Apologies for the silence over the last few weeks. Since I last wrote about a kick in the ass I received from a friend, I’ve been completely swamped with some super cool projects. Most have been writing-centric and have left me drained, fulfilled, and wanting to step away from my computer instead of sitting down to write more. Can’t remember the last time I pieced together three straight weeks of feeling accomplished in this way and that feels great.
On Sunday, Rachel and I head to Berlin for the next month. This is our eighth long trip together – what I’m calling “slow travel.” In late 2020, I realized I would much prefer only to visit places for two or more weeks. Not having a permanent home, this is not as expensive as it may seem. Though, it’s probably as annoying finding and booking places as it seems.
I’m likely nearing the end of this vagabond lifestyle – longing for a home (these days, not in the city), furnishings of my own (a nice espresso machine and the sofa from After Yang), and bookshelves full of readings for a rainy day (an assortment of Taschen books that only get opened to random pages). I’ll never stop exploring. I want to see the whole world, but not at the cost of seeing it on some of my own terms. Specifically, slow travel.
The intention of slow travel is to allow myself the opportunity to create some semblance of a routine – to visit three coffee shops before deciding which I prefer. To remove the pressure of trying to do everything – only a really tight timeline can create the misguided belief that you can see an entire city in a long weekend. And to allow myself time to do nothing, which is something, though I often have to remind myself of that.
I’ll probably never write travel guides, though I keep pretty extensive Google Maps lists and send friends lists of my favorite places to eat and drink, even when they don’t ask. I really do want to see the whole world. Not just see it – I want to live everywhere. Obviously, I can’t do that. So as often as I can, it will be slow travel. Never a tourist. Dirty word.
This read comes suggested by JAT life-extension coach, gcs via important person Riva
I find people’s reactions to tragic death fascinating – always sadder if they’re prettier, smarter, or wealthier. It’s pretty messed up, but I get it. The tragic death of 14-year-old Kevin Cooper *is* sadder than his less handsome, less intelligent, less well-off fallen counterparts because he was (seemingly) special. He was going to change the world in some non-zero, positive way. But as the author’s husband put it, maybe he did exactly what he needed to do. And as Riva puts it, he had a unique POV on how he wished the world would treat children. We need more Coles, but we also need more people to treat potential Coles the way he wanted to be treated. —Andrew
I detest Duke University. I didn’t become a big Maryland Terrapins fan until the turn of the century as they assembled the team that went on to win the men’s basketball national championship in 2002. But I had been living that “Duck Fuke” life way before the Terps-Blue Devils rivalry became a thing. After visiting the school my senior year of high school, I was so disenchanted that I fully ghosted on my interview. But even as a Duke hater, I have to tip my cap to this speech by the school’s women’s basketball coach Kara Lawson about the importance of handling hard things better versus waiting for things to get easy. I’ve watched it multiple times. I’ve made my kids watch it, my friends watch it. Now I’m making you watch it. Enjoy. —Justin
In a never-ending quest to recover physically and feel better for longer, I was put onto foundation training gcs. I started the 11-year-old video (7.1M views) two weeks ago, aiming to make it a part of my morning routine before I touch my phone. And then, just last week, the new foundation training video dropped.
“It’s a challenging workout designed to help you heal with strength, alignment, breath work and posture.”
Take care of your body, nobody else is going to. —Andrew
I’m unclear whether everyone has already seen this show and if this rec will feel like it comes from Team Late Pass, but I’m charging forward anyway. The Bear is a jewel of a show. The fact that it’s only a half-hour long is a feature, not a bug. That forces the storytelling to be super tight, and yet a viewer still finds themselves caring deeply about a multitude of characters, not just the star. The only downside to the episode’s length is that you end up coming to the end of the season very fast (I only have two episodes to go so no spoilers please) and instantly want there to be more. —Justin
I am also watching this show (3 episodes in) and, honestly, not hooked yet. But I think it’s filling a massive hole in the entertainment world. We’ve so badly needed more cooking dramas and I’m going to stick with it. —Andrew
