December

1: a breathtaking union of gorgeous vocals and strong, powerful electronic melodies and bass supports
2: Twizzlers dipped in frosting
3: the supermoon as seen through spindly, skeletal winter branches
4: mysterious morning mist
5: the pain and hope of animal rescue and recovery (videos)
6: the rushing of the creek under starlight
7: peer-pressuring two club-buddies into coming to language tables
8: humming/singing "You Are Here" and "Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)" to myself in memory of John Lennon
9: watching and feeling a little kid's excitement over a button-pressed card dispenser
10: the fortuitous discovery of how smooth my bald head can be
11: snacking on chocolate chips
12: informal phone interview with a New Mexico-based tiny home builder
13: some classmates chatting about driving stickshift
14: song mashups (otherwise known as black MIDI for the brain)
15: "imagine a round-table discussion with these influential people" exam prompt
16: library books to educate myself about Kwanzaa
17: being productive while (stuck) in the airport for many hours
18: filling up a bag of books
19: family game night of Cards Against Humanity
20: making vegan latkes for the last day of Hanukkah
21: learning to crochet (again) and listening to an audiobook
22: walking in step as we share a pair of earbuds and traverse the path around the garden center
23: talasimu, or Kwanzaalien
24: dreams commingling with reality and subconscious desires brought to the surface
25: helping plant the Christmas trees/shrubs
26: first day of Kwanzaa
27: gazing out at the far-off city lights and highway lines while on a night stroll at the edge of the neighborhood
28: "Kunze Kwadoka" by Oliver Mtukudzi
29: blackberry bars and relatable rants
30: messing around on the piano and coming up with a joke album
31: just managing to finish preparing the karamu/birthday meal before 2018

November

1: my friend informing me of a new veg restaurant opening in our hometown
2: epic music playing in my head during a stats test
3: perusing accidentally vegan snack options at the grocery store
4: heavy, dark music to match a pissed-off mood
5: binge-watching vegan "what I eat in a day" videos
6: a killer Uncaged Vol. 3 album mix
7: joking with the guys in the tech booth while they set up lighting cues for our performance
8: Cheat Code 2.0 album mix
9: not getting stage fright in front of the bright lights
10: failed churro experiment (and having a friend over to help out)
11: planning out the closing chapter
12: bath time for Patchie
13: examining the individual patterns of snowflakes sticking to my sweatshirt
14: neatly and efficiently completing my one-page-a-day goal for my final paper
15: music to motivate a workout (and breaking a sweat)
16: catching up on telenovela night
17: everyone reaching to take a freshly-baked sugar cookie off the plate
18: "Dreams" by Rogue ft. Laura Brehm
19: Bi Hall walkabout
20: deliberating on Athens' first move in the 4th-century-Greece (BCE) political simulation
21: bringing a stack of books back to my dorm to get me through Thanksgiving break
22: listening to an audiobook while cooking and doing food prep
23: a simple, filling bowl of mashed potatoes with gravy
24: tiny chickadee hopping onto twigs and dry leaves and belting out its eponymous song
25: "El Deafo" by Cece Bell
26: annotating a manuscript to prep it for draft 2
27: getting unreasonably excited when they serve some of my favorite food in the dining hall
28: the huge, stupid grin that I can't suppress upon revisiting my favorite Spanish song ever, "Billy y las botas"
29: the comforting familiarity and overwhelming beauty of listening to George Harrison's music (even/especially after going so long without hearing it)
30: Monstercat merch package

October

1: "My Galaxy" by Eminence + Markus Cole ft. Q'AILA
2: walking by fields with the breeze blowing over my head and Gregorian chants playing in my ear
3: toying around with cover design ideas for Helven
4: brainstorming recipes with green chile (after receiving a care package from a friend)
5: writing advice from Ellen Brock
6: the results of my first film photography experiment
7: making vegan green chile cornbread
8: a bit of rain blowing through
9: dark chocolate bits in cereal
10: labyrinth procession and meditation to honor a teacher we've lost
11: Rameses B's concept album Reborn
12: fledgling signers braving language tables
13: encabalgamiento at the chapter level
14: watching video reviews of various electric cars
15: beating boredom with a book
16: excitement for an ASL song interpretation
17: chilly air against my cheeks as I bike
18: treadmill reading
19: gathering books from the library for research
20: handing off the driving baton on our road trip to D.C. from VT
21: basic solo D.C. exploration (to/from National Mall)
22: an afternoon hanging out at Georgetown waterfront park
23: a Gallaudet University girl racing up to love on Patchie
24: Contact + one-word story as car games
25: Notaker's "Terra"
26: texting with my physical therapist
27: vegan Halloween candy recommendations from The Vegan Zombie
28: my boss bringing some apples downstairs for me
29: adding "Sentient" by Mr FijiWiji and Tülpa to my SoundCloud playlist
30: wading through a pile of leaves
31: silo skyline

