A Year of No Meat, Some Potatoes

A year ago I was working as a receptionist and my brain was quickly turning into neon-green goo. I was bored. I realized I needed a project to work on in my spare time so that I wouldn’t resort to, like, exercising. Eating is something I am lucky enough to do multiple times a day, so I decided to write about it.

No Meat, Some Potatoes traveled down the internet birth canal and saw its first light. The blog was a great cure for boredom. Learning about cooking was fun, and so was decimating my food budget. I began to feel less rudderless, though not exactly rudderful. But the blog was a start.

From my first post to today, a lot has happened. I moved to a different house and quit my job. I made new friends and began a relationship. My mother was diagnosed with and treated for cancer. I started wearing overalls.

And, most relevantly, I began writing for sites that have more than 14 readers. Since January 2016 I’ve been published by McSweeney’s, Reductress, Thrillist, and Runt of the Web. I also read two of my pieces at a show that people actually paid to attend, which was so terrifying I kind of blacked out and don’t remember most of. Still, it was a great experience and, I was told, a fun time for all.

A year from my first blog post, I’m transitioning into a new job. For the past two months I’ve been walking dogs for a living, which explains the picture of me frenching a Golden Retriever. Soon I will move into a marketing position with the same dog-walking company. It’s a cool opportunity and I’m excited to never find a bag of poop in my pocket again, but it’s not a full-time gig. This means I’ll have to start making money via writing if I want to continue financing my cushy lifestyle and certain addictions. (Do not get started with scented candles, that’s a rabbit hole you will never escape!!)

To make money from writing, I’ll have to focus on stuff that pays. Unfortunately, what pays are Carrie Bradshaw-esque articles about dating. What doesn’t pay is this blog. I plan to maintain No Meat, Some Potatoes but realistically will be posting less often. Unlike this last month which brought you fresh content daily!

As I sit here considering this past year, a cup of tea in my hand, a snowy vista outside my window, zit cream covering a whopper on my forehead, what I most want to say is thank you. Thank you to anyone who has ever read a recipe, texted me after a post launched, liked a link on Facebook, or emailed me about a typo. It’s really really cool that you spend time reading the silly stuff that I write.

Even though I hate when young privileged goons think they should give people advice, I’ll risk self-loathing to offer some of my own. If you want to do something, do it. I always liked the grand concept of writing, but wasn’t doing it in the unglamorous, literal sense. What I was doing was rewatching Sex in the City. This was due to lack of confidence, laziness, and HBO GO. The moment I began writing, even something as simple as this food blog, opportunities started presenting themselves and I felt better about myself. I’m a writer because I write, and the boring office job that is almost definitely in my future doesn’t change that.

P.S.

A more accurate title for this post is A Year of A Little Meat and a Typical Amount of Potatoes. Whoops!