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Table of Contents
Hi friends!
What an indulgent week! Now I need to remember how to chill out.
I’ve realized that 30 year olds are actually cool; my vendetta is with the sleepy ones. One of my friends brought me to a birthday party for one at this Bushwick bar that’s closing that let her have the place for the night. Not only was she herself so fun, but she hired an Austin Powers impersonator that walked around and talked to people the entire night but two of her friends dressed as Marnie from Girls and sang her famous “Stronger” rendition.
I’ve lately been loving this comment I’m seeing on lots of TikToks: I love whatever’s wrong with you. I think it’s so beautiful and a true acceptance of someone for all parts of them.
I learned this week that I (and a bunch of people at my company) made it to the dedication section of my old boss’s boss’s republished e-book, which basically means I’m a celebrity. A book has been dedicated to me! The line I’m associated with is saying No prob, we can do that. I need to somehow get this on my resume or on a billboard that I’m so flexible and hardworking that this is how my coworkers see me.
I am surprised to have brought my no prob, we can do that attitude so far with this newsletter, which was first sent out on August 14, 2023!
Reflecting on 2 years of Gentrifier Olympics
I kind of can’t believe it. When I wrote last year’s birthday entry, I wasn’t sure what would make me stop writing but also couldn’t really conceptualize what this newsletter would look like a year later. I felt so proud of myself that I had stuck to this commitment for a year and even threw myself a party to make it feel more real. Now, it really does feel like part of my life.
For my first year, I hit the ground running and had a blast writing. For the second half of the year once I was into 2024, I was unmotivated and not really happy with my writing — or happy to write at all. This year thankfully was the reverse: it took me a while to get into a groove, skipping some weeks and phoning it in for others. Once I hit 2025, I started having a lot more fun again and now look forward to this weekly ritual a lot more.
There are reasons within newsletter writing and outside of this practice that have allowed me to be consistent and joyful. Outside of my newsletter writing, I started 2025 off with tangible fitness goals that, when stuck to, meant not letting myself get carried away with my time or energy. To make the gym work and give myself time to do the other stuff I liked, I had to be a lot more strict with my time.
Work, wellness, fun, and this? I needed to make it all work. I hate staying up late on Mondays writing this because I have to work in the day and then take so long putting down every single unedited word onto this page. If I procrastinate, that means that I send this out later and start my night later, too. Having the newsletter has made Monday my sanctuary day of chores, newsletter, wellness in some way, and eating what is usually an elaborate dinner my girlfriend cooks for me. Plus now, Meera’s job has increased her in-office days so that Mondays are the only day she works from home.
To try avoiding this procrastination, I try writing the Current Fixations earlier in the week whenever I think of them. This proactivity also encourages me to write more evergreen or less personal content about cultural phenomena instead of diary entries about what happened to me that weekend.
I think this newsletter has become a solid mix of both things: cultural critique somewhat anchored in a personal story or me writing a mostly accurate, safe-enough-for-work diary entry after a trip or experience. In the past few months, I’ve felt less inclined to bear my soul, so that feeling has also encouraged me to write more of the former stories. I like when I do this because it makes me feel like somewhat of a journalist instead of a journaler.
Within my writing practice, I think that switching platforms from Mailchimp to Beehiiv helped make writing more fun, too. I’ll probably never say this again: advertising has made my life better. The ability to run ads on here has been such a game changer. Those of you who click on them, seriously, thank you. I’m now making enough to pay for my Beehiiv subscription most months. When I wrote on Mailchimp, it was an out-of-pocket expense every month because I’ve had enough subscribers that I couldn’t send what I wanted for free anymore. If you don’t click on my ads but love reading my stuff, I understand…but encourage you to switch to the dark side.
Plus, scheduling ads forces me to send newsletters on the specific days I schedule them for. I can’t forget, skip, or postpone until Tuesday like I used to. This makes my sending more consistent and allows me to build better routines. Reading last year’s anniversary entry, I felt like having the newsletter encouraged me to build better intellectual routines, whereas this year it’s helped me have better physical routines.
