larochelife

[larochelife]

2025 Summer Solstice Life Update

Somehow it is the summer now and I am baffled as ever and the steady marching of time. Its pace never changes yet it manages to sneak up on us all in the strangest ways.

I have officially finished my first year of university and am on summer break! I, of course, have stayed hellaciously busy this time but in good ways I chose for myself.

Spring was good for me. Crazy inside as always but I think that’s just what change and newness does to some of us and boy howdy is spring a time of change and newness. The tail end of the school year I was all over the place busy with school and work and friends but it was a good crazy and busy unlike some other crazy and busy times in the past year.

I’m currently supposed to be writing some short answer bits for a scholarship application due Saturday/Sunday so of course I’m writing this instead but that is how it goes and how I suspect it will always go for me. I’ll get the other things done eventually...just not right this second.

Once again a season change has come around without me doing any actual planning to properly celebrate the solstice or equinox but I am working a ton this time so at least I have a bit of an excuse.

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March

After the equinox the rest of March flew by. The last few highlights of the month were getting to attend a lovely and insane co-birthday party of some friends (shoutout to you both, Natalie and Meredith – love ya forever) and seeing Hadestown at the godforsaken Soldiers & Sailors Auditorium (I still had a great time at the show cos it’s Hadestown but man oh man do I dislike that venue).

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April

April began with a bang – Sparty was the first weekend. Spary (spring party) was a great and exhausting time and I’m glad I actually participated this time. I also did an interview for my summer job in early April and that went very well. Perpetual Motion and my second all day shapenote singing were the highlights of the Sewaneroo weekend. For all the hype Sewaneroo had gotten during my time here thus far it sucked ass real bad this time ‘round. I hope it’ll be better next year but this year no one gave a shit about the bands and it was cold and they lied about free food so everyone was upset. April was also the month of Twelfth Night in Angel Park, so I spent a lovely but chilly evening watching some silly and wonderful Shakespeare. The month closed out with the final orchestra concert of the school year and attending some final performances for theatre classes my friends were in which was a lovely interruption of finals prep.

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May

May started with a trip to Nashville to go to a craft store with theatre folks, seeing Hamilton at the aforementioned godforsaken Soldiers & Sailors Auditorium, exploring the bell tower in the middle of the night, another trip to Nashville to see Diary of a Wimpy Kid (The Musical), back to town for Clue, and many late nights in the TWC. More friends in performance finals for classes and finals of my own, then a crazy hectic week at home trying to get everything done at once. During that week I managed to hang out with my family a good bit, go to the dentist, see my brother’s orchestra performance, hang out with Zoey before she left for Texas for a month, see Brittany, go to a new (to me) restaurant, make two Second Life trips, get piercings with my father (yay finally getting the nose piercing I meant to schedule almost two years ago!!), and watch the first two Eurovision semi-finals with my mom. Finally back in Sewanee, I moved into my summer dorm room and watched the Eurovision final. (Side note: what the fuck. Bonkers ass ending to the show this year my god.) Quite soon after moving in I moved some of my stuff out to Clifftops to cat/house sit for about two weeks which was really lovely. I got to go down to Atlanta for a friend’s high school graduation party and then back down again a week later to go see a bunch of rarely screened experimental and avant-garde short films at the Plaza which was a mind bogglingly incredible evening. I also started my summer job! Working the front desk at the gym is a really chill gig but sometimes really irritating cos of all the old men.

