LIFE UPDATES PART 01: I am moving and you're invited to a farewell planetarium show.
I AM LEAVING TEXAS…FOR COLORADO (again)!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
(because we don’t do TLDR in this house).
👉 Colorado Moving Plans & 10-Year Reflection
👉 Housekeys “Farewell “Planetarium Show Details
👉 Design, Art, and Illustration Commissions Are Open
I would love to hear from you if anything here resonated with you or if you have questions, feedback, etc. about anything. I’d love to know what you want to hear from me - just hit reply!
I am moving back to Colorado! …for the THIRD time.
Linger with me for a moment as I every-so-quickly reflect on the last TEN years:
I first moved to Boulder, Colorado in 2014, then went to Europe for two months at the end of 2015 before returning to Texas for a few months to salvage a relationship which ultimately didn’t work out, and I headed right back to Golden, Colorado.
I was sober when I moved to Colorado, I got un-sober while living in Colorado, and got sober again in Colorado.
At nearly one year of sobriety, I met someone performing with Jeremy Enigk’s “Return of the Frog Queen” tour in 2018. Six months later, I moved to Seattle leaving behind a well-built, beautiful life and community in Denver, Colorado.
While my time in Seattle was one of the most difficult times in my life, ( you know…lack of sunlight, heartbreak, a pandemic, etc), I wouldn’t say that move was a mistake, because five years ago TODAY I started one of the best jobs I’ve ever had: Marketing Manager at Seattle’s historic Hotel Sorrento. Three months ago TODAY I was also laid off from that job.
After Seattle, I moved to New York City while rent was still “low,” during the pandemic. I paid an unheard of $2,000 for a West Village apartment on Christopher Street. I took tap dancing lessons, singing lessons, and just immersed myself into all things New York City. Everything about my time in NYC was absolutely perfect, but it just wasn’t “it.” I moved there because if I never did, I would always want to.
By the time I left New York City, I was entering what would eventually turn into a very heavy depressive episode that would not lift for nearly two years (in other words, I’ve been resurfacing for the last few months from aforementioned depression).
After landing back in Texas, I tried out the Austin area but it was…totally overwhelming. I also don’t think I was existing in my mind, spirit, or body at that time. The depression was getting so bad it was literally freezing me. This was also when I wrote and released “exploded views” - one of my most well received releases. I truly believe I make art when I am feeling my best or my worst. Nowhere in between though…
Deciding to move back to the Dallas Fort Worth area gave me some pep in my step. I would be moving back to be close friends, some family, and familiar places. I needed that familiarity and grounding.
I also moved back to go back to school. I am 38 years old and while I almost have a degree in English Lit and Medieval History, I decided to totally pivot my direction and change my major to a Physics Degree.
I LOVE being back in school and that experience will soon be a published essay on its own. For now, I will just say that I learned I love math and I love space weather. I even scored a research position where I get to sonify data from the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission spacecraft currently orbiting Earth so we can study plasma as the sun spits in our general direction (let me know if you got the pun). MORE ON THAT RESEARCH SOON!
And now, TODAY: For the last couple of months I’ve been converting my car into a camper. I have watched…so many YouTube videos. I’m planning to head out in early July on a long road trip with my two cats, Luna and Howl. Chaos will surely ensue, but so will clarity.
Most of my things are already in storage, and I am about to leave my utterly badass 1000 square foot warehouse apartment in Fort Worth, TX behind… for a 111 square foot Subaru Forester. Of course there will be Airbnb’s here and there, and before I am ready to settle and sign a lease in Colorado, I will first return to Iceland in early August to finish my record (more on that in the next newsletter).
Speaking of music…
I am playing a “farewell,” show in a planetarium!
Many of you may already know that I have been working in collaboration with UT Arlington’s Planetarium over the last year or so, booking live music shows. My main genre of focus has been ambient, wordless, orchestral music. We have hosted some incredible artists in this “trial run”: over the last year: Tum Sun, Hardy, Henley, Harris, Slow Meadow, and Panther City Quartet.
I have worked closely with the planetarium’s astounding program coordinator, McKenna Dowd, to put these shows on. She has been one of THE BEST partners with whom I have ever produced events! Plus, we both get to nerd out about physics while hosting gorgeous music shows in an unreal venue.
To kick off the 2024 season and to have an epic sendoff for my Texas departure, I will play one last Texas show on June 28th at UT Arlington’s Planetarium.
I am beyond thrilled and terrified to play this show.
But…the most exciting thing is the 2024 season. I absolutely cannot wait to see each of these incredible performances! Yes, I will fly back to Texas for these shows.
Design, Art, & Illustration Commissions
In March of this year I was laid off unexpectedly (with no severance) from my full-time job of nearly FIVE YEARS as Marketing Director of Hotel Sorrento. As of this essay, I am still unemployed but I know something is on the horizon. I have had rejection after rejection for jobs I felt were absolutely perfect. I have been in the final running multiple times, ultimately not being chosen.
So, I’ve been drawing again. One of the things I recently created is a Jurassic Park Bandana. I illustrated by hand it in Procreate and it’s currently being printed at Printed Threads in Fort Worth, TX. You can pre-order one here.
I am also opening commissions back up for digital PET PORTRAITS! I love drawing animals and would love to draw yours. Reserve a pet portrait here.
You can also view more of my portfolio here. If you or anyone you know is looking for someone to do design work, please pass my information along! I am also open to certain types of marketing projects.
Substack is now telling me that my email is too long, so here’s what you can expect in LIFE UPDATES PART 02:
I AM RETURNING TO ICELAND TO FINISH MY RECORD
I AM STILL UNEMPLOYED & HERE IS HOW I FEEL ABOUT IT
SUBARU CAMPER LIFE UPDATES: LET’S TOUR THE SUBIE
I would love to hear from you if anything in this blog/newsletter resonated with you. I’d love to know what you want to hear from me too! I am officially and FINALLY reviving this blog.
xoxo,
