I abruptly lost my job over the weekend and the only things that has made sense since then is this:
01
I feel really confident about who I am and what I’ve accomplished. I’m mad talented and I am still surprised to react to myself feeling so confidently intact about who I am and the many obscure and varied talents that I leave with.
02
I got to be around the most talented people in the industry and they made me a lot better. That growth, perspective, and inspiration I will miss deeply.
03
I worked hard in learning about the people I was around. About their husbands, wives, children, partners, hobbies, favorite foods, past lives, dreams, aspirations, music taste, all of it. This was the hardest I’d ever worked to get to know so many people and it’s cool to know that my interactions with a lot of these people won’t really change because made efforts to not talk work with them when I didn’t have to.
Mad bummed I won’t be working so consistently around these fools, but to say I’m done bein’ homies couldn’t be further from the truth.
It’s cool to think about work as simply the backdrop to friendship and creativity. I dunno. Maybe I’m just being sappy.
I could only tag 20 people but you know who you all are.
To the next venture.
To the homies.
To good mental health.
I love you all so much and I’m hyped to see you in the real world.
I love my wife. I love my family. I saw my parents. I sat so close to the bride that I literally couldn’t take a photo of her. Coffee. Pop punk. Karaoke Oasis with a bunch of Brits. A short story. @marceasay / @saucygotswagg
That one time I got biscuits with the homies and then remembered I actually work with these fools so when we all started taking separate Teams meetings I took photos of them and giggled a lot.
Immediately after our wedding Kelcie and I jumped straight into dealing with her total hysterectomy. Before her surgery she said that she wanted to do something nice for her birthday to offset all of this chaos and thus sterile and feral theme 32nd birthday was formed.
I didn’t realize how much of this hysterectomy overshadowed my memories of our wedding since we had gotten news right before and the issues that resulted in the operation presented themselves on the day.
This was a good reset to trail back to our wedding. We used the same temporary tattoos from our wedding that we both didn’t get to play with, the heart and the backdrop made it, we used the same cake person, our cake cutting utensils, my wedding belt, a lot of our wedding and its people made it back to this party.
I drew little uterus and heat pressed it onto a shirt with a $5 kit from Michael’s. Since she got to keep her ovaries I drew them as little hearts and the whole thing just makes me giggle. It was just super nice to see her happy, not being bothered by her uterus, and it’s starting to paint a nicer road back to our wedding.
Happy 32 to my sterile and feral wife.
I love you so much.
Postcards for Change Recap 💌📬
Last Saturday, our community showed up! Together, we created 171 messages. 33 full letters and 138 postcards.
It was a full house, every seat was filled, and the energy in the room reminded us how powerful community action can be.
Every single message was written with intention, care, and hope for the future of our country. These messages will be sent directly to our local state representatives to make sure our voices are heard.
What made the night even more incredible was who filled the room. People of all ages and backgrounds sat side-by-side writing for what they believe in. These weren’t strangers. These are our neighbors and people in our community.
Huge shout out for everyone who made this possible. Thank you to the incredible owners of The Book Club and Truly Madly Depot Matthew and Kimberly for believing in this cause and hosting. Matthew being an immigration lawyer, this issue is deeply personal and they generously covered every stamp and piece of postage to make sure every message was mailed.
Shoutout to @thekcjournalclub , @catcall_mag team , and behind the scene warriors like Allie for providing support, free educational resources, and facilitating the event.
Photography by 📸: @happydumplingx
Thank you everyone who came, donated, and supported our small businesses while showing up for something bigger than ourselves. Be the change you want to see in the world.
❤️💙💜💛💚🧡🩷
#community #communitysupport #communityaction
6 WEEK POST OP TODAY! Doctor did not clear her from anything like we were hoping, so still no lifting anything for another two weeks and PT is scheduled to strengthen her pelvic floor in the mean time. Bummer, but contextually, makes both of us feel better that she still is in fact, still healing, hence the side effects.
External incisions, healed.
Internal incisions, still healing, but got the healthy pass.
Bloodwork down to check her cell count.
Still sore and weak in the core. Still pretty fatigued.
SHE DID, however, drive for the first time in six weeks and she drove the both of us to ice cream, so definitely a major win overall!
3 WEEK POST OP APPOINTMENT FROM HER HYSTERECTOMY WAS TODAY!
Her three incision points are clean and healthy.
She’s cleared to drive (which won’t be doing).
She’s cleared to drink (which she’ll probably do)
She returns to work (from home) on Monday!
She still cant lift anything more than 10lbs for another three weeks.
She gets exhausted easily still.
She’s comfortable enough to shower by herself!
She can climb in and out her bed by herself!
She has a walking pad inside that she’s using now!
WE CELEBRATED OUR 7 YEAR ANNIVERSARY YESTERDAY AT A SUSHI SPOT BECAUSE SHE FELT GOOD ENOUGH TO LEAVE THE HOUSE FOR THE FIRST TIMEEEEEEE!
Here’s a recent photo of her standing outside of a Mexican restaurant, and then here’s a second photo of her standing outside a different Mexican spot like 7 or 8 years ago!!!!
I called my mom today. We somehow got into a discussion about her citizenship process when she first immigrated to the US.
She started it in 1985 and said it took her five or six years to get her citizenship.
I was born in 1989. So I asked her if she had citizenship status when she had me. She told me she couldn’t remember. Everything was new. She barely spoke English, was dealing with an alcoholic husband at the time, got pregnant, and still managed to get citizenship. She said her timeline is fuzzy.
I told her it doesn’t matter.
She told me to be careful.
And I told her to be careful.
She’s been helping me speak Vietnamese and she told me to tell her that I loved her in Vietnamese.
I said it like she taught me.
“Con thương mẹ nhiều lắm”
She said she loved me in Vietnamese and we ended the conversation.
Sunday, January 25th, 2026.
A memory.
Today is 10 days after Kelcie’s hysterectomy! Which also means no more being on a strict 2 1/2 - 3 our med rotation. Which also means uninterrupted sleep for the both of us.
All the normal symptoms. Some spotting. Some gas. Some nausea, hopefully less night sweats? Physically exhausted but spirits are high and giggles are plenty.
Homegirl can’t bend over or lift anything over 10lbs for like another three weeks but outside of that, I *think* we’re really stepping away from the crazy awful stuff and more into just low energy / quick exhaustion phase.
Shout out our bird feeder in the library. Shout out homies droppin off soups and food right before the snow. Shout out to our pets. Shout out to our parents.
Mad respect for anyone who has raised a child. Sleeping for 2 hours at a time for 10 days straight has melted together. Haven’t picked up my camera at all so here’s some phone snaps inbetween duties and naps.
