Full System Reset
hello there
been a while - yet again. Despite how therapeutic writing is for me I never seem to have time. Except now I do, because I am currently on the first full day of what I’m calling my Full System Reset.
so here’s the deal. I found a new job as the lead designer at a boutique calligraphy, letterpress, and stationary store here in LA (dream job achieved) and I don’t start work until next Monday the 16th. Due to the nature of my previous work environment, I didn’t feel confident about giving two weeks notice. Or rather, I’d witnessed multiple instances at my previous job where employees would give notice that they were resigning, and my boss would tell them to “just go”. As in fully letting them go and leaving them without $ for a full two weeks. Not cool. So, instead, I worked a solid week and left the company formally last Friday, allowing myself a full week to, you guessed it, implement a FULL SYSTEM RESET.
lately life has been brilliant. My inflammation has gone down a fair amount, and my work with the After Hours Theater Company has been a blast (ps: if you’re in the LA area and need something to do on the weekend between now and July 22nd come see our show! It’s an immersive theater production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest - you get formally admitted into the asylum, which you’re free to explore before the show starts, and you get a ward-issued uniform and at certain ticket levels you get to be a part of “group therapy” and the cast is all brilliant and great and you should 110% come out and see it! We’ve been getting rave reviews from all the best publications and we’re finishing up our extended run now so DONT DELAY).
However, in the midst of all this my “me time” has completely disappeared. On a regular day, I would be at my old job from 8AM - 6PM, then I would jet from West Hollywood over the Hollywood Hills into Burbank, where I’d work for the theater from 6:30-midnight every night Thursdays through Sundays. leaving me with only M-W evenings and my Saturday and Sunday mornings/afternoons free. Which I would usually spend cleaning my apartment, going to the gym, washing my car, or catching up on freelance work. Let’s put it this way: you know all those songs where they talk about ‘hustle’? Like that 6 Inch song by Beyoncé where she says “she grind from Monday to Friday, work from Friday to Sunday”? Well basically I found myself finally able to understand what real and true hustle feels like. Granted I’ve always worked hard at what I love. But at a time in my life when my depression was surging back, my day job was getting to be too much, and my social life was suffering, rather than collapse I chose to get a second job and completely engulf myself in work.
and honey? The hustle is REAL! I actually legit enjoy being this busy. It makes me feel productive, like my life is surging forward rather than just coasting on cruise control. Not to mention, opportunities and friendships have all opened up and manifested thanks to my determination to keep going despite the shit that’s been mucking me down. And that’s not to toot my own horn, but seriously you guys I’m legit proud of how much I’ve worked these past few months, ups and downs and all.
anyway back to my point: RESET! Yes indeed I am in need of a reset. Grayson needed/needs his down time. In the midst of my hustle i let a lot of things slide: my apartment got to be really messy, i was eating fast food for dinner after late nights at the theater (on a far too regular basis), i wasn’t going to the gym or getting any form of physics activity in. And i could feel the toll it was taking on me. My reaction to the hustle, or rather how i was managing it and living with it, was not healthy - for mind or body. So i prescribed myself a week to get everything back on track. A full week to hit pause and focus on completely decluttering and cleaning and rejuvenation and relaxation and healing and cleansing - a staycation devoted to me getting all the muck and extra crap that has been messing with me out of the way so that I can move into this new job next week free from distraction and disturbance.
This week is all about getting back to the things I love this week: vinyasa yoga, healthy cooking, meditation, properly medicating myself and fighting my Lyme (yup - fell off the wagon with that too, and I’m feeling the affects. Scatterbrain is certainly a symptom of hustle I need to learn to fix), personal care and grooming, reading a damn book instead of mindlessly logging into Netflix or Hulu, creating a soothing and sacred space in my apartment, etc.
And so far so good! I have yoga sessions booked at this fantastic studio in Brentwood called Yogaraj, and I’m going each morning at 7:30 AM. The space is so perfect and the classes so well taught that I’m thinking of even booking evening classes too (yup! Yoga twice a day! Coming for you, lower back pain). So I was there this morning and it was amazing - only 4 students including me, so it was really peaceful and not nearly as intimidating as a studio packed with students. Afterwards I stopped by Bed Bath and Beyond to get a few supplies for the week ahead: face masks, ice masks, beard oils, facial cleansers, moisturizers, etc. (oh you better believe this week is gonna have some spa treatments, both at home and on the town).
And since today is the start of the Full System Reset, I used all the time after BB&B to clean. And not just “tidy up”, but CLEAN UP! Half of my clothes in bags to donate (those of you who knew me in college know I have a LOT of clothing. Well, it’s all gone now!), carpets vacuumed, sofas vacuumed, bathroom/bathtub scrubbed down, kitchen cleaned and organized. BAM BAM BAM I knocked it OUT honey, all the while with Queer Eye playing in the background to keep me motivated (side note: it’s impossible to watch two full seasons of that show and not want to overhaul your life in sme form or another - nutrition, grooming, style, home, psyche - hmmm maybe that’s where the idea for this Full System Reset spawned from...).
And now I’m lying on my bed, with the curtains drawn to keep out the blazing LA sun and heat wave that’s been plaguing my gorgeous city these past few days (omg you guys - 117 degrees in Burbank last Friday. What the 🦆??? We’re all gonna melt), typing this out on my phone. As part of this week, I’ve decided to devote some time each day to writing on Byting Back. This blog actually means a lot to me - more so than I’d have ever expected - as does the act of journaling, which this 100% is when you strip it of its digital nature.
but yeah! That’s all I have to report now. Just heard the buzzer on the dryer go off, so it’s on to the next load of laundry. Side note: a lot of people in my life lately have been commenting on how much they hate doing laundry and I don’t get it. Granted my washer/dryer are new, in-unit, and steps from my bedroom, but cmon who doesn’t enjoy freshly laundered clothes and towels and sheets?!?!?!
Signing off for Day 1 of The 7 Day Full System Reset!
PS: squeezed some time in between BB&B and cleaning my apartment to finally go see Incredibles 2. THATS HOW LITTLE TIME I HAD YOU GUYS! I waited 3+ weeks before I went and saw the sequel to one of my favorite movies ever. OOF damn did I need this week 😆