In the winter, I started consistently going to my friend Aimee’s yin yoga classes every Monday, at first to support her but eventually it really became to support myself. I still don’t consider myself a yoga person because I think my experience is so tethered to having Aimee run the class and my friends all taking it next to me. However, she doesn’t have a class tonight so, for the first time in a long time, I’m signing up for a class to take this evening after I send this at a random studio nearby (after going to the gym, also. Getting back on the horse!).
I guess I am kind of a yoga person now. Yin, though, is more about holding poses for long times, stretching, and relaxing. It’s not some speedy hot yoga a lot of my yoga-loving friends like. I don’t feel pressure to perform well if there are parts of me that are sore or inflexible (I don’t think I’ll ever be able to sit on my toes). I like the calm stuff to center myself as I escape weekend debauchery and lock into being a corporate weapon, shoulder to cry on, or competent citizen for my week.
Because this started becoming a more important part of my life, I needed to write in the kind of way that would allow me to have time for yoga. Better yet, have time for yoga and a workout beforehand. Better yet, finish my newsletter before doing all of that so I can fully relax at yoga then totally luxuriate at home. Aimee even noticed, one day saying You used to skip class to write but now you have time to do it all and get it all done early! She told me she was proud of me, and this comment really stuck with me! I can, in fact, have it all!
So the twos haven’t been so terrible. I’ve liked many more of my issues this year than I did the year before, and you’ll see on my top 10 of the year list that most of my faves are recent. I think I’ve been better at looking at this practice as less of a chore, which is really funny because last year I said that I’ve been looking at writing as more of an exercise than a grand creative expression, prioritizing consistency over quality. I think I’ve now forced myself to be so consistent that I now have no choice but to be creative. I’m not really sure that makes sense. I still can’t really believe I’ve stuck with it!
There is so much more I could do here. Maybe I’ll start writing way ahead of time and can actually edit my work. I need to figure out how to kill more darlings when writing ultra-long trip recaps. I also use Beehiiv at my real job and see tons of features I haven’t been using that I would like to try more, like polls and boosting other newsletters in hopes that both of us can get each other more subscribers. Beehiiv is also constantly bettering itself, and there are now features to make gentrifierolympics.beehiiv.com prettier and fuller than it is now. I also still want to reformat all of my old entries from Mailchimp to look nice after I’ve imported them onto here and they look mediocre.
I have a similar amount of subscribers as I did last year, somewhere in the early 200s. I’ll hit 250 soon (but soon might also mean in a few months). Again, most of my subscribers are people I know in real life that are my friends. I don’t do anything to promote this other than post it occasionally on my Instagram story or tell people about it at parties. I could do more, and maybe I will. Or I won’t!
To you, thank you so much for continuing to read my stuff. Most of you have been with me for over a year, and I am so honored that I’m not annoying enough and maybe even am smart enough for you to like what I have to say. Every message I receive either complimenting my issue or having a follow-up comment about something I bring up brings me so much joy. I do this all for myself, but it’s fun to also do it for you.
I said last year and I’ll say it again this year: I want to get more audience participation with polls or advice columns like I used to. You can also always write a guest entry or part of one if you send it to me and let me edit it. I’m always accepting any and all ideas on how to make this project better.
If I can write this much now, I don’t see why I won’t feel the same a year from now. I also can’t imagine what this newsletter will look like a year from now. Hopefully the twos won’t be terrible!
My 10 favorite entries I’ve written this year (in chronological order)
“Beignets, bagels, and more” 12/9/24: I skipped out on a few weeks in the fall and winter when I would be traveling or exhausted from it and sent these behemoth diaries. Here, I stew about the election, have a fabulous time in New Orleans with friends, watch my mom open a bagel shop, and talk about why I can’t just tell a short story. It took me a while to write but was fun the whole time.
