Been a little while since my last update. Some things have happened!
I've started working on my Aroma Joe's project in earnest now. You can check it out here if you'd like! So far, I've just been logging my Joes when I drink them in an Excel sheet with some rough thoughts, then adding them here later.
We had a Friday the 13th this month, so naturally we went to a local tattoo parlor for their flash event. I've been itching for some new ink for a bit, and I know my husband has, too. His turned out fantastic, and I got a little flower that fits in with my (don't laugh because I'm a gay stereotype) black-and-white patchwork tats. There's going to be another Friday the 13th next month, and my friend has already agreed to join me and my husband for whatever flash event we find then!
This week, I've been listening to Klaus Nomi. He sings in what I've learned is called a "countertenor", which is a type of falsetto that straight up sounds like a female opera singer - strong, clear, and gorgeous. I knew Nomi from Venture Bros before I knew of his music, which is just shameful. I've been thinking of how cool seeing him live must have been - with his stage makeup and shiny plastic tuxedo, he must have been a commanding stage presence before he even opened his mouth.
Beyond that? It's pretty much just been smoking weed and watching Community or Tubi stinkers. I'm trying harder to divorce myself from social media.
We took a day trip last weekend to Burlington, Vermont, to see my husband's favorite internet comedian perform. He's a Canadian stoner with some questionable fashion choices, who has been touring with his husband for their comedy show. He's TikTok famous, so of course his entire set was jokes about the various mental illnesses he has, and that he assumes everyone in the audience has as well.
I had the most fun before the show, when we were exploring the city a little bit. It was cold and a bit windy, but we went out to the underwhelming "Tallest Filing Cabinet In The World", situated in an empty parking lot by an intersection. I enjoyed spotting a sticker of Super Hans from Peep Show quite high up on the cabinet.
We also visited a dispensary with a very knowledgable and enthusiastic budtender, and a chocolate shop where the cashier spent two hours tying ribbons around our chocolate boxes. After walking around a couple shops right when everything was closing up, we spent some time trying to figure out where to get the best slice of pizza. As we sat parked outside a place called Dirty Mike's, or Old Mike's, or...maybe just Mike's?...we watched two homeless people scream and halfheartedly smack at each other.
When we were at the chocolate shop, the whole time I was thinking how much fun my dad would be having. He loves sweets, and I've just been thinking about him a lot overall lately. Without getting into everything, I just have been missing him a lot, but it's been harder to reach out. He texted me on our drive up to Burlington and it seemed like he's been feeling the same way. With everything going on, I feel like he's stuck in the middle of it all.
Not unrelated: here in New Hampshire, House Republicans have passed a new bill, called the "Countering Hate And Revolutionary Leftist Indoctrination in Education Act" (or CHARLIE, after the over-mourned and under-forgotten right-wing YouTube personality, Charlie Kirk).
Quoting the Portsmouth Herald: "Under the bill, teachers would be forbidden from framing historical events 'primarily as class, racial, or identitybased [sic] conflicts intended to foster division rather than resolution.'"
How, then, are students expected to learn anything about the American Civil War? Or the long years of slavery that preceded it?
The Herald, a bit later on: "The bill prohibits any teaching that the U.S. Constitution and American societal structures are 'inherently illegitimate or designed to perpetuate oppression.' It stops educators from pursuing 'critical consciousness' by instructing students to identify oppressors. It prevents prioritizing 'identity-based division over individual merit or shared American values.'
"And it bans school staff from 'incalculating LGBTQ+ ideology.' That includes requiring affirmation of gender fluidity, nonbinary identities, or 'requiring affirmation of LGBTQ+ sexuality as ethical or normative.'"
Oh, Big Brother. And this comes alongside the recent letters Kansas trans people have been receiving, invalidating their drivers' licenses until they match the sex assigned to them on their birth certificates.
I have to go now because I got too baked and have to eat dinner and watch Steven practice on his new giant hamster wheel. He's just figured out he can run on it and he's all excited. So he's running around the room instead.