Please Enjoy #23

2022 Wrap Up

Wow, look at us. Together after another year. How beautiful is that? Here’s a list of some of my favorite things of 2022. I’ve definitely touched on a few in newsletters this year but guess what? Ya ain’t paying for this so I’m allowed to recycle a little bit. This was probably the best and also the worst year of my entire life so that’s pretty fun. I allowed myself to be mentally ill for the months of July, August and November but through sheer willpower I pulled it up at the end. I had to wait until New Years Day to put this out because what if I heard the best song of my entire life on New Years Eve and then it would float listless for eternity? I didn’t, but still. Anyway, I love you romantically. Thank you for reading this whenever I put it out.

-Mike

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Nice socks

You deserve to feel good. I can’t believe I went this long without some good quality socks. I didn’t fully upgrade my entire sock drawer and I haven’t delved deep into the world of cashmere or other prohibitively expensive socks but lordy lordy does it feel different to pop on some quality socks. Quality, warm, handknit socks in the winter? Comfortable and well-made sport socks in the summer? You’ll feel better almost immediately. More confident. More comfortable. More you. Get yourself some nice socks this year and realize your grandparents were right when they gave you socks as a present. 

Working out/losing 50 pounds

Sorry to do this but I cannot overstate how much this has changed my life. I’m a better and more confident version of myself now. My clothes fit better. My face isn’t the size and shape of a gallon of milk anymore. I’m not in pain every single day. I can ride my bike up a steep hill without having to stop halfway up and walking the rest of the way. I don’t spiral into a depression every time I see a candid photo of myself. I don’t talk about killing myself every day. Unfortunately, lifting weights and eating better makes you feel really good. It’s awesome to sit on your ass and eat 3-5 huge meals a day. I’d much rather be doing that but it really puts a strain on your belt after awhile. I’m no evangelist and I still have a lot of work to do but I implore everyone who is feeling negatively about themselves to try exercising in whatever way they can. Go for a long walk. Stroll on the treadmill. Lift some 5 pound weights once a week. Do push-ups in your office at work. It’ll make you feel better, I swear. Physical activity + sunlight on your face early in the morning + caffeine = I am no longer mentally ill and my plantar fasciitis has disappeared. 

Quitting my job

Doing this ran concurrently with working out in the Top Reasons I Stopped Being Insane This Year. Working in a windowless room with an hour commute each way for 3.5 years will turn anyone's brain into mush. I highly suggest quitting your job to follow your dream if you can. Even if you dream is to be a person who lays around and does nothing. That is a noble dream. 

Fragrantheart.com

Got more into trying to care of every part of myself this year. Mentally as well as physically. Guided meditations have really helped me calm myself and become more controlled. This is a website of meditations in a myriad of categories recorded and narrated by a woman from New Zealand with a very pleasant voice. Try meditation if you haven’t. What’s the worst that could happen? You feel nothing? How is that any different than now?

Telling people you love them

Doesn’t matter who it is as long as you mean it. It feels good.

Raymond Carver

I’m fairly self-conscious about my lack of formal education. I don’t think you need it to be intelligent or successful but there are a bunch of great things that I’ve missed because I never had someone pointing me in the right direction. I was an avid reader as a child but fell off in my early 20s. I’ve been tearing through books the past few years and trying to play catch up. An insurmountable task. You’ll see on my list of books I enjoyed this year that there are a few classics I never got to. I was too busy presenting as an anti-intellectual because I was ashamed at how little I had learned. 2022 is the year I finally discovered Raymond Carver’s writing and it knocked me on my ass. Sparse and intentional and bleak and beautiful. Stories about working class folks that felt familiar. Stories that start in the middle and stop before the ending. A peek into the most private moments of people’s lives. I could read them all 200 times and find something new to love every single time. What We Talk About When We Talk About Love was the first collection I read and probably still my favorite but every book has something that will blow you away. Start wherever you wish if you haven’t. I wish I had picked this up a decade ago. 

Spending money

You can’t take it with you. Get yourself something nice. 

Energy Drinks

I know this is not a new thing for me to love but this year all of us here at Please Enjoy Inc. LLC dove headfirst into the low/no calorie energy drink world because we are no longer drinking our calories. Sorry Yellow Red Bull. We loved you but it’s time for a little break. It’s not you, it’s us. Some would say “If you’re not drinking your calories, why don’t you just drink water?” and to that we say “SHUT THE FUCK UP.” Anyway, 2022 was mostly about Celsius coming from out of nowhere to being my first choice of energy drink. Great flavors that don’t feel like poison when you drink them. Mango Passionfruit is my #1 but harder to find so I’ll have to grab a Kiwi Guava or even a Tropical Vibe (rough name) if I see it. I’m not happy with how much I enjoy the Mtn Dew Energy line because it’s slightly embarrassing to be seen drinking a 16oz can of bright blue liquid in public but the Baja Blast, Code Red and Pomegranate Blue Burst flavors are all 5/5 and get purchased as soon as I see them. Also, Monster Ultra Fiesta Mango has gotten me through some really hard times this year and I will choose that over a Celsius if I want to feel a bit more insane than usual.  

