stop thinking a phone call or text is too complicated (week notes 019)

I’m still reading Pride & Prejudice, but with the hubbub of the holidays, I haven’t made much progress. I’m excited about the next books in my pile, though, so I am determined to finish soon.

I’ve burned through several seasons of Girls since my last week notes. I’m in the last season now, and my opinions have started to solidify. I think if I’d watched the show at the time of airing, I’d have found Lena et al. insufferably pretentious. Old age has softened me; instead I find it a charming (though still deeply problematic and limited in the perspectives it represents) contra point. TV was and is rife with the male perspective, shows at which many of the same critiques could be levied (Seinfeld, Always Sunny, etc.). I think Girls attracts the ire it does partly due to its creator’s frequent gaffes and problematic statements but also because it challenges the status quo simply by its existence and its featuring complex women who are hard to like. I don’t think there was a cultural crisis of any kind over the characters in shows like Always Sunny being unlikeable — it’s clear that they’re meant to be. Girls is the same, but our culture has far more trouble swallowing unlikeable women. I also think that, while the show has its ups and downs and some storylines that don’t work, it is pretty consistent in quality — something I don’t often say about shows that run for several seasons.

Joe and I have been playing lots of Satisfactory. We’ve reached Tier 6 but are focused on redoing / optimizing old supply lines and completing the FICSMAS event before we get into oil production.

I downloaded The Well I Fell Into by WHY? after listening to a bunch of Alopecia over the last few weeks. I haven’t been able to make it through for some reason. It’s not that I’ve turned it off because I don’t like it, but none of it really grabs me, save for “Marigold,” which I absolutely love.

I’m in the midst of a pretty bad flair up of seasonal depression, so these week notes are brief and hastily cobbled together. I missed a week over the holidays though and I want to be more consistent in 2025. I see lots of folks compiling yearly wrap ups and resolutions, but I’m struggling with basic tasks like getting out of bed and eating right now. I don’t mean to make myself sound all desperate and pathetic, to garner sympathy or to attract pity — but I think it’s important to be honest about mental health. Please know that I’ve dealt with this for a long time and it’s just a matter of riding it out; my depression never manifests to suicidal ideation and very rarely self-harm.