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June

Not to sound like a broken record but June started with a bang (literally). I woke up at 5 am on June 1st in the Clifftops hours with someone banging on the side door next to the room I was staying in. He never said anything but he did bang on and pull on the door forcefully and repeatedly for a long time. It was, as one can imagine, quite frightening but he did not get in the house and we are yet to figure out who he was. I was (perhaps obviously) unable to sleep after that...incident so I just stayed awake and eventually got ready to go to an all day shapenote singing at Liberty Baptist in Henegar – a really lovely singing if I do say so myself. I also got a tour of the back of the ATO house on campus and a look at and conversation about the spring that is back there and what potential it has as an art space in the future. After cat sitting at Clifftops, I moved back to my dorm for a week, then moved back to Clifftops to stay with Libba and Henry for another two weeks for Shakerag things. I also had a wacky weekend at the beginning of June where I went to Tryon on a Friday for Uncle Ben’s funeral (which was on Saturday), down to Atlanta on Sunday for a movie day at Anthony’s with the crew, home for a bit to hang out with my parents, then back up to Sewanee on Sunday night so I could be back for work on Monday. It was a whirlwind of a weekend and I was so glad to see a lot of people I don’t see very often both in family and in friends. During Shakerag session II I did my usual thing of coming for dinner and hanging out during the night since I wasn’t staff that week and could do that after Fitwell work or going to help Roman build strange statues for the first fall play. I got a good bit of IPM work and cross stitch done during those late night hang outs in the studio but boy oh boy was I tired the next week. And of course the next week was the week I was actually working Shakerag on staff! It was a dream team of staff folk for my first time working there and it was such a good time. I am so excited to keep working there during summers for as long as I can; the staff, faculty, and participants are all so lovely. I did the mending workshop with Katrina Perdue and it was a very silly, fun, informative space to be in that week.

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And now it’s the solstice! (Secret time – I was so busy with Shakerag when the solstice actually happened that though I started this ahead of time I am only getting around to finishing it almost a week later...shit happens.) I cannot fathom that we are truly in summer now – no, scratch that, I can believe we’re in summer. It’s hot as hell out here and humid as fuck so summer has truly descended upon this lovely mountain.

Anyway, here’s to creativity, following passions, living it up, reading, partying hard, and sleep.

Until next time, stay gold Ponyboy, stay gold.

[larochelife]

2025 Spring Equinox Life Update

It is here! The spring equinox. And it’s snowing?? Sleeting?? Raining?? Not sure why or how but yeah all three of those things happened today. And it’s cold. So cold. It was 70°F yesterday! What the hell!! Weather will always be a hellish mystery to me I fear.

So! This is the first proper seasonal update as the last one was one covering an entire year. I know why I did that but it was not fun to wrangle, honestly. The tone was a bit odd but I couldn’t fix it and just gave up and let it be strange. Sometimes you have to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

This time it’s only what happened this winter. A winter of stress, oddness, sleeplessness, and cheese (not a good thing for me, a noted cheese ambivalist).

It feels so strange to be writing properly for myself – I haven’t done this in an age and a half. I used to write stuff way more often but I just haven’t felt comfortable doing it in a while. No idea what’s changed but I’m thrilled to follow this thread and keep it going! I genuinely think part of my inspiration to just do things today has to do with me watching this elliotisacoolguy video today. It felt so poignant to me as I’ve been struggling with creative block problems lately (and by lately I mean for about a year and a half and it’s been killing me a bit inside) and have been trying to find ways out of it. Him just making himself do the thing was oddly inspiring, especially with the incredible arc and final message of the video.

Though the solstice was the 21st of December I ended up writing most of the last one of these (idk what to call these haha one day I’ll find a name) at the very end of the month/very beginning of January so I’ll just pick up this one at the beginning of January.

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I have spent so much time this winter doing research on website ~things~ of various flavors – coding, rss feeds, hosting websites, website building platforms, etc. Was this the best use of my time? Who knows. But I’ve been having fun and it’s felt really good to slowly be learning new skills. I miss spending time on computers in fun ways that felt fulfilling and worthwhile instead of just doing work, school work, and youtube/social media. Digging back into personal websites, real customization, and figuring out what will work for me has been such an odd process but such a good one; one I’m still absolutely in the middle of. (I have about seven million tabs open right now regarding many of those things and it will be awhile before it all settles down as I make decisions on what makes sense to really pursue properly for myself and my future.)

