An exciting Sunday for Aparna Nancherla is a Sunday without much excitement. “My cortisol goes up without anything happening, so I'm trying to get it down,” he says.
De-stressing was part of the reason the comedian returned to Los Angeles in 2023, after more than a decade in New York City, where she wrote for “Late Night With Seth Meyers” and “Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell,” appeared on TV series like “Search Party” and polished her stand-up career.
In Sunday Funday, the people of Los Angeles tell us step by step their ideal Sunday in the city. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
“I'm a bit of a hermit and I just wanted more trees and a little more space,” Nancherla says.
Nancherla's book of essays, “Unreliable Narrator: Me, Myself, and Imposter Syndrome” was also published in 2023. In it, he examined his emotionally fraught relationship with stand-up. After a break, he recently put his low-key approach back into practice and his new special, “Hopeful Potato,” is available on the comedy streaming service Dropout starting December 15.
He likes to spend his Sundays primarily participating in family routines, although he will seek out a bit of discovery in the city.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
10 am: early riser
I'd like to be someone who wakes up around 7-8am, but I probably wake up around 9-10am. I would wake up earlier, but I think in a past life I was a two-toed sloth or something because I'm nocturnal and move very slowly. It takes me a long time to get to a different state of being: sleeping to wake up, waking up to sleep. Pretty much any transition I'm bad with.
Being a stand-up doesn't help. Much of my work is oriented toward the night, but even before comedy, something about the night called to me. It's not necessarily the healthiest behavior, but so far I haven't been able to change my habits.
10:15 am: Morning rituals
I am someone who falls into doing rituals for a while, almost obsessively, until I replace them with different ones. Lately my ritual is that as soon as I get up, I brush my teeth and wash my face, put on a song, dance to it and do some stretches. I tend to suffer from depression and anxiety, so dancing is an easy way to get immediate endorphins and doesn't seem like as much of a demand as going for a run.
It's literally three minutes of a song and then I'll try to meditate. My mom recommended doing 20 minutes of meditation, but I feel like 10 is where I'm going to land. My attention span is so bad lately that I actually just close my eyes and compose emails I'll forget to send instead of tuning into some higher power.
11 am: Chasing waterfalls
I'm lucky because I live near three botanical gardens so I can really choose, but I got a membership to the arboretum because I like that they have peacocks.
They also have a giant waterfall. I'm trying to form a path where I'll eventually end up there. They have some really nice spots where you can relax near the waterfall, so I'll probably just be sitting around, maybe journaling, enjoying the atmosphere.
I don't know if there is a word for someone who is in love with waterfalls, but I really like them. Apparently there is between [the cable channel] The wide range of TLC offers, a show where people are in love with inanimate objects, like cars and bridges, and want a romantic and sexual relationship with these things. I just want to say that this is not how I approach a waterfall, but I care deeply about it as a friend.
1:00 p.m.: Aspiring regulars
I really like it Lemon Poppy Cuisine in Glassell Park. Every time I've been there I've seen the same people, so I don't know how many times it takes you to become a regular, but I guess I'm a wannabe regular there. They have a scrambled egg that I really like. It's not crazy, it's a Cali revolt. They also have some Eastern European stuff. They have a kind of polenta dish with eggs. Take a little sauerkraut. I like what they are doing with the brunch management.
3 p.m.: Reading is essential
I'm a big book person. There are so many independent bookstores that I want to mention. I really like it Figueroa Norte Bookstore in Highland Park. They have a lot of independent printers.
I love Sierra Madre. It is a very walkable neighborhood. They have a bookstore called Fables and fantasies. They have a tree inside, who doesn't like that?
There is also one called DYM and Boba Books in north Pasadena. The owner, Desiree [Sayarath]It's so sweet. It's not a huge bookstore, but it features a lot of authors of color and queer authors. Then they have a full coffee menu and you can add boba to pretty much anything. They have gulab jamun flavored matcha, which I have never seen anywhere else. Gulab jamun is this Indian dessert. It's like a rose water and cardamom flavor.
4:00 p.m.: Gifts for the unknown
I would love to go to a craft fair. There is one in Pasadena called Jackalope Art Fair That's there periodically. I already buy things that maybe I don't need, but I like a craft fair because you make eye contact with the maker while buying their stuff and it feels like you're getting extra dopamine from it.
The worst thing is that I think, “This will make a great gift for someone later.” I have gift bags for people and I don't know who these people are, but someday they will get a bag of buttons.
6 pm: Feeding time
At 6 I have to feed my cats. They are very strict when it comes to eating. They eat at 6 and 6. My partner feeds them at 6 in the morning, but I feed them at 6 in the afternoon.
They are sisters. They are 5 years old. They are quite demanding in general. They are quite explicit about what they want and when they need it.
6:30 p.m.: Fitness to combat depression
I've been doing a lot of workouts at home lately. I'll do some kickboxing or yoga Pilates. I tried to get into the gym and, I don't know, something about the gym environment really puts me off.
I'm not like a Peloton girl. I join some of their most avant-garde platforms. I don't think they consider themselves avant-garde, but there is an African dance platform called kukuwa These women in Africa started it and I love their workouts. Then there are free things. there is Move W.with nicolewhich is a Pilates account on YouTube that I do a lot. I'm looking for your smaller businesses.
As I got older, my mental health took a nosedive for a variety of reasons. I feel like exercise is one of the only things that helps regulate it to some degree, which I hate to say because when you say you're depressed, people say, “Just go for a walk.” And it's not that walking cures depression, but it does help you get some vitamin D or just say, “Oh yeah, I have these muscles, I should probably use them sometimes.”
7 p.m.: A new dish
I don't mind dining at home, but I feel like if I get the chance, it's always nice to eat at the restaurant. I discovered this vegan place in Highland Park that makes vegan sushi and it's pretty new called Izakaya Vegan Tane. I also wanted to visit this vegetarian place in Echo Park called Men and beasts which I keep hearing about.
I like to try a new place, but once it works for me, I'll probably visit it several times. If a restaurant clicks where the food is great, the service is great, the atmosphere is great, then I'll be happy to support them as much as possible.
9:00 p.m.: Setting off towards bed (eventually)
I'll come home and see something. I'm trying to scroll less on my phone, so maybe watch “The Great British Bake Off” or something that's not too taxing on the brain.
I usually make myself a big cup of ginger tea at night because my stomach has become more temperamental as I've gotten older, but what usually happens is I make a big cup of tea and then forget about it, and it kind of watches me while I scroll on my phone.
Every day I want to be in bed at 12:30, and then it ends up being 2am and I can't explain how it happened. I think I'm just a serial putter, in the sense that I play and don't know what I'm doing most of the time.
