it's almost Christmas?!?!

THE IT’S ALMOST CHRISTMAS(?!?!) CHAPTER
ISSUE #011, DEC. 14, 2021

hello you,
popping in to say hi, as promised. i’m sure you weren’t expecting a note from me in your inbox today, but i wanted to surprise you… so uh… surprise!

just a gentle reminder that christmas is next week. NEXT WEEK! didn’t summer just end a couple weeks ago? i’m confused. anyone else also confused? what’s even happening anymore? to top it all off, i’m still processing everything that transpired in 2020… aaaaaaaaagh!

this year we gained a new family member, Beauregard Whiskey, who is just the best little kitten. he’s a rescue and just the sweetest little thing. he’s only a few months old and even though we got him a couple months ago, my family and I are calling him the best Christmas present. because he really is! lots of kitten snuggles to go around here in my house 🙂

while there have certainly been a lot of moments this year where i’ve felt like screaming, it’s had some great moments! i’ve made some amazing memories with amazing friends that i’ll never forget. i spent more time with all my best friends in-person than i ever have, which was so nice.

i got to see new places, do new things, be free to do whatever i want… it was such a dream. i felt invincible. i escaped my own head.

a lot of this year, i felt like i was drowning in work and struggling even though i wasn’t. why? i missed seeing my teachers and friends face-to-face… and once i got back to that? everything got better.

you know what’s funny? multiple elders in my family said i’d lose all my friends from high school, and that i’d grow apart from them… and i’ve actually found that to be quite the opposite. i am closer now with my friends from high school than i’ve ever been. i have the pandemic to thank for that. most of us hang out on Discord or Teams all day, or we’re in pretty regular communication. i’d wager we’re even better friends now than we ever were in high school.

sure, i have fallen out of touch with like one person… but everyone else? we’re in regular contact. and a couple of them are on this email list. (hi guys!!!)

while i’m sure there will be points in time where we won’t speak or whatever… i have a feeling that i’ve got some amazing friends that i’ll take with me through every chapter of my life… and that’s something i’m so beyond grateful for. friends like that are hard to find. and i’d wager, without a doubt, that they might as well be family. because they truly are!

(there’s been a part of me that has been thinking of clearing out my follows on social media and starting fresh. i’ve been thinking about that change a lot and wanted you to know. social media is so hard on me sometimes so i’m trying to find ways to ease it. please don’t be surprised if things start changing!)

the inbox

literally fifty (whoa) of you wrote in to congratulate me on my recent announcement… thank you. i appreciate the love beyond words… i can’t quite start working yet (for what i hope are now obvious reasons as alluded to in my note above) but i’m certainly securing contacts and sponsorships to help support the next chapter… promise you, when the time comes, the wave will crest super high!!! 😀
a one off tech thing: apparently Teams is preventing people from calling 911? i use Teams with my team (man that’s a mouthful) so that might actually present an issue… hopefully none of us ever need it till it’s fixed.
and finally, to everyone writing in about PS5 availability: thank you very much, but you can stop now… my dad secured one in the Walmart drop yesterday. he knew about the drop before i checked my email, so he waited around and was able to buy one. we’re very excited as we’ve been trying to get one since November 2020…

welp, i think that’s everything… it was nice to check in with you. it’s also nice to have a space away from social media. it’s a lot more rewarding to piece together these little notes and drop them in your inbox whenever i can. makes me smile getting excited about, well, everything that is going on without feeling like i’m flooding a timeline too much on a given day! you know?

anyways… i’m wishing you a very merry christmas, happy holidays, and a very happy new year 💙

til next time,
-slade

P.S. and here’s to a fresh start in 2022 🙂