Welcome to NR News #1 - You’re here!! With me! Thank you!

Stoked to begin whatever this will be, and buoyantly stunned you’re in too. Let’s start the ride.

Last Week Today

Here’s the first Seven Yrs Later (7YL) essay Remembered as Strangers if you missed it. I am warmed that an essay about Vienna sausages and oatmeal made people cry. I love mail, so maybe we can start a tissue delivery chain to save the USPS? Look out for Ultra Soft™ Trusted Care® packages.

7YL Theme Song

People’s Faces (Streatham Version) by Kae Tempest (Spotify / YouTube)

I was all queued for the poignant Strangers by The Kinks when I heard this yesterday and knew I had to grab it. Kae is a poet who aims torrents from their quiver. They captured what a face can do, quite prophetically, last year.

7YL Theme Media

Big Jim & Smokey Joe from Strangers (Spotify / Apple)

Strangers is a podcast about you-know-what, by husky hot cocoa Lea Thau. Perfect for Greyhounds when you want to be soothingly stirred—planes too, and you don’t have to like motherfucking P-51s for this one.

Longer episodes if you like: Falling Slowly (heartrending) and Do You Like My Little Lie? (horrifying and bonkers). Both on the above platforms.

Cutting Room Concept

One notion that didn’t make it to the essay was the kinship between clerk and customer. You know how employees have to ask how you are, and out of politeness, you ask it back? One time, a cashier told me she was good, so I asked her what was good about her day. She leaned back and paused before giving her real answer.

I read somewhere that Dolly Parton tells you exactly how she’s doing. I try to deprogram and be like Dolly.

Honorable Tweet

Seven Yrs Later springs off Seven Yrs Ago, the raw feed of my journals from seven years ago. Here’s a bit that got me. Discuss.

Good $hit

My main problem is time. It’s weird how I can’t do absolutely everything. Your rad aunt Lisa Congdon’s class Workflow, Time Management and Productivity for Creatives is awesome for those who haven’t mastered time either, but can at least move it around. Even if you’re not trying to create something, you’re probably reading this ‘cause you want to do something, which takes time too!

Basically, you create a master workflow doc (ideally online like in Google Sheets), put all your professional and personal projects, then break it down weekly, and every other day into a journal. Regular To-Do lists can make me feel incompetent, unable to decipher between giant and small tasks. Lisa’s strategy simplifies this and gives you a better idea of how much you can do each day.

I bought this rewatchable online class for $10 or 15, so if the price changes, perhaps subscribe to CreativeLive or wait for those cookie ad sales. I’ve included this in Good $hit, my resource section for fellow starters.

One More Thing

A friend of mine is newly devoted to flamenco, so much so, that she keeps a tiny wooden stage and flamenco heels in her car. Last Friday, she was doing some boss moves on the sidewalk, when she suddenly felt self-conscious, maybe because I was crouching and clapping like a Spaniard. I started tap dancing to encourage her to keep going, when a stranger yelled, “Woah, you’re really good! Do you—do you actually dance?!” Two minutes later, my friend was showing me how to heel-heel-toe-heel.

See? Strangers. They know when you’re really good.

If any of this made you dance, share this newsletter or essay. Have the best two weeks and I’ll talk to you next time!

Nicole