Greetings, Internet! I hope everyone is staying as safe and sane as can be. This week, I had some not fun spinal cord injury management, posted my first vocal cover in over a year, and witnessed the meltdown of a person I can only describe as “Hair Salon Karen.” Daily summaries below!

April 7, 2023

• Ugh, so apparently one more thing about having a spinal cord injury is that your digestive system starts to hate you every now and then.
• Whyyyy.
• My mother came over because I felt terrible, stayed a few hours once things seemed to be okay, and then went back home. She’s the best.
• Managed to get my act together for a workout with an SCI trainer. My bestie stopped by, so my trainer found our conversation amusing (also his phone is apparently listening to everything, so he’s getting targeted ads for things he’s not even remotely interested in. Lol).
• Emailed the people who I want to have on my dissertation committee, so huzzah!
• Now I just have to revise all these chapters and write the intro/conclusion. Oof.
• Finally cleaned some makeup brushes!
• Wordle: In four!
• Currently feeling: I would very much like for my digestive system to get back on track.
• Currently looping: We’ve got an original from The Dark Side of the Moon: “The Gates of Time.” Love Melissa Bonny’s voice!

April 8, 2023

• Called my dad to wish him a happy birthday.
• Learned that I’m going to need to do something to, um, take care of my digestive system issue.
• This is not going to be a fun weekend.
• I will spare you the details. I’ve also told my boyfriend not to come over tomorrow.
• Currently feeling: Ughhhhh.
• Currently looping: No music, only ugh.

April 9, 2023

• Feeling a bit better after a rough day and night. Thankfully, my mother was here to help (and my father assures me that I did not ruin his birthday).
• Happy Easter! My boyfriend and parents came over, and we had a lovely meal, including my mother’s eggplant parmesan [it’s the featured picture!].
• But later that night, my digestive system acted up again, and my boyfriend ended up being moral support (i.e. talking through the bathroom door and describing a video game to me).
• Living with an SCI is hard, folks.
• But my boyfriend is being really great and supportive.
• Currently feeling: Still ugh. But really glad to have a caring partner. I’m still surprised that my health issues haven’t scared him off (and that, folks, is internalized ableism).
• Currently looping; No music really, but at least we had the Mets game on during dinner.

April 10, 2023

• My stomach didn’t make terrifying noises overnight, so that’s wonderful.
• I was also able to eat breakfast, so that was great.
• After a few more hours, my boyfriend and I went outside to enjoy the lovely weather. I got a matcha latte, and then we went back to the apartment.
• Called my sister to wish her a happy birthday! She went to this fancy restaurant and sent me pictures. And now I want all of the fancy noms.
• My boyfriend made us dinner and did the dishes, because I’m still not at 100%. I should probably make him dinner next weekend or something.
• Did some vocal practice because there’s a metal cover contest I’d like to try my hand at.
• Currently feeling: Much better than I did this weekend, so yay.
• Currently looping: Anything with Melissa Bonny, really. She’s vocal goals for me at the moment.

April 11, 2023

• Did the FES cycle. Really should catch up on “The Mandalorian” at some point.
• What’s that? Val’s getting back on YouTube to post a vocal cover for a metal song for a contest that she probably won’t win because she doesn’t have time to film in a semi-professional setting?
• Yeah, pretty much. Gotta love Ad Infinitum, though. Maybe someday they’ll perform in NYC and I can actually go see them live.
• And then I can shout, “I LOVE YOU, MELISSA!” to their lead singer.
• But seriously, check her vocals out.
• Anyway, the backing track they posted online doesn’t work on Ableton for some reason, so I had to record everything in Garageband. And I really don’t enjoy doing that, but you know what, this is about getting back in the groove of things!
• And singing, which is awesome!
• Currently feeling: Huh, my voice doesn’t sound nearly as bad with each listen. So that’s good.
• Currently looping: Ad Infinitum!

