Sometimes when I watch Seinfeld I become so enchanted by the concept of being an adult in the 90s that I’m unable to focus on anything else.
Seriously, just imagine it for a moment. You’re Elaine, and times are modern enough that you’re ordering big salads and spotting the hot Kennedy du moment at your local gym, but they’re not so modern that your job is emails and you need to download Hinge. It’s this perfect little sweet spot of fictional 30-45 year olds, particularly in New York City, that will forever make me seethe with envy. I want to experience calling the diner to tell your friends you’re running late to coffee, but God didn’t have that plan for me. He wanted me to be born in a time where I’m scrolling on my little rectangle until my brain falls out of my ears, sometimes too anxious to open a text let alone make a phone call.
It’s clear that our modern ways are poisoning us, but what’s the cure? Is it deleting the apps and going on a full technology cleanse? Probably, but that doesn’t sound like something I want to do either. I might be addicted to phone, but she’s also my dear and personal friend. I’m too weak to give it up completely. I love entertainment, information, and blue light. I just want some more balance in my life. Not a diet, but a lifestyle change. Drinking responsibly instead of getting blackout drunk.
I want an analog fall.
My goal in this is to complete a factory reset on my brain by microdosing the desirable components of the 90s lifestyle while still indulging in some modern pleasures. Fall is the perfect time to do this sort of thing because we’re all craving some sort of school curriculum. We need something to prepare us for the winter. Here’s how I’m going to structure mine:
Analog Fall
Opting for physical media
We as a society need to read more books, but we could also stand to read more essays/articles too. Substack is wonderful, so is your digital subscription to The New Yorker, but what if you upgraded to a physical copy too? I grab a physical copy of The New Yorker at the airport to give myself something to flip through on the plane, and it’s become a tradition when traveling with family for us to pass around the crossword and finish it together.
Now I can’t help but wonder how great it would feel to do that in my day to day life, not just on vacation. A cup of coffee, a seat on the couch, and a date with a magazine: cover to cover. I’ve had a Vogue subscription for a few years now too, and I love not only reading the new editions, but using old ones for collaging and vision boarding down the line.
Watching movies instead of rewatching television
If you find yourself stuck in a loop of TikToks and refreshing your notifications, you may be in need of some long form media. I am a true movie lover and I typically watch the traditional way: in the theaters, with buttered popcorn and a diet coke. When I’m home though, my attention span feels shorter.
My roommate Paige and I have a list of movies we want to watch, lots of classics that would require more brain power than say binging the same 3 seasons of Sex and the City on a loop forever, and can you guess which option we typically choose on a Tuesday night? It’s so easy to fall into the comfort of putting on something you can half watch and maybe pay attention to between scrolling, but what if for the entirety of fall you banished the concept of binge watching?
My rules for this are simple: this fall I am only watching new-to-me movies, with the exception of the occasional episode of currently airing television. No rewatching. Paige and I started implementing this a few weeks ago, and we’ve already made our way through some iconic titles. You can choose whatever movies are on your own personal watchlist, but I can recommend a few classics if you’re looking for a specific vibe. Full media diet with more in this previous keepsake ‘inner world maintenance’.
Never going anywhere without paper and pen
I could and would use my notes app, but imagine a time where you didn’t have the option to. I love carrying a small journal around with me at all times, just in case I want to play hangman with my friends at the bar, or jot down a quick idea I got on the subway. It doesn’t need to be some prolific place for your most beautiful thoughts, it can be a practical thing too. I scribble, I rip pages out, I word vomit, I keep score for games of gin.
I also carry a larger notebook, more of a diary, when I can fit it. Having both on me helps if I want to categorize my thoughts, but I’m usually good with one of the other. Try jotting thoughts out stream of consciousness style on your next lunch break and see where that gets you instead of scrolling.
Lunch dates
This is just part of my wish-I-had-a-90s-adulthood disease, but why on earth are we not prioritizing the lunch date? Drinks yes, coffee of course, but a sit down meal in the middle of the day is one of the best ways to catch up with someone. You have the option to leave it at that, or extend it into a hang. Maybe go for some window shopping around your neighborhood, or for a walk in the park, hell you can even extend it to a dinner date if you please! There’s just something so chic about saying ‘let’s do lunch’.
Sending letters to friends
If you have a pen pal, or you’re looking to find one, fall is a perfect time to get into the habit of writing. When the days get darker and winter truly sets in you will find there’s no greater activity than sitting down to send a letter.
A hot tip: some of my friends I straight up ask their address so I can send them a letter, but you can also check your party apps like Partiful for addresses if you’ve been to their apartment before but can’t quite remember their info. I aspire to have all my friend’s addresses with their contact info, but it’s a lesser known detail these days. I always love being surprised with a letter from a friend, and it’s a fun way for me to use the stationery I collect.
More analog fall approved activities
Taking a little day trip with friends
Drawing a picture, however badly, and pinning it up in your room
Framing physical photography and hanging up photostrips
Reading a paperback and letting it get kind of bent and beat up in your bag (using things is good! It’s okay for things to be imperfect!)
Thrifting
Arranging your knick knacks and giving away your knick knacks to friends and lovers
Taking pictures with a film camera
Collecting and collaging for your scrapbook/junk journal
Leaving a voicemail for a friend/sending a voice note
Passing someone a note
Set up a cute puzzle and let it take over a surface in your home for a weekend
Bringing your coffee in a mug from home out on a walk in your neighborhood
Knit/crochet/sewing your way through an afternoon
Packing a deck of cards for a night out at the bars
Getting really into your planner
Seeing live music in your area bonus points if it’s a local band
Saying ‘we could walk’ when it would lowkey be more convenient to take transit, but you have time for the longer journey and you revel in slowing things down a little
Tell me what’s on your list for analog fall, or just fall in general!
xo,
Julianna
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cooking a recipe from an actual cookbook instead of following along a tiktok recipe!
yess i love this! and i'd add using a physical alarm clock so you don't reach for your phone first thing in the morning.