distant.dream

As of 1 April 2025: picking up where my Xanga left off. (Oh hi!)

[jicasas]

We knew it, we knew you

Seattle, WA 30 May 2026 :: iPhone 17 Pro Max :: f/2.2 1/1145s :: ISO-20

Dear Stranger;

I was looking up one day and couldn't help but think about the Taylor Swfit / Toy Story collaboration and how we Swifties were able to sniff this out way back at the end of April with that myserious glitch of a countdown. I tell you, this community is so much fun and I feel so dumb for having hated on them at all, and maybe it's only fitting that the album that turned me into a Swiftie opened with a track called "State of Grace."

I think about that a lot, too. I'm so grateful for Swifties.

Magically, -j

[jicasas]

I think it’s time to find a new ensemble. June 1, 2026 at 06:42PM via Instagram https://instagr.am/p/DZEL1qNKBUR/

[taylorswift]

It’s a *Toy* Story 🤠

You knew it! My new original song “I Knew It, I Knew You” for Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story 5 will be yours on June 5th. I’ve always dreamed of getting to write for these characters who I’ve adored since I was a 5 year old kid watching the first Toy Story movie. I fell instantly in love with Toy Story 5 when I was lucky enough to see it in its early stages, and I wrote this song as soon as I got home from the screening. Sometimes you just know, right?

You can pre-order now exclusively on my site and catch Toy Story 5 in theaters June 19th ☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️

[taylornation]

One year of owning the best things that have ever been hers. Show us how you are celebrating today 💚💛💜♥️🩵🖤

[jicasas]

A 747 poking through between buildings is about as crazy as work lately. My Space Needle season pass expires on Sunday and so do my SAM and Chihuly Garden & Glass benefits, but Saturday is a concert day followed by a Blue Man Group show so I guess I can rest when I’m dead? I’m so unprepared for Grandma’s… 🛌 May 29, 2026 at 12:50AM via Instagram https://instagr.am/p/DY6jFlRFUyb/

[jicasas]

Don't know what's down this road, I'm just walking

Seattle, WA 17 May 2026 :: iPhone 17 Pro Max :: f/2.2 1/554s :: ISO-40

Dear Stranger;

I'm looking forward to days working on content for the orchestra in the sun (in the public library), and maybe in the sun, properly outdoors. I'm looking forward to taking more time to run, read, and draw as well, and I'm also looking forward to more opportunities to ride the ferry, the Sounder train, or maybe Amtrak to Portland or Vancouver, to take more pictures (both normal and astro) and to make more videos.

As the orchestra season winds down, I'm looking forward to learning more. I'm looking forward to having fun with my hobbies—I have so many interests, and I know many algorithms will reward those that specialise in one, but I think I'm learning that, for the time being, I can't be governed by an algorithm yet.

I'm looking forward to more time to do the things I love.

That's the hope.

What are you looking forward to this summer?

Magically, -j

[jicasas]

Help, I'm still at the restaurant

Seattle, WA 22 May 2026 :: iPhone 17 Pro Max :: f/2.2 1/4s :: ISO-2500

Dear Stranger;

On Friday I found myself stargazing atop the Space Needle (yay Season Pass!), making note that Venus, Jupiter, and the Moon were aligned, and Alaska Airlines flight 1369, heading to San Diego, was moving into position to join the alignment.

The sun had set about an hour ago, and the sky was still in that deep blue stage (even if it was past 10 PM) and I couldn't help but remember this colour of sky past midnight in Stockholm. That's right, two years ago at around this time I was making my way home from Stockholm, having experienced something that even I had trouble believing, and I couldn't help but think anyone I'd tell when I get home would believe me either. Nevertheless, I left with a taste of that Swiftie kindness that everyone talked about and that's stuck with me ever since, and I think about it frequently.

I'm also really enjoying each time my phone or my wallpapers at work cycle through pics from the Stockholm trip because the nice part about having a decent memory is that it's possible to relive these memories all over again—the anticipation, the excitement, the magnitude of joy.

I had the time of my life on that trip, and I hope I can experience it again sometime. More so, I hope you can experience something like that, however that may look for you, in your lifetime, too.

But for now, I'm pretty sure I did leave my heart in Stockholm.

