what we did and how we did it

October 26th through November 1st, 2015
Cleaned the house.
Rearranged the dining room and living room. Hooked up stereo.
Old and new friends over at our place for chili and a fire outside. S’mores. Link made an appearance.
Therapist.
Gym.
Annual doctor appointment. Flu shot. Blood pressure down.
Another birthday party for another friend of our son’s.
Halloween.
Trick or treating with our son.
Soccer class.
Lego Batman was played.

October 19th through 25th, 2015
I turned 37.
My son and partner went apple picking in Wisconsin with some of his friends.
The battery in the car died.
We joined AAA.
The previous three events are related.
Birthday dinner at Leadbelly.
I played guitar. Cleaned the garage. Wired speakers.
Went to the Park, Paschke Art Center with my son.
Soccer class.
Gym. Yoga.
Daylight ceased to be saved.
Lego Batman was played.

October 12th through 18th, 2015
A birthday party for one of our son’s friends at Lillstreet Art Center.
Helped my sister’s family move to their house in Osewgo.
Parents took our son and niece to a pumpkin patch.
Gym. Yoga.
Mowed the lawn and we all cleaned up our yard.
A trip to the park.
Lego Batman was played.

October 5th through 11th, 2015
Washed the front porch. Assembled a lamp. Cleaned the house.
Put up Halloween decorations – streamers on the refrigerator, lamps, cabinets. Banner in the family room. Inflatable ghosts and pumpkins to scare guests.
Morton Arboretum.
Picture day at my son’s school.
I went to the dentist for the first time in ten years. No cavities.
Gym action.
Soccer class.
Lego Batman was played.
Published Flotation Device 14.

September 21st through October 4th, 2015

Visits to the therapist.
A fall picnic for my son’s school. Pierogis consumed.
Soccer class.
My son’s first visit to the dentist – movies, computer games provided, no cavities.
The farmer’s market in Jefferson Park.
Midnight Circus in the park. Dinner at Laschet’s.
Music practice. Graphic scores.
Lego Batman was played.
Yoga and gym.

Best of 2010, in no particular order

1. Rhys Chatham, Bill Orcutt, John Wiese at MCA Chicago.
2. Sharing my life with my partner, H. The most amazing and strongest person I’ve ever known. And this sentiment only grows every day.
3. Our son, M.
4. Meeting everyone in our birth class.
5. Chris DeVito (editor) – Coltrane on Coltrane.
6. Gene Wolfe – The Book of the New Sun.
7. Yoga.
8. Meditation class. Interrupted by M. To be continued in 2011.
9. Playing music with Alex as Catholic Witches.
10. The Necks and Vox Arcana at Empty Bottle. A 7pm show and hardly anyone was in attendance. Like being in someone’s living room.
11. A new job and full time.
12. Writing.
13. H’s sister’s wedding.
14. Last date before parentage? – Jazz Record Mart, dinner and cocktails at Sable.
15. Playing with H in Sky Event.
16. Post-shower dinner at Marie’s pizza with friends and the old man trio serenading us.
17. Matsuo Basho – The Complete Haiku.
18. Thich Nhat Hanh – Zen Keys.
19. Tomeka Reid, Mazz Swift, Silvia Bolognesi – live at Chicago Cultural Center.
20. Hiroshi Teshigahara – Woman in the Dunes.
21. Repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. About fucking time.
22. Daley decides to step down. About fucking time.
23. Spending time with friends and family.

list

here’s a list of subtitles for an aborted zine. or the one that became flotation device 12.

1/23/05

My year of false starts.
My year of waiting.
My year of minor revolutionary changes.
My year of not calling my friends.
My year of thumbs.
My year of throwing up in parking lots.
My year of unanswered emails.
My year of unreturned phone calls.
My year of 2nd first shows.
My year of undeclared war.
My year of declaring war.

30 cents to ride the bus in Guadalajara.
Countless trips to the corner to get milk and eggs. Tortillas. Beans.