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

x

May

 1: online shopping on my phone while sitting in a store parking lot 
2: a book that I stumbled upon by chance brilliantly and uncannily expressing my current existential dreads and feelings
3: the new straight-to-carts check-in system
4: trying a menu-offered vegan option at Scalo
5: finally getting an interview for one of the  environmental internships I applied for
6: moving some tables and chairs from the piled-up covid stash
7: a momentary storm
8: a hike in the Jemez
9: sort-of recreating the papas rústicas I loved from this one Chilean restaurant (and trying out Bitchin' Sauce)
10: talkin' cars and ABQ drivers with my fave Uber driver (I've only ridden with him twice, but still)
11: browsing Craigslist cars
12: We are never meeting in real life
13: running to meet my on-time Uber driver
14: Battleship Rock
15: checking out the Fit in person
16: reflexive expression of my book characters' nervous anticipation
17: my car story coming to its happy ending
18: bringing home the Fit
19: vibing to CDs checked out from the library
20: driving to the end of the road(s)
21: ridealongs with the fam
22: car stuff with my dad, music with my mom, and projects with my bro
23: a mini road trip to & from Elephant Butte 
24: knowing Bojack so well that I can enjoy it even when the TV is smashed to absolute hell 
25: sharing Izi on the Honda Fit subreddit
26: eating out at one of our OG restaurants
27: season 2 of Special
28: climbing the rocks to look over the stream & falls
29: downhill coasting but having to weave through a dangerously narrow labyrinth of cacti
30: Dear White People 
31: three Fits in a line on the highway (one of them being my car's twin)

April

1: a friendly neighborhood cat accompanying me partway on my journey
2: my wrecked legs giving the illusion of a hard workout even though I bailed early
3: revisiting songs from my 2020 playlists
4: the Uber driver letting me DJ on his unbelievably bass-heavy sound system
5: DoorDash delivering lunch to my work
6: rental minivan giving me flashbacks to driving on school trips
7: a spirited little disagreement over whether "grey" or "gray" is the proper spelling for the color
8: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
9: car detailing videos
10: the grotesquely suburban experience of buying a full shopping cart's worth of groceries and bringing them home in a minivan 
11: 50/50
12: "Dudes who are down bad"
13: going to Target after work for some Ben & Jerry's Netflix & Chillll'd non-dairy ice cream
14: doing a phone interview from the comfort of the minivan's third row seats
15: being commissioned for a children's room project
16: Such a Fun Age 
17: David Attenborough's A Life on Our Planet
18: the dealership deploying the suave salesmen only on the repeat visits
19: him rolling over to check the time on his phone, then casually commenting on it being a year
20: morning moments in the civic plaza
21: the lady at FedEx coming over to the copy machines for a chat
22: the insurance claim finally feeling somewhat taken care of
23: a growing obsession with Geoguessr 
24: rest stop at a gazebo at the midway point on my bike ride
25: the fact that Bryan Cranston's autobiography opens with the letting-Jane-die scene from Breaking Bad
26: learning about RAGBRAI from a coworker and adding it to my bucket list
27: filling six book donation boxes
28: a romance featuring elderly protagonists
29: when the settlement check gets posted
30: hiking around the Santa Fe Canyon Preserve

March

 1: tiptoeing through puddles on the back road by way of moonlight
2: reading Jim Gorant's book about the champion frisbee pitbull, Wallace
3: nostalgia from my old 8tracks favorites
4: somehow making it to work on time after missing my alarm
5: sneaking into Costco
6: new trails along the bosque
7: adding some queso to the mac 'n cheese
8: the 'where are they now' segment on the dogs rescued from Michael Vick
9: Alani Nu watermelon wave fizzy energy drink
10: "Heavy Hearted"
11: a burst of inspiration for epilogue brainstorming and cover letters
12: the alternately hilarious, educational, and philosophical memoir of a guy who started a dog rescue in Chimayo, NM
13: scrappy lil baby mohawk
14: coming across a trilogy on the YA shelf with an almost-too-similar plot to my budding novel idea - then reading a boatload of angry 1-star reviews about it on Goodreads
15: balloons lifting off on the way to work
16: mild blizzard and the light cheek-sting of winter
17: going downtown for work training and being reminded of uptown escapes
18: new license plate
19: body awareness and spatial problem-solving when clambering over the rocks
20: crossing the I-40 bridge
21: a dog coming over to say hi (and her owner complimenting my mohawk)
22: comfort-buying junk food
23: coworkers' sympathy and indignation on my behalf
24: a surprise home-cooked lunch
25: oversaturating my brain with research on used subcompact cars
26: Solar Opposites Season 2
27: heading out to the beyond to fire off some rounds
28: enjoying some basic-bitch vanilla ice cream
29: writing in memoiristic essay style, inspired by the autobiographical nonfiction I've read of late
30: chatting with my Uber driver
31: an internship opening that aligns with my niche-af major (*fingers crossed*)

February

1. a coworker trying out maple syrup in her tea after hearing me talk about it
2. him showing me the Euphoria special episode to articulate his struggles
3. discovering a coworker knows sign language
4. buying chocolate after having a dream craving for it, and the guy at the cash register saying "Enjoy those candy bars"
5. locks on bridges
6. *sad Don Cheadle noises* (the end of The Guard)
7. learning about hygge
   
8. a conversation about covid vaccination (though a little awkward) to break up the normal work monotony
9. Michaela Coel in I May Destroy You
   
10. adorable mustachioed man
11. watching Better Call Saul together
12. riding the path winding through the depths of the bosque
13. thundersnow
14. him helping me search for cars and file my taxes
15. my first car
16. Valentines from my coworkers
17. midnight joyride in a loaner car
18. getting him some birthday chimichangas from Allsup's
19. a spur-of-the-moment walk on a snowy trail
20. the rare moment of the wind blowing at my back as I ride uphill
21. toning down the spice imbalance with milk and sugar
22. getting overexcited about a topic and putting an excessive number of books on hold
23. a specially-commissioned meal from the restaurant where he works
24. snuggling in to watch a new show together
25. him organizing the drinks in the fridge by brand
26. cruising diagonally across the city grid
27. showing my parents the new ride
28. him calling the circulation desk to get ahold of me at work

January

1: watching the last candles burn themselves out
2: Russian Doll
3: Grand Theft Auto IV
4: some cheating drama and an illegitimate baby (in the Sims 4)
5: homemade granola
6: pumping it up to 20mph (on a downhill)
7: shower-fresh curls
8: Kelsey Tries the 100-baby Challenge series
9: completely inverted sleep schedule
10: stealing little naps to make it through an all-nighter
11: first day at my new library job
12: a fresh Sprouts location on the west side
13: a children's book about a girl who couldn't get a pet bonding with a dog she spends time with at the shelter
14: overlooking the dog park while on my lunch break
15: a self-help book in the style of a Socratic dialogue
16: turning my bathroom into an at-home fitting room for clothes bought online
17: making brunch before work
18: celebrating my vegan birthday a day early by making my favorite pies
19: putting slips in books
20: binge-reading Psychology Today articles
21: sushi after work
22: an 18-mile bike ride, passing by the flood control facility, through Bear Canyon, and up and down Tramway
23: a quote on why 'unfree' people judge those who are living freely
24: an Opal apple
25: "Permanence" by Maybeshewill
26: him understanding the 'wait in the parking lot and dawdle in the store' to avoid going home
27: looking up the best houseplants for beginners
28: grocery store clerk curiously asking why I'm buying so many beans
29: District 9
30: moments of solitude on the channel trail through the industrial zone
31: "The Next Best American Record" by Lana Del Rey