week two
My first editor, Matt Weinberger, used to DM me memes on Slack all day. He continues to be my favorite person on this planet. This week, he told me I should write a “week two” (accompanied by a photo of J. Jonah Jameson from Spider-Man demanding my newsletter).
I’m writing from Lighthaven, an EA-adjacent event space tucked in a Berkeley neighborhood. This is actually my second time here—the first was for Vibe Gala, which is basically a big party for effective altruists. Most of you will never set foot in Lighthaven, so I’m thrilled to bring you along for the field trip.
I’m here for a small, scrappy conference called The Curve. When I rolled in with my suitcase (staying two nights), a sharply dressed man with a carry-on queued up behind me. I was too frazzled checking in to make small talk—a rare thing, since I love to strike up conversation with anyone who makes awkward eye contact with me. Turns out, the guy behind me was Yoshua Bengio. Yes, one of the three godfathers of AI.
The vibe here is cozy and odd: plush green couches, attendees trickling in, talks queued up on AI and democracy, the tech bubble, and inevitably, AGI.
As for week two of unemployment? Uneventful! I’m still drowning in unread texts and DMs, but otherwise it’s been coffee chats, drinks, and far too many hours of Stardew Valley. (If there’s a Nintendo Switch Anonymous, please point me in that direction). I panicked and asked a friend who was also laid off awhile ago if it was normal to sink this many hours into pixelated farming. She reassured me—she’d logged an ungodly amount of hours on Diablo during her time off.
Yesterday while journaling, I realized this newsletter has become a similar outlet: a place to put the weirdness of life somewhere. Being a 27-year-old unemployed gremlin in a big city isn’t a unique storyline. It’s basically the plot of Girls. The novelty will wear off soon, and I’ll return to writing about the strangeness of the AI bubble in San Francisco. For now, though, welcome to Lighthaven. The event, the founders, and all the gossip in between—coming soon.
