The caffeine update nobody asked for
+ my summer plans + an exciting new perk for paid subscribers!
If you were not previously aware, I’ve been mostly caffeine-free since August 2021.
While it’s been mostly great and I look forward to one day returning to a pious life free from addiction, I’ve recently made the conscious decision to swan dive off the wagon into a velvety brown abyss of coffeeeeeeeeee.
Last year, I began drinking coffee slightly more regularly while living in Portugal. I spent much of my time typing away in coffee shops, and there is simply no denying the temptress that is European cafe culture. Like a true addict, I devised an “equation” for ensuring I wouldn’t relapse into full-blown dependence and therefore be forced to endure withdrawal headaches on days I didn’t want/need a fix. Essentially, I tried to avoid drinking coffee for too many consecutive days. Every other day for a few days was okay; if I had caffeine two days in a row, I’d take the next day off; if I had it three days in a row, I’d take two days off; and so on. This worked really well for the most part! I could have it when I wanted it, but I didn’t require it to function.
Fast forwarding to the last few weeks, my nascent depression has shown me that, presently, I actually do require coffee’s benefits of boosted energy, mood, and cognitive performance in order to function (let alone claw my way out of this rock bottom I’ve found myself in). Plus, I have some exciting summer plans ahead, for which I intend to be fully present—and caffeinated.
Where I’ll be for the next couple of months
June 5-9: Nice, France with family for my mother’s participation in the HYROX World Championships!
June 10-16: Paris, France with slightly less family for eating all the carbs and dairy we can get our hands on!
June 17-20: Rome, Italy with my cousin for her 40th birthday and pasta, pasta, pasta!
June 21-26: Copenhagen, Denmark for some solo time in a brand new country!
June 27: NYC for my now-classic trifecta of dentist/haircut/storage unit—this time all in one day!
June 28-30: Upstate NY for my dear friend’s wedding! <3
July 1-6: Rural Virginia for some goddamn perspective with my other dear friends!
July 7 - end of July/early August: Brooklyn, NY for Yoga Teacher Training! (Departure date TBD but I plan to be in SoCal for most of August)
Would you like to receive a postcard from my adventures?
Upgrade to a paid subscription and I’ll send you one from Europe (or America if you’re an international buddy)!
I’ve thought about offering paid subscriptions for a while now, but the traditional Substack approach of me contriving a weekly “content series” just so you can pay to read even more e-mails in your already-clogged inbox feels like more homework for all of us.
Then I started to think about those other mailboxes, the real ones, that probably lay barren except for the odd credit card offer, catalogue, or medical bill—yawn and yuck! Wouldn’t it be nice to receive something FUN in the mail, for once?
I genuinely love collecting and sending postcards, and I love that it supports our criminally underfunded postal service. If you’d like to be on the receiving end of this ye olde hobby of mine, your subscription will cover the cost of postcards, stamps, fountain pen ink, etc.
What you’ll get:
Monthly / Annual Subscription
In addition to these emails you already know and love, you’ll receive a personalized, handwritten postcard from yours truly once a quarter.
Founding Member Subscription
In addition to the quarterly, handwritten postcards, Founding Members will also receive a custom set of Farstruck postcards for your own correspondence purposes. Send someone a love letter, surprise an old friend, or reach out to an elder relative—I promise you will make their day! Or you can always just write me back :)
Write to you soon!
xoxo
Em