A Long Catchup
A month in the life of a busy little guy
Issue # 55
My tiny little seedlings emerging from a warm bed of compost,
Welcome back to the festival of yap! It has been a MONTH since I last blessed your inbox with my ramblings.
If you’re new around here, WELCOME! Let me re-introduce myself. I started writing this newsletter because I was brimming with words that needed to be written, thoughts that needed to be archived, and recipes that needed to be shared. This newsletter is everything and nothing all at once. Thanks for being here.
As this newsletter is four times longer than usual, it will definitely cut off at some point. When it does, just click “Continue Reading,” and it’ll take you right to my Substack page where this is published.
17 Hours in Tokyo
Unlike my flight to India, my flight home had just a single 17-hour layover in Tokyo. I stored my luggage and took a train from Haneda airport directly into the city. Going from India to Japan was a huge culture shock; I didn’t see a single piece of garbage on the street, everyone seemed to abide by traffic laws, the metro was fast and efficient, and not a single person even looked at me, let alone asked to take a selfie with me. Don’t even get me started on the toilet situation. Immaculate. Even the public washrooms. I’m talking heated toilet seats, a button that plays the white noise of rainfall, water that squirts on your bits, and air to dry your bits off afterwards. Who wants to move to Japan with me?
Here is everything I got up to:
Browsed through Don Quixote - a store that sells everything from skincare to Hello Kitty merch to sex toys to high-end watches. I got a couple of pairs of funny socks for the bf and a chin strap for sleeping that I have yet to use.
Browsed through endless stationery shops and bought the cutest writing pads, washi tape, pens, art prints, and the Hobonichi planner of my dreams.
Patronized the famous Japanese 7-Elevens, and snacked on: a brown sugar steamed bun with sweet red bean paste, three onigiris, and a couple of cold green teas.
Wandered around Kappabashi, a street brimming with stores filled with all kinds of kitchenware and ceramics. I walked away with the most charming set of kitty plates I’ve ever seen.
Tried the most delicious vegan tantanem, which is similar to ramen, just with a bit of a creamier, sesame-based broth.
After 25,000 steps and about five different neighbourhoods explored, I headed back to the airport, grabbed my luggage, and checked into my flight back to Vancouver.
Reunited with The Boyfriend and Dozer
After being apart for three and a half long months (2.5 years in dog-time), I reunited with my sweet boyfriend and dog. I also watched the sun set twice on April 15. I felt like a powerful time traveller.
Took a trip to the cabin in Powell River
We ventured up to The Boyfriend’s dad’s ocean-side cabin, where I did nothing but sleep, read, and eat for four days.
Back to life in Chilliwack
The past three weeks have been a flurry of activity. Here are the most notable:
I am back to work, same job, new shift. I’M OFF GRAVEYARDS! I now work from 4 pm to midnight, Monday to Friday. Yes, my social life might get shot to hell, but I can sleep at night (what a novelty), wake up slowly, and stop living like a vampire.
I am spring cleaning my entire apartment – decluttering every drawer and cupboard, making an inventory of my entire fridge/pantry, rearranging furniture, the whole nine yards. Get my checklist below!
The Boyfriend and I started our little backyard garden! You can read more on that below, there is a dedicated section in this newsletter for garden projects in the Spring/Summer/Fall!
My van was broken into while I was away. My van is pretty much a storage locker for all my camping supplies, and all that was stolen was a couple of cans of butane, the switchblade I take hiking, and a water purifying kit. When I went to drive it for the first time, I noticed the thieves also stole my entire rearview mirror and took a chunk of my windshield along with it. Fan-freaking-tastic.
I started a Master’s program! I have been searching for a Master’s program that seemed like the right fit for years, and when I stumbled upon UVIC’s Master of Community Development, I knew right away it was the right next step. I’m struggling a bit with impostor syndrome, as the rest of my cohort seems to be incredibly accomplished and eloquent non-profit professionals, and I’m just some guy. But I’m excited to let this next chapter of my journey unfold.
I turned 32! This past weekend marked another year around the sun for me. The Boyfriend, Dozer, and I celebrated with a camping trip at Bear Creek Rec Site, on the East coast of Harrison Lake. This is one of the most beautiful campsites I’ve ever been to in BC; it’s super accessible for all types of vehicles, and it has a lot of first-come-first-serve sites, so you don’t even need to make a reservation. Since my birthday fell on Mother’s Day this year, and I’m also a twin, The Boyfriend and I went to lunch at my mom’s after camping (and we had mango cake), and then had dinner with his mom (and we had chocolate cake). It was a great birthday.
