Welcome to my Moonbox: a gathering of musings, learnings, and aspirations held (perhaps, sometimes only briefly) by the many expressions of me, Sarita.

From the desk:

I started a Blue Sky account, and have used it to publish written-in-the-moment flash poems. Reasons are: for fun and to keep myself more engaged in my craft. Here are the first two:

Have you ever seen diamond dust
do you even remember January snow
do you cry in front of the pellet stove
as wild turkey shriek outside
as embers of social media
dim, even the barrel of despair
crumbles like toast into
another monotone thing
ash is softer than snow
& it never glitters

-

Inner eyelid, soft
Night like any, this
Sweeping urge to think
One thousand sheep
March into the darkness
Never looking back at you,
It's as if they know, in this
Abyss, there is no such thing
#insomnia

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Life updates: I haven’t quite decided what to do with Moonbox Notes. Are they worth continuing? Do I make them “seasonal” or bimonthly (since I’ve been failing to post them monthly)? Do they need a schedule? Do I transfer my Moonbox Notes to Substack? If you have any thoughts about this, please let me know! Leave a comment.

Anyway, my prophylactic bilateral mastectomy is coming up: Feb 26th. If you interact with me, please don’t ask me how I feel about it. Because that should be obvious. And if you’re unfamiliar with my story: I inherited the same BRCA1 mutation that killed both my mom and her sister. Because of this mutation, it’s recommended that I undergo preventative surgeries, particularly mastectomy (bye-bye boobs) and hysterectomy (bye-bye ovaries and uterus). Mmhmm. Life kinda sucks right now.

[Previous: Moonbox Notes #26]

La Vida Mundial:

Um. My head is about to explode in regards to what Trump is doing and it’s hard not to feel despair and hopelessness and anger. But, there have been a few things that have helped provide clarity in terms of how I should focus my time and energy during these times. One of those is Dr. Len Necefer’s Substack.

Another is the comfort in returning to my own writing, honestly. It’s important to engage in thoughtful discourse, and I hope to utilize my skills in a way that helps, one, ease my own despair and allows me to show up as a more wholesome person, and two, support the communities I love and care for. Maybe this is reason enough to continue my Moonbox Notes, but the question remains as to the frequency and platform (here vs. Substack?). Let me know.

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HBD to all Winter birthdays!

Recent Top Pick Reads:

+ “Enough With the Land Acknowledgements,” by Kathleen DuVal, The New York Times, Opinion, Guest Essay with Audio read, Jan 5, 2025. A really great call to action for organizations, non-profits, universities, corporations, etc, to create real change and real relationships with Indigenous Peoples rather than settling in with shallow land acknowledgments.

+ “Connective Tissue,” by Julie Lambert, Short Reads, Jan 22, 2025. A flash nonfiction piece about one of the great lessons of life when it comes to forgiving others.

+ “A Rocky Picture Show,” by Daniel Zheng, Orion Magazine, Articles: Screen, Jan 29, 2025. A great write-up/thought-piece about Deborah Stratman’s film Last Things and how it does and doesn’t center the human. “But over and over again, Last Things reminds us that our human perspective always becomes radically entangled with the rest of the world as soon as a camera begins to film.”

+ “Hey Hey, Blinky Bill,” by Ayla Gard, Orion Magazine, Articles: Screen, Jan 13, 2025. The author grew up watching a conservation-minded cartoon koala and thusly ponders why such core childhood content didn’t make more of a difference in the world.

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Books/Mags in progress:

+ wife | daughter | self, a memoir in essays by beth kephart

Recent Listens/Watchings:

+ “The Last Observers,” by Maja K Mikkelsen, Patagonia Films, YouTube, Dec 18, 2024. A documentary that goes into the life and work of two weather observers in Sweden, and how they’d become the last ones to do so until, ultimately, they too were replaced by automation. A very sweet and tender film that explores how change is both inevitable and worthy of study.

+ “Don’t Believe Him,” The Ezra Klein Show, The New York Times, Apple Podcasts, Feb 2, 2025. A short podcast about how Trump’s agenda to act like a King requires us to remember the limitations of the Executive Branch and to refuse to grant him the very limelight he desires.

+ “Make it Count,” by Alpine Run Project, Youth Beyond Borders, YouTube, Jan 15, 2025. A short film about the Alpine Run Project youth team and their time running a race at UTMB. The Alpine Run Project brings inner city youth in Europe to the trails and helps them train, prepare, and experience the greater community of trail running.

+ “Sacred Promises: Truth and Treaty,” All My Relations Podcast, Spotify Podcasts, Jan 22, 2025. Professor Robert A. Williams Jr. (Lumbee) talks about the oft-forgotten power of treaties and their commitments, particularly in regard to Tribal sovereignty, and how both non-Natives and Natives are impacted.

Writing/Projects: (updates are highlighted)

+My film project: We are nearing a final cut and hope to submit to film festivals soon.

+I currently have 1 general submission in the ether. I submitted a short nonfiction piece to CRAFT.

+The hybrid essay/memoir I wrote in 2021, “Chuckwalla,” still needs some major revision and writing.

+I have a Science Fiction novella that I’ve been slowly working on since 2017.

MISC/Brags/Swag:

• Because I won’t be able to run for many weeks post-surgery (potentially 6-8 weeks), I decided to commit to doing a run streak beforehand. I started January 1st and the final run will be Feb 25th, the day before my surgery, for a total of 56 days of running in a row. I’ve never committed to a run streak before, but am happy to report that I am well on my way to succeeding in this challenge (currently on day 36).
• Fenix Lightning sent me two headlamps for my L2H endeavor, and they also provided me an affiliate link and discount code for you to receive 10% off! Enter AFSARAA at checkout.

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Thanks for tuning in to Sarita’s Moonbox.

¡Feliz invierno!