sure. wait. what?

JULY WAS dark and sodden, a complete turnaround from last year’s sticky heat. Rain poured in long, unbroken stretches, drenching every pit and groin of the city. It was the wettest July in two decades.

Because of the preternatural amounts of rain, L and I found a small wet patch in the basement carpet. We lifted the carpet from a corner to see what’s going on, and alas, under the carpet was a hidden ecosystem of black fungi (read: mold).

On one hand, it’s infuriating to have bought a house with a moldy-ass basement. On the other hand, it’s a blessing we discovered the latent damage early, long before we furnished the floor. Oh well.

So, how’d your July go?

Money

For those who 1) are new here or 2) are not paying attention, I have three savings buckets that I try to fill every month. I have an undisclosed target amount for each bucket, and each month I track the percentage by which I meet these targets.

Savings Bucket	Savings Goals Met %
Long-Term	133%
Travel	100%
Gifts	100%

The extra deposit I made to the Long Term bucket was to make up for last month’s deficit. I still owe 50% more in my Travel fund, but travel is far down my priorities this year. I’m pretty happy with this progress.

Fitness

The goal that I set at the beginning of the year was to work out at least 15 days every month. In July, I was under the target by 5 days.

Exercise Days	10
Run	4
Walk	1
Barre	1
Strength Training	4

I think I did okay though. I finally made it back to the barre studio, I squeezed in a few runs, and I even got some strength training done by following along with this video.

If we hadn’t had to evacuate the basement, I probably would’ve hit my 15-day goal. The mildew mutiny was just a big blow to my morale, but I’m feeling much better about it now. There’s nothing much I can do except face the problem and fix it.

Reading

My goal is to read 12 books this year, and I chip away at this goal by reading one book each month. In July, I read Here After by Amy Lin.

Here After is a memoir of a woman who lost her husband when they were both in their early 30s. It’s a short book, and the 200-or-so pages wrecked me. But that’s not necessarily a tall order, especially with grief and loss at the book’s core. What truly gutted me was the vividness of Lin’s language. Her writing is rich with detail and precision, so reading her story felt like absorbing her pain by osmosis (or some other process that makes more sense).

Social

This is the section in which I track my social activities for the month. It’s not related to a measurable goal, but because I used to be a full-time hermit with a near-pathological fear of the world beyond my bedroom, keeping a log of my social life helps me stay accountable, or at least aware, when those unhealthy asocial tendencies start creeping back in.

This year, so far, I have done fairly well.

In July, my parents came over to visit (this was before we uncovered the fungal takeover in the basement). I drove them back to their house, and that’s when I picked up the rest of my stuff from my old bedroom, which prompted me to write the long and discursive post after reading my teenage journal.

There’s also an annual outdoor show in town around this time of the year, turning the city into a massive diorama of the Wild West. L and I joined the festivities and visited the fair grounds with some friends. Luckily the heavy rain didn’t start until after the festival was over.

Finds and Firsts

I published more blog posts in July, something I haven’t done in a long time.

I couldn’t think of anything else new, so I looked at the songs I recently saved on my music app: Japanese Breakfast’s “Kokomo, IN”; Couch’s “Poems”; and The Delegators “I Don’t Mind.” These are good, good stuff if you’re looking for new tunes to listen to.

Fails and Flops

July was my most stressful month at work. I thought the hectic days were over, but several new projects started gaining momentum, pulling me straight back into the trenches.

For weeks, work occupied every corner of my mind — in the shower, before bed, the moment I woke up. The stress was constant. Some days, the pressure sat so heavily on my chest I thought it might burst from the sheer weight of everything unspoken and undone.

Ah, well. I’m still alive and employed, aren’t I? Silver lining silver lining silver lining.

Looking Ahead

In July, I buried in my garden several potatoes that were on the verge of rot. Now, small green shoots are beginning to push through the soil — fingers crossed I get to harvest fresh potatoes in August.

I’m also looking forward to finally getting the basement cleaned out. A permanent fix probably won’t happen until later this year. The heavy rains flooded basements all over the city, and every repair shop has been booked solid.

Lastly, I’m counting down to the next long weekend at the end of August. I’m tired and burnt out, and all I’m craving is a few more quiet days where I don’t have to think about work.