La Vida Veeta

When something is coming to its end, and you know it’s about to end, it’s so much sweeter, right? Like your last first day of school. Or the final chapter of your favorite book. Or even the last time you know you’re gonna hook up with your high school drama teacher (shit just me? Well, ok. Thanks for making it awkward). Knowing that something is fleeting means that savoring it in the moment is not only preferred, but necessary. It forces us out of the paralysis of procrastination. It makes us question the old faithful self response of “Well, I’ll be able to do that another time”. Like let’s be real- no you won’t, bitch. And really, who’s to blame? Seemingly every second we’re alive we’re burdened with more responsibilities, distractions and tethers. Credit score. Phone bill. Caloric intake. Social media. Destruction of the last shreds of democracy. Ya know, the small things. But- when you KNOW that things are coming to an end, it snaps you out of that. Our lizard brains are reminded that hey, who gives AF if your credit score is in the single digits and no man within a 5 area code radius wants to date you because of it. Because that’s not important! What’s important is going for walks, listening to your neighborhood’s birdsong, and saying yes to those Wednesday afternoon tequila shots with a Double Scorpio™️poppers chaser at Pony (for anyone who doesn’t know, THIS is Pony). Life is short, and (unfortunately very commonly) cruel and random. Balancing paying the rent on time with nuking your liver into oblivion is important. Some might say it’s even the essence of life itself.

I say all of this to paint the picture of how I’m approaching my final spring in Seattle. While I may not be snorting lines off of gogo boys in the Kroger parking lot (yet 😈) it’s more of a metaphorical 8-ball. For so many years, I feel like my life has been dominated by routine. Wake up, try and shake off the last dregs of sleep, head into work, disassociate for 8 hours, head home, watch Youtube videos until its a suitable hour for sleep, sleep. Writing it out like that it sounds abundantly clear that it might just be chronic depression (luckily she’s an SSRI and therapy girlie now so that is no longer the case hehe) but I think it also highlights an integral part of human nature. As Joni Mitchell/Vanessa Carlton said in the iconic bop Big Yellow Taxi- You don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone. Well, I refuse to pave paradise any longer. This spring is the spring of JOY. Smelling every single sweet pea blossom I walk by. Stopping and giggling at the goofy ass murder of crows in my neighborhood (like the way they strut around is just SO CUTE like cmon). Laying outside and reading as much as possible, and hopefully meeting every neighborhood dog in the process. Making time for friends (old and new)- something which I admittedly sacrificed for too long in the name of alone time (and as a disclaimer- I am NOT saying that alone time isn’t important. It most definitely is. It truthfully keeps me sane. But, sometimes in retrospect it becomes clear that some of that was just straight up isolation and not self care. It’s hard to know where that line is. Growth I guess?) And luckily, I just so happen to have 2 more months in this stunning little temperately rainforested bubble. Here are some of my favorite memories of Spring 2025 thus far:

• Seattle has a bunch of cute, quirky, informal sidewalk and pocket gardens throughout the city; one of which is right across the street from the bus stop I wait at daily for my commute. Seemingly every week, new gizmos, gadgets, and gardenias spontaneously appear. This week it might be a hand painted bench with bumblebees flying over a checkerboard background. Next week- an alarm clock with stickers of frogs and butterflies gracing its face. Two months from now: a wrought iron gazebo with trailing roses and delphinium welcoming anyone to take a seat inside and escape from the world. One day as I head to the bus stop, I ran into the architect of it all: Understand. Understand is an icon. Having lived in the neighborhood for several decades, she knows everything there is to know about Capitol Hill. Beyond that, Understand has the MOST interesting life story arc ever. Being both Choctaw and Jewish, Understand grew up in Oklahoma in the Choctaw Nation before moving west. She lived as part of a hippie commune and (luckily) left with her kids before it went full cult. She lived in Harlem (NYC) where she spent time with Donald Faison (yes- the one from Scrubs. I can attest to this as she showed me pics of them together in her apartment. What a LIFE). Moving to Seattle in the 80’s, Understand became a fixture of the Capitol Hill/Minor Park/Squire Park area and has been maintaining this community garden in the same plot of land for decades. She has seen crazy tenants, asshole landlords, obnoxious city bureaucrats come and go. And through it all, she has maintained (and continues to improve) her neighborhood garden. If you ever see her in the neighborhood, please tell her that Matthew (that’s right, she knows the full 2-syllable name 😉) says hi. Below is a cute pic of us when we gardened together for Earth Day!

