Sunday Summary - 03.20.22
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As Stressed as Verstappen in Bahrain
I was pretty absent from all social media this week, because I was too preoccupied with nerves and anxiety to focus on anything. I am fantastic at overextending myself and abysmal at relaxing, and after months of pushing myself to the limit in my full time job, side hobbies, personal responsibilities, relationships, etc. — I eventually hit a breaking point. I’m glad to be on the other side of it now, but I’m going to do my best to ease up on the gas moving forward.
The weather, on the other hand, has been fantastic! Nash got to benefit from all of my stress with extra long walks in the sunshine, and you’ll get to benefit, too, since I listened to approximately 5,000 podcast episodes. (Recs below!) Also, our good friend Jerome (pictured) booked flights to come visit us next month, which was fantastic news amidst a crazy week!
I don’t bring up my stress to gain your sympathy; I just want to be totally honest that I don’t have it all figured out and to further prove that social media mostly just shows the good stuff. (Which is okay, because people deserve the right to process privately.)
Reading
While I wait for several popular new releases to be available at the library, I figured I’d beef up my negotiating skills with this book I purchased ages ago.
It’s written by former FBI hostage negotiator, Chris Voss, and teaches you negotiating techniques that were successful in freeing hundreds of hostages from international terrorists. Since most of us won’t find ourselves in such high stakes situations, he explains how the same techniques can be successfully applied both personally and professionally.
I’ve never been great at arguing/negotiating, but I did work up the nerve to negotiate my salary last year. I put together spreadsheets of data to prove inconsistencies, researched cost of living and inflation rates, practiced with Bryan over and over, and while I didn’t leave the conversation empty handed - I wasn’t as successful as I hoped I’d be.
I plan to eventually write an entire article about that experience, since it was kind of unbelievable, but it’s important that I broach the topic strategically. I think sharing more “semi-success” stories can help level set expectations a bit. I feel really defeated when I hear about other people walking away from negotiations with tens of thousands of dollars in pay bumps, and it’s easy to go down a rabbit hole of “what ifs.”
Within a rigid corporate environment, your personal presentation or negotiation isn’t the only deciding factor - there are salary caps, politics, and a whole slew of unknown variables that can work against you. That’s not to say I couldn’t have done a better job, but sometimes that glass ceiling is bolted a little tighter in some areas than in others. More to come!
Watching
Remember when I mentioned we would inevitably binge Drive to Survive Season 4? We did. Bryan and I wanted to be totally up-to-date before the first race of the 2022 season!
The race was this morning, and three of the kindest racers in Formula 1 made the podium. The rest of the grid had some insanely bad luck, I’m not going to lie, but it was exciting! (I’m currently ranked 3rd in one fantasy league and 1st in another other. We’ll see how this goes!)
Since we poured so much time into Drive to Survive, we didn’t watch much else, but here are a couple of new releases I’m really excited about:
Ryan Reynolds is at it again! After accidentally crash-landing in 2022, time-traveling fighter pilot Adam Reed teams up with a 12-year-old on a mission to save the future.
An adventure novelist gets kidnapped by an eccentric billionaire who hopes she can lead him to an ancient city's lost treasure from her latest story. This has so. many. famous. people.
This movie stars Grant Gustin (aka The Flash) and is a true story about a state trooper chasing his dream to become part of the elite K-9 unit.
Cooking
This week was all about Half Baked Harvest! Her new cookbook launches on the 29th, and we’re excited to add her new recipes to our rotation. We’re prepping for the upcoming release with several (free!) recipes from her blog:
We skipped the buratta in this recipe because it’s wildly expensive right now, only turned our oven to 455 degrees (instead of 500), let it preheat for 30 minutes (instead of 2 hours), and it still turned out fantastic!
Photo from Half Baked Harvest
The Latest
I had a recent instagram message asking for general guidelines around saving. My best advice is to save something if you’re currently saving nothing at all, but if you’re looking for something a bit more specific that can work for you regardless of your income level - this article’s got you covered!
A General Guide to Saving Using the 50/30/20 Rule
There’s no one size fits all answer to the “How much should I save?” question, because everyone’s financial situation is entirely unique; however, there is a general rule that can help get you started called the 50/30/20 rule.
Listening
As promised, here are several podcast recommendations that made long, sunny walks even more enjoyable during a stressful week!
Armchair Expert - Daniel Ricciardo
This was recorded in 2020 when Daniel, my favorite F1 driver, raced for Renault. This episode explores the headspace of a Formula 1 driver and the insane physics involved in the sport.
Brian Klass is a political scientist who’s spent a lot of time studying corrupted people in power. For a variety of reasons the conflict in Ukraine has contributed to my stress, but the uncertainty it causes plays a big role. This podcast sheds some light on how power can corrupt people and why we are often left with few “good options” on our ballots every 4 years.
Armchair Expert - Monica Aldama
If you were a fan of Cheer on Netflix, don’t skip this one! The Navarro cheer coach talks about her past, her path to coaching, her coaching techniques, and her struggle with the spotlight.
Who knew Sandra Bullock and Jason Bateman were such good friends in real life? Not me! But this episode was just plain fun. She talks a lot about her path to acting, her everyday life, and the time she spent away from acting.
Told you he was my favorite! This episode was recorded in 2021 after he switched from Renault to McLaren. It explores how he got into racing and his take on the 2021 season after a controversial race.
Cheers to a less stressful week!