It Was Gonna Be May's Newsletter
“Do you like guacamole?” I had no idea what was being asked of me. I was in first grade, and the person asking was a classmate named Tara, whose birthday party I found myself at. We weren't close then and never really became friends. I have no idea how I ended up on the guest list. I couldn't name another person who was in attendance. It might have been mostly her family, all locals. (Her cousin Aaron was also in our year at school.) The whole situation was overwhelming. I didn't know what this word meant! Why was I in a house of strangers? At some point that Saturday afternoon, I learned what guacamole was and I didn't like it. I preferred the circus peanuts that were also on offer. Later, we watched 'E.T.' and I cried with fear. Top five weirdest birthday party experiences for me, that's why I'm writing about it today, no big message or anything. The whole day's a hazy memory that really just has three elements: guacamole, circus peanuts, 'E.T.' on VHS. If I remember right she moved or something before we finished elementary school. I like guacamole now.
My last newsletter intro was about how weird April was, and wow wow wow, I didn't expect May or June to be like the way they were. I'm feeling hopeful, most days, for the rest of the summer. Cautiously hopeful. Numbers, though, ya know? Woof, numbers.
Reading
Thanks to a recommendation from Alex Hillman, I'm occasionally reading/watching the Better Sheets series to learn more about Google Sheets. I finally got my hands on an electronic copy of “Here For It” by R. Eric Thomas and was delighted to devour it before the Free Library snatched those bits back out of my Kindle. My friend Kris Jansma wrote a quick piece about the pandemic and biding our time. In my head, I read a bunch of articles I wanted to share with you. The cream that rose to the top is this essay by Nick Patton about confidence in the kitchen and a much-ballyhooed family cookbook.
Eating
Kelsey discovered how easy and satisfying it is to make banana whip in the food processor. We've all but replaced our ice cream habit with it! She keeps things EXCITING by making different batches with peanut butter, cinnamon, cardamom, other fruits, whatever strikes our fancy. I have a note to myself that I made “apple muffins” at some point in May, so there's that. The most exciting thing was a night where our quaranteam had hot pot together. It'd been scheduled for weeks, and rescheduled even, and it fell on the night of the 30th. As we sat down to dinner, our phones notified us that due to the protests and related violence, disruption, and potential for danger, the City of Philadelphia was under curfew immediately. The hot pot and the company were soul-affirming.
Beating
Our “artist a week” jar served up Ani DiFranco, Tito Puente, and Sun Ra. What a set that forms, huh? I have a few Ani songs that I downloaded as MP3s 1998-2006. I knew almost no Tito Puente. And I've always meant to get into Sun Ra. Turns out that's not an endeavor done easily.
Meeting
This week I'm on two online comedy shows, The Break-Out and Things That Used to Scare Me. Later in the month, I'll appear on the Dying Message podcast, talking about detective anime. I'll continue to appear in N Crowd shows periodically and People of Interest too!
Deleting
I uninstalled a number of apps from my phone that don't seem like they'll be useful anytime soon. Our dishwasher top rack broke off from its wheelything. With some part-number googling and a few youtube videos, I fixed it so it's better than new! I also bought new cabinet pull knobs for the kitchen. They're a substantially better experience than the originals.
Retreating
We did masked hikes in Ridley Creek State Park (PA) and Brendan T Byrne State Park (NJ), both of which were enjoyable adventures out of the city and into the woods, into the woods. Ridley Creek had some terrain on the paths we talk; BTB was flatter and a nice stroll.
For a writing project (TBA), I found myself thinking about file formats of the nineties, digging up parts of my music history journey. One thing led to another and I found myself working on a project of a different sort, one I have tried in vain for a few years. I have now successfully resurrected the majority of my email boxes that span 1997-2005, after which I largely moved to Gmail and school/work accounts. I don't know the last time they were all in one accessible place. They're not in pristine condition: some dates and headers are wrong but the bodies and subjects are pretty complete. For those who don't keep track of my age-math, these are my high school and college years. I've taken a few dives into, say, “on this date in 1999-2001” adventures. Holy smokes. These readings are intense transportation to another time and another me.
At this rate, my “June” newsletter is either coming July 22nd or October of 2023. On the upside, I came up with about a half dozen prompt-starts last night so get ready for some THOUGHTS.
Off to a video streaming experience I go,
NPB