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Spring Bulbs in their full glory.
I was greeted with a homecoming of Hyacinths, Tulips, Daffodils, and Muscari that I had planted back in November of last year.
Seedlings Planted
My boyfriend started a few plants inside back in February, and we put them in the ground a few weeks ago. Our little seedlings are: two varieties of tomatoes, squash, and lettuce.
Seeds Planted
We added another layer of compost, manure, and potting soil onto our garden beds and containers and planted the following seeds over the last couple of weeks:
Carrots
Lettuce
Kale
Spring Onions
Spinach
Snap Peas
Basil
Potatoes (not seeds, just old potatoes we saved from last year)
Marigolds
Nasturtium
Sunflowers
Spring Fling Mix (an entire bed is dedicated just to these grasses to help rejuvenate the soil)
Dahlia bulbs
Dozer-proofing the beds
Dozer spent the Winter aerating and fertilizing the beds, and occasionally lying on them. It’s been a struggle to keep him out of the beds that he thinks are his responsibility, so we fenced them off with bamboo and string.
Harvesting Nettles
My first harvest of the year! Last year, we picked up a few stinging nettle plants from a plant sale and planted them in our shadiest bed where our Sword ferns live. I came home to an abundance of stinging nettles that had frankly become a bit of a hazard. Keep reading to get some yummy stinging nettle recipes.
And subscribe to my other newsletter if learning about Pacific Northwest Native Plants is your jam!
Perennials that survived the winter
Almost all of my potted perennials survived the winter. Here is my current roster of perennials:
Lily of the Valley
Douglas Firs (1 big, 1 small, and 1 tiny)
Vine Maple (1 big, 1 small)
Douglas Asters (5)
Motherwort
Geranium (2)
Salvia (2)
Hosta (9! We divided our four pots of hostas, and now we have an infinite supply of hostas.
Raspberry Bushes (2)
Snowberry
Cedar Babies (11)
Hen and Chicks (unfortunately, many of their lives were lost this winter…)
Sea Thrift
Red Elderberry
Nootka Rose
Evergreen Huckleberry
Mock Orange (this guy did so well, he got re-potted into a much bigger home)
Goat’s Beard (This is the third season I’ve had this guy, and last year he didn’t grow at all, I thought he was dead, only to see him absolutely thrive this year)
Heuchera (2)
Hellebore
Sedum
A few Ornamental Grasses
Sea Holly
Lavender (2)
Mint (3 pots)
Mullein (3)
A tiny tree (I think it’s an azalea) that was uprooted and lying on the sidewalk near the park that my bf carried home and planted in this pot (Thanks City of Chilliwack! And thank you to whatever hooligans uprooted this little guy!)
About five more pots of mystery perennials I have yet to identify, and I cannot remember where I got them from
The only perennials that died over the winter were my herbs - sage, rosemary, oregano, and thyme. Either they died, or the mint they were growing with completely choked them out.
If you're curious where I got my perennials from, the main sources are: my mom’s, my boyfriend’s mom’s garden, the Fraser Valley Conservancy plant sale, BC Wild Heritage Native Plant Nursery, Fraser Valley Permaculture Guild, the Gwynne Vaughan Park Plant Sale, and gracious strangers.
Books:
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
It took a minute for me to get into this book. I listened to an hour or two of the audiobook and let my hold expire, picking it back up over a month later. I didn’t like the protagonist, Eleanor, at first. I just thought she was quite strange, but the more I listened, the more her quirkiness grew on me and made sense to me. I loved that this book didn’t centre around a romance and was more about the protagonist's healing journey rather than “getting the guy.” The ending was surprising and cathartic. Highly recommend.
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
I waited over a year to download this audiobook from Libby, a shockingly long time to wait for a book that was released 10 years ago. I’m not much into murder mysteries, but this one was so hyped and even made into a movie that I had to know what all the fuss was about. My review: I didn’t like it. I can’t articulate why, other than I thought every character was an insufferable asshole, and the ending was not satisfying.
Crossings by Ben Goldfarb
As someone who once worked for a small conservation organization that built a toad tunnel under a road so that Oregon Spotted Frogs could migrate safely to their breeding grounds, I thought this book was quite interesting. If you’ve ever wanted to do a deep, deep dive into roadkill – everything from cougars, to deer, to insects, to snakes, to birds, to Tasmanian devils, this is the book for you. Sadly, the only way to prevent roadkill is to stop building roads and driving cars. This book explores how road ecologists have adapted to our planet’s rapidly growing transportation infrastructure to save the lives of other-than-human creatures whose homes and migration routes are being decimated.
