I've finally achieved my lifelong dream of owning a postal scale

Since everyone is—reasonably, correctly!—talking about the post office right now (and buying lots of stamps), it seems like a good time to mention a recentish purchase of mine that has been very wonderful: my USPS postal scale.

I have wanted a postal scale basically since I’ve known what they are, but have never had a super compelling reason to get one. But a couple months ago — wanting/needing to send small packages but not willing to go inside a closet-sized UPS store to do so — I decided to buy one. And let me tell you, it’s been worth its weight in gold.

Basically, a postal scale allows you to precisely calculate the weight of a package, so you can then create a shipping label from home. (This postal scale can connect to your computer/the USPS website via USB, but that feature only works with PCs. Fortunately, that’s not actually necessary — you can simply type the weight in on the USPS website when you’re preparing the label.)

It’s been really helpful to have the scale in a few instances where I’ve needed to make a return and the company doesn’t cover return shipping/provide a label; without it, I would be sort of screwed. It also allows the possibility of sending out care packages and gifts!

To make the postal scale work, you’ll also need access to a printer for the labels you’re creating, which I feel like might actually be the higher barrier to entry…but I got a printer this summer too, and can say that having both in my home has made me feel very powerful! Not having a working printer is a hassle fairly regularly, so having one has been a true relief, and made it easier to stay at home/inside.

Buy it from USPS for $35.99. 📫

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Just Good Shit: 08.09.20

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

On Friday, I celebrated my 35th birthday with a beach-themed quarantine “party” my gf planned (and that is still ongoing)! Here’s what else I was up to this week…

Writing

• An Actually Useful Guide to Not Being On Your Phone All the Time

My shit, elsewhere

Here’s an interview I did with TODAY.com: How to master 'The Art of Showing Up' during a pandemic.

Reading

The Soft Butch That Couldn’t (Or: I Got COVID-19 in March and Never Got Better), Autostraddle.
If you read one thing this week, make it this.

Covid Is Horrible — So Is Worrying You’ve Infected Someone, NY Mag.

Scrapbooking As an Act of “Radical Self-Care”, The New York Times.
I used to be an avid scrapbooker, so I extra loved this.

I Scream. You Scream. The Meltdown At The Museum Of Ice Cream, Forbes.

I Toured A $43 Million Home With The Guy Who Made “Selling Sunset”, BuzzFeed News.

#1281: “Every conversation with my mom is an interrogation of my life choices.”, Captain Awkward.

Pattern for a homemade mask with a clear panel (to make lip reading possible).

This Is the Romantic Gesture of Quarantine, The Cut.

Eating

I recently bought a HUGE bag of lavender and have been making some old faves: lavender tahini toast and homemade cold brew with lavender simple syrup + sweet cream creamer.

Wearing

For the past couple of weeks, I have been living in my new tie-dye sweatpants ($28, runs big — I got a large) and matching sweatshirt ($28, runs true to size). I also bought bike shorts ($13 from Amazon) after seeing them in Hitha’s newsletter, and they are really soft and summer cozy.

Have a good night! 🧁

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Just Good Shit: 08.02.20

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

Hello again! This one is coming to you a bit late tonight because I was washing my hair.

Here’s what else I had going on this week…

Writing

• When You're Having a Rough Time, Let Friends Share Your Bad News for You

Reading

Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation, The New York Times.

Hygiene Theater Is a Huge Waste of Time, The Atlantic.

How Jared Kushner’s Secret Testing Plan “Went Poof Into Thin Air”, Vanity Fair.

I Went to Disney World, The Atlantic.

Does Taylor Swift Have to Be Queer for “folklore” to be a Lesbian Album?, Bitch.

‘My Boyfriend’s Roommate Is Asking Me for Rent Money’, The Cut.

Meet The Artist Behind Gigi Hadid’s Colorful Pasta Cabinets, Refinery29.
I lost my grip on reality reading this article!!

Watching

The Gigi Hadid apartment article above led to my watching a ton of Architectural Digest celeb home tour videos, which I highly recommend! My favorite was Cara Delevingne’s; other homes were so bad, we couldn’t even finish them. Honestly…perfect.

