Hello! Itās been a minute, and by a minute I mean like fiveā¦months. Maybe more? Anyway, thanks for being here. Make yourself some tea and sit down. Letās catch up.
To start, hereās a Totally Complete and Out-of-Order List of Everything That Happened to Me This Summer (and spring and fall? whatever):Ā
I got a nine-to-five job again. I faked illness at said job to go to an audition, which went so poorly I cried openly in Times Square (no one batted an eye). Frank jumped on my face and broke my glasses. I started working out regularly. I stopped working out regularly. I cried in the bathroom at work. I cried at my desk at work. I cried in my apartment after work. I got my period twenty minutes before another audition. I tried Carolina Reaper ice cream and didnāt die (I also tried Everything Bagel ice creamā¦donāt recommend). I applied for a library card. I listened to seven hours of podcasts about the Grand Canyon. I made it onto an improv team of people who make me laugh so hard my abs hurt. I helped someone with their solo show. I helped someone with their improv auditions. I helped someone with their law school essays1. I hiked in New Hampshire. I hiked in New York. I hiked 24 miles across the Grand Canyon. I got covid. I lost $3 on Vegas slots. I considered adopting a dog. I cut my own bangs (mixed results). I funneled my frustrated creative energy into an embarrassing amount of dollar-store Halloween decorations. Main Character Energy had our most successful show yet, this time in Brooklyn. I got new glasses. I took a new job. I slept for twelve hours straight. I started writing again.
So, now that this newsletter is back, will it be just the same? Will there be new stuff? If I decide to write about non-comedy stuff, will that dilute the brand? What is the brand? Should this newsletter be public or private? Does anyone even read this? Whatās the schedule going to be like? Can I really write interesting, relevant content on a consistent basis? What does it mean to be relevant? Is it really ethical to be spouting random half-assed opinions on an internet that is already way too full of random half-assed opinions? Is this the best use of your eyeball time?
These are the questions that haunted me as I thought about returning to this newsletter. But then I had a realization: Iāve been thinking entirely too much about the future and meaning and ethics and you, the audience, and not enough about me, the important person here (classic performer goof! always thinking about others, never about ourselves). So letās talk about me me me! What do I get out of this right now? The answerā¦ I donāt know. itās fun.
After one of my Big Auditions this summer (the period one, not the crying one) a group of us auditionees got coffee across the street. One was a fresh-out-of-college guy with hungry eyes who was excited to network and quick to ask for everyoneās handles. I recognized the smell of ambition on him, because yeah, that was totally me a few years (months?) ago. He asked me what my goals were, and for the first time since I started performing, I didnāt have an answer. āUhā¦I guess I justā¦want to have fun.ā He nodded politely, clearly thinking I was nuts. And the me from a few years ago wouldāve thought so too. Fun? Fun is for hobbyists. I need to be successful! But Iām realizing that if I want goals and timelines and metrics and success, itād be much easier (and more lucrative) to devote my energy to climbing the corporate ladder. Doing creative things is about the fun that comes with beingā¦creative. If this all sounds obvious to you, congrats on being fully self-actualized or whatever.
I once heard someone describe this newsletter as a ātoilet read,ā as in, something you save for times you need reading material to get you through a Big Poop. And I fucking love that. So my goal is to not overthink this glorified bathroom rag and just have fun with it. Maybe weāll talk comedy, but maybe weāll talk about other stuff too. Iāll write when I feel like it. Weāll see what happens. Youāre welcome.
š SNL Recap
SNL is back, and if youāre wondering how the cast was able to return while SAG remains on strike, hereās a statement from the union that explains it all. Who couldāve guessed that the entertainment industry would be the one to make everyone learn the ins and outs of collective bargaining? I love it. If anyone reading is an expert in this stuff, I want to talk to you!
My favorite sketches this week included Secretary, The Original Princes of Comedy, and Spaceship, just to watch Bowen play Every Coworker Iāve Ever Had.
š 5 Things
This NPR article on using AI to prevent homelessness. I have a lot of reservations (and rants, and pseudo-conspiracy theories) about AI, but this is a really cool application of machine learning at the intersection of social work and public policy that could genuinely help people.
Remember the tongue map from school? Of the different regions of the tongue that are responsible for different tastes? Well, this week I learned itās all BS. š
Sick with covid, I watched the first half of the Halloween cult classic Hocus Pocus, which I was very excited to seeā¦but ended up turning off because I got bored. Sorry? Is it actually good or is everyone just nostalgic for the 90s? Was my illness making me delirious? Someone please weigh in.
I also decided it was time to give The Bachelor franchise another shot with Bachelor in Paradise, which ended with me Googling āhow are the bachelor people supposed to fall in love when all of their conversations are about nothing.ā Turns out Iām not the only one who has asked this question, which makes me feel slightly less crazy.
My own reality show obsession remains the always-toxic Below Deck. Even if youāve never been on a yacht (I certainly havenāt), the whole workplace culture will feel familiar to anyone whoās ever worked at a summer camp. At this point G and I have finished the entire OG show and are almost caught up with Med, which means weāve watchedā¦.17 seasons total. Oop. What was that Malcolm Gladwell book called? 10,000 hours? That theory may not be totally true, but my Below Deck impressions are getting pretty good.
Stay spooky!
Love,
Caitlin, Frank, & Bud šš»āāļøššāā¬
obligatory reminder, I have a copywriting background! Iāve done lots of brand content, but my favorite is editing cover letters/personal essays, so hire me to work on your stuff :)
good to hear from you again!