🐇 The turning of the year 🐉
Lunar new year was this weekend past, but it's still more new moon than it is waxing crescent, so I'm going to count it as still “the new year”.
The calendar year feels more like a fresh start because most of the people in my world experience it that way, and far be it from me to fight the pull of the collective experience.
But I like lunar new year. We don't celebrate it in my family traditions, but I've leaned into it more and more the last few turns about the sun. It gives me a bit of time to get a feel for the calendar year... and it feels a little less arbitrary.
So here I am in this new moon between lunar years, one foot in the past and one foot in the future, with a tiny sliver of my being crossing the line that is “now”.
It's been quite the year. I'm still feeling things that have happened. And I wait in anticipation of things that haven't yet become real.
what stayed the same
support
I maintain regular sessions with my psychologist. And it's totally worth it. The work I've done with her over the past few years has changed my life in ways I never dreamed were possible.
m & m on mondays
Most Mondays, I meet with two of my close friends. We spend an hour together, checking in, talking, holding space. Sometimes it's light and full of laughs. Other times it's heavy and just the three of us trudging on alongside each other. It's such a kick drum in the rhythm of my life that the absence is felt when it's not on.
the two person book club
Once every month or so, we meet, check in about life, talk about the book we've just read, and pick the next one. The book club has seen us through two break ups (both mine), an engagement (hers), interstate/international relocations, and major career shifts. We're currently on our 36th book together. There are books I wouldn't have enjoyed as much, or even read, if I didn't have this.
the internet friends
We started out as an accountability group for an online challenge and we kept it going as a monthly call. Loosely, we check in about goals and habits, but it's also a life check in. These people don't touch my life or day-to-day world, they've not met any of my other friends or colleagues, so the perspectives I get from them are pretty objective. We've held up the mirror to each other for years and I know that having their counsel has made a significant impact on my life.
singing
I took my first singing lesson with him in October of 2021. It gave me the confidence to audition for a show the next year. And since then, he's helped me grow in so many ways. Yes, my technique has gotten better and I'm using my instrument better, but also, he's helped me to love singing, and love the process of learning, which is invaluable.
home
I am still living where I lived last lunar new year. It is too hot to deal with in summer. It is too small to arrange my belongings without looking crowded. It needs some work. But I love it. It's more home than anywhere else in the world.
what ended
things with him
There have been a few hims. But this one was the most recent and, according to one bias, the most significant.
the best doggo's time here
She was his but we became quite close. I would have taken her if he had ever decided to give her up. She was, without a doubt, the sweetest dog I've gotten to know.
bits of work
Some of the work I was doing reached its natural end. I wish them all well and I'm honestly relieved that I'm not working on more than I'm currently working on!
noteworthy happenings
Performed in Oklahoma! and The Music Man Marketed Urinetown, The Addams Family, and Footloose Production liaised for Footloose Hosted a dinner party at the house (for my birthday) Visited my family in the Philippines Got a car and started driving myself places
what started
Joined the board of Phoenix Ensemble Delivered a workshop that I was super proud of Started reading more Started writing more Started going to the theatre again Took an in person role
what might happen next
At this stage, I'm just letting it unfold.
But there are a few things on the cards: * In March, I'll be heading to New Zealand for a proper touristy holiday * In June, I'm doing a weekend trip to Canberra to see a production of Rent * There are at least four shows I'd like to audition for * Developing Phoenix Arts Academy & Phoenix After Dark * More writing * More reading * More asking for help * First MOH gig * I'll probably learn how to park between two cars
Let's see!