SwankiVY's Life Story!

SwankiVY's Life Events Timeline! 1977 June 25: Parents were married. 1978 January 17: I was born, Summit, NJ. May: Learned to roll over at the age of about four months. September: Started saying my first words. 1979 January 17: First birthday! April: Started walking around fifteen months of age. May 9: My sister Patricia was born. September(ish?): Started being able to read simple words. 1980 January (?): Around age two years, started reading books I'd never seen before. September: Family moved to Kernersville, NC. 1982 February: Family moved to Winston-Salem, NC. Sometime(?): Began attending a sort of nursery school with my sister. Sometime(?): Was obsessed with The Smurfs and Woody Woodpecker. 1983 March 8: My sister Lindsay was born. Summer (?): Lost my first teeth. August: Started kindergarten at South Fork Elementary. 1984 Sometime(?): Became obsessed with The Ewoks cartoon. Sometime(?): Started learning stage magic tricks and performing them. December: Family moved to Wilmington, NC. 1985 January: Started first grade at Winter Park Elementary. Sometime(?): Finally broke my habit of sucking my thumb. Sometime(?): Started studying how to read Hebrew. Sometime(?): Began attending a gifted program at another school on some days. Sometime(?): Got my first best friend, Grace. August 3: Was a flower girl in my aunt's wedding. 1986 February 17: I won a county-wide poster contest and received a savings bond. My picture was in the newspaper. Sometime(?): Became obsessed with The Popples. Sometime(?): Got my second best friend, Ellen. April: Started piano lessons. Sometime(?): Joined Brownie Girl Scouts. 1987 Sometime(?): Started considering a girl named Meghan in my class one of my best friends. September: Joined fourth grade chorus. Sometime(?): Joined Girl Scouts. 1988 Sometime(?): Stopped going to Hebrew school. July: Attended various day camps, including Arts Camp. November: Went to Disney World with my family. 1989 July: Family moved to Sarasota, FL. July 4: Got my ears pierced. August 28: Started sixth grade at McIntosh Middle. Sometime(?): Got very interested in collecting pen pals. 1990 Sometime (?): My grandparents moved to Sarasota, and I started getting closer to them. June 13: Got a second hole pierced in my ears. August: Joined strings program, playing violin. Sometime(?): Took tennis lessons. 1991 Sometime(?): Got braces. Sometime(?): Took jazz dance lessons. 1992 February(?): Wrote my first novel, Double Vision. August: Started high school at Riverview High School (ninth grade). August: Joined All-Girls Beginning Chorus. September: Got my first boyfriend, Peter. September/October: Passed All-State Choral auditions. Got into SATB Concert Chorus. 1993 January: Was switched into Mixed Chorus. January: All-State 9th & 10th Grade Concert Chorus performance. January(?): Began writing my "Skyler Stories" book. February: Auditioned for Center Stage group and got in. March 12: Went to district contest with my chorus and got superior ratings. May 13: My first boyfriend dumped me. June 10: Took the course I needed to get my learner's permit. June 30 – July 1: Attended "Florida Choral Experience" summer camp. July 7: Got my braces off. Sometime(?): Began to identify as "nonsexual." August: Family moved to Tampa, FL. August 19: Started school at Chamberlain High School (tenth grade). Joined the chorus. September(?) Began writing my "Bruce the Duck" series. October: Met Phil, who later became my last boyfriend. October 20: Had my first professional voice lesson. 1994 January: Performed in All-State Women's Chorus. January 17: Turned 16. January 22: Had a Sweet Sixteen birthday party with all my friends. February 11: Performed a solo at district festival and received superior ratings. March 20: Started officially dating Phil. April 7 – 12: Went to Washington with the chorus. May: Attended and passed auditions for an elite women's chorus for senior year. August: Got obsessed with the Animaniacs television show. August: Started getting really close with Meghan. November: Started my friendship with Mia. 1995 January: Performed in All-State 11th & 12th Grade Concert Chorus. February 5: Saw Ween in concert for the first time. February: Performed a solo at district festival and received excellent ratings. May 20: Went to my boyfriend's senior prom with him. Sometime(?): Took the SAT and got a 1320. September 15: Got my first job at Sweet Tomatoes restaurant. September 17: My Uncle Kenny died from complications related to AIDS, age 46. November 6: Got accepted to University of Florida. 