THE THREAD | What have I been up to?
In February I shared the news with you that I was leaving my job, and some folks have asked lately what I’m doing now, what my plans are, etc. I have some news to share later this week about what’s coming next for me. I thought I could share it today, but it will have to wait. Oh, the suspense!
Until then, here’s a random round-up of what I’ve been up to for the past two months.
I finished a book! There are just a few more weeks to pre-order THE THREAD – PROSE & POETRY and I’m excited for this book to come out. If you pre-order today and you will receive a magical bookmark. It’s not just any bookmark – it’s made of air and you can only make it appear by raising your hand over the book, turning the upper corner of the page downward, and creasing it. MAGIC! You don’t want to miss out. Pre-order today!
I read this Atlantic article on friendship in the middle years and have thought a lot about the blessings and challenges of friendship, and it helped me reflect on what I value most in my friendships these days. And as you will see below, one thing I love about my friends is that they recommend good things to me.
I’ve been enjoying Pirate’s Bone Burgers on Main Street, which is now walking distance to my house. Their veggie burgers, French fries, and cookies-and-cream milkshake are just the titanic trinity that I didn’t know I needed in my post-beef-and-dairy life. The espresso shake is also delicious.
I’ve been taking a portrait and figure drawing class at KC Art Institute with my friend Sharon Hunter Putsch because I wanted to try something that I’m not good at that actually has zero consequence in my life. So in the spirit of naked honesty, I’m sharing my first week self-portrait, which looks to me now like what you might draw if someone described a serial killer and the drawing incidentally looked like me. BUT in week two of the class, Sharon said something so simple that blew my mind in the moment. She said, “There are no lines; only light and dark.” This simple thing released me from some effort to be exact and descriptive, and instead be free to work in gradations and gestures. I’ll have more to say about this in a longer essay at some point, but for the time being, please enjoy a good laugh at serial killer me, and a version of me that is hopefully more pleasant than a serial killer.
The week in February that I decided to leave my job, I had coffee with my friend and writer Jenna Brack. During the conversation we were talking about navigating big life changes and she mentioned the book Transitions. I bought a copy later that week and it quickly became an essential tool for me in moving through the last few months of discerning my next steps, honoring the work I’ve done, and leaning into the uncertainty of the present moment. And beyond my own vocational changes, it helps to give simple language to any life changes and how to have freedom in becoming yourself more fully. It’s great.
I attended Open Studios at Charlotte Street Foundation last week and got the chance to visit with many visual artists and writers and see their work. My friend Rachel is working on an art installation for the new airport and I got to visit her studio last weekend to check out her prototypes for the installation.
I spent a day in the Flint Hills of Kansas with some of my writer friends from my MFA program. We spent time writing, catching up, and sharing meals. Then we watched a spring storm roll in with incredible lightning and the chance of tornados, so like any good flatlander, I stood outside with my friends gazing up at the beautiful sky as the tornado sirens blared.
That’s all I’ve got for now. Don’t forget to pre-order the book before it’s too late. I’ll have some new writing next week, and hopefully some good news to share before then. Until then, hope you have a great week!
Andrew