September

1: stroll through the shade along the field's edge
2: photoshoots with Grandpa's old Olympus SLR camera
3: (almost) everybody wanting a taste of what I'm cooking
4: walking desert paths by evening light and the glow of the moon
5: wandering in the bosque
6: the cuteness of Tokyo Machine's "Bubbles"
7: coming across an old video/reality TV show episode we made years ago
8: transporting endangered tadpoles to a more stable habitat
9: moving into a new room
10: meeting and talking to a few of my house-mates
11: getting business matters done and out of the way on the first day
12: friendly catching-up chat with an old classmate
13: a long soliloquy-discussion about the confusing morality of veganism
14: walking the TAM and suddenly seeing deer bounding over an adjacent field
15: the exhilarating, beautiful, uniquely innovative anti-gravity dancing of Bandaloop
16: a story about internet (more-than) friends meeting up in real life
17: catching glimpses of forest animals
18: fresh-faced first-years coming to check out ASL club
19: first time catching the Monstercat podcast live
20: environmental murder-mystery corruption thriller Cromo
21: wild New England meadows tinged with golden evening light
22: Balmorhea's first full-length album release in five years, Clear Language
23: "family" dinner in the Spanish House
24: wandering the shoreline + coves [?] of Lake Champlain
25: a generous turnout at our club meeting
26: an interesting new vegan offering in the dining hall - tofu lentil sloppy joes
27: jugando en el cafecito (playing [games] during Cafecito)
28: gathering to watch "El ministerio del tiempo"
29: language table chats with some new club members
30: "Hooray! Todd Episode!" (S4:E3 of BoJack Horseman)

August

1: parodying the Great British Baking Show while making vegan coffee cake
2: family endeavor to clean my brother's room
3: baking vegan pop tarts
4: uncovering older Stonebank and Stephen Walking tunes
5: the conclusion to the Seeds of America trilogy
6: an afternoon at Tingley Beach with the little ones
7: little crocheted romphim for Boomer
8: a story that combines dream-like time and space with quantum and metaphysics
9: "Make My Day" by DROELOE
10: a post-dinner game of backyard soccer
11: reading an old favorite story and still feeling the same emotions for/with the characters
12: the middle twins' first time traveling by plane
13: chatting with Grandma's neighbors
14: riding the trike around and exploring the neighborhood
15: learning about native Alaskan life
16: playing gin with a New Mexico-raised, Alaska-residing man I met on the train
17: meeting my grandma's boyfriend
18: "Fire Dancer" by Victor Kelleher
19: cooking shepherd's pie to celebrate Virgil's 85th birthday
20: watching the Alaskan wilderness go by
21: wildlife spotting on the tour bus through Denali National Park
22: reconnecting with people we met earlier in our travels
23: brownie cupcake-muffins for Boomer and Pongo's birthday
24: meeting and hanging out with Grandma's besties
25: bundled in a new hoodie
26: "Sun Won't Rise" by Seven Lions feat. Rico and Miella nvmbr edit
27: late afternoon walk in a loop around the neighborhoods
28: seeing the southwestern landscape from up above
29: dropping in and saying hello to an old teacher
30: walking barefoot along the sidewalks of the neighborhood in the falling night
31: roadrunners running through the park

July

1: New Mexican Beatles tribute band Twist and Shout
2: family outing to Thai Vegan for my vegetarian anniversary
3: the grassy crater valley of Mount Taylor
4: spending Fourth of July reading Bernie Sanders' Our Revolution
5: hiking and lunch with an old friend
6: home-brewed chilled mint tea
7: "The Country of the Blind" by H.G. Wells
8: convoluted Animal World drama
9: wildlife spotting in and around Wheeler Peak
10: sleep (with legs propped up on the bed) healing sore and aching limbs
11: a friendly vendor giving us cherries to sample at a farmers' market
12: climbing through the rocky canyon
13: My Life as a Zucchini
14: the transcendent soul love and journey of reincarnation in Every Day
15: two tea drinkers going out for coffee
16: epic spin jumps while listening to the Monstercat Rocket League soundtrack
17: portabella fries
18: food truck smoothie from the farmers' market
19: "Close" by Conro
20: the jokey, friendly people working at Balanced Physical Therapy
21: revisiting An Other Cup for the first time in a few years
22: online sticker shopping
23: spleef-like dropshot mode on Rocket League
24: vigorous pedaling to blow off steam from the day
25: peering into the windows of a camper parked (abandoned) by the house
26: individually-fitted crocheted outfits for the little ones
27: trying out pecan malk
28: a novel about technologically-advanced Neanderthals coming into contact with modern humans
29: a refreshing rainshower toward the end of a six-hour hike
30: Stonebank's Monument EP
31: reading while stirring the pot of oatmeal

