Happy December!
What are you looking forward to during the Christmas break? Eating with family? Falling asleep in front of The Holiday? Do you get to watch any kids freak out about their presents?
I’m looking forward to having leftover ham I can fry up for breakfast on Boxing Day. Growing up, we always had a gigantic slab of ham in the fridge for days after Christmas, and I’m game to maintain that tradition.
What Have I Been Up To?
- I got Covid. Only the second time I’ve had it, but it knocked me out for a couple of days.
- I went and saw a power punk band play live in Brighton. They’ve been my most played on Spotify for two years in a row. Very loud and fast. I even got into the mosh pit (this was while recovering from Covid, so feel free to be impressed).
- I’ve resurrected two screenwriting projects from years ago. Looking at them with the benefit of more writing knowledge has been gratifying. Opportunities for improvements are glaringly obvious and I’m a lot less precious about killing my darlings.
- I completed my Goodreads Reading Challenge of 40 books. I might do a Top Ten newsletter before the end of the month.
- I BOUGHT A TYPEWRITER!
About three years ago, I visited my mum in small-town New Zealand. My sister was also visiting from Melbourne, and we visited the local museum. It’s open for two hours a day and the entry fee is a gold coin donation.
After checking out a room filled with terrifying dolls—
… we wandered outside and looked around an old garage. I don’t think the broken-down corrugated iron structure was part of the displays, but inside, the pile of rusty pushbikes stacked atop each other was impressive. As was the line of long-forgotten typewriters, none of which still worked.
“One day, I’d like to have a typewriter,” I said. “It’d be fun to write to people. But wanky, too. Maybe I’ll wait until I’ve published ten books, then I can buy one as a treat to myself.”
“Um… that sounds crazy,” my sister said. “Why not buy one now?”
I thought about it. “Because… I feel like I should earn it. To own a typewriter, you have to be a specific type of person, right? A literary type. And sure, I write. But I’m not literary. However, if I’ve published ten books, then it doesn’t matter how literary I am. After ten books, nobody could argue that I wasn’t a writer. You know? I gotta earn the right to own a typewriter. As a writer.”
“Why?”
“For all the reasons I just mentioned.”
“But they’re dumb reasons.”
She made a convincing argument. I decided I’d buy one when I could.
Thing is, typewriters are difficult to come by in New Zealand. Especially working ones. So I put off the fantasy for another day.
Starwipe to now. Here in the UK, you can find them everywhere. Facebook Marketplace, eBay, secondhand stores. And they go for as little as £15. The old fantasy started creeping back into my psyche.
After researching vintage typewriters on YouTube and Reddit for way too long, I bid on a couple on eBay. I won one, got it sent to our apartment, and waited.
It took a little over two weeks to finally arrive, and I was half-conscious when I unwrapped it thanks to Covid, but when I tested the keys and found that they all worked, I felt euphoric. Even better, the ink ribbon was still wet! All functions on my Olympia Splendid 33 (made in 1966) work!
Not worth reading the text on this page. Just admire the look of courier font on real paper.
How lovely does that look?
I’m thrilled with it. This Christmas and New Year, all my friends are getting acrostic poems!
👩🏫 What I’m Reading: Good Material by Dolly Alderton
I’ve been LOVING this book. It’s funny, sweet, and possibly the most accurate representation of white straight men in their mid-late-30s I’ve ever read.
