Lists of things I got up to this month:

• Media
  • Movies
  • Shows
  • Books
  • Albums on repeat
  • Notable YouTube Videos
• Projects
  • Poetry & Music
  • Website
  • Cosmetology
• Life events

Media

Movies

• “Mickey 17” directed by Bong Joon-ho
  • ★★★★☆
  • I enjoyed Robert Pattinson’s loser boy voice
• The “Twilight” saga directed by Catherine Hardwicke (1), Chris Weitz (2), David Slade (3), Bill Condon (4–5)
  • ★★☆☆☆
  • They are so pale. I rewatched this saga with my partner. It was her first time watching it. My favorite line is “Bella, where the hell have you been, loca.”
• “The Little Prince” directed by Mark Osborne
  • ★★★★☆
  • I like this adaptation a lot! I actually watched this movie before reading the book, long ago. I appreciate that it follows the story of the little prince through new characters and themes of aging and death
• “Wendell and Wild” directed by Henry Selick
  • ★★★☆☆
  • LET THE BOYS BUILD THEIR AMUSEMENT PARK
• “Get Out” directed by Jordan Peele
  • ★★★★★
  • All white people need to die
  • This is the scariest movie I’ve ever seen
• “Nope” directed by Jordan Peele
  • ★★★★☆
  • The monster is so beautiful. Also, shout out autistic people and dykes
• “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind” directed by Hayao Miyazaki
  • ★★★☆☆
  • Very pretty, but it was hard for me to follow >_< !
• “Sinners” directed by Ryan Coogler
  • ★★★★★
  • The climax of this movie where they’re all singing and dancing… so beautiful… I absolutely adore this movie. It’s joyful, despite the carnage. My poem, “The Gateway to Hell” was partially inspired by this film
• “The Phoenician Scheme” directed by Wes Anderson
  • ★★★☆☆
  • This is the first Wes Anderson film I’ve seen, I think. I enjoyed the deadpan humor and the visuals, but I had a hard time following this one, too…

Shows

• “Fleabag”
  • The whiplash this show brought to me… having watched the movies I watched, I was put off by the first season because I didn’t want to watch a selfish white woman be evil, but the second season was a lovely and fulfilling watch
• “Alien Worlds”
  • There’s a lot of complaints about this show being too focused on life on Earth when it’s titled Alien Worlds. I found it interesting, though! I enjoyed learning about all the different species and how they live around the world.

Books

• “The Grand Inquisitor” by Fyodor Dostoevsky
  • The last line about Jesus’ kiss for the Grand Inquisitor, “The kiss burns his heart, but the old man remains firm in his own ideas and unbelief.”
  • I gotta read the whole book at some point. This is the first time I’ve come across Dostoevsky’s work.
• “Improv Wisdom” by Patricia Ryan Madson
  • GREAT SELF-HELP BOOK about GETTING STARTED. Any movement is better than no movement! I recommend this book to anyone struggling with feeling stuck in place.

Albums on repeat

• “Minas” by Milton Nascimento
• “Earfood” by Roy Hargrove
• “Ctrl” by SZA
• “Retired from Sad, New Career in Business” by Mitski

Notable YouTube Videos

• “The Murderer Who Reached Enlightenment” from Pierrot
  • Evil begets evil
• “Man with suspended licence joins court call while driving” from CTV News
• “a look into Amy Winehouse’s personal style” from Allie XCX
  • I return to this video every couple of months. I <3 Amy Winehouse
• “What sex trafficking looks like. From someone who lived it.” from Seizure Girl
  • Important information here
• “The woman who wrote “Eat, Pray, Love” planned to k*ll her girlfriend and wrote a new book about it.” from Siobhan Brier Aguilar
  • If you need another reason to hate white people
• “Mitski – Where’s My Phone? (Official Video)” from Mitski
  • OHHHHH MITSKI

Projects

Poetry & Music

I submitted some of my poetry to two different PNW journals: Willow Springs Magazine and Moss Literature!

A couple weeks ago, I recorded a few demos for my EP, then got a sore throat, and then got sick LOL. Finally recovered from the sickness. Safe to say, I’ll be doing vocal warm-ups next time I record.

I’ve been practicing guitar and trumpet throughout the month :)

Website

I’ve been fairly consistent at posting to this thing… as time goes on, more and more of my work will accrue here. My favorite post of the month is the poem I mentioned earlier, “The Gateway to Hell“. Please check it out!

Cosmetology

I rebooted my hair Instagram: @bypajolo. I work at a salon in West Seattle on Mondays. I’m uncertain about my career goals when it comes to being a hairstylist. Honestly, I think I’d rather have fun with it than make money off of it. Being hard-of-hearing and autistic, it’s difficult finding a salon job that’s accessible to my needs… I think I’ll figure this out eventually.

Life events

• Moody Cannon Beach trip
• My grandmother died
• Quit a stable job for a new job
• Started therapy
• Got sick from this new job
• Quit that job, unemployed
• Stopped therapy
• Took out eyebrow piercing