Cabin Notes: we did actually hang out

March 19, 2025

Writing costs money. Tune in to hear Krisserin and I talk about the financial realities of being a writer. It certainly can be free, but it has a way of adding up. Of, if you hate money, listen to us talk about impostor syndrome, a fan favorite.

And if you missed it,

Kelly Barrett

took us to Tucson, Arizona in Chosen Places.

---

Well, a few weeks back I asked the question: “are we hanging out”? And sure enough, the answer was yes.

I went to my first “short form club”, that we are loosely calling Coffee Chats; the idea is to gather over morning coffees to discuss a podcast or an article. I’m in a book club that I struggle to make it to, given the hours and commitment (during W3’s bedtime and often books I have no desire to read), but one of the women in this club suggested this format as a spin-off. No one has to cook or bake anything, no one has to host, and it takes less than an hour to get through the required material. And it’s in the morning! So I can always join! And it was so lovely.

Of course, we spent maybe 15% of the time talking about the actual podcast and the other 85% on the good stuff: life. And while I don’t know any of these women very well, it really felt like a table I belonged at. As we close in on four years here, it was such a salve to feel that way. Having it occur on the eve of my trip to my old haunts was auspicious timing. I could return with my feet planted firmly at home.

I think this is an underrated means of gathering, this short form method. I knew of one article club in LA maybe ten years ago, but aside from that, it’s a book club’s world. Cup of Jo wrote about an article club over ten years ago, and she shares our subject matter interests: “typically about friendship, career, work/life balance or relationships.”

Our first club discussed the work of Brene Brown on vulnerability, in particular her Ted Talk from 2011 that launched her into stardom. Listen, I will be honest with you: when this was suggested as our first topic, my whole body groaned. It’s so old! I watched this video when I was a mere child! I am very, very vulnerable! But I was wrong. It was a great conversation. And that’s sort of what excites me about the club: you learn more about each other than the material, because in order to discuss the material, you need to give a lot away.

What a fantastic way to become friends.

If I can offer you anything this week, it’s to kick off a shortform club. If you can’t think of four or five people to wrangle into it, then see if you can co-host it with your library. It’s such a light-lift way to engage with people, and you can cater it to your interests: career, nature, sports, politics, law, psychology, whatever! (Of course some of these topics can be better “friend-makers” than others, but you learn what you need to.)