Jokes Only

This year, my new year's resolution is to write here at least once a month. But this blog has always had a very intentional "jokes only" tone of voice, and I'm not feeling particularly funny as of late. I'm feeling angry and afraid and hopeless and frustrated, but not funny. Not especially. 

So I'm in a bit of a bind here. Do I make like a reality TV star and stop being nice/start getting real? Start baring my soul on here, dumping my anger/fear/hopelessness/frustration on to the hundreds upon hundreds upon thousands of you that read this blog? I tried that. It didn't feel right. I'm not really a bare-r! 

Then I tried to fake it. I started a new list of blog ideas on my phone. I tried to write about all the weird activities my incredibly noisy upstairs neighbors must be doing at six a.m. on Saturdays. But that didn't really feel right, either. Not yet. So I drafted it for later.  For now, I'll aim somewhere in the middle. 

So here's a list of ways I'm trying to find that middle:

1. Boxing. Well, kickboxing. I've been doing this for awhile, but this new gym I'm going to has actual punching bags as opposed to just a very large wall of mirrors and the instruction "aim for your own chin." I'm working on my Michelle Obama arms while I mourn the departure of the Obama family.

2. Volunteering. Or trying to volunteer, more accurately. It's surprisingly difficult to find charities in NYC. I know they're out there, but so far, all the open tabs in the world can't help me find one that actually needs my time. I'm waiting to hear from Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America, the Brooklyn Public Library and Girl Scouts. I'm still googling in the meantime.

3. Watching The Bachelor. God, it's so good. It's really the perfect TV show.

4. Donating to organizations I'm passionate about. I set up monthly recurring gifts for Planned Parenthood, NPR and the Southern Poverty Law Center. I'm also making an effort to attend more marches and protests. It's not enough for me to amplify voices and causes online. I need to actually lend my actual voice to make change. I know I'm incredibly late. But I'm here.

5. Eating soup. I made this one last week. It was great! 

6. Spending time with people I love. My friends started a Sunday supper club. That's where I got the soup recipe! Really cannot recommend it enough. Here's the link again, just for fun!

7. Taking long walks. I've always loved to take long walks as a form of self-care. It feels even more important now. 

8. I bought this stress ball. The one they mailed me is hot pink and has this odd sort of nipple shape on it, so it looks like a boob. It's so much better that way!

So here's to finding a balance between fury and funny in 2017. Stay strong, everyone.