a love letter to lists + roll on, venture

because they are organized solace during this time

TOASTED ALMOND DARK ROAST, DUNKIN —-

a lot of my life can be found in scribbles of lists, from the restaurants i want to try to the stories i want to report out once the news cycle slows down (ha). i have a list of my hopes for my 20s, a list of my favorite one-liners i hear in eavesdropping conversations, and a list of moments i witness and want to slightly fictionalize for the book i’ll one day write. when i inevitably pass away one day, i imagine that i will live on through lists of my trader joe’s favorites. a legacy of being a sriracha tofu lover is a legacy i am very ok with.

the romantic interpretation of my love for lists is that i like always feeling like a work in progress. the not-so-romantic interpretation of my love for lists is just that i’m not a tech-savvy person (no one tell my employer). lists, therefore, are the closest i can get to “optimizing my life.”

but, since it is a tuesday that feels like a monday but i wish it was a friday, i am going to stick with the romantic interpretation.

more later, including a peek into my latest list, but first my words + thoughts:

my words: i wrote about how rolling funds are becoming more popular than angellist expected them to be.

learning lesson: there’s a story (and shifting tide) within building in public. a growing wave of transparency in venture capital is exciting to me, as a reporter, because it feels a bit like cleaning out a black box.

etc: i don’t often do this, but i’m officially six months into my time at TC and i think that calls for a refresh on who i talk to and what i am tuning into. tell me who is the smartest person i haven’t talked to yet by commenting below.

equity: we talked about how edtech is the new saas.

anyways,

lists matter to me now more than ever before because they’re a vehicle to keep me feeling like i’m moving forward during an otherwise stagnant time. sure, lists aren’t a replacement for actually doing The Things, but they sure do make me feel productive.

when i moved home to live with my parents (yes, i saw the study), i spent the first night listing out all the ways i would make my time at home count.

• learn hindi

• train for a half marathon

• read books

• catch up with east coast friends on a more regular basis

• learn more about traditional indian cooking

• learn more about personal finance

now, one month into home living, i’ll be the first to say that i have not accomplished any of these tasks. the most that i’ve scratched the surface is probably by perfecting my tadka. but, i think that’s kind of the point. it’s nice to live in wishful territory these days. i am tired of being realistic, of documenting six feet of distance, of my mask, of making small talk about this damned disease, and having the same old talking points about the same old quarantine experiences that we’re all tired of being same and old.

but what i’m really getting at here is that, in order to emotionally survive the next few months and years, we need to create arbitrary plans and little things to look forward to or get excited about. for me, lists serve as a sort of organized solace. for you, picking a day of the month to have your favorite takeout could be organized solace. why not both.

lists let me dip my toes into the future in a way that my calendar, and present, doesn’t let me do as easily anymore. it’s a way to plan. and this year, i really miss planning.

send me your latest list,

n