literary journal debut (!) + library diploma life + other good things
Oh it feels good to have made it through February. I've got four weeks of uni under my belt now and I'm confident I've made it through the growing pains of full-time study adjustment and fitting everything else around it. Those first two weeks the exhaustion wall hard and I was genuinely worried a fatigue/exhaustion-induced meltdown was in store for me every week remaining of this year... how black and white I see that to be now! I'm still pretty exhausted most of the time, but the low–lows are lessening in length/unpleasantness each week and that trajectory I can live with!
I feel really content to be balancing different things that align with what I want to be doing. I was at the dentist yesterday and when I was asked what I do... work or study? I found it pretty chill to honestly reply. As hard as it is navigating exhaustion all... the... time... (!) I also feel really emboldened and excited for my days.
I think that shows in my videos in how I come across though, so I'll stop yapping all reflectively and talk about my month!
I spent more time at the sewing machine in February. Made two vest-like tops from scratch that won't be seeing the light of day, then I decided *customising* clothing might be more my cup of tea. It's also cheaper altering an $8 top from a charity shop than buying the material from scratch. Anyway that's how I wound up trying appliqué in the top pictured above. While I did accidentally put a hole in the top (don't look too closely!), I'm pleased with it enough to wear it. I put the tulips on myself (winging the design), got comfortable with interfacing and also hemmed the bottom. I want to try more appliqué designs – maybe a running Merlin silhouette, retro stars and some other droopy flowers (though tulips are very simple).
With the third I Want Dopamine for Dinner print run on the way, I had time to do other cookbook-y stuff this month. I finally sat down to collage "my very own bland break" page. I also somehow secured 4 new stockists, which means a healthy 1/4 of (what I want to be my last!!! lol lol lol) print run is accounted for.
An interview I did with ABC Lifestyle about the cookbook is due to come this Saturday. The Green Ginger Miso Noodles recipe will be shared with it too!
What are my hopes for March? It'll be a lot of course work, but I'm hopeful less of a roller coaster as I've now got the hang of the units. Did you know cataloguing requires a lot of coding?
I'm mindful March is the time of year my SIBO gut-symptoms come and say hi. The mornings will also be getting a lot darker and I'm sure I'll find it harder to rise. So far I'm keeping to a strict no uni work policy on weekends and I'm enjoying doing more social stuff on them too. As I think I need to get out, away from all screens, from sitting on my butt for my mental health ya know? Even if I'm achy & exhausted.
Oh and I need to go to the beach for a swim on the next (last) warm-enough day. Still haven't done that this summer (and there's only two days left!).
I hope this season transition is kind to you, ultimately I find it to be a big one!
WRITING.
I had my first piece published in a literary journal this month! Overland published my essay, The Hostility of Public Spaces – which I actually pitched and submitted a few years ago. They said yes at the time, but it took a few years of correspondence to get it to 'print'. I feel like that's important to share in the context of the precariousness of the under-funded writing world!
Speaking of, if you have a minute and are a resident of Victoria – please sign this petition to get Writers Victoria's funding reinstated. It's a cultural institution that needs to stay.
Anyway, I tweaked the essay in January to reflect where I'm at now and while I think my writing's evolved a lot for the better in the last few years, I reckon' it's a decent read : )
YOUTUBE.
Somehow got two YouTube videos out this month – you can watch them here and here.
FOOD.
L–R: my Green Ginger & Miso Noodles recipe (from I Want Dopamine for Dinner, which will be posted on ABC Lifestyle this Sunday), rice paper rolls from I Want Dopamine for Dinner and a buffalo tofu and green goddess slaw rice bowl.
L–R: my Spiced Cauliflower & Tofu over Spinach Rice with Cucumber Raita, japchae and an impossible burger pita with all the salady fixings.
L–R: bulked out gluten-free instant noodles slurped over a sudoku, a cheesy egg pita and a tofu "egg salad" sandwich with lots of sprouts.
L–R: a crisp pink lady apple with sprinklings of tajin, strawberry green bubble tea with açai and my first uber eats delivery (which saved me on a fatigued filled evening) – a zambrero burrito bowl with extra rice.
L–R: lime curd thumbprint biscuits, banana cake with caramel frosting and a wee christmas pudding drowned in white chocolate custard.
L–R: I did many tests for a fluffy gluten-free and vegan pancake recipe this month... a notoriously tricky recipe without eggs or gluten! I got there in the end. Think American style pancakes – neither gummy, dry nor stodgy, just an excellent airy, slightly crispy, fluffy pancake.
WATCHED.
I think season four is my favourite Bridgeton season so far. Two outsiders, neither truly fitting into society – has welcome neurodivergent undertones. Plus it means we get less of the "society" flaff that I was really tired of. Yerin Ha (who went to drama school in Sydney with a long-time friend of mine – eek!) is SO GOOD as Sophie Baek. I'm saving the last two eps for the weekend, thank you Bridgeton for the glorious post uni-work escapism.
READ.
The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante is first-person fiction about a woman losing her sense of self after her husband abruptly leaves her for a younger woman. I found it quite a distressing and disturbing read. Her parenting becomes neglectful to the extreme at points and the family dog is treated TERRIBLY. I really needed a content warning about the dog!!!
I enjoyed Zarah Butcher-McGunnigle's Nostalgia has ruined my life. A super short fiction, written in chunked-prose about a woman trying to find employment in Melbourne while living with chronic illness. I'll be reading anything this author publishes in future.
Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix is a short novel based on the deadliest migrant channel crossing in 2021. It's told from the perspective of the French naval officer who took the 40+ distress calls for help. It makes you reflect on your own desensitisation to suffering and how we're all somewhat responsible for these kinds of events. Challenging but excellent writing.
I wasn't sure I'd get through Bee Wilson's Heart Shaped Tin. But her short chapters saved me. It's part-memoir, part research non-fiction about the importance of objects (mostly kitchen-related) in our lives. Not exactly gripping reading, but a cosy, low stimulation read I'm glad I kept at.
You simply HAVE to get your hands on a copy of Melbourne-based graphic illustrator Mandy Ord's new work Sassy: a year of animals. It's a year told through the author's daily interactions with animals. The most soul-soothing, depression dissolving work there is. Thank you Mandy!
RECIPE.
This month's recipe is for Cheese Stuffed Italian-Style Meatballs with My Simple Low FODMAP Spaghetti! It's so yummy it's just silly. I know I've posted a million Italian-y recipes over the past 6 months, so I promise to have more variety in the coming going forward. Although, a good recipe is a good recipe ya-da ya-da...
Thank you for reading & supporting my work,
– Phoebe
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