#also holly ate them up every single episode

[chryblossomjjk]

“jimin is a sub”

[arcaneapologist]

Partners in Crime- Ch 6

Hey yall! Here's chapter 6. There's some character development and like. A hint of some egobang if you look at it in the right light! (on a03) 🖤🖤

It was the week of Halloween and Arin’s apartment was thoroughly decorated. He had jack-o-lanterns in the hall near his door and a giant spider with fake webbing hanging on it. Dan smiled as he let himself in. Over the past few weeks he’d grown much more comfortable around Arin, Commander, and Morte//mer, even if he didn’t know their real names. He could hear their laughter from the doorway and smiled to himself as he shrugged off his jacket before making his way to the kitchen. He was supposed to be here ten minutes ago for dinner, and his friends did not hesitate to tell him he was late.

“Hey guys!” He smiled and pulled out a chair. “So, do any of you have actual plans for Halloween or was decorating Arin’s apartment it?”

“We do! We’re going as Sonic characters! Arin is going to be Sonic himself, I’m going as Amy, and Suuu-” Holly looked slightly panicked as she almost gave away Suzy’s name. “Uh. Morte//mer is going as Knuckles!”

“Suuuu?” Dan laughed. “You wanna finish that name?”

“Nope. Not now Sexb//ang.” Suzy smiled and grabbed a fork. “Commander might tell you hers though.”

“Yes I will, because I'm not ridiculous.” Holly rolled her eyes affectionately. “My name is Holly.”

“That fits you. I like it.” Arin had gone silent when Dan plopped down in the chair next to him. “Hey Ar… Everything okay? You seem quiet.”

“Yeah, man…” He poked at his food. “Everything’s fine.”

“Okay…” Dan raised an eyebrow. “I think you’re full of shit, but okay.”

Arin smiled, and tried not to look at Dan, who was still staring him down. After a few seconds Dan grabbed some food and ate in silence. Suzy and Holly chattered about Halloween and where they were going. They tried to include Arin, too, but he only gave short answers. He had been fine until Dan mentioned Halloween plans, but Suzy and Holly knew why. Arin wanted to invite Dan, but he was worried he would find it dumb. Suzy glared at him, while Holly gave a slight nod towards Dan.

“Hey Dan,” Arin said quietly.

“What’s up, buddy?”

“We… Uhm. We still need a Tails for our group. Do you… Maybe, wanna do it?”

“Yeah!” Holly said. “We’re gonna go out to this bar that’s having a costume contest.”

“We’re hoping to win ‘Best group costume’" Suzy added.

“Please? I know he’s shitty and small, but like. There's no way we’ll win without Tails.” Arin stared at him, seeming to hold his breath.

“Sure!” Dan laughed. “I’ve never done a group costume before and I don't have any plans. So why not?”

Suzy and Holly stayed a little longer before they went home, leaving Dan and Arin at the table by themselves. They sat there playing on their phones in a comfortable silence. Arin had relaxed quite a bit since earlier. Dan yawned and glanced at the time on his phone, apparently it was only nine thirty, though it felt like midnight. He glanced over at Arin, who appeared exhausted himself. Dan wasn’t ready to go home, not yet at least. He’d made a promise with himself that he was going to try and treat Arin more like a best friend, and he’d kept it. Dan had also grown a lot closer to Arin than he had ever imagined, or intended, he would.

“Hey, Ar, do you wanna watch some tv or a movie or something?” Dan dropped his phone onto the table.

“Depends,” Arin leaned back and yawned. “What were you thinking?”

“Fuck. I dunno... How about Sailor Moon? I’ve never seen it before and I know it’s your favorite.”

“What?” Arin practically shouted, causing Dan to jump. “Dude it’s so good. We have to watch it. You go get the living room set up and I’ll make popcorn.”

He jumped up and rushed to his cabinets while Dan went into the living room, and dug around behind the couch. Arin’s apartment was tiny and had little to no closet space, so he did what he could with the space he had. He shook the blankets out and piled them on ‘his’ end of the couch and threw the pillows where Arin would be sitting. He kicked his shoes off, curled up on the couch, and wrapped himself in two blankets. When Arin came in he set the bowl of popcorn on the couch between them, tucked a leg under him, and pulled a pillow across his lap.

Dan and Arin knew every single thing the other would do as they got situated on the couch. This was how they had spent about four nights out of the week for the past month. Dan never thought he’d have this level of comfort and familiarity with someone again, but here he was. It was a routine, mundane and normal, but for the first time, possibly ever, Dan didn’t mind. Arin was trying to pull up crunchyroll and find the first episode when he noticed Dan smiling at him. Arin smiled back but Dan didn’t look away.

