Ria

If you remember my last JOT, you’ll know I’ve been thinking about writing – about the what, why and how of it. Well, I still don’t have very many answers, but I do have some people to look to for inspiration.

May I let you in on a secret? 

I have no idea what the fuck I’m doing with my JOTs. They’re mostly about random, disconnected things. No real thread that ties them all together.

And I suppose that’s like me in real life – fleeting interests in vastly different things, some eclectic life and career choices, each based on my most recent whim. A friend who is somewhat like me – having tried his hand at a number of disparate jobs – told me that someone once saw his CV and went, “oh, so you’re like a monkey, swinging from one branch to another?”

Now that 2023 is here, it only makes sense that we’re taking a quick look back at the year that went by so swiftly. Several things happened for me, and the most fun of them all is getting to write for you guys!

So much writing happens around here, so naturally, there is lots to be inspired by. For my first Just One Thing for the year, I’m taking a leaf out of another one of our newsletters!

If you’re somewhat close to me in age, you’ll probably agree that adulting can be tough.

It’s not just the money-making, bill-paying, career-building or purpose-finding that’s exhausting. After all, those are just portions of your life. What about everything else?

I’m part of a family in which the first question asked when we wake up is “what’s for breakfast?” and before breakfast is even over, we wonder, “so, what’s for lunch?”

I think about food a lot. Over time, I’ve engaged with food in many different ways. I eat, obviously. I’m not a vampire. But I’ve also had phases where I’ve been obsessed with cooking, posting about the food I’m cooking, binge-watching food videos (Tasty videos and Babish are especially satisfying), growing my own food, or reading about food.

A couple of years ago, I was bitten by the travel bug.

I bought one-way tickets out of my city, took solo trips, volunteered, made new friends, and visited old ones in cities I’d never been to.

Along the way, I gathered wholesome stories, snippets of songs in languages I don’t speak, and just enough words in regional languages to help me get by.

It’s that time of the year again! When people share gifts, goodwill and their Spotify Wrapped playlists.

For the uninitiated, in December, Spotify compiles a playlist for each of its users to recap their listening habits over the past year. From the song you played on loop for weeks on end, and your top genres to that artist you’ve been obsessed with, your Wrapped is a nice summary of it all.

If there’s any fictitious character I’m like, it’s probably Chidi from “The Good Place”. If you’ve watched the show, you’re probably already chuckling at my indecisive personality. If you haven’t, I’d like to introduce you to the guy.

Do you think you’re a graceless dancer? Or that your paintings would make Dali turn in his grave? Ever burst into song, but your friends told you to turn the croaks down a notch?

No? Congratulations, you’re an artist!

You want to leave a mark on those around you, don’t you?

Well I did. Quite literally.

When the pandemic came around, bringing truckloads of free time into my life, I jumped onto the stick-and-poke bandwagon. Like every other Gen Z kid.