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

December

1: Mad Max: Fury Road
2: learning a new convoluted strategy game
3: The Queen's Gambit
4: the vegan Beyond Meat burrito at Del Taco
5: Chex Mix and mango ginger Zevia
6: talking to a guy in line at the grocery store about what's for dinner
7: Upload
8: stocking up on canned goods following a fiasco of needing corn after the stores closed and having to run to the gas station
9: an in-person interview (finally, a new place to go)
10: pushing my high score in Fruit Ninja
11: some much-appreciated closeness after a tough conversation
12: mattress shopping
13: surprising myself with how much ground I can cover while biking around the city
14: a dope-ass "Mexican pizza" quesadilla
15: new mattress
16: the Royalty Free Christmas Songs mega compilation
17: Raised by Wolves opening titles theme
18: sriracha on sushi
19: sippin' back to a slightly corrupted childhood via CapriSuns
20: casting some YouTube to the big screen
21: playing The Sims (3)
22: the nostalgia of the Nintendogs theme songs
23: extra strong hot chocolate
24: playing The Sims (4)
25: a cup of chai at the end of the day
26: the annual candle scramble
27: insecure
28: stuffed butternut squash
29: recovering a lost Sims world
30: putting on songs I haven't heard in years
31: get rich cheat codes

November

1: the permeating smell of green chile as the 18-lb bag continues roasting in the trunk
2: The Danish Girl
3: shucking, chopping, & bagging the green chile
4: when he comes early to pick me up from work and I get to eat with him once I'm off my shift
5: being called in as a translator
6: the Pixel 4a
7: eating pizza while driving
8: a walk & new-phone-camera photoshoot
9: membership cards
10: hitting up a vegan-friendly restaurant thanks to my bf's coworker
11: The End of the F***king World
12: him making me a lavender seltzer drink
13: tap-to-pay with my phone
14: the vadai taco
15: a fresh-haircut-and-waffles kind of Sunday
16: playing Borderlands 3 together
17: him raving over me wearing glasses
18: Avenue 5
19: sambhar, lunch & dinner
20: PicsArt edits on photos of my cutie
21: my coworker getting bean'd by another coworker
22: a few minutes inside a mansion in downtown ABQ
23: tea & soup
24: adventures at the laundromat
25: wandering into the exurban wastes
26: replicating my mom's cranberry sauce recipe
27: Rick & Morty Season 4
28: the development of side characters in Lovecraft Country
29: learning cool science shit through Reddit memes
30: extra butter* and garlic salt on my mashed 'tatties