“Dude, why are you staring at me like that?” Arin turned his attention back to the TV.

“This is going to sound really dumb, but I’m just really.. Happy? Yeah, happy that you decided you wanted to work with me, you know?” Dan pulled the blankets tighter around himself. “Like. You could have said, ‘Fuck it. He’s on his own’ but you didn’t.”

“Y-yeah… I am too, bud.” Arin glanced at him nervously. Now would be a perfect time to come clean about everything. They’re already talking about it, but did Arin want to ruin his trust with Dan this quickly? He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. “Hey Dan, can I talk to you about something?”

“Yeah! Go for it.” Dan turned his entire body towards him. He looked so happy and he’d become so content with Arin, Holly, and Suzy. Arin really didn’t want to ruin this, but it was now or never. The longer he put this off the worse it would be.

“Okay. So you know how I knew all of that information about you? And how I was doing someone ‘a favor’?” Arin tried to keep his breathing even and not seem panicked.

“Yeah… What about it?” Dan raised an eyebrow.

“Well. About ninety percent of what I told you those first few days was a lie.” Dan tried to interrupt but Arin kept talking. “The truth is, I ran into you on the subway intentionally and drug you with me to keep you hidden for a while, but you kind of fucked it up. That’s why I took you out of town for a few days. Someone was looking for you, but there was someone at Connect that didn’t want them to find you. So they asked me keep track of you  They asked me not to tell you and refused to tell me their name.”

“Okay… I can understand that. Why tell me now, though?” Dan didn’t seem angry, just confused.

“Because that’s not the end of it. When we came back, the threat was gone, or assumed to be gone. We’re still not entirely sure. Either way, I really enjoyed the weekend with you and didn’t want that to be the last time we spoke so… I kind of… Exaggerated what would happen to you if we didn’t?” Arin was afraid to look at Dan, so he kept his eyes on his lap.

“So… After that trip, there was no threat of death?” There was an edge to Dan’s voice.

“More than likely, no.” Arin whispered.

“Okay…” Dan crosses his arms over his chest. “And… What did Connect think of this?”

“They just… I told them we wanted to be work partners.” Arin snuck a glance at Dan, who looked angry, but not as angry as Arin thought he would.

“God, Arin. I wanna be furious, but I can’t.” Dan huffed. “Like. I’m angry that you lied, angry that you let it go for so long. But I also know that, whether you intended to or not, you actually have been protecting me this past month. You were right. I am awful at stealing things. I knew it was only a matter of time before I was either kidnapped, murdered, or arrested.”

“So… What now?” Arin asked.

“Well I haven’t left have I?” Dan sighed. “I told you I’m angry. Angrier than I’ve been in quite a while, honestly. That was a really shitty thing to pull, but I know you’ve been very open about our friendship and how you feel towards me. You’ve clearly cared about me if you went that fucking far, and you’ve become my best friend. I mostly believe you, but I’m Holly and Morte//mer to see if what you told me is true.”

“I’m sorry, Dan. I just didn’t know what to do, and then it never seemed like a good time to tell you.” Arin spoke barely above a whisper. Dan’s subtle anger was always unnerving to him. “I’m sorry. I know it doesn’t erase what I did, but I’m really sorry.”

Dan moved the popcorn and scooted across the couch. He pat Arin on the back, “It’s okay, Big Cat. I can tell you’re genuinely sorry. To be honest, I’m not nearly as angry as you probably think I am, nor as I should be.”

Arin smiled, “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Lets watch some Sailor Moon.”

Arin hit play on his laptop and settled back against the couch. He’d expected Dan to move back to his end but instead he stayed right beside him, cradling the bowl of popcorn. That conversation had gone far better than he’d ever hoped it would. Despite knowing it wasn’t how Dan typically reacted, he’d expected him to scream and yell. He had completely expected him to walk out and not come back. Dan just couldn’t find it in himself to be that angry though. For as awful a thing Arin had done, he had done so much more to help him. For the first time in years Dan felt like he belonged somewhere and like he had a family.

