As of this writing I have worked twenty consecutive 12-hour days; very little sparks joy. Here are small areas wherein the embers of delight yet smolder:
Clé de Peau Cream Blush. They’re perfect. Cream-to-powder texture, buildable, not too intense. Sheer out wonderfully. I have two colors (soon three, if my Japanese import order goes through) and wear them almost every other day.
Makeup Forever Artist Color Pencils. Specifically, 600 Anywhere Caffeine for the lips (they make a version of this brownesque shade for every skin tone), and 104 All Around White for the waterline and inner corners. I strongly suspect my dedication to (amongst other things) looking put together every single day with no exceptions, down to the flawless liners, has gone a long way to the perception that I am “unflappable.”
Dried apricots. During each period of terrible work intensity, my diet hones down to a few fast, easy foods. This round the rotation includes dried apricots. They are the perfect mix of sugar, fiber, texture, and spring. Drink a large glass of water with every serving.
Lost Voices of Hagia Sophia, Capella Romana & Alexander Lingas. I nurture a delusion women will be barred from entering the Hagia Sophia before I can make it there. This helps. Must be played as loudly as possible from enough excellent speakers that one can start to feel a depth that can be walked into.
Star Trek: The Original Series. Again, a function of stress. I have no favorite episode, only a favorite character (Spock).
Completed Works baroque pearls. Baroque pearls are my favorites and they make some of the lovelier ornaments.
Books I’ve read lately that are good:
The Trouble With Being Born, E. M. Cioran (Arcade Publishing) Perfect aphoristic agony tuned to a delicate timbre.
ATTENTION: Dispatches from the Land of Distraction, Joshua Cohen (Penguin Random House) In preparation for The Netanyahus. I like being mansplained to.
Theory of the Gimmick, Sianne Ngai (Belknap Press) I am midway through yet already finding application.
An English dictionary explaining the difficult terms that are used in divinity, husbandry, physick, phylosophy, law, navigation, mathematicks, and other arts and sciences : containing many thousands of hard words, and proper names of places, more than are in any other English dictionary or expositor : together with the etymological derivation of them from their proper fountains, whether Hebrew, Greek, Latin, French, or any other language : in a method more comprehensive than any that is extant, Elisha Coles (Andesite Press) This was a gift to myself during the worst of last week and I have been nipping it between meetings like some kind of ridiculous cordial. Filled with delights. The list of homophones is absurd and instructive.
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