Week 34
July 18, 2026
I've reached the point of contradicting thoughts.
I'm tired, but, I need to do everything.
I don't need a diaper caddy, but, maybe I do.
I want my baby to keep baking until the due date, but, I need, very desperately, to sleep on my back again.
The thoughts are somewhat of a trap. A binary view of delusion. I'm shunning things that I know I need, like nursing bras and shirts. But I have such a high fantasy of postpartum life that I am instead, window shopping for things that I know won't immediately be practical post delivery. Life as a cool mom, rather than a recovering mom.
75% of the items from our registry have arrived, and 100% of them are currently still in the box tucked under tables or off to the side until we decide to start opening. I know we should open these soon, but it feels like the dependency is having a better idea of what we need to get rid of as we graduate from a house made for two adults.
Over the weekend, I went to a talk at the Cooper Hewitt featuring Arsh Raziuddin, the creative director and designer behind New York City's FIFA World Cup campaign, and Maya Handa, the city's World Cup Czar. Raziuddin walked us through the tactical design work of creating an entire brand system for New York City's FIFA campaign in two weeks (!). And on the city side, Handa expanded on how that design work extended beyond graphics, becoming a large part of the overall experience the city implemented around the tournament.
I wrote more about it on Educated Guess!
- Finished A Good Person — I've been in a rough reading slump that I attribute to Heart the Lover, and what happens when you get burned by BookTok recommendations. And while Good Person didn't get me out of a slump, it did provide a welcome laugh. I was not vested in the plot, but I stuck around for the absolute wild card stuff that came out of the protagonist's mouth. Comparable to the protagonist in Yellowface, but worse.
- Finished Couple's Therapy — I will never stop watching this show because the couples get stranger and stranger each season and the life lessons get stronger and stronger. It's a great show to watch for personal reflection and how to avoid cycles of miscommunication and bad behavior. A reminder that most things are preventable if you can commit to the work,
- Watched Shelter — I used to like Jason best when he was a tuxedo spy. I think I like him now more as a recluse grumpy man. I resonate.