My stepbrother Kyle passed away on Thursday. He was forty. Kyle came into my life when I was seven. He was fourteen, and we became stepbrothers when my mom and his dad married in 1997.

I was diagnosed with Bipolar II disorder during my first year of college. I’ve really struggled at times, but I’ve managed to keep my head above water with medication, hobbies, therapy, and other mechanisms over the past fifteen years. Sometimes, I’ve only barely managed. I’ve been feeling pretty low over the past couple weeks, but writing helps. So do my cats: meet Dr. Disco and Dr. Zulu, my adjunct counselors.

My birthday was last Tuesday. All in all, my thirty-third trip around the sun may have been my favorite yet! It took a week, but I finally had time to reflect on it and take the necessary photo.

October will turn out to be the showstopper of 2023: the new Frasier revival debuts on the twelfth, albums by blink-182 and the Rolling Stones follow on October 20, and the next mainline Super Mario game drops the same day! I’m stoked, but I’m more excited about what happened a week ago: I was elected to the Delaware County Historical Society board.

Last year, my company hosted an extravagant “Family Day” celebration for its North American employees and their relatives. There were food trucks, train tours of our plants, inflatable obstacle courses, bounce houses, a DJ, and a lavish charcuterie tent! I’m sure the organization spent tens of thousands, but this year’s was even more massive.