February

1: "Only Be Me"
2: going out with friends to see "The Favourite"
3: chill Sunday with a friend
4: last* conversations over breakfast
5: a haze of evening sun spilling over the desert mountains
6: cruising down residential streets in Houston on a rented bike
7: the new animation for swimming in Minecraft
8: Emotionalism
9: an Albuquerque fog from Piñon Coffee House
10: chill* vibes from S/T by This Will Destroy You
11: brunch and Cat Stevens records with Dad
12: rediscovering my love of post-rock
13: the series finale of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
14: the fact that the local school shooting had no casualties
15: reaching a fight scene in my book
16: cantering along the trail with a cholla skeleton in hand
17: an epic, knocked-into-the-void death at the hands of the Ender Dragon
18: watching some Black Mirror (and analysis videos)
19: summoning phantoms
20: living vicariously through someone living vicariously through virtual characters
21: walking down to Walgreens and making a morning of it
22: preparations for leaving
23: my brother getting obsessed with a song I was obsessed with a year ago
24: tea at a friend's house
25: back-to-back(-to-back) George Harrison LPs as I go about my day
26: last morning at home
27: striking desert mountains looming through haze
28: incredible panoramic views of the verdant valley

January

1: sled gang (time outside in the snow with my brother)
2: trippy magical realism + art inspiration
3: "5 Second Rule" with the Dimension cast
4: "Witness to the Rain" (a chapter from Braiding Sweetgrass)
5: dinner + a movie with friends upon returning from break
6: incorporating Braiding Sweetgrass into my canon of favorite books
7: Genesis 2 & examinations of Creation through the lens of the environment
8: passing a class intermission with classmates
9: suspended animation (the delicate, precarious balance of snow in trees)
10: people on my trivia team jumping to defend Rosalind Franklin's contribution to the discovery of DNA's structure (I'm so glad I'm not the only one)
11: "Phantom of Aleppoville"
12: Gimlet's "The Habitat" podcast
13: one-year anniversary of the second draft of Helven
14: cozy windowed sitting nook in Mahaney
15: chatting with a trip pal like no time has passed
16: cool new exclusives on COTW 231
17: "Blue to Blue" by CloudNone
18: a night at the townhouse watching[?] Bandersnatch, playing the Voting Game, and just talking and joking around 'til 2:45 am
19: braving the cold (and the threat of impending blizzard) to spend the afternoon walking around and exploring Burlington
20: watching the gales of snow and people trudging through it from my bedroom window
21: reading about tree worship and connecting it to my acquaintanceship with a tree
22: brief intervals of sliding down the steep snow-packed walkway
23: discovering the whole new world of the fitness center
24: starting on my video essay
25: being in the mood to torture myself with a jog on the treadmill
26: reminders for compassion and mindfulness from Thich Nhat Hanh
27: finally escaping an escape room (even if I barely contributed)
28: laughing it up from all the misunderstandings and miscommunications at our silent dinner
29: Hyraxe and Tevlo, or, the dream team
30: forging a path through the knee*-deep forest snow
31: vegan gluten-free cookies on our last day of class

December

1: little food rewards to motivate me to write my paper
2: "Castaway" by the dream duo Grant + Jessi Mason
3: presentation night & classmates' creative final project ideas and media of expression
4: other hidden gems from Gregory Alan Isakov's Evening Machines
5: snow like gently falling stars
6: taking a drink to a study carrel and settling in to write
7: new and previously-unheard Balmorhea
8: a thought-provoking play about the decision to (or not to) have children
9: standing upon, and being held up by, an ice shelf
10: a guy befriending a butterfly
11: Mitus + Tikey (a.k.a. the freakin' cutest couple in Season 2 of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt)
12: more Cat Stevens
13: surprise hug from a friend
14: grabbing lunch with my friend before she leaves for break
15: my hair today (tiny curls)
16: when the dining hall offers a really good soup even though they've reached the dregs of their supply
17: an entire day and thirty pages' worth of journaling
18: learning (together) about the odd, sci-fi/fantasy world-building behind Cat's album Numbers
19: after many failed attempts, successfully hammering apart and dismantling a pallet
20: an outing day with the brother
21: The Breadwinner
22: Nob Hill meetup
23: bikesplorations out in the Beyond
24: Little & Lion
25: iota, the great big game in the teeny-weeny tin
26: (almost) all the family contributing to a Kwanzaa music mix
27: crunching along the snowy streets of Santa Fe
28: tumbling into the mud and tangling with bushes while sledding
29: chatting while walking around and browsing the record store
30: To All the Boys I've Loved Before
31: hella Helven writing inspiration

