Pretty sure the phrase āin these timesā will be banned in the near future.
I saw a powerpoint from Facebookās ads department that says people are already over tips and tricks for working from home and other kinds of āquarantine content.ā Since most of it was rehashed bullshit anyway, I think many of us were over it before it really got going. But the real insight from the ads report is that people are really, really missing out on fun and spontaneity right now.
Sure, weāve found ways to āsocializeā on the internet, but having to ask someoneās username and send a secure video link are taking a lot of the sex appeal out of it. We miss just showing up and seeing what happens.
We miss unexpected joy. Thereās joy to be had, but it has to be planned ahead of time.
So I decided to dust off the substack account and send you an email, because thereās no way in hell you could be expecting it :)
šļø Hereās whatās up right now:
š§Ā Listening to: Fetch the Bolt CuttersĀ by Fiona Apple. Itās always so good to hear artists experimenting and evolving, especially when they manage to do so without losing the personality that originally drew me to them. She does.
šĀ Reading: Half Way HomeĀ by Hugh Howey is a quick read and a reminder that hisĀ WoolĀ series is worth a reread. Next on my agenda isĀ Book of Drugs, by Mike Doughty, which I have high hopes for since Soul Coughing was one of my favorite bands for many years. Finally, my friendĀ Josh Hillis just released his new book, and Iām gonna try and read it this week.
ā°Ā Routines:Ā Well, it sure as hell isnāt normal. Iāve been living solo in a large apartment, going to the office way less, and missing all my Taido activities. Itās different, and what Iām trying to stick to is a pretty consistent schedule of walks, mealtimes, and exercise to fit my work and reading around. Itās far from perfect, but itās kept things moving forward for the most part so far.
šĀ Thinking about:Ā Itās interesting to see people trying to adapt to remote, tech-mediated interaction. Weāve been doing remote work at GMB since before anyone called it that, and weāve been doing online education for more than eleven years now. Like most businesses, all the Taido dojo are struggling to find ways to keep people involved and improving. Unfortunately, online teaching is a lot harder and more nuanced than people expect, so thereās been a lot of challenges. Iām trying to find ways to help individual dojos without anyone having to invest the time and money a full-fledged online class platform (which even then would only be partially adequate). So yeah, I guess whatĀ hasnātĀ changed is that Iām thinking about Taido and teaching a lotā¦
š„©Ā Eating:Ā I found aĀ service that ships bulk meats in Japan, so Iāve been eating grass-fed ribeyes pretty much every day lately.
Hereās a shot I took at the worldās busiest crosswalk, about a twenty minute walk from my house:
šØāš©āš§āš¦ People & Family:
š§ My parents assure me they are still alive.
šāāļø Itās been about three weeks since Iāve seen my Ladies, who are staying in the country for a while.
š„ Like everyone, Iāve spent a ton of time in video chats with different groups of people. I feel very lucky to have a solid group of friends here in Tokyo that have been keeping me relatively sane.
š§° Things Iām finding useful:
š¦ Ā Japan Coronavirus Tracker: Incidentally made by my friend Shane
š All the changes to the routine have had me spending a lot more time in the analog world, and Iāve switch almost completely back from digital notes and systems to writing most things down manually.
āļøĀ TravelĀ hahahaha, rightā¦
š¤·āāļø Hard to say what travel plans might pan our or not right now, but I hope to make a trip to ATL soon.
All right, youāve made it to the end.
Thatās all Iāve got, and if you take a minute to reply, it would definitely bring a bit of spontaneous joy to my day.