taking notes: february 2025
"is everyone doing the artist's way?", ipad games, tornadoes
Welcome back to Claire From Online, by me, Claire, from Online. In this issue: What I journaled about in February, current inspiration, post round-up, and this month’s sidequests (Are you still doing The Artist’s Way? What iPad game should I download? And… what’s up with the tornadoes?)
things i journaled about in february
Pharrell calls failure ‘research & development’1 so hey, now so do I.
The Owl Thing… bro. I talk about this in last month’s Taking Notes (read it here) — THEY’RE STILL SHOWING UP EVERYWHERE.
“Poppi Vending Machines… NOT IMPRESSED!” *star doodles*
I’M OUT HERE COLLAGING.
Still a lot of blank space. More than you might expect from me. WHICH IS MORE THAN OKAY (*breaks fourth wall, glares in The Artist’s Way*) (more below). I have a reel in my mental drafts about this.
…and some lists & trackers i’ve made
a simple monthly review snapshot, inspired by longtime internet pal Sam
empties, and whether I would repurchase them
The Traitors S3 tracker: who got murdered & banished each episode
quick ‘after work’ scribble in my planner every day, as usual (run that errand, go to that workout, don’t forget to bring ___ to work tomorrow)
hours of sleep per night
a few other lists regarding personal life changes that are very specific to me and my situation but maybe this will inspire you to lean into the grittiness of your own life, idk <3
I’ll be sharing a little flip-through update on here for paid subscribers this week! I hear you that you’re missing YouTube — I am, too! I have a new posting rhythm I’m easing into that I’m really excited about, and some edited footage from the fall in the meantime. More soon. <3
Reminder that through the end of March, I will be donating 10% of paid subscription earnings on here to the American Civil Liberties Union in honor of my aunt, who dedicated her life to public service, who passed away last month. If becoming a paid subscriber is not in your spending plan, please consider making a one-time donation to the ACLU sometime this Spring if you are able, to defend the rights of all people, nationwide.
in case you missed it
journaling is my only hobby outside of media consumption (my sidequests this month are kinda bland)
read: NOT A DARN THING2. Can I be really honest for a second with a hot take? Even if I read, say, three sports romances, I feel like that’d be about the same amount of enrichment as I have gleaned from researching wind shear and playing my farming game. Actually, I’m pretty confident it’s the same amount of enrichment. Maybe less… stimulation. Read this, please. I agree with every word.
watched: Silver Linings Playbook (a fav), We Live in Time (bawled), The Traitors S3, Apple Cider Vinegar (WATCH FOR KAITLYN DEVER’S AMAZING AUSSIE ACCENT ALONE), trudging through Gilmore Girls S6 (you know the vibes), and YELLOWJACKETS IS BACK!!! We’ve been watching since the week the very first episode dropped, and I’ve mostly chilled out on my “YOU BETTER BE WATCHING YELLOWJACKETS, WHY IS NO ONE WATCHING YELLOWJACKETS” shiz since it’s now more accessible on Netflix, but it is one of my favorite shows from the past decade, if not THEE favorite. SO PLEASE WATCH IT. (p.s. I’m a wimp when it comes to gore and stuff and I STILL think it’s great so please don’t let the ‘omg do they… eat each other?’ of it all keep you from missing out on the perfect casting and satisfyingly off-putting vibes).
played: snow storm & sickness = iPad games era. I am playing Hay Day, Goods Sorting, and I just downloaded Good Coffee, Great Coffee this weekend. Hay Day specifically has been my go-to game since 2013 (!) and it is seriously so fun. If you didn’t download it back in the day, it really has stood the test of time. It’s basically FarmVille but better and more involved. My gamer tag is #GQJUJRUU. I love filling boat & truck orders for friends, so find me!
special interest: My cousin and I are both very into tornadoes. I say this and people are like, “omg you should look up the 1999 Bridge Cree-” I SAID WE ARE VERY INTO TORNADOES3. Every year or two, one of us will reach out with a twister factoid and it’ll get the ball rolling again.
“you know what I love? WIND BAG. it sounds like an insult. don’t be such a wind bag” - my cousin holly, 2024 So two weeks ago, when Holly messaged me saying she found a YouTube video from Joplin that she hadn’t seen before (this was in response to the news that Netflix was releasing a documentary about the event; it premieres on March 19th), it set off a chain of events that led to us spending more than a handful of evenings as of late buddy-watching videos about Jarrell, Joplin, Bridge Creek-Moore, Moore (the big one), Moore (the other one that people don’t talk about as much), El Reno, Tri-State, Tuscaloosa, and of course, PLAINFIELD4. I highly recommend checking out Carly Anna WX on YouTube — her tornado documentaries are incredibly well-researched and include clips I’ve never seen before. She has an entire playlist.
So, is everyone doing The Artist’s Way? No, you’re just on Substack too much. Wait, am I doing the Artist’s Way still? Hold on, let me think.
Quick recap: I’ve had the book for years, have been aware of the Morning Pages practices since stumbling upon it on YouTube a decade ago. But I’ve never made it all the way through. I’m doing it with two friends as our little accountability group. Now, there’s never going to be the perfect time to do anything, as far as I’m concerned, especially a twelve-week-long project5 . So many variables! You might end up dealing with illness or mental health struggles. You might lose someone close to you. You might leave a job, or start a new one. I could go on and on: the excuses are endless with me (and maybe you, too). I am grateful to TAW for helping me to engage in 75% more creative exercises than I would have otherwise. I am struggling to find breakthroughs, though, to be completely honest6.
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