Have a good night! 🧖🏽‍♀️

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Just Good Shit: 07.26.20

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

Hello! Here’s what I was doing this week when I wasn’t listening to “betty” and “exile” on repeat.

Writing

I published A Beginner's Guide for 'Straight' Women Who Want to Act on Queer Feelings, which I started working on back in January (and then paused because of the pandemic), and am very excited to have out in the world!

My shit, elsewhere

I was on two podcasts this week: The Struggle Bus, talking to my friend Sally about reality TV, weddings, and boundaries, and Girl Gaze, talking about my career path.

Reading

There Is So Much More Than the Nuclear Family, Even Now, The Atlantic.

Getting Done Up When You’re Coming Undone, Ssense.

“This is a thread of fun times I had while enforcing the new company policy of required masks at the grocery store I work at.”

In 2000, ‘Cribs’ became a phenomenon. 20 years later, we’re all living in an accidental reboot., Washington Post.

God, I Miss Eavesdropping, The Cut.

Does Dunkin’ Donuts Really Keep Ben Affleck’s Coffee Order on File?, Vulture.

Another Dull Quarantine Weekend at Home, Target, Chipotle, Home Depot, and Our Niece’s Graduation Party, McSweeney’s.

Eating

These meatballs, which were great. And this year’s batch of my beloved McLeod Farm's peaches, which are as special as ever. (I think Chuck agrees.)

Have a good Sunday! ✨

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Just Good Shit: 07.19.20

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

Hi, friends! Here’s some stuff from my week…

Writing

• Here’s Precisely How to Talk to Your Friends Before a No-Mask Hangout

Reading

A Teenager Didn’t Do Her Online Schoolwork. So a Judge Sent Her to Juvenile Detention., ProPublica.

Seeing ‘Black Lives Matter’ Written in Chalk, One City Declares It a Crime, New York Times.

I’m a Bartender Who Had COVID-19. My Restaurant’s Owner Warned Me Not to Talk., Grub Street.

What Naya Rivera’s Glee ‘Songbird’ Performance Meant, Vulture.

The Surprisingly Innovative Design of New York’s Streateries, Curbed.

My coworker told me to stop flirting with a student employee, Ask a Manager.

Eating

Marinated tomatoes on BLTs — so, so good; Annie’s pancakes, which I highly recommend; and beef stew, even though it’s July.

Have a good Sunday! 🦀

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Just Good Shit: 07.12.20

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

Hello again! Here’s what I’ve been up to…

My shit, elsewhere

This week, Autostraddle ran an excerpt from The Art of Showing Up! This one is about actually accepting help when you need it.

Reading

A Better Fall Is Possible, The Atlantic.

'She just started blooming': the trans kids helped by a pioneering project, The Guardian.

How the NBA picked the barbers for the bubble, ESPN.

The TikTok Algorithm Knew I Was Bisexual Before I Did, Man Repeller.

Netflix's "The Baby-Sitters Club" Invites You to Say Hello to Your Friends All Over Again, Autostraddle.

Goodbye Pier 1, the Imperialist Fantasia Rendered in Wicker, Jezebel.

Tiffany D. Jackson's cheery thread about…Times Square.

Tough-Guy Things I Can Do Because I Don’t Wear a Face Mask, The New Yorker.

Watching

Palm Springs, Mucho Mucho Amor, and The Baby-Sitters’ Club!

Have a good Sunday night! ☀️

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Just Good Shit: 07.05.20

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

Hi! Here’s what I had going on this week…

Writing

• How to Be Supportive When a Friend Comes Out to You

Reading

Just Because You Can Doesn’t Mean You Should, The Atlantic.

When You Are Paid 13 Hours for a 24-Hour Shift, The New York Times.

Why the term “BIPOC” is so complicated, explained by linguists, Vox.

How Mount Rushmore Became Mount Rushmore, The New York Times.

On Instagram, Ban.do Looked Like A Millennial Woman’s Paradise. In Reality, Employees Say They Were Miserable., BuzzFeed News.

Cult Classic “But I’m A Cheerleader” Championed Femme Lesbianism, BuzzFeed News.

Reading Anti-Racist Nonfiction Is a Start. But Don’t Underestimate the Power of Black Fiction, Time.

