weekly retro: touching grass
ah, it's the last weekly retro of march. it went in like a lion and out like the trailing cough i've had for the past two weeks. april should have fewer coughs and more spreadsheets as i prepare to launch bugs rock.
i went into the week with the intention of setting and working a 4-day work week. it's really important for me to set boundaries and intentions to promote work/life balance and not lose my love for art and candles, but it's very hard to set a hard stop when the work is really fun right now. i will thank myself in the long run, for sure. this week had a lot of coding, site deployment, dns nonsense...basically the paperwork of web development. i'm so happy with how the site is coming out, though.
there was plenty of wax melted last week, too. there's something therapeutic about making things with your hands directly. the tools i use are a bit crude but i learn how to make due so that when i have the opportunity to upgrade, i'll immediately sense the growth and feel accomplished.
if i'm not melting wax, filing paperwork with the state, coding the website, photographing products, or creating and managing spreadsheets, i'm doing design work and putting labels on matchboxes. it takes me back to my freelance web design era in the 2000s where i was designing, coding, photographing...everything. it's a lot of responsibility and can get overwhelming, but it's very fulfilling.
pretty last minute in the week, i decided it would be best to include a standard scented vessel candle in the first collection at launch. it's been awhile since i did vessels and fragrances, so as i'm typing this there's some burn testing going on. this absolutely is causing a delay on the store launch, but i think it will be worth it and i love that i'm able to make that call.
i have been thinking a lot about changing my workout routine in april, as getting sick last month got me off routine which is an opportunity for a reset. i've been reading about heart rate zones and the numbers as i'm working out show me that i'm definitely not on whatever line of regression is used in these chartes. i guess i should ask my doctor if they'll administer a cardiac stress test. sounds expensive (american).
saturday was a high of 78F and we went to the park like everyone else in the city seemed to do. at around 5pm a cold breeze hit and the temperature instantly dropped 15 degrees. it was hilarious to see, and be among, hundreds of people fleeing back to the streets and the reality of late-march weather. it was nice to feel what is soon to come and to literally touch some grass.
things i enjoyed this week
- the 4th edition of html review is out!
- the vodka rigatoni at the new just friends in jersey city is so good. so was the burrata. i wish they were located somewhere that got more foot traffic for their own sake, but i'm happy they're here nonetheless.
- spellling's new album is out! i listened to it on the treadmill today and really loved it - you will too if you enjoy kate bush, deftones, and/or lighting candles in the dark and thinking about how even though you have the power to manifest ill upon your enemies, you choose not to because you're even more powerful than anyone could imagine.
this is a big week. i'm going to a figure drawing session (i just got an email confirming there's a spot left for me 🥹), a party, and i'm seeing deftones + the mars volta + fleshwater! i sense that i will be approaching the next retro, and the month of april overall, carrying lots of inspiration. i hope the same for you as well, jenn nation.
xoxo jenn