I am still yet to make any of the instagram posts sitting in wait on my phone and honestly I’m considering deleting my accounts there. It’s so useful as a platform but the company is evil and I, for somewhat obvious reasons, dislike that. I also hate the pushing of video content that’s happened in the entire time I’ve had it. Unfortunately it’s become so enmeshed in the culture that there are so many times people assume you must have it and that you’ll be able to complete some action via insta and in some deeply contrarian way that makes me want to delete it out of opposition even more. The main thing still keeping me on it are the number of my friends there that I mainly keep up with through it cos I don’t speak to anyone (I’m trying to make an attempt to work on that but it’s not going well). I want all of my friends to have the same interest in small internet things as I do and to migrate to other (better) sites but I know that’s unrealistic.

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January was an odd month in many ways. It just kept going. Not sure how it’s possible to experience a single month as something as long as I did but boy was it an age and a half. I learned to drive a stick shift in January! A lifelong goal has finally been achieved. :D Learning stick meant I got to go up and hang out with my grandmother for a while too which is one of my favorite activities in life, honestly. I love being in Tryon and I love getting to really just be my true random old bitch self up there with all the silly events and sitting around and vibing. Atlanta (and Sewanee) got a crazy snowstorm right when I got home again and the start of the semester was a bit odd and off because of that (a bunch of people got back to school late cos of icy roads and things just felt off). Luckily I only fell once because of ice but the ice and snow lingered for so long. Then as soon as that snow melted in Sewanee another snow storm hit. Jan 16th I backed into a car and that was horrible. Not in the long run but in terms of my sanity and peace of mind. I finally got the kindle my aunt & uncle gave me working – not attached to an actual amazon account because in true me nature it is simply too old to do so (and with all the tomfoolery with kindle purchase things happening lately I’m not too upset about that) but as long as I can find a pdf of whatever book I’m looking for I can load it directly onto it and that works well enough for me. Getting back to school in January was also my descent into madness due to my role in a play. I (foolishly) accepted the role of Props Designer for a new play we premiered as part of some funky new play program thingy. The play was set in a food pantry, so that meant nearly all of the props/set dressing was small food items. If you’ve never done props things, this is the hell situation. I had to make so many trips to walmart (a 30 min drive one way, not to mention the time spent in the store) I now know the layout of that store nearly by heart. Because the script was new, there also kept being new changes made that meant I had to entirely reconfigure my plan/setup for the needed props. So much pasta, tortillas, beans, rice, almond milk, cheese, and more. So damn much. That play consumes my life for all of January and February, honestly. I knew no reprieve. At work? It’s the play. In class? It’s the play. In my spare time? Oh what a funny joke – all of that went to the play.

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In February I got to witness frat pledges announcing what frat they’d chosen by running across a lawn to their choice frat (one of the most masculine american things I’ve ever witnessed tbh). I also went to my first college formal with my roommate! That was a crazy night that ended in a tornado watch and tarot readings...what a time. It also snowed again (just after the last of the snow from the previous storm had melted). My life in February truly only consisted of the theatre building and walmart. It was a sad month of my life.

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March marked the end of my play-induced madness and the return to a life. I finally redyed my hair! I had been bbc (blonde by choice) for far too long and needed to reinhabit my true and correct hair life. Feeling alive once again, I headed off for spring break only for it to go completely awry in the oddest ways possible. First weekend of spring break we (me, my parents, and brothers) went camping with my dad’s parents. Though that was absolutely exhausting it was a good time and generally chill. I aimed to go back to Sewanee via a shapenote singing in Alabama so I packed my things into the Miata and attempted to leave town. My drive ended a short 40 minutes later after being stuck in traffic on 285 for 20-30 minutes because my car started smoking. I ended up sat on the side of 285 for four hours of my life that day, trying to figure out what to do both on my own and in conversation with my parents. Eventually my mom came to pick me up and we left the Miata there to be picked up by a tow truck and taken to our mechanic (sorry Shirley). By the time I was finally on the road again (this time in the Prius), it was too late for me to make it to the shapenote singing so I headed straight to Sewanee. I then pet sat for one of my professors for three days and ended up not going home again at all during break. I was very sad to miss Super Saturday at the end of that week but that would have been 12 hours of driving from Sewanee and I just couldn’t make that make sense for me to do. I wanted to go home – I had so many things I wanted to do while in Atlanta but I was so scattered and crazy feeling I couldn’t make myself pack up and change locations yet again so I just stayed in one place and fended for food to the best of my ability. Classes resumed and I got the glory of horrifying people with my tales of woe over the break period (something I love to do after unfortunate situations). There was a lunar eclipse that I saw most of and attempted to take photos of (and obviously failed cos I don’t have a professional setup). And now here we are at the equinox.

