SarahWelcome to Day One of this strange, beautiful challenge! If you missed it, the series introduction is here. In short, I am making creative freeform lists. This entry corresponds roughly to February 1st, 2022… though who’s counting?
Thank you for reading!
Concepts: Endings
The bottom of an ice cream cone, devoured in a satisfying wet crunch. Beloved socks that are worn out and finally need to be laid to rest. Reaching the Acknowledgements page on a thick book.
Life Update: Leaving a Job
Feb 1st was actually my last day at Wealthsimple! I have major respect for this company, and I learned a ton, but after a year it was the best time to move on. It still feels weird to leave somewhere of my own volition, rather than the planned end of a contract. I’m sure I will write a longer post about next steps here or on LinkedIn when the time is right. Ultimately, it’s a positive development.
Book: Bel Canto
Almost eight years ago, I rated this five stars on Goodreads as one of my favourite books. I had feelings about the ending, let me tell you, though I won’t discuss it now for spoiler reasons. When I read it a couple of years later, I still enjoyed it, but I felt more… cynical, maybe? I keep meaning to reread it one of these days, and I am curious.
To make it a proper blurb: this is a Young Adult book by Ann Patchett about an international party that is taken hostage, opera singer and all. In a way, it is about the universals of music, kindness, and language. Growing up, my favourite character was definitely interpreter Gen.
Musical: Next to Normal
I won’t discuss the “Endings” tag too much, because… spoilers? But if you haven’t seen/heard Next to Normal, I highly recommend. There may be (cough, cough) a potential way to view it on YouTube. In any case, it is a top-notch rock musical about struggles of mental illness and family.
Travel Memories: Leaving
The prompt “Endings” reminded me of trekking across a continent with most of my worldly possessions in suitcases. This was a rewarding ordeal in both directions; I mentioned the going-home edition briefly here. I was definitely grateful for the folks who kept my bags while I travelled, or the other conference-goers who were willing to pop one of my bags into their car when we were going back to the same place and space was tight. Danke!
It also reminded me of saying goodbye to Germany for the first time, and almost immediately planning my move to France the following year. Namely, I picture a work evening of breaking down boxes with The Head and the Heart as a soundtrack, missing the autumn’s memories already. Sometimes I feel very lucky to have friends and acquaintances in several cities, though it’s been harder to maintain some of these connections in Covid, and other times it’s bittersweet that I’ll never be in the same city as everyone I care about at once. Other times, I go through intensive experiences (e.g. language immersion courses) and expect to keep in touch, but it just… doesn’t happen? I’m working on reconciling this idea. Can I have 1,300 active friendships? No, of course not. However, it would be nice to reignite some as the world opens up more.
Food: Leftovers
I adore leftovers, even if this is not particularly unusual. I accidentally gained a reputation among my partner’s family as loving small boxes, which is true, if not deserving of “personality trait” status. However, one of my fave kitchen tricks is to use parts of things for future meals.
As an example, Max recently made four pork chops, and one of them became incorporated into Thai-inspired fried rice with bok choy (recipe) the next night! Part of a cucumber joined the fray as well, and I was excited to have a reason to use fish sauce for the first time. Again, I don’t expect any minds to be blown, but if you came this far, perhaps you’re open to minutiae and happy new moments wherever they can be found.
Banner image: “Moon Mist” ice cream, found mostly in Nova Scotia. If you ever see it, it is worth a try! Like a bizarre Neapolitan remix, it tastes like banana, grape, bubble gum, and (IMO) sweet nostalgia.