Goodbye, May

How has it been (more than) a month since the yard sale took place?? May just completely eluded me - I fell ill at the end of April and again in the middle of May, and have just been recovering and getting back into the groove of things since then. The yard sale was An Experience, with all the shenanigans that we got up to in making it work.

First, it was challenging and tiring enough to sort through all our belongings, label them and put them out on display. Second, we set up a tarp in the backyard so that we could use the outdoor area to sell our wares, rain or shine, but the tarp literally broke in the early morning due to torrential rain (that continued through the morning). Third, it was tiring to mill around and make sure everything was okay for all the people who came by! Thank goodness for all the friends (old and new) who turned up to help out, make sure we were all hydrated, caffeinated, and well-fed.

We also did not get a group photo together, so this badly photoshopped one will have to suffice!!

Wow, I typed out the rest of the post and lost it. Was I silent or was I SILENCED?!?? Anyway, this post has been sat in my drafts for the longest time and June is now coming to an end! What! This month has been a whirlwind. I’ve been chugging along, tackling my weekly tasks for my day job, preparing for the choir concert (more details here) — rehearsing and cooking up visuals (see the grid here), showing up in many ways, going on a quick day trip to JB with 2/3 fellow studio mates, and it’s been A LOT. I’m only now sitting down (for the second time) to finish this post so I can be rid of this task hanging over my head because I’m on MC for a cold I caught. My brain is soup at this point, but I’m glad I’m getting this post done and I managed to send out a draft for a visual that I honestly thought would never materialise.

The view on the way to the bus stop was so beautiful!!! The early morning glow is so gorgeous.

Kitten in JB.

The number of times I’ve fallen ill just this year alone has me feeling more and more like my body can’t handle too many activities all at once anymore. I’m turning 29 and soon, I’ll be 30! Teenage me would be shocked at how far I’ve come and how long I’ve kept going. I’ve started journalling again after giving up on The Artist’s Way earlier this year. A common theme I keep returning to is the idea of reclaiming all my past selves whom I had worked tirelessly to scrub out and shred. I used to feel a lot of shame over my hotblooded youth, but I miss that part of myself now. I was so unapologetic and impulsive.

I also wrote. A lot. I would tweet non-stop, type up nonsense without a care, and scribble out terrible poetry (actually, some are not half bad). I remember feeling so different from everyone around me and it was difficult to feel seen. My abysmal social skills and strange interests had some part to play in that for sure. There are many things I do regret about past friendships and situations. They could have gone so many ways. Oh well. What else can we do but carry on and persist? Anyway, that’s all to say that I’m glad I am where I am in life, and that despite all my worries and fears, life simply goes on, and I along with it. I hope the first half of 2024 has treated everyone well, and if not, I hope the coming half of the year will be better.

Van