lqb2weekly #202 (14 dec 2024)

Dec 15, 2024

hey,

first of all, omg i can’t believe i forgot to mention this so pretend this is two editions ago:

omg happy 200th edition of lqb2weekly!!!

it’s always wild to hit these milestones and i was in it i didn’t even think to acknowledge newsletter #200! i always used to see people have these long-standing periodic platforms like podcasts with episodes numbered in the 500s and just be astounded. and now i’m like… i might be that guy not too far from now. wild. anyways, thanks to all of you for following along, whether you joined back in the beginning or recently. onward!

actually wait sidenote: i need to mention that i am UPSET that tinyletter, the place where i used to host this newsletter shut down earlier this year. and i didn’t export all my old newsletters… so now they’re lost forever. and that makes me really, really sad. i’m a big archivist and i’m really bummed that i can no longer link back to the first edition of this newsletter. i can’t believe i didn’t think to make an archive of them when i found out about the shutdown late in 2023. ugh. regrets.

topic change: let’s talk about the election.

it’s funny to just now be sending out a regular edition of the newsletter more than a month after the presidential election results came in. i’m party sad that i missed the early energy and analysis vibes, but partly glad i’m writing now because i/we have gotten to see a little more of how things have landed with folks. a few things are on my mind:

i predicted that the race would be close and that, regardless of who appeared to win on the night of the election, we were going to have a prolonged period of not knowing who actually won. turns out… i was dead wrong about that.
many people have been referring to trump’s win as a landslide. i think that’s playing into his classic narrative tropes of extremes. as far as i understand, the gap was ~2.2 million votes. trump got 49.9% of the votes and harris got 48.4%. i don’t think 1.5% is a landslide in a presidential election.
though it wasn’t a landslide, the result was clear: trump really did win the popular vote. there are a lot of people (even more than before he’d be president) who truly chose to vote for him.
i really believe (informed by strategists at the working families party) that trump voters are not a monolith. and just like a bunch of folks were like “oof. i am not a fan of kamala… but i will vote for her because she’s the best we got” folks did the same for trump. and on both sides, there are/were diehards. but as trump’s actual presidency takes shape, there will be many moments (like this brewing corn syrup battle) where his base will have openings to split.
the emotional arc(s) for those of us who didn’t want trump to win is REALLY different this round. last time, folks were outraged, in the streets, and in denial for weeks/months. this time, the most common arc i’ve seen is: a few days of deep down vibes (sadness, despondency, anger, frustration), then a quick dip into “it’s YOUR fault”, and then a settling into “ok. well, we’re here now and the results are clear. let’s strategize.”

mostly, i think that’s great. but i do have a little bit of concern that some of the “let’s settle in and strategize” energy is swirled with “fuck it. everything’s hopeless” energy. not quite sure what to say about that but i’m paying attention…
despite the slower energy than dec 2016 that i’m noticing, i still hope we’re able to rally if needed for folks who might be immediately and swiftly impacted when 47 comes into office. i’m thinking trans folks, immigrants, birthing people, etc.
a strange reaction that i am having goes like this in my head: “well, if we’re gonna have trump as a president again, we might as well take what wins we can. especially if he’s gonna gut a bunch of departments and agencies again, maybe there’s opportunity there.” what are those opportunities? i don’t know. but i know there’s opportunity in almost everything. consider my eyes peeled.
the day after the election, my beloved, eli, wrote a poem: a prayer for the unfolding to process for himself and it’s been really helpful for me, too. i shared and read it a bunch of times in the days following and it was great.

phew. ok. enough about the election. on to some other things…

so as you may have noticed, i’ve really gotten to enjoy sending word out to promote my friends or dope things i hear about. a few weeks ago, i got arrange marriaged on a consulting gig with someone who was actually amazing: avery!

avery handled the zoom tech during a two day virtual convening that i facilitated and, honestly, it was top tier zoom. some of the best zoom tech i’ve ever experienced. and i’ve experienced some pretty incredible zoom tech (hi henry wai!) so it’s not a small thing for me to say that. avery was highly-skilled, joyful, and taught me (and the group) so much about the world that’s possible when someone with a lot of skill and magic is at the wheel of the tech. anyways, i HIGHLY recommend hiring avery if you’re looking for zoom production. i haven’t experienced her other services yet, but if they are anything like the zoom work, i’m sure to be blown away.

below is a sweet ad card from her about her work and here’s a couple of paragraphs if you’re more into reading.

Contact Avery to learn how GvPS can support your needs!

