1. Locked down in Pennsylvania
What I’m up to
We are in Pennsylvania for a month of summer break, essentially locked down on P’s parents’ property. We understand the US is basically returning to “normal” now, but coming from COVID-free-until-recently-Taiwan (and extreme vigilance as numbers started to rise before we left), we have decided to just stay put and limit visits/public excursions. We are lucky in that my in-laws have plenty of space: 100 acres including a creek, woods, wide fields, and an old hunting camp they have been fixing up for our use. It’s the opposite of our life in Taiwan, which is nice for a vacation.
What I’m reading
I am reading a LOT these days.
A few of the books I’ve finished recently:
the entire Grishaverse series (the Shadow and Bone trilogy, the Six of Crows duology, and the King of Scars duology) by Leigh Bardugo. It’s been a while since I’ve fallen head-over-heels for a fantasy world.
Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney. This was my third time attempting to read this book and third time’s the charm: I could not put it down. I am in love with Sally Rooney’s writing.
Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay. This is a book by a Filipino-American author about a Filipino-American boy whose eyes are opened to Duterte’s drug war. I found this very relatable.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. Unpopular opinion, but I quite disliked How to Stop Time, which made me hesitant to pick this up despite positive reviews; however, I liked it so much more. I have read a string of alternate-life/timeline novels recently (more on this later), which goes along with the “what if” daydreaming I always find myself indulging when we come back to the US.
What I’m thinking about
I have found myself withdrawing from political conversations outside teaching. It drives me crazy when I’m talking politics and global issues with friends, and we all end up ranting on the same side of the political spectrum. It is the epitome of preaching to the choir, which (to load on another metaphor) seems like little more than navel-grazing. Every time we have these passionate discussions, I think, “Yes, ok. I know. SO WHAT? What are we going to do about it?”
But then I don’t know what to do, so instead I just shy away from having these conversations at all.
Withdrawing from engagement is clearly not the answer, which leads me to…
What I’m learning
I read somewhere recently that we were meant to only have a hundred fifty friends/acquaintances, this number derived from the average hunter-gatherer community. (This is called “Dunbar’s number.”) I can certainly understand having limited bandwidth for social interactions. I think this might apply to caring about causes, too. We are not equipped to know about everything and care about everything. Our forebears’ hearts and minds (presumably) only had the capacity to care about what they experienced in person. Again, I don’t think that means we can just tap out. But it might mean narrowing our focus?
On this note, one of my goals this year is to decide what causes I truly care about and do something. One of the ways our family is doing this is to put aside money each month to support to the causes closest to each of our hearts: for P, it’s conservation and improved livelihoods; for A, it’s mental health support for LGBTQ kids; for L, it’s climate change; for me, it’s child poverty and hunger. We each picked Dorobo Fund, The Trevor Project, Sunrise Movement, and Project PEARLS respectively.
It’s a small thing, but it’s not nothing. It’s a start.
What I’m making
I’m working on a 100 day project in which I’m painting tiny book covers of 100 books I love (check out the #100watercolorbookcovers hashtag on Instagram). I am, admittedly, not doing this over a hundred days. Some days I paint multiple, and then a week will pass before I do another. The idea is to do them quickly, imprecisely. All fun, no stress.
What I’ve saved
Scener via TikTok - I’ve been looking for a way to watch movies with others remotely. This looks promising!
Lady Science via Girl Power newsletter - “a multifaceted collaborative writing project focused on women in science, technology, and medicine.”
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winners list - not sure what to read? Just make your way down this list; you won’t regret it! Just purchased the just-announced winner for 2021, Louise Erdrich’s The Night Watchman.
Until next time,
Kate