Hello! How have you been?
Somewhere in 2018 or 2019, you subscribed to this newsletter. Most likely you have forgotten about it. Or if you haven’t you have probably given up hope on receiving any new emails. It was previously called Urban Chaos Postcards. The last time I sent one out was in February 2019. It has been over a year. Most of you may have guessed the reason for this hiatus.
I had a baby boy last year!
I’ve had my hands full. Between a baby, working full time, and more recently a pandemic, I’ve had enough on my mind. But writing on my blog and sending out these newsletters is something that I’ve been meaning to do the entire time. I just never got around to actually doing it.
So I am trying this again. I have moved to Substack from TinyLetter because that’s what all the cool people seeming to be doing. I will write sporadically. I plan to write about parenting, motherhood, marriage, books, food, and well, life. I haven’t watched Netflix or anything on streaming for longer than six months, but if I do get back to that, maybe I’ll write about movies and TV series too.
If you were subscribed to my previous newsletter, you are automatically subscribed to the new one. You can unsubscribe if it no longer interests you.
Since most of the subscribers are friends and family, maybe this will help us stay in touch, help us stay connected in a way that social media cannot. Maybe this email exchange will help us reconnect, set off a new conversation, and maybe, just maybe it will help make up for the lack of in-person conversations. There are ways to have in-person conversations now - social distance approved walks. But the problem with walks is that it only works for connecting with people who live close by. When a lot of loved ones are spread across various timezones, we have to make do with zoom video calls or similar tech. Finding slots that work for everyone is hard.
An email then can be more convenient. Email exchanges are slower, one can read and reread and let it steep in the inbox for a few days before you reply. An email exchange feels intimate, like exchanging handwritten letters, but faster? Isn’t that what makes Instagram stories so popular. The intimacy of it, not just in content but also in our responses. We are able to drop a private note (DM) into another person’s inbox, have a private conversation as opposed to the feed where comments and responses on posts are for public viewing.
I subscribe to a bunch of newsletters but I can never catch up. Sometimes, the barrage of information from social media and social apps can be overwhelming. The endless scrolling, the lengthy forwards. When that happens, I try to take a break from all the consumption by deleting all social apps and just relaxing. Pause, breathe, focus on one thing. Sometimes I read a book. Sometimes, I browse through my email and start reading the unread newsletters. One at a time. Most of the newsletters I subscribe to are personal essays. So they end up being a warm, relaxing read. So if you are looking for something to read, something short, while you enjoy hot tea or other beverage of choice, lounging on your couch, or maybe a balcony, perhaps this will be one of those reads for you. If you decide to stay. And I hope you do.
I will write again soon.