Why Cubbyhole Is the One New York Bar I Always Return To, Condé Nast Traveler.

Other shit

Yesterday, my girlfriend and I had a lovely at-home “beach” day. We wore our bathing suits and other beach clothes; lay on towels; read 28 Summers (not my fave Elin book, but still a very beachy beach read); made painkillers and grilled burgers; and listened to ocean waves (surprisingly effective) from one phone and Carly Rae Jepsen bops from the other. It was really mellow and dreamy, and I highly recommend something like this to anyone who needs something to look forward to/is a bit bored/misses summer fun.

Have a good Sunday night! 👙

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Just Good Shit: 06.28.20

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

Hello and happy Pride! If you’re looking for some good gay shit (which: who isn’t???), consider this reading list. Otherwise, here’s some other stuff from my week…

Writing

• The Best Tiny DIY Pride Floats Made by Our Readers

I also edited a few things: The Queer Haircuts of Quarantine; How Tumblr's 'Am I a Lesbian?' Google Doc Became Internet Canon; and How to Make More LGBTQ Friends. And my friend Gyan interviewed me for a Man Repeller article.

Reading

You Want a Confederate Monument? My Body Is a Confederate Monument, The New York Times.

My Family Saw a Police Car Hit a Kid on Halloween. Then I Learned How NYPD Impunity Works., ProPublica.

Want to wax eyebrows in Pennsylvania? You have to be a good person. This 'oppressive' law says so., NBC News.
This is outrageous.

How the Virus Won, The New York Times.

North Texas family shaken after 18 relatives test positive for COVID-19 following surprise birthday party, WFAA.

A Love Letter to My Mailman, and the Incomparable Camaraderie Between Black Strangers, Man Repeller.

Eating

This week, we had slow-roast gochujang chicken for the second time — it’s really good. And this slow cooker chipotle-honey chicken is amazing and so easy; I think it’s going to become a lunch staple.

Have a good Sunday! 🏳️‍🌈

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Just Good Shit: 06.21.20

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

Hello! Here’s what I had going on this week…

My shit, elsewhere

I had a great conversation with Brittany Luse about The Art of Showing Up on Friday night via Politics and Prose and Girls’ Night In; if you’re interested, you can watch the whole event here. I also talked to Amy Robach for an ABC News segment on Thursday.

Also, I’ll be dropping by the Balanced Black Girl virtual book club on Monday, June 29; you can RSVP here.

Reading

Finding Black Joy in Times of Crisis, The Root.

The Nutcracker Hustle: Why Selling Bootleg Cocktails Just Got Harder, The New York Times.

New Yorkers Flattened the Curve. Now They’re Dropping Their Guard., The New York Times.

Dear Fuck-Up: My Close Friend Is Being Radicalized On the Internet and I Don’t Know What to Do, Jezebel.
This is so good.

Watching

I regret to inform you that I binged all but two episodes of Selling Sunset on Netflix this weekend. It’s SO bad and yet it’s…all I can think about?

Have a good Sunday! ☀️

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Just Good Shit: 06.14.20

Image: Kiyana Salkeld / Just Good Shit

Hi! Just a quick one for you tonight…

Writing

• 11 Tiny Pride Floats to Help You Celebrate This Year

I also edited How to Celebrate Pride Quietly When You Aren't Totally Out.

My shit, elsewhere

I was a guest on Radio Times last week, talking about the pandemic, Black Lives Matter, and setting boundaries.

Also, reminder that I’m doing a virtual book event with Politics & Prose and Girls’ Night In this Friday night! Brittany Luse will be leading it.

Reading

Yes, We Mean Literally Abolish the Police, The New York Times.

Bon Appétit's editor in chief just resigned — but staffers of color say there's a 'toxic' culture of microaggressions and exclusion that runs far deeper than one man, Business Insider.

“This is how I, a 45-year-old white woman and mother of 6, currently at her peak Karen power, went from assuming police work was a necessary part of functional communities, to becoming a passionate advocate for #abolishthepolice #defundthepolice, over the course of one week.”

An Interview With the Man Who Told the LAPD, 'Suck My Dick and Choke On it, I Yield My Time, Fuck You', Jezebel.

Have a good night! ✨

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