He could still feel Arin’s anxiety, though, and he leaned his shoulder against his. He tensed for a second, and then let himself relax. As the night went on, Dan leaned further and further against him. Arin was warm and soft and while he was reluctant to admit it, Dan loved cuddling. He craved physical contact of any kind, but especially things like this. They were on their seventh episode, Dan had his head on Arin’s shoulder and was curled up against him. Arin was pretty sure he was starting to fall asleep but didn’t want to say anything. He knew this was just some platonic thing for Dan, there was no meaning behind it. Though, he’d never quite pegged Dan as the cuddling type, but people surprised him every day.

Around midnight Dan got a text from some girl, asking if he wanted to come over. Arin knew not to hold his breath on Dan saying no. He paused the show and prepared himself for the warm mass of blankets and body to leave his side, but it didn’t. Instead, Danny put his head on the pillow and Arin’s lap and closed his eyes. He sighed contentedly.

“ ‘m not goin’... Don’t wanna leave.” He smiled at Arin before turning his attention back to the TV.

Arin woke up the next morning with an awful pain in his neck and something weighing on his stomach. He’d fallen asleep on the couch last night, and, apparently, Dan had fallen asleep with his head on his stomach and an arm wrapped around him. Arin was afraid to move and wake him up because he knew Dan didn't get enough sleep; he constantly complained about the lack of it. He groaned and and stretched his legs, before letting out a soft snore.

Arin wasn't quite sure what to do. He really needed to pee, but he didn't want to wake Dan. He was also worried over how Dan would react when he woke up. Would he freak out at the “intimacy" of it? Arin recalled all the times that first month when Dan felt he was getting too close of friends with him. Then again, he'd changed a lot in the past few weeks. He decided he’d just deal with that whenever Dan woke up. For now he’d just enjoy laying here with someone warm curled up against him.

He’d just started to doze off again when Dan decided to wake up. He mumbled a lazy ‘good morning’ but made no attempt to get up.

“Morning Danny. You sleep well?” Arin rubbed his back.

“Yeah… ‘m hungry. Can we have pancakes?”

“Only if you cook.”

“Deal.” Dan slowly sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He seemed totally unbothered by waking up, practically laying on Arin. He yawned the padded into the kitchen without so much as a word about it. Maybe he finally was relaxing around Arin. He stretched out on the couch while listening to Dan open various cabinets and drawers. He knew where everything was at so Arin felt no need to go help. He must have fallen asleep again, because next thing he knew Dan was nudging him awake, handing him a cup of coffee and breakfast.

“Thanks, Dan.” Arin smiled as Dan sat next to him.

“No problem, Baby Bear.” He took a sip of his tea. “Did you sleep okay? Your neck was bent at a weird angle when I woke up.”

“Yeah, I slept pretty well actually.” Arin stopped for a moment. “Did you sleep okay?”

“That’s good. I always sleep so much better when I sleep next to someone.” Dan didn’t seem bothered in the least, so Arin dropped it.

“Yeah. Me too. Do you have any plans for today?” Arin figured they should probably get some work done. Starting November first they were going to be pretty restricted on what they did. Arin had made a pact with himself years ago that he didn’t steal from people in November or December.

“Uhm...” Dan thought for a moment. “I need to go find a Tails costume. I’ve got a doctor’s appointment… That’s about it. Why?”

“We need to get some work done, because we won’t have our normal work for two months.” Arin set his plate on the coffee table.

“What’s going on the next two months?” Dan took another sip of his tea.

“Holidays. I don’t steal money from people during the holidays. I’ve had that rule with myself for years now. I know it seems stupid but something about taking money from people at the holidays just feels exceptionally gross. You know?” Arin felt vaguely embarrassed, though he wasn’t sure why.

“Yeah. I respect that. I remember one year growing up, someone stole all of the presents out of my best friends car. They didn’t have enough money to replace them either.” He was quiet for a moment. “What do we do instead?”

    “We steal things back for people. So if someone’s presents get stolen, we’ll get them back. I don’t charge people, but they normally give me money anyways.”

“Oh my god,” Dan mumbled, smiling. “You’re a sensitive little bitch.”

“Maybe” Arin stood up and took their plates to the kitchen, excited about the holidays for the first time in years.

[nicosroom]

Nico’s “52 list”

The aim of the 52 list are to set down a “to-do” list of sorts in order that 

I don’t get overwhelmed by everything I’ve ever wanted to do (and therefore never do anything); 

and to weed out things I don’t actually want to do with my life (as in, if I don’t do it at the end of 2017, I have to decide if I want to put it on next year’s list or just admit I’ll never do it). 

