Wow, how is it late October already!? It feels like time has passed at warp speed. I’ve now been in my new apartment for over a month (WHAT), am halfway through my fall semester, and have begun perusing flights home for Christmas. This is crazy; I swear it was just my birthday a week ago.

Anyways, there are so many things to give updates on, and trying to form a coherent, chronological narrative has proven far more difficult than expected. I keep telling myself it wouldn’t be this hard if I wrote more often, buuuut we’ll revisit my lack of consistency another time. 😅 For now, I’m gonna group my updates by category in an attempt to create some form of structure.

Becoming a Cantabrigian (aka Cambridge resident — yes, it’s a real term)

I’ll start with the apartment stuff: while the adjustment period was real, I love my new home. I spent the first week selling a lot of inessential things that I just don’t have the space for anymore—moment of silence for my salad spinner, please—and made some purchases that were huge lifestyle improvements (lookin’ at you, over-the-door hooks). I’d best describe my new place as ~ c o z y ~.

I also really like the lifestyle I have in Cambridge: I take Coconut out more, am friendly with my neighbors, ride my bike more frequently…in general I just feel a bit more connected, which is ironic given that I’m less convenient to reach. That’s probably why, honestly—the distance has made me more intentional about seeking in-person interactions.

And so far, that’s proven pretty enjoyable! Since moving, I’ve gone to a French macaron workshop at a nearby culinary school, competed in my company’s Field Day (was tug-of-war always this hard!?), baked cupcakes for a neighborhood potluck, and attended a marching band festival. A few Fridays ago, I even took a half-day to volunteer at a local farm with some coworkers. We spent the entire time harvesting potatoes, an activity that felt like a cross between an Easter egg hunt and panning for gold.

While I’m definitely seeing more people, I’m still searching for a more stable sense of community. My friendships tend to consist of 1-on-1 meetups instead of group hangs, and while I’d love for my existing friends to form a group (trust me, I’ve tried!), it’s been hard to find a central, uniting activity that everyone’s interested in. Which brings me to….

Hobbies

Now that I’m finally getting the hang of the whole “balancing school with a full-time job” thing, I feel like I can dedicate more time to just…having fun. I know. A CONCEPT.

I’m open to trying most things; my only requirement is that whatever it is, it’s in-person. The combination of working remotely, coding for a living, and doing grad school online has skyrocketed my screen time (not to mention the hours I can easily spend browsing Youtube, Substack, or Reddit). So for the sake of my eyesight and sanity, I want an activity that keeps me grounded in the real world with real people.

There’s a language school near me, so one idea I had was to pick up French again. The school does small, in-person classes, and I’ve really missed immersing myself in a foreign language. Unfortunately, they didn’t have a class suitable to my level this session, so I’ll have to check back in spring. Something similar happened with a tumbling class I’d wanted to take nearby — the only one that fit my schedule filled up before I could register.

I’ve still got some leads, though! I think it’d be fun to get involved in my local theatre, either as an actor or crew member. And it’s nearly ice-skating season, so I’m planning on getting my skates sharpened this weekend and checking out a nearby rink. Lastly, my local bookstore hosts a monthly book club, so I’m hoping to join for their October meeting this coming Monday. 📚

Coconut

Coconut’s doing well! He’s adjusted to the new place quite nicely, and he’s still as clingy as ever haha. Upon moving I really wanted to work on his leash behavior, and he’s gotten so much better. His main issues were speed (alternating between spurts and crawls, with no in-between) and circumstantial leash-pulling (the construction workers at my last apartment would give him treats, so he started associating anyone in neon clothes with food).

A friend who’d worked with a dog behaviorist shared a lot of tips that I used on Coconut. Small changes, from how taut I kept the leash to the angle at which I held it, actually made a difference. The most impactful tip, though, was to reframe the purpose of the walk: from “his time” to “our time.” This translates to maintaining a balance between letting him sniff / be curious and moving on when appropriate. His improvements have made longer, more frequent walks possible, and I seriously could not be prouder. 🥹

On a less fun note, I’ve also been reminded of the fact that he’s…well, aging. A couple weekends ago, he experienced what seemed to be a panic attack out of nowhere. My boyfriend and I were eating dinner when Coconut suddenly started pacing and panting. He’d beg to be picked up, but as soon as we would, he’d leap away. We took him on a walk, which calmed him down a bit (enough to eat a treat, at least), but then he’d start pacing a few minutes later. I sprayed his bed with Adaptil (a calming pheromone spray), turned off the lights, played classical music softly, took him on another walk… nothing seemed to help except for time.

The next morning, he was completely back to normal, but the experience shook me. This had only happened one other time, and we (i.e. us and his vet) believe it’s most likely doggy dementia. I mean, he’s fourteen, so that makes sense…but it was still tough to see him so distressed. I’ve ramped up my efforts to keep his mind engaged — I started doing a short clicker-training session after our morning walk, and yesterday I introduced him to a senior-friendly Kong toy, which he surprisingly loves. (This is huge; he never plays with toys!)

Overall, Coconut’s still in good spirits and physically healthy — people are always so impressed to learn that such a perky dog is a teenager. So while his age is something to be mindful of, we aren’t gonna let this setback take away from the good times ahead!

Content I’m Lovin’

• Chernobyl. My boyfriend and I recently finished the 5-part docuseries on HBO. We also listened to the accompanying podcast, which provided additional historical context for each episode and allowed the show’s creator to discuss his creative choices. It’s such a fascinating and tragic chronicle of events, so we even decided to make Voices from Chernobyl, an oral history by Svetlana Alexievich, the inaugural book of our 2-person book club.
• Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley. This fiction was incredibly written but also very heavy. I looked up the author afterwards and was stunned she was so young! Definitely worth a read.
• The School For Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan. This is one of those books that stays in your mind long after you’ve finished it. The protagonist was imperfect and complicated, and her inner dialogue felt so raw. Highly recommend!
• Barbieheimer. Watched both; loved both. The Barbie soundtrack is killer, and the pacing of Oppenheimer made three hours fly by.

Cooking

Some highlights from the past month: empanadas, “tuna” salad wraps (subbed chickpeas instead), and BBQ cauliflower bites!

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Aaaaand that’s pretty much what’s been going on lately! Below are some random snapshots that I didn’t cover: going to a Red Sox game; attending a show featuring Ira Glass from This American Life and Jad Abumrad from Radiolab; becoming a bridesmaid for a friend from high school (!!!); and Coconut snoozing deeply.

Tonight I’m grabbing dinner with a friend, and afterwards we’re going salsa dancing! And then I’ll probably spend most of the weekend reading Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice For Murderers, watching the Head Of The Charles Regatta, and planning for my mom’s visit next week.

‘Til next time! ✌️