A good rug

You want a room to feel welcoming. You want a room to feel put together. You want a room to feel a little sexy. You want a room to feel intentional. I’ve become (some people that I’ve been around would say too) obsessed with making sure every room I’m in hits at least some of these markers. Fiddling with lights, rearranging and tidying up and trying to redecorate. My budget is minimal so I want to get the best bang for my buck. For forever I had cheap and kind of crappy area rugs from Ikea or Amazon. I got put on to this Etsy store that sells really affordable, well loved Turkish rugs and I immediately fell in love. I got a new rug for my bedroom and it completely changed the feeling of the room. It felt warmer and more mature immediately. You can find a good quality, decently sized rug for under $200 that people will want to talk to you about. 

The Civil Dead

My favorite movie of the year. I really enjoy Whitmer Thomas and Clay Tatum’s collaborations but this went far and beyond whatever expectations I had. A haunting and stunning meditation on friendship. I’m really excited for its wider release and to go see it in a theater. Plus it had a great cameo from my friend Steve Hernandez so that’s more than enough of a reason to check it out. 

Wolfgang Tillmans- To Look Without Fear

This MoMA retrospective of Wolfgang Tillmans’s work was one of my favorite experiences of the year. I went up to the MoMA by myself on a Monday to take it all in. At first, I had my headphones in playing Brian Eno’s Music For Airports but quickly took them out. I wanted to block out all of the noise around me to experience the photos solely on my own. After 2 or 3 minutes, I realized this was a fool’s errand. I wanted to experience like everyone else around me was and in the way the exhibition was set up. Seeing some of these photos that I was familiar with, and many I wasn’t, in such a large number and on a huge scale amazed me. I was particularly enamored with this photo. A touching and intimate show that showed me an artist does not need to stick to one thing to show you how they express themselves. 

eBay

The Achilles heel on my bank account this year. I dove headfirst into being a nasty eBay freak long after its heyday. THE spot to buy used books. You don’t need them tomorrow from Amazon. Plus they’re cheaper on eBay and you can choose your preferred cover if the book has multiple editions. The best spot to find reasonably priced vintage clothing. Some outstanding pickups from this year have been: a 70s Oakland A’s season ticket holder jacket (purchase inspired by Moneyball), a Walls Blizzard-Pruf winter jacket, a few beat to shit 70s/80s hoodies, what feels like 9000 books and a 5 foot tall French poster for the movie Mikey and Nicky.

The Sarah Book by Scott McClanahan

Unlike anything else I’ve ever read. Completely raw and vulnerable and sick and sad. I read this at the worst possible time for myself and it crushed me like a ton of bricks. The story of a man losing it all as a result of his own bad decisions. McClanahan narrates the audiobook, which I highly suggest. I do not suggest listening to the audiobook directly after finishing the physical book unless you’d like to compound all of the negative feelings inside of your body into a neat little diamond. “Sarah told me she’d think about it as long as I promised not to kill myself and I told her I wouldn’t kill myself. Then we both smiled. This meant something. Sarah might have sex with me again if I promised not to kill myself.” 

Traveling with friends

Spent 8 or 9 months traveling the country doing stand up with my friends and there’s literally nothing better. You truly don’t need the stand up part either. Hop in a car. Get on a plane. Take the Amtrak. Pop on some music. Get some snacks. Talk about your feelings. Get into an argument. Share a hotel room. Buy a hat from a gas station. Randomly meet a beautiful stranger. Find a restaurant you love. Eat dinner from a 7-11 because nothing else is open. Flirt with a flight attendant. Swim in the ocean. Get some baseball mitts to keep in the trunk and play catch on long drives. It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money but just go somewhere. 

SHEER DRIFT: The Snake America Newsletters (1-100)

Speaking of buying vintage items on eBay, I have espoused my love for Sami Reiss’s SNAKE/Snake America newsletter multiple times. It has been the source for pointers on purchasing tasteful items online for a good price for a long time. Shining Life Press down in DC has compiled and released the first 100 issues of the newsletter in a beautiful book. I’m a huge fan of Shining Life Press and this was a match made in heaven for me. I grabbed the spiral bound version at the NYABF. I highly recommend grabbing this. SNAKE 100 is one of my favorite pieces of writing of all time and worth the price of the book alone just to have a physical copy of. 

