January is usually a month for hibernation, but I was absolutely wired this month– all I wanted was to be outside, be active, be with friends. And I mostly succeeded! But it’s very strange to be so full of fire when everyone else wants to hunker down. Maybe it’s just an internal rebellion against last year’s curfew, but I wanted to be fully in the world.
Best Of The Month
I spent many, many nights at Fahri Konsolos, the best cocktail bar in Istanbul, and enjoyed myself thoroughly every time. One particular beautiful moment that sticks out is the night it was pouring rain and we’d all squeezed inside the tiny bar… and then the temperature got just cold enough that the rain turned into fluffy white snow, and everyone at Fahri started to cheer.
Another night, before Fahri, I ended up spontaneously accepting an invitation from some friends to go to a hip hop show, by the rapper Aga B, and it was just excellent– especially because I had no idea that’s how I would spend that night.
And my friend Pesha came through Istanbul on a layover, which got extended because of bad weather in New York, and it was such a pleasure to have that time together in this city where we met.
Worst Of The Month
Remember when I said that I wanted to be so active this month? It meant that all the times I wasn’t, I felt so antsy and so unhappy. I was just not very good at sitting still this month.
My friend Gabriela left Istanbul for Stockholm, a move I’ve known about for a few months, but one that didn’t get any less sad when it finally happened. It’s always hard when friends leave the city.
I got sick early in the month, and of course was afraid it was Covid, take 2. It wasn’t, but I was absolutely knocked out for about two days, and it was dreary.
We got some fabulous snow this month, but it was all at night, and I chose to stay inside because I couldn’t convince anyone to come out and play with me. This was the wrong decision! And I regretted it deeply.
What I’m Loving
Reads: I spent most of January reading Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Quartet, and it was great to just sink into the story for a few weeks and immerse myself in that world.
I also read The Radium Girls by Kate Moore, which is a great story (I’ve actually been really fascinated by the Radium Girls for about a decade), but wasn’t very well written, unfortunately.
Music: I loved the song “Yeaba” by CK Mann and His Carousel 7, from the Analog Africa compilation Essiebons Special 1973-1984: Ghana Music Power House, as well as “Love and Hate In A Different Time” by Gabriels and “3500” by Aga B (the rapper I went to see in concert this month).
TV/Movies: I’ve been going to the cinema a lot recently and not everything I’ve watched has been good, but a spontaneous decision to watch The Lost Daughter turned out great– it was better than I thought it would be! I also watched it in the middle of reading the Elena Ferrante trilogy (The Lost Daughter is based on one of her books) so it was really interesting to see some of the themes repeating between the movie and the novels.
I also watched Moonstruck for the first time… why did I wait so long?! It’s an utter delight!
Podcasts: The one show I binged this month was sort of a weird one. Waiting for Impact is by Dave Holmes, the former MTV VJ, about a VERY specific fixation on a band that barely existed. It’s interesting but mostly gets by on Dave’s abundant charm and a heavy dose of ‘90’s nostalgia.
The Film Files
I spent a lot of this month trying to shoot more casually with both my Pentax and my Olympus Mju, and the results were terrific– I want to try to take my cameras out and about more often.
There was also a happy accident with my Istanbul-NYC project. Alison gave me a roll of film in NYC, but it turns out it was a roll I had given her three years ago, so the final doubles are both by me, layering my 2018 life with my current day life. Super trippy, but great.
Ephemera
I took up regular watercolor painting again, thanks to a little push from a friend and the renewed meetings of my unofficial figure drawing club. For the first two weeks of the year, I painted pomegranates, a nice little project to ease myself into 2022.
Upcoming
I will probably stay in Turkey this month, but perhaps I will get out of Istanbul! We shall see!
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