12: Home Again

My brain is still relatively smooth from last week’s vacation. This is a good thing! I was coming right up to the edge of burnout before we left, feeling overwhelmed by my day job and my personal to-do list, and battling a killer case of writer’s block. I took no work with me on our road trip; my only plans for the week were to forget what day of the week it was, to spend time with friends and family, and to abide by no schedule except the hotel reservations we made. Crushed it on all fronts, came back with a smaller sunburn than I expected to get, and I’m once again capable of focusing on something for more than five minutes at a time. I’m working on a piece about Near Dark, and I’m still thinking about Jordan Peele’s NOPE; I’m saving most of my substantial thoughts this weekend for each of these. More soon.

What I’m reading:

I brought three books with me: Persuasion, Salty by Alissa Wilkinson, and a collection of Flannery O’Connor essays and short stories. I didn’t get around to the Flannery O’Connor, but that’s because I went to a bookstore and found a copy of Station Eleven, which has been on my radar since the TV show made the rounds on Twitter. I don’t know if I’ll ever get around to the show, but I am loving the book so far.

What I’m listening to:

A significant portion of vacation was spent on the road. House Welch-Larson has a rule that the driver gets to DJ, and everyone who was in the car has distinct musical taste. We listened to Green Day, My Chemical Romance, Nina Simone, Bruce Springsteen, Bartees Strange, and show tunes, including this bonkers synth-heavy version of Losing My Mind sung by Liza Minnelli (the music video’s pretty great too). It might be the best road trip song ever? You’ll have to let me know yours in the comments.