stefakessler.com

Tag: life

  • R.E.P.O.R.T. time

    Call me Atrial Fibrillation, the way I’m consistently inconsistent.

    A little medical humor for you there. You’re welcome.

    Anyways. I am working on the final draft of A Case of You, which I intend to self-publish in Spring 2027 if I can get my shit together.

    So, would you like a report? Probably not, but guess what? You’re getting one anyway!

    Reading

    All the typos and grammatical errors in All Downhill from Here! My SIL’s mother is a copy editor and said that I should fire my editor. Fun fact: I was my editor. Now I’ve learned not to cut corners, and I hired Larissa Antonioni who is just about the most supportive editor a gal could ask for. She made it clear to me that I don’t know how to use commas. Anyway, the updated and hopefully typo-free version of All Downhill from Here is live now.

    I am also finally reading Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry. It was a slow-starter for me for some reason. But after a makeout sesh against a car and some dry humping on the beach, Hayden and Alice are my new favorite book couple. The yearning. The tension. Magnificent.

    Eating

    I am having a dense bean salad summer. Sorry not sorry. As a vegetarian it’s basically kibble for me.

    Also, if anyone has recommendations for tacos and sushi in the Capital Region of New York, please for the love of everything, tell me. I haven’t had a good taco since leaving Ohio, if you can believe that. Last time I had good sushi was at Nami Nori like three years ago.

    Playing

    Springtime is always a good time for new music for me. Winter is basically just me, seasonal depression, and Noah Kahan. But I’m no better than a houseplant and some sunshine and good weather does wonders for me. The soundtrack for Off Campus is ruining my life right alongside the show.

    I just made a playlist on Spotify called Lover Girl because that’s what this spring is: lover girl season. Olivia Rodrigo, Holly Humberstone, Francis of Delirium, Chloe Qisha, Claire Rosinkranz, etc. The playlist is keeping me going.

    Also, I’d like to shout out that I was very normal when I saw Khatumu at Grand Central. I didn’t approach her, I sent her a DM saying that I saw her and I love her music. So I hope she didn’t get totally creeped out. Her song “matador” has been on repeat lately.

    Obsessing

    There is no answer other than Off Campus. I am happy to be a part of the collective psychosis. Just as Heated Rivalry occupied my every thought, Garrett Graham is the only thing I see when I close my eyes. It’s unhealthy, I know. It’s affecting my relationships; some positively, some negatively. I will not apologize. I love whatever is wrong with me.

    Recommending

    Being a lover girl. Love your friends. If you’ve move away from them like I have, plan a trip, schedule a call. Heck, weed your garden while having a yap session with your friend. Hop on a Discord call. The world will feel safe again. You’ll feel alive again, I promise.

    That platonic (sometimes verging on inappropriately romantic/sexual) love for your friends is the fucking marrow of life. Soak up every moment you can with them. Send a text or a card or a stupid souvenir you found on your travels that makes you think of them. Bask in their mutual infatuation with you. Love your friends. Love love.

    Treating

    I’m a busy body. So I’ve been listening to my body more. I’ve been getting out of the house more. Going for a walk outside, window shopping, driving down the Hudson and meeting my cousin for vintage shopping and lunch by a waterfall. I’ve been giving into my FOMO and reaping the fucking rewards. It’s a big world out there, and I want to see as much as I can.

    Thanks friends.

    Please buy my book.

  • Stefa, where the hell have you been loca?

    First off, I’d like to apologize for the title of this post.

    I’ve only seen the first Twilight movie and I was at least 30 when I did. I’ve never read the books. I only have peripheral knowledge of the book series or film franchise. I can’t even pretend to be cool enough to like it. Again, my sincerest apologies.

    Still, the question remains: Where have I been?

    Well, I certainly haven’t been on the solo writing retreat that I had lovingly planned for myself.

    Because I had to cancel it. Because we finally got the call that we’re moving to Upstate New York and we had two weeks to get my house ready to show.

    And we did a hell of a job too. Decluttering is one of my favorite activities. I love getting rid of things, so I was very excited about that part of everything. We had the least successful garage sale on the planet, then made a hefty donation to Goodwill. We also managed to paint two bathrooms, lay down a new floor in one, and install a brand-new sink in another.

    Pictures were taken last week. We list next week. And I am in a weird in-between time that I don’t know how to handle.

    Which is part of the reason why I’m writing this blog post- I don’t know what to do with myself.

    I’m good when I have a project to work on. I’m good when I have nothing to do for the foreseeable future and can dabble in my hobbies. I am not good at transitioning from balls-to-the-wall mode to sit-and-wait mode. And I am very bad at sit-and-wait mode in general.

    It’s like when you have a doctor’s appointment in the afternoon, so the rest of your day is totally shot. You can’t possibly accomplish anything when you have a doctor’s appointment later.

    And so, dear reader, I’ve decided to write to you.

    I’ve written nothing in two weeks. I’ve read nothing. I’ve watched surprisingly little TV.

    I have:

    • Gone to a concert
    • Seen a Broadway play
    • Met a writing friend for the first time. Shout out to E.M. Gussler.
    • Eaten my way through a Columbus culinary bucket list that lives only in my head:
      • Marmont Speakeasy
      • Cobra
      • Chapman’s
      • Cento (Friday)
      • Bonifacio (next Tuesday)
    • Played pickleball
    • Gone to book club and offered to host this month
    • Gotten a facial
    • Gone to a Guardian’s game
    • Spent two full hours searching for my husband’s passport two months before we go to Scotland (I found it!)

    Yes. All in the last two weeks. I suppose I play as hard as I work.

    So what comes next you ask?

    • List/Sell the house
    • House hunting trip/buy a house (we have no money, so this will be fun)
    • FIND A JOB- I’d love to be a full-time writer. But that’s a distant fantasy. I have interviews tomorrow and next week for two jobs that I really want.
    • Complete my Columbus culinary bucket list
    • Throw a going away party
    • Have ANOTHER garage sale
    • More pickleball
    • Go to the Doodah Parade for the first time
    • Visit a friend in Portland, OR
    • Complete the next two semesters of my Master’s
    • Lucy Dacus concert
    • MOVE

    And that’s all in the next month and a half.

    And a month after we move, we go to Europe for two weeks.

    And THEN I can settle into a routine.

    THEN, maybe I can write again.

    ttfn