102. Frenetic
rather wild and uncontrolled
What I’m doing
These few weeks have been frenetic. This word has come up a few times in recent days — once in a conversation with a former-student-now-friend whose life is so full, she can barely catch her breath. It also came up in AP Lit class, where I posited that the word itself is neutral in that it doesn’t necessarily have exclusively negative or positive connotations. Maybe a hot take. The fact that I don’t think “rather wild and uncontrolled” is necessarily negative tells you where I am these days.
I’ve had a weird abundance of social energy the past few months. I feel like I did in college — always up for an adventure, always wondering what everyone is up to (always up at 1 am). It’s wild since the extroverted version of me has lain dormant for the past few years. It’s like I’m finding my old self again.
Friday night, we drove about 3/4 of the length of the island, not leaving Kaohsiung until after an evening event and arriving at Linkou after midnight. We’re here for Lucy’s soccer tournament and to see a friend, but we stayed an extra night at a fancy hotel just for the heck of it. This is the first of two consecutive weekends in Taipei.
Paul and I are living different adventures right now. He’s somewhere in Tanzania, mostly without cell reception, tracking rare birds. I’m navigating busy city roads and hosting parties in our apartment.
What I’m reading
I feel a little sheepish admitting I’m not really reading anything. I am midway through The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway and a reread of Franny and Zooey by Salinger (have always loved the Franny section, but enjoying Zooey more than usual this time around). Honestly, though, I’m working through these books verrrry slowly. I had to pass Gatsby on to the new English 3 teacher (RIP me, lucky him), so I’m on a quest to find a replacement — something relatively short featuring beautiful prose, intense emotions, and lots of drama. (Let me know if you have any recommendations.)
I am, however, watching a lot of TV. Or maybe more accurately, falling asleep to a lot of TV.
What I’m thinking about
I told my friend AT he’s really good at volleyball, and he said, “Oh, thanks. You’re really good at… (long pause).” I tried to help him out. I’m kind of good at NYT Connections…? He did eventually have something very nice to say, but the long pause made me laugh and also made me think. There are people who are known to be good at things. Everyone knows Paul is a birder. JL is great with details and maintaining high standards. Shelby is excellent at advocating for others (and planning parties). LK is an insanely disciplined runner. I have three friends whose name starts with C who are excellent at food recommendations. JT and JB can come up with puns for everything.
Would you rather be known to be good at many things or great at one thing? I think, realistically, the former… but sometimes the latter would be nice.
What I’m learning
Once I planned to start a podcast about reading. I recorded and produced the first episode and outlined the next five.
Then I put it aside.
For some reason, I thought about that podcast this morning and located the old file. I listened to it. It’s fine. Kind of meh. A little cringe. But fine?
We all know that people who are willing to stumble through conversations when learning a language, bad grammar and wrong vocab be damned, end up learning faster than those who want to get it right before attempting to speak.
We tell students all the time that making mistakes is part of learning.
But it’s still hard for me to apply this in my own life, even though I wouldn’t call myself a perfectionist.
I don’t really have any intention of reviving plans for that podcast, at least in its previous iteration. But I do want to be more ok publicly failing or looking foolish.
What I’m digging
Driving without using my GPS (to be clear, in Kaohsiung and Xiao Liu Qiu, not Taipei).
Shogun and Fallout. Wildly different, but both so good. (And TV show podcasts like this and this.)
My tiny little Prius. The Land Rover is undoubtedly cooler, but wow I like zipping around in my underpowered-but-gas-efficient little car. It cost me $10 in gas to traverse the island.
My colleagues. We had our staff appreciation dinner on Friday, and it just felt like going out for a very nice dinner with friends (paid for by the Board!).
The Links I Would Gchat You If We Were Friends newsletter, packed to the brim with interesting links.
Peace,
Kate