1996 January: Performed in All-State Women's Chorus. January 17: Turned 18. January 27: Auditioned for the University of Florida music program. January 29: Got on the Internet for the first time, through America Online. February: Performed a solo at district festival and received superior ratings. March 13: Broke up with my last boyfriend, Phil. Sometime(?): Passed the AP English exam with a 5. June 7: Graduated from high school. July 10: Drove a car for the last time in twenty years while flunking the driver's test. July 15: Moved to Gainesville, FL, for college. Moved into an apartment with John and Dena. July: Got my own first computer. Became active on the Internet for the first time. July 18: Went to my first poetry jam at the Civic Media Center. July 31: Began writing the first The House That Ivy Built novel. August 13: Finished writing the novel. August 26: Started college, majoring in Music Education. August: Auditioned for University Choir and got in. September 25: Began writing the second The House That Ivy Built novel. December 30: Met my friend Victor in person for the first time (first Internet friend meetup). 1997 March: Spring Break at Six Flags with my Internet friends Blink and Rowan. June: Got a job at Baskin-Robbins. July: Got fired from Baskin-Robbins. August: Went up to Virginia on a road trip with my roommate, and visited my friends Blink and Rowan again. October: Created my first Web page. December(?): Dena graduated and moved out, and Mia moved in. 1998 January: Switched majors to Elementary Education. January 17: Became a vegetarian. February: Met my friend Jim (Bunky) for the first time in person. February(?): Started the third The House That Ivy Built novel. February 14: Started my job as a Kids' WB! volunteer chat host on AOL. April 24: Got my first e-mail from Squirrel (Michael). May 25: Had Internet friends James and Chris visit for Memorial Day weekend. May(?): John graduated and moved out, and JW moved in. June(?): Celebrated my maternal grandparents' 50th anniversary with family. July 4: Met my friend Fred. July 16: Meghan had her first baby, Katelyn, and used my name for her middle name. August: Got really into the anime Tenchi Muyo! and spent a lot of time watching it. September 18–30: David visited from Malta. October(?): Started the fourth The House That Ivy Built novel. November(?): Started studying Paganism. November: Visited New York City. November 29: My maternal grandfather, Herb, passed away at age 78. 1999 January 17: Turned 21 in Las Vegas, NV. March 6–12: Visit with Bunky in Columbus, and got to meet Ronni. May 5–11: Fred visited, and we went to visit Jessica in Melbourne. May(?): JW and Mia moved out, and Ammy and Melissa moved in. Sometime(?): Started attending anime club meetings. June: Began to do my first "scripted" Pagan-oriented rituals. June: Got a summer job as an office assistant for a professor at UF. July 22: Kids' WB! closed, chat hosting job over. August 2: Started Hecklers Online chat host job. October 8: Went to Anime Weekend Atlanta. December 20: Visited Fred in California and celebrated the Winter Solstice with him and Christmas with his family. December: Did my first professional freelance editing job on Mike Yon's book Danger Close. 2000 January: Began my first pre-internship, assistant-teaching first grade. February: Started getting annoying eye infections. March 2: Began my second pre-internship, assistant-teaching third grade, but got switched to fourth. March 22: Met my friend Jeaux. April 13: Finished my pre-internship. May 5–15: Took a week vacation to go to Jessica's wedding. June: Did another stint as a summer office assistant for a college professor. Also did Web work. June 21: Got my first computer virus. June 24: Graduated from the University of Florida with a B.A. in Elementary Education, GPA 3.56. June 30: Had a visit with Jessica and Ron and threw a graduation party. July 12: Interviewed for a retail position at Books-A-Million and got hired. August 5: Moved from my college apartment to a studio apartment of my own. October: Got promoted to Kids' Department Head at the bookstore. November 5: Found out my online friend Steve passed away. December 24–31: Saw my parents and family for holidays. 