I read a magazine for the first time in over a decade today.

I went to get some lunch at Atlas, and as I walked out of my home, grabbed my Kindle and saw the dreaded out-of-battery sign. I knew browsing my phone for a good thirty minutes while waiting would mean I’d have to be conservative with it the rest of the day. I decided to be brave and try it anyway.

I checked in to Atlas on foursquare, noting the tips about them having a wide selection of magazines, while ordering a Yam sandwich (did I mention how great foursquare is at making me order things I wouldn’t normally?). I sat down, reached for my phone, scanned the cafe for magazines, walked over to the rack, and picked something hurriedly, because I felt judging eyes behind me. It had Pharrell on the cover. He’s a cool dude.

I sat back down at my table, flipped through 15 pages or so of zombie Gucci models, instantly regretting my decision. Then I stumbled across an article on four black actors being in the run for the Oscars. Impressed, I carried on, thinking how much the fluidity and looseness of a magazine beats the tablet, phone or Mac I normally stutter-scroll through with a finger. No battery going to waste either!

I went through a few other articles on all sorts of random topics that I’d never have discovered in my carefully curated, tunnel vision of a Twitter feed or on Reddit, because I’ve never heard of Details magazine.

It was all a liberating experience!

Of course, I thought I should blog this, so I’m writing this all on my phone before I lose my inspiration, all the while, battery draining away.

The Yam sandwich still hasn’t arrived.