This week’s win

I know I’m jinxing it by even saying so, but the fact that our brand-new puppy Zev Bialy Costanza has not had a single accident in the house feels gratifying and exciting. We brought her home on Wednesday from the two darling corgis who gave birth to Lemonade almost three years ago.

Looking forward to

Surprised by my increasing ability to develop cabin fever even when I’m not the winter caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, I already find myself craving alone time and outdoor time. Helping a puppy adapt to a new environment is a very fun process at which we appear to be unusually skilled. Still, it does require a level of constant home-being for which I am not suited.

I can’t wait to go to the gym, to the library, to walk around the neighbourhood. I can’t wait for Lemonade to come home from her week-long sleepover at Tante Annelie’s so that I can have a reason to go to the park again. What I am learning from this experience, once again, is that I fall in that boring and misandrist 90s category of the stereotypical TV dad: I think babies are boring. Cute, but boring.

Stuff I did

I wrapped up a few work projects early in the week, and came into the office on my day off to facilitate a workshop with our engineering team leads about UX strategy. It was my first time collaborating on a workshop with Maartje, and it was great fun. We asked our coworker Nancy to capture the event. (You should know Nancy hosts amazing photo walks during which she teaches you to max out your phone’s capturing capabilities.)

The rest of the week was full of puppy prep. While I dramatically call my dogs my daughters, I wouldn’t quickly venture to drawing comparison between owning a dog and raising a child. Still, the second time around — familiarly — is a breeze. From Wednesday onward, we were able to settle into a very relaxed three-hour schedule: wake, bathroom outside, play and training over some kibble, snuggles, followed by a two-hour nap.

Enjoyed

In making a small reading plan to accompany a friend’s Bible reading adventures, I was reminded of how beautiful I find the work of Cole Arthur Riley, a writer transforming the way Black people can relate to Scripture. Whenever I go to meet Scripture, prayer books, or Christian writing, I automatically turn off the parts of me for which Christianity wasn’t designed. Black Liturgies and This Here Flesh have been helping me change that practice into something better.

Discovered

While getting my bloodwork done on Wednesday morning, I discovered a book in the hospital’s open library that was in very good condition. I like Lize Spit for the moodiness of her writing, and I’m looking forward to getting started with this book. Given the subject matter, a daughter proceeds to visit her estranged dying mother, it may be a while before I can.

Consumed

I realised that I had conflated the endings of American Psycho and Fight Club. I learned this on Saturday, when I dedicated an evening alone to watching the latter for the first time in well over a decade. I had forgotten how good I think Fight Club is, especially when I consider it the analog predecessor to the manosphere.

Purchased

Normally, I eagerly look through my bank statements to learn what I spent money on in the past seven days, but this week feels different. I’ve been impulse-shopping to help me ignore some difficult feelings. My money has gone to books as well as office supplies. I am dissatisfied with the fact that it is so, but within the span of two weeks, some YouTube account called Paper Republic, which makes lovely leather planner covers, has influenced me back to my own leather planner cover, which of course required various paraphernalia to be brought into 2025.

Appreciated

My Monday morning park walk with Lemonade was nice and quiet. I love the stage of life that she is in: active enough to love long walks, and old enough to self-regulate and self-entertain. I can’t wait until Zev is there, too. On Thursday, right before my workshop, I went for grilled cheese sandwiches with a friend ahead of her holidays. I learn from her endlessly and laugh until my stomach hurts. A privilege.

Wondered

Does patina only happen on leather? What does the phrase “teaching grandmother to suck eggs” mean? Has Coyote Pass been sold? Is it jinx or jynx? What’s a silent birth? Is Banana Yoshimoto really named Banana? How’s Bjork doing? Is she still as beautiful as I’ve always found her? Who’s that ballerina in my YouTube Shorts? What’s an alternative to soy sauce? Who wrote a good reflection on Ecclesiastes? When will there ever be a working solution for inserting icons into Figma components? Who is Nadia Bolz-Weber?

Something to improve

How can I overcome lethargy?