I returned to an Istanbul under curfew, with continuing weekend lockdowns. While so many of my friends are worn out by it, I’ve been happy to have an excuse to stay cozy and home and get reacquainted with my apartment. I’m sure I’ll be tired of it soon.
Best Of The Month
I finally got to experience something I’ve been anticipating for two years: I watched snowfall from my apartment. The living room has big floor-to-ceiling windows and I’ve been imagining a proper winter snowstorm through the glass since I moved in. Finally, it snowed! And then I went out to frolic slog the seaside with Nacho, something I try to do every time it snows here.
With all the cafes and restaurants closed, I’ve had a lot more time along the seaside in general. I take long walks with friends, sit and have a coffee (or wine) in the seaside rocks, ride my bike… these simple pleasures are truly a highlight. I’m very lucky that the sea is so accessible from my neighborhood.
And the real best part of the month: both of my parents are vaccinated! My dad has received two shots and my mom has received one, and that is a huge, HUGE relief. Now I just have to wait for my sister to get vaccinated… and me too, though who knows when that will be.
Worst Of The Month
I’m in the process of renewing my visa, which is slow this year (thanks, pandemic) and therefore is causing me a massive amount of stress. Just filling out the application left me incapacitated with anxiety. Sigh.
Watching the insurrection at the Capitol was shocking (if not surprising) and gave me coup flashbacks. (Weirdly, I was in the same situation that July night as I was this January: at home, alone.) I worried something bad would happen after the election and I feared it would happen when I was home in the US; instead it came three days after I arrived back in Turkey.
What I’m Loving
Reads: When I was in quarantine in November, some of my Istanbul girlfriends sent me a care package that included the three Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Stieg Larsson novels. I took them back home with me and read them during curfews this month, and I ADORED them. It was such an interesting, vibrant world to escape into every night, and distracted me from the curfew tedium for a week and a half.
I also read The Island of the Colorblind by Oliver Sacks, which was unsurprisingly wonderful— he is such a beautiful writer, I love him so much.
Music: The song “Protection” by Massive Attack came up on a trip hop mix I was listening to, and it pinged something way deep in my brain. I think there was some point in my life when I knew this song and wanted to figure out what it was, but couldn’t; maybe a dance class I took on my early teens when the internet was less robust? Whenever it entered my life, I never knew what it was, and now I do. It’s a strange kind of nostalgia.
The song “Caught You In A Lie” is a 7-minute long reggae-ish song and for about 30 seconds, I thought it was incredibly cheesy. And then… something… changed, and very quickly I became convinced that it was an amazing song that I absolutely loved. I still feel that way though I still can’t really explain why.
I’ve also been listening to much more Mick Jenkins, because I’ve always liked the songs of his that I’ve come across and figured it was time to dive in a bit deeper. Good choice, he’s terrific.
Movies/TV: Though I’m watching much less now that I’m I longer in California, I did watch Promising Young Woman. I have a lot of thoughts. I liked it, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. (I can also understand why people might not like it— it’s a bold film, and makes some big choices.) I’m reluctant to say too much about it… I recommend you watch it, and then we can talk about it.
Also, we watched Night At The Opera on New Year’s Day in homage the The Brattle Theater’s annual tradition in Cambridge, MA— it was one of my favorite things when I lived in the area, and a New Years Day hangover is always better with The Marx Brothers.
Podcasts: Hit Parade continues to be one of my favorite podcasts, and their January epic— about the band Chic and it’s long tentacled of influence— is so interesting and full of SO many jams.
My friend Bradley recommended the miniseries “The Rat Line”, a season of the BBC’s Intrigue podcast from a few years ago. It delves into the escape route Nazis used at the end of WWII, and one Nazi in particular who’s son still believes he wasn’t a bad guy.
I started listening in earnest to You’re Wrong About, including one weekend binging the DC Sniper episodes, which are dark and sad but incredibly interesting. There was so much I didn’t know.
The Film Files
While I was in California, Hillary and I continued our annual tradition of shooting double exposures in the backyard. I got one of the rolls developed and they were so interesting and cool… there are two rolls left that I need to finish, once I figure out exactly when and where.
Ephemera
I went to a groovy exhibition this month. Mikrotopya was a sort of guerrilla exhibition, set up in a soon-to-be-destroyed building by artists who used to live there. It was eerie to walk around the debris- scattered floors, listening to doors slam in the wind, and then suddenly come upon fabulous art. The building was recently finally demolished, so alas, Mikrotopya is no more. It was pretty cool while it lasted.
Upcoming
I have no plans to go anywhere, and certainly nowhere outside of Turkey! Which is fine— it feels really nice to just be here.
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