Day 4 is usually when I’m screaming to the heavens, “HAVE THE DAYS ALWAYS BEEN THIS LONG?????”
Yes and no. Yes, they’ve always been this long. No, they won’t always seem this long. But in my experience, in the early days of quitting anything, the days stretch out like an eternity. And evenings in particular can be the toughest.
Free time is your enemy. This is not the time to sit around and reflect. This is when you need to get active. Go for a walk. If you already went, go for another one. For me the evening was when the cravings really kicked in, so that’s when I started working out and then cooking myself a nice meal. And I’d usually end up going for a walk after dinner or taking a bath with a nice book. Anything to keep my mind busy. Ask a friend to dinner or coffee. Make a playlist.
If you find yourself isolating or not reaching out or talking to people - that’s a big red flag. Don’t do that. Call siblings, family members and old friends and catch up with them. Reach out to see how other people are doing. Get out of yourself. Write those thank you notes you never wrote—it’s better late than never. Pick a household project you didn’t manage to do during quarantine and get it done. Organize your closet. Alphabetize your spices. Purge your wardrobe. Anything.
Your homework: Make a list of all the things you want to do or learn, but never do or learn. Household projects. Crafts. Languages. Instruments. Books you want to read. Creative ideas you have and want to execute. Gardening. Baking. Let your mind go wild with all the things you’ve been putting off and all the things you’ve dreamed of doing, learning, creating. The sky is the limit. Don’t let age or ability hinder this list. Make the damn list.
If you want to share a pic of the list with the group, go for it. If you want to share one item, please share it in the comments. If you don’t want to share anything—that’s fine. Just make the fucking list.
And this isn't limited to those of us partaking in #SoberOctober. Even if you're not giving up something and feel inspired to make this list, go for it. It's a good exercise in seeing what we probably should be doing when we're wasting our time on Twitter.
The time has come, Pham!! It’s officially the end of our Locals era. This means that starting now, all of our content will be centralized over at Substack and not Locals.
As you can probably see, my life is getting increasingly more bonkers, in the best possible way--but that means dividing my time between two subscriber platforms is no longer sustainable. Consolidating all of the Pham in one place will make it possible to give you more of the focused attention you deserve.
Don’t panic.
Locals is where it all began so the move is bittersweet. I have made lifelong friends here. We’ve done writing prompts together. Worked ...
Hello new followers, I hope I don’t disappoint you. I want this place to feel like home, where we can escape the Thunderdome and process the world. Where we can post dog pics and recipes and book recommendations. Where we support each other as we get sober, lose weight, embark on new business opportunities, creative endeavors, relationships and travels. I want this to be your oasis of sanity and laughter in an increasingly mad world. A creative outlet where you can share your spirit with us.
We might not have any control over the news cycle—but we can control our habits and attitude. It all starts with us. And hopefully a little piece of that will start here.
Pham, I know it’s late for some of us, but I haven’t had a song in my brain in a bit. So, here’s one of my favorite poems instead.
Poem of the Evening💙
“Come live with me and be my love.”
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44675/the-passionate-shepherd-to-his-love
(Sorry for the delay on this prompt—life happened.)
The writing prompts are back! And since everyone is talking about "what is a woman?" I thought we should dig into our Factory Settings and find out what we learned about this stuff.