“An ingrown hair ruined my week: AMA” 2/17/25: Total TMI issue, but it’s always fun to write about light traumas like getting an incision for a mutant ingrown on my thigh.
“This book will make you a better person in every way” Pt. 1 3/4/25, Pt. 2 3/10/25: Reading The Power Broker defined this year (and life), so I took two issues to talk about it, the first on how I got through committing to such a saga and the second on the contents of the book. Power Broker Fall is just around the corner, so I’m going to start Caro’s first book in his series on Lyndon Johnson.
“Fit for travel” 3/24/25: I was so proud of myself for sticking to this 3-month plan of going to the gym five days a week, and it was fun to chronicle this leg of my fitness journey that set the tone for a great year. I also finished one of the best Housewives seasons and went to one of the worst bars in New York.
“Mad Rizz in Mad Rid” 4/7/25: It took me two issues to write about my trip to Spain, and this was my first one. This was the beginning of a stuck period I felt at the end of spring and beginning of summer this year, and I can feel myself sinking into it. I also marvel at my friends and all the incredible food I ate.
“I killed my first cockroach, and it changed my life” 4/21/25: Another light trauma story that fits into a weekend diary entry. This ended up being one of the most memorable weekends of my year and included one of my favorite walks I’ve done in New York from Inwood Hill Park down through Harlem. I also wrote a love letter to CVS y más.
“What do we do when reality TV stars die?” 5/5/25: After what felt like an endless fall and winter of diary entries as newsletters, I wanted to motivate myself to write about something that normal people who aren’t invested in me could chew on. This was a good dip back into that and how reality star deaths differ from conventional celebrity deaths. I also fell on the G train and ate a sandwich I still think about constantly.
“My solution to New York’s gentrification problem” 5/19/25: I think this is my favorite issue of the year. It’s funny at times, heavy at others, full of semi-research and silliness. I want more of my entries to feel like this one.
“If you call yourself old, I think less of you” 5/26/25: This is a subject I’ve touched on in other issues but felt like I needed to dedicate a whole rant to it since my friends in real life know I talk about this too much. It’s a mix of ranting at youths aging themselves for no reason and feeling my age as I navigate my first apartment’s goodbye party.
“Aritzia is womanhood” 6/9/25: Shopping is so overwhelming and vulnerable, which makes it fun to write about. I love going deep into trivial stuff. Plus, I ate at KazuNori and listened to Addison Rae’s album for the first time.
This week’s photo is from after the trivia night that wasn’t. I guess Playhouse doesn’t do trivia anymore, so we all went out instead. This is probably one of my favorite pictures of myself in recent memory. After this was taken, I finally went to…(scroll to Current Fixations)
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Current fixations I want to mention
Food & Drink
I finally went to Le Bain. Before you move to New York and dream of crazy nights out, this place is exactly what you think of. We went during a free Thursday night show and had a great time. The main floor has great DJs and, the most iconic part, a pool ready for anyone to dive into. My favorite part, though, was the rooftop. It had a delicious view of the city, swanky bar, and cozy couches for chatting with the crew. I can imagine this place being kind of obnoxious on weekends but also kind of perfect. I would definitely go again on another weeknight, especially to keep chatting with the gals on the roof.
Music
It may be from three years ago, but “Quédate” by MJ Nebreda is new for me. I really like how this song grooves, and I want to spin or enjoy an elliptical moment to it. It’s just meant for movement. It’s a less chaotic, poppier song than her other music that I know. If I were a DJ, I would mash this up with The Magician remix of “I Follow Rivers” by Lykke Li.
