#time to unplug

[thewhimsyturtle]

Do we have to put away all our Christmas lights already?  😭

[artemiseamoon]

Knocked out 3 oneshots today now i have no writing juice left, and I rather pull my hair out than edit something.

The edge of Dawn isn’t done yet, sorry it won’t be ready today. My new goal is this weekend. 💜

Here are the newest Moodboards for it.

[artemiseamoon]

I just 🔥🍃now I’m gonna watch predator 2 again cause for some reason, I find that one hilarious

[smell-your-sweat--wizard-penis]

Alright we filtering that tag

[chandaa]

I made it through my day and I’m feeling v low tonight. I’m gonna have some food, maybe code a lil, and go to bed.

[imo-justbreathe-blog]

newspaper delivery? a dying industry??

I am trying to get back to reading the daily paper.  Maybe even attempt a crossword puzzle.  Not sure it’s possible with all the online influences but in a journey of trying to unplug at given times.....

[i-van-gough-to-shul]

To all who are observing Yom Kippur, I hope that you have a meaningful fast and continue growing and improving in the next year.

גמר חתימה טובה

[viaingstagram]

10.16.15 to 10.20.15

This past weekend, I traveled from Norwich, England to Strasbourg, France. And why travel to Strasbourg? I was lucky enough to find a flight from London Stansted to Strasbourg for only 8 GBP, so I jumped at the opportunity to visit Jackson there. I jumped at the opportunity to catch up on the past month. To catch up on how his teaching has been going, how he’s settling into his new life in France, and finally be able to give him the biggest bear hug I could possibly manage. It was one of the best feelings seeing him looking through the odd window in the Strasbourg Airport, staring back at me as I waited patiently to get through the customs line — my heart immediately started racing and my cheeks were probably flushed because any moment from when we locked eyes, I would be able to be back in his presence after a month that really did feel like a year.

Strasbourg has an unexpected small-town, slightly-German charm. Jackson took me on walks around the city center and we also ventured to walk across the Rhine River to Kehl, Germany (which I thought was actually a very exciting and funny experience). We tried to cook enchiladas, but they ended up more French than Spanish, but Jackson was pleased because he got to eat flan afterwards. We over-indulged in Netflix movies, Le Petite Ecolier cookies and sleeping in past 11am. It was a nice way to catch-up and relax… and I miss him already.

However… Strasbourg was a bit of a wake-up call for me — not only hitting on my very unpracticed French — but also highlighting the fact that I am way, way, way too dependent on my phone (by means of social media, interconnectedness with my “network,” and how to navigate a city). While I am not saying that I don’t know how to use a proper map (I actually do… thanks Mom & Dad!), I am emphasizing how myself and my generation are straining their necks to look down at a tiny screen to keep up an online “self.” It’s an odd, tedious business upholding the online “self,” and one business venture that I also tend to focus too much time and energy into.

That’s why (this week) I have decided that the only way that I’ll be connected to my phone is for phone calls and emails. I’m going to use this week as a time to listen to podcasts, blog, do yoga, write postcards and cook delicious meals for myself. I needed this weird weekend to have this realization on my dependence on my phone and social media. I need to “unplug” and re-focus my attention on my “offline” self because that person, I think, is the much more important part of me.

Here’s to a week (maybe more to come) of not knowing “what’s going on,” but having a better knowledge of the state of international affairs, practicing my downward dog, learning how to cook spicy lentils, figuring out how to pair crispy kale with apples and getting too many cramps in my hands from writing way too many postcards. 

Wish me good luck — I’ll probably need it.