October 2021

I spent October in a lot of places, with the first half of the month in Istanbul and the second half all over the US. All of it was so wonderful that I wish I could have more time in each place— but this month was about momentum, and man, I moved.

Best of the Month

After a year and a half of pandemic closure, my lap pool FINALLY reopened, at least for those of us who paid for slots back in March 2020. Because I was leaving for the US soon, I swam most of my leftover slots in the same weeks— four hour-long pool spots in five days. It was intense but just felt so wonderful! I’m happy this can finally be part of my regular life again.

Istanbul was full of small pleasure in October, actually— so many night drinking cocktails at Fahri Konsolos with beautiful friends, a house party full of paella and salsa dancing, new friends and local adventures.

I thought it might rain during most of my east coast trip, but I got so lucky— especially in DC, where the weather was warm and the leaves were just starting to turn. It was truly perfect weather and reminded me why I like DC so much.

I planned to spend Halloween in NYC and it was a perfect decision. What a wild city for the most surreal holiday! I loved everything about it— the skeletons posed on railings, the bars decorated with webbing, the costumes on the subway, the 3am pizza stop after a night of parties. I bought wigs for my friends and myself about an hour before we went out and we wore those wigs all night and it was silly and wonderful.

Worst of the Month

All of this month was fun but WOW I scheduled so much travel in such a short period of time, and it was exhausting! At one point I’d been in four cities and four times zones in one week. The jet lag was rough and the disorientation was high, but I survived it.

What I’m Loving

Reads: I read Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead in my many flights this month, and really loved it. Harrowing, surreal, propulsive, just generally great.

Music: The two bops that I’ve been wiggling to all month are “Badala Zamana” by Zohra, and “The Obvious Child” by Paul Simon. Good vibes only.

Movies/TV: My friend Bradley and I decided to take a Monday afternoon break from work and went to see a matinee of Censor, a British horror film that I thought would be too gory for me but ended up being a thrill, sort of a David Lynch-lite plot with a lot of levity and a very short run time. I dug it.

I also watched Jurassic Park for the first time (I know, I know) on my flight to the US and it is unsurprisingly great! I was particularly impressed by how tight the plot is and how well the animation holds up.

Podcasts: The podcast Stories From The Eastern West did a whole podcast about my favorite Czech film and the director behind it. Vera Chytilova’s film Daises has been in my life since I studied in Prague many moons ago, and it was great to listen to a whole episode that focused on the film and it’s importance, as well as Chytilova’s interesting life.

The podcast Hit Parade is consistently terrific, but this month’s episode about pop punk and emo, “I Write Sins, Not Tragedies,” hit right at that high school years sweet spot, and I loved it more than I expected. All that silly music we listened to when we were 16! It’s a whole mood!

The Film Files

I always make time in NYC to do some photo project with Alison, and this time was special— we had access to a photography studio with a full light set up, so we spent a whole day shooting and playing. Though most of the shots with digital and not film, I snuck a little analog into the mix, and I can’t wait to see how they’ll come out.

Ephemera

I wrote an entry for Time Out’s Coolest Neighborhoods list about my own neighborhood, which is indeed pretty cool!

Also Halloween is the BEST American holiday, I can’t believe I’ve spent so many years away during the spookiest month. I think Halloween kitsch is pure delight.

Upcoming

The first week of November is a return to Boston, and then I spend the rest of the month in California! I can’t believe it’s still a few more weeks until I go back to Istanbul, but this is a pandemic time warp trip, and I’m just trying to enjoy it all as much as possible.