Hello all y’all! I’m participating in The Changing Seasons Challenge which is basically a monthly recap that I heard about through Sarah, who got it from Su.
My reaction to “Want to be Less Racist? Move to Hawaii”
In 1991 Spike Lee released ‘Jungle Fever’, a movie about an interracial couple. When it came out, it was making the news, but I only remember it because my brother looked at me and said, “What’s the big deal?”
I shrugged, “I have no idea.” Fast forward to 2019, he sent me a New York Times article titled, Want to be Less Racist? Move to Hawaii.
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Give me MUSIC or give me death! (a music challenge)
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. ― Plato
Darren is doing a 30 songs in 30 days music challenge which he got from clever Sarah, and they inspired me to do it!
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Skip the vacation (or the ugly side of traveling)
Hey, people who travel with their bed pillow. You look insane. – Jim Gaffigan
Is everyone on holiday but me? Even though my vacation is later this month, I’m still burning with jealousy at everyone else’s Instagram feed. I’m convinced everyone’s loaded with unlimited cash – and having a great time. *sobs into monogram handkerchief*
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From tourist to non-tourist towns (six months in Rayong)
The other day I went to a tourist information booth and asked, ‘Tell me about some of the people who were here last year. – Steven Wright
Until recently, I’ve pretty much lived in tourist towns.
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No Girl is an Island (a newsletter!)
“What happens when people open their hearts?”
“They get better.” ― Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood
I’ve wanted to start a newsletter for some time (and podcast while I’m at it), but I didn’t know what to share. I’ve also contemplated starting another blog and even to find other sites where I can talk about everyday stuff. Then a few things happened.
First, we moved (and kept moving), and I started to miss having friends, particularly girlfriends. Second, I started to get into my appearance (hello, forties) and felt bad for my boyfriend as I shopped for Korean sheet masks that would make me look thirty again. And third, I started watching British period romances (again) and wistfully remembered the lost art of letter writing.
As an expat, it can be easy to make new friends, but I’m living in a town that doesn’t have much of an expat community. Now, I’m not opposed to making local friends, rather the opposite, but I’m discovering, like other times in my life, how difficult it is to make new friends.
Being coupled-up doesn’t help either. Oh, there is all manner of excuses. When you’re comfortable it can be challenging to start something new. You might want to branch out, but other people might not want to. There are compatibility and schedules to contend with – and I freak out when I have too many social engagements.
“You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.” ―William Faulkner
It’s possible I haven’t lived anywhere long enough to make new friends yet. Even so, I’m going to take this opportunity and enthusiasm I have for this project and try something new. We’ll see how it goes! (I’m also considering putting a newsletter archive page here so folks can see what I’m writing about if they’re not sure what they’re getting into.)
I’m going to aim for a bi-monthly email drop. I hope you’ll see it as a letter from a friend with no pressure to write back, but of course, I’d love to hear from you.
Interested?
Thanks!
“You can choose courage, or you can choose comfort, but you cannot choose both.” ―Brené Brown