Email: hello@geminivirtualplanningservices.us

Website: https://www.geminivirtualplanningservices.us

another thing i want to uplift is that coaching for healing, justice, and liberation, the coaching school i attended, is recruiting for its next 9-month cohort. i was transformed by the program when i took it a few years ago (first cohort, babyyyyy) and am so grateful for the evolution to my coaching that happened while i was in the program. if you’re interested in joining getting trained as a coach, check out some details about the program over here.

three final things:

twig daddy (aka, my cutie) sent out a really lovely missive about elderberry and i wanted to share it here (a) because i actually learned a shitton about elderberry in it and (b) i want him to keep selling plantssss. check it out if you’re interested in plants.
thanks to those of you sweet humans who donated to our retreat center end of year campaign. if you want to support this dream project that i’m working on, you can do so (even $1 helps!) over here.
i think email is dying. in fact, i am trying to kill it. but the reason i think is because of the same reason that social media use is changing and shifting. basically, we had these tools that we intended to be person to person. and then companies (small ones and big ones) started using them for marketing. and then we got inundated. also, now we’re too connected and overwhelmed. so for better or worse, people’s behavior patterns are changing. maybe it’ll come into a right balance at some point… but for now, it’s just moving down.

actually, one more thing related to #3: i bought a less smart phone and plan on setting it up over january. why? many reasons but some include:

i’m excited to be less tied to my phone
i’m hopeful that there’s a middle ground between having no cellphone at all and having a resource intensive smartphone
i heard that using AI to generate a 100 document results in the use of more than a bottle of water (lol ok that’s not actually related but it’s good to know).

2025, let’s see how this experiment goes!

happy holidays to all who celebrate. see yall in 2025.

on to the things!

(!!) pick of the pack

writing

some things i’ve written since the last newsletter:

Dec 3, 2024 | an asset mapping framework
Nov 7, 2024 | why i type in (almost) all lowercase (!!)
Nov 7, 2024 | coaching insight: because all people should valued equally, no one gets to be better than others at things

quotes

there is nothing new under the sun. also, full transparency, many of these quotes come from james clear’s 3-2-1 newsletter (which i love).

Someone asked me, “Aren’t you worried about the state of the world?” I allowed myself to breathe and then I said, “What is most important is not to allow your anxiety about what happens in the world to fill your heart. If your heart is filled with anxiety, you will get sick, and you will not be able to help.” There are wars - big and small - in many places, and that can cause us to lose our peace. Anxiety is the illness of our age. We worry about ourselves, our family, our friends, our work, and the state of the world. If we allow worry to fill our hearts, sooner or later we will get sick. — Thich Nhat Hanh

The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision. — Helen Keller

Forever is composed of nows. — Emily Dickinson

If, of three friends (A, B, and C), A should die, then B loses not only A but “A’s part in C,” while C loses not only A but “A’s part in B.” In each of my friends there is something that only some other friend can fully bring out. By myself I am not large enough to call the whole man into activity; I want other lights than my own to show all his facets. — C.S. Lewis

People pay to see others believe in themselves. — Kim Gordon

Focus on your likes, not your wants.
- You may not want to exercise, but you like how it makes you feel.
- You may not want to write, but you like the feeling of accomplishment.
- You may not want to wake up early, but you like the calm beauty of morning.
Wanting is the desire you feel before doing something. Liking is the satisfaction you feel after doing something. Let your likes guide you. — James Clear

There was once a very great American surgeon named Halsted. He was married to a nurse. He loved her—immeasurably.
One day Halsted noticed that his wife’s hands were chapped and red when she came back from surgery. And so he invented rubber gloves. For her. It is one of the great love stories in medicine. The difference between inspired medicine and uninspired medicine is love…
[He] loved her to the point of invention. — Sarah Ruhl

In any moment on any given day I can measure my wellness by this question:
Is my attention on loving or is my attention on who isn’t loving me? — Andrea Gibson

Before you worry about how to win the game, figure out whether the game is worth winning. — James Clear

Being kind to others is mostly about your actions.
Being kind to yourself is mostly about your thoughts. — James Clear

poetry

to get there — ric hudgens

reads

some things i’ve read since the last newsletter:

listens

watches

jams

some things i’ve been (aurally) enjoying since the last newsletter:

Una Vida Pasada Song — Camilo and Carin León
peter and the water — the winston jazz routine
Ezra Collective - The Traveller

jobs

co-hosted by my dear friend, nadav david!

here’s the jobs list for this month. enjoy!

upcoming events

Free Co-working Wednesdays | PDX Podcast Garage

newsletters

bad environmentalist: birds, ‘jizz,' and Will's war on golf
the bird: The Sky Takes a Long Time to Congeal
building belonging: What does it take to repair?
gibrán’s newsletter: BOOST Your Practice This New Year
rectangle | square: Stupid Little Walks, Touchstones, Demonyms

right now i’m learning…

that, according to bell hooks, feminism is about dismantling systems of domination, not about making women equal to men.

ps - i am up to reading 30-45 minutes/day per my fall reading schedule (see bottom of this post) and moving through books at this pace is always so effing exciting. i love it here.

mood

omg i can’t believe i didn’t write anything about wicked… next newsletter, get ready.

lqb2weekly