I think this may be your best yet, Nia, and I wish more people would talk honestly about just how much more expensive it is to be poor. Having money may not fix everything, but it sure simplifies an awful lot, and I think that's something most people with money fail to appreciate is true for most people without it. I'd like to think if more people made that realization we'd perhaps have a more just world, but perhaps that's misplaced optimism.
Thanks so much, Matt! I know this comment is almost a year late, but I really appreciate your comments & thoughts. We direly need more compassion & understanding for others, and especially so FROM the rich towards the poor.
I remember that same passage in "Men at Arms," and I also remember pausing there and thinking. It is all so true. I remember constantly running below that magic threshold in my bank balance and, indeed, triggering fees because my deposits, ahem, because I cut the line so close between the checks I wrote and my paychecks which, especially in the early days, never covered all my expenses. I have enormous empathy and anger about this.
I must ask this: how on earth did you find a single notebook that would last so long? Is it really big? Do you write in it every day?
Hahaha, I don't! I got it at the start of 2020, hoping it would be my bullet journal for the year but as we all know, most of the year was spent in lockdowns back then. 2021 was similar, and so it's just become a memory-keeping journal now that I use with a small A5 undated muji planner. I'm still using that OG notebook as my main dump in 2024 as well (might be the last year now, though). I collect so many notebooks so I try to use a different one for daily to-do lists, planning, and memory keeping. It also helps because I tend to move around a lot and can't carry so many of them with me.
Another lovely and thought-provoking issue!Filing that example of the boots away for the day I take my kids out to spend their holiday gift cards ;)
And thanks again for that rec! Would you believe that the library holds gods smiled upon me over the holiday break, and I somehow got my hands on a print copy of The Martian?! I really liked it, especially the ending. It’s the kind of ending that makes you want to hug the book after you’ve closed it for the last time :)
Thanks so much for reading, Rosalynn! And I'm so glad you liked The Martian! Did you manage to get your hands on Project Hail Mary in the end after a long, long wait? (I know I'm very behind on replying to comments). :)
I did read Project Hail Mary awhile ago now but actually I’ve been thinking about it this week! One of my kiddos has been reading a book set in a space station on the moon, and I can’t hear the phrase “air lock” without fond memories of Rocky :)
I think coming back to the comments on this post & the recommendations on your newsletter has got me thinking about project Hail Mary again too. What's your young one reading, that sounds like a fun novel too!
Space Case, by Stuart Gibbs. We’re taking turns reading it aloud at her bedtime, and it’s sparked some fun discussions about how the mystery genre works - ie, about how it’s never the first person the sleuth suspects, and what red herrings are, etc.
Ooh! I've heard great things about Spy School by him — sounds like Space Case is also a great story. Might actually pick it up soon hehe. Thanks, Rosalynn!
Simply loved this one. Fully agree! 💯
Thank you, friendo! <3
I think this may be your best yet, Nia, and I wish more people would talk honestly about just how much more expensive it is to be poor. Having money may not fix everything, but it sure simplifies an awful lot, and I think that's something most people with money fail to appreciate is true for most people without it. I'd like to think if more people made that realization we'd perhaps have a more just world, but perhaps that's misplaced optimism.
Thanks so much, Matt! I know this comment is almost a year late, but I really appreciate your comments & thoughts. We direly need more compassion & understanding for others, and especially so FROM the rich towards the poor.
I remember that same passage in "Men at Arms," and I also remember pausing there and thinking. It is all so true. I remember constantly running below that magic threshold in my bank balance and, indeed, triggering fees because my deposits, ahem, because I cut the line so close between the checks I wrote and my paychecks which, especially in the early days, never covered all my expenses. I have enormous empathy and anger about this.
I must ask this: how on earth did you find a single notebook that would last so long? Is it really big? Do you write in it every day?
Hahaha, I don't! I got it at the start of 2020, hoping it would be my bullet journal for the year but as we all know, most of the year was spent in lockdowns back then. 2021 was similar, and so it's just become a memory-keeping journal now that I use with a small A5 undated muji planner. I'm still using that OG notebook as my main dump in 2024 as well (might be the last year now, though). I collect so many notebooks so I try to use a different one for daily to-do lists, planning, and memory keeping. It also helps because I tend to move around a lot and can't carry so many of them with me.
Thanks so much for reading, Betsy! :)
Another lovely and thought-provoking issue!Filing that example of the boots away for the day I take my kids out to spend their holiday gift cards ;)
And thanks again for that rec! Would you believe that the library holds gods smiled upon me over the holiday break, and I somehow got my hands on a print copy of The Martian?! I really liked it, especially the ending. It’s the kind of ending that makes you want to hug the book after you’ve closed it for the last time :)
Thanks so much for reading, Rosalynn! And I'm so glad you liked The Martian! Did you manage to get your hands on Project Hail Mary in the end after a long, long wait? (I know I'm very behind on replying to comments). :)
I did read Project Hail Mary awhile ago now but actually I’ve been thinking about it this week! One of my kiddos has been reading a book set in a space station on the moon, and I can’t hear the phrase “air lock” without fond memories of Rocky :)
I think coming back to the comments on this post & the recommendations on your newsletter has got me thinking about project Hail Mary again too. What's your young one reading, that sounds like a fun novel too!
Space Case, by Stuart Gibbs. We’re taking turns reading it aloud at her bedtime, and it’s sparked some fun discussions about how the mystery genre works - ie, about how it’s never the first person the sleuth suspects, and what red herrings are, etc.
Ooh! I've heard great things about Spy School by him — sounds like Space Case is also a great story. Might actually pick it up soon hehe. Thanks, Rosalynn!
This isn't talked about enough, and it was my reality growing up. Thanks for writing about this, Nia.
Thank you so much for reading & commenting, Rebecca! :)
Great edition of your newsletter. Thank you!
Thanks so much for reading, Steph! :)