happy almost new year, i think! i haven’t known what day it is for a week.
i know i said the finale of best things was going to be a special surprise topic, and by that i meant: a long list of miscellaneous things that i loved this year which didn’t fit in the other lists. without further ado, here are the best things of 2023.
1. swirl cones with rainbow sprinkles
for the 20th year in a row!
2. emotional support groupchats where you can be your worst self
there is nothing i love more than a groupchat where everyone equally participates. i firmly believe people would stop writing moronic op-eds in the new york times and no one would be cancelled for posting a stupid tweet if they simply had a groupchat full of trusted peers where they could get this stuff off their chest. me and my friends would be stoned to death in the town square for the things we discuss in our groupchat, but i think it makes us better people in the real world. kind of like what catholics try to do with reconciliation, but without the creepiness!
3. getting your nails done the same color every time to preserve homeostasis
each time i don’t get light pink at the nail salon i live in shame and regret for two weeks. just stick to what you know works.
4. having a mantra
when i was training for the marathon, i decided that i needed a mantra to hypnotize myself with. i’d say it over and over when i felt like dying and had many miles to go, or when i was scared and anxious that i wouldn’t finish, that i’d faint in the 120°F weather in NYC, that i’d hurt myself in training.
the one i came up with was: “you can. you will. you are.” you can — you have the ability to do this and you know it. you will — it’s decided that you’re doing this and there is no question of ‘if’. you are — you’re already doing it right now, step by step, day by day. lather, rinse, and repeat!
5. running a marathon
i know people who pontificate about running are very annoying to non-runners, but training for and completing the marathon this year genuinely changed my life. the saturday morning long runs were the highlight of my summer. it made me establish rituals and discipline in my life at a time when i was feeling very adrift. so cliche but i really feel like i can do anything now that i’ve done this. if you have even the tiniest urge or curiosity to run one, this is your sign. DO IT!!!!!!
6. seeing LCD soundsystem live in new york
i think i’m about 10 years too late to the party where LCD soundsystem is cool, but i don’t care. i had the absolute time of my LIFE a few weeks ago. hearing this song live at the knockdown in queens was an out of body experience!!!
7. “look at the moon”
things are terrible and rotten and the disasters are hurtling towards us at a rapidly increasing pace. however, no matter what, if there is a full moon and you’re walking outside on a clear night, it is a guarantee that you overhear several people say, “look at the moon.” at least we have that!
8. crispy tofu
i have put in place a complete moratorium on cooking chicken for myself this year. it always disgusts the hell out of me in the process of making it and then comes out tasting like rubber. and everyone will say, “you’re not doing it right! follow this recipe! try baki—” STOP!!!!!!! i’ve tried it all and nothing has worked. but what HAS worked and been the rare meal i thoroughly enjoy eating? crispy tofu and broccoli stir fry. it’s not even for health reasons, i truly think it tastes good. chicken breast found dead in a ditch.
9. the eras tour
read this article! it says everything i want to say and more.
10. this unreleased maggie rogers song
i need it so bad!!!
11. being bicoastal
people are often wondering whether i live in new york or chicago, and i like that this is a mystery. the answer is new york, but i come home to chicago often enough to be considered a bicoastal elite.
12. this video of my grandparents on vacation in 1940 something
my cousin bobby made this video a few years ago from footage of my grandparents on vacation (maybe their honeymoon? idk the lore). it’s saved in my bookmarks and i watch it at least once a month <3
13. pepper jack cheese
i don’t know a better cheese. the reason for my heightened cholesterol, surely.
14. these writers
haley nahman and her substack maybe baby, hunter harris and her substack hung up, john paul brammer and his substack hola papi, taffy brodesser-akner in NYT, rebecca traister in new york magazine, isabella hammad in this essay, masha gessen in the new yorker (READ THIS IMMEDIATELY)
15. you!
for the last few years, i’ve been waiting around for someone to hand me the perfect job where i get to write all the time about things that are interesting to me. as a result of that pipe dream never being realized, i stopped writing for a bit. then i got laid off and decided to just start typing. that resulted in this dumb little newsletter for which an astonishing amount of people signed up! i am blown away and genuinely so grateful that you are reading this. it’s not much, but i feel the door of what’s possible cracking open.
i’m going to take next week off, but i’ll be back january 11th with more of your regularly scheduled good things.
share this with someone if you are so inclined! give me feedback if it’s nice! tell me things you’d like to read about in this newsletter in 2024!
see you next year 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
ROTW: tell me your year’s best things! i’d love to hear them.