"Yours are the only emails I actually open and read" - a regular reply in my inbox since 2009...and I'll bet in yours, too, once you subscribe and learn by pure, lazy osmosis to become the most compelling writer around. That said, no promises on improving your moral character.
[pics] Extremely confident men on the beach, double breakfasts, and other notes from Mexico
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Hey Reader, I’m on my way back from Los Cabos, Mexico, where I was on vacation with my mom and sis. Didn’t do a stitch of work — unless you include my daily 750 Words entries, which I don’t. I’m up to a 132-day streak, btw. My main responsibilities and/or activities were: 1 - Keeping to my new-ish morning routine. A duty only to myself — I’m so into it. No social media, no checking anything. Write down dream if I remember. Walk on the beach. Stop at room to grab laptop. Get to breakfast, choose a table on the patio as far as possible from screaming babies and toddlers. Order my iced cappuccino. Hit the buffet for a pre-breakfast round of fruit. Write my 750 Words and beyond until my mom and sis show up at the table. Order hot food together — scrambled eggs, French toast, all the things. Maybe try that smoothie with the mint and pineapple. Another round at the buffet. Smoked salmon, cinnamon roll, etc. When it’s included, a Belgray never holds back. 2 - Helping my mom up and down the stairs to the beach and across the sand to our loungers. Traveling with an 88-year-old who uses a cane and walker sure highlights how little thought about physical disabilities and mobility issues goes into the design of…anything. (I know, if that’s an issue for you, you’re right now saying DUH.) I can’t fault the sand for not being equipped with grab bars, but the entire hotel property, stunning and landscaped like a paradise, featured not one accessible bathroom stall. 3 - Loafing all day on the beach. Routine: Plant our “service stick” upright in the sand when we want another Diet Coke or ceviche. Eavesdrop on douchebags reciting numbers: “We don’t have to worry, we’re a cash positive company. 500 million cash positive.” “They’re a 5-billion-dollar company.” “Canada has over 154 million lakes.” [Community note: Google says around 2 million.] Eavesdrop on work acquaintances making small talk. “I just got two texts — one for life insurance, one from Domino’s.” “I love Domino’s. I literally order it constantly.” “It’s all right. In LA, we only order from this place Prime. It’s so much better than Domino’s. Or Papa John’s. I refuse to eat Papa John’s. It’s so fucking salty.” “Oh I love salt. I’m a saltaholic. I literally put salt on my Domino’s.” She should literally just get Papa John’s, then. Fend off drunk guy eager to talk on his way to and from the bathroom. He kept air-grabbing at his crotch like little boys do when they have to pee real bad and repeating himself. Asking twice where we live, and telling us twice where he lives — weekends, and Monday through Friday. Clocking my mom’s cane, he said, “You’ve gotta come to HHS - Hospital for Special Surgery. We’ll fix you up.” She said she knows it well, has been there for two knee replacements and a shoulder surgery. “Well, I’m the [redacted C-suite title] of HHS. That’s Hospital for Special Surgery.” He asked us to guess what percent of visitors were inpatient, then told us. “Twenty percent. Used to be five percent.” (So that’s an improvement?) These guys love numbers. “We’re the best, we’ll fix you up. You’ve gotta use my name. It’s all about who you know. Anyway, I’m drunk, I don’t mean to bother you. I was just going to the bathroom. Use my name!” He didn’t give his name, but I looked it up — yep, that’s him — and I will absolutely use it if I require special surgery. They’ll fix me up. 4 - Getting my mom writing again. That happened just once, but I’m putting it on the list just to stick with the format. She and my sister wanted to know what I have planned for my NYC writing retreat, Bingeworthy Live. I told them a couple of the writing exercises, and my mom — who’s been saying for years that she needs to get back to writing her memoirs — said one of them made her feel inspired to write. I popped it in a Google doc along with a bunch of other prompts (really, questions I want answers to), and she’s back at it! If you want a dose of inspiration yourself, I have a few spots left for the writing retreat. It’s happening in just over two weeks. That’s soon, but what if you said “f it” and booked your spot as a gift to yourself? Let’s go. Find out more about the Bingeworthy Live writing retreat here. xoLaura PS - Shrimp Club alum Cathlyn Melvin has organized an unbelievably valuable bundle: The Women’s Power + Profit Collection! These aren’t freebies, they’re workshops, tools, templates, and trainings that contributors normally sell for cash bucks… …All organized around the three pillars that make all the difference in mid-stage businesses:
And you’ll find something from me in there! Don’t be mad if you already bought it. This is for a good cause.
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Thank you for reading and sharing, |
Laura Belgray (Talking Shrimp)
"Yours are the only emails I actually open and read" - a regular reply in my inbox since 2009...and I'll bet in yours, too, once you subscribe and learn by pure, lazy osmosis to become the most compelling writer around. That said, no promises on improving your moral character.
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Hey Reader, Hello from Pereira, Colombia, where Steven and I are staying with friends who built a pretty f*cking magnificent home. I’m drinking a lot of guanábana, the juice I didn’t know I needed (on demand). I’m here now because, like a lunatic, I agreed to a plan where I lead 2 straight days of writing and 1 of masterminding, including a group dinner and a cocktail party, and then — not 36 hours later — boarded a plane. As for the writing retreat, Bingeworthy Live: I’m delighted to...
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