June

1: the blend of color, depth, and texture in a clouded sky
2: Only the Ring Finger Knows
3: If I Was Your Girl
4: efficiency contest between renewable energies: human power or solar?
5: being the douche who drives too fast and plays thumping-bass music too loud
6: The Secret World of Arrietty
7: discovering my great- (and great-great-) grandparents through old photo albums
8: running in the dirt clearing by the skate park in the moonlit twilight with a kite flying high in the purple-gray evening sky
9: a modern-day gay take on Pride and Prejudice
10: the refreshment of a late-morning breeze from a mountain peak
11: watching anime with my brother
12: walking through the now-a-desert-oasis arroyo of my youth
13: mountainside rocks
14: an interracial romance? between two bisexual girls
15: the Atalaya mountain trail
16: listening to songs from album 89 on my bike ride
17: the once-in-a-lifetime experience of eating half-done solar-cooked quinoa out of a jar
18: going off-trail down the slippery slope and coming across an abandoned mineshaft
19: when rocky, dry desert becomes green, canopied forest
20: realizing a lone coyote is a mama with two little pups
21: revamped anthropomorphic drawings of the little Buschmans by my brother
22: Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men
23: the multiverse creating multiple consciousnesses in one being
24: the simultaneous beauty and dread of hearing a gust of wind whoosh its way up the mountain toward us
25: the mystery of the history of abandoned trucks
26: random shutter presses in burst mode to snap a pic of lightning
27: hanging a hammock from the desert willows
28: the brush of foliage against bare arms and legs
29: plans to visit my birthplace
30: veganizing an Italian sausage and white bean soup recipe

May

1: the brilliant, show-stopping burst of lightning across the night sky
2: "Found You" by Kasbo feat. Chelsea Cutler
3: "Alone" by NERVO & Askery feat. Brielle Von Hugel
4: my friend bringing me a vegan dessert bar from the dining hall
5: rain pouring down as I tramp through the leaf-littered forest
6: my supervisor coming to see a play at my invitation
7: songs from 028
8: errands and food gathering with the club
9: seeing the inside of an electrical plug (& discovering how it works)
10: spotting tadpoles and frogs in a little pond off the creek
11: expressing thanks to my teacher and him expressing thanks in return
12: expansive reflections over the swamp waters
13: lazing in one of the Great Hall's comfy chairs to get work done
14: wandering around and filming nature clips for a cinematographic composition
15: wading through swamp waters
16: walking around and being out in the nature most of the day
17: safety gloves to handle sharp/rough-edged/hot metal
18: remembering Chris Cornell through Soundgarden, Audioslave, and his solo albums
19: installing and admiring the cable racks
20: a break from packing to sit in a meadow in the afternoon light and hear the bird songs
21: my standard Burlington airport fare at The Skinny Pancake
22: commencement of the purge
23: birthday dessert of homemade vegan rice krispie treats
24: starting in on my summer reading list
25: the crush reveal (to my mom)
26: wood-notching with a bow saw and a chisel
27: violent and bloody self-defense, revenge, and escape at the end of a movie
28: building a spine and legs for Joe
29: charging my phone with a portable solar panel
30: lying in a hammock with the night sky above
31: listening to 020 under my brother's tutelage

April

1: cookie deliveries & convos with friends
2: sitting in the sun listening to the soundscape of the spring birds
3: homework out at the Slautterback Overlook
4: chat about books read over break
5: squirrels bounding across the grass and play-wrestling
6: revitalization of color after a day of rain
7: friendly acquaintances by my side
8: traversing the bog that is Battell Beach by moon- and starlight
9: taking advantage of the warm weather and bringing the bike out of hibernation to ride in the sun
10: the shimmering ripple of the creek current
11: dessert of chocolate-dipped strawberries at our silent dinner
12: the soft, chewy sweetness of a cookie after it's been dipped in tea
13: "Infinity Tryps" by Brndn.
14: catching up with my adviser
15: using video chat for the first time in pretty much ever to call back home to my family
16: nighttime frog songs coming in from the open windows
17: appreciating the photography decorating the walls of a friend's dorm
18: first buds and blooms on the trees
19: someone blowing bubbles from an upper-story window out into the sprinkling rain
20: the glow of blue-green flame in a void of black
21: tucking myself into a far corner of the science library (and unknowingly staying after hours)
22: mini-meadow patch of blue flowers
23: absorbing the surroundings of Crescent Moon Bay
24: soaking up the sun (from an Adirondack chair and coming through the windows inside)
25: garbage bag over my bike seat to keep it from getting wet in the rain
26: interacting with the one family down in the children's room during my shift
27: carrying around Astyanax after being assigned to his joint-tightening
28: forging through the thorny thicket to collect data in the forest
29: arrogant, self-assured, pedantic Nietzsche
30: cranking out a page and a half for a final paper over breakfast

