Jan-Mar 2022

 January

1: going to my folks' for a New Year's feast

2: vegetable stew

3: revision work during the last, unbusy hour

4: powerhousing the better part of a near-400-page book

5: learning the "manual" checkout system during a half-hour internet outage

6: return to Minecraft

7: unintentionally ending up in the university area in my southward journey

8: Gregory Alan Isakov's cover of the Lumineers' "Salt and the Sea"

9: listening to tunes while out on patrol

10: transferring my book post-its to a spreadsheet

11: derpy feminist comics

12: In Five Years

13: making a vegan BLT

14: the Riverside trail reminding me so much of the no outlet road along Otter Creek

15: going on a bean spree

16: toying around with my coworker Rebecca's banjolele

17: weird city finds, like Cap'n Crunch inside the fingers of a latex glove

18: my coworker Alysa trash-talking the suburban hellscape that is Rio Rancho

19: pot pie: breakfast, lunch, & dinner

20: a novel about writers doing writer things

21: Tramway biking

22: finding a Polaroid nude in a box of donated books

23: skate shoes & 2013 Monstercat vibes

24: Well Played

25: donated movies with written notes inside the cases about dates watched & impressions

26: coming back to GTA after many months and finally completing a mission I failed half a dozen times

27: when my opinion of a book drops down to 2 stars upon reading reviews from fellow dissatisfied readers

28: Pixar animated shorts (Out, Twenty Something, Far from the Tree)

29: black-eyed pea and collard tacos with apple-avocado salsa (from the cookbook Isa Does It)

30: beans on waffles

31: It Ends With Us

February

1: The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window pilot

2: Izi's first snow (& closing work early)

3: believing it wasn't going to be a murder mystery

4: lounging around the house in oversized sweatpants

5: slammed on a Saturday

6: a vaguely Bronteian horror of madness and magic

7: Matt bringing up the Village Green Preservation Society after seeing the old yearbooks that got donated and getting "People Take Pictures of Each Other" stuck in my head

8: a discussion, prompted by an AskReddit post, on most unattractive male names

9: teaming up against the anti-mask lady (sort of...)

10: riding through Los Ranchos

11: a Regency-era historical romance, full of unnecessary soap-opera drama and cringe

12: juggling with Jeremy

13: playing with a rake and ball found out on patrol

14: a Valentine's night in, listening to Gregory Alan Isakov while I cook myself a meal and read a romance novel

15: childfree representation in romance fiction (shout out to Jen DeLuca + Well Matched)

16: psychological fiction (of the amnesia variety) gone thriller

17: playing fetch with Chop on the beach in GTA V

18: Ammonite

19: wearing my hair in a different style

20: dumb drama on a Netflix dating show

21: open world exploring

22: ideas for character improvement

23: when our most devoted regular returns three times in four hours

24: the "old-timey" language in Tipping the Velvet

25: paved paths flanked by wild brush

26: little bro coming in for a visit + getting a library card

27: online jigsaw puzzles

28: commiserating over the car theft experience

March

1: steadily getting more and more of my coworkers obsessed with the Seterra countries typing test

2: the beautiful, contemplative tracks from Rough and Rowdy Ways

3: family bonding through geography quizzes

4: adding crispy oven-baked tofu atop a noodle stir-fry

5: surprise that some of the Here Comes Science album is an actual vibe

6: TR girls meetup

7: racing each other on the typing tests

8: ---

9: going to the OG with a craving for spring rolls and chow mein

10: renewing my Rio Rancho library card to get some CDs (that ABQ doesn't have)

11: Jarvis posting a video on Love is Blind & me getting it now that I'm involved in the subreddit drama

12: staying up past midnight with Gregorian chants and a text on theology

13: Sunday rush keeping us on our toes

14: "from Zeus to Jezeus" (from the text linked below as "this theology book")

15: coming up with & comparing top 10 favorite albums lists

16: going out to dinner with coworkers

17: lunch & a bosque walk with the grandparents while they're in town

18: Angles by the Strokes

19: agreeing on the... rough quality of a new group member's writing submission

20: a novel about a portal into a parallel life

21: still loving this theology book despite the fact that the author used a quote from Marianne Williamson as an epigraph

22: catching up on Zak George videos

23: a morning winter wonderland that all but disappears by noon

24: feeling decently confident about a cover letter (& my qualifications relative to the job description)

25: return to the Riverside trail (bushwhacking through the bosque & passing Tingley Beach)

26: serving as the guinea pig for the NM trivia quiz

27: the retro-artifacts-in-resin countertops at Anodyne

28: an accessible book on the psychology of bias

29: watching Jarvis and Jordan react to a "race swap" reality TV show

30: a fortuitous meeting with the owner of the animal rescue where I adopted Stanley

