10 Offline Things I Did This Week

Brunch made by a friend, feeling hot, winter trail running

We made it. Well, almost. I hope you are enjoying Betwixmas, the week between Christmas and New Year’s.

daisythegoldiee

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This is the last newsletter of the year for me, and the next one won’t be sent out until the week of January 5th. I’m taking this week off to quiet down and put time into an essay for paid subscribers about exercise and the general ED recovery community’s lack of nuance around it (it’s obsessive, you’ll relapse, you must stop it to heal). If you want to receive that essay when it comes out, it’s a good idea to upgrade to a paid subscription now.

This week is always very interesting for me. It’s usually pretty quiet (unless I’m on vacation, which I’m not this year), and the general feeling here in Brooklyn is #hunkereddown. Texts are responded to slowly, emails are few and far between, the streets are quiet, there’s no line for the co-op, and watching a movie every night feels acceptable.

I am waiting, waiting, waiting for the year to start and for things to get back to “normal,” for 2025 to begin. I am waiting for all my friends to come back to the city. I am waiting for the Zoom calls and work goals I have in 2025 to get underway.

But I also, somehow, know that this time—these quiet days—are precious. “Spring is round the corner,” my father reminded me while I was home in Connecticut this week, and he’s right. The winter solstice has passed, and the days are starting to get longer. Yes, we have winter ahead of us, but in just two months, the purple crocuses will pop up. New, chlorophyll-hued grass will sprout. Birds will migrate back north. Colder days will fall fewer and farther between. And somehow, that makes me a little sad.

I don’t want to rush this. As much as I dislike the quiet of this time of year, I know it’s needed and all part of the greater rhythm of life.

10 Offline Things I Did This Week

1. Stopped by a friend’s for an impromptu brunch. I was heading to her house to pick something up and while I was on the train, she texted and asked if I’d like to stay for brunch. She made us salad and Shakshouka. It’s always such a joy to spend time in other people’s apartments in New York, and when they serve food, it’s extra cozy. What a special moment.

   

   Brunch made by a friend <3

2. Wrote from my hometown’s public library. I even got a private room with its own fireplace—though I doubt it worked. My hometown’s library, built in 1903, is a beautifully preserved Colonial-style building—a truly unique place filled with charm. If you’re struggling to focus at home, consider heading to your local library; it’s always a great spot to write.

3. Watched this summitting Everest video on Youtube. I’ve always had a fascination with Everest and the wild people who climb it. This past January, I read Into Thin Air while huddled under the blankets in my loft in Ojai. I love reading stories of adventures in nature (i.e. Wild, 127 Hours), but Everest content always takes the cake. This video is worth a watch; there is no music or verbose commentary, it just takes you with the Youtuber as he summits. It’s emotional, and I think there is a (blacked-out) corpse, but it just goes to show how risky this is. Just like the marathon, Everest submitting feels impossible, but somehow, people do it. Inspiring and stunningly beautiful vistas make this 27-minute video worth the watch.

4. Went on my own little winter adventure. I trail ran in my hometown with Samson. The sparkle of the ice on the water, the tan grass against the cerulean sky…breathtaking.

5. Helped set the table at my parent’s house for Christmas dinner. My parents have lived in the same house for 38 years (wild) and the dining room is one we’ve spent many Christmases in together. Every year I note how the sun shines through the East-facing windows while getting ready for Christmas dinner (which we usually have around 3:30 PM) and it’s always a magical moment as my mom whips out the vintage silver and her finest table linens as we get ready to eat duck or roast beef.

6. Walked across the Manhattan Bridge. I never walk into Manhattan; I’m always rushing. But I needed to make a trip there and I thought, why not walk? With everything moving at a snail’s pace this time of year, I feel inspired to slow down and do things a little differently.

7. Took a big soaking bath at my parent’s house. I don’t have a bath in my apartment, but my parents do, and oh my god, I love soaking in a tub.

8. Felt…hot. Dude I’m about to turn 35 and I feel more like myself than I ever have. I feel like I invested in myself more in 2024. I put myself first again. I stopped specific thought patterns that were holding me back. I indulged in myself. I bought myself nice things. I stopped denying myself things I wanted to go for. and it’s just… I don’t know, I have more confidence now.

9. Heard CLOCKS. It’s so darn quiet in Brooklyn right now, when I awoke the other morning around 6:45, I heard the ticking of my wall clock. I think it probably always ticks, but the hum of traffic and the general comings and goings of the world outside make it so that I cannot hear it. Unless it’s Betwixmas.

10. Went for a walk on the beach in my hometown, and saw clams in the ice. So, you know how seagulls pick up mollusks from the shore and drop them on the pavement to crack them open? Well, this week I noticed, back in my hometown, that some of the broken mollusk bits (including pieces of clam meat) had frozen into the icy puddles of the parking lot. It was a beautiful spectacle. I love how winter “freezes moments in time.” It’s truly stunning.

I hope you are enjoying Betwixmas, whatever it’s bringing up for you. It’s all normal. Don’t worry. You’re not a freak. See you in 2025.