April in review | stupid job market, living a little, and monthly recs
Whether you're a beautiful stranger or a human I know, I'm equally glad you're here. Now pour yourself a glass of your favorite liquid, sit down somewhere quiet and let's get started.
It’s funny how, to me, this newsletter serves as a marker of time flying by. It feels like only yesterday I was hitting send button to make Feb-March issue drop into your inboxes, and now a whole month has passed since then. I dedicated my thirty days of April to a little experiment, which I can already declare a success. More on this below.
For f*ck’s sake, live your life a little.
In late March, I made a decision to stop looking for a new job.
The thing is, I felt so exhausted by it all—spending hours on LinkedIn, adjusting my CV to different positions, answering generic questions in application forms, having screen calls with recruiters and zoom calls with hiring managers, working through test assignments and business cases and the disappointment that comes after a rejection at the final round in the endless interviewing processes—that I no longer felt excited about the prospects of landing a new job at all.
That’s when my husband and my therapist (arguably, two most influential people in my life), recommended to stop looking and live a little. And, you know, just see what happens.
It felt ridiculous, this idea. Not looking for a job when I only have a part-time contract while I could have a full-time position with stocks and social benefits? It felt wrong, but it also felt refreshing. So I decided I’d give it a shot. I deleted LinkedIn app from my phone, so I won’t be bothered by constant notifications about new open positions matching my profile. I stopped applying to jobs. I focused on working my hours as a contractor, writing my book, negotiating future partnerships with hotels, and, you know, living a little.
And you know what? Funny thing happened. First of all, the company I have a contract with asked me to dedicate more hours to them, so my half-time job turned into about 30-hours-a-week-job, which is as close to full-time as it is to half-time. Second of all, I landed a few exciting collaborations with hotels in California and (drum roll) New York City. And most importantly, I wrote a new chapter of my book, which my teacher and my writing group said was my best work so far. As for the job hunt, a few recruiters reached out to me on LinkedIn (which I now only access from my laptop, and not more often than once or twice a week). None of the LinkedIn conversations turned out interesting, but it felt good to be approached anyway.
All this to say, sometimes we just need to say f*ck this shit! and live a little. And watch life unfold in the way it’s supposed to. Without trying too hard. It’s May 1st now, as I’m writing this. And I declare it the second month of me not actively looking for a job. Because the trial month was great, and I’m excited to see what’s next.
Idea of the month
I love this month’s idea so much I’m considering it to be my next tattoo. It’s very simple, and it’s nothing new, really. And yet, I feel like this could be my mantra for life. Basically, it is an Italian take on “This too shall pass.” And I love how universal it is, how it’s a reminder to be grateful when times are good, but also a promise that things will get better when times are tough.
Tutto passa.
Last year, when I was going through some personal crises, I had a similar message as a screensaver on my phone. It won’t be like this forever, it said. Like everything in life, my crises passed, and I changed my screensaver for something else. And now, months and months later, I came across an image of an old Italian man with a tutto pasta tattoo on his tanned chest. And there was something so uplifting, hopeful, and life-affirming about that picture of his, that it stayed with me for days.
To read
“The Great Transition” by Nick Fuller Googins
In April, I was a very productive person reading-wise. I read five books, which is a bit more than I usually manage to squeeze into a 30-day period. Main reason for it? Last weekend, I started a book that got me hooked from page one and kept me SO invested I ended up finishing it in 3 sittings.
If you’re a fan of “Station Eleven” by Emily St. John Mandel or dystopian fiction as a genre, I promise you’ll be mesmerized by this one. It tells the story of the world after a major climate crises (kind of the one we’re living through right now, but in its absolute peak), where most people had to migrate to the coldest parts of our planet, while the biggest centers of the pre-crises civilization (like New York City) were deconstructed and recycled. I won’t tell you anything else to avoid spoilers, but take my word for it: it is a very important book to read, which also happens to be a very interesting book to read.
P.S. Ironically, “The Great Transition” wasn’t the only climate-focused book I read in April. The other one, thought, was so incredibly difficult to read and digest that I’m not recommending it here. But if you’re really curious, it’s “The Uninhabitable Earth” by David Wallace-Wells. It’s packed with lots of mind-blowing stats and terrifying predictions, which is important, but I feel like the author could have approached it a little differently to make it appealing for wider audience (because, as I said, it’s a very important book).
To watch
Sugary but not shallow. This is what I’d say if I had to describe this movie in one sentence. But since I’m not limited in word count here (it’s my newsletter, after all), I’m going to tell you more. It’s one of those movies you watch on a cozy Saturday night at home, when you really need something life-affirming. “The Life List” follows a story of a young woman Alex, who takes on a journey of revisiting her childhood dreams. Not out of the blue, of course, but because it was her mom’s last wish. And also, because this is the only her mom’s lawyer is going to let her know what she inherited. Speaking of her mom’s lawyer, OMG. I don’t remember having such a crash on someone in a while. Kyle Allen, if you’re reading this (of course you aren’t), I hope one day you’ll play a leading role in the adaptation of my book, which I’m still writing. My dear husband, if you’re reading this (of course you are), I hope you don’t mind.
To follow
Taylor Bell on YouTube
I don’t watch YouTube often, but when I do, I make sure it’s something both entertaining and educational. That’s why I feel so lucky to have found Taylor’s YouTube channel a couple years ago. Taylor studied in Ivy League school, worked in a few prestigious consulting firms, but ended up pursuing a career of full-time YouTuber. But because she’s so smart (I mean, Ivy League and career in consulting!), her videos always teach me something new. For example, in April, I watched an episode about Erewhon, the ridiculously expensive grocery store that has no locations outside of LA county. Even though I knew a lot about the brand from this article in The Cut, there was a lot of cool new details I learned from Taylor’s video.
While we’re on the topic of Taylor Bell and grocery store brands, there is another video on her channel I loved. This time, about the much-beloved supermarket chain Trader’s Joe and the cult-like obsession young Americans have with it. In the video, Taylor does a great job explaining why. Highly recommend!
To wrap things up
If you made it all the way to the last paragraph, wow. You’re one dedicated reader! And, I take it, there’s something about this newsletter you enjoy. So let’s do this. You take a screenshot of the part of this letter that resonated with you most and share it to your friends on social media with a link to my Substack. Could you do this for me, please? Five minutes of your time = the world to me.
Thank you in advance. See you in a month! ♦
Lovely piece ! I knew Taylor Bell in college lol. Glad for the recommendation to revisit her work!
Shout out to “for f@ck sake live your life a little” girl!!! Needed that one ♥️