Things I Liked In April 2023

April really flew by, didn’t it? Working in higher ed, we’re gearing up for Commencement in a couple of weeks so my days have been long and stressful and I hate it. I’ll feel a lot better about things after the next three weeks are over. I think I’ll be due for a nice, long vacation once June rolls around. I’ve been itching to visit England for ages but I’ve never gotten around to it. Maybe now’s the time to get that trip booked! It would definitely give me something to look forward to this summer.

On top of all the job-related busy-ness, I’ve also been doing a lot of writing on my next series. I should be wrapping up a draft next month, which I’m really pleased with. I say it a lot, but this series is my most favorite thing I’ve written and I can’t wait to release it. There’s a lot of writing and editing I’ll need to do this summer in order to stay on track, but I’m up for the challenge!

Anyway, onto some things I liked this month.

I Love TV

I’ve become completely obsessed with “Below Deck” and I couldn’t tell you why this show has such a choke hold on me. I enjoy some reality television, though it’s not my favorite, yet I can’t get enough of this show. It follows a crew aboard a luxurious superyacht as they entertain exorbitantly wealthy guests during charter season. I could say that I watch the show to indulge in the exotic locales but that would be a lie. I could say I watch because I’m really into yachting or some nonsense, but we all know that’s a lie too. I watch for the drama. Some of the guests are so horrible and rude and I live for their interactions with the crew. I love watching everyone be messy with each other, whether they’re arguing about something or hooking up. It’s just fun. And, sure, the locales are nice to look at too. Bravo recently had a marathon of all the episodes and, yes, I sat and watched them all because I’m a doofus with too much time on his hands. My next book series that I’m currently writing deals with reality television and different forms of media and now I’m asking myself if my characters need to take a charter yacht somewhere (I think they might…). So, watch this show.

“Cunk on Earth” is a historical mockumentary hosted by Philomena Cunk (Diane Morgan), an ill-informed (to say the least!) investigative reporter. She travels around the world interviewing experts and historians on various topics. There’s really not much more to it than that! But it’s funny. Because when she gets it wrong, she really gets it wrong. So while this isn’t a show to watch if you want accurate history, it’s fun if you’ve had a drink or if you want to feel smart. Morgan’s comedic timing as Philomena Cunk is really quite masterful. There are only five short episodes so I think it’s worth a watch!

Reading Is Fun

This month I read “Fractured Infinity” by Nathan Tavares and I really loved it. Full disclosure: I went to college with the author and lived in the same suite as him freshman year (look at me name dropping omg). Anyway, it’s a good book. The story follows filmmaker Hayes as he’s recruited by a group of scientists to help understand a mysterious device that can predict the future and open up the multiverse. A version of Hayes, dubbed Figueiredo, is the creator of this device, but he’s from another universe – a universe that, for the time being, can only be observed, not traveled to. So these scientists who recruited Hayes think he can help access the multiversal machine due to his genetic makeup. While studying the machine, Hayes grows closer to physicist Yusuf and they fall in love. As they both observe Figueiredo (who is married to an alternate Yusuf), they discover that tragedy befalls the alternate couple. Unfortunately, the two couples’ realities may be linked in more ways than one, so Hayes and Yusuf travel the multiverse to escape a similar fate. It’s a really fun book so if gay romance and/or multiversal travel is up your alley, I think you should check it out.

Music

• Florence + the Machine: Mermaids
• Stephen Sanchez: Only Girl
• Tennis: Need Your Love