I’m starting to feel a rhythm coming together in New York since arriving here in September. A small basket of reflections:
- I’m going through more of my wardrobe; there’s more weight here on how one presents themself. I’ve not yet fallen victim to the Big Black Winter Coat virus.
- I’m grateful to be able to host people at home, and for the amount of trees and open space in Greenpoint. If you’re in the city, come over!
- NYC bars are just like SF bars, but louder. I think my hearing is starting to be impacted, and I should be using my concert earplugs more, even for going out.
- Subway stations should have a little compass on the sidewalk telling you what cardinal direction you’re walking out in. (I know it says “SW corner” but that doesn’t tell me S or W until I’m 2/3 down the block).
What’s going on in my inner world
I’m settled-in enough in this chapter to have started feeling dissatisfied; the chaos of newness has given way to noticing the facets of life where I’d like things to be going better. This transition is a novel feeling for me.
While I am very lucky + grateful that things are generally solid, my mind recently has tended to focus on the parts that just feel a bit off. Some stream-of-consciousness notes:
1️⃣ I think I’m due for a check-in with myself to calibrate on my demonstrated vs. desired values, and then to decide whether I’m living / acting in accordance with them.
- This is a reflective time of year, so if you’ve done or are planning on doing something similar and are willing to share, hit me up.
- Previously, I just wrote down a list of all the things that matter to me, and stack ranked them. I think I’ll have to go deeper this time into understanding where or why I’m feeling some discontinuity.
2️⃣ I’m missing seeing a wide-ish set of people consistently.
- I’m finding myself less proactive at coordinating than I expected.
- This comes from a fear of being perceived as overbearing, and a high incidence of draining workweeks.
- I find a lot of joy in:
- Gatherings that feel “slow” — where folks have ample space to listen, inquire, and understand each other a bit better.
- Having the people who I’m close with also feel close to one another, i.e. having a highly dense community. I have some more thoughts on “slice friends” vs. “pie friends” if you’re interested.
- This joy has been harder to find organically than I’d hoped, so I feel I’ll need to make it happen myself.