Much has happened since the last time I’ve sat down to write this newsletter (now with a new name!). Things have certainly changed in the nearly four years since I last published on Substack. There was a global pandemic, I graduated college to join an industry that is now rapidly imploding, might be heading to business school, and became a bookstagrammer!? I’m sure I’ll be touching on all of these topics more in upcoming editions (yes, this isn’t an one-off). Let me welcome you to The Notepad with a brief round of questions and answers.
Who am I? As a quick refresher, hi I’m Andrew! I’m a barista by day and a traveling photographer by night, but I’m also a man of many fascinations, questions, and opinions.
What can I expect from The Notepad moving forward? Glad you asked! I honestly am deciding to do this now because I have a myriad of ideas for topics that I want to write about in a longform format. I hope that these letters can feel like notes from a penpal or an editorial page column in your favorite newspaper. Each letter will open with a letter like this one that could be me gushing about a movie or scratching the journalist itch within me and analyzing an issue at length before quick hitting some things that I’m loving and think that you should check out. One of the many perks of being in your inbox (or on the web) is that I can hyperlink to anything and everything (😈).
Why is Reflections coming back now? Some of the bookstagrammers I’ve become friends with in recent months sparked me to come back to Reflections with their ability to go deeper on topics with a personable style that feels akin to a letter you’d write to a penpal. This could be a future letter in itself, but I’ve experienced a lot of burnout with fighting with algorithms to get any kind of exposure on social media and the apps becoming a lot fluffier than they were in their heyday. Frankly I just need the outlet to not burden my friends with quite so many random musings in our Discord server or in Instagram stories lmao.
Quick Hits
🇮🇸 Icelandic musician Daði Freyr played on Sunday at Variety Playhouse in Atlanta and it was such a great show. Daði brought his signature quirky brand of comedy along, and it was a packed house. I’ll post highlights on Instagram and YouTube in the coming days.
📱I’m getting used to my new phone case not having the soft grip of my old Apple silicone cases. I’ll learn to adapt though considering this was $15 cheaper than the Apple one and gorgeous to boot.
🇨🇦What do you get when you combine old flames, a Toronto muslim festival (that said old flame happens to run), and a business beef that’s burning red hot? It’s my current read Much Ado About Nada, and it’s a total hoot. Nada is being put through the ringer to try not to lose her cool, and it’s so engaging to watch.
Thanks so much for reading, and I’ll see you soon!
- Andrew