• My friend Steph and I decided to walk around the UW campus one day when it was especially beautiful to take in the full splendor of the cherry blossoms. For anyone who isn’t aware, UW has one of the best known and most extravagant explosion of cherry blossoms this side of the Mississippi (and second best on the other side- fuck you Washington D.C. Or, the other Washington as I like to call it. It doesn’t matter that it was founded well before Washington State, it’s still a hater and a poser. Come fight me. JK I’m a soft boy I don’t fight teehee). Anyways- as we are walking around taking in the beautiful scenery, we come across the most angelic little baby honey bunny love of our life rabbit just vibing and eating DOWN on some good vinca (reference picture 8 in the gallery below). Steph and I, both with cameras in hand, fully stop in the middle of the walkway and proceed to have like a 10 minute photoshoot of this rabbit. It was unafraid, and knew its angles to a T. Miss bunny ate that photoshoot UP. We legitimately held up foot traffic on the pathway as people stopped to see the rabbit in all its glory. It was just so adorable, and wholesome, and ridiculous that it still brings the biggest smile to my face thinking about it. Thanks for that moment, Steph 🙂
• So I mentioned this in another post a little while ago, but I ran into one of my neighbors as she was getting rid of some books. I noticed, in her hands, two perfectly good AGATHA CHRISTIE ™️novels. Like, THEE GAY ICON. Move over Cher. Move over Dolly. Move over Oscar Wilde. Cause Agatha is HERE. Getting engrossed in the absolute camp of Murder on the Orient Express while laying in the sun surrounded by fallen cherry blossoms was honestly like, one of my peak Seattle memories (right up there with the tequila shots and poppers). Her plots are so engrossing, layered, and fucking stupid. Like, SO stupid. It’s honestly pure camp and it fills me with giddy joy that I can’t explain. Ugh, I love being gay.
• I went to 350 Seattle’s Climate Community Night and got to meet so many inspiring individuals here who commit themselves to making their communities (and the world) a better place. I talk about them in the Sunday Slice ™️a lot so if you haven’t already checked that out, please do. You can see the whole grocery deli packaged selection of slices here. It’s monthly, and I’d love to go with any of y’all if you’re in the area and so inclined. Oh also did I mention there’s FREE FOOD?? I am a simple, single celled protozoa that is motivated (sometimes only) by food, so trust and believe I will be there.
• I got to experience the magic of @miniaturewerewolf (their handle on Instagram) a local artist who makes the most detailed and incredible lil mini dioramas. I got to experience “Heroes Work Here” which is a tribute to the amazing US Postal Service and the fantastic humans who have kept this country’s communication systems running for centuries. Also who doesn’t love octopi??? They are so stinkin’ cute! And kinda threatening? Idk its a fun mix. Anyways, check out the post (and deep dive their account for other really cool projects they’re working on!) here.
• The ferns unfurled! I know this happens every spring, but watching these beauties slowly unwrap their new leaves is a mesmerizing spectacle. Each frond is so delicately curled, creating beautiful geometry that inspires me to take a photo every time I see one (check out the gallery below if you don’t believe me for some reason). I’m just constantly amazed and awed at the beauty of the world around us. Specifically plants. And rocks. And fungi. And animals. And water. And air. And fire. I guess anything besides people, cause people kinda suck!

Anyways- I hope this post brought you some joy. Or blinding, white hot rage (either is an acceptable reaction in my book). Or arousal!! Being aroused is pretty cool, but also kinda weird if this post did it? I mean, I guess ferns are pretty sexy but like…..are they THAT sexy? Maybe if you popped some molly they would be. OMG imagine what a fern would feel like on molly?? Probably incredible. OMG or MOSS on molly? Now THAT would be the move.

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Ok now I promise that I’m done forrealziez ™️

I hope you enjoy these photos!!!

Seattle – May 2025