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What does it mean to shift our attention from the thing to the connection between things, from the subjects to the threads? I took some notes on different points of intimacy, from a haircut to seeing a kid drop their toy. This also ended up being an exercise in poetic observation, to see what is there, but to see beyond what is there too. A drop can be a kiss; a mundane routine can be an elegant dance.

On its surface, there is an appeal to applying this lens towards the world, it brings an amount of whimsy and artfulness to the everyday. But I think there actually ends up being a bit of utility to drawing these connections and pulling at these threads. It's the use of creativity to shape a new reality, in the most elemental and basic way. And as with most things, it's something that gets better with time and with repetition, so seeing a chocolate stain and seeing intimacy becomes a key exercise to better understanding a reality of interconnectedness. And interconnectedness, that's what it's always been about.

11/29/23

1. an embrace between lips and warm skin, ready to burst, a delicate kiss, becomes a bite, becomes a tear, destroyed to reveal something beautiful, savory even—a soup dumpling.
2. a stranger seated behind me touching my hair, shaping who i will be, he's fixing up the back of my head, where even i am not familiar, i look into the mirror, with my glasses off, our two heads look like one.

11/30/23

1. just as the kid starts to cross the street, their hold on a little stuffed toy loosens, the toy careens towards the hard pavement, one point of intimacy lost, one point of intimacy gained—violently. the toy may have met the street for the first time, but gravity asks, have you forgotten about me?

12/03/23

1. a face-off at a stop sign: who goes next, we lurch forward, the other stumbles, we're flustered, strangers meet, strangers depart.

12/14/23

1. got some chocolate on my pants, wiped it away to find it imprinted, embedded...will it wash off, or will it remain?

01/02/24

1. took a bite of a bun, the paper backing was still on, took a chunk of paper with my bite.

01/05/24

1. they brush past, headphone wires get caught up on the button of my coat, a point of intimacy going extinct, as the world goes wireless.