fridayfive 10 : Running Half-Speed
Five things that make everyday life feel a little less routine
Hi there!
The moving caught up with me this week. I’ve been running a little slower. Mentally. Physically. All of it. Turns out no matter how many lists you make, there’s always one last thing to tape shut or one more login to update. I’m not complaining exactly. Just moving at half-speed and noticing how easy it is to let routine take over when things feel busy.
That’s probably why everything in this week’s five stuck with me. Little nudges toward being more awake in the middle of ordinary days: cold sea swims, sorting through old camping gear, considering buying vinyl instead of streaming the same playlist again. And apparently now you can book a vacation specifically to feel like it’s 1997 again complete with arcades, VHS tapes, the whole thing.
Five things below. Nothing urgent. Just stuff that makes a regular week feel slightly less automatic.
This Week’s Playlist:
1. Reviving Everyday Adventure
→ https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/jul/06/wake-up-curious-about-the-world-readers-tips-for-regaining-your-sense-of-adventure
“Wake up curious about the world!”
The Guardian rounded up reader tips for finding adventure in regular life. Float tanks, axe throwing, improv classes, morning sea swims and others.
Sea swims are one item that stuck with me. In Ireland, many people start their mornings with swims in the mid-40°F Irish Sea like it’s nothing. I’ve done what I consider a polar plunge in the country a time or two, but looking forward to longer stays once I’m a full-time resident. It’s that same quiet voice that once got me into running: if it’s cold, difficult, and supposedly good for you, eventually I’ll show up.
2. Camping Gear that Actually Matters
→ https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/camping-and-hiking/best-camping-list
I’ve been camping most of my life and collected a garage worth of gear along the way. Enough tents, stoves, and gadgets to start a low-rent outfitter. Yet somehow every trip still starts with digging through a pile of half-functional stuff, swearing I’ll finally cull it down next time.
This list is what I need every time someone asks for for advice on a particular piece: gear recommendations updated for 2025 that don’t just push shiny new products but focus on things that actually work. It’s not just about ultralight flexing either - which many camping lists these days can get sucked into. Some of these pieces feel less like consumer items and more like small, faithful tools that’ll outlive you.
Or, if you’re looking to add a bit more fashion-focused taste to your outdoor gear, check out the list from Men’s Journal.
3. A Vinyl Revolution is Happening on Facebook Marketplace
→ https://boilerroom.substack.com/p/facebook-marketplace-is-a-godsend
Not to go all “back in my day,” but I used to spend entire afternoons in 2001 rummaging through dusty bins of vinyl shops in Midland, Texas, buying classics for two dollars each. The albums were so cheap that I even purchased duplicates to use as wall art in my first apartment. Miles Davis, Sam Cooke, random disco obscurities. Beatles albums that you play in reverse to confirm urban legends.
Now there’s this: a quiet vinyl boom happening on Facebook Marketplace. Hunting down analog treasures using the world’s most antiseptic digital garage sale platform. Teenagers in school uniforms flipping through Fleetwood Mac records, arguing the merits of analog sound quality with the fervor of someone explaining why oat milk is superior.
The author walking through being a skeptic to full-blown collector mirrors my own slow slide back toward physical media. And there’s a social layer too. Picking through someone’s collection is a kind of cultural archaeology. Each listing tells you what kind of person they were, or thought they were, before they decided to part with their sonic identity for $20 apiece.
For more vinyl insight, check out this awesome Substack.
4. Nine Fresh Albums to Listen to This Summer
→ https://pitchfork.com/news/9-new-albums-you-should-listen-to-now-haim-hotline-tnt-yaya-bey
I know recommending a Pitchfork roundup feels obvious, like telling someone to visit Paris if they’re into architecture, but this particular one is worth the bookmark. Nine albums that veer from sun-faded indie to full-spectrum hip hop, all from the past month.
Hotline TNT’s Raspberry Moon is a standout. Shoegaze-y enough to feel timeless but sharp enough to fit into modern 2025. It’s the kind of thing that makes sense at the tail end of a long drive, half-listening while watching the familiar neighborhood come into view.
Sometimes I think the only thing harder than picking a favorite album is sticking with it long enough to let it matter. This list feels like a nudge in that direction.
5. Nostalgic Holidays are Booming
→ https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/lifestyle/nostalgic-holidays-boom-takes-travellers-back-to-1990s-and-beyond/news-story/c363fa1e3f8fdf572bad54eab3798814
Apparently we’re all booking ‘90s-style vacations again. Resort stays with VHS players, arcades, vintage decor that reminds you of when your mom packed Fruit Roll-Ups for the road trip. I’m all for it.
This short article captures the trend, but it’s not as kitschy as you’d expect. There’s something oddly comforting about it: a kind of cultural deep-breath before re-entering the grown-up world. I used to think nostalgia was something you grew out of. Now, I get that it’s something you carry like spare change in your pocket: sometimes you forget it’s there, but it’s always quietly weighing you down.
A Quote I Resonate With:
“An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered; an adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered." ~Gilbert Keith Chesterton