Can you believe itās the end of November already? Sometimes I feel like Iām still stuck in a temporal loop of 2020-2021. Strange huh.
Anyhow, hereās what Iāve been up to this week (that isnāt work-related)
Went to a Disney Princess concert: My turn to accompany the wife as she embraces her inner Disney Princess. Itās essentially a few Broadway singers singing a significant chunk of songs by all the Disney princesses (ok, definition of Disney Princess was a bit loose e.g Mary Poppins was included). An awesome singalong! And got us interested in watching the entire catalog of Disney animated movies. It was so fun seeing all the kids out in their princess outfits as well. Of course, they ended on Let It Go.
Finally getting treatment for my foot. My left foot has been flaring up more recently this year and had a chance to get it checked out. Turns out, my toe joints and tendons are inflamed and there was a significant pressure difference between my left and right foot. Ugh. So now Iāve got to make insoles, do regular stretching and get electroshock therapy (itās not as scary as it sounds but it does hurt). Iām glad Iām addressing it now but itās definitely accumulated over the past few years.
Finished the main story of Starfield after 150 hours of playtime: This game has consumed me for the last 3 months, and Iāve finally rolled credits. Still in true-blue Bethesda game fashion, thereās still tons to do, but Iām looking forward to more expansions and more to come out. Itās a true comfort game - I can wander if I want to, take on a long storyline or just fiddle about building ships or tinker with weapon mods depending on my mood for the day. Probably go back to Baldurās Gate 3 after this.
What Iām thinking about
This time of the year is always strange for me. November is the time for SALE SALE SALE with 11:11, Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the upcoming festive season.
I simultaneously look forward to it (yay new deals!), yet loathe it because itās evidence of how Iām still conditioned to respond to certain sales tactics.
Plus I try to avoid social media and my email inbox or become more judicious with my archive button. Itās the one month in the year my inbox turns into a wet market with everyone trying to scream above the noise.
But Iām not immune to deals! We bought new bedsheets for one, and I have a weakness for digital products as well.
I guess itās a perfect storm for my different ārolesā. When I worked in a e-commerce adjacent startup, we would create content about āpreparing for the peak season, optimising for impatient consumers and maximising sales during the festive seasonā.
On the other hand, my consuming self loves deals. While my recent interest in minimalism and sustainable consumption means people fighting back against rampant consumption and working to be more intentional (itās not the buying thingās on Black Friday thatās a problem, itās spending beyond your means and buying stuff that you donāt need).
Oh well, now time to look out for the next batch of emails - holiday gift guides.
Itās confusing! And thereās a lot of thoughts to unpack.
Side note: Iāve always wondered how/why Thanksgiving in the US is followed by one of the biggest shopping pushes of the year. Always seems incongruent for me. How do you say Iām thankful for XYZ, while then going to buy more stuff?
Reading/Watching
Extremely Online by Taylor Lorenz: A super readable history of the (Western) Internet and how Internet influencers (oh wait weāre calling them creators now) came to be. Iāve made it to the MySpace/Facebook chapters and wow, I lived through a good chunk of this history! Pretty strange to see these events recorded in such a way, and this spawns multiple rabbit holes in itself (where are the people Taylor talks about now?)
Things take time. Some things take longer than others: I stumbled on this piece in lockdown and re-read it regularly. Sometimes I get impatient with my business and want things to go faster. Reminder to self to trust the process.
In preparation for our Disney Princess concert Iāve been watching the live concert films of Encanto, Beauty and the Beast and Coco on Disney+. Special mention goes to the Coco live concert which featured (very danceable) Mexican songs (set list here)