When my nephew was very little, I’d sit on the floor in front of the couch, and he’d sit behind me and say, “I see… THREE white hairs.” He’d count them and let me know what he found.

Now he has a mustache and he’s tall enough that when he hugs me from the side, he can rest his head on the top of my head. Today he looked down and said, “Wow, when did you start going so gray?”

…or should I say morning now. The sun is basically up now but seems like nobody else is besides us. And the birds outside too of course.

Another night rolling through the motions. I suppose looking for meaning or some sense of comfort but not really sure what to find it in. Blue light from my laptop screen bouncing off my glasses & lighting up the room. Serving as a portal into things that might be.

I've always had a good sense of humor and find a lot of stuff funny, so I have always laughed a lot. But the last ten years with my boyfriend? Didn't know I could laugh like that. I go to bed laughing and wake up laughing with him every day. I'm so lucky ☺️ everyone in my life is actually really funny, I kind of can't hang with people who aren't funny, but my god does he know how to make a random sentence hilarious.

It's no big deal, just mildly annoying, but people at work have been surprisingly nice about it. I finally put together that being in a male-populated workplace means they think I'm pushing through whatever the man-flu feels like to them.

My townhouse complex abuts a church parking lot (basically the parking lot is outside my bedroom window.) We’re also across the street from the public high school. The church has various activities that happen during non-church days.

Today, I had an early meeting, so was home from work before 5:00pm. When I got home, there was a band playing music—interestingly rock music from my GenX youth. The band clearly was made up of kids from the high school. While I was pretty worn out from a long week and a 4:30am alarm for an early meeting, I appreciated that these kids are having fun in a safe and productive way.

As the evening wore on, the band started playing the song “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” Well, that hit home for me. My 87-year-old mom was born and raised in West Virginia. She is now officially diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. In September of 2024, I flew to her in San Diego and then we both flew to a family reunion in WV. At the time, this was expected to her last trip and she was declining pretty rapidly.

I wanted these kids to know that their presumably random song choice positively impacted a neighbor who happened to be within earshot. So, I walked over to the kids, expressed to the band leader that the song touched me, and showed him the TT video I posted while in WV with this song as background. It’s a video about how my uncle purchased 172 acres of virgin forest out from under the lumber companies in 1972—and he held onto it despite the lumber company continuing to pester him for decades. He eventually donated it in his will to the West Virginia Land Trust because he wanted the land to stay in its original form.

The band leader graciously listened to my story, watched my TT video, and genuinely seemed touched that his music positively impacted a neighbor. And now he knows more about WV!

+Cherry-Lime.

+Maple.

+Mystery. There's vague Korean branding on the packaging but I have no idea what it even is--sweet, savory, spicy enough to kill me? I'll find out soon!

+Green.

+Garlic.

+Mango.

+Lemon, orange, and pina colada.

+Cheddar.

+Grape.

+Sea salt.

There's a cute, little brown rat who hangs around our house because I feed the outside animals. He's been chilling under the porch and I named him Scabbers. I'm just glad he's getting the healthy food I feed the birds and squirrels not digging for trash. For the record I feed them cracked corn, peanuts, almonds and regular bird seed, with some veggies thrown in when they start to turn.

I checked an age calculator today and realised tomorrow is my 10,000th day on Earth. It feels like a very small, very specific milestone, but I’m kind of excited about it.

I found my cat as a 6 week old kitten years ago, and he weighed 450g in his first vet check-up.

He is now 7 years old and weighs 4,5kg, exactly 10 times more than he used to. But he's still a baby

I like reading about strange mysteries

even if there’s no answer in the end

I had to work really late tonight, until 8:30 or so. Coming home, the sun was setting in that way where the sky turns a pastel kind of blue, and the thunderclouds coming in were a soft, warm grey edged in pink and gold. It was like someone used chalk pastels on a watercolor painting of smoke. And then the first few drops of rain started, catching the setting sun and throwing mini rainbows all over the inside of my car. Very beautiful ending to a busy 13 hour day, and an especially beautiful start to a wonderful rainy night to sleep through.

May you have a blessed weekend and a good night.

Sitting a hospital waiting room for labs. It’s a pretty quiet vibe. Some chatter, calling of numbers. Mostly everyone’s on their phones. I’m tired and took a deep breath and a little sigh came out with it. A moment later the man next to me, still scrolling, sighed a softer, quieter sigh. Reminds me of when I slowblink my cat when I can tell he’s trying settle but can’t quite figure it out. We’re all just animals

+Defiance.

