Little february list
Watergate, winter, fragrance, puppies... what else can go in this random list?
Foreword
It is winter and I am tired. Everyone else is sick. I’m waiting for warmth and for my dog to be more confident alone in her crate. I’m waiting for the skin on my hands to stop cracking from the cold. I’m waiting for good news in this bleak political landscape. I don’t have much new to say then, just half thoughts floating around unshaped. A list must suffice in place of anything more substantive—we’ll check back in again in two weeks as always.
In the meantime, I want to flag a fundraiser by Students for Palestine Worldwide, which supports direct material aid entering Gaza to transition towards long-term Palestinian-led rebuilding. This fundraiser is part of the continued student movement for Palestinian welfare and liberation, a movement that has drawn vital attention to the links between Western liberal institutions, genocide profiteering, and land theft—the dismantling of which becomes more essential by the hour. Please consider donating what you can.
I am giving Ali Smith another shot by reading Winter, appropriately, during winter. I read Smith’s How to Be Both in 2018 but didn’t get on its wavelength and I am still not sure if the problem was the book or me, since I was re-entering my literary era after a long sabbatical in the fashion world. I want to like her work though, and so I have decided to read the seasonal quartet this year. Sometimes Winter feels a bit unformed, like all the pieces are arbitrary and not always interesting, but I also like the way this strangeness has a freedom to it.
I am also starting Casey Plett’s On Community, an edition of the Field Notes series from Biblioasis. Plett writes about the ways in which we are tied together, always interdependent, and radical efforts to build from this rather than deny it. My affection for her work began from our shared Mennonite backgrounds, but I also think this book is really essential reading as we watch the fascist erosion of gender rights and trans healthcare in the United States.
I’m wearing Laboratory Perfume’s No. 1 in Amber, trying to lift my winter blues and make me feel more sophisticated even as I live in mostly sweatpants these days (taking care of a new puppy means dressing for frequent slushy walks and not to look cute).
When I do dress to go out, I am reaching for a new asymmetric, plaid, wool skirt and a purse from Baggu. I received the latter for Christmas along with a brown hoodie that has also been well-loved this past month. I am very invested in wearing browns and blues together; I’ve kept my fingernails indigo for a while now and think I would wear a lot of clothes in this shade if I had them. I’ve also been dreaming about this Maison Cleo dress for summer. I can’t afford it but my god…. it’s perfect.
I want to become more thoroughly knowledgeable about historical events, and I’ve begun with Watergate (see also: my obsession with the 1999 film Dick). I’ve listened to a few podcasts (The Rest is History had a good one) and will be renting All the President’s Men and Frost/Nixon soon. Next on the list are the colonization of Hawai’i and the Spanish Civil War. I’ve also returned to Italian lessons on Duolingo after a year’s hiatus. It’s nice to learn things for no reason, with no application or expected output.
I read a revised version of my essay on Aftersun at the Toronto reading series Pack Animal last week. I really enjoyed the whole lineup, especially my friend Jess’ short story response to Björk’s Homogenic.
Thank you to my friend (and Pack Animal co-founder) Emma Cohen for the photo. My rescue puppy Flora smells like sugar. She follows me into the bathroom. She loves her dragon chew toy. She sleeps on her bed under my desk while I am working. She has almost all of her adult teeth but still eats her food too quickly sometimes (and sometimes not at all). She likes eating sticks and grass instead of going potty. She adores sleeping in someone’s lap. Her ears are velvet. We are in love, even if sometimes taking care of her makes me very nervous and I miss having my old life. But we will make a new one, day by day.
