I enjoy reading monthly updates from people I follow (via RSS), they’re always so interesting. So I figured I’d try writing my own. It’ll be good to 1) get me into a regular writing cadence (I want to write more, here and elsewhere, this year), and 2) maybe someone will find mine interesting (jk I don’t think people read this blog). Anyways, let’s give this a try!

general

Greetings from 30,000 feet1. This month’s edition is a little delayed, and I’m writing this on the flight home from Prague (more on that in next month’s edition!).

September was a big month. After 4 incredible years at Hashrocket, it was time to move on. I started a new job in the latter half of the month.

I had a glorious week off in between. It was a mostly relaxing week - I spent a lot of time reading, writing, kitchenning, setting up a computer, and hanging out at Great Lakes.

There was also a non-relaxing portion, where I went for a long bike ride (at least for me). 50 miles along the lakefront. Down to Jackson Harbor, all the way to the North end of the trail, then back down to Promontory Point before the final stretch back up home. It was a beast of a ride. Luckily I picked a lovely day for it, but I was dying at the end nonetheless. I’m super proud I managed it, though.

using

I picked up a Uni Zento Flow at Atlas Stationers. I was on the fence about the Zento before I purchased it, and I think I still am. On the one hand it’s super smooth, super nice to write with. On the other hand, I don’t know if it’s really any better than a Zebra Sarasa or other similar gel pen. Though the Zento is a liquid gel/rollerball-y type pen, it really just feels like a gel pen, and writes like one too. What convinced me to pull the trigger on it was the metal barrel of the Flow model. I like the added heft, and even if I’m not enamored with the refill I can swap it out for something I prefer more. It’s a nice pen to write with.

I’m considering going scorched earth on my neovim config. As I set up my new work machine, I ran into a number of things that didn’t work out of the box. Things like commenting lines of code, standardrb integration with the lsp. I could try to fix them, but it’s frustrating. It’s got me thinking of trying helix or recreating a very pared down nvim config. Realistically the pared down config is more likely, and I think I could get it pretty lean. Helix is intriguing but would require some muscle memory relearning. Something to experiment with.

reading

I finished The Golden Notebook. It was incredibly interesting, but a very challenging read. It took me most of the month to work through, though I felt like I was reading at a good clip (I guess that means it was a long book).

I also read The Unknown, by Riley Sager. It was…ok. Interesting premise, but I think too many twists and a less than satisfying conclusion.

I have like 3 books going right now, with 2 close to finished. I need to wrap those up and get back to 1 book in progress at a time - any more than that just gives me anxiety.

watching

We watched Gone on Britbox. It was very good, very intense. Proper drama. Makes Bristol look (hauntingly) beautiful. I’d move there, but I don’t think I’d like that bridge.

We’re working on the Marble Hall Murders and Marlow Murder Club. Both solid, cosy, and familiar.

Taskmaster Series 22 has started, but it’s only ok. It has it’s moments for sure, but one contestant will be the winner by quite a margin, so the competition is a little one-sided.

listening

I went to my first show this year (crazy to think that it’s September) - I saw Alcest and Deafheaven open for Mastodon. I could care less about Mastodon, but Alcest and Deafheaven is a dream lineup of blackened shoegaze. Alcest was sublime as always, and Deafheaven ripped. They debuted a new song - Hunter - and it’s the heaviest thing they’ve done to date. Proper black metal. So excited for the EP.

Leading up to the show, I was binging lots of Alcest and Deafheaven, natch. Still getting set up on the work laptop and I don’t have my Godspeed on there yet, so I’ve been relying on youtube for their works. But an ad break in the middle of Sleep is really jarring, so I need to get those files setup pronto.

  1. I’ve always wanted to say that. ↩