2001 February 9: Jessica visited. February 28: Began writing articles for Everything2.com. May 11 – 13: Anime convention JACON with Kari. May 25: Finished writing the fourth The House That Ivy Built book. June 7 – 16: Fred visited; fun in Gainesville and Tampa. June 27 – July 1: Jessica and Seth visited. August: My sister Patricia moved to Japan. August 8 – 12: Jessica and Seth visited (again). September 11: World Trade Center got bombed. September 21 – 23: Anime Weekend Atlanta convention. 2002 January 3 – 6: Fred visited. February: Hecklers Online chat closed. Quit hosting. May: Began writing the prequel to The House That Ivy Built. May 12: Started the fifth The House That Ivy Built novel. July 1 – 8: Fred visited, and we went camping at All World Acres. August: Passed a copyediting/proofreading test and got a position as a freelance editor. August 15: Played my first game of Dance Dance Revolution and got hooked. August 24: Went to an Everything2.com nodermeet (meeting online friends in a group). November 5: Began writing my children's book Joint Custody. 2003 January 30: Went to Les Misιrables with Mike. June 8: Began writing my novel Bad Fairy. July 17 – 27: Fred visited, and we went canoeing and karaokeing. August: Completed writing my novel Bad Fairy. August: Wrote an article on Eragon that got very popular online. September 27: Met Jeremy from Mu for the first time. November 6 – 12: Visited Japan. 2004 February 13–14: Met my online friend Dieter in person. February 26–29: Fred visited me in Gainesville. May 21 – 23: Anime convention JACON with Jeaux. July 1 – 9: Las Vegas trip with Fred. September 23 – 30: Visited Ronni in Ohio. October 5 – 13: My sister Patricia was home from Japan and visited me with Mom. November 2: Met my friend Mikey. November 2: Voted in a national election for the first time. November 21: My sister and mom were in a car wreck, but were fine. 2005 April 21 – 26: Fred visited. May 13: My parents' divorce became official. May 20: Started my webcomic, Negative One. May 26: An article on asexuality that I was interviewed for was published. August 5–8: Road trip with Mikey around Florida. November 1: I was quoted liberally in AASECT's Contemporary Sexuality newsletter. November: My sister Lindsay went missing and was found. 2006 January 28: Renaissance Faire trip with Mikey. April 9–13: Spring road trip with Mikey to find a new place to live. May 25 – 30: Fred visited. June 25: Last day of work at the bookstore. June 28: Moved to Tampa, FL. Got my own one-bedroom apartment. July 27: Started new job as administrative assistant at DKS Associates. September 10: Began writing my novel Finding Mulligan. December 2: My maternal grandmother, Maura, passed away at age 84. 2007 April 18 – 24: Fred visited. June: Started regularly reading Eyeshield 21 manga. June 17: Recorded my first YouTube video. July 28: Moved to a new two-bedroom apartment. August 29: Meghan had her second baby, Benjamin. 2008 January 15 – 31: Had Victor visiting for the first time in over 10 years. January 17: Turned 30! February 2: Ren Faire in Gainesville with Mikey. March 1: Ren Faire in Tampa with Mikey. March 11: Saw a They Might Be Giants concert. March 31: Completed my novel Finding Mulligan. April 4: Saw Avenue Q live. April 20: Hosted a Passover celebration at my house for the first time. July 18 – 22: Fred visited. July 27: Participated as a bridesmaid in Ronni's wedding. October 12: Participated as maid of honor in Meghan and Brendon's wedding. October 24: Took a Greyhound trip to visit Mike in Gainesville. October 31: Big Halloween party at my apartment. November 6: Started writing my novella Stupid Questions. November 12: Finished my novella Stupid Questions. November 20: swankivy.com got its first front page layout. November 27: Thanksgiving at Jeaux's. December 13: Got the news that my sister Patricia was engaged. December 31: New Year's Eve at my mom's. 2009 January 18: Got sick for the first time in five years. January 24: Ren Faire in Gainesville with Mikey. May 2: Went to an OKCupid meetup and made some important new friends. June 9: Found out my friend Mike from Sarasota passed away. July 18: Got interviewed in The Daily Beast for an article about asexuality. August 1: Participated as maid of honor in my sister Patricia's wedding to Yusuke. August 9: Made my first real music video on YouTube. October 22: Taped my interview for the documentary (A)sexual. October 25: Attended the wedding of Steve and Jessica. October 31: Huge party for Halloween at my place, with 20+ people. December 5: Went to Universal Studios and saw Rent with Mikey. 