#BreakThings: Welcome to the Whirlwind

12.02.20

Ever have one of those mornings that starts with a light breeze and turns into a full-blown gale of nonsense?

That was my day. I looked at my phone to texts that weren’t good news. I had an early call with a client that didn’t go well. And it’s 3:00PM, and I’m just starting this newsletter (which I usually write over East Coast lunch hour).

Everything feels rushed. Everything feels late (and some of it actually is). And the motivation to wrap my arms around any of this is non-existent.

And if I’m being honest, I feel grateful every day that I don’t have to take care of children or my parents on top of this, because you women are mother f**king champions, and I wish there was more I could to help you.

Is this Dorothy and Toto in a Tornado feeling because it’s the week after Thanksgiving? Is it 2020 malaise? Is it that I have massive new job anxiety? Or is it the fact that our new puppy likes to get up three times per night like an old man with a bad prostate?

The world may never now.

All of this is just a long way of saying: 2020 has become the year where things feel out of control, and we are all just riding this tornado until it drops us back down in Kansas. So if you’re trying to rope the wind today, I feel you, and we’ll get through it together. (And buy each other martinis on the other side.)

Overcommitted is the permanent state of being for a lot of women. Martha Stewart.com discusses how to know when you’re getting to your breaking point, and how to fix the situation before you snap.

This article from Vice goes through the headlines of 2020, big and small. Some of them are funny, others are ‘how the hell did I forget that happened’ status. I found it very diverting.

I love big hair. Just give a round brush, a teasing comb, and a little bit of God’s love, and I can make even the most sparse coif surprisingly bouffant. But whether you’re going for a little lift or a full pompadour, this Ouai spray is the ticket.

My new job is temporary, so I’ll be back looking for work in the late spring. To prepare for a pandemic job search, The Riveter has great advice for selling yourself in an interview via Zoom or in person (if we ever get there).

This is a reader recommendation, which always excites me, because I get my best advice from readers of this newsletter and readers of my blog. The Deep Focus station on Spotify is what finally convinced me to open a Spotify account. It’s the soundtrack that leads me to Zero Inbox every afternoon.

This month’s New Yorker cover features this lovely and accurate piece of art. The story it accompanies is called, “Love Life.” Welcome to dating in a pandemic.

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