
Nine Snowboots

December thoughts
The year is winding down. I’m preparing to go to New Brunswick for my regular Christmas visit with the family; my travel arrangements up there have all been taken care of. I haven’t bothered with Christmas shopping yet; my cash flow was a little tight until my last paycheque came in, and my tolerance for the malls has dropped over the years. Everything costs too much money now.

Checking in
I owe a few people some e-mails, and there are countless other people I haven’t checked in on in a while, but I always have trouble getting started. I like e-mail for the personal touch and the space for sharing private thoughts and feelings (at least moreso than on social media); I tend not to feel comfortable using chat or DMs unless I know the person well. Eventually I figured I may as well send a group e-mail, but since there are people who I’m not sure I have up-to-date addresses for but may otherwise want to hear from me, I decided to turn it into a public blog post.

A busy August and future plans
I want to thank everyone who has reached out to me so far since my last blog post. The love and support I’ve received over the past two weeks has been, to put it mildly, overwhelming. I’m very lucky to have such accepting people in my life, and it’s a huge relief to finally be myself.

Something to look forward to
I was going to write another entry about how winter’s been wearing me down (particularly the physical aspect of traipsing over insufficiently cleared sidewalks), but I already explored that subject in the last few posts and it’s already March, so I’m just going to give another short update on what I’ve been up to, what I’ve been thinking about, and what’s on the horizon.

Back to myself, whatever that means
As expected, I slept the weekend away and didn’t concern myself with getting anything posted while I recovered from whatever it was that was laying me low last week.
Life update: August 2018
For a long time, it had just been too humid to write. I know it sounds like a weak excuse, but when the weather's like this, I feel it starts to manifest in my whole body and thought process. The air becomes a soup that slows my every movement and I want to stay in bed, exerting minimal effort.
Going to NYC again
I didn't mention this in the last entry because I didn't think it really fit the whole topic, but I'm going to New York again at the end of June. It's another weekend trip for Pride with my sisters (just like the last time I went), but I'm going to try to squeeze a bit more exploring into the time I'm there.
Behind the lens
I haven't taken pictures in a while; I want to get back into it as a hobby. I don't want to have any expectations to meet, just a chance to play around, possibly with friends, and get comfortable with the camera and my own skills that I don't feel like I'm struggling to juggle the need to think technically and be aware of the right moment to capture the shot. I rush to get through my discomfort and it shows in the pictures. I eventually would like to get some new gear, but before I do that, I want to feel like I've mastered working with the stuff I have.
This is happening
My flight leaves for New York in a little less than 12 hours. This isn't the first time I've flown solo; I've gone to a few weddings in Ontario, but this is my first time flying from Canada into the States, and the first time I've crossed the border in 16 years.