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January and February were some of the longest months of ever but March so far has flown by. I don’t know if it’s the lack of The Play as a weighty force in my life making time move like this or something else but this month has felt very different from the previous two. I’m hoping this blip of creativity and drive and passion and possibility I’ve felt lately continues into the future and I can get out of the miserable rut I’ve been in for a very long time now. I’m trying to find better time management and life organization and productivity skills/methods so that I can get my schoolwork and workwork done while still having time and energy and drive to follow the other passions I have that make me feel fulfilled and happy in this life.

To a great spring and joyful days, I toast thee, farewell for now.

[larochelife]

December 2024 Newsletter

Winter Solstice/End of Year Wrap Up

Welcome one and all to the first of hopefully many quarterly reviews/catch ups of my life recently. Since it is also the end of the year I shall include things that happened in this year in general rather than since the fall equinox. Boy oh boy has it been quite the year!

Some of the highlights include: being in my first musical in a performance role (orchestra member), going to college, not buying the thirty-seven million cars I fell in love with on craigslist, seeing some really awesome shows, and using public transit a lot more than usual.

Some general stats for the year: - 45 journal entries - 0 personal sewing projects done or started - 3 things mended - 3 all nighters - 3 classes missed - A little bit of cross stitch done - Far too many things purchased - Not enough sleep slept - 40,000+ minutes of music listened to (~666+ hours) - 28 books read - casual storygraph plug - 78 movies - casual letterboxd plug - 24(ish?) live shows (both music and theatre)

January Started dual enrollment classes at Georgia State! Only one of the classes I took (Intro to Astronomy and College Algebra) were transferrable credits to Sewanee (the Astro class) but I am so glad I took both. It was a really good way for me to be out of the house, getting credit, and doing things in the world. Began working for Libba & Henry on shipment days while Hamilton was in Atlanta. Took both my brothers and I to OnStage Atlanta’s (local theatre company) production of The Lightning Thief as part of their Christmas presents and had a blast there. I love that musical and no one will ever change that.

February Saw the live shadow cast of Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Plaza twice this month! Went to the so-called “Musicals Rave” (read: musicals sing along at loud volume at night) with Sydney at the Masquerade for the first time (I haven’t technically been back to that night a second time but I have intentions to). I was pulled over for the first time this month…for not having my lights on in a very well lit part of town. Not a big deal but still a very terrifying moment. Saw Chicago at Chamblee High! What an incredible production it was too. Started the process of dancing again by going to the adult modern drop in class that had started recently at ADMA.

March Dadi Freyr at the Variety Playhouse! Fantastic night that I still can’t really believe happened honestly. It’s so weird to see someone on a show and then see them in real life in front of you. Saw the Kiev Ballet’s production of Giselle at the Atlanta Symphony Hall - beautiful ballet and beautiful dancers. Super Saturday was awesome as always. Beetlejuice (tickets were a Christmas present) at the Fox! I absolutely adore this musical and am so glad I got to see it live. Noahfinnce at the Masquerade rounded off this fantastically show heavy month and going to that show was a last minute decision I’m so glad I made. He sounds great live and the vibe that night was incredible.

April Shrek the musical was at the Fox and though I face planted on the stairs trying to get to my seat I had a great time at that show. Visited Sewanee for the first and only time in the application/acceptance process. This is Spinal Tap on the big screen at the Plaza. Renaissance Festival trip with my family. Six at the Fox - accidentally bought tickets for the same day as my neighbors so we all met up for dinner beforehand which was lovely. Puffs (twice) at Decatur High! What an unexpected and hilarious time that play is. Mamma Mia! at Druid - gorgeous vocals in that show. Renaissance Festival trip with Zoey. Prom! Super fun night but a crazy hectic way to finish off the month.

