March is always a transition month, but this one seems to shift back into winter— a transition in the wrong direction— before finally settling down into something like spring at the end.
Best Of The Month
I spent the beginning of the month in Antalya, watching my friends run a road race and soaking in the sunshine. It gave me a solar-charge before Winter Pt. 2, and it was just so nice to spend time in Antalya in the springtime again. The last time we were here was only two weeks before the pandemic began, so it was lovely to come back now.
Though winter really shouldn’t happen in March, the first days of snow were SO beautiful, and the city is always so giddy and fun when the snow falls thick and soft– watching people build snowmen and have snowball fights like children always makes me happy to be in Istanbul.
There were multiple dinner parties that lit up my month, from an Indian-themed dinner with my favorite cocktail maker that became bigger and rowdier than we ever could have planned, to a dinner that was dominated by journalists and other who had recently left Moscow, including a friend of mine from university who I hadn’t seen in years. I met a lot of interesting new people and had great conversations, two things I love.
My friend celebrated her birthday with karaoke, which I’m not usually super enthusiastic about, but this was the BEST karaoke experience I’ve had– it was in a little dive bar in Feneryolu, and instead of getting on a stage to perform, we all just passed microphones around the table and belted every song out together. It was great fun.
My friend Gabi made a spontaneous and very unexpected trip back to Istanbul, and it was SUCH a gift. She came at a time when I very much needed to see her, and it was a treat to have her back in the neighborhood again, even just for a few days.
Worst Of The Month
The snow was pretty for a couple of days, but having so much snow in mid-March was really a drag. I am done with winter!
The continuing war in Ukraine was a constant black cloud over March, and it just gets bleaker and bleaker.
What I’m Loving
Reads: I read The Tenth of December by George Saunders, which was good but I found it hard to maintain my reading momentum between each short story. Maybe short stories aren’t really for me! Next up will be a big fat nonfiction book.
Music: I loved the song “The Barrel” by Aldous Harding, which Hillary put on a mix for me ages ago, but I heard recently in a cafe in Antalya and moved it into my listening rotation.
Movies/TV: I didn’t really watch anything I can remember in March. It happens!
Podcasts: I listened to this bonkers podcast called Sweet Bobby about a really extreme case of catfishing– there are only half a dozen episodes so it is very bingeable. Switched on Pop did a four-part Britney Spears series that takes a serious deep dive into her artistry and artistic choices, and I loved it. Also, the most recent episode of What Roman Mars Can Learn About Con Law (formerly What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law) is all about the relevance of the first impeachment to the current war in Ukraine, and I thought it laid out the connections more clearly and comprehensively than anything else I’ve heard.
The Film Files
I shot a bit with three different cameras this month, including my reusable disposable camera, and I am hoping to shoot MUCH more once the weather gets better.
Ephemera
I spent a day at the Istanbul Archaeological Museum with a dear friend– the museum is completely open now after much of it was under renovation, and I really can’t recommend it enough. Such a wealth of fascinating things to look at!
I wrote an article (with pictures by my dear collaborator Ozge) about a woman in Turkey who obsessively collects heritage seeds, and works to educate everyone about ecological diversity… you can read it here.
Upcoming
Well, I am writing and posting this quite late, so one upcoming trip– to Paris!– has already happened! But the rest of this month should see a quick trip south, a visit from my mama… and my birthday!
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