Every time I embark on a journey towards a published post about why it’s good to have a website, I get lost in the reality of personal details. Everyone has different reasons for believing something. Aiming to take them all into account doesn’t help me write anything that feels worthwhile and not like a derivative¹.

It feels much more relevant to focus my attention on specific people. In this case I’m focusing my attention on you, Nienke. I think you should have a personal website. Let me tell you why.

What I love most about today’s snapshot is the despair I can see in Lemonade’s eyes even when her entire body is a background blur. DJ is a calm 12-year-old dog, and Lemonade was thrilled to see another dog in our home for the first time, but her energy level was high enough that I eventually brought her back to her crate. It was right in time, too, because the afternoon light filling the living room made for a nice little portrait.

Much like last year, I’m so excited for Mathilde to visit our house that I get a headache just thinking about it. We’ve known each other 23 years, and, by miracle, our friendship is both acclimatized to our adult lives and as full of energy and curiosity as it was when we met in our first year of secondary school.

She comes bearing gifts: seeds for the garden, dyke poetry, David Sedaris. She knows what I like. We eat, this time around I’ve kept it simple with dishes from the traiteur and not ten separate homemade recipes of intricate delicacies. We talk about what teaching means to her and Anja. We play with Lemonade.

• I got to meet one of my Internet heroes this week: Patrick Rhone and his family were on a Europe trip, and I was lucky enough to catch the planning stage on his blog right in time to extend an invitation. We spent a rainy Monday evening in de Jordaan at Cafe de Tuin, talking ye olde Internet productivity culture, the arts, politics, hopes and dreams, and how his teenage daughter apparently woke up one night singing “raise a glass to freedom”. Fine people, they are.
• After another week with Lemonade, I’m beginning to feel more confident about raising her to be a well-behaved, confident puppy. For the most part, she’s doing very well. The only real challenge we have is the barking to which she’ll resort every time she’s in the crate but not sleeping. Through trial and error, we’re slowly learning how to help her settle down more easily, and this week, the efforts have begun to pay off.
• I’ve got some exciting news forthcoming that isn’t quite ready for the public just yet, but it has managed to lift my spirits greatly. I’ll be able to write more in the next few weeks, but for now it’s safe to say I’m feeling hopeful, inspired, and ready.
• While Anja had apparently been around to watch season one when it was released, I’ve only now turned onto the wonderful journey that is Abbott Elementary. I would never actually ask the universe for a reboot of The Office: US, but this new mockumentary revolving around a poorly-managed, underfunded Philadelphia public school has exactly the vibe I would’ve hoped to get from that nonexistent reboot. It’s just nice that, with this show, Black people are at the front and center.
• Spring has officially begun, but as one of the regulars at my coffee place said: “the question isn’t when spring begins but when rain ends”. It seems the weather’s getting better, though, and I can feel I’m on the cusp of storing away my winter coat. It has been a long time coming.

Happiness today is the ease with which the nun gives me his phone number. Paul is an old friend, or really an old friend of my ex, and we haven’t spoken in eight years.

I had emailed him late last year, missing our kitchen table conversations over coffee and cigarettes. His enormous house, a former school, functioning as his private art studio / gallery. He had replied right away, saying “my phone number is still the same”.

Liked https://barryfrost.com/2023/03/week-80-underpants

Replied to Barry Frost

Darn Barry, I feel like 2023 is throwing you for quite a loop. Ever since you wrote about you getting laid off I think about you every now and then. I’m sorry this happened last week, although I must say I suppose it’s a lucky thing those divvies wanted to get a break-in early bird special.