In “Sunday Funday,” the people of Los Angeles share their ideal Sundays to help all of us refresh our weekends.
It’s understandable why Roxane Gay prefers to keep her Sundays relaxed.
The bicoastal bestselling author has a new book scheduled for next year. She is also a podcast host for “The Roxane Gay Agenda,” founder of the Audacious Book Club and its accompanying newsletter, an opinion contributor as a writer for various publications, and the Gloria Steinem Chair in Media, Culture, and Feminist Studies at the University of Rutgers, where he teaches writing. And even with all that on her plate, she still makes time to cheep to his almost 900,000 followers.
“Our lives are very busy, and we often have many late-night obligations on top of our full-time jobs,” says Gay, referring to her and her wife, Debbie Millman, an author, artist and host of the long-running podcast “Design Matters”, therefore, someone who also has a packed schedule.
“So Sunday is to relax and do what we want to do,” says Gay, who splits his time between Los Angeles and New York City. “Sometimes we plan ahead, but most Sundays are for not planning and just being a little spontaneous.”
Freeing up her Sunday schedule is a limit recently set by Gay, though she admits she usually still has some work to do, as it helps her “prepare for the week ahead and wind down from the week that just ended.”
As a native of Omaha, Neb., who has lived in Los Angeles for more than half a decade, Gay encourages New Angelenos to face the reality of what some may describe as headache-inducing traffic and not let it deter them. to explore the sprawling city.
“A lot of people limit where they go and how they spend their time and who they’ll spend their time with based on highways,” says Gay. “And I think because I’m from the Midwest, the distance and the amount of time it will take to get somewhere is not intimidating to me in any way. So I’m open to going anywhere for any reason, and I think it’s a great way to get closer to Los Angeles so you can have a better experience in this city.”
She adds, “There’s so much more beyond our neighborhoods, and I think it’s worth taking the time to explore despite the expected frustrations of traffic.”
Sundays are usually when Gay bounces around Los Angeles to try new experiences and revisit his favorite places. Here’s a rundown of how she’d spend her ideal Sunday. This breakdown has been edited for length and clarity.
10 a.m.
The first thing I do when I get up on a Sunday is read. I usually read on my Kindle for about an hour. Then I do crossword puzzles or play the New York Times spelling bee while lying in bed.
11am
I will then go to starbucks with my pup His name is Maximus Toretto Blueberry, which was inspired by Debbie’s favorite poem “Maximus, to himself” written by Charles Olson, and my favorite character from the “Fast and Furious” franchise, Dominic Toretto.
We’ll drive there and use the drive-thru to order a large nonfat latte for me and a large iced latte for Debbie. then we will pass Randy’s Donuts on the west side. I only get one thing there: Debbie gets a chocolate donut and I get the iced glazed donut.
2:00 p.m.
By now we are hungry, so we will go to salt cure in hollywood Sometimes we will invite friends. The restaurant has a very small menu and cannot be changed. You get what you get. Shut up and enjoy it, and not in a rude way, just more like that is the food we like to cook and eat the food while we prepare it. They have very good sausages and also grilled oatcakes. That’s what I love.
I’m not a big drinker. Sometimes I drink mimosas and they are good, but it is not my favorite drink. I prefer iced tea or Diet Pepsi.
3:30 pm
After brunch, I could go to one of my favorite bookstores in Los Angeles. I love to go. skylight books, book soup and the last bookstore. These are all great stores that are beautifully curated. They are also interesting physical spaces with wonderful staff.
4:30 pm
Afterward, I’ll stop at a museum or one of Los Angeles’ many great galleries. i really love Roberts Projects, which is on the west side of West Adams. I also like The width museum in downtown Los Angeles, Nino Mier Gallery, night gallery, Susana Vielmetter and others. They always have really interesting works and artists.
18:00
At night my wife and I are ready to hang out and relax. The television is usually on. I love “The Great British Baking Show” on Netflix. The contestants are always very sweet and the meals they prepare can be interesting. He is very British and very nice. I love baking because it is very precise and relaxing. It’s a way to have a focused task that isn’t quite consuming, but requires your attention nonetheless. I love baking bread, cookies, cupcakes, and cakes because I taught myself how to decorate cakes during the pandemic.
Then we’ll start thinking about what we’d like for dinner. An ideal Sunday meal for me would be roast chicken. I’ve been cooking a lot of dishes in skillets lately, which is fun because it’s like one skillet and go, or two skillets depending on what you’re making.
7:30 pm
I love going to the movies. Love IPIC Theaters in Westwood, even though it’s a long way from where I live. The seats are super comfortable and you can order drinks at your seat. It’s really nice, and the theater is small, so it’s very intimate, and it’s just a great atmosphere.
22:00
Once we get back home, I’ll spend time writing in my living room on the couch while I watch TV. I could spend between an hour and five or six hours writing, but it just depends on whether I have the creative ability je ne sais quoi — the type of inspiration and motivation. I will spend time writing what is furthest behind.
Debbie also likes to relax on Sundays, but she often uses that time to prepare for her podcast, Design Matters. If her guest has written a book that is about to be published, or will read her catalogue, she will start outlining the arc of the interview or do some of her artwork because she is an artist. it just depends
12:30 p.m.
I start to wind down around 12:30 or 1 am by reading or doing crossword puzzles for about an hour and a half. I usually go to sleep around 2:30 am.
On Mondays I teach, so I get up pretty early, usually around 8 am So if I need to finish getting ready for class, I make sure I have my plan and lecture ready. On Mondays, I have to start work.