Featured image: King of Cups collage that I created for Vibecamp Tarot, a project under the purview of @augurydefier. I don't know when the full deck will be available but I expect it'll be a banger from top to bottom.

The card shows the ability to restrain one's emotions and be fully in charge of your feelings and impulses. Therefore, the King of Cups represents a balance between the intellect and emotions. [...] You first need to temper the state of your emotions, so that you can progress forward in reality.

One must imagine Sisyphus self-possessed...

spring energy

It's only been a month since last Ideograph (the customary gap) but I have a bazillion things to tell you. "Bazillion" meaning, like, "four."

First off, I got covid! At long last Miss Rona reached me. This news would be irrelevant except that it impacts Sonya Supposedly members: I can't visit the local copy shop to print happy mail, so your monthly missive will be later than usual. On the bright side, I expect to recover by next week, since my symptoms are fairly mild.

sound.vision.soul

Longtime members know that happy mail is always slightly late, and not always just slightly 😭 I swear, nothing has increased my admiration for small businesses that have their shit together more than my own continual failure to run a punctual side hustle. Seems like bad advertising to admit that... thank goodness for my day job? Lol.

Speaking of bad advertising, here's the rundown of projects on deck:

  • April happy mail, delayed until I recover from covid, thus urgently occupying the top slot on this list
  • Wanderverse installment — 90% ready, but the last 10% is a segment of April happy mail, and I don't publish new material until after members have received it
  • May happy mail, because dammit we're nearly a week into May already
  • Godpost — the albatross around my neck that I wish I'd never brought up; however I did bring it up, once upon a time, so I must overcome my fear and ship the dang thing
  • album 😱 with @lex_de_blanca, final ETA unknown (late summer? autumn?) but currently we're at the demo stage!

Regarding that last bullet point: I've been messing around with music a lot in 2022, writing lyrics and melodies, researching music production, even recording vocals. My dad is letting me use his nice microphone!

I was scared that I would need to learn how to mix and master. After preliminary exploration, I'm confident that I can lean on collaboration instead (which will be good practice anyway since playing nicely with others is not my strong suit). I'm acquainted with more producers than I initially realized, plus /r/WeAreTheMusicMakers, /r/makinghiphop, and /r/mixingmastering contain plenty of people with skillsets that complement mine.

Last thing, not about music specifically: I really want to do more commissions (as in, me commissioning work from other creatives) but I haven't figured out how to proceed in a consistent, sustainable way. Who am I kidding — I haven't figured out how to do anything in a consistent, sustainable way!

Even as a very young child, I know I'm not good. I dream dark and dirty thoughts. I play in the dirt, making mud pies, smelling of earth and sweat. I am bossy and demanding (when my parents aren't looking). I skulk around the house and tape record my aunts playing cards and drinking, delighting in the transgressions I witness when they think I'm not there. I fight with my sisters, loud and mean, until I'm put in timeout in the pantry. I sit on a stool and wonder why I can't be nicer.

That's all for now, talk soon.

<3 Sonya