Where are the weeks going?? It feels like I only just wrote my May recap, and yet we are already solidly into July, and I can’t remember anything I read or listened to this month. So much of June was spent processing the protests and conversations happening in the US, while simultaneously navigating the strange and sometime joyous experience of Istanbul reopening. It’s not the first time I’ve felt intensely divided between my physical and mental locations, but the pandemic makes it all a bit more intense. The pandemic seems to make EVERYTHING a bit more intense.
Best Of The Month
The end of Istanbul’s lockdowns and the tentative reopening of much of the country meant that I could tiptoe into some of the small pleasures I’ve missed these last few months. Something as basic as having a coffee outside at a cafe feels like a wondrous experience. And now that the seasides are reopened, I can bike and run along the water again. How did we stay away for so long?
I also took a day trip to the islands with a friend, and just getting out of the center of the city and into the (cold, wavy) sea felt divine.
And then I finally got out of Istanbul, venturing to a small village called Dalyan that’s driving distance from the city. The place I stayed was right on the water and I fell asleep to the sound of the waves. It felt like the first time in months that my brain could forget about the pandemic and relax… a perfectly restorative escape.
Worst Of The Month
Istanbul opening up was not all coffees and rainbows. Figuring out how to best navigate normalization when the virus hasn’t gone away is constantly stressful, and every joy goes hand in hand with low-level panic.
And the one thing I was most looking forward to opening up has not. I am desperate to swim laps again, but even though officially pools could re-open on June 1, mine still has not. As it gets hotter and hotter and harder to run in the humidity, I feel more and more desperate to get back to swimming.
What I’m Loving
Reads: What did I even read this month? I finished the novel A Widow For One Year by John Irving, which my mom gave me last year, and enjoyed it. I just love books that smell like they came directly from my parents’ basement.
Music: I loved the songs Symphonie Pacifique by Greg Foat and Goultili Bye Bye by Nordine Staifi. Here’s a little June playlist of the music I was listening to:
TV/Movies: I finished my Mad Men rewatch, and decided to swear off of TV for a bit. It was great and it also took up so much of my time, and I would stay up late to watch more episodes! So I am content to go back to my usual TV-less existence.
Podcasts: The GOAT podcast You Must Remember This is back with a series about Polly Platt, a fascinating woman who did not get enough credit for her immense talents (and was frequently overshadowed by her ex-husband, Peter Bogdanovitch). The series The Last Archive has been consistently fascinating, especially this episode about the polio vaccine. Cautionary Tales is back with short episodes that highlight aspects of this current pandemic through historical cautionary tales.
I loved the episode “The Strange Life of an LA Googie” from Welcome to LA, about a building Hillary and I have passed many times in Los Angeles. And my friend Bradley recommended this wild episode called “The Weird World I Was Warned To Keep Secret” from the podcast Outlook… the less you know before you listen, the better.
The Film Files
After a slow few months, I finally took my Pentax out again. I’ve been feeling uninspired, which perhaps is to be expected in these strange times.
Ephemera
My orchid bloomed again! I got this orchid almost four years ago, but it keeps coming and coming back again.
Upcoming
I WILL go to the south of Turkey. The exact outlines of that trip are still being ironed out (pandemic makes everything hard), but it is happening somehow.
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