31: successfully clipping a dog's toenails for the first time

December

1: making it to Rio Rancho and back just under the wire
2: Captain Fantastic
3: scones & tea
4: deciding our top 5 Beatles songs (if the entire catalog had to be deleted, which 5 would you preserve)
5: giving a thriller a chance despite not being my usual genre
6: belatedly realizing the guy I helped is the dad of an old friend from high school
7: browsing sassy candles
8: absolutely scream-laughing at a character's stupidity
9: Hoarders
10: the sun over the wild mountain grasses
11: poetic and prosaic tidbits capturing the hopelessness
12: going from debating Bob Dylan's "stage voices" to R.E.M.'s album Monster
13: talking about geographical differences in Spanish accents
14: discussing DNR orders and "right to die" ethics
15: lending a hand(s) to the big book shift
16: the fact that Target has Kwanzaa cards
17: revisiting the Hahn Arroyo trail
18: listening to Train again after many years
19: patrol on a cold morning
20: "You can't break until you've taken shape, can't crack until there's a form to shatter"
21: questions of ethics and memory in The Shimmering State
22: the sweetness of making up
23: The Ugly Cry
24: Subnautica
25: rummaging for snacks and playing our separate video games
26: trying and buying pants from Ross
27: laughing at a terrible New Mexico bucket list
28: You're Not Listening
29: the at-work convenience of being able to switch between the physical and the ebook
30: "Midnight" by Coldplay
31: receiving the exclusive CD copy of my brother's new album

November

1: our first time being in the new place together
2: the big (U) haul
3: morning noon & night riding with The Golden Casket
4: getting some dining stools
5: loading up the Fit for the last* leg of moving
6: Matt (joke?) proposing a writing race between me and Anna where the loser has to delete all their story files
7: One Good Dog
8: when he texts about the roasted veggies he made (and raves about them when I get home)
9: my coworkers somehow accidentally thinking it's my birthday (but hey, they brought vegan donuts, so I ain't complaining)
10: thrift couch window-shopping
11: an industrial backwoods stroll
12: getting reinvested in Extant
13: obsession with a new Sims world
14: a dinner meetup with old coworkers
15: Matt saying of a coworker liking Guy Fieri, "She thinks frosted tips and barbecue sauce are the epitome of masculinity"
16: talking Modest Mouse and Pitchfork with Matt
17: hearing of the depravities of Rimworld
18: a video of my brother performing at a very underground venue
19: playing Cards Against Humanity and Scrawl on our "staff training day"
20: Ghosts & the visceral reaction I had to it
21: Happier Than Ever
22: last day of a four-day week before a four-day weekend
23: a critique session in our writing group
24: stocking up + starting some of the food a day early
25: quick thinking in a plumbing crisis
26: a walk around the patio while on the phone
27: watching the new season of F is for Family together
28: recreating the KFC bowl with leftover mash and Gardein chick'n tenders
29: the greater diversity of interactions in the Sims 3
30: the age disparity truly being revealed when I say Pride & Prejudice (2006) was my favorite childhood movie and Matt admits to writing a college paper on it when it came out

October

1: stumbling upon the La Cueva arroyo trail
2: JB getting excited about my juggling ability and showing off the juggling stash he keeps at work
3: Life's Work
4: sudoku at the desk
5: a trail stroll on my break
6: a discussion/debate over exploitation vs representation
7: Jack and Erin's podcast
8: absolutely vibing to Sylvan Esso
9: a Where's Waldo-style book of photos where a border collie is hiding in different landscape images
10: seeing the book I put on hold in the book drop and knowing I'm next in line
11: traversing gravel trails, dirt roads, and arroyo-side paths in the northeastern quadrant of the city
12: almost approaching JB's book tower record (and the stack tumbling and crashing down as soon as I walk away from it)
13: coming to a fuller appreciation of Feist just in time to start listening to another album of hers
14: after hearing "1234" and remembering it somehow, learning that it was buried in my memory from the 2008 Grammy Nominees album
15: a fuzzy-bellied roadrunner trying to catch grasshoppers
16: unexpected skellie in the back office
17: talking about The Lathe of Heaven with MB before his sci-fi book group
18: driving by apartments to scope them out
19: a near-essay of a book review
20: printing out my own staff pick labels
21: first apartment tours
22: following my apartment tour guide around the city
23: trying a script format to break writer's block
24: "TIGUANA" (or, the damn cleverest vanity plate I've seen to date - on a Volkswagen Tiguan)
25: two fairly solid offers after hectic searching
26: my coworker inviting me along to her writing group (& everyone sharing their prompt tidbits)
27: transposing the script format to prose
28: returning to a Sims family full of drama I don't remember instigating
29: Sims 4 binge day two
30: bunny snacking on fallen leaves
31: coworker JTA wearing a very cozy-looking Chewbacca onesie