TV Shows:
Love on the Spectrum, Season 3
You better believe the minute I got off that plane and plopped on the couch, I turned on this show. This was my favorite season yet, because there were more happy endings in this season than in any other. Almost every character ended up in a relationship by the end of the show, and I love that for them. This show is the height of reality television.
With Love, Meghan
This show got a lot of hate online, and I’m not here for it. Before Meghan was ever a royal, she was a lifestyle girlie. Are we forgetting that she was one of the original bloggers with her lifestyle blog, The Tig? Meghan is going back to her roots and getting that bag with this new Netflix show that features countless trays of veggies (or, as Meghan would say, crudités), flower sprinkles, and homemade jams. Did I get bored and stop watching by the fourth episode? Yes. But I heard that the show was renewed for a second season, and I’m here for it.
North of North
I have been waiting for this show for 10 months, after I first heard about it from The Endless Honeymoon Podcast’s guest Mary Lynn Rajskub, who had just finished filming the show in Iqaluit, Nunavut. I binged all 8 episodes in one sitting. I couldn’t stop watching. It is the best show I’ve watched in a very long time. It’s about a young Inuk woman who is on a journey to reinvent herself in a small Arctic town. Rajskub plays the middle-aged, white woman who thinks the town could not run without her as the Executive Director of the community centre, and I swear to God, she is every white female ED I have ever met. As soon as you're done reading this newsletter, I need you to log in to Netflix and watch this show.
Four Seasons
With stars like Tina Fey and Steve Carell, I expected more of this show, but sadly, it fell flat. First of all, since when are we going on four vacations A YEAR with our friends?????? How am I supposed to relate to this core concept of the show? Who has the wherewithal to both afford these vacations and plan these large group trips?? And some of the couples don’t even seem to like each other, so why are they investing so much time and money in consistently going away together? Also, Steve’s character was kind of a jerk, and I didn’t like to see it. So yeah. Even though I watched all eight episodes, I’d advise you not to waste your time on it.
Adolescence
Holy cow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. If you haven’t heard of this show by now, I’m sorry, but you’re living under a rock. It lived up to the hype and the 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It is a mini-series of 4 episodes. Each episode was shot in one take. It forces you to sit in uncomfortable situations and feel what those characters are feeling moment-by-moment. It is a devastating watch, and extremely relevant to our times. If you haven’t watched it already, grab some tissues and tuck in.
Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Season Two
Oh boy. Season One was one of my favorite shows of 2024, and I started watching this season the day that it released. I watched all ten episodes over the course of three days, and after I was done, I just felt gross. Yes, Season One was a trainwreck, but Season Two had a much darker vibe. While there was arguably one main villain this season, every girl was obnoxious and spiteful and unnecessarily bitchy. While the statement “What happened to women supporting women?” was brought up many times in the season, no one was actually putting it into practice. There was just more backstabbing and cruel gossip than I could handle. These girls need a lesson in non-violent conflict resolution.
I’m subscribed to almost as many newsletters as I have subscribers of this newsletter. Here are some of my favorite random reads I found through newsletters this past month:
🏚️ How our environments shape our consumption patterns.
🐷 What would happen if you just stopped buying meat?
👶 Why I used to hate kids … Maybe the most well articulated article I’ve read that explains to me why I’ve never desired to be a mother
🪷 I’m done ‘Releasing what doesn’t serve me.” How our perceived darkness and dirtiness can be alchemized into gold
👭 Why our “health goals” should be focused on strengthening our community, not our muscles
☕ An extremely relatable day-in-the-life
🪜 Third-order thinking: How to build a life that can’t trap you
👰♀️ Common regrets most straight women have faced living in a patriarchal society
💬 Why do some people not ask any questions during conversations?
🍎 An edible map on where to forage for food in urban areas
🐝 Things that are none of your business
🤑 Why billionaires shouldn’t exist
👩🍼 Mother Hunger: navigating a complex terrain of longing, knowing that your hunger is a testament to your capacity for love.
🍉 Releasing the expectation to have the most amazing summer of your life
⌨️ I do nothing at work, and no one seems to care
🤳 How embracing the art of the selfie is a feminist act
Turn stinging plants into delicious meals to share with your friends!
