Medium Short: Moving Day

A Montreal Tradition where we all move at once!

Sign suspended between chairs to block parking space for the mover (“Move Friday morning, thank you!”) Montreal moves house on the weekend of July 1. It makes no logistical sense to put so much pressure on the moving infrastructure on the same day but that’s what happens. It’s a thing here. (Photo by me.)

Welcome to the latest Medium Short, a weekly accountability practice highlighting what I’m up to along the unmarked trail towards #IndustrialHealing. Reminder: all my Medium articles are linked for free here.

It’s moving day today. And I woke up to my first paid subscriber in the Matereal World! Life is good.

Hang on — let me unpack that a bit. Thank you for bearing with my cognitive struggle today as it’s been an intense few days.

Moving house is hard (and awesome with great help)

I moved house today. The movers have been and gone (world class team, ASAP Déménagement et Transport if you know anyone looking in the area). Moving in Montreal is like a bloodsport, and it happens once a year around the Canada Day weekend. It’s strange, but mine is not to wonder why.

Thankfully, for the big push over last three days the amazing Meredith (aka MerMer) has been here to help out. The schlepping has been fun, even if my body feels similarly to when I’ve run ultramarathons. Joni loves MerMer too so it’s been as good at it gets really.

No more pro bono work for billionaires

I turned on the paywall for the Matereal World. This feels like a big deal to me, and also sort of like a no-brainer.

I know the corporate sustainability and ESG terrain well so I’m shifting from a mode of giving everything away, towards getting very specific about what I share for free and why.

My main impetus is to create strong content that informs the shift to an economy in service of life. I’ll adapt as necessary to do that, fee structure and all.

Boxes

I have a long way to go to get resettled here, to help Joni feel at home, and to make good on this new spot that is worm-composter friendly, that doesn’t fill with smoke and drier chemicals every time I open a window, that is close to friends and a little closer to the fresh foods I like to buy.