#1: I Am Tired, How Are You?

Plus a cinematic song recommendation

Hello!

Thank you for subscribing to my newsletter. I’m hoping it provides a little pop of color and relief to your inbox. My main goal for this newsletter is to ensure my webcomics are accessible to everyone (including those of you who opt out of social media — a truly iconic choice!). You also may find occasional thought dumps, recommendations, shout outs/conversations with other artists I love — or maybe none of it! I’m no stranger to commitment anxiety these days.

But on to what I promised! A webcomic! I shared this one on Instagram a few weeks ago, but the message is worth repeating. As the subject line suggests, my complaint of the year is an ever present feeling of exhaustion. This list of little reminders is meant to be comforting — that even with the uncertainty looming like a heavy rain cloud, you are doing the best you can (even if it doesn’t feel that way).

Hey! Here are a few quick reminders (scroll for more!).

(and no, coffee is not the same).

Here we have a different kind of night cap (lol).

Especially if that space is near a body of water.

Shout out to my parents for picking up my late night calls.

Uncertainty: another word we all hate by now.

Give yourselves a hug from me while you’re at it.

As for a few things I’ve enjoyed lately: 

• The song “Oh My God” by Kevin Morby has the perfect cinematic flair for a morning winter walk. The build up! The lyrics! The chorus of voices towards the end! I want to summit a snowy mountain to this song. I want to jump off a rock in a beachy jungle and land in a shockingly cold but refreshing swimming hole to this song. I want to hug someone I love in the airport baggage claim to this song. It’s that good. 

• I made zero New Year’s resolutions, but I did decide that I would read all of the books on my bookshelf before buying or checking out more (tsundoku much?). I’m beginning with The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer, which I 100 percent bought for its rainbow cover while visiting a used bookstore in Ohio last summer. If you enjoy “slice of life” novels that follow a set of characters for decades as they grow up, you’ll probably enjoy this one. 

• I recently learned about Google Chrome tab groups, an update that has been talked about a LOT and is 100% worth the hype.

• After complaining to my therapist about my inability to manage my time as a freelancer, she suggested I start tracking my time — something I’ve always avoided after working corporate jobs, where the amount of time tracked felt like a competition amongst coworkers.  But I signed up for Toggl and realized that my perception of how I think I’m managing my time and how I’m actually managing my time look very different (in a good way!). So… Thank you, therapist. You were right. Again. (Not sure if this recommendation is for Toggl or therapy, so I’ll just go with both).

On a final note, I want to thank all of you for your continued support of my work. I’ve said it before (and don’t you worry I will KEEP saying it!!!!), but branching off into a freelance career during a PANDEMIC after years of structure has been so much easier with such an affirming and lovely community. Thank you for being here — I am so grateful for you. If you’d like to support the continued creation of my webcomics and bigger projects, I’m linking to my Patreon here, where you can make a monthly contribution as low as $2. I never know how to end these fun moments of self promotion, so I’ll link to a mood-lifting TikTok my friend Jamie made (spoiler alert: it’s true!).

Thanks again for subscribing! Until next time, enjoy a hot beverage, wear your mask, and take care of yourselves.

Haley 

HaleyWroteThis is a free newsletter written by me (Haley Weaver!) and occasionally edited by my brilliant younger brother, Graham Weaver. If you like my work, consider supporting my Patreon or checking out my shop.