About this time in Florida every year, I ask myself: How? Why? Can the center hold? Why do I always sweat in the same part of my upper lip? How do slow-floating mosquitos find the urgency to dart inside my front door at the last second? Is it Halloween yet?
Here's what's getting me through the armpit days. And you?
RushTok
Specifically the writer Anne Helen Petersen's coverage of Greek season at southern universities, primarily the University of Alabama. I'm pretty sure I point you toward Petersen every year. She remains the best at digging into sorority subculture with real curiosity and a critical eye while maintaining empathy for the young women involved. This year, with the help of her followers, she's explored threads on queer sorority life, Asian American proximity to southern whiteness and the meaning behind a "frat cooler." I am SEATED. Check out her Instagram highlights to catch up.
And here's your annual reminder to watch "Scream Queens," the greatest and weirdest sorority show of all time.
'Severance'
Not the show, the novel, which has nothing to do with the show. I missed this famous debut from Ling Ma when it came out in 2018, and that's regrettable. I don't know, something about a bleak, apocalyptic satire of millennial corporate hustle was just the thing to transport me out of this sweltering heat. I did cry in a bar while reading and had to excuse myself. Beach read, who?
These sponges
A friend sent us these pineapple-shaped pop-up sponges from Williams Sonoma. They're so cool! They sit patiently and flatly in the drawer until it's time to shine, then they expand into the fluffiest little guys when wet. They don't do the hard work of a Scrub Daddy, sadly, but they are whimsical and work well for easy jobs. A fun housewarming or care package gift.
Walking pad
I lift heavy weights three times a week for strength and do Orangetheory once a week for forced cardio, but I have been seriously lacking in overall steps. My job is highly sedentary; I can go for hours hunched over a laptop writing, reading, scrolling, what have you, then I look up and realize I'm as stiff as a Medusa victim.
The solution in many other parts of the country would be to simply step outside and move. But I don't want to die! I don't have space for a full treadmill, nor do I want one, so I ordered the DeerRun walking pad in pink (free will). It's itty bitty, and I have to pay attention so I don't fall off, but it has been a lovely addition to my fitness tableau. I can pick off a few thousand steps while watching "Gilmore Girls" or the latest documentary about food poisoning on a cruise ship. Bliss.
Sweet treats
I'm not the biggest dessert person, but this summer, all I crave is chocolate. My friend who lives in the UK brought me a haul of chocolate Weetabix on her summer visit (friends are really coming through this season), and I have been gleefully eating them every morning. I've also been going hard on peanut butter M&Ms and chocolate-covered pretzels, and I need to STOP.
Or do I? What is life if not a runway to consume sweet treats when sweaty?
