Greetings, Internet! I hope everyone’s staying as safe and sane as can be. This week, I watched a bunch of “The Wire,” went out for karaoke for the first time since February 2020, and somehow managed to wheel myself home after drinking way more alcohol than I usually do. Daily summaries below!

Day Four Hundred and Ninety-One (7/16/21)

• Push to Walk! So tired. But my posture is going to look amazing.
• Went to get lunch with my parents. Then restocked my Earl Grey tea and Digestives supply (need that McVitie’s in my life).
• Watched about one episode of “The Wire” (I usually watch halves of episodes here and there, so I don’t get too caught up, but this time I definitely spent the hour I should’ve been practicing harsh vocals watching “The Wire”). I’m about a couple of episodes away from finishing season two!
• Total Times Outside: Ninety-Two!
• Total videos watched from other YouTubers: 0. Yeah, I’ll catch up over the weekend.
• Currently feeling: It was so hot outside today. Like, 93 degrees. It was totally manageable in the shade, but it took me a couple of hours to cool off after I spent less than two blocks wheeling on a sunny sidewalk. Luckily, I have an ice pack in my freezer for this purpose. Unfortunately, that ice pack was sitting underneath a package of lox, and so it smelled faintly lox-y. Not really the type of ice pack you want to place on the side of your neck, but hey, it worked.
• Currently looping: Ingrid Michaelson’s “You and I.”

Day Four Hundred and Ninety-Two (7/17/21)

• Did the FES cycle. Finished season two of “The Wire.”
• Caught up with one of the #triotime members!
• Harsh vocal lesson! The instructor said it was great that my false chord attempt got to where it is on my own, and then he gave me over ten more exercises I could do until my next lesson. #mykindofinstructor
• Mets. Why.
• Total videos watched from other YouTubers: 17. And then people uploaded ten more that I’ll have to watch at some point.
• Currently feeling: Sleepy. Also wondering if I overdid it with vocal practice today. Singing requires so much more than your throat and mouth, so it can be quite a workout for the abdominal region.
• Currently looping: Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect.” Bump it up a key, and it’s a fabulous song to belt.

Day Four Hundred and Ninety-Three (7/18/21)

• Met up with one of my childhood friends for a long overdue brunch. As in, we had planned to get brunch in March 2020, and had to postpone.
• Two drinks later, it was karaoke time.
• Except there don’t seem to be any karaoke places that are wheelchair-friendly open until 5pm.
• Food adventure in K-Town until 5pm, and then karaoke!
• The first karaoke place was fixing their ADA-compliant bathroom, but told us that they bought another location that was down the block.
• This second karaoke place had a bathroom that I would not actually call ADA-compliant, but it worked for me, so the karaoke commenced! Did I warm up? No. Should I have? Probably.
• Two hours of belting and more drinks later, our vocal cords were exhausted. The upside of karaoke with two people is that there is plenty of time to sing all the songs we want to sing. The downside is that we are singing nonstop, with only breaks for relieving our bladders. The ideal number of karaoke participants is at least three. That way, two people have microphones, and one person is adding songs to the queue. Someone will always feel like they can take a break, and then jump back in.
• I went back home to drink lots of water and eat something small. I wasn’t exactly hungry, but I knew that I don’t normally have the equivalent of four (I think?) alcoholic beverages in a day. Gotta prevent that hangover.
• Total Times Outside: Ninety-Three!
• Total videos watched from other YouTubers: 0. I was out all day.
• Currently feeling: There was something so normal about going to a karaoke bar and just belting out a song until it became difficult to speak clearly. I’m so thankful that my friend and I finally got to see each other ^_^
• Currently looping: Ingrid Michaelson’s live performance of “Over You” feat. A Great Big World. It’s an experience.

Day Four Hundred and Ninety-Four (7/19/21)

• Did the FES cycle. Am four episodes into season three of “The Wire.”
• My mother’s here! And my father tagged along briefly.
• My mother was on a baking mission today. She made a blueberry pie, two batches of blueberry muffins, and also made some granola and roasted some cashews. My apartment got rather toasty, but smelled amazing.
• Did I stay up to watch the marathon Mets-Reds game? Um. Yes. #LFGM
• Total videos watched from other YouTubers: 35. Yes, 35. This is what happens when you ignore the pile of videos for too long.
• Currently feeling: I know that MLB recently changed the DL (“disabled list”) to the IL (“injured list” or somesuch), and I heard that disability advocates were the ones who demanded the change, but why? I liked that it was called the DL. Disability is fluid. Anyone can become disabled at any time, and the DL at least put the vocabulary out there. But I guess there was some underlying negativity to the word disabled in that context? I don’t know. Of all the things for disability advocates to demand, that seemed pretty low on the list (to me at least, but I certainly do not speak for the entire disability community). But a win’s a win, I guess?
• Currently looping: Aerosmith’s “Dream On.”

Day Four Hundred and Ninety-Five (7/20/21)

• Went to Push to Walk, and am exhausted.
• It would have been epic if the Mets had come from behind again tonight. Alas, ‘twas not to be.
• Briefly FaceTimed my niece! I continue to be impressed with her speech and memory recollection.
• Spent maybe fifteen minutes practicing harsh vocals, just to get a bit of practice time in.
• Number of videos watched from other YouTubers: 0. Like I said, exhausted.
• Total Times Outside: Ninety-Four!
• Currently feeling: Picked out my dress for my friend’s upcoming wedding, and I’m excited to be at a social gathering! By excited, of course, I mean, “Oh my goodness, how do I people? Did I ever know how to people? Maybe I never knew and everyone is aware of this so I don’t actually need to learn how to people.” Nah, I’m sure it’ll be fun, haha.
• Currently looping: Sarah Jarosz’s “Dark Road” from Live From Here.

Day Four Hundred and Ninety-Six (7/21/21)

• Did the FES cycle. Am four episodes away from finishing season three of “The Wire.”
• Yay, Mets!
• Got to catch up with a friend via videochat, which was lovely =)
• Practiced some harsh vocals, only to find that my clean singing was a bit more difficult afterwards. The exercises seemed to go well, but then if I try to apply them to an actual song, it doesn’t quite click. I have to record some clean singing tomorrow, so I’ll hold off on harsh vocals for a bit.
• Total videos watched from other YouTubers: 0. I’ll catch up later.
• Currently feeling: Trying to figure out how to get from my apartment to my friend’s wedding. I don’t trust Access-a-Ride, and so I’ve been looking at car services, which charge a ridiculous amount. I might have to put my faith in Lyft. Anyone have any experience with Lyft Access?
• Currently looping: Sarah Jarosz’s “Interlude 1” from her “Blue Heron Suite” album.

Day Four Hundred and Ninety-Seven (7/22/21)

• Got so caught up watching “The Wire” that I didn’t realize it was already mid-afternoon before I started practicing an arrangement for a friend.
• Practiced said arrangement.
• Therapy!
• Met up with a friend I hadn’t seen in over a year! We drank so many margaritas. So many.
• WHEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!
• Total videos watched by other YouTubers: 0. WHEEEEEE!
• Total Times Outside: Ninety-Four!
• Currently feeling: DRUNK AF.
• Currently looping: Aoife O Donovan feat. The Milk Carton Kids’ “More Than We Know.” It’s so mellow and I’m so drunk.

Thanks so much for reading! Stay safe, get vaccinated, and go watch the Olympics!