a fish and other things
I'm on the other side of this trip down the spiral. The world has been so heavy. Despite this, the weather cooled into absolutely perfect windows-open, dog-walking, porch-time conditions and I am feeling the ground again.
I am teaching in an public city middle school and it's kicking my butt, but I am in a good school with good people and an emphasis on outdoor education, which these kids really benefit from. Sixth grade is a hard time to be a human and these kids have really hard lives that I am trying to wrap my head around so I can reach them more.
I'm re-watching the Wire now that I've lived in Baltimore for a few months. The last time I watched it was in 2010, and it's wild how much better Baltimore has gotten in some areas since the show came out 23 years ago, especially city corruption. It's wild to square the trajectory the city is on and the... current headlines about our little deathtrap home. I never watched the season about the schools, since I was applying to graduate school for art education back then and I knew it would scare me. Just started season two again.
I love this scene. Season two is tripping me out because I rewatched Law & Order: SVU (do not judge!!!) when I had long covid and one of the many, many people who kidnap Olivia Benson is in the show (Niko).
This is my new betta.
My last betta, Mr. Opal, passed away last week after over a year with a massive tumor and two with me. He was some a reject galaxy plakat betta, cellophane baby pink with flashy white scales and little streaks of chocolate brown on his fins. He was in an overflow tank full of plants in my LFS in Florida with the rest of his spawn for a couple bucks. As soon as I saw him I set up a tank and came back for him the next week.
This guy is likely a fresh import from Thailand with a bunch of fancy bettas at a Maryland fish shop. I saw a salesperson politely but firmly refuse to sell fish to some people who had no idea what they were doing until they set up a tank and came back. They wanted first to add it to their goldfish bowl (with the goldfish), then they wanted to put two males together, then maybe just add one to their cichlid tank actually, then just get a male and female to keep together permanently for the babies. It's just fascinating to me to not research at all, because that's the fun part for me. At least they asked the salesperson their questions and she could say "they are kind of famously aggressive, that's kind of their thing" in a nice way. I wish people asked more questions in general, even if some of them baffle me. It's much darker when people are afraid to ask.
No name yet.
I ran across Ava's post about customizing your life, and it made me think of the little objects of affection around my life. Little objects of joy.
Today I picked up this midcentury collie bank from a strip on Belair Road in Baltimore where people have some kind of eternal weekend table sales for blocks. The lady who sold me this ceramic dog was firing up the grill in front of her business and was delightful. I am not sure if I will try to restore the color or completely repaint it. (The drawing is an original by a friend of mine from grad school).
This song by Wet Leg is on our Baltimore radio station all the time and it feels like 2000-2010 indie summer pop in the vein of Santigold.
I think that's it for now. That is what I have.