I'm in the best shape of my life,
In the best relationship of my life,
In the best house I’ve ever lived in (as an adult),
Have a car for the first time,
A sweet motorcycle,
I’m handier than ever,
I making more art than ever before,
I know myself and have made so much progress,
I am the best version of myself I have ever been.
Skills list for post-apocalypse/current community building
-cooking
-telling
stories (to both adults and children)
-sports/athletics/fitness
-listening
and getting people to better appreciate themselves/pump people up/social
coaching
-carrying
heavy stuff/doing gross stuff that needs to be done (I’m ok doing the dumb, ugly
work)
-building
custom designs and brainstorming ideas
-throwing
a party/giving a speech/setting a mood/food & drink
-giving
haircuts
-gardening/weeding/landscaping
-basic
handyman shit
-drawing/illustration
-creative
writing (but rarely upon prompting)
-leading
a retreat
-style/fashion?
-fast/in
good shape
-good at
babysitting/fun uncle/camp counselor, but not full-time parent
-good
caring for pets/animals
-creative/theatrical/musical/dance
-ok at
writing
Bad With…
-numbers,
details, exacts
-systems,
structure, authority
-urgency,
seriousness
I’m still thinking about doing a budget, but because I am friends with a few different mechanics I was able to get work done on the car for 10% of what another shop was asking! 10%, and I am adding a basket of our handmade bath salts, herbal teas, and aromatherapy pouches.
I am
flossing regularly,
Meditating
regularly,
In the
best shape of my life
And play
basketball in the park.
I’ve done
volunteer work at Books Through Bars,
MANNA, soon
I’ll be at Habitat for Humanity,
And about
to begin donating food to community pantries and refridgerators.
Look at
all the amazing reviews I have from satisfied clients on my Tasker profile.
I am in
therapy working on issues in my life that make me feel like I am growing and
making incredible progress.
I am
also in couples therapy with Katy and feel similar about the steps we are
making.
I meal
plan,
I now
use a day planner.
I take great
care of 4 fantastic pets,
And manage
a full backyard and garden in the warm season.
I shop
almost entirely at Good Will,
And regularly
engage with Buy Nothing groups.
I’ve
attended civil rights protests and rallies,
And have
tried to practice non-judgement for people with wildly different politics than
me.
I shovel
my neighbors sidewalks and front steps in the winter snow.
I visit
my single and handicapped mother once a week to cook and clean and visit with
her,
And try
to see my Grandma a few times a year. We
are also pen pals.
I have a
Godson who I make efforts to be part of his life.
I
practice drawing and learning new artistic skills like mosaics and watercolor.
I’ve
built custom furniture around the house for both Katy and I and the cats,
And try
to proactively DIY small problems we experience around the house like clogged
drains and drafty doors.
I read,
And am
an active member of multiple writing groups.
I go for
walks a few mornings a week,
And I
subscribe to a service that sells perfectly good but slightly blemished produce
that would’ve otherwise been thrown away.
I take
the bus whenever possible and am always quick to offer my seat to anyone that
looks like they could use it.
I make most
of my food at home and try to eat balanced and healthy meals.
I try to
limit my screentime, time on social media, and sensationalized news/media.
I try to
talk to my inner child and “reparent myself”, and understand and accept all of
my complex parts.
*submission for a "Tiny-Memoir" (<100 words) contest
Hard Stuff Go Down Easy
We move from a town in central Pennsylvania to glitzy Palm Beach Florida just before I enter high school, and I find the adjustment to be intoxicating. Year One: I am stunned when, riding on skateboards, my friends buy us beer at a drive-through convenience store. Year Two: I allow myself to be taught how to drink rum- good, añejo rum- overlooking a moonlit ocean on a private beach. Year Three: I am granted a shot of someone’s parent’s Louis XVI Champagne Cognac- valued at about $100 per- and not caring for it much, help myself to a second.
About a month ago I got my first cheesesteak in years. For the past 5 years or so, the vast majority
of the food I’ve eaten has been made at home.
I knew ‘Pat’s’ and ‘Gino’s’ steaks had gotten up to about $12 for a whiz
wit + mushroom a few years ago, but was floored when I ordered the standard
steak from Woodrow’s on South Street and they said “that will be $17.50”. When the cashier waited expectantly for my
payment I had this weird feeling of “not wanting to feel like a loser” if I
scoffed at the cost and cancelled my order.
I watched as my arm extended my debit card feeling some type of absurd, surreal
out-of-body experience. To be fair, Woodrow’s
makes a fantastic steak and it definitely scratched that “once-every-few-years”
itch to celebrate a Philly staple, but I was conscious of the likelihood that
this would be the last cheesesteak I ever ordered for myself which may have caused
me to savor the grade D meat and cheese a little bit more than I would have
otherwise. This morning, a similar
scenario happened at a local coffee shop.
‘The
Bakery’ opened up about a year ago on a corner a few blocks away from our place
deep in South Philly. Besides Dunkin Donuts
it’s the only coffee shop for about 15 blocks or so. I’d never been there before and have pretty
much entirely eliminated caffeine from my diet except for tea and a DD coffee once
every few months or so. This morning I
had the itch and Katy suggested I walk to The Bakery. So I did and when the cashier told me “$8.50”
for my ‘dirty chai’ (a cup of chai tea [which I watched the barista pour from a
carton/wasn’t even homemade] plus a shot of espresso) I again watched in some
out-of-body slow motion horror as my arm extended my payment. I similarly felt like this very could be the
last drink I ever order from a coffee shop, but this time the sentiment didn’t
make it taste any better. In fact, the
feeling of being removed/disillusioned has kind of stuck with me as I’m finishing
the last few sips here at home.
It’s Sunday morning.
I feel good. I feel focused.
My cats are happy
and well-fed.
My house is
clean.
The love of my
life is enjoying a few extra hours in bed where the corduroy comforter and big,
fluffy cat keep her warm from the late September morning breeze coming in from
the curtained window.
I’ve just filled
out my 2024 Presidential election ballot
Where I voted for
Jill Stein/Green party for the first time,
And it feels like
a declaration of independence from my own country.
Today I will tend
the garden,
Go to the hardware
store for supplies,
Build things around
the house,
Make art and strive
towards making it professional,
And tonight Katy
will make dinner.
I’ve already
meditated early this morning,
And plan on doing
oil pulling, flossing, wearing my retainers, and working out in my home gym.
It’s a good life,
Yet war threatens
from almost every side.
Journaling,
therapy…
Our
out-of-control country’s trajectory collided with out-of-control technology
rise/flood, and now we are addicted to our screens at the same time injustices
and inequalities are systemic and the status quo is maintained by the powerful
gaslighting the masses. Our screens are
exposing the horrors of the world, a pipeline feeding directly into our brains,
spewing junk and truth alike, at a pace we’re incapable of processing. It’s become nearly impossible to get away and
find peace of mind, clear thought. It is
enough to make anyone go crazy and though journaling and therapy can help some
(meditation and exercise are probably better at this point), the reality is
that our humanity is teetering. Our
souls are being stretched thin, our way of life becoming more at odds with the
planet. The reality is that currently,
during my life time, right now! is a pivotal part in human history, for better
or worse. We can feel that change in the
air. And it is important to breathe, and
to notice, and to accept reality, accept change.
