WEEKLY R.E.P.O.R.T

Hello world! This is what I have been into as of late!

Reading: Being in a book club in my 20s means reading books I should have read in high school. This month we read Plath’s The Bell Jar, a literary mirror that frightens you with a reflection of your deepest, loneliest thoughts. I left this book thinking that Esther Greenwood is the character in the modern canon I relate to the most. Is this is a universal response to reading The Bell Jar for the first time? Is it ‘pick me’ or is it groundbreaking, I may never know, but it’s how I feel! I was consistently awed by this book in its jarringly rich metaphors and the way it put into words what it feels like to be a person struggling to place herself in the hungry world after university. The sentiment that has lingered with me since I finished the book this weekend is: my scariest, most twisted and shameful, most unappetizing, most desperate thoughts are not unique to me, they are not my own to carry alone, but a familiar narrative that have been in the literary collective since the 60s. Whether it’s Sylvia Plath or Lena Dunham, anyone writing a funny spiralling woman in their early 20s will always have my praise!

Obsessed with the interconnection of the body (through Esther’s sexuality) and the mind, I love how the book parallels Esther’s shock treatments to the electrocution of the Rosenbergs, and I really really just cant believe I hadn’t read this earlier.

Eating: Steak! As a long time ex-vegetarian, I never thought this would be my journey, and yet I ate 2 steaks last week.

Playing: New NYT midi crossword.

Obsessing over: The past few weeks I have been distracted by the drama happening between the cast of Summer House. Ciara Miller is one of my favourite people on reality tv ever and the person in the Bravosphere I think is the most sane, while also being entertaining enough of television. She is smart, she is interesting and cool, and she is a great friend. Watching the current season of Summer House makes me even more upset by the news of Amanda and West’s relationship because of how vulnerable Ciara has been about the realities of being in an interracial relationship on TV and to see Amanda support her friend while she goes through this public shaming just to betray her, SUCKS! I really don’t hate people I watch on reality tv (because I don’t know them) but I really hate how West and Amanda both disregarded how Ciara/West’s relationship have disproportionate implications for Ciara and she EXPRESSED THIS TO THEM IN THE SUMMER! ON TV!

Also, Ciara is clearly not over West, so its not even an issue of hooking up with your friends ex, its hooking up with the person your friend is still very much interested in…. That being said, I am soooo ready for the reunion! Obsessed is an understatement.

Recommending: This week I am recommending The Drama. Recommending it means I can’t really talk about the plot because I think a pivotal part of the movie is the shock factor, but I will say these few brief things:

1. Zendaya is just so stunning.
2. That being said: really pretty people can have really ugly thoughts! That’s an important message!
3. I love the idea of Emma wanting to ‘start over’ constantly, which is really the only coping mechanism we see her utilize through childhood and adulthood.
4. The plot of the movie is driven by the suspense of the weddings impending date and I think it creates a really realistic setting. The stakes feel real, they feel interesting and they feel relatable-It’s not really about if Charlie can put up with what Emma has done, but more about him living with the fact that Emma opened up to his closest friends, kind of embarrassing him. It’s the paranoia, the drama, that Charlie is marrying.
5. The music in the movie was great.

There’s soooo much I want to say about this movie but I will avoid any more major spoiling.

Trying: Ugh I am in the process of looking for jobs. I am trying to find a job that both serves my interests and also allows me to live my values. Why does every job I see involve an unnecessarily large generative AI component? I am trying to find any job (please someone hire me!) but trying even harder not to sacrifice my values.

This was my weekly R.E.P.O.R.T from my last week!