Having people over

Moving into a larger and nicer apartment in December of 2021 has given me the opportunity to have a space where I can host people if I wish. More and more people are coming over to spend some time and I love having people in my home. I hosted Thanksgiving for some friends and I this year and I’m now trying hard to not become a Dinner Party Guy because that requires so many dishes and vessels. 

The Andre 3000 sandwich from Two Beards Deli in Grand Rapids, Michigan

As a proponent of the Big Sandwich Lifestyle, this is the best one I had all year. I stumbled upon this deli while in Grand Rapids this summer and loved it so much that we went back the next day and I ordered the exact same thing. I also discovered what could possibly be my favorite chip to eat with a sandwich there: the Cherry BBQ chips from Great Lakes Potato Chip Co. With all of that and Diet Mtn Dew on the soda fountain, I give Two Beards a 10/10. If you’re curious, the ingredients are: Blackened Tofu, Caramelized Onions, Avocado Spread, Banana Peppers, Vegan Bacon, Tomato, Chipotle Veganaise, Romaine Lettuce on Nine-Grain Wheat. (I get mine without tomato)

Forgiveness

A quality present in all of the people I admire. I have gone through the process of forgiving people for whatever perceieved slights I held against them. Life is much easier without the weight of anger holding you down. Let’s see if this sticks. 

Documental (& Pie Hell)

A discovery from my roommates that I immediately became obsessed with. A Japanese game show where 10 comedians have to stay in the same room for 6 hours and are not allowed to laugh. Some of the funniest and worst things I’ve ever seen have happened in that room. The first few seasons are streaming on Prime and then you’ve got to dig for them (live with someone who knows how to torrent). The creator of the show Hitoshi Matsumoto is also the subject of one of the most insane tv segments I’ve ever seen called Pie Hell. The youtube clip is only 5 minutes long but do yourself a favor and find the 20 minute version if you can. The amount of pies that can be thrown at one man is unbelievable. 

Daniel Arnold- Pickpocket

My favorite photobook of the year. It’s no secret that I'm a bit of a Daniel Arnold fanboy but the way this was printed and presented is beautiful. I love his writing about the photos almost as much as I love the photos themselves. The little supplemental zines in the middle are great too. I almost never received this because it was shipped to my old address but luckily it was left on the doorstep and my friend Jess rescued it for me because my old landlord turned it into cat litter or something. This is super expensive online now but if you’re my friend and want to see it, just come over and I’ll let you put your greasy little fingers all over it. 

Buying people gifts

If you see something that makes you think of someone, get it for them. Who cares why or when? It doesn’t have to be all the time and you should not expect reciprocity. 

Coke Zero

Nectar of the gods. Will make the list every single year. What’s better than a nice frosty can of CZ? I can’t think of one thing. 

Movies That I Watched This Year That I Really Enjoyed:

RRR

The French

Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles

20th Century Women

Jackass Forever

The Celebration

Husbands

The Worst Person In The World

Music From This Year That I Really Liked: 

The Flex- Chewing Gum For The Ears

Living World- World

Electric Chair- Act of Aggression

Long Knife- Curb Stomp Earth

Chainsaw- When Will We Die?

High-Vis- Blending

Puffer- Live and Die In The City

Savageheads- Service To Your Country

Drug Church- Hygiene

Militarie Gun- Let Me Be Normal

Warthog- s/t 7”

Hotline TNT- When You Find Out

ICD10- Faith In Institutions

Compassion- Pacing Animal

Phantom- Demo

Shaved Ape- Demo

B.R.A.T.- Promo?

Peter Davison- Rest and Be Thankful

Fugitive- Maniac

Rose Glass- Demo

Persona- Free Your Mind!

Music Not From This Year That I Discovered and Really Liked:

Walter Bishop, Jr.- Cubicle

Pharoah Sanders- Love Will Find A Way

This live version of Work Hard/Play Hard by Place Music

Bill Evans Trio- Sunday At The Village Vanguard

Private Sector- The Darkness Burning Bright

John Lee Hooker- It Serves You Right To Suffer

Prison Affair- Demo

No Tolerance- No Remorse, No Tolerance

Grateful Dead- Cornell 5/8/77 (live)

RXKNephew

Sublist of music I already knew but couldn’t stop listening to:

Project Pat- Mista Don’t Play

Integrity- Psychological Warfare

Eric Clapton- Layla

Rixe live in Paris

Favorite Books I Read This Year In Chronological Order:

Among The Thugs by Bill Buford

I Used To Be Charming by Eve Babitz

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemmingway

The Stranger by Albert Camus

Serotonin by Michel Houellebecq

Cassandra At The Wedding by Dorothy Baker (a must read)

I Fear My Pain Interests You by Stephanie LaCava