2010 January 30: Ren Faire in Gainesville with Mikey. February 6: EPCOT visit with Sarah. May 20: Hit five years of doing my webcomic without ever missing or being late. June 4 – 8: Michigan visit with Jessie; got to meet Cara. August 5 – 12: Anna Maria Island beach trip with Meghan and friends. August 28: Went to a housewarming at Mandy's house and got to meet her and several other online friends. September 8: Was interviewed along with David Jay on Internet radio program The Authority Smashing! Hour, discussing asexuality. September 11: Began attending monthly Drink and Draw meetings with a group of Tampa Bay area artists. October 14 – 17: Traveled to Oakland and San Francisco for a work meeting and a visit with my sister. October 24: Posted my first original song to YouTube. October 31: Big Halloween party at my house, attended by about 20 people. November 9: Posted my first multitrack video to YouTube; the birth of the "Swanky Six" singing characters. December 1 – 5: Visited my sister in San Francisco with my mother. December 24 – 31: Got a visit from Richard, an online friend who'd known me for a decade or so before meeting me. 2011 January 11 – 19: Got a visit from Victor. January 24: Entered a writing contest sponsored by Amazon. January 24: Got an article professionally published for the first time ("Asexuality is Not Antisexuality" in Good Vibrations magazine). January 26: My friend Brendon had to have heart surgery after having been in the hospital for kidney issues and other complications. January 29: Went to Gainesville for the Renaissance Faire with Mikey. February 1: My article "Sexual Attraction vs. Romantic Attraction" was published in Good Vibrations. February 24: Got into the second round of the Amazon writing contest. March 5: Went to the Tampa Renaissance Faire with Mikey and his friends. March 10: A video of mine was taken down through a false DMCA claim, so I revised it and posted the new version. March 14: My article "Are Asexuals Queer?" was published in Good Vibrations. March 22: Got into the quarter-finals of the Amazon writing contest. April 23: Went on vacation to a beach house on Anna Maria Island in honor of my grandpa's 90th birthday. April 26: Got cut from the Amazon writing contest and did not make the semi-final round. May 5: Found a YouTube duet partner and performed an Avenue Q song online. June 18: Documentary (A)sexual, for which I was interviewed, premiered at Frameline film festival in San Francisco. June 13: Finished the rewrite of my novel Bad Fairy's first draft. June 21 – 23: Mike from Gainesville visited. July 11: My article "How to Be an Asexual Ally" was published in Good Vibrations. July 14 – 17: Disney trip with Meghan and family. July 23: Went to Disney with Eric and Stephanie. July 30: Met my friend Pedro in person after reconnecting with him after a weird coincidence. August 13 – 14: Sarah and David spoiled me rotten at their house for a weekend visit. August 27: First asexual meetup, in Tampa. August 28: Finished a large drawing of 29 fairies in a group character shot, for my book Bad Fairy. September 3 – 4: Spent the weekend writing a giant essay on the horrors of Brisingr, the third Paolini book. Got positive reviews. September 16: DDR party at Mandy's. September 21: Undertook a project to draw illustrative drawings representative of each chapter in my Bad Fairy book, posting one a day for forty chapters. September 29: I was mentioned on a television news program in Australia. October 8: Birthday party at Eric's. Late October/Early November: Visit with Victor. October 23 – 29: Asexuality Awareness Week; my article "Why Should the Sex-Positive Community Promote Asexuality Awareness" ran in Good Vibrations and I released a two-part video on The Unassailable Asexual. October 30: Completed Bad Fairy chapter drawings. October 30: Big Halloween party at my place. November 7: Began querying agents for my latest version of Bad Fairy. 