Before they moved in together, my grandpa’s girlfriend lived in an old townhouse that let wind in through the windowpanes. There was always a fire making up for the draft. While the adults chopped it up I would watch Anne of Green Gables and play with my grandpa’s girlfriend’s Russian nesting dolls. I would stand on my tip-toes to grab them from the mantle, multiply them, make them kiss. When my grandpa and his girlfriend moved in together I lost track of the nesting dolls. They flew the coop. Now when I go to my grandpa and his girlfriend’s house I look at my grandpa’s CDs, but I don’t make them kiss.
My grandpa loves Bob Dylan. In his old house he had a framed picture of him hanging in his living room. See below: a postcard he sent to me earlier this year
Transcription: P- 1960s cool! Got the Chelsea card on my frig (sic). I agree, Cate was superior to Timothy as Bob. Ed Norton stole the show as Pete Seeger. Love, GL
It was Leonard Cohen’s birthday a few days ago so I read some of his poems. They’re all horny and it’s awesome. Like, “You came to me this morning / And you handled me like meat.” Okay! In a non-sexy way it reminded me of how my guy friends from high school are becoming chiropractors and pharmacists and contractors. Handling their livelihood like meat and dishing it out. Kind of dope.
My girl friends from high school are beautiful in new ways. Some of them are getting married and having babies and some of them have houses with dishwashers and yards (front and back) and some of them graduated with degrees in kinesiology or chemistry or business. I’ve never been that great at math or science. I am business-minded but in all the wrong ways. Here are things I’m great at:
The daily whatever
Eating the middle of a cinnamon roll first and then remembering I don’t like them that much
Heating up water for tea in a saucepan
Waking up at 5 AM to feed my cat who will otherwise knock tchotchkes off my bedside table that isn’t by my bedside anymore because when it was he would climb on it and disturb me in the night
Picking up things and either keeping them or putting them back
Most of the time I keep the things I pick up. For example, I was given a Freya the Mini Pony trading card after riding horses at East of Eden Stables in Presque Isle, Maine. Freya is sort of their mascot. She has made appearances at the library, the hospital, and the elementary school. The wax seal is from my best friend Kacie and her husband Alex’s wedding invitation. I think I found that cheeky Brokeback Mountain image in the New Yorker.
When I feel old and weird I listen to the music my uncle would play on the radio while he worked in the barn. I think about playing in hay and climbing ladders and braiding horse hair. Sometimes doing this will make me more homesick so I’ll watch Spongebob and think about how he never ends an episode sad.
Then I try to make plans. In a few days it’ll be October. Here are some things I will do:
Attend the Student Academy Awards to support my brilliant friend Vega, who is a finalist for best alternative/experimental student film. It’s so beautiful to be able to support your friends while they are doing what they love. I always feel like Elena Ferrante because I’m like, there she is… My Brilliant Friend.
Go to Comic Con for one of my jobs. <3 I can’t wait
See Alex G and Big Thief <3 followed by Geese, Fine, Smerz, Wednesday, and MJ Lenderman in November…. but I might be getting too ahead of myself……
Make a ton of soup and perhaps even muffins of the pumpkin variety
Cultivate personas for Halloween. Right now I am planning on devoting my soul to my Princess Wizard costume. When I tell my friends about it they’re like “Who is Princess Wizard,” and I’m like “I made it up.”
Start collaboratively reading Infinite Jest with my friend Matt Donovan—shoutout Matt Donovan.
Work on my headstand
I don’t have a planner but it’s amazing what I can keep track of just by being myself. It’s like I’m playing chess. There’s pawns and rooks and bishops and knights and the king and the queen and I’m making them all kiss.
MEDIA:
It’s been a while since I have posted on here. Maybe I’ll write about all the books I’ve read at the end of the year, but for now I will insert photos of the covers of some of my recent favorites.
Terrible picture my bad. This is Elif Batuman’s Either Or. It’s the sequel of The Idiot (after Dostoevsky). This one is after Kierkegaard my Danish King. I’ve heard many polarizing takes about both books, but I think they are wonderful.
Been brushing up on my Lebowitz.
I don’t have anything to say
Enough books here are some songs I’ve been ripping
Too many songs but most of them are awesome new releases except for Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head. My uncle loves that song. Oh and also Die in Your Arms by Justin Bieber but that’s the personal classic of my heart.
Comment your favorite song below!
And finally here’s some photos of what I’ve been up to.
Selfie at the Paul Bunyan statue after seeing Waxahatchee, Sheryl Crow, Bob Dylan, and Willie Nelson at Outlaw Festival. I drank two Allagash Whites and murdered a McDonalds snack wrap afterwards
Yeah
Framed photo of Oprah Winfrey. Perfect gift for your lover
Me and my friend Braedan caught on a walk looking like your average Bushwick couple
<3
For now, that’s all — until I feel inclined to post on here again….