Modern Day Anxieties
Monday Newsletter: 4/4/2022
Last week I talked about levels of shame. Today I want to talk about anxiety.
Are you all there still? I sure do know how to retain and attract readers. Many of us exist with frequent, low-level anxieties that may not be very serious but are there nonetheless. I’m going to try to have a bit of fun today by exploring what mine are and perhaps by naming them I can get past them a little (but probably not). Here’s a sampling:
Picking the slowest moving line at Target. I always try to eye what I think will be the fastest cashier and I’m about 87% wrong most of the time. To be fair, most of what slows this up is ridiculous customers. Either way, anxiety…
The double drive-thru option at McDonald’s. I can’t comprehend the people that never move to the other lane when it is clearly open. I often pick the slower moving line on this one as well! Recurring theme.
Too many shows to watch. Can we please stop making things for at least two years?! I need time to catch up and I can’t quit work at the moment.
Having so many streaming platforms and wondering if I’ve watched one enough to justify the monthly plan (btw, Peacock is simply a vessel to stream The Office on repeat).
Once I’ve started a streaming show, the unease of not having completed it yet. I like checking things off my list.
TikTok and Instagram have convinced me that my dogs are not in fact living their best lives. Oh, you’re not making organic smoothies for your pets? Did you know that is basically animal abuse?!
This nagging and persistent question: Why have I not developed an obsession with meat-grilling, cocktail-making, home renovations, or gardening?
The fact that there is not a milk carton size that represents the amount I use before the expiration date hits.
The simultaneous pressure to look through all the beer options at my local craft brewery while being asked several times if I want to make a selection. Either make less beers or give me more time to decide!
Going to the grocery store. Unless I’m there early in the morning or late at night, that place is a hellscape and I hate everyone until I’m back in my car.
Overly enthusiastic and/or clearly anxious waiters at restaurants. I know we’ve all been through a lot the last two years but I don’t need to take on your issues too. Please just give me my food, I’ll catch a show later.
My love/hate relationship to Twitter. It’s so often my source of news and other updates while also being a reservoir for cynicism and complaints about literally everything. No one enjoys anything on Twitter. Why do I go back?
Oh well, what are some of your low-level anxieties? This is a safe space, let me hear it!
Watching | Reading | Listening
I’ve not completed most of these yet so I’ll delay offering final ratings, but I will say that this batch of entertainment is worth checking out:
Severance (Apple TV+) - I’m very much digging this show. It’s got elements of Eternal Sunshine, Black Mirror, LOST, and probably a whole host of shows I can’t think of at the moment. While it’s a slow burn and the mysteries unravel gradually, I love the pacing and attention to character development.
Atlanta (FX on Hulu) - Speaking of great characters, I have missed this bunch. Atlanta returns after a long hiatus but is already hitting at a ridiculously high percentage. It’s bold and confident and if you haven’t watched this series yet then please correct this immediately.
How to be Perfect (Michael Schur) - Schur has written or created some of the best comedies in recent memory: The Office, Parks & Rec, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Good Place. Now he sets his sights on a beginner course in philosophy (which was of major focus in The Good Place) with a lot of humor and jabs at western civilization to boot. I’m about a third of the way through this, but it’s enjoyable.
Things Are Great (Band of Horses) - What if The Beach Boys were good and could rock? That essentially sums up Band of Horses. A major fixture in the mid- to late- 2000s, BOH returns with a sound reminiscent of their early days in “Things Are Great”. Like finishing books these days, listening to an album from start to finish is a rarity, but I loved the whole process of this one.
91/100