Updated version.

What the fuck

Being able to use a smartphone to tell you which bus to take and where to catch it has been a game changer. In the last 10 years, I’ve ridden buses in Milwaukee, Chicago, DC, NYC, Austin, and San Francisco. Except for Milwaukee, very few of those were routes I know.

We made it ONE DAY of 2026 without our child having a fever.

Took my bike in to get snow tires and it turns out it needs pads and rotors, which are on order. Feels like I’ll never get to ride again. 😭

I said I’d do dry January but I’m organizing the basement and there is leftover margarita in my fridge from last night and my resolve is crumbling. We apparently buy disposable cups and such for parties, store the extras, forget where we put them, and buy more. The number of red cups in this house…

The final bedtime of 2025 being an epic battle feels apt.

The reason you should not give your 8yo lipstick is not because 8yos should not wear lipstick. No, it’s because said 8yo might write on your wall with her lipstick.

Injury, weather, and general life got in the way of me hitting my ebike goal of 1500 miles and walk goal of 400 miles, but I still had a good year in activity! (I also lifted for 22 hours and did 10.5 hours of yoga.)

Me, on Tuesday night: If I don’t get 8 hours of sleep tonight, I’m going to lose my mind. My bladder at 5:30am: You up? You up? You’re up now! 🫨🫨🫨🫨🫨🫨🫨🫨

“Hey Dad, I just need a Sharpie real quick” is not a sentence that a parent of an 8-year-old particularly enjoys hearing.

Very few things about 2025 have been good. One of them is that my child only required antibiotics once, as opposed to the six times she required them in 2024. Another is that @mkefrizz.bsky.social got me a bread cloche for Christmas so I can up my bread baking game.

My top 10 albums of the year, part 1: 1. Craig Finn, Always Been 2. Been Kweller, Cover the Mirrors 3. Snocaps, self-titled 4. Madi Diaz, Fatal Optimist 5. Amanda Shires, Nobody’s Girl

Getting an email on December 30 that summer camp registration opens in one week is a hate crime. Time to bust out my color coded spreadsheet, I guess.

We found a set of fancy little ice cream dishes going through my MIL’s stuff. We’re trying not to keep too much, but these are cute and they actually force you to eat only a single scoop of ice cream. (They cannot stop you from going back for seconds, gotta have that good GLP-1 for that.)

Having a little fun as we sort through my late mother-in-law’s things.

This is legit what every person who opposes traffic calming and protected bike lanes in Milwaukee sounds like.

December was sort of a lost month for riding this year, but today is my 3-year anniversary with Celeste, my Tern GSD cargo ebike. Buying this was a top 5 life decision.

How many times will I cry to the Come From Away soundtrack in 2025? I’ve still got a few days to go.

A few weeks ago, I noticed someone was parked in this bus stop. I almost reported them for a parking violation when I noticed the No Parking sign was missing. So I reported that to the city instead. Look at what’s back! (Sadly, the sign doesn’t stop people from being jerks.)

Maybe it's time to stop blaming kids for going on screens and staying inside and start blaming ourselves for taking their outdoors away from them in all aspects of their life.

Thank god Milwaukee is both raising fares and slashing service I’m sure that will not have any impact on ridership.

Hospital systems: “Racism is a public health issue!” Also hospital systems: keep closing clinics in the city. There is literally one Children’s Hospital Urgent Care in the entire city of Milwaukee.

Nothing makes me appreciate MKE like flying through ATL. (To be clear, ATL runs remarkably smoothly given how busy it is, but it is A LOT.)

There are mosquitoes. In December. I am in hell.

Milwaukee! Does anyone have a PT to recommend who does dry needling? Preference for someone with Froedtert but doesn’t have to be. Must accept insurance, though, none of these private pay only places. I have to get a better handle on my neck and upper back spasms in 2026.

I can’t get over the fact that the owners of this house in my parents’ neighborhood got fined for not getting HOA permission to paint their shutters and went with a non-approved color scheme. It’s the most visually interesting house in the whole subdivision!

I have some serious concerns about the weather appropriateness of the clothing worn by the children in Frosty the Snowman.

Proof that northerners’ real beef with standard time is the tilt of the earth’s axis and not the time change: it’s 5:30 in Georgia and it’s still light outside.

I’m glad we‘ve gotten to celebrate my mom’s 75th birthday and see my family for Christmas, but the sunbelt suburbs are NOT for me. I miss Milwaukee. I can’t see myself ever not living in a city.

She’s getting cooked in the replies and the quotes. Appropriate since that’s what she’s doing to the planet by making driving cheaper.

I hadn’t actually looked up the price until now, but yeah, it turns out my child’s favorite cheese is $25/pound. She’s 8. We can never afford to own 2 cars. Our cheese budget simply won’t allow it.

seasonal weather is good actually

The thing about warm climates is that I actually do not enjoy sweating on December 24. I am wearing shorts and a linen shirt.

TFW it’s December 23 and you realized the Santa gift you ordered on December 5 has not shipped. How’s your day going?

Five minutes in the car in the Atlanta suburbs stresses me the fuck out and confirms that I could never ever again live somewhere like this.

My child poked me at 12:03am to ask what time it was, and then she was up for the day at 4:45. EASTERN. So Christmas vacation at my parents’ house is going great!

In a time when billionaires are leaving death & destruction in their wake, it’s good to see that people like @ricksteves.bsky.social are using their wealth to lift up their neighbors.

I love my two blackout drunk Minnesota sons

Our daughter told us this morning that she wrote something at school about her grandma passing away. I forgot the question, but she said she answered with, “Everything dies, baby that’s a fact. Maybe everything that dies some day comes back.” @mkefrizz.bsky.social & I couldn’t be prouder.

Apparently Americans will obey anything but the speed limit.

The worst person on earth did something good so now I get to use my vacation time for the week between Christmas and New Year’s instead of for the 24th and 26th. Honestly, I deserve it.

Deciding not to argue with people online about the cost of parking and instead go to bed is proof that I at least kind of love myself.

There are photos of Chomsky on the fucking plane with Epstein. Yes, misogynists and predators really do come in all political stripes.

The rain has made uncleared sidewalks the slickest ice I’ve ever experienced. I didn’t fall during school dropoff, but it was close!

It’s been such a great year for breakup albums. Madi Diaz, Maren Morris, Amanda Shires. What did I miss?

Jamelle Bouie out here posting about his 255 bench and I’m over here bonking on my final rep of strict press at 50 😂

It is above freezing and sunny today. If your sidewalk isn’t clear by the end of the day, you’re a bad person.

I want to respond to every comment about how it’s so hard to keep the sidewalks clear because we got freezing rain and then the temps dropped with: SKILL ISSUE. I am from Texas, and my sidewalk is immaculate.