Making my radio debut!!!
+ a look at the 5.4 cool moments of my life
Otters!
Back with my second post of the week, as promised. I’m sending this later in the day to account for the Pacific time zone. And why is that, you ask? Because:
I’ll be a guest on the FIRST EVER episode of the KZSC Santa Cruz show Enjambment, which airs this Sunday, January 21 from 8-9AM PST / 11AM-12PM EST! I’ll be talking about myself, my favourite songs, and the teen writing industrial complex, aka the only three things I know anything about. I probably won't be listening because the sound of my voice gives me the ick. But maybe you will, and for that I thank you!
I’ll share the link to stream my episode next week once that’s available. Apparently it’ll be available on demand for two weeks. To hear it as it premieres, click here. Or just type in KZSC into Apple Music (the superior music streamer).
Thanks to Charissa, who hosts the show, for reaching out and asking me to be a part of this new project. I couldn’t not say yes. It’s literally right up my alley. And if you’re reading this post and care about all the silly things I have to say, then it’ll probably be right up your alley as well. It’s like Things You Otter Know but far, far less coherent. At least the 12 songs I got to pick for the show are fire. I will take any opportunity I have to talk about U2.
I mean, what a cool thing this is, eh? I couldn’t not share it with y’all. Cigs, as I affectionally call her, has known me for…close to four years at this point? Ridiculousness. I have no idea how that nickname came about. (I should probably ask her.) We met through a now-basically-defunct Discord server for teen writers, a server I am forever indebted to because it allowed me to share work with and become really tight with some of the coolest young people on the friggin planet. I will literally never stop bragging about this and about the fact that I know them.
It’s always nuts whenever I’m asked (on incredibly rare occasions, but still, let me brag) to do these sorts of things, because I really have only embraced my identity as a half-decent talker in the last year or two or so. So much growth has taken place within that time period and so much confidence has been accrued within myself, it’s honestly crazy.
Maybe getting older is just about giving less of a damn. Caring less about what people think about me. Lowering the mask and just saying screw it, this is me, deal with it.
“It is not up to me to tell anybody how to be - I can only speak as what I am,” as James Baldwin once said to Nikki Giovvani.
I was very shy as a kid. And very penetrable, too, since the only thing I knew about the world at the time was that it had the capacity to hurt me.
Thankfully I have lightened up a little bit because it turns out incredibly kind people like Cigs exist, people who see me as potential assets for their projects and creative endeavours and all that. Who give them credibility and a good time. Who they can count on. I think in the future I’d like to hop on more of those things. Not only are they fun to be apart of, they’re even more fun to brag about (see: this very post).
I mean, my list of (and this is in extreme air quotes) “media appearances” is quite short. I was on OMNI once, but I don’t have the link. I was also on Breakfast Television in the eighth grade, and I still have nightmares about it.
I was also in the same podcast episode as Jan Zwicky and Souvankham Thammavongsa one time. I really should brag about this more often but I always forget about it. Andrew French does a cool podcast called Page Fright and invited me on for his special Best Canadian Poetry 2021 episode. I haven’t listened to it since it came out, but here it is. Enjoy the cringe. (I assume there is much cringe.)
The rarity of these opportunities popping up makes them feel even more special and exciting in my head. I have been interviewed by a journalist one (1) singular time, and she gave me her business card AND I STILL CARRY IT IN THE POCKETS OF MY PHONE CASE.
Sometimes I’ll be digging for my ID and whatnot, only to accidentally pull out this exact business card instead. Instant dopamine kick.
And then after that thing, you know the one, four of the MPPs present gave me their business cards. You’d think I’d set them on fire or something after the questions they were asking me. I STILL HAVE THEM.
It has been a year and a half and they’re buried somewhere in the file cabinet beside my desk.
Ok, update, just pulled them out. They are bent and covered in dust but they’re here, damnit. OMG! The memories!
One last cool highlight of my life that I feel the need to highlight—remember when Grace included me in her young writers episode of the Micro podcast that she was guest-hosting, and then LitHub picked up the Micro podcast series for a year or so, and they made a post about this very episode, meaning MY NAME was in THE LITHUB FONT.
LOOK.
BRO. BROOOOO.
I always dreamt of having my stupid little name in their sexy elegant fancy perfect font, but I thought that that would happen when I was 88 and not 18. Witness it for yourself. My name has and will never look prettier.
So this is my long-winded way of asking for the privilege and honour of hopping on your radio shows and podcasts and thinkpieces. I am weird and underrated and a good hang. You will adore me.
No, like, seriously. Hit me up. And then go enjoy your weekend.
congratulations!!!