Bits and Bobs

Happy Friday everyone!

This isn’t a Hyperfixation Friday, as I am not currently hyperfixating on anything. I have posts in the works (I’ve always got a few going at a time), but ADHD is an interest based disorder, and right now I do not have interest in any of those for some reason. It’s like when I get obsessed with yogurt, and then one day I am like “yogurt is GROSS EW”, and then I don’t eat yogurt again for months. It be like that in ADHD land. I just have to roll with it.

In lieu of that, I’m just making a quick little post of stuff I like right now, stuff I did, etc.

St. Vincent in Brooklyn

I went to see the one and only Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent) at the Brooklyn Paramount last week. I was a bit hesitant initially, because Brooklyn¹ and also because it was General Admission. Won’t someone think of my knees? My poor feet! But she is one of my all time favorite artists, so I got the tix the day they went on sale.

My friend kindly warned me in advance that the opener (Yves Tumor) was 1. Very Loud and 2. had an aggressive light show in the form of 30 straight minutes of strobe lights. I was grateful for the warning. Loud noise and crazy lights will send me into Overstimulation Station, which is part of why I have always had a problem in clubs and the like. Knowing this, I hung back for most of the set, and sipped a gin and tonic at the bar. I could still hear the music just fine, and I did enjoy the music! It was good!

I wandered back onto the floor for the last 10 minutes of the set so I wouldn’t have to shove through the crowd again, and good god, the STROBES WERE SO AGGRO. Pre-diagnosis, I would have masked my discomfort and probably had another cocktail or 4 to endure it. Now I literally turned my back to the stage and stared down at the floor when it got too much. The best part was that I was with my crew, many of whom are all some flavor of neurodivergent, so I didn’t have to explain or apologize. Being unmasked with friends is the best.

The show was incredible, and she played some of my favorite songs. It was really special to hear one of my favorite songs of hers - New York - on 9/11. I was glad to have an artistic experience to take a bit of the sting out of that day which is always a hard one for me.

And no she is not insanely hot at all.

I am so glad I went, even if my subway line decided to shit the bed at the last second and I had to get an Uber the rest of the way back. I am also proud of myself for keeping up with my hydration and making sure I drank mostly water at the show, and I woke up tired but not feeling bad. Win!

Update on Playwriting Stuff

I heard the second draft of my commission play, Orphan Christmas, with the good folks at Boomerang Theatre Company a couple of weeks ago. I got to see some people I adore, met some amazing new actors (god I love actors), and I got to work with my friend Scott Ebersold. He directed my first big production - Paper Cranes - back in 2011. We were passing ships for a while, but it was good to be in the room with him again. We always worked really well together, and it’s a true joy to make art with a trusted collaborator. Directors are so important when developing new work!

There will be a public reading at Boomerang’s First Flight Festival in NYC in December (date tbd), so watch this space. If you are in the NYC area, I’d love to see/meet you!

New Feature for Paid Subscribers

I started a discussion thread for my paid subscribers! Some of you I know, some of you are my friends, but some of you I don’t know and would love to hear from you! I had planned on doing these once a week but that may be overkill, so maybe every other. It’s called Tangent Talk, and I give a prompt but it can be a random conversation too. I find this more manageable than chat. Let me know what you think! I don’t paywall most of my work, so I try to make sure the folks kind enough to pay me get a little something extra.

Substack Stuff I Liked This Week

• Was super honored that The Long Climb was added to the

  Midstack
  directory, run by
  Jessica Smock
  of
  Midstory Magazine
  . Midstack is a directory of Substacks by middle-aged women. It’s diverse and rich and just wonderful. Even when I was younger, I have always said that women are at their most interesting after the age of 40, and I stand by that. I can’t wait to dive in (as if I don’t get enough email from all of you fabulous writers).

• As always,

  Jessica Valenti
  is doing incredible work over on
  Abortion, Every Day
  - this post about the young mother who died in Georgia because she was unable to get medical care is devastating and infuriating, and a good reminder why we cannot let Trump win in November.

• Eileen Dougharty
  of
  You're Right, I Do Look Tired
  wrote this beautiful piece - “Help is a Four Letter Word” - and it is very Relatable Content.

• This essay by

  Kelly Hoover Greenway
  at
  Deeply Felt
  broke my heart. It’s shatteringly honest and rich and sad.

• Was happy to come across

  The Periprofessional
  this week - as I learn more about perimenopause and what to expect, I am grateful for resources like this.

Dispatches from Annie and Talula

Annie: ²

We had kind of a bad month ok. One day mom put Talula in the cat carrier and daddy TOOK HER AWAY and the mean people yanked teeth out of her mouth. I was v sad for the whole day and mom said she was a “nervous wreck” whatever that means. Then Talula came back and smelled funny and I growled at her but then she didn’t smell funny anymore and we are besties again.

Anyway everything now is pretty good except mom says I lick my FUPA too much and its going bald. I don’t know what FUPA means but I know its bad because she laughs when she says it and I DONT THINK ITS FUNNY OKAY but anyway mom says she needs to get bitter apple and idk what that is but i hate it I think. brb i have to hauspanther because there is a bug in the window.

Talula:

My hateful mother put me in a cage and sent me away to a place that did stuff to my mouth. I can’t believe Daddy betrayed me, but I love him so much I am basically over it. I can’t have crunchy treats anymore, which sucks, but we get Churu. We love Churu. We will do anything for Churu³. Any flavor is the best Churu but the BEST BEST Churu is Chicken and Cheese, which makes mom make sounds like she has a hairball for some reason. It’s weird because she eats both chicken AND cheese so what is her problem even.

Did I tell you my mom is annoying⁴? I bet you guys figured that out bc you are smart like me. I love daddy best and make sure to let her know every single day when I glare at her and sleep on daddys shirt when he is gone. I also act like I want her to pet me and then run away when she tries. She kind of sucks.

okay bye!

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Do y’all have any fun plans for the weekend? Any bits and bobs of your own to share? Feel free to drop them in the comments.

1. No shade to Brooklyn, it is a lovely borough. However, I live in Queens, and although the two boroughs are mere miles apart, it is an unholy pain in the ass to travel between them. Why? I don’t know, it makes no sense, and it is very annoying they have done nothing about this.

2. one of my favorite activities is to write in my cat’s voices, as I imagine them. They insisted that they be Heard this week.

3. If you have cats, get Churu. My cats do ANYTHING. They let me cut their claws, wrangle them into carriers. Annie even does a trick. I taught her to go up on her hind legs and I say “up!” and she knows she gets Churu now if she does that. Last night Mike got the Churu out, and Annie jumped on the couch and went up on her hind legs! It was extremely cute.

4. Talula low key hates me. She finds me extremely annoying. She hates it when I sing, talk too loud/much, and have to do mean things like cut her claws. She is also the smartest cat I have ever had, and I hate this for me. However, I am a sucker for a tabby, and I find her outrageously adorable. When she does reduce herself to snuggling with me, it makes me so happy.