Here it goes--

1. Learn to poach eggs - perfecting them is an ongoing process, but I have the basic technique down; follow the saga on Twitter

2. No sugar in smoothies or oatmeal for two weeks - January 23-February 5. My plan is to maintain sugar free smoothies, but some oatmeal just needs sugar, okay?

3. Practice blow drying my own hair approximately once per week. Despite how little I do it, I really do enjoy wearing my hair straight once in a while. Typically, I have it dried straight at the salon after a haircut. I’m far too clumsy and impatient to do it myself. But, this year, I want to practice so that just maybe I can do more things with my hair than letting it air dry and throwing it up in a bun when I get tired of it falling in my face. 

4. Try Penzeys Spices.  It was everything. 

5. Day trip to Yellow Springs, OH.

6. Visit Old Schoolhouse Winery in Eaton, OH.

7. Visit Hanover Winery in Hamilton, OH. It may be the best kept secret in Butler County. 

8. Buy an immersion blender at the KitchenAid summer sale.  I bought an immersion blender and then some. 

9. Use sumac in a recipe. Almost two years ago, Catherine and I were cooking from Ottelenghi’s Jerusalem cookbook for my shoddily run cookbook club. It seemed like a ton of the recipes called for sumac. After a couple attempts, Catherine finally located it at the international market and she gave me ziploc snack-bag filled with sumac. Have I used sumac one single time since she gave this to me? No. This has to change in 2017.  It took a while, but I have now. 

10. Save $15 per week. Is it cheating if I automated this?

11. Buy a membership at the Cincinnati Art Museum. Student memberships are $30 per year. That’s like the smallest fraction of my discretionary spending budget that I could ever imagine. 

12. Make cannellini bean and lamb stew from Jerusalem. Check it out. I’ve been cooking out of this book Spring 2015 and it took me all this time to realize they sell lamb stew meat in very neat packages in the regular meat section at Kroger. This whole time, I keep looking for it at the international market, but they only have fancy lamb cuts that seem overwhelmingly expensive. 

13. Take more baths. I recently have been rereading The Bell Jar. Old Esther Greenwood may be kooky, but Plath sure made sure Esther knows a thing or two about taking baths.  **This is basically over. I probably took three baths in the month and a half after I made this list. Now, I’ve moved into an apartment that doesn’t even have a tub. Too bad! 

CANCELLED 14. Go speed dating.  Jen & I did a little research and we found that “Predating” seems to be the only speed dating service in the area. And they separate their groups into “25-35″ and “27-39,″ charge $39 to participate, and hold a session like once a month at a really inconvenient time, like 7 pm on a Tuesday. I’m highly dissuaded. Ladies should be able to speed date for free. The way I see it, reparations for sexism and patriarchy.

14. Make a leche flan from scratch. It’s my very favorite imperial dessert. I devour it at Filipino holiday parties and I always save room for it when I eat out at an American Mexican restaurant. But, I should try to make my own, at least once. 

15. Download and create a profile on a dating app.  Check out my assessments of Coffee Meets Bagel and Tinder.

16. Watch Blue Hawaii

17. Try some place new for brunch once a month. 

January: Sleepy Bee Cafe (Blue Ash (Cincy))

February: technically I failed. I only went out for brunch one time and it was at First Watch. But, at least, I tried a new location? The one in West Chester. 

March: Spice Kitchen (Cleveland)

April: Triple header - Holly’s Homemade Eats & Sweets (College Corner, Indiana); Bellevue Bistro (Bellevue, Kentucky); Hang Over Easy (Clifton (Cincy))

May: Sugarcreek Restaurant (Sheffield Village, Oh)

June: Rising Sun Cafe (Yellow Springs, Oh)

July: Treaty City Cafe (Greenville, Oh)

August: another new First Watch location (Secor Rd, Toledo)

September: another new First Watch location (Montgomery, AL)

October: Chik’n Mi (Louisville, KY); Keystone Bar & Grill (Covington, KY location)

November: Doodles (Lexington, KY)

December: Asiana Korean Restaurant (West Chester, OH). I guess this isn’t quite a brunch place, but I ate an delicious eggy beef stew, Yukaejang and we ate there at 11 am, brunch time.  

18. Visit downtown Waterville, OH. It’s a small town adjacent to the city of Toledo. I pass through it whenever I drive back and forth to the city from my mom’s new home on the farm. One of these days, maybe I’ll check out the local business scene, the metroparks, and the possibilities. 

19. Get a desk that I like and will use. Although people say I have a nice desk, I disagree. I found it near the dumpsters at the apartment complex next door. It does its job, but I don’t love it.

