Wellness

Fran Lebowitz

I took care of a lot of things today

A LOT

Some of which are too private to write about here but I finally had a little bit of money I could afford to allocate towards some basic needs like my first pedicure in five months

The sores on my one ankle screamed at me as she expertly scrubbed hard with that thing that makes the soles of your feet less hard

I joined the gym at the end of my block and inadvertedly got one of my friend’s a free month simply because he recommended it to me

Today I bought a juice at a raw juice place on Magazine Street

The cashier jokingly called it ‘spicy orange juice’

I’ll take it

It’s lasted me all day just taking big nourishing sips

I love the way that ginger burns my throat

Now I can go to the gym anytime I don’t know what to do with my free time

Which is often now

I whittled down everything I’m doing to the point where

The podcast is good

I make content regularly for my other platforms

I don’t have a million things on my to do list except try all the hotel pools

I invested in $45’s worth of new Korean Skincare products

Instead of doing more, I’m thinking about this Fall as

Doing things deeper

Speaking to fewer people

Staying focused on one thing for longer

Planning more elaborate dates for my partner and I

And now

Helping this family buy a new building

Yes

Wellness

The better I feel

The more capacity I have to see new possibilities for myself

I’m not just burned out all the time

I ran out of money before I could buy more groceries but I’m not fully out yet so it’s fine

I can just go to the gym and get a muffin or something

And pay for it when I pay my gym dues on September 1st

At the gym, I will let my ADHD whims explore

And I’ll continue to challenge my word of 2026

‘Presence’

In another way

I need more

Energy that’s organic and not caffeine

I don’t know how many more lemonades or

Iced Matchas with Oat I can drink

I eat healthy

I now know how to drink two glasses of wine without getting really fucked up

That’s a pretty New Orleans wellness milestone

I feel often like

I am staring my own messiness in the face most days

I have achieved some sort of Millennial badge for ‘feeling the most observed’ and not running away from it

I know what changes about any room I enter, and it’s not always for the better

But I feel some sort of wanderlust in me quieting

The need to hop on a plane like I used to when I was a college Professor has gone dormant

Why would people go on vacation when I work vacation?

I work for the people’s vacation every day

Folks are always flying to New Orleans or driving

It’s a Tropical paradise but I can’t live like I’m constantly on vacation

Some definitely do

Absolutely

That’s what’s kind of scary and dangerous about it

You can’t just go with the crowd here

Anywhere

You have to have your own choices, or you’ll get lost and not the good kind

The steady hum of depression kind

The drinking kind

You melt into the walls and become the French Quarter scenery if you are not careful

Or awake to your own choices at all times

I took care of a lot of things today, and my body parts that were pampered feel so much better for it

I put Neosporin and Bandaids over my wounds

I took a quarter of a gummy, and I’m resting

I thought about shooting Content, and I thought

Not right now

I’ll write something though

I can still taste the Cayenne Pepper and The Ginger AND the Orange on my tongue

I’ve still got a little more to go before it’s gone

I made some missteps this afternoon

I tried out a hotel pool that was way too small and FILLED with people which is the worst when you want to just be hot and bathe

But also I liked the whole everybody watching me thing

I wore my epic Krewe SUNGLASSES and a leopard leotard over my Skimm’s Black Bikini

A woman eating outside of Juan’s Flying Burrito was like Girl You ATE

And when people approached me, I kindly gave them permission to fuck off

This is View Only on GoogleDocs

Not Comment or Edit

I missed my opportunity to go to the grocery store

But that’s okay

More money will come

Somehow

Someway

I’m just gonna concentrate on wellness

My style

Being good to my body

My skin

My mind

My time

Next on my list is to buy some Amazon Basic Socks without holes in them

In the meantime, I’m not really worried about anything at all

And that is one fucking real victory

My anxiety

Is like a thin membrane that’s now just a memory of all the moments this summer that did not require my heart racing even though it was at the time

I overreacted more than once

Now that I realize that behavior isn’t justified

It’s time to just

Pour in to my own cup

Breathe and kick back to some more Fran Lebowitz which I’m sure this rant has a twinge of

Only I’m a neurotic New Orleanian who’s now in recovery

There is something about that New Yorkness that is comforting though

They also put up with a lot of obstacles and have no idea how they can afford to live there

Wellness is not just one thing

A nice glass of dry sparkling wine on a burning day with a mini happy hour cheese plate is sometimes all I need

It’s even better with a book or good company

Did you know that there is even a BAR inside of the French Quarter GYM?

I got a free drink coupon with my membership even