Internet & Pop Culture
Even though it has all of the things I like, I tend to avoid Las Culturistas. I hear all about it from my mom, anyway. Maybe something about it feels almost too mainstream? I can’t really put my finger on it. Maybe it has to do with the jealousy gay people have when people just like them become famous, almost a frustration that they couldn’t capitalize on the ways they already are. I started getting tons of clips the day after the Las Culturistas Culture Awards aired, so Meera and I decided we had to watch it. It was so, so fun. All award shows should be like this. Everyone just seemed happy to be there. It turned award shows on its head and opens up any person to build a fun show even if they do not have real prestige. Categories like Borders Award for Store That Should Come Back and Eva Longoria award for tiny woman, huge impact are just too much fun. Matt and Bowen spent part of the show doing a full performance to “Abracadabra.” It just felt like two guys making themselves laugh and doing their ultimate fantasy indulgence show that all of their favorite (mostly NBCU, importantly) celebrities seemingly happily joined in. I can’t really think of anything better than the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City accepting an award and getting massive applause. It might be one of the most fun monoculture moments we’ve had in a long time. You can critique the corporate sanitizery or whatever else all you want, but it kind of doesn’t matter. This was just really joyful.
Television & Maybe Movies
Where do I even start with Hunting Wives? I just learned that this show was originally made for Starz, and now things make more sense. I watched the first four episodes in one burst and was transfixed, but the show really lost me in the last four episodes. The show opens with Sophie and her husband going to a gun-toting Texas shebang in their new neighborhood after moving from Boston for her husband’s job. She is scandalized by everything around her but immediately connects with magnetic Margo, who is the de facto leader of a housewife clique. The first half is awesome and gets really lesbian really fast, which I didn’t expect. Brittany Snow is the lead and is so hot and awesome, and I love seeing her thrive post-Pitch Perfect and divorce from that Selling the OC d-bag. However, the show becomes a murder mystery for the last four episodes, which completely changes the tone of the show. They could have ridden on being in a conservative town with secrets but instead had to go down the murder route. It was both predictable and unpredictable, especially with how drawn-out some parts were and how quickly they explained through others. There were so many strange threads that did not get answered (partly to shape up for a second season), and even a deeply unnecessary incest flashback. Then again, we also see one of the wives put a dildo up her husband’s butt. Apparently Republican women like this show even though it’s making fun of them. The moral of the show is that their fat female characters are the moral backbones while the rest of these women have terrible wigs, especially Callie’s. Even Margo’s hair got worse after the first half of the show. Did I like this show? In some ways yes, in some ways no. I’m not sure I would watch a second season. I’m happy I watched it, though.
Journalism & Literature
Want to learn stuff about New York but you’re also an alcoholic? The Bowery Boys just came out with an episode on “The Oldest Bars in New York City” with a second part, too (that I haven’t listened to yet). The first part covers Fraunces Tavern, where I’ve been thousands of times, and Neir’s Tavern, where I’ve never been, and other ancient watering holes. Neir’s sounds pretty cool, though, if anyone wants to get me out to Woodhaven. It’s the Goodfellas bar!
Something I Saw in the Wild
I unintentionally make an annual summer pilgrimage to Red Hook. Yesterday, Allie and I walked all the way from Bushwick to what feels like coastal New England port town right in Brooklyn. I always stumble into the same places like that home goods store and the record store. While buying records, Allie and I found a flyer for the Red Hook Pinball Museum, which happened to be open that day. It’s rarely open to the public, and I get why. It’s a room in the back of a bar called Seaborne (also feels like another town and decade) with a bunch of old pinball machines. They are free to play, and you can play them as long as you want to. These machines work differently than the ones we love at arcades because some of them have different goals and mechanisms. For example, with these 1950s machines, you need to manually push a lever to get a ball ready for you to pull instead of how balls automatically show up today. They have maybe six or seven machines, and you’re crammed in this room watching or playing machines as old as from the late-1800s. Check out their Instagram or super primitive website for more info on when they’re open again. Did you know that Mayor LaGuardia banned pinball because it used to be a form of gambling? Anyway, that’s the kind of stuff you can learn at the museum. There was a guy around my age running the show and helping people use the machines, including young children. I think he prob gets the most action in Red Hook aside from the record store guy or a really hot server at Red Hook Tavern.