2012 First week of January: Patricia and Yusuke visited from California and stayed at my house. January 24: Entered the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Competition 2012. February 4: Attended my friend Jeaux's mom's funeral. February 7: Completed new short story "On the Inside." February 23: Became a second round competitor in Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition. March 20: Became a quarter-finalist in Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition. April 24: Got cut from the Amazon contest at the semi-final round. April 30: Visited Meg in Jacksonville and celebrated her graduation from nursing school. June 3: Completed novel Stupid Questions. June 10: Started new comic website So You Write. August 20: Signed with a literary agent for my novel Bad Fairy. September 5 – 14: Judged a writing contest for Cupid's Literary Connection. September 9: Completed new short story "In Love With Love." September 18: Novel Bad Fairy on submissions to publishers. October 1: My article "Asexual Relationships" was published in Good Vibrations. October 26: Threw a Halloween party. November 14: Had minor surgery. December 8: An interview with me was published in Drake Magazine. 2013 January 14: Entered the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition 2013. January 15: Victor moved to Tampa and started staying at my apartment. January 24 - 27: Went to the Creating Change conference in Atlanta and spoke on the Asexual Voices panel. February 13: Advanced to the second round of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition. February 22: Victor moved out of my place. February 26: Started making writing-related videos for a separate YouTube channel. March 12: Got eliminated from the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition at the quarter-finals. March 18: An interview with me was published in 429Magazine. May 1: Found out I was going to be an aunt. May 2 – 6: Disney trip with Meghan's family. May 22: Signed with a literary agent for my nonfiction book on asexuality. June 6: Went on submission to publishers for my nonfiction book. June 17: A series of articles on asexuality that included an interview with me was published in The Huffington Post. June 28: Appeared on HuffPost Live on an asexuality panel discussion. July 27 – 28: Attended Metrocon anime convention. September 9: Was interviewed on the Colin McEnroe radio show. September 30: Found out my sister Lindsay is engaged. October 1 – 6: Fred visited me. October 7: Was interviewed in South Florida Gay News. October 9: Completed a new short story, "Her Mother's Child." October 19: Had a big Halloween party. October 21: A video I contributed to for Everything's A-Okay in was on The Huffington Post. October 22: My article "Asexuality and Sexual Fluidity" was published in Good Vibrations. October 22: My video "Asexuality: An Overview" and information about me was featured on The Huffington Post for Asexual Awareness Week. October 23: The Daily Mail and Digital Journal published articles focusing on me for Asexual Awareness Week. October 24: The Daily Mail article was recycled in Nigeria News, 7sur7, ΏQuι Mαs?, and Elu24. October 25: The Daily Mail article was recycled in The Hollywood Gossip and Joint Arena. November 18: Interviewed on the DiversifYA blog. November 20: My nonfiction book about asexuality sold to Skyhorse Publishing/Carrel Books. December 2: I began participating as a mentor in the Pitch Wars writing contest. December 20: My nephew Ash was born. December 31: Flew to San Francisco to visit Patricia, Yusuke, and Ash. 2014 January 1 - 6: Continued San Francisco visit. January 10: My asexuality book's title was finalized as THE INVISIBLE ORIENTATION: An Introduction to Asexuality. January 17 - 23: Road trip up the Carolina Coast with Meghan. February 1: An inaccurate article about me was published in Best. February 3: My mentee in Pitch Wars got signed to an agent because of the contest. February 7: Gave a speech about asexuality for IvyQ Conference at Princeton University. February 10: Got my first advance check. February 15: Got a significant haircut. February 27: Turned my nonfiction manuscript in to my publisher. March 29: Completed a new short story, "Hope Came Out." April 10: Gave a presentation about asexuality at the University of Virginia. April 24: Completed publisher's edits on my nonfiction manuscript. May 5: Started writing the second book in the Bad Fairy series. May 19: Accepted an offer of publication for my first published short story, "Your