CANCELLED. 20. Complete a Whole 30 reset.  Though I remain curious, after much research, I decided that the reset is a terrible idea. 

20. Watch Up. 

21. Go to a live NFL game. Hopefully not the Bengals…unless they play a really interesting team…or, I can’t afford anything else. 

22. Learn hollandaise sauce. Look. 

23. Make an eggs benedict dish for breakfast -or lunch/dinner, I suppose. Perhaps a classic with English muffins, but maybe something like a salmon or fried green tomatoes benedict. 

24. Make my bed every day for two weeks. I’ve read that this is a habit of highly successful people. I think it would be really good for my “working from home” vs. napping problem. 

25. Make a TV-watching schedule. In college, I read some advice that you should schedule when you’ll watch TV and you should only watch TV then. I read that before the days of Netflix instant video. With Netflix, and especially after I moved into my own place, I formed a habit of “watching TV” as background noise while I do any number of things - wash the dishes, cook, fold the laundry, wash my face. As such, I get a lot of stuff done and also take in a lot of pop culture at the same time. But, I also see where this is an extremely counterproductive habit. Such as when I start a new 43 minute episode, but it only takes 20 minutes to wash dishes…and I watch the whole thing…Specifying the TV watching time gives you something to look forward to and provides some space to relax (unlike watching TV while simultaneously doing chores). The schedule should also put an end time on your TV watching. I’m gonna try for an hour Sunday-Thursday, likely between 8-9pm and make Friday and Saturdays open for watching a running list of movies I’ve intended to see. Check out my schedule and what I’m watching!

26. Make roasted pine nut hummus from scratch. Big brand pine nut hummus is so good. But after those hummus recalls by both Sabra and Trader Joe’s, we are in a trust no one situation. I shelled out $24 for a 3lb bag of pine nuts at Costco and I’ll be making my own hummus all year long. 

27. Do a cleansing face mask once a week for four weeks. 

28. Exfoliate lips once a week for four weeks. Will 27 & 28 stay weekly habits?? 

29. Color (in my adult coloring book) for 15 minutes before bed, Sunday through Thursday night for two weeks. I started 2017 hoping this could be a nightly habit. A late night here, a phone call with a friend there, a “oh, I forgot to make a lesson plan” on this hand, or a “just-too-tired today” on the other and suddenly I haven’t touched my $22 coloring book in more than two weeks. Alongside some of the above plans and habits on this list, maybe I can do this if I am a little more flexible and realistic. So I’ll shoot for work nights for two solid weeks and see if I can then turn it into a more definite routine. 

30. No tech after 10 pm, Sunday through Thursday for one week. 

31. Read Ta-Nehisi Coates, “The Case for Reparations” from The Atlantic. You’d think this is easy; it’s an article from The Atlantic, after all. But when I made a PDF of this thing it was 62 pages long. That feels like a short term commitment and I’ve got to put it on the calendar one of these days (after comps).

32. Cook a Julia Child recipe. I made her hollandaise. I like the way she makes one feel empowered to do it, like its the most natural thing in the world. Not like Masterchef, where you’re doomed to fail from the start. 

33. Go on a solo weekend trip. Details here.  

34. Go to one of those miles long/wide antique malls. I pass by them often on my highway drives around the state and I fantasize about completing my Corelle and Pyrex butterfly gold collections. Somehow the timing is never right - I’m in a hurry, or they’re not open, or whatever excuse I can think up. Some local possibilities: Ohio Valley Antique Mall (Cincinnati’s largest, apparently, in Fairfield), Riverside Antique Mall (over 100 dealers on the scenic Ohio River; Cincinnati), and Heart of Ohio Antiques (according to their website, America’s largest antique destination just an hour away from me in Springfield). 

35. Visit Grand Lake St. Mary’s/Celina, OH. I passed by this lake/state park last summer when I drove up US 127 until it connected with US 24. It’s a grueling drive compared with taking the fast-paced highway, but I saw so many tiny towns that might be interesting to visit. Grand Lake St. Mary’s looks like a nice beachy getaway. Though it probably gets busy and touristy in the summers, I bet the weekdays are quiet enough for me to enjoy a day or an overnight here. Perhaps this is a good candidate for that solo weekend trip I noted above. 

