funny

Bleh

/ Alyxander James / Leave a comment

The weather in Chicago has returned to its pattern of bouncing all over the place, which means I am having a bit of a rough week. I’m achy and tired and having a hard time focusing. I’m anxious about some things that are kind of out of my control at this point.

But there have still been some happy things. Chiefly among them? This book:

American Hippo by Sarah Gailey

Back in February, our friend K came to visit one weekend. We ended up going to a new-to-us bookstore, and I was not going to buy anything (heaven knows I have enough books). But then I passed this book on a shelf, and I picked it up and read the foreword, and I was hooked.

Y’all. This book. It’s so good. Its premise is based on a real thing that almost happened in US history – evidently, importing hippopotami into the States to be ranched in Louisiana bayous was a proposed solution to a meat shortage in the country in the early 20th century. So this is hippo-riding cowboys, which is a delightful premise all on its own.

But the book is so much more than that. The cast is diverse across genders, races, and body types. No one really makes a big deal out of any of it, but there’s so much representation packed into the two novellas and two short stories packed into this book. I was sad to finish it, because I wanted to keep hanging out with these incredible (and incredibly flawed) humans. If you’re looking for a fun, quick read, I’d recommend picking this up!

The author, Sarah Gailey, has a new book coming out the day after my birthday, which I am excited about. I thoroughly enjoyed their writing style in American Hippo, and I expect I’ll enjoy whatever they’ve got coming next.

Three Happy Moments

/ Alyxander James / Leave a comment

My schedule remains ridiculous, I feel like I’m never going to feel rested again, and life marches on – truly, things are going well, and I have very little to complain about. To stick with that theme, here is a short but sweet list of three particularly happy moments from the past week:

  1. I knit my nephew (who just turned one the beginning of this month) a Yoda hat for Halloween last year. I made it plenty big (both because he has a big head and because I wanted him to get a lot of use out of it), and from what I can see of pictures my sister-in-law puts on Facebook, it’s something he wears a lot, which is excellent. Last Friday, my dad was babysitting and sent me a video of my nephew, wearing the Yoda hat, wandering around out on their back porch and watching his shadow move as he shook his head and made the ears wiggle. It was pretty much the cutest thing ever, and I’m still giggling about it, and also super impressed that a one year old could make the connection that moving his head in a certain way made the shadow move.
  2. On Sunday, my partner and I went over to a friend’s apartment, and that friend gave us fabulous haircuts. I was feeling pretty scruffy and a little gross pre-haircut, but after the haircut (and the shave I gave myself that evening, because hey, that beard is starting to come in more), I’ve actually been feeling pretty okay about myself. It’s been a nice confidence boost, particularly coupled with the new binder.
  3. On Tuesday, before my songwriting class, I was hanging out around the Old Town School and knitting a hat. I got some inquisitive looks from children and adults (dudes knitting is not altogether uncommon, but uncommon enough that it tends to turn heads), but mostly people were walking by without noticing. At one point, two young sisters walked past, slowed down, and the older said to the younger (in that stage whisper of childhood that I’m sure she thought was inaudible to the adult she was referencing), “Do you think he’s better than Grandma?” The younger one answered, “Maybe…” It was all I could do to not bust out laughing.