2023 recap
Threw the historic green party for my birthdaySkied in salt lake city, and deer valley
Went camping in Shasta
Celebrated valentines day and my one year anniversary with jp
Spent a week in New York for the Outsider Art Fair
Took a ski trip to tahoe with friends
Learned how to use CDJs
Visited New Orleans for the first time
Threw and played a cave rave
Played on Hyde.fm and fault radio for the first time
Went to the untz for probably the last time
Bought an XDJ
Road tripped to the gorge to close out the final dead and co tour
Went to Maryland and West Virginia for Jason’s brother’s wedding
Celebrated my grandma's long and meaningful life
Road tripped across the great plains with catherine
Visited chicago for the first time since college
Visited india for the first time ever, for three weeks, Delhi, Agra, Rishikesh and Jaipur
Saw the sf symphony, sf jazz, and the sf opera
Hosted Ella, Amy, Chris, Ori, Lukas, Jeffrey, Reed, Sarang, Hannah
Played gigs at F8, El Rio, Mothership, the Paramount Theatre, Create Skateboards, Arcana, Creativity Explored, and the KALW pop-up downtown
Went to Point Reyes and West Marin a bunch
Went to five CE gallery openings
Celebrated Diwali with my friends and family
Got a new job at the Alliance for CA Traditional Arts
Went to Fresno and loved it
revisiting my New Years resolutions from 2022:
✅ reading more, being more informed, consuming more content (maybe even TV and movies)
❌ painting more, being more generally creative, constantly seeking out and trying new ideas. selling paintings. coming up with a longer-term plan for applying to residencies or MFA programs.
✅ throwing more ambitious parties: continuing to throw milk bar stuff, but maybe throwing a renegade for the first time, maybe sending around a bass mix and trying harder to get some more gigs / monetize DJing. keeping my radio show as a place for experimentation and fun.
❌ getting more involved with secret alley
❌ using the connections and opportunities from work more
❌ finding a way to contribute politically to my community, maybe working at the food bank or with youth
✅ continuing to log my thoughts on e-worm, potentially for compilation or publication somewhere someday
✅ continuing to be a good friend and partner, and spending time with loved ones
ya win some, ya lose some! interesting to think about where I was last year, and what I wanted my life to look like. I think I have more modest aspirations for 2024 (below). continuing to travel, for sure, and maybe moving into an apartment? 😱 we'll see... being more active I think is big.
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things I dont have time for right now that I would like to do in the future:• remix/produce some songs
• record some mixes/demos
• book and play more gigs
• learn to sew, mend my clothes, and make pillowcases
• get my health under control
• read more
• organize with ASATA
• freelance/contract jobs
• sell my paintings that are lying around
• hang up all the art in my house
• get ant control
things I have been doing and would like to continue to do:
• running
• reading
• cooking healthy (mostly gluten free, vegetarian)
• spending time with friends
• going out
• learning about folklore
• getting adequate sleep
• maintaining a healthy relationship to substances
one day I will paint, but it's not feeling urgent...
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at the law school party, we felt out of place. I understood why Catherine was having a hard time making friends at Columbia. everyone seemed sweet, earnest, and kind. they sang karaoke after having a beer. they sang 'grenade' and 'hey there Delilah.' Ella and I discussed what songs were shameful to sing, though you could do them perfectly. we landed on 'hey soul sister' and Eminem, except 'the real slim shady' — that one is alright. they cut us cake and complimented our dresses. I thought they were making fun of me when they spoke. I felt bad for not relating to their authenticity. was I mean? was I contrived? was I pretentious? I stuck to the wall drinking a hard rosé cider and refused to sing, not out of pride but out of shame...but perhaps they are one and the same?on the 22, I felt urbane. hurrying off and on the bus in the crisp winter evenings gives you the sense you live in the city. awe-inspired, I considered the night before how in transit-friendly cities like London or New York City, you could leave a friends house at 2am and catch the subway back home, anonymous in the world's company. here, in car-culture California, you drive a little drunk across the bay bridge so you don't have to call a $50 uber home.
on the crowded 22, I ended up perched on a step behind a young woman. she looked indian; she must have been about 22. perhaps inappropriately, I peered above her head at her phone. she flicked through apps rapidly, a true digital native with a millisecond attention span. from iMessage, to google maps, to safari. she was going to toy soldier for dinner. she looked at the menu: Brussel sprouts, white gnocchi, filet mignon. (I didn't even know toy soldier had dinner) she looked at directions. she was taking the 22 south, then she'd take the train to Montgomery. she texted a lot of people. she had texted 12 people and/or groups that day. she texted girlies 💋🫶🏽 and Danny property manager. her nails click-clacked against the screen. she switched to snapchat front-facing and I quickly averted my eyes so she would not see I was watching. there I was, I saw in my periphery, an impersonal blob behind her high-profile highlighter and contour, her balayage hair in a just-messy-enough bun. she got off at duboce and church, like I knew she would, and I felt a bit mournful. I didn't even get her name...
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