Hang Me Out To Dry: All Writed Out From A Writer's Retreat
Plus this week's music picks
I’m not gonna lie with you; I really didn’t feel like writing a Substack this week. I doinked around on my computer for a good half hour, cycling between Instagram and Facebook before finally locking in to start writing. And the only reason I became motivated enough to start writing was so I could finish in time to eat a cherry tart we bought from Aldi right as it comes out from the oven (if it’s stupid but it works, it ain’t stupid I guess?)
The dumbest part of it all is that half of my writing was done for it days before I even sat down to look at my Substack. And it’s all thanks to a writing retreat put together by CJ, owner of our local bookstore WordHaven.
Throughout the past weekend, Jenn, I, and a couple other writers got to enjoy the views of the lake while we wrote on the theme of letting go. It was initially a tough topic as I really had to dig deep into what that meant for me.
But it also came at a perfect time as I recently turned 30. This retreat was a great way to get some closure from my 20s and to realize I truly am starting a new chapter in life. Gone are the days of making almost no money, barely eating each week as a result. Goodbye to working dead-end jobs that don’t align with my values. And good riddance to being artsy-fartsy, doing writing, photography and other forms of arts with the aim of getting big and being vague without doing anything that feels fulfilling to me.
Instead, I’m incredibly lucky to be hitting the ground running at 30, free of all those previous pressures so I can focus on writing and making art that is for me and me alone. Don’t get me wrong, I love when people like what I make too, but at the end of the day I know now that I gotta do it because it makes me feel good. Because that’s why I started writing as a teenager and it’s time to invite that younger version of myself back into my life.
Over the weekend, I wrote a small piece of creative writing that I was pretty happy with. I felt like it’s a good representation of some of the takeaways I walked away with this week and I’d like to share it with you today, and probably even some more creative writing in the future. I’ll still be writing the usual essays too, but it seems like things might evolve and change a little bit. There’ll still be music picks though. But anyway, here’s that piece of writing and we’ll see you next time!
*****
Another night awake.
That damn neck was hurting and it was keeping him up.
He knew it was all from his office job; he learned recently that using a standing desk was just as bad for your health as sitting. He could believe it but he was frustrated too.
Like really? What can you even do to try to keep yourself from dying at this point? It’s either staring at Excel sheets all day or inhaling toxic fumes. He thought the Excel sheets were slightly better, but you still had to contend with other things.
Climate change.
Microplastics everywhere including our brains and balls.
And war always somewhere — usually in the Middle East.
But all he could do in his small city was get up, make him and his wife some coffee, feed the cat, and put out as much love as he could to the people he saw at work today. He knew it wasn’t enough to change the world on a major scale, but maybe it would change him and those around him. And if that was the case, that would be enough.
This Week’s Picks:
Fatboy Slim - You’ve Come A Long Way, Baby
It amazes me that someone can take vinyl records, hear random bits and pieces, and take their own music and join it to create something completely new. Fatboy Slim does an amazing job on this album doing just that. I was also intrigued to learn that my fave, “Rockafeller Skank”, made Slim no money — he had to release 100% of the royalties to be able to use the samples.
DJ Shadow - Endtroducing.....
DJ Shadow takes the concept Fatboy Slim uses and pushes it one degree further, putting out an album that is almost entirely samples. It’s a mind-blowing feat and I wouldn’t even know how to begin to tackle a project like this. But it’s a good thing someone else like DJ Shadow knew how!
Tortoise - TNT
This album gets a mention as it helped me finish up today’s piece of writing. From post-rock band Tortoise, the group drifts away from previous electronic sounds to go for a more jazzy sound that ends up feeling like a liminal space. It ends up scratching my brain just right and gives me the stimulation I need to focus on what needs to be done.
Plus a playlist!
I realized the other day thanks to a good friend’s comment to me that I put out a LOT of music each week. Along with trying to narrow down my picks each week, I decided to put together a playlist that I’ll continuously add to each week. Shuffle it. Listen to it in order. Sleep to it. I don’t really care, but I hope it makes it a bit more manageable for those just tuning in!
And if you use Tidal, I’ve also built a playlist on that platform too.
The writer's retreat sounds like heaven. Glad you got to some good mental places there. Thanks for the playlist. It was a great idea.