Five Things (1.7.22)

From I Used to Be Charming

1. I’m back in L.A. As much as I missed New York, I missed Los Angeles just a little bit more—likely because I still can’t stand the cold, and without my West Coast routine, felt out of sorts. (It’s simple, but significant: wake up, make coffee, put on a sheet mask, read a little, then go for a walk before getting ready for my workday.) Three weeks away and my apartment suddenly looked a little cuter; my plants even seemed to fare better without me. The things that I once critiqued and compared against my place in L.A. suddenly disappeared.

Distance inspires gratitude, for certain, but I’m now at a crossroads: am I happy with my year of summer and ready to move back, or is sunshine still calling for me?

2. I can’t stop thinking about Eve Babitz—gone too soon—and her L.A.—magical. Perhaps finishing I Used to Be Charming on my flight back colored my vision with rose-tinted lenses.

“Los Angeles for us is that warm night when the scent of jasmine, orange blossoms, and love inspires us to become who and what we want to be. Because here it has been done, it’s part of the history of our century.”

3. If I hear “but it’s not that serious, the symptoms are just like a regular cold” one more time, I’ll lose it. Exercise precaution and wear the right kind of mask. Here’s a guide.

4. New year, new notebook of course. I’ve forgotten how beautiful Clairefontaine paper is—smooth, soft, substantial; pens glide on the page like butter.

5. Jung Hoyeon of Squid Game made history as the first East Asian to star on the cover of (American) Vogue‘s February 2022 issue, solo. One hundred thirty years was all it took.

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xx