Terms." May 24: Accepted an offer of publication for my short story "Her Mother's Child." May 24 – June 6: Patricia, Yusuke, and Ash came to visit. May 30: My sister Lindsay got married to Mike. June 14: My short story "Your Terms" was published in Timeless Tales. June 24: The audio rights for my asexuality book sold to Audible. June 27 – 29: Traveled to and from Toronto and attended the WorldPride-affiliated Asexuality Conference. June 28: Appeared on CTV, a Canadian news show, to discuss asexuality. July 1: My article "Enjoy Your Houseful of Cats" was published in The Toast. July 7: Featured in The Varsity as an ace conference participant. Also got excerpted in The Daily Dish. July 12 – 15: Mike visited from Gainesville. August 2: Finalized my short story "That Story about Fortune Cookie Girl." August 21: Interviewed in YA Interrobang: Dragons Raging. August 24: Interviewed in Left to Write: Awesomesauce Authors. September 2: Interviewed on Why/Why Not series on SL Huang's blog. September 2: My book The Invisible Orientation was published by Skyhorse/Carrel. September 3: I selected my mentee and alternate mentee for the upcoming Pitch Wars contest. September 7: Finished a new short story: "After She Comes Along." September 9: A guest post by me appeared on DiversifYA. September 16: Interviewed in Salon. September 20: Interviewed on Weekend Sunrise (Australian TV). September 24: My book and other materials were highlighted in the New York Times. September 24: I was interviewed on the BBC World Service podcast. October 6: I was interviewed on BBC Radio Berkshire. October 17: My interview with Chris from Pleasure Mechanics was posted. October 24: I was interviewed on the Sexperts podcast. November 6: My interview in Marie Claire UK came out in the December issue. November 19: My interview in Review Fix was posted. November 23: Finished a new short story: "Everyone's Gay in Space." November 24: I was featured in the Washington Post. November 29 – December 1: Went to Disney World with Meghan's family and Victor. December 9: An interview with me was published in Maclean's. December 12: Hit 500 issues of updating my Negative One webcomic. December 20 – January 2: Patricia, Yusuke, and Ash came to visit. 2015 January 5: Published my first blog in Psychology Today. January 16 – 20: Had a birthday vacation with Meghan in Cape Coral. February 4: Finished a new short story: "Aquarius." February 9: Interview with me was published in The Varsity. February 23: I had my first trip to the emergency room. February 25: New short piece on asexuality published in Drunk Monkeys. March 4: Lambda Literary named my book as a finalist for the Lambda Award in the LGBT Nonfiction category. March 12: Foreword Reviews named my book as a finalist for the INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award in the Family and Relationships category. March 24: Started watching Steven Universe and got hooked on it. April 3: Went to the Welcome to Night Vale live show with Jeaux. April 13: Gave a presentation about asexuality at the University of Minnesota. April 17: Accepted an offer of publication for my short story "On the Inside." April 27 – 30: Mike visited from Gainesville. May 4: Interview with me was published in US News and World Report. May 6: My book The Invisible Orientation was awarded the silver medal in the IPPY Awards in the Sexuality/Relationships category. May 9: My book The Invisible Orientation won the Next Generation Indie Book Award in the LGBT category. May 20: Webcomic Negative One made it to ten years of weekly updates. May 26 – June 2: Took a trip to New York City to attend several book awards ceremonies and visit with family and friends. June 19 – 22: Took a trip to Toronto to participate in the annual Asexuality Conference. June 22: An interview with me was published in A Plus. June 29: My short story "Her Mother's Child" was published in Kaleidotrope. July 12: Completed first draft of Bad Fairy 2. July 14: My sister Lindsay moved to North Carolina. August 14: I began participating as a mentor in Pitch Wars for the third year. September 13 – 15: Mike visited from Gainesville. September 21: An interview with me was published in Tech Insider. October 13: My book The Invisible Orientation was released in paperback. October 31: Had a big Halloween party. November 1: Began writing my new novel Ace of Arts. November 19: My short story "On the Inside" was published in James Gunn's Ad Astra. December 16 – January 3: Patricia, Yusuke, and Ash visited from San Francisco. 