On March 10th, 2020 my girlfriend and I went to a concert. Intronaut, Emma Ruth Rundle, and Cult of Luna performed at the Fonda Theater in Hollywood. Other than that moe. show I had to leave early in 1998 or 1999 because of bad drugs, it was the most uneasy live music experience I’ve ever had. There was an air of quiet discomfort permeating the crowd. I remember us eating at Blue Palms Brewhouse (R.I.P.) beforehand, and watching one of their TVs as news came in about the NBA suspending their season. A few hours later we were trying to keep our distance from the rest of the crowd in the theater. Should we order beers? Was it okay to drink from an open-top container in a music venue? Was that a cough we just heard? So many unknowns and so much anxiety. When I posted pictures of the concert on Instagram the next day I captioned them with, “Yes I went out to a public venue last night for a show. No, I’m not really happy about it. Cult of Luna kicked some serious ass but today has been all, ‘I should have stayed [home]’. Maybe I’ll look back at this in a few months and laugh about it? Maybe I won’t? Next show, theoretically, is Russian Circles mid-April. Unless we’re all under quarantine.”
What a difference one year makes.
March 11th is my sister’s birthday. It’s not as if I normally get to celebrate with her. I don’t fly home to mark the occasion. Were it not for the pandemic, I would most definitely be making preparations to travel home in late April for the WFMU Record Fair. My annual pilgrimage is not happening this year. Again. I don’t even know if WFMU ever bothered to update their website from last year. I have a strong feeling the Record Fair will return in 2022. This time next year I hope to already have a ticket booked and accommodations lined up for a trip home. Hell, I hope within the next couple months I’ll have a ticket booked for a trip home this summer — or early autumn — so I can finally see my family again. After all that has happened since November, I want more than anything to see my dad on his 80th birthday. I’m trying to stay optimistic that even if I’m not there on the day of his actual birthday…maybe soon after? Fingers crossed.
My mom has a flight to Los Angeles booked for May. She’s already fully vaccinated and I hope by then we both are too. If we all have to sit outside on the patio to eat dinner, so be it. I don’t want to put her (or us) in a scenario where we have to rely on restaurants and people we don’t know to keep us safe. Especially if numbers in Los Angeles remain somewhat precarious, as they are currently. The worst case scenario is mom will have to wear a mask for her tour of the new house. If that really is the “worst case scenario” I can think of at the moment…we’re already in a better place this year than we were last year.
As for us…you know. We’re good. We both still have a jobs. Our puppy turns 1 year old next week. I’m cooking dinner five nights a week so I’m getting pretty good at things I wouldn’t ordinarily attempt. My sauce game is improving. I’m spending time on things like thickeners and stocks when I would ordinarily seek out recipes that don’t require any extra effort. I’m making a lot more stews because my office is the kitchen table and I can give longer meal preps the attention the need. I’m seeking out more adventurous recipes instead of relying on my usual go-to dishes. If my plating wasn’t so bad I’d devote a post to everything I’ve cooked in the past year. Alas, when my creamy chickpeas and prosciutto looks like a bunch of used condoms swimming in a skillet of beans and tomato cream…it’s probably best not to gross you all out. At least they taste good. At the very least my breakfast sandwiches have never been better.
In terms of this website, I expected 2021 was going to be a transitional year. I know you’re tired of reading this, but life gets in the way sometimes! I’m working on a plan that would hopefully make the page profitable again, which in turn would compel me to publish more frequently. It would also help if I was in a better place mentally, so once I get fully vaccinated (and stop fearing death) I’ll be more inspired.
I’m also trying to retroactively recreate all of my old Sunday Mix Tapes in Spotify. If you don’t follow Swan Fungus on Spotify you should. I’ve gotten almost 300 uploaded so far. There are obviously huge gaps in their database that prohibit me from having every track on every mix tape uploaded, but I’m doing my best. Once I’m done with that task I think I can refocus on new mix tapes, which will be hosted either here or on another platform. I’m still working out the master plan.
That’s all for now. Time to walk the dog, eat lunch, and then we’re going to try and find some “expiring” vaccines in need of fresh arms at a local health clinic.
To be continued…
