For a while now I’ve been doing three connected but not grouped things. I’ve been making personalised city maps, like these ones for London and Paris and Vancouver. I’ve been looking up interesting stuff happening around the world then messaging people I know in those places about them. And I’ve been talking about friendships and relationships and why I like being alive (this relates to my openly speaking about the times in my life when I very much didn’t).
And I’ve been trying to find reasons to write more. If you like something, you just do it, right? Except sometimes your brain does funny things and it makes it hard to do the things you like. So you need a structure, like a job or a regular rehearsal or a dedicated audience. So here we are.
100% is a reference to video games. You can finish most games without doing or collecting everything in them. But if you’re a completionist or maybe have a slight compulsive disorder, you go around every nook and cranny and get that shit done.
I am not a completionist, and I don’t think there’s a way to be one in the real world. But I see a lot of people trying still, and a lot of people feeling a constant low-grade disappointment. This newsletter is a way of reframing what we consider a successful life by celebrating small, seemingly insignificant connections and moments. Like the staff of a certain coffee shop knowing you want a flat white.
That’s it for now. I don’t know when the first newsletter will go out, or what it will even be about. I’ll try and stick to a weekly schedule. In the meantime, you can check out London Percent, which is my ranked list of 100 things I most like about living in London.