I really loved this piece. The juxtaposition of the negative things that can be associated with summer to the importance of relishing the moment (a theme that's familiar and poignant in the summer months) worked really well. Personally, I felt a connection to the idea that making memories has to be the priority over all the other considerations that come up at this time of year. It reminds me of my own life when, come summer, my wife and kids are all out of school and I still have to work. It can be easy to get lost in the work and treat the summer like any other time of year, but as this poem points out, it's important to make time for the other stuff.

For the the couplet "as the skies cast / shadows over July" felt a little out of place in the positivity of the second half of the poem. I might be reading a little too much into it, but the poem seemed to start darker and more depressed, and then move into a more positive note, so ending on what felt like another down note gave me a bit of a "whiplash" feeling. I really like the imagery, but wonder if maybe it should come earlier in the poem, near the top where the other emotions and descriptions match a little better?

Overall, this was a really great poem. I thought you did a good job with it!

I really enjoyed this well-organized "get to know you" item and reading through it. I was surprised that you and I are just about the same age... maybe that's because you seem so young and vibrant in your posts?

I had totally forgotten about the time you spent working at the slaughterhouse! Wasn't that during the last Game of Thrones, or thereabout? Man, I remember all those crazy blog posts that you wrote, detailing the ins and outs of a business that I honestly never wanted nor expected to learn the ins and outs of!

I'm definitely with you on the loving food and having a sweet tooth, though. I'm currently trying to lose the thirty extra pounds those interests in my life have cost me , and Italian food (especially pasta and pizza) are up there for me too. I love Chinese food, and I'm with you on the veggies. I have reluctantly come to accept that they are necessarily evils.

Traveling is one of my passions too and I can also heartily recommend Portland (except for me it's the Oregon one, not the Maine one). San Francisco has lost a lot of its luster over the past several years as it struggles to recover from the pandemic. Chicago and Denver are on my short list of domestic cities to visit!

Karate was a sport I was involved with when I was younger too! I've always loved tennis but never played seriously, and folk dancing is definitely not something that I can say I've ever attempted.

Um, I understand the preferring to buy books thing but... you hate libraries? I definitely understand the difficulty returning the books; I'm very fortunate that the public libraries around me don't actually charge late fees (unless it's an in-demand newer book). They'll just automatically extend the loan until you return it. I've had a book for like three months that I'm slowly making my way through...

I can't find fault with any of your movie and actor choices; all excellent!

Huskies are on my short list of favorite dog breeds as well. I'm also partial to Australian Shepherds and, although I'd never want one for myself, I can't help but smile whenever I see a pug, a French bulldog, or a Pomeranian. Also, koalas are adorable!

I don't really have any suggestions for improvement. In a piece like this where it's nonfiction and someone is sharing about their life, I think it'd be pretty condescending to have "suggestions" about things that they could or should change (except the library thing... we gotta work on that... ). I think it was great getting to know you a little better. There was some stuff that I already knew, but a lot of stuff that I didn't!

Overall, this was a fun item to read. Even though the bio blocks in our portfolios have a ton of options to fill out, those kinds of things can always feel a little formulaic. I love the fact that you elaborated on a lot of areas here, and really took the time to detail your likes, dislikes, and opinions. Readers will definitely walk away feeling like they've gotten to know you better. Thanks for sharing!

I love the worldbuilding in this piece. The idea of a door-to-door salesman that isn't offput by vampires, a vampire married to a weretiger... everything was really creative and entertaining. Even the show being called "Bloody Moonlight" lent to a feeling that this was a fully realized world that the characters are living in, which is really difficult to do in such a short piece of writing. Really nice work!

Due to the brevity of the piece, some of the things felt a little glossed over, such as the fact that Joseph just randomly ordered something from a door-to-door salesman without exchanging any form of payment. And the fact that the salesman seemed a little unengaged from his task when door-to-door sales is famously about trying to connect with a potential customer and getting them on the hook to buy something.

The ending of the story also felt a little abrupt. Joseph just goes back to what he's doing after ordering something from a door-to-door salesman, which made the whole thing feel a little more like a vignette rather than a story with a beginning, middle, and end.

Overall, I think there's a ton of potential with the world you've created, and the characters. I feel like there's a little room for improvement in terms of the execution and fleshing things out a bit, but you have a strong foundation here. Nice work!