106. ☁️ another soft day ☁️
thinking about sustaining myself (ii)
Hello, and happy Monday.
This week’s letter is coming to you from a much needed ☁️ soft day☁️. There are certain days that I call “soft days,” where I take a much needed break from certain responsibilities that don’t have immediate bad or good consequences on my life. In the past, I would have a soft day only when I felt deeply burnt out—to the point that my work would suffer because I was trying to muster through. Over the past year, I’ve been cultivating a daily journaling practice where I have been able to more easily see burnout approaching. The act of writing for myself on a regular basis has made me feel more comfortable with writing my emotions and my needs. As a result, I take soft days to sustain myself and enjoy the process (of writing and of life) more.
As a result, today’s newsletter will be shorter than usual, but I want to leave you with some little post-its that are near the desk in my home. They contain phrases that make me feel held and make me want to keep going. I hope that if you find one that resonates with you, you’ll also put it next to your desk. Send me a picture if you do—I’d love to see! 😊
🌀 Still consuming.
A very important article to supplement the tweet above. Showing us why local news and retaining tenure are important to our world. (h/t friend Maj K.)
As a non-tenure track faculty who still teaches courses, this piece on why non-TT faculty still need support to make quality courses is deeply resonant.
I loved this piece on writing beginnings from Meredith Talusan.
Also from Talusan, the joy of being able to write anywhere.
The pink paper scrap in the photo above is the newest addition to my collection of mantras next to my desk. It’s a quote from Toni Morrison. I actually wrote it this weekend, after reading it in Ann Friedman’s latest newsletter. Here’s the New Yorker piece it comes from—I really recommend reading the whole thing.
📖 Book club corner.
September’s book club pick is At the Margins by Elena Ferrante! I’m so excited! You can purchase the book here and find meeting details below.
Here’s the event info:
Date & Time: Tuesday, September 27 @ 5PM PST/8PM EST
Registration Link!
Suggested Donation (for those able to donate): $3-10 through Paypal or Venmo (@idyalz)
If you are interested in facilitating a book club and have been to more than two book club meetings, feel free to reach out to me!
You can learn more about the tiny driver book club here!
🐶 A pup-date.
Breed tests be damned, Girlie is a wolf dog:
As always, thanks so much for reading through, and I'll see you in the next one!
Warmly,
Ida
Hey Ida, take very good care of yourself. Big hug!