5 things that made my life better this month

Five things that made my life better in July:

1. Going to spin class

I watched the Amy Schumer flick I Feel Pretty a few weeks ago (um, OK, I watched it three times during my 48-hour rental period), and my main takeaway from this movie about self esteem that was somehow also a 90-minute ad for SoulCycle was that I should finally try spin. My friend Amanda has been going to spin class regularly for the past couple of years, so I finally decided to join her for a class at BYKlyn in Park Slope.

I was shocked to learn that spin class is super fun! I don’t like working out, and this is the first time in a long time that I’ve actually enjoyed working out while working out, as opposed to just enjoying the feeling of having worked out. I immediately turned around and bought a five-class pack.

2. Deleting Bumble

I find dating apps creepy, but since my breakup last year people have been telling me they’re how everyone meets these days. The thing is, I don’t believe that, and I let other people’s fears drive me in a direction I didn’t like.

If you work 60+ hours a week and you never engage in activities that put you in front of new people, I can see why online dating is appealing. But that’s not what my life looks like. I continue to believe that I’ll meet the right person in the course of living my life, at a time that makes sense for both of us. Besides, going into a situation that is beyond my control with a firm desired outcome has never served me well; if anything, it’s more likely to lead me to accept something less than what I truly want because I’ve decided I want to be in relationship now.

Anyway, deleting my account felt like I was closing a portal to hell; YMMV.

3. Organizing my kitchen cabinets

Sick of struggling to find what I needed for a recipe, or even identify whether I had what I needed, I finally pulled all of the food items out of my cabinets and rearranged everything, including alphabetizing my spices on a lazy Susan and organizing my tea bags in Harney & Sons tins. Since then, cooking has been much, much easier, plus I discovered a bunch of unopened jars of berry preserves I didn’t even know I had.

4. Went to a dinner party with a bunch of new people.

My friend Amber has been hosting monthly dinner parties with a mix of friends from different areas of her life. (I think this is an AWESOME idea and I plan to copy it once the heat of the sun through my south-facing windows is no longer making my living room and kitchen unbearable.) I was lucky enough to be invited to one earlier this month, and it was great to meet a bunch of new people and engage in conversations that weren’t made up of the standard complaints about work and despairing about the world that are easy to fall into with people you know well.

5. Seeing Courtney Barnett live

I don’t see nearly enough live music these days and almost passed on Courtney Barnett because I saw her for free a few years ago. I’m glad I didn’t, even though it rained for nearly the entire outdoor concert. If you have a chance to see her, take it.