Readers!
I’ve now been in Italy for two weeks and phew have I seen a lot. I’ve also written a lot. I’m six hours ahead of most of my clients, so I tend to get most of my writing done before they’re even awake. It’s kind of freeing? No one bothers me when I’m the most busy, work wise.
Being so far out of their time zone has also opened up opportunities to tourist. I will do one heavy work day, then go to a bunch of museums the next morning, like the former Fiat factory with a rooftop test track, as seen above (and in the original The Italian Job). I just did a long weekend hiking in the Alps, after writing a ton last week. It’s working, though scheduling calls is a bit of a hurdle. I have a call at 7am tomorrow; I have another call at 8:30pm Thursday.
I don’t answer emails that come in late my time, because sleep has been a bit of an issue. Not with the sublet, which has AC, but how I feel in general. When I got here, I was hit with sledge hammer of anxiety over making such a big albeit temporary change, in a country where I kind of but don’t fluently speak the language (though it has been easing as time goes on). I also miss my dog terribly. She seems to be having the time of her life, so it’s not so much guilt about leaving her, but I just miss her presence. While not bringing her means I CAN do things like make a last minute decision to go hike in the Alps, I am looking forward to being home with her again.
Of course I don’t expect anyone to feel bad for me. But, since this is my newsletter, and I’m sure some of you are curious about how this is going, that’s the biggest sticking point.
Oh and I sold one story based on an idea I had while here already. Anyone else?
Here’s Saturday’s hike. I’m trying to squeeze in as much as I can around work because if this is a train + bus ride away, can you blame me?
Recent Bylines
“How to fix employee referral programs,” HR Dive
“Is your bank overspending on tech?” Independent Banker
“What benefits does Gen Z value most?” Independent Banker
What I’m Reading
- Murder, She Wrote: Fit for Murder by Jessica Fletcher and Terrie Farley Moran. I don’t read these because I think they’re great works of art, but there are so many things about Cabot Cove that have changed over time in these books (Jessica Fletcher has a cell phone, for example) that they can drop the constant body shaming. Everyone talking about diets and pounds, in a book about a murder. Knock it off, beloved intellectual property.
What I’m Watching
- Grantchester (season 10). Another season of another sad/hot English vicar comes to a close. I’m bummed this show is ending next year, but perhaps it’s time. If you answered the call to sign up for PBS Passport, put this one on your list. It’s a murder of the week, but in a lovely historical English setting. I’ve long been a fan. Also, the second sad/hot vicar, Tom Brittney, was one of the three finalists for Superman (the other, Nicholas Hoult, was cast as Lex Luthor). That’s gotta suck.
- Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders. This is going to start a run of so-so Netflix documentaries because I put them on when I’m working. I tried watching a documentary on another channel about this, and stopped. This was more concise even if I wouldn’t give it five stars.
- Amy Bradley is Missing. In 1998, Amy Bradley went on a cruise with her family, and disappeared from the boat. This documentary looks what happens, including that someone pushed her off, she slipped, or she was sold into sex trafficking. It started to fee a little conspiracy theory-ish for the sake of filling space. By the end, this felt exploitative.
- Trainwreck: Poop Cruise. This was fine, and a kinda silly documentary about a cruise ship that caught on fire in 2013 and was briefly stranded at sea without power (so the toilets didn’t flush, hence the title), but the people talking about it recognized the absurdity of what happened. Them being in on the fun of it made this a fun little watch.
- Trainwreck: P.I. Moms. This was less so. Pass.
- Running Point. I enjoyed this light comedy series about the daughter (Kate Hudson) in a screwed up rich family taking over their NBA basketball team. It was exceedingly well cast (just the right amount of Justin Theroux, for example, and yes Chett Hanks as a player), which helped this roll right along. I wish Netflix would stop dropping all episodes at once. Like with The Residence, it just came and went.
Nail Polish of the Week
Acid Orange by Sephora, which sounds much scarier than an orange-y coral should be. I wish they sold this nail polish line in the U.S. Alas.
Until next time,
Jen A. Miller (she/her)
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