In the Year of our Lord of COVID Issue #11 Wonderful Things
Days in lockdown: 293
Mood: Slightly manic but with a touch of wonder
Every year for the last ten years, Linda Holmes, the beloved NPR pop culture critic, has pulled together a list of her 50 wonderful things for the year. In a latest NPR newsletter, the author was skeptical that Holmes would be able to pull it off for 2020, but she did. I was impressed considering *gestures at the current state of events*.
Any reader whose been with me for a while knows I’ve done this spiel before to try to stabilize my moods. Four years ago, I gave myself a task to put together a list of things that made me happy and things I was grateful for. Over a course of several months, I came up with a 100 for each! The hallmark of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is the difficulty of having a sense of who you are a singular person and not take on traits for others. Oh, for sure, we are influenced every day by the people we meet and things we do, but for someone with BPD, it is not about liking something because it appeals to us, it’s about absorbing the personality of someone else. Making those lists were difficult and a struggle but I was able to accomplish them.
There are definitely a few things I would change and things I would add but for the most part, the list remains true to me and who I am.
I know I typically end my missives with links to things but those are to things that are interesting not necessarily things that are wonderful or make me happy. Huge distinction.
I decided then, it’s a new year so why not keep track of things that are wonderful and make me happy? The challenge is to not back track. That wonderful or making happy thing needs to happen that very week so at the end of the year there will be at least 52 wonderful things I’ve come across. I’ll bundle it up as the last letter of the year.
But for today, I’m foregoing talking about my crazy and just presenting a list of things I find wonderful from the last month.
Gentle people, behold!
Wonderful Things
Bridgerton I must be the only person who is into Regency era dramas to not know this existed. My social media timeline blew the fuck up on Christmas day when the series dropped on Netflix. Based off the books by Julia Quinn, it tells the story of the eight gorgeous Bridgerton siblings as they navigate the London marriage and social markets. First season gives us the view of Daphne, the eldest daughter, as she rejects the concept of arranged marriage and strikes a bargain with the gorgeous Duke of Hastings, he who is being hounded to get married himself. Drama, conflict, and confusion ensues. The best description I read was it is Jane Austen society with a lot of sex.
Moody Scottish Bastards I’ve been listening to a lot of Doves, Elbow, Joy Division, and other related bands of late, which considering their material is probably not the best songs when you’re manic but nonetheless, here we are. I swapped gears and moved my love up to my favorite Scottish bands who also tend to be moody bastards! Right now, there are only a few bands on the playlist, Frightened Rabbit, We Were Promised Jet Packs, Mastersystem, and The Twilight Sad but I’ll be adding more as I come across them such as Idlewild and others. With that being said, if you’re into indie post-punk with a Scottish twist, this may be the list for you.
Nowhere Bookshop Fantastic Strangelings Book Club Nowhere Bookshop is a brick-and-mortar book shop owned by Jenny Lawson who you may know as The Bloggess. Unlike other book clubs, this is geared for introvert misfits. Every month, the book selected released within the last 30 days. This month’s book is The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar which I’m really loving. I loved the diversity of the past selections of mostly not white men so I signed the fuck up quickly.
Candles No particular shop just that I’ve been on a candle kick for the last month or so. I buy from Bath and Body Works and indie makers depending on the scents available. I love the smell of the condo now. Plus, it confirms I don’t have COVID.
Soda Stream Another kick I’ve been on for the last month, which mixed with their syrups and soda flavorings has also given me a lot of flavor combinations when the mood strikes. We go through an obscene amount of sparkle water, about 15 cases a month, so this makes me feel a tiny bit better about our carbon footprint as the amount of cases has considerably dropped. Soda Sense offers a Co2 exchange system which I also dig so I feel even more a bit better of my drinking options.
The Body Shop I recently found out a company can claim to be cruelty-free because they don’t test on animals, but it does not apply to their supply chain. Thus, you can by a lotion that claims to be cruel free but that does not negate one of their ingredients is not made cruelty free. That blew my little mind. I’ve always tried to buy ethically so I double downed on my purchasing power after finding out that little tidbit. I threw out most of my creams and potions and such from companies with dubious supply chains and went straight to The Body Shop. I also found the push for the 12 step Korean skin care routine to be a bit ridiculous so I pared down to a toner, cleanser, and a day and night cream. TEH really enjoys their moisturizer for men. I have long been using their body butters and hand lotions. With winter here and it being so dry, I have the hand lotions planted everywhere.
TomboyX is a gender neutral, LGTQBI+ friendly, intersectional underwear company who also champion responsibility and sustainability. I am in looooooooooooove with their Essentials Soft Bra. So in love, I own 12 pairs! For the few times I had to wear a structured bra during lockdown, TomboyX are the only bras I wear. They fit well, great colors, great fabric. I cannot tell the difference from the ones I bought a year ago compared to the ones I bought a few weeks ago. (I wear a 22/24 and a size 3X in their underwear and bras to give you an idea in fit.)
Unsolicited Advice Planners by ADAM JK Like most of the planet, I’m on the lookout for the perfect paper planner. I have tried everything from bullet journaling, Filofax systems, and using Moleskins. I need something to track my moods and I needed a lot of space to write but also to plan. Nothing was quite right. Until I met the planner by ADAM JK. It contains everything that I’ve ever wanted: weekly calendar big enough to write in; monthly calendar with enough space; elastic closure; spiral bound so it can lay flat; and whole lot more. The product synopsis and images give a really great overview of the planner itself. I love this thing to bits.
Britons in the Roman World I like learning. *waves hands towards her five degrees* I’ve tried signing up for classes for Coursea and FutureLearn and I’m sure the format works for some people but not for me. I need a more structured environment and real interaction with the prof and students. I can meander on something I’m into but if I want a solid foundation, I need a structured class. I splurged and got into U of Oxford (yes, that Oxford) continuing ed programs for this very reason. There are a plethora of classes of interest. The one I initially wanted this one but it was booked full so Britons was the fall back. If I like this format and do well, I’ll sign up for one class each term. Plus I can tout I went to the U of Oxford. (I did the time change and booked out the period on my calendar to attend the lectures. SO. EXCITED.)
These are the things that have been my wonderful in the last month. I hope you find something wonderful this week!
As always, don't be an ass. Wear a damned mask.
lisa x
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Image depicting the black death in a book by French chronicler
and poet, Gilles Li Muisis (1272 - 1352). Artist unknown.