Hi, my name is Tomomi.

I listened to an interview with Tsunehiro Uno about his latest book, and he talked about the texture of one’s connection to society, as something in desparate need of nuance in today’s world of social media-fueled identity politics. The word he used was tezawari, which literally means “hand feel”.

The phrase brings a subjectivity to the idea of connection — a tactile quality requires a body to make contact with it — that made me try to put words as to why I’ve been enjoying my recent time in public spaces so much. (It’s not just because there are less people, which is the typical reason that Parisians give!)

In the past week, I had a drink along Paris Plages, caught a(nother) film at Cinema en plein air and walked among sunbathers at Parc des Buttes-Chaumont. The first two are summer programming from the city of Paris, the latter is a public park with lots of grassy areas for people to sit on.

All of these sites are free of charge. All bodies are welcome and you don’t need to be a certain type to feel “in”. There are some rules and expectations to maintain harmony, and little visible policing. Just by virtue of their presence, each person has a right to be there and to enjoy it. These qualities culminate in a certain sense of acceptance and belonging — a connection to the larger whole that the world online cannot offer.

I think a big part of building a life in a city is about allowing your body to be in rhythm with this kind of public life. To participate, as I mentioned last week, and feel the texture of living among other people.

Partially? related: spending so much time reading books is turning my annoyance at the proliferation of AI stink on LinkedIn and certain parts of Substack and YouTube into revulsion. I’m simply observing this for now, not forcing any changes or experiments, but wondering about the implications of diverging levels of sensitivity…

It’s not August yet but summer is in the air, and I don’t mean just the weather or the forest fires that are ravaging many locations in France.

I went to Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” at the Grand Rex (70mm film!), the final stage of the Tour de France in Montmartre, and an open-air showing of Princess Mononoke at Parc de la Villette. You see these long queues and worry about overflow but somehow it works out. It’s like the city just absorbs them.

With certain friends we’ve replaced restaurants for long walks as much as possible. It makes for a great combination of meandering conversations, people watching and environment watching. Last week I went to Bois de Boulogne, where the sun has turned the lower shrubbery into crisp, and this week I walked up and down Canal Saint Martin, where people were swimming even though we were between heat waves.

I went through a wide range of books, choosing reading instead of exercise every day—a dilemma that I haven’t been able to sort out yet. I would never regret reading but there is some chagrin, because there’s another heat wave coming next week.

But what wonderfully eclectic reading! It’s starting to dawn on me that the more I read, the more there is to read. Books points me towards other books. Conversations about books and Booktube spark fresh recommendations. And whenever I enjoy an author, I gleefully pick up another of their books.

I made two updates to this website:

• Finally published the trip report for hiking in Picos de Europa last fall. It’s hard to believe I’ve diligently published these reports for more than a decade. Pretty cool to imagine what the collection might look like over several decades.
• Added a “soundtrack” section to these Weeknotes. It happens to be a literal soundtrack this week but the idea is to capture a memorable song from the week, as a bit of texture. Will see how often I’m able to use it.

I got back to Paris mid-week after a stopover in Toulouse to catch up with a friend. I’m glad to be home, and the thought of a few quiet weeks here, on the wings of what was a stimulating stay in the Ariège, makes me happy. Between the near-daily cycling expeditions and small-town socializing, there had been several “firsts” that I said yes to when the opportunity arose. I’ve brought some of that momentum home: I’ve ordered a few (more) books about the region, written down recipes I want to try, and already did some cycling and yoga to continue the athletic kick.

I made some upgrades to this site, which I’ve come to enjoy the last few months in a hobby kind of mood, like tinkering with a car. The Fitness section is a bit more visual and motivating now, and the Book section is a bit more robust with caching and catching API failures.

I started building a private journal webapp that would hook up with iA Writer (for editing), but abandoned the webapp part after half a day in favor of using just iA Writer itself. Let’s see how it goes…

I’ve had a very nice week, despite the heat, which basically prohibits any serious outdoor activity between 11am-8pm. I even sent a Postcard, which always feels good!

• Cheered on a stage of the Tour de France in Foix. I had a big swag haul from the caravans, thanks to strategic positioning from a friend in the know. Lots of hats and not one but two LeClerc t-shirts, which shall be my pajamas for the next few years. I look forward to catching the final stage in Paris in a few weeks, too.

• Enjoyed a few lunches and dinners with a neighbor, who cooked civet de singulier (wild boar stew) and braised trout, hunted and fished by his friends in the area. Super delicious.

• Visited the Cave of Niaux, where you can go deep into the cave to see prehistoric signs and drawings of animals before the Ice Age. Our guide sang a song in the pitch black so we could experience the reverberations, which is likely the reason so much of the art is here. Some of the drawings incorporated rock formations into their shape, so it looks like the animals are moving as the fire flickers (or flashlight, in our case). It’s quite extraordinary. And cold, too, at 12 degrees. I had to borrow a jacket!

• Went on bicycle rides almost every day, each about 2hrs in the early morning or late evenings, on roads that are known to me from previous trips. Choosing consistency and pleasure over bigger adventures…

A highly satisfactory week, with a reprieve from the heat (thank goodness) and Oriana in town to run “Patterns of Trust” workshops from the Emotions at Work repertoire. Major kudos to our client contact for creating and protecting the breathing space in their organization for a topic like this — I don’t take it lightly, and felt both joyful and relieved that all of the participants seemed to get a lot out of our time together. They were present in the moment, and the quality of listening, thinking and connecting that happened in the room felt really good.

