Forgive me, blogosphere, for I have sinned. It has been one year and one day since my last post here. So much has happened in that time. Politically, personally, and more. And as I age, time is moving faster, with more intensity (thank you, George Lucas). My daily group chat with two close friends continues to help me get through these strange times. Some highlights from this weird window:
August 2024: After our 19 year-old cat Olive died in May 2024, I didn’t think I’d be ready for feline family members for a while. But we wound up adopting an adorable bonded pair of cats. We renamed them from Gin & Juice to Gigi & Hajime and they have been settling in nicely. The orange boy prefers my son but the tuxedo girl regularly spoons with me.
September 2024: My son turned 25, I attended the Square Lake Film & Music Festival, the kid & I attended the Twin Cities Veg Fest and an anniversary screening of Mask of the Phantasm with my son wearing the cosplay. I also took photos at Mizna’s 18th annual Arab Film Fest including a Mizna Brunch + Conversation: Creating Radical Spaces event.
October 2024: I took a solo trip to Detroit Lakes, MN to see Danish artist Thomas Dambo’s giant wooden trolls. I didn’t have time to see any the last time I was in Denmark. We also hosted a pumpkin carving party with a mix of my friends and my son’s. It was lovely.
November 2024: I photographed Mizna’s 25th Anniversary Gala Event. Saw a couple of great Sound Unseen documentaries. I saw Godspeed You Black Emperor again. My son and I attended vegan Thanksgiving with friends for the umpteenth year.
December 2024: Quiet holidays at home with the kid and cats.
January 2025: Attended annual favorites: the 10th Drone Not Drones at The Cedar, the Lake Harriet Kite Festival and Art Shanty Projects, and the Saintly City Cat Show. I also saw comedian Josh Johnson for a second time.
February 2025: Saw comedian Laurie Kilmartin. Picked up influenza A at the show and it knocked me on my ass for weeks. But I got to see the ice sculptures outside of MIA before they melted.
March 2025: I attended a conference in Anaheim for work. My friend Nick took me to Disneyland (first time ever) and I got to hang out with my son’s Aunt. We went to see comedian Chris Fleming at Largo.
April 2025: Took my son to Japan for two weeks! It was as amazing as one might imagine. After we got home, while jet lagged, I saw comedian Josh Johnson for a third time. A few days later I went on a date.
May 2025: After 5+ years of the single life, I unexpectedly fell in love. With an old friend. It is delightfully reciprocal and becoming more and more wonderful with each passing day. In May, this person joined me for their first ever Moth StorySlam event. And witnessed me being selected to tell my story on stage. The topic was drama and I sure delivered.
June 2025: I attended the 4th annual giant pencil sharpening at Lake of the Isles with a friend. I enjoyed shows at Jazz Fest, my beloved Arooj Aftab at the Fine Line, back to back shows at Berlin (the club). I also turned 52. And my son celebrated his one year workiversary at his job.
July 2025: Still in progress. But I drove to Milwaukee to see my friends’ band play with my other friend’s band at a venue called Quarters Rock ‘n Roll Palace and had a lovely time.
It nearly feels wrong to be experiencing any level of joy in my own life as fascism tightens its grip, Palestinians in Gaza are being intentionally starved, and increasing unemployment rates and the worsening climate crisis are driven by greed and the rapidly increasing energy demands of AI technology (making an image with generative AI uses as much energy as charging your phone). But I need reminders of what we’re fighting for. And it is going to be a fight.
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