05/31/2024

my perfect day

reflection on slow living

this piece was part of my newsletter. readers seemed to enjoy this story so i decided to put it up on my website for anyone interested to read. it’s completely in lowercase because i like the aesthetic and identity it brings. i also like this thread about the ‘i’ in lowercase as devaluing the ‘i’ in a society with an increasingly individualist culture, which is a theme this piece also touches on. enjoy!

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i’ve realized that i recently formed a revealed preference – every first workday of the week i like to take a little walk to my local coffee shop and talk with my favourite barista. our conversation goes about the same each time. i ask “how’s it going?!” and she goes “you know… it’s going..”. she will often tell me about her mom or her sister, and if they happen to be in town. i will occasionally take a book from the cafe’s take a book, leave a book program, or take a plant from their take a sapling, leave a sapling program. as i walk out, i wave hello to my hairdresser (who did my impromptu haircut last week!) at the salon that is right next to the coffee shop. i know that i will see her there every day except thursdays.

i make my way to the local film lab to get my rolls from the previous week developed. it’s an independent film lab run by these two older gentlemen who develop/scan/print my photos within a couple of hours of me leaving it with them. albeit a bit more expensive than a regular photo lab, i find it rewarding forming a relationship with people of my community who spend their time and energy developing my photos, making my coffee, or doing my hair. it feels more than just a transaction. 

i take the scenic route back, stopping at the bodega for coke zero (my beverage of choice after th coffee). i start thinking about how we all play a certain role in our communities. i question, “what role do i play in my community?” my internal monologue switches back to the present and affirms that it feels nice walking around and knowing the people i pass by on the street. and that i love “stopping by to say hello”. i store this morning’s experience in the figurative “values” file in my brain computer. 

i used the last few photos in my roll today to take pictures of the walk described above

writing and sending this newsletter out is usually top 3 on my to-do list on the first workday of the week. it not only gives me a great excuse to get my film developed, but it also allows me to document my life tastefully while taking out intentional introspection time. i truly look forward to the first workday each week. 

after i get home, i take any meetings i have scheduled (always between noon and 3pm) and spend the rest of the day reflecting on the last week, gathering my accouterments from my notes app, text messages to myself, and notebook. i will spend some time reflecting on things i have read and log them in my reading log. i will then spend some time reading or writing for my Very Secret Project. i will make lunch, usually a tomato arugula salad or leftovers from dinner the night before, followed by a nap. i’ll then write this newsletter and send a draft to my partner to review for an authenticity and accountability check while i go to the Y to swim a few laps. i’ll then come home, have dinner, and send out this newsletter after watching an episode or two of whatever we’re watching at the moment (hacks). 

i love the first workday of the week. 

and i cherish this time in my life. this sabbatical has been a gift.