April 12, 2023

• Called a contractor to look at the shower.
• Finally put together the talk I gave so that it looks less messy and sent it to my advisor.
• Re-recorded the cover I did yesterday because I wasn’t a fan of some of the notes, which sounded flat. There are still some flat notes. And the mixing is AWFUL. Like, I am embarrassed that this is online, but dammit, the cover contest ends on Friday.
• If you want to hear it, here it is. I wish it was better. Like, I had to use Garageband because the backing track wouldn’t load onto Ableton, and I don’t remember how to use it and didn’t have much time to relearn (although in theory it’s supposed to be intuitive?). Although now that I’ve posted it, I see two places that need work and that could’ve been fixed with some automation (not autotune, this bitch doesn’t need or use autotune), but I just do not have time unless I want to sacrifice sleep. And I don’t sleep enough to begin with.
• <drinks a rosé cider>
• Wordle: In six!
• Currently feeling: Like I got a lot done today, but was mediocre at everything. Something tells me I won’t be happy with my productivity levels until I start hardcore revising a chapter.
• Currently looping: My own sad cover. Someday, I will write my own stuff and get it professionally mixed so I don’t have to groan about my cover stuff on the internet.

April 13, 2023

• Met with a contractor in the morning. Looks like I might have to have the entire bathroom floor torn up. I am not happy about this, but it’s to make sure the pitch of the bathroom prevents flooding/leaks.
• Went to have lunch with my parents. Tried a Pho place in Brooklyn. Mmm…pho.
• Got a haircut and witnessed a white lady have a Karen meltdown in the salon. Basically, she thought I cut the line (it’s walk-in only), and got a haircut before her teenage son did. We had called earlier in the day to see if my hairdresser was free. She was not, so we called back later, and the owner said she was available, so we sped over there and made it in less than five minutes. Within that five minutes, a teenage boy had come into the salon. The owner took our phone call as being “next in line,” so I was seen first. Rather than accept the salon owner’s explanation that my hairdresser had another person (i.e. me) after the person she was working on, this Karen started shrieking: 
• “WHY ARE YOU SHOUTING AT ME?! WE’RE GOOD CUSTOMERS! YOU’RE BEING SO MEAN!” (er, you’re shouting at the owner and not listening to him, and he’s trying to explain something to you over the sound of a hairdryer he’s using on a client)
• “I’M NOT TRYING TO CUT ANYONE IN LINE!” (er, you’re trying to cut me, and you’re not listening to the owner, who is trying to explain what happened)
• “WE’VE BEEN HERE FOR OVER AN HOUR!” (you were there for thirty minutes, tops)
•  “I DIDN’T COME IN FROM OFF THE STREET!” (um, lady, it’s walk-in only, we literally all came in off the street)
• “I’M GOING TO TELL EVERYONE! I’M LEAVING A REVIEW ON YELP AND I’M GOING TO TELL EVERYONE HOW I WAS TREATED TODAY!” (do people still use Yelp?)
• Oh, and my personal favorite, “WHY DO WE COME TO THIS CHINESE SALON?! THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER CHINESE SALONS!” (peak racist Karen nonsense)
• So that was an interesting haircut. Meanwhile, my hairdresser is like, doing her job and being unphased by this tomfoolery.
• These Karens are really a menace. Side note, it must be mortifying being a teenage boy and having your mother scream at people over a $15 haircut (which is the amount they charge for men’s haircuts).
• Even more of a side note, how rough must your day be going that you end up taking your frustrations out on hair salon staff? Seriously?
• Anyway, my hair looks awesome.
• Currently feeling: Kind of wish I had filmed Hair Salon Karen, but I didn’t want to turn my head while my hairdresser was cutting my hair.
• Currently looping: No music today, but also kind of bummed that Melissa Bonny and Ad Infinitum didn’t even acknowledge my cover when they acknowledged the other ones. How rude.

Thanks so much for reading! Stay safe, stay sane, and be nice to your hair salon staff!