I’m having a difficult time wrapping my head around there only being one more week in February. For some reason this month being so very square on a standard Sunday-Saturday layout calendar really emphasizes how short the month is… like bro wym my birthday is in one week??

Currently I’m feeling fine and normal and boringly adult about next week’s birthday, but I’m sure I’ll have a lot to say when it comes time for the next newsletter to go to press, as my birthday/personal new year always makes me deeply introspective. Of course, upcoming birthday also warrants mention of wish lists, as is the way. 😉 One or two of them should be collected at the bottom of this email.

While I haven’t officially gotten back into game streaming—nor unofficially, as I’ve yet to even open Streamlabs and check my settings—I’m thinking about hanging out on Twitch for most of Friday as kind of an online SFW birthday party thing (you heard it here first! But keep an eye on my Bluesky for updates to see if this actually happens lol). Throne has a feature where you can set up a screen alert if someone buys something off your wish list, so, could be fun? Maybe I should buy a cake?! The last time I bought a cake for my birthday I sat on it (professionally), but it might be nice to actually eat it with a fork this time.

This past week was the first time I’ve felt not just “normal” i.e. like myself but fully functional since I got sick in early January, though I recognize that those productive days were the bread of a restful Lunar New Year filling the middle of the week. Maybe that was part of it, having that built-in rest and downtime? Noted. But with one week of February left to go… can I sustain a reasonable pace without overdoing it? Tune in next week to find out!

☑️ Done and Done - Finished up the last bits of Valentine’s content. Did a pre-Lunar New Year deep clean of the apartment, including hours on a ladder scrubbing down my huge wall of windows and lightly refurbishing my oak nightstand. Enjoyed some very chilly Lunar New Year celebrations at the local Chinese Gardens. Prepped an extra-large batch of one of my fave one-pot meals. Plotted out some things for getting back into camming and adding in game streaming, plus some plots for a more SFW photography project I’ve had simmering. Bleached and re-dyed my hair to prep for new ID photos. Hit up the DMV for new State ID/RealID card, then stopped at my new gym* to get a tour and schedule a session w/a personal trainer, then swung by the transit office to renew my transit card; stopped for a beer on my way home. Got together for coffee with a friend I haven’t hung out with in years. Wrapped up the week with a hot bath.

📋 Coming up - This coming week is a big Returning to things… Finally getting back into a gym routine (*after ~2 years off) and am starting with a reorientation training with a fitness coach. Supposedly maintenance is for real coming by to talk about/wrap up various issues. Finally getting back on live cam for work after many weeks away, and playing around on Twitch again too. A little bit of social time here and there, a little bit more time in the gym. Maybe putting away some laundry despite not having touched the greater organizational mess of my wardrobe.

Side note before we begin: I don’t know how many people have really been paying close attention to the astrology of the Moment, but gotdamn there has been A Lot going on. Lots of changes in the air, small and big. You often hear about people going through their Saturn returns (when Saturn returns to where it was at the time of birth, every ~25 years) but we don’t often think to apply astrology to conceptual entities such as, oh I dunno, relatively young countries experimenting with a relatively new system of governance. The United States has been in its Pluto return since 2024/25 and wow, the Pluto return lore goes hard. The math is mathing, y’all; it’s hard to see all of this as coincidental, imo.

I also saw someone musing recently on why it is the white folks and city witches have been so excited to participate in the traditionally Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations this year (personally I love any opportunity to party with the moon but yeah, I’ve noticed this trending as well), and I think their estimation was rather spot on: the Gregorian calendar system, and thusly Westernized astrology, is a patriarchal concept. Whereas the Lunar New Year is based on the moon, which as we all know is female and is like, hella gay. And thusly, if the constructs of a patriarchal society are beginning to crumble… yeah, time to go be gay with the moon. Some astronaut food for thought!

So, lots going on these days and a lot of cycles ending, lots of planets moving out of Pisces (the final sign of the zodiac i.e. the amalgam of all the lessons learned by the previous 11 signs) and into Aries (new beginnings). As an astrology girly I do try to muse deeply and with intention on the symbology of such things, and to embody the potential lessons within myself and my own life. And life has indeed been quite the adventure over recent years! There’s been a lot of surprises in the mix—too many if you ask me—but as of late the surprises haven’t derailed me like they did in years past. That’s good, it means that I’m managing to maintain some sense of stability in a very, very unstable modern world.

Stability begets capacity, capacity begets consistency, and consistency creates the means for momentum. Being sick for weeks on end is certainly disruptive, but I don’t feel completely discouraged by it (which is, imo, progress over several years ago). At this point, these hurdles are just “more of the same” and navigating them becomes part of the routine. Still, it’s difficult to reach that flow state where real growth is occurring beyond the plateau of stability, when maintaining that stability is the most you can do.

Right now I’m not sure how to break out of the routine in a way that isn’t wholly disruptive. Or, maybe the disruption is what’s key to that level growth? I’m a little exhausted-in-advance by that potential, but I’m willing to see it through. Good things usually await on other side of change.

📺 Televisions - I bleached and dyed my hair this past week to prep for my new ID photo, and realized I could set up my iPad in my bathroom and watch Highlander while I work. !!! Premium decision making, 10/10. I’m still somewhere in season 3 due to taking a long break over recent months, but I’m juuust before Methos shows up.

🎬 Movies - My Valentine movie-and-ice cream* (*gelato) binge came a little late this year, but I still gave it a shot. First I pulled up Persuasion (2022) but, like every other Jane Austin-based movie I’ve seen, I forgot I’d already watched it a few years ago. Still, I do enjoy a man in a high collar. Next was Shakespeare in Love (1998), which I have definitely watched before but couldn’t remember much of save the scene where he removed her chest bindings. Last was Ghost (1990), which I’ve never seen but a friend recently insisted is an Important Movie Worth Watching; it was fine. Really great sound design though.

🎵 Listening - I discovered South African musician Inekt this past week and can’t stop listening. You know what I was saying about the mellow haunting vibes of Apalachin music? The new track Nüllrot has that in spades but honestly, take your pick from his Bandcamp because it’s all good and there’s a variety of folksy electronic vibes. Really really perfect for the gloomy rainy weather that’s been happening.

🍺 Drinking - I’ve been in the mood for a sour ale lately, and when I stopped at the market post-DMV etc. a can caught my eye and oh my goodness, new favourite craft brewery?? The beer in question was the Fuji Sour Ale with Apple from Japas Cervejeria (also on Instagram), a small craft brewery owned by three Japanese-Brazilian women reclaiming their heritage through artisanal beers. Can I get this in a monthly subscription box, or…?

💊 Supplementing - I started taking 400mg Magnesium Glycinate (aff link) before bed as I was weaning off the cough syrup. I think it’s only been a month now but y’all, the difference in my sleep quality! The wild thing is that it seems like I’m sleeping less…? But I’m also waking up less, and have more regulated REM cycles. Idk if its because of the Magnesium or the shift in cycles/quality but I’ve been waking up from thee most vivid dreams, which is always fascinating!

This time next week I’ll be older! But will I be wiser? Will I be cool, will I be calm, will I stay together? All I know (all I know) is my birthday’s Saturday (and Sunday, because there’s no Leap Day this year).

After 2 months of rather short showers, I’m hoping my apartment building gives me a new water heater for my birthday. 🤞 Best of luck out there this week everyone, wishing you abundance, light and peace in the Lunar New Year.

xox,