On quitting

I gave a talk at Wavelength last year called “Why you should quit your hobbies.” It’s something that I have a lot of feelings about—the fact that knowing when to take a break from or quit something is good and healthy, and that quitting doesn’t mean you’re a failure or a bad person, and that it’s okay to let go of things to make room in your life for other things. I’ve had a lot of things in my life that I’ve loved and eventually walked away from, and I feel good about that. As fun and cool as it is to have a bunch of creative passions and side projects and hobbies, it’s also very easy to get overwhelmed by them, to lose interest in them, and to even move onto other things—and that’s fine!!!

– Jillian

I’m bad at saying no and I become loyal to things and people very quickly. This is definitely leads to over-commitment; sometimes I create more responsibilities for myself and sometimes all of the opportunities just come in at once. This month is definitely a difficult one—every time I finish one thing, there’s another on deck, and I really just want to play video games. It’s months like this that make me re-evaluate my priorities. I’m thinking about the waves of relief that have washed over me throughout the years after leaving something that was voluntary and no longer fulfilling. Jill and I closed our Patreon, which wasn’t necessarily a relief, but we did it before it became a problem. That’s good, that’s healthy; we are adults, we can leave when we want to. I need to remind myself of that more.

– Summer

We recommend

📖 The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun

Sometimes Goodreads is a useful social platform—I saw a friend from college had read this book and rated it highly so I put a library hold on it. 12 weeks of waiting later, I finished it IN ONE SITTING. Phew! I love romcoms, especially in book form, and the tropes this one follows are especially delicious; it takes place on the set of a Bachelor-esque show and the contestant falls in love with his producer. It’s like that show, Unreal, but gay! Woohoo! Get it from the library, or buy it on bookshop.

– Summer

🎮 Pokemon Legends: Arceus

I was going to be good and wait a while before buying this game, but the morning it came out I saw so many people playing it and it looked so cute that I had to get it immediately—and I don’t regret it! I’m making my way through the story slowly, mostly spending time exploring the world and trying to get one of each Eeveelution. It feels like a really fun and exciting new way to enjoy Pokemon, and I definitely recommend trying it whether you’re new to the franchise or not.

– Jillian

📺 Invincible

I haven’t finished this show yet, but oh my GOD! It’s so good! My roommate recommended it to me and I am in awe I hadn’t heard of it before. It’s an animated show superhero-critique show; it’s very successful in its allegory of power and colonialism, but I do not want to give much away—it’s on Amazon.

– Summer

📱 Stream Deck

I got a new toy for my desk, oops. I had been using the Stream Deck app on my iPad for a while to do stuff like mute and unmute my mic, but it wasn’t until recently that I decided to upgrade to the “real” version and try out different plugins and see what kinds of other stuff I could use it for. I’m having a lot of fun with it so far! Using it for streaming is definitely helpful, but I like being able to use it for other work stuff, too.

– Jillian