# July 2023 Recap

## Writing

I started drafting! It's been a bit of a mess, a lot less linear than I was planning going in. It kind of unsettles me, but I don't think these things are ever easy. 

I am 9,000 words in, which is actually longer than every other short story I've ever written! And we are so early on still, which makes me wonder if this is going to end up being longer than I anticipated...a problem for later!

There's still a lot of things I haven't worked out. The biggest thing is surprisingly tense. I've never had this problem before—with my short stories, it was so easy to tell what tense it should be in, but I'm switching between past and present in every paragraph it seems. I wonder if there's some weird unconscious reason or if I just need to commit and/or fix it later.

## Community

Summer is always so rich with community in my life. We started with my Dad's birthday, which I tinylogged about. It was just so nostalgic and such a nice time. I've been feeling very nostalgic lately, and I'm not sure if it's concerning or just a normal part of being a young adult.

Later in the month, we had our cousins from Colorado (the ones that got married in Dallas actually) come to my mom's house, and it was nice to see them! They rented a house, we went to the beach and went boating, and ate a lot at my mom's restaurant. My cousins and Sarah and I did a ton of tarot readings and played Scattergories and ate Oink's (the local ice cream shop. I got Superman flavor, another nostalgic thing). 

Barbenheimer came out this month, which was definitely a highlight. I've already seen Barbie twice, once alone and once with Abby. I thought it was hilarious and cute, even if it's not the most groundbreaking or thought-provoking work. I also looooved Oppenheimer, which I was surprised by. I went in with measured expectations because of the hype, and I walked out being amazed. I have plans to see it again in 70mm in Grand Rapids. Too hyped!

Finally, yesterday, the nephews were in town, so we took them to the fair! It was so freaking fun. I haven't been to the fair in years, and I was kind of dreading it because I thought it was going to be too hot and crowded. But it wasn't! It was perfect weather and not crowded at all. Mason got a Kona ice which he partially fed to his brother. Tooooooo cute. We played some games; I won Mason a stuffed dinosaur backpack (even though I kinda wanted something for myself ngl). I got myself a little bull stuffed toy at the duck game. Abby and I got Dippin' Dots, steak tips, fried cookie dough, and Twisted Sugar sodas. Too much fun, I swear to God! I will definitely be going back to the fair next year (once a year is all you need).

## Work

Work is a little weak this month for me. I find it hard to focus on everything plus the novel now. I feel pretty demotivated at work and sometimes feel like I'm just scraping by. My manager doesn't seem like I'm in trouble though, so it could just be my perfectionism. 

I'm so over dogsitting right now. I just get annoyed by these dog parents with like insane instructions that I'm bound to mess up and the micromanaging from the neighbors drives me crazy. Like I'm not getting paid *that* well to make it worth it. I think I want to start being a lot choosier about the gigs I take and only take the dogs/families I really like lol. 

## Books I Read in June

* Flight 232 — Laurence Gonzales (⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️)
* Refuse to be Done — Matt Bell (⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️) 
* Picnic at Hanging Rock — Joan Lindsay(⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️)
* Penance — Eliza Clark (⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️)

## Top Tracks

* Crazy Sexy Dream Girl — Lolo Zouaï
* Summertime — Mareux
* HiiiPower — Kendrick Lamar
* New Jeans — NewJeans
* Meeting Kitty — Ludwig Göransson

## Core Memories

* Seeing Spider-Man 2 at the fancy movie theater in the town over, instead of the janky theater in my town
* Dreier's sausages at Mom's for 4th of July (THE best 4th of July meal)
* Dinner at Stop 50 for Dad's birthday
* Going through my old yearbooks that I found at one of my dogsitting houses. Laughing at how young we all looked :)
* Taking a sick day and randomly deciding to start the novel!!!
* Getting to kittensit Fig baby <3333
* Laughing at my cats as they went feral over the Sun's reflection off my Stanley mug
* Going to Issa Vibe and getting an ube latte that I think about literally every day since I went
* Going out on the boat and doing a polar plunge at 10AM
* The STEAM SHOWER at the rental house, wtf!!! I had no idea such a glorious, luxurious thing existed!!!
* Playing with Sarah in the water at the beach like kids; we found a pool noodle that turned into a Nerf gun?! So we were pretending we were skeet shooting by throwing rocks in the air and trying to hit them lol. "Pull!"
*  Barbenheimer; need not say more

## Here's to July! 🌻