so, what am I doing?
An introduction to Another Drunk Newsletter
Picture this:
You’re finally in bed after a long day. You’re sleepy, you’re cozy, you’re ready to close your eyes and get some much-needed rest. It is going to be to great! Just as you’re about to doze off you feel a tingle. What is that? Are you hungry? Nope. Thirsty? Nah, not that either. Worse, even. You have to pee. *dammit*
Hi! I’m Olivia and welcome to Another Drunk Newsletter. (That’s me!👇🏽)
This newsletter has been fermenting in my mind as an idea for quite some time and I am excited to finally be introducing it, and myself, to you. I have always wanted to blend my own introspection and contemplation with a written pathway for connecting to the thoughts and musings of others and I think this is it. Part brain dump, part gathering place, part reference guide, this newsletter is designed to be a sort of digital third space for myself and those of you looking for the internet to offer you more than just an avenue for doomscrolling and saving recipes you might never actually make (guilty!)
That sounds awesome. I’m totally into that. But you started this talking about being comfy in bed and then needing to pee. What was that all about??
There are a number of reasons why this newsletter is beginning now, January 8th, 2025 at 20:40*. (I use a 24-hour clock so that I don’t accidentally set a PM alarm when I need an AM, as well as other reasons. I promise it doesn’t take as much getting used to as you might think!)
First, I had to give myself permission. I have been a writer my entire life. My mother encouraged my brother and I to keep journals as soon as we were old enough to read and write. I can’t say I have stayed on top of that ritual but I have returned to it often over the years when I truly needed a space to pour out everything in my brain. I love to write and I find that I can process my thoughts and emotions better when they are on paper, whether that be as journal entries, prose, poetry, screenplay dialogue, or some other form. Unfortunately, that has never translated to writing as a vocation because I always thought it was just a hobby, a personal practice. (I also thought I wouldn’t make any money writing. Maybe I will, maybe I won’t! Technically, this newsletter has a paid option if you feel like you want to do that at some point but there’s absolutely no pressure to do so. Follow your heart!) It wasn’t until now that I gave myself permission to write for more than just my own mental wellbeing, and in doing so I have opened up a world of possibility and delight.
Second, I never knew exactly what I wanted to write about. Journaling is easy: I live, therefore I always have a story to tell. It’s also private so I can misspell words and share my deepest darkest secrets and (hopefully) nobody will ever see them. Writing for an audience is vastly different in my opinion. I don’t want to show up online and waste people’s precious life minutes, so having an idea was important before beginning to post. This idea is still a little seedling, but with time and dedication and the formation of a community of engagement around it I believe it will grow into an excellent tree of fellowship with plenty of fruit to go around.
Yup, absolutely. That resonates with me. I love the idea of a community being formed around a newsletter and I can see myself being involved in something like that. I would love it even more if you told us why you started talking about being in bed and then having to pee! When do we get to go to the bathroom??
Third, I needed urgency. (You see where I’m going now?) I have attempted to write for a public audience many times before and it never felt…right. It was something I could do but never something I must do, until now. We live in a time when seemingly everyone is acting with extreme urgency: buy all the toilet paper and paper towels at the grocery store before the snow buries you in your home forever, purchase this deal before the timer runs out, use AI to get more done faster, and so on and so forth. There is something to be said about the effectiveness of manufactured urgency, but I wanted it to be real. I wanted to feel as though I needed to write because I couldn’t see myself doing anything else. While I usually subscribe to the notion that one should start doing something important before they feel motivated to do so, I knew that wasn’t the case with this.
That feeling you have when you are all snuggled up in bed and ready to dream and then the necessity of vacating your bladder creeps up is exactly how this newsletter came to be. I was tucked into a blanket of familiarity, warm and inviting and yet somehow not quite fully comfortable, and I experienced a nudge. At first it was slight. You don’t like your job. I gave the nudge a little nod, acknowledging that maybe there were a couple things I wasn’t a fan of, and moved on. (Even though we all know once you gotta go you won’t be able to fall asleep until you go…) Months later that nudge had grown into significant pressure, so much so that I was actively fighting against the urge to leave in my mind because doing so meant stepping out from under my financial security blanket and into the cold darkness of uncertainty. But I desperately needed to pee!
It wasn’t until I had two very important conversations with friends that I finally took action. The conversations themselves were long but the crux of both was short: QUIT. YOUR. JOB. Literally. My friends said “quit your job!” So I did. I cleaned out my office a few days before Thanksgiving and tendered my resignation the following Monday.
Is it time to pee now? Ohmygodletsgo!
Oh, thank God. We did it. I feel so much better. …So wait, what happened next?
Great question. In the same way that you felt better after your hypothetical self finally went to the bathroom in your mind, I immediately felt relief wash over me like a soft beach wave as I was driving away from my old office for the last time. I felt restored, renewed, rejuvenated, and ready to do what I believe I was meant to do this entire time: write. And I did it thanks to people at the center of my chosen community.
That is why we’re here and why this newsletter exists.
2024 was tumultuous to say the least, and the events of the latter half of the year left people scrambling for community and airing their frustrations about it all over the internet. What even is community? How do we do it? What does it look like? Who should be in mine? This newsletter aims to answer those questions and more by going through the process of starting and sustaining a community online and in person in real time.
I do not have all of the answers myself; I have very few answers. I have questions in spades (so many questions) and through asking those questions and synthesizing them with the answers generated by you we will learn how to be in community with one another. At least, I think so.
It is not wholly unfamiliar out here beyond the reach of the covers. Yes, it is cold and it is dark but we are still at home. There is a measure of safety around us that allows us to bump around until we find our way without being tossed into the wind. By acknowledging that, we are free to navigate the shadows, take care of what we absolutely must do, and make our way to a new kind of warm, inviting, comfy, cozy kind of peace that can only come after the pressure has been released.
That. THAT sounds wonderful. I’m in.
Great! Me too. As of right now, you can expect future newsletters to include:
questions to get us thinking about ourselves, our goals, and what it means to be in community with one another
answers and feedback from those of you who reply or comment in Substack
cocktail recipes! (including versions for the folks who don’t drink alcohol) and other things that have to do with food and drinks and eating
books! and articles or podcasts or poems or videos that seem relevant to the conversation
Will there be other stuff? Definitely, but I am committed to creating it with you and through our interactions. We will design what we need and be better because of it. For now, it will appear in your inbox every two weeks. Keep your eyes on your email as we craft something meaningful together.
Since this is community-driven, I’ll leave you with something to ponder in the meantime: What even is community? What does it mean to you and do you know how to cultivate it? How have you formed and/or participated in community in your life? Feel free to share with me what shows up for you as you consider these questions. That’s the point of this thing, y’know?
Cheers!
Olivia
*This date and time was chosen at the recommendation of a friend whose life work is astrology. I trust his wisdom in the area of auspicious timing and did not question it.