Yesterday, a man delivered a package at 6:30 am to my neighbor but buzzed my apartment, and I wondered who hated who more. The delivery man, me? Me, my neighbor? All of us, the day to come? But I am trying to cherish these moments, because soon I’ll be moving across the country for the better part of a year. I was supposed to have a book signing last night, but the company didn’t end up sending the books. I gotta respect a power move like that. All that aside, I can’t stop reading the news in utter horror.
What can you do? Call your representatives? Yes. Learn more? Yes. Keep writing a newsletter where you talk about liking soap? Uh… sure, why not. I guess the newsletter keeps it light and insignificant, like sugar-free pudding. Not a good dessert, but something people look forward to while on Weight Watchers.
This week’s passions include: almond soap, Diane Wiest, Barry’s Tea with milk and honey.
I basically buy soap in bulk, so every four months, I choose a flavor that I hope I won’t get sick of for the next third of the year. Last time I bought rose, which I regret. Before that, it was peppermint. Anyone could have told me that was a mistake. This time, I got almond. It smells like a mixture of biscotti and poison, which I don’t hate. So far, I’m into the almond soap.
There are performers out there who have so much magic, they make you think you can do it, too. This is exactly how I ended up spending close to $2000 on improv classes in my early twenties. To think I could have spent that money on an apartment with a bathroom (first apartment had no bathroom). In my opinion, Diane Wiest is this kind of actor. She’s in a play off-Broadway right now called Scene Partners, and she’s so good in it. I want to be fully honest: I did not exactly understand the play. But it has to do with a 75 year old woman with dementia who moves to LA to become a movie star. Just with her face and her language and her body, she conveys so much warmth and vulnerability. And it seems so natural, it makes me think I can do it, too. Which is just not true. This also happened to me while watching the Great Pottery Throw Down. I proceeded to sign up for ceramics class, then I made the ugliest, shortest bowl I’ve ever seen.
You wouldn’t believe what Barry’s tea with milk and honey tastes like. Well, maybe you would, it’s pretty straightforward, but it’s soothing and awesome. You can drink it in the morning, but I really prefer it at around 3pm. A tasty, easy-does-it pick me up.
And now some from the readers…
Laine: “My current passion is radishes I grew in my yard. I used to hate radishes. Then I tried growing them for myself because everyone else grows them in their gardens and I felt like I should. They are the easiest thing to grow and look like little jewels poking out of the ground. I realized a radish fresh from the garden is a different beast than a grocery store radish. Much tastier! I dice them up and eat them with cottage cheese and a little salt and pepper.”
Jenny: “I've grown my own pumpkins for the very first time here in Manchester, England. Like your gourds they give me joy. I've got 3 and i'm going to carve them for Halloween age 43 for the first time. Then I'm going to make soup to keep me going all Autumn.”
Minty: “I'm passionate about compression socks for everyday activities. It's not that they give me energy, it's that they make me feel less like my energy has been drained. You shouldn't need a special occasion like flying on a plane or surgery to be able to tap into that magic.”
If you’d like to come see a New York show before I go, I co-host Butterboy at Littlefield every Monday, and the last one I’ll do will be on Monday, November 27. Also if you’re looking for a silly escape, you can now listen to the entire book of Murder on Sex Island wherever you listen to podcasts or you can buy the physical book and read with your eyes. My friend Helaine posted a video review which I really got a kick out of because while it is nice, it is also entirely upside down.
Yours truly,
Jo