36. Make tom kha gai. Thai coconut soup with mushrooms (and maybe chicken). So good, so good. 

37. Go to IKEA. I was impressed. 

38. Go to another distillery on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. In 2012-13, I went to Four Roses, Wild Turkey, Woodford Reserve, and Maker’s Mark. In 2014, 2015, and 2016 I took trips South in which I drove right through all the places in Kentucky where I might stop off to finish the trail, but I did not stop once - not even for Jim Beam, which is right next to the highway! In 2017, I should go to one, at least. Will I finish the Bourbon Trail or my dissertation first? Stay tuned! 

39. Whole 30 Prep: Phase out yogurt for two weeks. I haven’t bought any yogurt since. The question remains, when will I tackle cheese?

40. No alcohol for two weeks. 

CANCELLED. 41. Whole 30 Prep: No grains for one week.  

41. Go see Fiona the hippo at the Cincinnati Zoo. 

CANCELLED  42.  No peanut butter, soy, and legumes for two weeks.

42. Go to Miami football and hockey games. I lived in Oxford for 5 years and did neither of these. My only incentive once I move to Cincinnati will be crossing it off this list. 

43. Make a meal with a spaghetti squash. I’ve eaten spaghetti squash of course, but I’ve never bothered to roast/dismantle/serve one on my own. This year, I’m finally making that Southwestern Stuffed Spaghetti Squash recipe I pinned about three years ago. 

44. Ride the carousel at the Banks in Cincinnati. I tried to do this a couple summers ago, but I showed up 30 minutes after closing time. Time to try again! And some of the carousel characters are pigs! 

45. Find red wines that I like. I’m a dry white wine drinker - which puts me in some difficult situations sometimes. Working wine tastings since 2013, I’ve learned some favorites - Raffy Grand Reserve Malbec, Haka Tempranillo, Brion Cabernet. That is, I’ve learned expensive taste. I haven’t stopped working on this, but here are few winners so far. 

46. Eat at J. Austin’s. It’s this restaurant I/we pass by every time we drive through Hamilton on the way to somewhere else. One of these days, J.Austin’s should be my/our destination, just to check it out. 

47. Get a couch. I’ve managed to live seemingly on my own for five years and never have bothered to get a couch. I was walking around the Salvation Army on April 7 and I impulsively bought a couch.  

48. Visit the American Sign Museum - I’ve made it to most of Cincinnati’s museums by now, but not this one. In 2017, it’s time. 

49. Visit two new U.S. states - I chatted with a guy in the dating app about his goal of visiting all 50 United States before he turns 50, prompting me to list the states I’ve been to and steal his idea entirely. After eliminating all the states I’ve driven through but had no meaningful interaction with (Mississippi, North Carolina, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maryland, Virginia) and the ones I don’t remember (like South Carolina, where we lived when I was an infant), I’ve got 21. I was in panic mode - how will I get to 29 states in the next 22.5 years? For the next five or ten years, I think I’ll try to hit at least two a year. In 2017, I have my sights set on Missouri and Arizona. Can anyone recommend some interesting border towns? 

Phoenix, AZ trip is booked! Oct. 25-31

50. Have four artist dates. An artist date is a solo date with an artist/artwork. You go by yourself and the point is to just spend time with the artwork without the pressures to talk to other people about it or work on/around their schedules. When you go it alone, the only schedule you have to worry about is yours. Now  that I think of it, I should have called “artist date” every time I made the mistake of dragging my ex-boyfriend to a military history museum and then feeling rushed because he didn’t want to read everything on every plaque like I did. This is precisely the problem artist dates solve. Dates can range from visiting exhibits and galleries, artist talks or performances, concerts or movies, spending the entire day reading a book, or listening to music in the peace of your own home without any other distractions. I heard about artist dates from Janice MacLeod (author of Paris Letters) and had planned to have one every month during 2015. Life got busy and all kinds of excuses not to have artist dates turned into no artist dates by the middle of the year. I set the bar lower this year, at four, hoping I can do this once a quarter. 

February 19, 2017 - George Takei’s Allegiance

May 13, 2017 - Citizen by Claudia Rankine

June 2, 2017 - Jordan Peele’s Get Out 

December 7, 2017 - Tom Hanks/Emma Watson/Dave Eggers, The Circle 

51. Learn to sew on a button. Whenever my buttons need help I take the clothes to my favorite seamstress and pay $4 for the repair and make who knows how many carbon emissions driving over to her place. 

52. Watch Star Wars. I’ve never seen it, so I have no idea about the allusions, the “Star Wars nights” at sporting events, or the Cold War metaphors about race, gender, and nation.  I wasn’t very impressed.