Outside of the workshops, it was also fun to enjoy the city with Oriana. We organically had lots of walking meetings as we dipped into cafes, bars and parks. As usual when we have this kind of spaciousness, there were breakthroughs in what we’re prioritizing and how we make decisions. I hope we find more in-person work in Paris, so that she can visit again!

On the weekend, I took the train down to Toulouse, then further south to the town of Tarascon-sur-Ariège in the French Pyrenees. This is my favorite place in France to work / cycle / rest. Even though we’re in for another two weeks of heat wave, I’m looking forward to a change of pace.

This week in France and across Western Europe was all about the heat wave. It dominated the news and our conversations, with enthused sharing of news, tips, and commiseration, against the backdrop of a slow acceptance that this is the new reality for summertimes.

I stayed home as much as possible, keeping calm and reading as attention allowed. A friend mentioned that it was not unlike the lockdown. We are privileged, then and now, to be in a position where that comparison is not an entirely negative one.

After a big thunderstorm on Saturday night, and we woke up Sunday to a blissfully cool breeze.

I had the first of what I hope will be many years of regular group calls with four other Gestalt practitioners. The intent is to continue practicing together, providing support and accountability, and the way I see it, to become part of each other’s lives. We will meet online every three weeks, with a shared desire to gather in-person at times, too. Such self-organized peer configurations have become critical pieces of social infrastructure for me since 2020, when I deepened my commitment to learning as a social practice. I look forward to nurturing this one, and being part of what unfolds.

Weeknote title is from the Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, as quoted in Tara Brach’s book, reminding us to make ourselves available to whatever life is offering us in each moment.

It’s been a rough week, physically, as I battle jetlag, a heatwave and tree pollen allergy. The heatwave will continue next week, so I’ve changed the duvet and dug out the fan, ice cube makers, ice pillow etc. The pollen is a huge energy suck - it makes me feel dazed and weak - so I’ll be more conscientious next week with meds, the air purifier and changing from outside clothes. Time to get pro-active.

Nevertheless, it’s been super nice to be home and back in Paris. My highlight was the Hilma af Klint show at the Grand Palais, titled “Paintings for the Temple (1906-1915)”.

I’ve been captivated by her life story and the “discovery” of her work in recent decades, and even read the excellent Julia Voss biography last year with faith that I would have a chance to see her work live one day! And as is the beauty of living in Paris, I encountered exhibition posters at the metro station on Monday and promptly booked a ticket for the next day.

On the way home, I picked up another book, also by Voss, which draws the parallels between af Klint and Kandinsky.

Started a book club on Fritjof Capra’s The Systems View of Life, with a friend who’s gone through Capra’s course on the book. Looking forward to spending a few weeks with it.

I added a new Fitness section to Weeknotes, below Books, as part of developing new routines for my health. It’s time for new perspectives and behaviors that are aligned with my travel and being a body in its fourth decade on this planet. I’m tired of feeling so easily weakened, and feel it’s critical to start improving my baselines while it’s still relatively easy to do so.

I’m curious what’ll happen when I start putting my attention toward this domain. The “reading books” piece has deep-enough roots now that I think I can let it be, and direct my attention to new topics. That’s my hypothesis, anyway. Let’s see!

I started the week by co-hosting a small event at the AQ Studio with my friend Michael. We ran a light version of his game, “Cowtopia”, for a fun mix of his network and mine. I always enjoy running small events in a familiar setting, introducing something light-hearted and useful to peers after work. Glad that we were able to pull this off!

Then, the AQ team had our summer retreat on Enoshima (photos below). The last time I’d been on the island was 2007 - I dug through my old Flickr account to find evidence - and it was a blast to stay overnight. We were super lucky with the weather, and thanks to excellent planning on the part of a colleague, we enjoyed many delights that the island has to offer, and more.

After nourishing time with family, I flew out Saturday night to get back home. It’s been a full five weeks away and I’m glad to be back.

Monday: Movie night with French and Singapore friends. I was initiated to La Cité de la peur.

Tuesday: Relaxed work day from Yatsugatake

Wednesday: Sent out a Postcard (yay!) and travelled back to Tokyo. Pretty tough, with a cancelled train due to typhoon, and a delayed train because it hit a deer…

Thursday: Normal work day, with a nap and 10pm call.

Friday: Another normal work day, then drinks with friends.

Saturday: Left Tokyo at 6:30 in the morning to spend the weekend with a friend who had moved outside of Kyoto. I got to explore the new neighborhood, and then we drove up the coast to Tsuruga.

Sunday: Continued the drive up Echizen to Kanazawa, including a stop in Sabae, and hopped on the shinkansen home.

I wanted to do all these things but it was a bit fragmented, and in hindsight, too much logistics to enjoy properly.

As planned, I retreated to the AQ Cabin after 10 days of non-stop activity in Singapore, to rest and read, while catching up on work and life admin. My hiking ambitions for the Yatsugatake Range will have to wait until next year - right now, it’s more the mood of hammocks, fireplaces and long walks.

Japanese bush warblers (uguisu) and woodpeckers (kitsutsuki) fly through our front yard, visiting the fruit tree saplings we planted this spring. It’s delightful to see them flitting about, to be able to put a “face” to the sounds.

So grateful for the downtime.