Briefly | It’s been a bit of a rough week. A couple of really wonderful people in our community passed away after long struggles with cancer, and although I didn’t know them well I know they are going to be missed by many, many people.
Time and Place | Just before 7:30 a.m. on my parents’ couch.
Reading | My reading this week has been pretty sporadic, which is too bad because I have two deadlines — one freelance (Palimpsest by Matthew Battles) and one book tour (Smash Cut by Brad Gooch) — coming up this week. I’ve been trying hard to space out obligation reads, but these two bumped together and I’m struggling a little bit to get motivated. When I wasn’t reading either of those, I’ve been making my way through Meet Me in Atlantis by Mark Adams (started funny, but is starting to lose me around page 100). I’m probably going to switch it up and grab what I really want to be reading — Leaving Orbit by Margaret Lazarus Dean, a new nonfiction title from Graywolf Press about the end of the American shuttle program. So many books, so little time.
Watching | I needed a new half-hour comedy to watch, so I decided to start Friends (available on Netflix). I was too young for the show when it debuted and didn’t really start watching when I aged in, so I’m coming at it as a newbie. So far, it’s fun.
Watching II | This time-lapse video of summer in Minnesota freelance photographer Chad Halvorson is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. This is why Minnesotans put up with the our insane winters.
Blogging | This week I shared my March 2015 reading wrap up and took a look at how I’m going on my 2015 reading goals, and reposted a Book Riot piece on nonfiction to read if you loved Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Promoting | Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon is coming up this month (April 25)! At this point, my schedule is clear for that weekend… and I’m going to work hard to keep it that way.
Hating | Over margaritas on Thursday night, a friend told me she’d been battling a feeling of ennui — “a feeling of utter weariness and discontent resulting from satiety or lack of interest” — most of the week. I’m starting to think ennui is contagious and I caught it from her. I need something to kick start a cheerful attitude.
Eating | The boyfriend found these weird puffy Cheez-Its when we stopped for snacks yesterday. It’s like eating a Cheeto, but it tastes like a Cheez-It. So weird!
Exercising | I did pretty well with my walk/exercise goal in March, until the final week of the month. But so far I’ve only missed 15 days days this year, which isn’t too shabby.
Anticipating | In a few hours we’ll be heading over to my Grandma’s apartment for Easter lunch. I’m excited to spend some time with my family with food, games and laughter — that should be a good ennui buster.
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I’m sorry to hear about the ennui — and the news of the people with whom you’re acquainted passing away. A friend’s father recently had a stroke and I’m sort of bummed right now. Hope for you that Easter lunch helps with the ennui. Here, I’m planning on reading some poetry this afternoon because of being too distracted by phone the last few days. Need a respite. Hoping Thomas Merton, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Wallace Stevens can help.
I love the idea of reading some poetry as an antidote for distraction. I’m thinking about adding poetry to my Readathon pile for late in the evening to see how that goes.
Maybe the spring will cure you of your ennui. Happy Easter, Kim!
A warm, sunny day always helps!
I’m on Season 8 of Friends (my first time watching the show too) and I love love love it. I’ve been watching since January but had to miss it for a whole month because of some trips.
Hope you feel better soon – that feeling of helplessness can be contagious!
I’m trying not to think about how long watching all 10 season is going to take! So far I like it, but not so much that I feel obsessed to watch episode after episode after episode — a good thing, for sure!
The ennui is real. Hopefully spring (read: sunshine) will provide a cure? In the meantime, I’m intrigued by Leaving Orbit–looks like fun. And I feel your pain on overlapping deadlines; that’s always a recipe for burn-out for me, and I’m trying really hard to be better about scheduling and getting/staying ahead to not let it happen anymore.
This is the first time this year I had overlapping deadlines, so in general I’m doing better about that. But boy, this week reminded me how much I hate that!
I watched Friends for the first time when I was living in England, because I couldn’t deal with how much my flatmates were making fun of me for not knowing things about Friends (like who Matthew Perry is). It remains one of my standby comfort shows! I’ve been rewatching it since it showed up on Netflix. The stuff about gay people has aged…poorly. But in general, it really holds up.
The first season fashion is a little dated too 🙂 But yeah, I’ve always felt a little odd that I never watched the show. It’s so into culture, though, I feel like I know a lot about it even without watching.
My 25 y-o daughter just mentioned she’s just started watching Friends for the first time. Maybe it’s a thing? I’ve been feeling that ennui for a few weeks! It’s the first time I’ve seriously thought that I might be suffering from actual depression, because there doesn’t seem to be a particular reason to be feeling this way. I’m hoping warmer weather will do the trick, but it does seem as though there is a lot of sad news all at once lately.
The good thing about my ennui is that I know (for me) it’s passing. There’s been some tough stuff going on in life that I’m taking in, but it will get better. I hope yours improves too.
Hope you perk up soon. I had that listless feeling really bad back in December. It was rough.
Those puffy cheeze-it like things look like toddler puffs to me, ha!
They do look like a kids snack! Super weird!
I just realized that I have been pronouncing ‘ennui’ wrong in my head for YEARS — something like en-you-eye. But your post reminded me of the Gilmore Girls episode where Michel says he has (what I heard as) on-wee, and then Sookie catches it. And then it all clicked.
Anyway, I hope your ennui disperses soon!
Oh yes! That episode was so funny. I need a Gilmore Girls rewatch.
UGH. I always thought it was en-you-wee!
Anyway, I hope Easter with the family helped!
I have seen episodes of Friends over the years, probably even watched some of them when they first aired, but I definitely have not seen them all. I am not sure if I could commit to 10 seasons. I am the worst TV watcher EVER.
I watch A LOT of television. And I like short comedies for over breakfast and if I come home for my lunch break. So I think I can get through the series in a reasonable-ish time frame.