Novis Newsletter - September Edition
Long days, fast company and a vibes-based approach to life
Somebody, please, take the wheel!
I kicked the month off with a quick weekend in Monza for the Italian GP with my friend Claire1. Though my F1 knowledge is rusty, I am nothing if not committed to a theme, and made sure to include pops of red in every outfit of the weekend to blend in with the Tifosi. I was left with random bruises, questionable tan lines and fond memories of befriending a [literal] busload of happy drunks. We were in General Admission, and it was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience (so much fun, but I have no desire to go back; hospitality invites are welcome). We strategically flew back to London on Monday night so we managed to squeeze in a day of eating our way through Milan.
I have also realised that I’m surprisingly more vibes-oriented than I might have originally thought. In an attempt to make the most of my extensive free time (and also as a pawn in my mother’s attempt to pressure my brother into getting his own licence), I have started learning how to drive (better late than never?). I always thought I would be a disaster on wheels (I’ve had more than one panic attack over cycling in traffic), but to my absolute surprise, I appear to be a natural. My driving instructor suspects I’m lying about my lack of experience, and I have taken to joking that this is the universe’s way of making up for the absolute shit show challenging year I’ve had so far. I’d rather have a job than impeccable clutch control and a supernatural knack for parallel parking, but a win is a win. A fun (and maybe slightly unsafe?) fact that has entertained and confused my friends living abroad is the fact that you can start driving lessons in the UK before passing your theory test. I have mine booked for the end of October (it was the earliest available date), and have realised that my approach to driving is very similar to how I deal with French grammar: I’m sure I learned the rules at some point, but I’m usually going with gut instinct and whatever seems right (but if anyone from the DVSA is reading this, I pinky promise I will be a highway code savant in a month).
The 100 Hour Day
This month also featured the longest day of my life. I bought tickets to a day rave at Drumsheds2 ages ago, and made sure to strategically plan my long run for the week so I’d be feeling fresh and ready to spend eight hours on my feet. Raves are not my usual scene, but I figured if I was doing this, I wanted to fully commit. A friend’s birthday dinner ended up clashing with the event, but I figured I could make it to both. It was a formal affair, so I left my house at 11 AM to drop off my dress and her gift at my friend’s house before heading to a boozy brunch for pres. I chugged my lukewarm coffee, vanilla vodka and Kahlua concoction whilst covering my heels in Band-Aids,3 and we were off. IKEA is a maze on a normal day, and the added the strobbing lights and the Oontz Oontz did not help. Time flies when you’re having fun, and the next thing I knew, my alarm was going off, and I made my way across the city for dinner, giving myself time to recharge as I read on the bus (yes, I brought my Kindle; it was a long commute). I arrived dishevelled and unfashionably late, and thankfully, everyone was already a little buzzed and I could sneak away to change into formal attire. We continued the night dancing away at The Bar, before going back to my friend’s for afters. As I stumbled into my bed at 4 AM, I could rest easy knowing that if I had made it through that day, my upcoming marathon was in the bag.
More networking coffee chats than dates — how I’m making the most of my LinkedIn premium free trial
September has always felt like a time for new beginnings. Even now that I’m out of school (ouch), the new academic year still feels like more of a fresh start than January 1st. Whilst my dating life has been slowing to a halt with the end of Summer, my calendar is absolutely packed with coffee chats and calls as I ask everyone and their mothers for professional advice. I have previously written about the similarities between job hunting and dating and my expertise on both, but I’m starting to think that I’ve tipped the scales. I no longer have as many juicy stories as I did when I made every Thursday a date night (my friend May,4 who is an expert on the topic and an inspiration to single girls everywhere, considers it the optimal calendar slot for a first date), but I’m willing to take the hit if it helps me secure a job.
Julia’s September Recommendations - To Read, To Watch and To Eat
To Read - The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab
This has been a month devoid of big brain reading, and instead I’ve been prioritising fun. With all the downtime we had over the GP weekend, I spent a lot of time going through the old titles in my Kindle and fell right back into my high school obsession with her Shades of Magic series. After I finished the re-read, I figured I’d see what had come out since, and Addie LaRue was the perfect blend of romance and mystery to accompany me into the spooky season.
To Watch - The Girlfriend on Prime Video
I visited my brother this month, and we watched this over the weekend. Along with Saltburn and The Summer I Turned Pretty, it had me thinking about the things I’d do for real estate. Was it the best thing I’ve ever watched? Probably not. Was it extremely bingleable and improved on by my commentary? Definitely.
To Eat - Alison Roman’s Pumpkin Maple Muffins
I’ve recommended these in the past, but they really shine once the temperature starts to dip. The perfect amount of spiced and super moist, thanks to the pumpkin, I predict that these will become their very own food group for me in the coming months. I recommend dusting with demerara sugar before baking for added crunch.
Honourable Mentions and Other Things Bringing Me Joy
Celebrity Substitute - The internet and celebrities being used for good, a rare occurrence. Kids having no filter is worth burning my retinas for. I am listening to the re-record of Leave Me Alone from the Renée Rapp episode unironically
Making vlogs for yourself (aka bringing back the home video) - I was too young to be an OG YouTuber and too ashamed to dance on TikTok in 2020 (one of my many regrets, along with not publishing fanfiction on Wattpad as a teenager, I could have an Amazon Prime contract and be retired by now) but as I get acquainted with my insomnia, I’m finding new things to do in the wee hours of the night (morning?) and that includes going through the videos on my phone. Everything from videos interviewing my family and making jam in the early days of the pandemic to shaky cam footage after a night out, drunkenly telling my friends I love them. I can spend hours watching these back.
These fugly Bloch booties - former dancers, I’m about to unlock a memory. I pull these fugly boots out the second it starts getting cold, and they are the best thing to wear around the house, a duvet for your feet. I think Repetto also makes nice ones, but Bloch was the OG (back in my days, the cool girls wore booties and trash-bag shorts). There are some less offensive colours, but mine are hi-vis orange. A conversation starter for sure (my postman has started staring).
A list of things you like about yourself - therapy homework that I told all of my friends to do. Can be deep (I’m a good friend, I can be vulnerable), or dumb (I buy the best pens), just fill the page and feel a little bit better about yourself in the process.
Ice Cream. Specifically at The Dreamery. The Blueberry and Salted Ricotta flavour is everything to me, and the last time I went, they had Malted Milk, which was also incredible.
My favourite reads on Substack this month: this Colleen Hoover deep dive by Elle had me cackling in public, Feifei’s piece on The Art of Kissing was absolutely beautiful and Liberation via Bob by Madison Huizinga has me itching to chop all of my hair off.
Running a million laps around Regent’s Park and taking a thousand pictures of the autumn foliage.
What I Wrote This Month
As applications for most grad schemes have opened this month, I have spent more time than I would like writing Cover Letters. I did, however, come up with a list of tough but essential life lessons I learned from Claire (you can always count on the French to humble you), and questioned my extrovert identity after dissociating at one too many nights out.
AKA the blunt Parisian
A former IKEA store turned venue
a feeble and unsuccessful attempt, my feet were torn up for days (even though I thought after four years my docs were perfectly broken in, that should tell you how hard I went)
name has been changed
need to try those muffins baddddd
Thank you for the shoutout <3 I’m sooo making those pumpkin maple muffins this week