Iszy's Depth Year

I haven't had much to write about regarding my Depth Year since the 2nd week; but I thought that an end-of-month update, regardless of anything might be a good idea. It's been easy enough to stay on track for the last half of January. No real temptations or having to remind myself about shopping.  I did skip the swap meet at the bar, didn't see much point in it.  I did have to get a pair of boots repaired, but I think that having things you already own repaired instead of replaced absolutely goes along with the Depth Year theme. The only other question I came up against towards the end of the month was deciding that donations and contributions to things that don't result in a physical thank you gift are still in-line with my Depth Year.  There's nothing about Depth Year that should exclude donating to your favorite charity (especially if it's not buying a thing for charity, I still think that's probably a no), and likewise, supporting Kickstarter campai...

As I start my second week, this last weekend saw my first real temptation - which I resisted!  Last year I started getting into Korean skincare, and was seeing a lot of success in that area.  I was even able to discontinue an oral prescription, which is always great when I can cut out a pill.  One of the nice things about the whole somewhat cultish Korean skincare (is it a fandom? it certainly seems like a fandom at times) is that while you do end up using 5 or more products every time you wash your face, the products are generally much less expensive than their European or American counterparts. Look at the skincare shelves in Sephora, it's not unusual for the bulk of products to be near or over $50, and some going over $100 for very small portions.  Meanwhile, most of the Korean skincare products I've bought are at or under $20 each.  That to say, while walking down 14th Street in Manhattan with the S/o, we happened to stroll by an old favorite shop, which wa...

So far, I've been home about a week, and it feels like I haven't been doing well.  I have, by my own rules, I have; but there's some emotional confusion tied up in this.  For example, it feels like my very first weekend home, all I did was spend money.  Well, it's true. I had been gone for over 2 weeks, so I had to buy groceries. And for me at least, that meant 2 different shopping runs and a delivery order to restock the pantry, look for discount produce, and visit Foster Sundry for my meats.  On top of that, after taking my first shower I realized I'm very nearly out of shampoo, and that was a clear exception to things that I was allowed to replace as I used them up - so I went and bought shampoo, and dry shampoo (of which I have been out of for weeks).  But it still "felt" like shopping.  That voice of "how are you going to make it through this year when you went and bought food and shampoo in your first week!" I had not expected that voice...

I only heard about the concept of a "Depth Year" last summer.  My sister had fallen down yet another series of rabbit holes on YouTube, and was telling me about the concept.  When I tried to search for a definition of "Depth Year" the closest I got was this: " You take a whole year in which you don’t start anything new or acquire any new possessions you don’t need. No new hobbies, equipment, games, or books are allowed during this year. Instead, you have to find the value in what you already own or what you’ve already started. " - David Cain OK, so I'm probably not going to be doing this "right."  I decided last fall I wanted to do a Depth Year (or attempt to) for 2020; and after thinking it over the past couple of weeks, I decided I wanted to journal my experience.  I don't really expect any readers, but I type very fast, and I decided the easiest way would be to make a little side blog where I can record my thoughts and experiences...