Year Eleven

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2021 to 2022

Marcie spent this year working on a short animation for a film fellowship. As always, I spent it working on my dissertation. Our new two-bedroom apartment was much larger and better lit than our old studio. Of course, it was still tiny: when we visited the New York City Tenement Museum, we discovered that our building was identical to the one that the curators had selected to exemplify the horrors of exploitative, Depression-era housing. Luckily, now that COVID-19 restrictions had loosened, we were free to travel more often. In September, we went back to Minnesota for a friend’s wedding. In March, we took a short trip to Baltimore before going to Walt Disney World with my family.

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Minnesota

I am out of ideas for captions. I regret that we did not get married earlier. These are fish.

ML: I would like to note that, in this image, the lower half of the right side of my face is paralyzed because of a misapplication of Botox treatment for my TMJ. My neurologist charged me $100 to confirm that my face was, in fact, half paralyzed. Fortunately, the paralysis completely went away within a few months. Unfortunately, before I recovered, I was photographed frequently as a member of my friend's wedding party. Here, Brian and I are en route to her rehearsal dinner. If my face is once again half paralyzed before our wedding, I will have to make masks mandatory for all attendees, including myself.

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NYC & Baltimore

After stalking her prey to the watering hole, she pounces, claws unsheathed.

I eat my customary breakfast: a cup of oat milk, a plate of pancakes, a glass of orange juice, another plate of pancakes, a bowl of raspberries, a stack of crackers, a glass of water, a jug of syrup, a plate of smoked salmon, a bottle of One-A-Day Men’s Vitamins, a vase of flowers, a handful of spinach leaves, a vial of Himalayan pink salt, two forks, a stone coaster, and a remote control.

ML: Valentine's Day! ❤️

I cosplay as a thirteen-year-old to honor Poe’s favorite wife.

I cosplay as the manager of a local Hot Topic to honor Marcie’s favorite retail outlet.

Marcie offers me a little kiss to comfort me as I continue working on my dissertation.

She hides her face from her perverse creation: steal her famous Mapo Tofu recipe.

Marcie shows off her quirky side by trampling through autumn leaves.

Marcie uses a tiny shovel to dig her way into a stranger’s car.

Come for the circus, leave with two days and nights of severe food poisoning.

ML: To be clear, Brian had food poisoning, not me.

Nothing says summer like popsicles and smiles.

The jolly twinkle in our eyes reveals that we are smiling here as well.

ML: We are cosplaying as Saul Goodman and Kim Wexler at the premiere of “Better Call Saul” Season 6. I had a joke here, but Brian demanded that I delete it so that I wouldn't steal his thunder.