May Anthony’s final orchestra concert. A couple TMS class reunions/events. Final Girl Scout camping trip! Eurovision! (We watched it way later this year though for several reasons) Sooooo many graduations. Mr. Bungle at the Tabernacle! The Crow on the big screen at the Plaza! The Rite of Spring at Atlanta Symphony Hall! Sooooo many graduation parties. Vision Video at the Masquerade! Lake time with the Scott-Mandels.

June My grad party/show. Les Miserables at the Fox! To Kill a Mockingbird at the Soldiers & Sailors Auditorium! Time up in Sewanee while my aunt worked the adult summer camp up there. Time in Tryon cat/house sitting for my grandmother.

July Much more time in Tryon both cat/house sitting for my grandmother and cousin watching during camp time. Dinner & fireworks at my aunt and uncle’s house. The quinceanera for one of my brother’s friends!

August Had lunch with my grandparents in Atlanta so they could see me before I went to college. Went to college! Find Your Place intensive period. Sewanee classes began.

September Evensong at All Saint’s Chapel.

October Brian Selznick author talk! 19th birthday. Not my fav birthday ever… In Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 as a cellist! First time in an on stage role in a musical and it rocked. I love that musical with all my heart. Sewanee orchestra concert. My grandmother came up to Sewanee!

November Alumni theatre panel and reunion weekend in general! Very nice to see all those people up there. Went to a grocery store for the first time in three months - life changing stuff, grocery stores. Started therapy! Tour of the Sewanee recording studio and got to meet one of the students running it. Pet/house sat for Kinion. Saw Dancewise at the TWC! Dentist :( Wicked Part 1 at North Dekalb AMC! What a movie that is.

December Got bangs again. Snowed for the first time this school year in Sewanee! Winter Sewanee orchestra concert. Photos with Santa… Lessons & Carols at All Saints’ Chapel! God what an incredible choir we have. First attendance to the regular Shapenote singing at Antioch Baptist. The Gulf at the TWC - I love plays about dysfunctional lesbians (hence my love of Wicked). Between two dirty Santas I ended up with both a partially functional vise and a giant box of dried cranberry packages collected over the span of four years. Pancake night at Clurg! Day on the town in Atlanta again finally. Final friend movie night of the year :) crimis First new year's eve outside of my house.

It has been a hell of a year and I have been all over the place mentally and physically (in terms of actual location and health haha) but boy am I glad to have most of these things behind me so I can now focus on the new and terrifying things heading my way soon! Here’s to hoping for more shows, friends, and good times in 2025 :)

[larochelife]

Monthly Picnic Retrospective

For the past two years, nearly every month, I have organized/hosted a picnic with a varying group of my friends. It was something I stumbled into doing by accident - I’d had the idea in late 2021 to hold a gorgeous fantasy picnic with pretty much everyone I knew to both introduce new and old friends and get myself out of the house and thinking about something other than school. It was not only a great time at the actual picnic; I realized I had a lot of fun with the organization part. I did research on the parks and cemeteries in the city, cross referenced possible dates with different schools’ schedules, handwrite invitations, etc. and loved it all.

I ended up coming back to the idea in August 2022 when I started homeschooling myself and realized I needed to force socialization on myself. They got a lot less elaborate as they became a more regular thing but I continued to switch up their locations and themes. Honestly the theming was probably one of my favorite parts of them - we did so many themes by the time the two years were through. Commitment to the theme definitely varied person to person and season to season but it was always so fun to see how we would all interpret the theme. Getting to have a set time to be outside, hanging out with friends in a super low stakes situation, dressing up, sometimes cooking/baking, and see new interpersonal relationships grow and change was the best and I will forever cherish those times.

This idea is something I want to continue to do in my life, but I am yet to work out how to implement it in my life currently (mostly cos it’s the season of cold).

2022

March 26 This was the first picnic - the most attended, most themed, and most hand cooked one of them all. The weather turned out beautifully and it was a great time. I handwrote invitations to this picnic but sadly do not have photos of any of them. Theme: Fantasy

August 28 Theme: Same color food as clothes

September 18 Theme: Decades Somehow I have one singular photo from this day. There were only three of us there but still, I would have thought we would have gotten at least one photo.

