June 2024
At some point I need to stop writing "wow, that a full month" and just acknowledge that that is the default description of literally every month. Once again, we'll skip work stuff.
- I saw two movies in theatres this month, which is usually my max per calendar year. The first was Evil Does Not Exist, which was all right. Definitely immersive and atmospheric, with wonderful cinematography. There are a lot of excruciatingly long cuts--people chopping firewood in real time, people in city council meetings in real time. It's about a Japanese mountain town threatened by a glamping operation run by a talent agency hoping to capitalize on COVID subsidies. The pace is very slow until the very end, and then it's very, very fast. The second was the Haikyuu movie, which was one of the greatest cinematic experiences of my life. I immediately wanted to walk back into the theatre and watch it again. I felt every emotion on this earth and I haven't stopped thinking about how much I loved it, and it's been 2.5 weeks.
- I drove to Michigan for the second time this summer, the impetus for which was getting a crown done, and to which I tacked on 1) a two-night camping trip along the shores of Lake Erie, which was sublime despite being during a heat wave. I read many books, got some work done, wrote some fanfic, went on walks (in and around the lake), RODE A FERRY, explored an island, and saw fireflies and tiny bunnies and a raccoon right up against the mesh of my tent.
Then I was in Detroit for a baby's dedication, which was really lovely, and I rounded out the trip with a <3 friend visit <3 that involved more hiking and turtles and tiny frogs and black raspberries and SPN and delicious foods (and also a crown appointment).
On my way back it was good weather until Cleveland and then was, rather unexpectedly, 100 miles of storm so heavy visibility was almost zero, cars were going 30-40 down the Interstate with flashers on, my phone blared a National Emergency Alert that I couldn't read because I was driving (it was a tornado and flash flood warning for my area. Goodie!), and then after that spent another 200 miles driving through a lesser version of the exact same storm as it, too, moved eastward.
- Then, this past weekend, I hosted a friend visit! We went to Canadian Costco (for the poutine at the food court) and Niagara Falls, then spent a chill Sunday painting rubber ducks and watching the NASCAR race (bananas), before heading out on Monday to more local waterfalls and a local lake.