September

1: my coworkers' personalities coming out little by little
2: a walk around Los Poblanos
3: catching vanity plates like Pokemon
4: mixing up my fast-food Beyond Meat tacos
5: slippery elm going down smooth
6: water guillotines, or, chilling in the Bachechi Open Space
7: videos of dogs using buttons to talk
8: nearly bringing a ninety-year-old woman to tears and my coworker giggling about it
9: the immediate difference in reading a book that captures my interest (as opposed to slogging through because I thought it might)
10: How Stella Learned to Talk
11: my coworker and I complimenting each other's blue raspberry Fits
12: making red curry at home near (though never quite) as good as Thai Vegan's
13: coming across the under-the-desk legal pad of 10+ years' worth of incident reports
14: JB teaching me step 1 in mending books
15: skull-shaped candles
16: making book lists on Goodreads
17: starting Dead Space 3 together
18: One Last Stop
19: Eamon & Bec's new cabin reminding me of my aunt and uncle's house + property
20: catching up with old and new library coworkers at Erna Fergusson for the new employee policy training
21: writing chat with my coworkers who are hosting the library's NaNoWriMo program
22: reminiscing and cross-referencing our book lists
23: reading from Educated while listening to Young the Giant
24: a 12-mile ride after a good long sedentary while
25: the homestyle bluegrass/folksy vibes of Feist's Metals
26: some much-needed journal venting
27: playing a Yusuf/Cat CD on the circ area boombox and stirring some nostalgia for a coworker
28: hiding in the far corner amongst the paperback spinners, book in hand and listening to the rain outside
29: judging a book by its cover (& title) and being inspired to pick it up
30: walking along parts of my commute route and experiencing it in finer detail

July & August

July

1: breezing through a relationship self-help ebook while at the desk
2: visiting two of the eighteen Albuquerque library branches that I haven't been to before
3: switching gears to a new audiobook: a new narrator with new cadence, a new story with different style & pacing
4: hiking the Chamisa Trail
5: buffalo taco + kale wraps
6: speechless moments at work
7: "Mickey's Descent into Madness"
8: chatting with my coworker during the last hour of our workday
9: Foals - What Went Down
10: playing darts with my brother
11: seeing the scene in Django Unchained that inspired the meme
12: when the book is basically a recap of stuff I learned in college 
13: CloudNone's Last Train Home EP
14: seeing the Karen haircut in the wild
15: him mixing me up an Arnold Palmer to take with me to work
16: starting the Take a Hint, Dani Brown audiobook
17: Supernova
18: watching some Disney/Pixar before work
19: roasted cauli + Brussels
20: an after-work nap
21: trying a new multiplayer game
22: the predictable misunderstanding that almost fucks everything up right before the end of the book
23: watching him get his hair cut
24: eating out at a new-to-us New Mexican place
25: tiptoeing through the night sprinkle
26: getting hit in the feels by Atypical Season 4
27: artichokes and olives on salad
28: returning to an OG eating spot
29: my coworker's invention of DVD Jenga
30: Outer Wilds
31: the South Valley Library

August

1: money counting
2: chili mac for lunch
3: bitchin' about the service even as we keep coming back for the food
4: Hour of the Witch
5: ice cream and sorbet
6: Sweet Tooth
7: eating out at Rosemary
8: a documentary about the romance novel industry
9: Transparent
10: roasted chickpeas and veggies
11: crispy cauliflower sandwich
12: when the comic is way darker than the tv series
13: blustery winds through rolled-down car windows
14: Boardwalk Empire
15: his arrogance completely snuffed by the first stall-out
16: a few moments of cuddling, even at the price of there-and-back lunch-rush traffic
17: braid looking absolutely TIGHT (with barely enough hair to pull it off)
18: observing a fledgling pigeon with its parents
19: a unique narrator voice in a novel
20: finding my way to the anglerfish fossil (with a little helpful nudge)
21: when the character you thought was being strung along was actually the one who was lying
22: another Fit parked by my Fit at my workplace
23: Barry
24: first time seeing someone's gender as X on a driver's license
25: jaywalking over to the AutoZone for a compressor to solve my low tire pressure situation
26: well-wishes and send-offs from my coworkers
27: finding Feldspar in Dark Bramble
28: playing Island Saver again for the first time in a year
29: listening to Tea for the Tillerman 2 with my dad
30: his impromptu breakfast for me on orientation morning
31: starting work at a new* branch

June

1: flamingo 'fit with pink Crocs 

2: shooting the shit with our server at the Acre

3: everyone saying goodbye and congrats to a retiring coworker

4: an unprecedented diversion to the Beyond

5: hiking in the badlands (El Malpais Nat'l Monument)

6: a vlog of a Tesla roadtrip through the southwest

7: taking a walk during my afternoon break

8: calling in to recoup

9: firing off at twilight

10: 77,777 miles

11: chonky pitbulls walking around the gun store

12: finally getting the Incredibles 2 memes

13: baking buffalo bites (cauliflower + tofu)

14: "Tap Dancer" (as a sign of my growing love for the album)

15: him frantically looking for his phone while it's in his hand

16: first marksmanship lesson

17: Love and Other Words

18: an adult-establishment adventure

19: trying to find the nastiest local apartment listing on Zillow

20: Lego-style picture guide for furniture assembly

21: The House in the Cerulean Sea

22: watching Invincible together

23: slipping into a pocket of pitch black

24: a patron telling me my mohawk reminds her of an Ethiopian braided hairstyle

25: a surprisingly fast visit at the packed urgent care

26: him calling in so we can spend the day with my fam

27: jumping into my parents' Broadchurch binge

28: starting the Good Omens audiobook & Amazon prime series in tandem

29: the opening paragraphs of Smoke Gets In Your Eyes 

30: stormy evening hike in the foothills

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