2016 March 17: Drunk Monkeys Anthology Volume 3 was published with a piece by me in it. April 22 – 24: Celebrated my grandfather's 95th birthday in Sarasota. June 3 – 5: Mike visited from Gainesville. July 7: Saw the live show of Welcome to Night Vale in Tampa. July 26: Celebrated 10 years at my job at DKS. July 30 – August 6: Beach house vacation with friends. September 3: Bought a ukulele and started learning to play. October 29: Had a big Halloween party. December 14: Was notified of the closing of my office, requiring me to look for a new job. December 15: Family from California arrived in Tampa for the holidays. 2017 January 31: Last day of work at DKS. February 16: Accepted a new job at BES. March 1: Drove a car for the first time in 20 years during a driving lesson. March 6: Started my new job at BES. July 8: Went to the Welcome to Night Vale show in Tampa with friends. August 4 – 6: Attended Metrocon 2017 with friends. September 10 – 11: Weathered Hurricane Irma. September 25: Moved into a new three-bedroom house. October 28: Had a big Halloween party. December 18: Family arrived from California for a visit. 2018 January 13 – 17: Meghan's birthday visit. January 17: Turned 40. January 27: Went to a They Might Be Giants concert with Jeaux. February 25: My paternal grandfather passed away. May 19: Went to Detroit for Jessie's wedding. July 20 – 21: Attended Metrocon 2018. August 15: Went to Universal Studios with Victor's family. October 16: Spoke at Wellesley College on asexuality and the LGBTQ+ community. October 29: Had a big Halloween party. November 1: Began participating in NaNoWriMo for the first time. November 3: Went to Phoenix for Fred's wedding. November 30: Successfully completed NaNoWriMo at 50,615 words. December 1: My paternal grandmother passed away. December 17: Family arrived from California for a visit. 2019 January 15 – 22: Meghan stayed for a birthday and Disney visit. January 19: My friend Steve passed away. February 28: Went to Welcome to Night Vale with friends. March 23: Met my new friend Steve in person for the first time. April 27: Attended a book event via Skype. May 12: My book The Invisible Orientation was published in Japanese. June 25: Spoke to a group about traditional publication. July 12 – 14: Attended Metrocon 2019. August 3: Attended Tampa Bay Comic Con. September 2: Had a viewing party for the Steven Universe movie. October 18: Threw a Halloween party. October 25: Ran my first livestream on YouTube for Asexuality Awareness Week. October 29: Got a cavity filled for the first time. October 31: Completed Inktober for the first time. November 9: Began recording podcast "Not-So-Giant Women" with partner Daria. November 25: My dad got married to Connie. November 30: Completed NaNoWriMo successfully at 50,768 words. December 18: Got in a minor car crash. December 23: Family came to stay with me from San Francisco for the holidays. 2020 January 17 – 19: Meghan visited for our birthdays. February 18: Completed my Steven Universe trading card collection. March 4: Got asked to blurb another author's book for the first time. March 16: Began working from home because of Covid-19. March 27: My favorite show Steven Universe ended its run. April 26: Won Best of Crafts 2020 on Steven Universe Amino. May 19: Participated in the first socially distant team interview at my job. May 20: Celebrated 15 years of running my webcomic Negative One. June 9: Got invited to play test and promote a Steven Universe card battling game. July 6: Joined an app-based diet program to try to lose some weight. July 28: Started playing weekly online games with Meghan and some friends. September 1: My job moved to a new office location in Tampa. September 27: Joined a postcard-writing campaign to encourage votes for Democrats in the Senate. October 27: Did a three-hour livestream on YouTube for Ace Week. October 31: Gave out candy alone from my garage for Halloween because of plague. November 1: My short story "Everyone's Gay in Space" was published in After Dinner Conversation. November 9: Began querying agents for novel Stupid Questions. December 25: My friend Brendon passed away from Covid-19. December 25: Hosted a small Christmas dinner with my mom and two friends. 