I'm Starting Something New
And there's a twist
Namaste, friends.
I wanted to share something that came up yesterday that has me realize I should have already addressed this with all of my readers.
(Don’t worry, it has nothing to do with politics or the war.)
A paid subscriber just renewed for another year — which is something I’m always deeply grateful for.
Afterwards, she wrote to me and said how much she’s enjoying With Gusto… but that she wished I was writing more often.
As I said to her…
Here’s the kicker:
I’m actually writing more than ever.
But many of those pieces are being shared as “Notes,” which only post inside the Substack app — similar to other Social Media scrolling feeds.
So if you don’t have the Substack app, you’re not seeing everything I’m sharing.
Which is leading some to believe that I’ve been rather quiet.
When in reality — I’m writing and sharing damn near daily.
So…
Because I know many people aren’t interested in adding another app to their phone — I’m going to begin something new.
Starting today, every two weeks, I’ll be sending out an email with a collection of the most popular Notes I’ve shared during that stretch.
Think of it as a bi-weekly roundup of my Notes and journal entries.
The quicker, shorter stories + my street photography shots that don’t exactly grow into a full, long-form Postcard.
For those of you who do use the Substack app, this will be an opportunity for you to see what you might have missed… as well as receive a little extra twist.
Because I’ll also be tossing in a few extra surprises to the “Notes & Nuggets” email — maybe it’s a favorite song I’ve picked up from my travels, or a candid street photography shot from the archives. Or it might be a video snippet or two of everyone’s favorite Goose the Moose.
Whatever it is, it’ll be something that hasn’t been shared anywhere else.
Notes & Nuggets won’t be anything extra fancy.
But it will be the way for you to stay more connected to where I am and what I’m doing in between the longer Postcard pieces.
By the same token, I also wanna acknowledge this: I recently surpassed the 1,000 subscriber mark.
And a lot of these Notes — and the conversations happening within them — are partly responsible for that spike.
Slowly but surely, With Gusto is expanding into a community of thoughtful, like-minded people from all around the world.
Which is something I’m truly, truly proud of.
And also something I’d hate for any of my readers without the app to be missing out on…
So now, you won’t have to be...
THIS WEEK’S MOST POPULAR NOTES:
My Video Call With 2 Friends At War
The Day One of My Best Friends Overdosed
The Nigerian Neighbor Who Busted My Bubble
Double Fisted At The Polls
This Week’s Nugget:
Mentioned in one of the Notes above, this past week marked the six year anniversary of losing one of my best friends, Jeremy.
Because his service was the week after Covid had shut down the world, I wasn’t able to be there.
Consequently, Jermey’s mom held a Zoom call where friends and family across the US sat together and shared a moment of silence.
Afterwards, she played this song. When you have the time and space, I urge you to listen to it. I promise it will be seven of the most beautiful minutes of your week.
With Gusto,
Adrian


Brilliant idea, Adrian! 🥰
Wonderful idea and thank you for sharing the song that was played for Jermey.
I am downloading the video and will play it in honor of him tonight when I go to watch the sunset from the Mayan pyramid near the place Im staying. 🪷