Harvest the leaves carefully, using gloves. Stinging nettles are fuzzy, these tiny hairs are filled with chemicals that break upon contact with your skin, causing a burning sensation.
Once your leaves are harvested, dump them in a bowl of cold water, using a plastic bag to cover your hand, and rinse off any dirt.
Transfer to another bowl, and submerge them in boiling water. Let them sit for two minutes. You’re essentially just blanching them to release their poison.
Drain the bowl and rinse with very cold water to stop them from cooking further. If the water is a rusty brown, that is normal.
Squeeze all the water out of them. They’re totally safe to touch at this point.
Place them on a kitchen towel and ring them out, removing all the water as possible from them.
Chop and store in an airtight container until ready to use.
Nettlekopita
I followed this recipe from Carol’s Vegan Kitchen. I served it to my friends, and they described the texture as very fibrous, almost fuzzy spinach. The nettles, combined with all the fresh herbs, the creaminess of the cashews, and the buttery crunch of the phyllo, come together to make something so good that you forget to take a picture of it until it’s nearly gone.
Nettle Pesto
I also made this recipe from Carol’s Vegan Kitchen. My friends loved it so much that I also nearly forgot to take a picture of it until it was almost completely devoured.
Also pictured above were my homemade crackers. Here’s the recipe:
There were many pop culture moments this month that made me sad: the Amazon-funded all-girls space trip; the Pope dying; an American being chosen as the new Pope).
My favorite by far has to be the heated debate going around the internet: 100 men vs. 1 gorilla.
Fam, there is no doubt in my mind that 1 gorilla can take down 100 men without breaking a sweat. I’ve seen many theories online, usually along the lines of: if we all rush it at the same time, we can overpower it. No, Chad. As soon as the gorilla rips off a guy’s arm, which will probably happen straight away, you will all be pissing your pants and lose the courage to fight. The gorilla is stronger, both mentally and physically, than all 100 of you combined.
I love that a news station asked gorilla experts to weigh in. Matt McKim, Sacramento Zoo Director of Animal Care, said, “Gorillas are an incredible and endangered species that are facing threats in their home range. There are a lot of people working within zoos and within conservation organizations to ensure that gorillas and humans can coexist rather than deciding who would win in a fight.” Well said, Matt.
It’s Pink Flower Season!
Stuffed my belly with pho, bahn mi, salad rolls, and iced coffee at Pho Galaxy, a Chilliwack favorite.
Celebrated The Boyfriend’s Birthday a few weeks late with a trip to Granville Island for a spa day at Circle Wellness. During our 90-minute session, we hopped between the rain shower, cedar tub, cold plunge, salt-lamp sauna, and hot stones. I had my doubts going into it, but it was probably the most relaxing 90 minutes of my life, and I can’t wait to drop an insane amount of money to do it again.
The Food Truck Festival came to Chilliwack, and we indulged in Rotatoes and deep-fried Oreos, neither of which was that impressive, but both were excellent stoner food.
VOTED. Made it home on time to vote in our federal election. Chilliwack is a nepotistic, Conservative town, with the same family serving as our MPs for the last 32 years, so it kinda felt like my vote counted for nothing.
Saw Basia Bulat in concert at the Hollywood Theatre. The Boyfriend bought tickets for us to see this artist I had never heard of before this night, but haven’t stopped listening to since. I didn’t know what an autoharp was before this day, but now I’m glad I do.
After the concert, we stopped for some late-night munchies at Duffys Doughnuts, where we proceeded to get far too many doughnuts for our own good.
Petsat Poppy, one of my favorite dogs, for a couple of weekends since I’ve been back. She is one of the weirdest, sweetest, chillest dogs I have the pleasure of watching occasionally.
Paid a visit to another Chilliwack favorite, Fiesta Loca, for some margaritas and burritos
Thanks for reading What Am I Doing With My Life.
If we haven’t had the pleasure of meeting, I’m Andrea Sadowski, a writer, photographer, and silly little guy. If you enjoyed this post, here are a few ways you can connect with me:
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I am honored to have written this newsletter and experienced all the joys within these words on S’ólh Téméxw, the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Stō:lo Coast Salish peoples.
Happy belated birthday!!!!
Japan does sound like a dream, wow!!
(LOVE your garden & all you’re able to plant in there wow!! Gonna try your nettle pesto this summer!)
And congratulations on making into your master’s program :)