Progress Report: March/April/May 2021

Hey, y’all. It’s been a minute, what have you been up to?

I’ve been out of commission for the last several months—an eventful time with a ton of life events and sweeping change—and when I reemerge to the world, the New York Knicks are playing meaningful springtime basketball. What else did I miss?

Anyway, the last few months have been amazing, but they were a whirlwind of stuff that didn’t leave much time to write. Now that things are finally quieting down, I can get back to writing and finally talk about what’s been going on in my life. So, strap in, because here we go…

- Got some new ink by the amazing Susan “Zen” Puailiau at Ink Drop Tattoo Shop in Bellingham, WA. She’s been my go-to artist for the last several years and has done more needlework on me than anyone else. I had asked her to touch up and build out from an existing tattoo. I gave her the themes—the four classical elements, using some West African symbology to compliment the original piece I had. This is what I started with…

and she came up with this.

I think she did an awesome job extending the elements. The symbols look great, and the colors—which I never thought could be done on my skin—are impressive as hell.

- I read Tuxedo Junction, the latest short story collection by my friend, Thom Carnell. The review is coming soon, so stay tuned.

- Robyn and I did a thing.

After a 20-month engagement that included a move, a quarantine, and the cancellation of just about everything, we finally made it official. We took a short vacation to the Washington coast, sort of a placeholder honeymoon until things open up. It only wound up being a few days, because as soon as we got back to Seattle we had to pack.

- Because we bought a house. Boom. We closed on a property shortly after our vacation, and spent the last couple of weeks moving in, painting, and getting generally settled in. We’re so excited to be homeowners, both of us for the first time, and can’t wait until that last box is unpacked.

- And like I mentioned earlier, the Knicks have, thus far, exceeded all expectations on their season. It’s gotten to the point where they don’t seem like a fluke, a two-week flash in the pan. No, these Knicks are good. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so invested in basketball that I have mostly ignored the beginning of baseball season. The playoffs start later this month, and we can almost see the Knicks as having home court advantage for at least a playoff series. Who’da thunk it?

Now, the early Spring months have been lean, and for obvious reasons. As we head into May, as my life settles down and I can finally breathe, I envision more stuff on the horizon. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, I hope we’re all staying safe. We’re almost out of the woods, and we can see the light at the end. We just have to hold on!