Archive (Page 3) • On / Off • Buttondown

I Wrote Fiction!?

December 20, 2021

For the last newsletter of 2021, I'm doing something a little bit different. I'm sharing a short piece of fiction that I wrote! But first, a disclaimer,...

My Favorite Christmas Ornament

December 16, 2021

Let's wrap up this week of newsletters on a lighter note. I mentioned in yesterday's newsletter that E and I only have a small box of ornaments here in...

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

December 15, 2021

Alternate title for the issue of the newsletter: "The Most Melancholy, COVID-filled Time of the Year." So, feel free to skip if you're not up for that. <3 E...

The Little Lizard is Looking Good!

December 14, 2021

I didn't write a newsletter this morning because I was busy hearing my future child's heartbeat for the first time! So, yeah, this is just a quick update to...

Herpetology

December 13, 2021

E and I try to start our days by stretching and sharing three things we're grateful for. It's a habit we fall in and out of throughout the year, coming back...

G-G-G-Gender (Part Three)

December 9, 2021

To wrap up this series on my gender presentation, I want to talk about feeling in control of the image I show the world. Now, I know I can't actually control...

G-G-G-Gender (Part Two)

December 8, 2021

Obviously there is more to my gender presentation than my haircut, but that was the starting point for me feeling butch recently. My hair was annoying me and...

G-G-G-Gender (Part One)

December 7, 2021

Back in October, I had a day where I felt pretty butch. I remember it was right after this newsletter cycled 'off' because I started describing my feelings...

Dreams

December 6, 2021

Sometimes E will tell me about his dreams and they will be elaborate science fiction adventures, filled with action sequences and celebrity guest stars. By...

Cycling 'on' again

December 2, 2021

Hello friends, Last time I sent out a newsletter (November 16th), I said I'd check back in again on December 1st. Today is December 2nd... so... oops. I...

Rejection

November 16, 2021

Remember how I submitted a personal essay to a couple of literary journals, and didn't expect to hear anything back for months? Well, one of the journals got...

Checking In

November 1, 2021

Hello again! It's November 1st and, as promised, I'm back with a new newsletter for you. I had high hopes for my time off from writing this newsletter and,...

Some More Thoughts on Writing This Newsletter

October 12, 2021

This is issue #30 of On / Off, which means it's time for this newsletter to cycle off for a little while. After I finished the first 10 issues, I only took a...

I'm a Goddamn Delight and It's a Privilege to Know Me.

October 11, 2021

Last week sometime, I engaged in an all too common post-conversation ritual. E and I had been talking with some friends, and afterwards, I turned to him to...

On Vacation Again

October 7, 2021

I may have just been on vacation in the US (and for longer than I intended), but E hadn't taken a week off from work since May. And we hadn't done an...

The Joy of Geography

October 6, 2021

Yesterday I asked E how many countries he thought he could name. He said maybe eighty. I thought I could pretty easily name 100. I figured we would leave it...

Help! I Just Want to Drink More Pumpkin Beer!

October 5, 2021

While I was in the US, I drank five pumpkin beers of two different varieties: Night Shift Brewing's Pumpkin Piescraper and (an absolute classic) Shipyard's...

But I'm also my body

October 4, 2021

Last week, I wrote about how I am my mind. I wrote about how I value my thoughts, feelings, ideas -- the head in a jar parts of me -- more highly than I...

I am my mind

September 30, 2021

Earlier this year, I told my therapist, "more than anything else, I am my mind." It will surprise no one to hear that I struggle with overthinking. I'm a...

Double-edged Emotional Swords

September 29, 2021

I arrived in the US on a Thursday night and spent just 24 hours at my mom's apartment in Rhode Island before leaving again. My best friend, Lisa, picked me...