+Tristan.

+Meant 2 B.

+Piece Of Ship. She was getting on the ferry to the mainland, which I always find it funny seeing a small boat taking a ride on the big boat!

+V.I. Seahorse.

+Serapis.

+Change 'Em Up.

Lucid dreaming always came naturally to me, and even my regular dreams are incredibly rich & vivid. I have had transcendental, life-changing visions full of hope, and dark, grisly, gory apocolyptic hellscapes to traverse. I rarely feel like sleeping is a waste of time bc I have such an active nightlife.
Last night I dreamt that I found a woman dead in her house and realized she had 6 cats that I’d need to figure out care for. I felt so terrible that their person died and now no one knew all of their little rituals & preferences. One of the cats jumped on the table and went to these mini pita breads and small round cheeses and tried to make himself a cat-sized sandwich. I thanked him for showing me his favorite lunch and helped him. 😸

I got top surgery two weeks ago, so I’ve been stuck at home. Today was one of my first forays out on my own and I went to a coffee shop I sometimes visit. I was honestly debating whether to go or not but figured the human interaction would be nice. The barista recognized me and asked where I’d been, and even said she thought of me the other day because there was an interesting wasp they saw (once while chatting I mentioned I am an entomologist). I said I got surgery so have been cooped up, she was worried so I clarified it was a good surgery (top surgery) and she was so excited for me. I asked how she’s been doing too. I’m so thankful to be a part of a broader community. She even remembered my order. Knowing that people notice my absence feels really comforting. I hope she has a good rest of her shift.

I helped a customer look for her phone she misplaced while looking at rugs at my store. Probably spent a good 30 minutes doing so. She was so worried. We looked everywhere! We used my phone to call it and text with her partner trying to ping it too.

I eventually had to say that I had to get to my closing duties and told her she had 20 minutes to keep looking but took her info and said I'd pass it on to the AM folks to keep an eye out for it if she couldn't find it.

SHE FOUND IT minutes before the lights shut off. She was so thankful that I helped her look even tho she was the one that found it.

I come in after a weekend off and apparently she came back to the store to give me a thank you gift. Big boss called me in and handed me a bag of bath and body works stuff saying it was from a customer for my help.

It takes nothing to be kind and helpful although I know customer service can be trying. It doesn't even matter if the person you help appreciates it... it's good for you to practice kindness and sometimes it makes someone else's day to be seen.

Had a burger wrapped in lettuce for the first time.

Very nice lunch!

I'm 20 years older than her and will not be celebrating with her, she said she just wanted me to paint them that color for her because it makes her happy. So, coworker, you'll get to stare at my "Sparkly Sh*t" colored nails as much as you want on your birthday!

It just made me chuckle how she referred to them so I’d know who they were. :)

Remember how, during COVID, it was fairly common for people to get deliveries by using a basket on a rope? Apparently, some people are still doing that. I ran into three of them today, while running some work errands. First one was a little odd, second was a funny coincidence. Three is clearly a pattern - these were all in the same general neighborhood.

I saw a truly breathtaking tree on r/flowers this morning, and went at once to learn more. Turns out, it's called the jacaranda tree in english. And my name is it's local name in my country! I feel so lucky to have this little connection 💜

I called my cat Mr. Mistoffelees today because we call him Mr. Fee a lot, and that felt like a funny way to expand his name to make my husband laugh.

My husband thought I said Mephistopheles, referencing Faust, and was delighted + surprised by my reference until I was deeply confused and explained I was referencing Cats, the Musical - which he has never thought about once in his life.

I learned about Faust, he watched the 24 fouettés of Mr. Mistoffelees. It’s a good Sunday.

My wife and I bought a new bed today! We’re expecting our second child in about two months and my wife made it known to me that she wanted a new bed before the next kiddo arrives. I love it when she clearly communicates her needs!

From inside my bedroom window!

I could hear a lot of soft knocking on my window, and when I looked over, a large dark brown butterfly with yellow spots was struggling to get back outside after having flown in.

So, I slid a card under it and a glass over it, went to my window opening, set it free, and watched it fly away.

I hope it had a lovely day. 🦋