It's nary a year since "A Tale of Two Kitties"; she's not going to leave us in the pandemic, right?!?!
Author Rebekah Shafer's ramble-style podcast about expectations got off to a strong start. Cover art, check. Theme music, nice. A professional sound editor, whoa. She even has a commercial break!
Her voice is fun to listen to as well. My favorite episode is "Walk." I get a Martha Generic meets Lois Griffin vibe, minus the whininess. Which is good because Shafer's just as adept at going to deep places like in "Your Adult-Life Persona.” I believe her earnesty and honesty.
"...I jump in, I start the project, and then there's a certain point where suddenly the project looks awful and I lose all confidence in the project..." What frustrates me about the podcast is that Shafer, more or less, foretells the end it—not that it has to end at episode 12, of course. Still, when she pointed out the lapse between episodes 4 and 5, I started to notice flaws.
Flaws like: Not talking about the process of homeownership. Or, restated, her emphasis on inner home management over outer home management. I connected with the embarrassing anecdote about mowing her lawn more than the entire “Closets and Clutter” episode. That Shafer owns a house and is not renting or sharing a living space with someone is huge. I hope she’ll share more of that story and encourage those of us who are single and don’t think it’s possible.
Flaws like: She might spend a little time organizing her thoughts, just a tiny bit. I mentioned it’s a ramble-style podcast; having an outline would spoil that. I know. But “Closets and Clutter” and “DIY Wedding Do Nots” were on the long side. Those episodes had more noticeable cuts in the audio than others because even Shafer’s editor might have thought she’d gotten off topic a little too much. I’ll say this then move on. When you start to feel a lack of confidence in what you’re creating, you might need to lessen the frequency of time you spend on the project so you can get perspective. Said another way, call these first 12 episodes season 1, rest, then come back, record 12 more episodes, and call that season 2. Rinse and repeat; it’s alright to organize a rambling mind a little bit.
In conclusion, at least follow up and get us out of 2020, Shafer. Please! Otherwise, this is a great little podcast on expectations recorded at a momentous time in history that’s not just interested in writing advice or cute kitty stories or a thirty-something female’s mental health but, her whole grown-up experience.
