the monthly r.e.p.o.r.t.
same unhinged meditations, longer lead time
(Same prompts, longer timeline because I don’t switch my life up every week lol) If you’re reading this, congrats you’re still alive! And part of living is finding things that give you a serotonin boost to placate you until your next payday (if you’re my employer and you’re reading this- it’s a joke!) So behold, the weekly r.e.p.o.r.t., a highly curated and totally myopic list of my last week of
-reading
-eating
-playing
-obsessing
-recommending
-treating
Enjoy peeps!
R-Reading
The literary work that put the late Anthony Bourdain on the map, “Kitchen Confidential”. Oddly enough, I watched the TV adaptation of this book AGES ago starring Bradley Cooper when it was a fringe TV show available to stream in its entirety on a peculiar online platform called ‘Hulu’. (This was 2009 folks— no ads, no login required- just binging whatever random shows were online in their entirety. I know— if I wasn’t alive to see it myself, I wouldn’t believe me either.) And like a lot of the Western world, I enjoyed Bourdain’s frank, earnest opinions on food and how it can be the great equalizer in our lives if we let it. So after one of my favorite indie booktubers Renee Morris recommended it on her channel, I finally decided to dig into this literary work (pun intended).
The writing in this book is extraordinary. There’s definitely some SAT level verbiage in here but it doesn’t feel pretentious as it’s mixed in with very down to earth anecdotes about being in the restaurant business. Bourdain paints a picture of the culinary industry at a time when it was shrouded in much mystery- he shines a light on the grueling conditions, the transient nature of the business and the sort of people that attracts, the ‘six degrees of separation’ that you experience working in that business long enough and so much more. He paints a picture of the average restaurant stuff that could only be described as a ‘dysfunctional family’ on its best day.
That said, much as this book is a page turner- it’s one of those experiences where you can’t unlearn what you know now. Not that I needed to be convinced before but, I will never order anything with Hollandaise after reading this book. I will probably forever second guess the restaurants I dine at from now on; the anecdotes about the relentless bullying one can expect to endure in the kitchen makes me question the energetic frequency of my food lol (this is very Goop-coded but, such is life). I would recommend this book if you don’t mind the adult equivalent of learning that Santa isn’t real.
E-Eating
White chocolate thin Reese’s peanut butter cups. Not good for my diet in the slightest but the cups being ‘thin’ really does make me feel better about the indulgence of it.
P-Playing
“Money & Love” by Wizkid. This album is a few years old at this point but the music still sounds so fresh to me. This was Wizkid’s first feature length project after the success of the massive Afrobeat hit “Essence”, so there was potential for it be a letdown. Thankfully, it was the furthest thing from a failure in my opinion but this song is still a standout on the album. It’s just got a nice, mellow vibe. You could bop your head side to side OR gyrate across the room and both actions would be appropriate.
O-Obsessing
Over my new Baggu small cloud carry-on bag. I have been looking for a new bag that is sturdy enough to withstand travel but also able to fit under the seat in front of me on the airplane (not an easy feat- those things get smaller everyday it seems). I was just minding my business, doing my usual doom scrolling when I saw someone on TikTok make a video about all the things they can fit in their Baggu and I was sold. It has the perfect amount of compartments, it has a good strap drop length so you can easily toss the bag on your shoulder AND to top it all off, it has this genius little flap that you can slide over your rolling luggage to free up your hands. I ran to the nearest Urban Outfitters.
R-Recommending
Moisturizing with oil instead of lotion. At some point I abandoned this practice, caught up in the hype of body butters most likely. But I have regained my common sense and gone back to what works *for my skin*. We love oil’ it actually sinks into the skin and I stay moisturized for what feels like forever. The bottoms of my feet haven’t felt this smooth in ages! I’m mad it took this long to go back to my roots.
T-Treating
Myself to IRL experiences. I am leaning away from buying ‘stuff’ for 2025 and leaning into putting that money towards things like trips, concerts, cultural exhibitions, etc. I feel like I have all the things I could ever need, more or less. Not to say that I’m financially well off, but I just don’t covet things like I used to. I still want to grow my wardrobe but I’m not frantically trying to refill my closet. I do however have a sense of urgency about looking back on this year and being able to say I had a significant amount of times where I enjoyed myself.
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-xoxo Jenn