March

1: unexpectedly friendly and comfortable conversation with a former classmate
2: being accepted to the Spanish House
3: field trip to a farm in my environmental science class
4: "Waiting on Your Call" by Anevo feat. Park Avenue
5: The Hating Game
6: going back and listening to my "old" eclektro playlist
7: dinner chat with my New Mexico pal
8: lying in bed listening to music before my alarm goes off
9: cantering around the shop
10: adopting a leftover kale plant from our environmental science lab experiments
11: bringing my own Tupperware to get granola from the bulk bins
12: friendship feels of catching meals
13: planning out my New Mexico summer pilgrimage
14: braving my first blizzard
15: knee-deep snow canals
16: pocket full of dates
17: Cloud Tectonics
18: half a jar of granola, an orange, and a Warriors graphic novel for lunch
19: Feasting on Fruit's dessert recipe videos
20: "Everything Black" by Unlike Pluto feat. Mike Taylor
21: putting together the scenic step "ribs"
22: when the dining hall has three bean chili and three beans and rice at lunch
23: golden rays of sunlight slanting through the windows
24: Monstercat 030 - Finale
25: breakfast in Atwater
26: walking across the empty, quiet campus
27: making faces at/with a baby on the plane
28: the green-leaved trees and purple blossoms of spring
29: staying up late to listen to the audiobook of P.S. I Like You with my mom
30: making plans to deliver cookies to friends
31: the feeling of soaring listening to "Starship"

February

1: thick snowflakes drifting down in the forest
2: celebrating Imbolc down in Base 3 (a.k.a. the room with the most lights I know of/have access to)
3: my five-year anniversary video recording of "No One Special"
4: a kids' novel about escape from reality and making a rundown place magical
5: the secluded niche of the dispatch room
6: scoping out the locations of my classrooms for spring semester
7: tossing foam cubes with some little kids over the circulation desk
8: Romeo and Juliet choose your own adventure
9: waking up to see the fuzz of snow blowing past the windows
10: a time-travel story of love transcendent
11: jotting down a tidbit on a blank receipt scroll
12: gathering up books for the new semester
13: a warm welcome into the theater design & production course
14: seeing "send Mom valentine" written in pen on a guy's hand
15: unscrewing bolts and removing rails from the theater balcony
16: games to simulate systems in my environmental science lab
17: Endangered Species dark chocolate with cranberries and almonds
18: a comedy satirizing Socrates
19: interpreting alongside the performers
20: finding belated anti-valentines from my friend in my mailbox
21: swarf and the smell of burning steel
22: a little girl grabbing my hand (by the pinkie) to lead me to and show me something
23: standing in line with a friend and laughing and talking smack about random things
24: a girl actually asking me, "Can we be friends?"
25: derp-face Waldo
26: the ruins of Otter Creek
27: book talk over breakfast
28: surprising my teacher by knowing the name of a tool before he introduces it to me

January

1: OCD Love Story
2: spontaneous revision-writing inspiration
3: the coexistence of hilarity and poignancy in BoJack Horseman
4: a mold of my teeth... in sparkly blue
5: drinking tea through a straw
6: beating Dad at the unbeatable Dad game
7: the whole family working together on a puzzle
8: soft 'n' chewy vegan choco chip cookies
9: "My Life in a Stolen Moment"
10: President Obama's farewell speech
11: first time on skis
12: the beautiful little song one girl sang after her sexual assault
13: "Bon Voyage" by DROELOE
14: a spooky psychological thriller that reveals the terrifying delusions of schizophrenia
15: chai and Cheerios for breakfast
16: music identification on a test
17: eating a Taco Tuesday lunch in Proctor
18: managing to stay on my feet through a turn at the bottom of a hill
19: looking out over the frozen pond behind the arts center
20: finally being able to understand all the Back to the Future references in Family Guy
21: Microbe et Gasoil
22: a French rom-com about two people dating while never once seeing each other
23: finding out a close acquaintance recently went vegan
24: crystalline trees
25: zooming down the Sugardrop Falls run (and not falling!)
26: sitting with an acquaintance at dinner and sharing some laughs
27: analyzing the differences between Bob Dylan's "Maggie's Farm" and RATM's cover
28: lunchtime chat with my supervisor about my tiny house
29: first time hearing songs from Love and Theft
30: my new ukulele
31: silent dinner