November

1: premium music subscription service STEAL leading me to unknown albums by old favorites
2: putting on an old coat and just feeling *right*
3: crazy, goofy kids at the library
4: an ~extra hour put to good use - finishing a futuristic Jane Eyre story
5: listening to + singing along with Lana Del Rey (strange yet funny because I used to hate her) and being reminded of my best friend (who used to be obsessed with her)
6: Magpie and the Dandelion
7: doing a mini cover of "Video Games" and sending it to my friend (and him liking it despite the fact that he couldn't imagine me singing along to Lana, "but I guess there's a time and place for everything")
8: full language table with representation from all generations of signers
9: when "see ya later, bub" becomes "ciao-ciao, Chí-Chí"
10: remembering van music and being led to new tunes
11: twenty-minute mohawk phase (long enough to do a for-posterity photoshoot)
12: parallel experience between me and the character in my novel
13: (belated?) intro to Porter Robinson
14: a piece that captures both the cold desolation as well as the fragile, delicate wonder of winter ("Ice")
15: Hawt ChocoLIT (and laughing with people to engage with them)
16: the spectacle of snow sheets falling off the roof (and the thundering ruckus they make)
17: TA Outdoors' pallet wood cabin build
18: finishing season 4 of BoJack
19: meeting & talking to a guy in my class through a partner exercise
20: on a whim accompanying my friend to Bristol
21: pig and cat dutifully following us on the snowy trail
22: trust-building with Turkey (on Thanksgiving)
23: wandering the trails on my uncle and aunt's property
24: (extended family) game night
25: a day chilling with my aunt
26: unexpected extension of my stay in Madison
27: thickly falling snow to (finally) welcome me back to campus
28: busting out the knee-length puffy
29: the perfect secondary source for my final paper
30: surprise mail

October

1: peanut butter fudge and pretzels
2: clips from the opera Don Giovanni as part of analysis in my Don Juan class
3: pleasantly unexpected "thought you'd like this" music recommendation from a friend
4: hearing queer perspectives of life on campus
5: sitting blindfolded on the bay, experiencing the place through the topography of the rocks beneath me
6: the tender, heartfelt story and beautiful watercolor illustration of On the Night of the Shooting Star
7: cooking with the vegan dinner crew for Sunday Night Dinner
8: a misty, snow-like flurry of rain
9: listening to Sean Ono Lennon for the first time - on his birthday!
10: trying to capture fall in photographs
11: a walk out in the rain (through the forest, along leaf-littered "back" paths, at the edge of the meadow/field)
12: Grant's COTW takeover
13: binge-listening to Seafret
14: open, honest talk over the phone with a friend
15: mini documentaries from Attitude on different life experiences
16: hidden gems of the sixth-floor oasis
17: a moment of tackle-play with my #1 bub
18: the poetic/philosophical side (and interspersed witty jabs) of Walden
19: the ticking sound of nails on linoleum as a little dog follows our every step as we move about the kitchen
20: chilling at the townhouse on a Saturday night with a movie and a card game
21: itty bitty snowflakes in a winter-cold flurry
22: talk of tattoos and vegan edibles over dinner
23: when none of us read the article the teacher assigned and are skimming it in class and fudging answers to the discussion questions
24: falling head over heels in love with "Better" by Laszlo
25: when a guy I met at poetry night seeks me out to read my latest poem
26: pleasantly unexpected encounters with graduated friends
27: bringing a friend along to Crescent Moon Bay on a chilly, overcast morning
28: "City in the Sky" by Hyraxe and Tevlo
29: when a girl who's given me some vibes (?) compliments my sweatshirt
30: kicking my shoes off and walking around the classroom (+ other places) in just my toe-socks
31: seeing a couple clever and creative costumes

