Love in the Age of my Broken Foot

Max's Most Loved March; Milwaukee & Chicago

I have spent much of March in bed resting a broken foot.

I wish I had a cool story of how it happened. I wish I could say I was skateboarding or rock climbing or saving a kitten from a tree. But the reality is, I was walking in my kitchen and simply missed the door. The thing no one tells you about being 5’10” with gorgeous, long legs is that you are responsible for developing the spatial awareness required to operate limbs of that length. Sometimes I miscalculate and end up ramming one into a wall.

This will NOT be affecting my spring tour plans. I will see you Milwaukee (Apr 1-2) and Chicago (Apr 2-4) next week! I’d say I’m about 85% better at this point. I’ve already started going on sunny, spring hikes and going back to yoga class, just no downward dog for the foreseeable future.

Spending time in bed isn’t the worst fate. Fortunately, bed is where I historically thrive so here is what has been holding my attention in and out of it this March.

♥️ Detroit and all that comes with it: One of the times I managed to get out there over the past couple of weeks was to return to one of my favorite cities for a very steamy FMTY duo. I wish I could tell you all the details, I promise they are much juicier than my broken foot story, but alas…

Detroit is seriously underrated. Its filled with beautiful architecture and the best restaurant service of any city I’ve ever been to. Top notch wait staff across the board at every establishment I’ve ever eaten at in this town.

This time I got to check out Kamper’s Rooftop and Le Supreme, which are serendipitously directly on top of each other in the same building. The suggestions were brought on by my own personal tour guide and one of the loves of my life, Miss Evelyn Vale. We ended up sharing fries and chatting for over four hours between the two locations and it just flew by! Give us an excuse to get back in each other’s arms!

♥️ Starting my day with music instead of news: I have been on a journey to move my attention away from the attention economy by removing any app that makes me endlessly scroll. I’m about two and a half months “clean“ from having social media on my phones. I have cut my daily usage down by over 50% already, but there is one stumbling block: Podcasts. Podcasts trick you into thinking you are not doom scrolling because you aren’t looking at a screen, but they have the same impact on my mood and focus. I do not need to hear five different takes on every terrible thing that is happening in the world from the different shows I listen to. Making a point to put on music clears my head in a way spoken word doesn’t. It has really opened me up and made me more creative and in touch with my emotions. Lately I've been getting back into LCD Soundsystem and “Return of Satrun“ era No Doubt. Music, highly recommended 👍

♥️ Extended NYC lunch dates where I can hop right back on the train afterwards and sleep in my own bed. I love the east coast!

♥️ Substack: The only social app I do keep on my phone is Substack. I can justify it to myself because it is centered around long-form reading and not flicking between images and outrage. I have been looking at reading a few essays a day like doing reps at the gym but for my attention span. I enjoy the community here, it gives me an opportunity to reveal a softer side of Max. I’ve been doing some research on the features I haven’t been taking advantage of. I’d like LoveNote to make a pivot to video (or even podcasting…) sometime this year.

Let me know what you think! Would you watch a monthly vlog or AMA?

♥️ Cherry Blossom Season 🌸 As soon as I saw the first burst of pink on a branch, I immediately started scheming for spring social plans. I put together a big cherry blossom picnic and I’m so pleased with the attendance its getting! Considering I moved across the country by myself in my 30’s a year ago, I have built up an awesome network! I’m very grateful to be so socially fluid and extroverted these days, this past year really could have been a lonely disaster.

The party still a few weeks away, (strategically to align with the peak of the season), and I already have recipes planned and my sluttiest sundress picked out. I really love getting to be the ring leader for planning events, just like I do my dates. I get hyperfocused on the prep and details and do everything in my power to curate the experience to be just magical. That’s my love language, I think.

♥️ Finding an old phone I didn’t realize I still had and scrolling through text messages from my late dad. Enough said.