October 22 Theme: Cosplay

November 19 Theme: Masquerade

December 10 - BALL This was the first non-literal-picnic I organized with this group. The invitees were pretty much the same and there was a theme but other than that it was a totally different type of event. My first time designing a more stylized handmade invitations was for this ball and though I loved them at the time I now see a lot of things I have since improved upon in my designs and making process. It was just barely at a time still warm enough to be outside without freezing so I used the house and porch of my neighbors’ house and we all dressed up and ate, danced, hung out, etc. It was a really fun night but I absolutely did not time my part well and not only was it not nearly as decorated and set up as I wanted, my dress was absolutely not finished (the skirt was missing its overskirt). The stress from right before the ball haunts me to this day but the night itself was an absolute blast and I still can’t really believe I pulled it off as well as I did so early in my event organizing life. Theme: Blue, white, silver extravagance

2023

2023 was the year I started occasionally offering up two themes for more variability. This is something that continued occasionally through the end.

March 11 Theme: Fairy / food that starts with the same letter as your name

April 15 Theme: Clue (1985)

April 23 - RENAISSANCE FAIRE The second non-literal-picnic I sorted for us. Though we had a regular picnic this month, I also wanted to take a big group of us to the Georgia Renaissance Festival. It’s one of my favorite places on the planet and a place many of my friends had not been. I’ve been going with my mom and brothers for pretty much as long as I can remember, so it’s a staple in my life and something I love sharing with people. We got a good group together for whom the day worked and could fit in our van and went down and just had a great day. I also finally finished the overskirt for the dress I made for the ball, putting that bit of beaded embroidery down on the front to give a focal point. Theme: Time travel / general Ren Faire attire dress up

May 27 Theme: Fairy / Dad

June 20 Theme: Under the sea

July 20 Theme: Decades

August 19 Theme: Fantasy

September 23 - EQUINOX FEAST This was a literal picnic, but one with a more elevated plan and concept. Originally I wanted to hold another ball over the summer but the timing didn’t work out for me to plan it so the idea got pushed to the autumn equinox, and then eventually down from ball to feast. I made a lot of things for this feast and it did feel like it had a bit of a different vibe and energy to a regular picnic (to me at least). This is the most recent event I have handmade and mailed invitations too and they are by far the invitation design I’m most proud of (LINK TO INVITATIONS HERE) Theme: Alice in Wonderland / wondrous formal fantasy

October 22 Theme: Warm fantasy

November 19 Theme: Sparkly decades

December 9 - COOKIE CONTEST The third (and final) non-literal-picnic event organized for this group of folks. I wanted to have some kind of winter party again but didn’t have the time or brain space to organize another ball, and that’s when Zoey stepped in with the idea to do a Try Guys Without a Recipe style cookie baking challenge. We combined the ideas into a Winter flavored party with a group cookie contest. It ended up working out really well and the cookie baking was such a chaotic time in a fantastic way. Theme: Sparkles / holiday sweaters

2024

January 28 Theme: Ocean / under the sea

February 25 Theme: Occupations / parents

March 23 Theme: Medieval / royalty

April 28 Theme: Items you rarely wear

May 21 I thought somehow none of us had photos from this picnic but looking through texts from the time it turns out that actually none of us showed up. It was a crazy month to be fair, so I ended up doing some journaling and planning for the months to come. It was quite a pleasant solo outdoor snack time as I recall. Theme: Formal / items you rarely wear

June 22 Theme: Pride flag colors

July 21 Theme: Drag

August 4 Theme: Your fandom(s)

I had hopes to organize some big party or ball or feast or something before most of us dispersed off to college and those in high school went back to school but we were all too scattered all summer and I was too chaotic to make it all work. I have hope that we can do some fun things again as a big group during the summer but that is quite a ways away right now.

I am so glad for the times we had when this was a regular thing and I honestly can’t believe it worked so well sometimes. It was a funky group of people together doing funky things and I’m so glad that I had the idea to do it nearly three years ago now.

Photos