The fascination of what's difficult
Hello loves!
Yeats once described his urge to write as "the fascination of what's difficult", a profoundly lovely phrase. I am lucky enough to get to spend most of my days doing the work I'd do even if I weren't getting paid for it (for most of my life it was work I was doing without getting paid for it). I'm an obsessive optimiser of many types of labour (see for e.g. my complex multi-basket laundry system; the 2 hours I spent this week trying to wire up my bank's API to a Google Spreadsheet), but the best sources of meaning in my life comes from work I have no desire to optimise at all. I've spent the past few weeks harnessed to my desk frittling for hours over individual sentences of my new novel (here's my live writing journal if you're following along), and friends, I'm having the time of my damn life.
SPEAKING of fascinatingly difficult things, Esmée Gummer, the absolute legend who leads my local running club, was paralysed in her twenties and had to learn to walk again, and now she is running 5,000km across the UK over the next 99 days. She's keeping a video blog of her mad/awe-inspiring adventure.
The first time I joined the run club, threeish years ago now, it had been half a decade since I'd run 5km. I kept apologising, huffing and puffing right at the back of the pack, doing 5-minute intervals of running and walking the whole way. Esmée stayed at my side the entire time, cracking me up with banter and encouragement, and it's what got me back into running. She's just the most generous and sparkling soul who wants nothing more than for people to enjoy using their bodies while they can. Even if it's been a long time since you went running, if you're anywhere in the UK, you can probably join her for a 5km run along the way (she's leading a free 5km run in every UK city). I bet she'll encourage you and make you giggle too. The schedule's here.
Updated money resources!
One of the other bits of joyful work I've been chipping away at for you is updating all the Manage Your Money resources on the site, for the revised edition launching in September. I won't be sending them all out as emails, since a lot of you aren't South Africans so questions about Eskom feed-in tariffs are a bit less relevant to you (lucky!), but I will let you know WHEN new resources are up, so you can go and read them if you wish.
One of the big ones is done: an updated (and opinionated) roundup of the best investment and savings accounts in South Africa right now. There are lots of changes since the last update, so if you're in the market for a new home for your savings or investments, I hope this helps!
Sam Beckbessinger
Coming soon: easier to use money calculators, an updated and simplified dashboard, the long-requested dashboard for freelancers/artists/entrepreneurs/other-money-misfits, a roundup of resources for young people struggling to find their way into their first job, and a few detailed money-saving guides on specific topics. If there's anything in particular you'd like from me, let me know!
By the way, if any of you know happen to be experts in home solar systems (or you've just done it to your own home), I'd love to chat to you (just hit reply)! I've written a detailed guide to slashing electricity bills but I'd like to get a couple of expert eyes over it before I publish.
Some other joyful things!
- If, like me, you like to listen to music while you work but you find lyrics distracting, may I suggest taking a break from film scores/electronic music and exploring other music genres in languages you don't speak? I've recently been obsessed with Habibi Funk, a label collecting eclectic Arabic music from the 70s and 80s, and latin salsa.
- Anna Jones's Substack has been the source of all the best things I've been eating recently. I've recently loved her roast avocado tacos (roast avo! Believe me, try it!) and various iterations of her tomato-melon salads. I don't think anyone captures the taste of London summer for me quite like her. I think one of the best general heuristics in life is to learn to produce the things you most enjoy consuming.
- I've been reading Practical Magic in preparation for the movie sequel coming out later this year, and it's just as cosy and charming as the movie. If you're looking for something soothing and gentle, I recommend!
I'll be spending the rest of the month in France, not doing much except eating, reading, swimming, and working on my novel. Hope your plans are equally languid and fulfilling!
Wishing you work you love,
Sam
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