49er
Hello friends,
I was in the foothills of the Sierras last weekend, where almost two hundred years ago intrepid fortune-seekers forded turbulent rivers and nearly starved to death and repaired broken-down wagons and tried not to contract dysentery—or at least that is how things went down according to The Oregon Trail game, which I played on my phone during the flight back to Chicago.
I did not contract dysentery while visiting Gold Country, though I may have gained a few pounds from eating bánh mì, blue cheese, and bourbon-flavored ice cream and also from drinking a lot of very good wine. The upshot: California is a lot less dangerous now than it was back in the 1800s, though if you read the papers you might not know it. Honestly, San Francisco seemed to be in much better shape than any other US city I've lived in or visited over the past five years.
I love the Bay Area and can't wait to return for a longer visit.
Here are three things that kept me going this past week.
- Voting! I am glad that I got back in time to vote on Tuesday since this election determined the outcome of some important "down-ballot" political offices. Though I was one of only 20% of registered voters to do so, which is frustrating.
- Bianca's Spotify playlists. This one is great for parties. I listened to this one last night as I wrote this newsletter and it was very soothing.
- Adrienne Lenker released a new album today!
Also guess what? Today is my birthday! I'm reaching the age where I begin to hesitate to admit how old I am, or at least the number shocks me whenever I see it in writing: 49. Forty-fucking nine. Michaela made a card for me that included this sweet reminder: age is just a number.
If you want to do something for my birthday, you could share my newsletter with someone else, or pay for an annual subscription at my special birthday 50% rate! I probably should have made them 49% off but I thought of that too late.
Or just reply to this email with an affirming note. I live for those.
Have a great weekend,
Claire