September

1: sitting just off the trail on a chilly, overcast morning, looking out over the landscape and reimagining my summer experiences as a story retelling
2: the comfort of holding a soft, cuddly Squishmallow in my arms in the middle of a crowded Costco
3: playing Bananagrams out on the patio of a cafe
4: addicting new songs from Rocket League x Monstercat Vol. 4
5: Earl Grey tea chocolate
6: the wonder of wandering Narnia's newly-discovered roads
7: binge-downloading Ninety9Lives tunes
8: playing cards in a preT coffee shop
9: pizza and game night
10: returning to a familiar place after a long half-day of traveling
11: familiar faces as I float through a sea of strangers
12: listening to COTW while at the gym
13: window-watching
14: a random rug as compensation for the one that mysteriously was lost
15: "Reacting to Anti-Gay Commercials Because I'm Gay"
16: pedaling down the road to see where it goes
17: an unexpected chill and secluded spot (the deck outside Sunderland)
18: wandering in the woods until I get kinda lost (then finding my way back)
19: a curious squirrel looking right at me and inching its way closer
20: doing readings outside on a just-perfectly-overcast-and-cool day (on a swing, in an Adirondack chair)
21: learning (as much as one can?) how to play Mao at Q&A's gayme night
22: flame-burst of obsession for MEMBA's "Stand Off" feat. Ehiorobo
23: easy rapport with a friend as we do the dishes
24: sweet potato coconut curry soup with focaccia for dipping
25: watching an animal emotions documentary for class
26: listening to Xan Griffin's "Self Discovery" EP (and discovering he's a relatively young talent)
27: excerpts from Emerson's 'Nature' essay
28: attending a neuroscience talk and learning about the strange sociality of voles
29: sharing fudge (and first-time high experiences)
30: a blurred line between reality and delusion in a book

August

1: setting the bar low on a very slow day and exceeding our goals
2: multicolored berries hanging like a string of lights over the creek
3: an interlude of sun in the midst of rain
4: dogs in dreams
5: embracing the music (facing the rain)
6: rolling a piece of lumber across a sketchy bridge using little logs underneath
7: signing each other's pants on the last day of work
8: breakfast of granola & blueberries in yogurt while filling out end-of-season surveys in a Starbucks
9: the giddy loopiness of being high
10: prepping for da club on our last night together
11: when one of the songs in a DJ's set is a remix of a tune our friend would always reference
12: queuing up new tunes
13: grocery-shopping with healthy* meal ideas in mind
14: first snaps
15: little bro's sketch idea for my tattoo
16: when a book alternately makes you laugh out loud and tugs at your heartstrings
17: walking through the desert - and looking over the city - in the stormy dusk
18: Frasier to distract me from stinging, stabbing tattoo pain
19: the crew's approval and excitement over the crosscut tattoo
20: another cute 'n' sweet Kasie West audiobook (now I've read all her novels!)
21: anecdotes about our crew leader
22: remembering + reliving the sexual tension between two characters in a previously-read-and-thoroughly-enjoyed book
23: a story of summer romance and self-discovery
24: splurging on music
25: binge-watching Rick and Morty with my bro
26: sassy retorts and pessimistic reminiscing
27: being reminded why my obscure and unknown-and-confusing-to-everyone major is important
28: desert déjà vu and the epiphany of belonging
29: wearing an apron (feeling like a real chef)
30: chronicling the low-key dramatic saga of my second experience with weed through captioned selfies
31: Leave No Trace