Life is Art is Life is Art…
While in the booth recording a title featuring a couple in a long-distance relationship, I had to take a moment to have a little weep. I’d just helped my own nesting partner move from LA to NYC, where he’ll be spending a year in a residency program for his doctorate. A scene in the story moved me — which is not uncommon — but this was the first time I felt like Anne Hathaway in Les Mis trying to belt out “I Dreamed a Dream” in extreme closeup through heaving sobs. I really enjoyed that little cry, though, cuz it wasn’t about being sad and missing him (although that was still a layer of it). It was because I was so proud of us. We’d met just over 10 years ago, and the move feels like both a practical and symbolic milestone.
Between being polyamorous relationship-geeks who embrace the added variables of ethical non-monogamy, and being a co-habitating pair who knew someday it might come to a long-distance chapter for us, I actually really loved having a kind of “deadline” to work towards. Deadlines keep me accountable! Relationships of all kinds are a lot of work; for me, it’s work I really enjoy doing. And honestly, I loved having the following argument as an ace up my sleeve during the months leading up to move: “Nope, we better figure out how to work this stuff out efficiently, cuz when we’re on opposite sides of the continent, I don’t want to be texting a fight.”
What I didn’t anticipate is the kind of growth we’d have long-distance. I figured the individual growth was a given, because we’re both growth-oriented individuals. But I completely took for granted how being long-distance could offer new dimensions of growth for the relationship itself. I was so anxious about being apart, I completely overlooked any potential benefits. In fact, there have already been some very satisfying moments of validation, reflection, and poetic denouement.
Like… how I miss cleaning up after him and yet, I actually don’t gain that many more minutes in my day; turns out I really am a compulsive cleaner regardless of there being a genuine mess to address. Or like how he feels he has to keep on top of keeping his shoebox flat in New York tidy because it’s such a condensed space, the contrast of any small thing out of place feels like a huge mess. His telling me that (unprompted!!!) was like him finally being inside my brain after a decade of little domestic spats. I’m telling you, it felt downright karmic: comical in its depth of spiritual symmetry, but plainly relatable to anyone (well anyone neurotic) who has ever shared a living space.
It’s a lighthearted example that befits a newsletter, but there is such profound pride I have discovered in him, and in us, and in myself. It’s very satisfying to experience, in-the-moment, the benefits of so many years of difficult, dedicated work. It’s the best 10-year anniversary gift I could’ve asked for. As much as I miss being physically close, I am also surprising myself with how much it feels like we’re closer than ever.
Also, I’ve been really busy this quarter! Art imitating Life imitating Art… lots of love stories: found family, long-distance, forced proximity, second-chance, throuple, reverse harem, Sapphic, Achillean, T4T… is any story worth telling not somehow about love?
And now it’s time for the breakdown. Q2 in review:
Audiobooks
Releases:
Recorded/Recording:
Duet romantasy series
Sapphic romance
Sports satire
Queer drama
Queer sci-fi satire
Queer horror
Queer horror-comedy
Voiceover
Dubbing!
Thanks for spending time with me and sharing my celebrations again this quarter! Much love!
Cheers!
Nicky
2025 archive: Q1