publish your life.

before its too late

Goodbye gas pipes

joe - 08/09/2026 10:32PM

Our gas has been long shut off but e:Paul had National Fuel come finally remove the meter. From the tags left on it, it appears to have been installed in the 1950s. To make future projects like wiring easier and the fact that at no point are we ever returning to gas, I went to cut them out. With the dedicated carbide grit metal blade it wasn't bad. I don't think it's the original pipe, there an abandoned pipe on the other side of the wall. Regardless they were old. Won't miss you!

• e:joshua

Message from above

ladycroft - 08/09/2026 2:50AM

I had a lovely dream last night and in that dream e:Joshua visited me again. Still sporting that blazing white suit and shiny blue tie like the first time he came to check in (and each subsequent visit). I love the warmth and instant fuzzy feeling I get. I can never actually hear him but I get a 'knowing' that he's telling me the world looks like a pile of shite right now but keep looking for all the beauty and peace and goodness. It's there.

Lovey at Niagara Falls

joe - 06/26/2026 11:06PM

E:Terry's aunt has been visiting for the past month. Today was her last day here so I left work at the end of the day to go up to the Canadian side of the falls with them. It was crazy busy as expected. If you wanted to park in the falls it was $40 Canadian, so e:Paul and I found an annex lot and rode the bus back to meet the group by the falls. Afterwards we stopped by the Kasbah, an Armenian restaurant outside the main tourist area. For $21 USD they had a buffet that was actually pretty good, including desserts. I had veggie moussaka, chicken soulvaki, hummus, baba, Greek salad, rice pudding, spanikopita, cauliflower, calamari, and even some of Terry's veggie French onion soup. Bearin' out. On the way back we tried to pay a visit to the welcome center but it was closed. Outside there was a woman cleaning the sidewalk with a few others. Apparently she was arrested for painting "zell-no" outside the polling place against Jeremy Zellners attempt to crown himself state senator.

new desk setup

joe - 06/26/2026 10:56PM

One of the few light spots about e:Paul's retirement is I took over his work equipment. Now my desk looks like an Apple store. These screens are amazing, definitely not worth the money they cost but I'll gladly enjoy them for now.

Paul's last day at work

joe - 06/26/2026 10:54PM

I'm going to miss working with him so fucking much. At least 8.5 more years left here for me.

• buffalo

Allentown Art Festival

joe - 06/14/2026 11:54PM

In the morning, Tyler made us some breakfast while I installed the bidet we bought for his birthday. He has a standard toilet so it could use a 1/2" connector while our stupid Toto needs a special adapter that only supports 3/8". The water pressure difference is substantial. e:terry and Tyler serenaded us with Toni Braxton while we got ready and then ate. We biked back home in the morning and got ready to take e:terry's mom and aunt to the Allentown Art Festival. It wasn't that crowded since Saturday was so beautiful and it was threatening to rain. Honestly most of what is being sold doesn't really interest me, but I don't mind doing a lap unlike e:libertad who says it's his worst nightmare. Turns out the rain forecast was right and it torrentially downpoured. We hid in the tunnel behind Rick's for a minute while Franklin Street turned into a babbling brook. Once home e:paul and I napped before e:terry and I went to do karaoke at Susanna and Yames's place for her grad school gr

• family

Family birthday

joe - 06/14/2026 11:53PM

Saturday was non-stop as well. Early was my niece's 3rd birthday at the Boys and Girls Club in Tonawanda. We went to the North Tonawanda one by mistake at first, who knew there were so many locations. Honestly it's pretty fun just running around throwing a basketball around in a gym with no goal. The decor of these places are wild though. So many random signs of rules, and this wolf mascot costume that stank from feet away. On the way home we stopped at the vegan grocery store in Tonawanda. e:terry was able to stock up on soy curls which we haven't found anywhere else, even the mega Asian mart on the boulevard. In the evening we went over to hang out at Tyler's garage with some cheese plates and drinks leftover from pride. e:mike and e:libertad were there too, it was a good time all around.

busy

joe - 06/14/2026 11:53PM

I am feeling increasingly busy and stressed out lately. There isn't enough time for everything that needs to get done. Main Street reconstruction has began. First step was cutting down all the trees, even ones that were just planted in the past few years. I can't wait for it to be done. For Friday evening we took Paul's mom out for Tony's birthday to OG Dumpling House on the Boulevard. It's busy and a bit messy inside but the dumplings are so good. Across the street we stopped to look at couches from Raymour and Flannigan. Weirdly the cheaper couches they had were all full of things that would break or become a mess in our frat house. Cup holders, coolers, heated seats and lighting and then the more expensive couches had none of that. On the way home we stopped at Lake Effect Ice Cream on Hertel. The way to do it is to order the sampler scoops so you can get 5 flavors in the size of 1 regular scoop.

Mussel dinner

joe - 06/14/2026 11:51PM

This year I started eating mussels. It's may be surprising for me but some have argued mussels are the most ethicial seafood to eat, since they are low carbon, take next to no resources to grow, and have no pain receptors. https://www.treehugger.com/mussels-clams-and-oysters-are-most-ethical-seafood-4858284 They are also only ~$4.50 for a package of frozen cooked Canadian mussels at the coop. But regardless I have really been enjoying eating them once a week with e:paul. We make a quick broth out of sauteed onion and garlic, veggie stock, and herbs de provence. With some vegetables and garlic bread it's such an amazing dinner.