Doc Hop

There’s a line in My So-Called Life where Angela Chase says, “People are always saying you should be yourself, like yourself is this definite thing, like a toaster. Like you know what it is even. But every so often I’ll have, like, a moment, where just being myself in my life right where I am is, like, enough.” Since I’ve been living in Long Beach, those moments have multiplied. Each day I’m stepping further into myself, and each day I feel more authentic than the one before. I’m really fucking happy, and I’m falling in love with this better version of myself that I’ve become in California.

Part of that happiness has come from settling into a routine and feeling settled as a result.

I teach Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I live so close to campus that I’ve been walking to and from work, which has been a nice way to ease into and out of each work day. I have office hours on Mondays, which keeps on campus from 9 to 5. Unlike at Augusta University, students stop by with questions quite often, which definitely helps my day feel full. On the first Friday of each month I have Thrive luncheons with my orientation cohort, where the college brings in various guest speakers to walk us through the plethora of new information we have to sort through as first year faculty. When I don’t have to be on campus, I’m working from home — grading, prepping lectures/assignments, and baby stepping toward what I hope will one day be a sizable research agenda. (Sure, it’s technically a size now; it’s just a much smaller size than I want it to be. Not for long!)

I am also incredibly excited to report that I’ve fallen back into a consistent biking schedule here in Long Beach — thanks entirely to my shiny, sexy, and incredibly lightweight, brand new bicycle!

Would you just look at it? Every other bike I’ve had has been found, thrifted, or gifted. This is the first I’ve picked out and purchased for myself and I absolutely love it.

It’s a Bianchi Cortina and I got it from The Bicycle Stand in downtown LB last week. After weeks and weeks of struggling to work exercise back into my daily routine, it was exactly the motivation I needed to get my butt back on the bike path. I’m back to four days a week, but I’ll be at six again in no time. Settling into a routine is the hardest part about getting back on that bike, so I’m glad I’ve made it over the hump. (I’m also happy to have a bike that you can’t hear clunking and clanging from half a mile away. My new and improved ride is so smoooooooth and SO FAST.)

Of course, I haven’t properly made myself at home if I haven’t checked out the local drag!

I’ve only been to Hamburger Mary’s Long Beach twice so far, but I am definitely going to be a familiar face. (I hope they come to love me and much as I love them.)

The first time I attended was for a Sunday Drag Brunch, and it was pretty packed. It was my first look at the Long Beach queens, and while I was impressed by all of the queens, Big Deelish was my favorite performer of the whole dang show, followed closely by Jewels Long Beach. Big Dee performed a number as Rizzo from Grease, as well as a Selina hit, and I was just wowed. It was so fun being a part of the audience, I can’t image how much fun the queens were having!

I went back for a Wednesday night show just a couple of weeks back, which was much more low key in terms of the crowd (or lack thereof.) Jiggly Caliente was supposed to perform but her flight got canceled. I was initially bummed, but I’m happy to watch any drag and had a terrific time regardless of the line up. (Big Dee and Jewels Long Beach were both there, so who else would I possibly need, anyway?!)

Hamburger Mary’s has a pretty spooky line up this month, including a murder mystery dinner party and a Beetlejuice parody show, so I’m definitely going to be back soon. Big Dee runs Thursday nights, so I’m sure you’ll catch me there often, regardless of the holiday season. That said, Halloween is my absolutely favorite, and everything is better with drag.

My last big piece of news is that I’ve finally began to venture into Los Angeles proper, with a Kathy Griffin stand-up show at the Wiltern on Sept. 18. I was so nervous about making the drive, but I also knew that I had no choice but to get used to it. (The city calls for me, and I have big plans to span a large part of my life there.) Luckily, the drive wasn’t too bad. Despite rush hour traffic I made it downtown in just over an hour and parked at the venue without any issue.

I’d seen Kathy live once before, but this was way back in 2011, when I was living in Miami, Florida. My seats were so far lost in the crowd that my nose was bleeding. Regardless, I had an incredible time then, and I had an incredible time now. I’ve loved and followed Kathy through her entire career, from Celebrity Mole Hawaii, through her Life on the D-List, and ESPECIALLY once she was cancelled for her joke about decapitating Donald Trump. Photography was not allowed in the venue, but Kathy let the crowd shoot a few photos/videos while she introduced Sia, who is BFF’s with Kathy and also came out to see the show. She even sang us a little ditty from her seat in the back. (How cool!)

The Trump photo fallout could’ve ended anyone else’s career, but Kathy took the hits, lost work, navigated the no fly list, and kept joking. She lost her voice and found it again, both physically and metaphorically. That resilience is rare, especially in comedy. She’s never been one to play it safe or apologize to please the masses, and seeing her on stage now, sharper than ever, felt like a win—not just for her, but for everyone who believes in speaking their truth, no matter the cost. Haters and hecklers can suck her dick all the way to the bank.

That’s about it for the big updates since my last post. I cast my first California ballot for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. I’ve been reading all sorts of books, going to all of the horror movies, and I’m currently watching a season finale of Big Brother that I could not are less about. Once Tucker was out, so was I. But applications are officially open for Big Brother 27, so catch me in the house next summer.

I always struggle with how to close these out, so here are some photos of my favorite little bestie. Theodore is finally big enough to wear the fall outfit his favorite Auntie Ash got for him! ❤️ 🍂 🍁 I sure hope that one day we get to spend all of our seasons together.

“I’ve got a feeling, I feel so strange
Everything about me seems to have changed
Step by step, I got a brand new walk
I even sound sweeter when I talk.

“I said, Oh (oh), Oh (oh), Oh (oh), Oh (oh)
Hey, hey, yeah —
Oh, it must be love.”

— Etta James, “Something’s Gotta Hold on Me”