The life-changing magic of changing your phone wallpaper
Plus - please send orchestral music recommendations
Writing this from the train, after spending the weekend in DC. I’ve found I enjoy writing in transit, usually on the way home. The way there, wherever “there” is, is filled with anticipation or preparation — getting your mind right. The way home is a chance for reflection. And on this trip, conveniently, it’s late and I’m tired from two days of running around. The good kind of tired — a satisfying mental exhaustion, the settling of a thousand little thoughts.
One of these thoughts is: should I change my phone background (read: practice an extremely low-stakes form of reinvention) to this self-portrait by Elaine de Kooning that I saw in the National Portrait Gallery yesterday?
It’s been stuck in my head since I observed it yesterday — largely because I can only dream of looking as effortlessly stylish in a loose-fitting outfit and bangs. More than that, though, I’m attracted to the equally effortless space — lived-in, authentic, a place where art is made. Not trying, just being.
I’m projecting a lot onto this painting, of course. I have no idea whether this was actually her studio (the placard next to it suggested as much) or whether this is what it looked like on a typical day. Maybe her actual space looked nothing like this. But I’m keeping it as inspo nonetheless.
Every time I’m led back to writing here after not doing so for a while, I realize it’s because I’m in the middle of some transitional season, or the seasons are literally changing, and I think — again? Can I not think of anything else to discuss? Maybe so, but I do think it’s interesting to notice how my brain always latches on to that idea. Perhaps seasons in all their forms will always captivate me.
I started a new job a few weeks ago, so I am objectively at the start of a new season. I’m really enjoying my work and am so grateful for it, but returning to a 9-to-5 means I spend my time a lot differently than I did while freelancing and that’s an adjustment — a welcome one, but an adjustment nonetheless. (Someday I might write more about what my freelance season taught me, but for now I’ll just say I am the person in this tweet who needs “the safety and sanity of consistency.”)
I mostly mean “adjustment” in the macro sense: I’m on a new career path and my time is structured differently. But there are also micro changes: I’m commuting twice a week. I need to grocery shop with an eye toward a packable lunch and not something that requires complicated home assembly. I have a reason to seek out pleasant instrumental music to listen to while I work.
On that last point, recommendations are welcome. Any favorite film scores? Amazing jazz or classical pieces? One can only listen to The King’s Speech so many times. Though I did recently discover a delightful album of George Martin’s orchestral music and film scores, recorded by the Berlin Music Ensemble the year after he died. I knew George Martin was a genius, but I’m honestly still wrapping my head around how the British man responsible for so much of The Beatles’ brilliance also wrote a song called “Westward Look!” that would be right at home in the Ken Burns Civil War documentary.
Ok! The thousand little thoughts in my head have sharpened into one: Let me sleep. I put the George Martin album on as I started writing about it, so now I’m going to close my eyes and fill my ears with the sweet sounds of “Pepperland.” As the seasons change, I’m sure there will be more to write about soon. Thanks for reading.