2021 February 14: My friend Victor began a lengthy hospital stay. March 9: Found out my book The Invisible Orientation will be published in French. March 12: Started work on a rock band with my dad. April 23: Met my friend Fen in person for the first time. May 12: Became fully vaccinated against Covid-19 (after getting Moderna shots on March 31 and April 28). May 14 – 16: Had my first post-pandemic visit with Meghan. May 23: My first band practice with Dad's band. June 9: Helped my mom get cataract surgery. July 2: I was interviewed on Graying Rainbows podcast. July 23 – 24: Attended Metrocon. September 15: I was interviewed in Geeks OUT. September 17: Finished short story "Her Experiment." October 15: Attended Cara's wedding in Michigan. October 31: Gave out candy alone from my garage for Halloween because of plague. November 5: I was interviewed in SELF. November 9: I participated in an asexuality/aromanticism panel at University of Massachusetts. November 11: I was interviewed in San Josι State University News. November 25: Hosted Thanksgiving. December 24: Hosted a Christmas Eve dinner with family. 2022 January 14–16: Meg visited for birthdays. March 11 & 12: Fen visited. May 3 – 8: Visited Charlotte with Patricia to see Lindsay. June 3 – 5: Weekend vacation with Meghan. June 28: First performance with Tides of Time band. July 15 – 16: Attended Metrocon. July 16 – August 1: Patricia and Ash visited me. August 26: Short story "Her Experiment" was accepted for publication. September 9–11: Meg visited me for the weekend. September 28 & 29: Weathered Hurricane Ian. September 29: My short story "Aquarius" was accepted for publication. October 12–17: Vacationed in New York with Jeaux to celebrate 22 years of friendship. October 22: Threw a Halloween party. November 24: Hosted Thanksgiving. December 16–18: Weekend visit with Meg. December 24: Threw a Christmas Eve party. 2023 January 1: Threw a New Year's Day Breakfast Party. January 19–22: Meg visited and we had a combined birthday party. January 31: First three-hour gig with the band at a Harley dealership. February 8: Had a minor operation on my toe. February 21: Interviewed in USA Today. March 6: Appeared on a book panel at A Room of One's Own with Cody Daigle-Orians and Ashabi Owagboriaye. March 12–March 18: Rented a vacation house in Davenport with 10 friends. March 15: Short story "Her Experiment" published. June 30: Interviewed in The Knot. July 5: My mother died. July 24–August 4: Patricia's family visited me in Tampa. September 5–12: Family visited for Mom's memorial at Eternal Reefs. September 16: Put on a three-hour performance with the band at Music Compound. October 11: Interviewed on the podcastFlow. October 15: Met my new friend Ben in person for the first time. October 21: Threw a Halloween party. November 7: Interviewed on the podcast Spinsterhood Reimagined. November 15: Interviewed on the podcast Modern Pleasure. November 20: Finally received important paperwork designating me the official administrator of my mother's estate. November 23: Jeaux and I spent Thanksgiving with Dad and Connie in Sarasota. November 29: Sold my mom's car. December 23: Performed a two-hour concert with my band Tides of Time. December 24: Threw a Christmas Eve party with Jeaux and me cooking for Dad and Connie. December 26: Threw a cookie party. 2024 January 18–January 21: Birthday visit with Meg. February 14 – February 20: Sisters visited to help with Mom's house. May 2:Got a haircut and had my first hair dye treatment. March 6 – March 10: Visited Charlotte for family birthdays. June 14: Sold Mom's house. June 19: Went to an Alanis Morissette concert. July 6: Attended Metrocon. July 23: Wrote new short story "Heard." October 2 - October 7: Went to New York City on a vacation with Jeaux. October 8 - October 13: Evacuated for Hurricane Milton. October 26: Threw a Halloween party. November 19: Wrote new short story "The Witch Next Door." November 28: Attended Thanksgiving at my dad's. December 24: Wrote new short story "Karma Is Dead." December 26: Had family over for a home-cooked holiday feast. December 27: Got my first voice-acting role on a comedy podcast. December 28: Threw a cookie party for my friends. 2025 April 23: Finished writing the first draft of my novel In Bloom. CREDITS: The Background Boutique: This page's background. BACKLINKS: MAIN PAGE ABOUT ME MY LIFE