I Can't Stress Enough How Much I Miss StumbleUpon

Current read! The closest I'll get to being a ballerina.

Me: I don't get it. I thought I was doing a lot better than I was a few years ago. I'm like 10 times more on top of things than I used to be. How does everything feel terrible now?

The Tiny Me in OSHA-approved Hi-Vis Gear Who lives in my brain and pulls all the levers: Boss, it's the fascism. You're completely gunked up with cortisol due to the fact that your entire daily life is now underscored with a haunting awareness of the rapid erosion of your rights, dignity, and any and all social safety nets, and you're also bearing witness to the most vulnerable people immediately being persecuted. This creates a natural stress response that basically means you're going to continue having memory and organizational problems, as well as emotional imbalances.

Me: BUT I HAVE A BULLET JOURNAL AND I MEDITATE NOW.

Tiny OSHA Me: BOSS, THE FASCISM.

ahaha you sly dog! you bastard! [getting a little too comfortable] you wretched fucking animal

i can't do this anymore! i mean i can, and i will, obviously. but i can't fucking do this anymore!

I don’t like being referred to as a boy

didnt realize this was an ad at first so i just assumed that was somebody's advice. no1 art tip... hunt monsters...

“Where exactly do you put your hands on somebody who hurts everywhere?”

— Charles D’Ambrosio, The Dead Fish Museum: Stories

Continuing on from here my personal take on writing romance is there are three essential components: care/affection, profound mutual understanding and intense mutual admiration.

If you have all three you have the bones for something not just functional but aspirational. If you have the first and second but not the third, you have something that may be more of a deep, strong friendship but I can understand and appreciate the romantic overtones. If you have the second and third but not the first that's classic archenemy-shipping. If you have the first and third but are struggling on the second you have the bones of a painful tragedy. If you only have one, then what you have is probably not a romance, and my real quarrel is with people who think you only need the first.