Magically, -j

[jicasas]

I grabbed a pen and an old napkin and I wrote down our song

Seattle, WA 8 May 2026 :: iPhone 17 Pro Max :: f/2.8 1/639s :: ISO-25

Dear Stranger;

Looks like I forgot to write something for the month of April, but today I don’t like to miss because this is the day I started my Xanga back in 2002 and had kept it going until my “lifetime” premium membership ended at the end of March in 2025. Fortunately, upon finding this out after being unable to make any more posts, I was able to hop on over here (hello!) and keep it going.

So, welcome to what eventually has become my Xanga 2.0! Hope to be here for many more years to come; it’s good to have you around.

Magically, -j

[taylornation]

Bridges that reveal the full painting 🤌

Create your own Rant Bridge Playlist featuring the first tracks that come to mind and watch the full The New York Times interview honoring Taylor as one of the 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters at nytimes.com/taylorswift

[taylornation]

Happy High Infidelity Day to all those who celebrate. 💙 We really want to know where you are this April 29th… use the Add Yours in our Instagram stories.

[taylornation]

Cheers to International Women’s Day. 🥂 Tag your ultimate quintessential showgirl and let us know what you're listening to today below! 

We’ll start: Taylor's “Elizabeth Taylor” 🫶

[taylornation]

What could you possibly get for the girl on the last day of Women’s History Month? We have something in mind! The Elizabeth Taylor Music Video is out now on Spotify Premium and Apple Music. 🫶 https://taylor.lnk.to/ElizabethTaylorVideo

[jicasas]

Rebekah rode up on the afternoon train, it was sunny

Seattle, WA 28 March 2026 :: iPhone 17 Pro Max :: f/2.2 1/1497s :: iSO-20

Dear Stranger;

Things I enjoyed today:

Being in a packed train with a bunch of strangers that cheered as we made our first journeys on the cross-lake connection.

Having a practical and frequent way to cross Lake Washington to the east side.

The 2-Line Cross-Lake Connection opened today, and I think it was nice to see people excited about transit—spending a few years without a car, it's always interesting to hear people say how much they can't believe I ride transit so much and, frankly, my appreciation from it came from necessity.

I was in-between cars (heck, I am in-between cars again, and not by choice again) so I think having a car as an easy fall-back seems to diminish how good our transit system actually is here in Seattle. It's not the best, and there are plenty out there that are more established and, as a result, are better, but it's far, far from the worst. It's pretty damn good in my eyes.

Unfortunately I wasn't one of the first thousand to get one of those nifty reversible hats, but I'm okay with that. The adventure was still a lot of fun, and meeting up with friends made it even more so.

Hope you're having fun out there.

Magically, -j

[jicasas]

But you know you wouldn’t change anything

Seattle, WA 21 March 2026 :: iPhone 17 Pro Max :: f/2.2 1/6s :: iSO-1250

Dear Stranger;

These past few weeks I've realised: with my noise-cancelling headphones, I've learned how to relax in crowded and noisy places. With this new (to me) Season Pass, I've started to really enjoy spending time at the top of one of our busiest tourist attractions and find the eventual spot that opens up as the crowds dwindle at night to write postcards or draw.

I mean I've yet to draw, but I definitely have the supplies in my backpack to do so. It'll only be a matter of time before I switch over to doing that. Maybe I'll bring one of the big Moleskine sketchbooks I've purchased and make a whole series of sketches from atop the needle...

The itch to create is back, and we all know what that means: everything at work is busy again so I have minimal time to do everything I want to do in a weekend.

Such is life.

How are you, stranger?

Magically, -j

[jicasas]

Were you standing in the hallway with a big cake...

Seattle, WA 15 February 2026 :: iPhone 17 Pro Max :: f/1.78 1/279s :: iSO-80

Dear Stranger;

It's another year of traditions (noodles), though the usual venue is no longer open. Maybe that's the metaphor that is at play: few things last forever, and it's okay to mourn what's no longer there, but it's also a new freedom to find a new venue for the tradition—and that doesn't mean the first place you go to next is where the new tradition starts, it means you can try new places until you find the right one for you.

For now, I would say I'm still looking, but I still did get my noodles in, and it was really tasty.

The sun's also out, which is really nice. Fake Spring is in full effect here. 😹

What's new over yonder?

Magically, -j

[taylorswift]

My favorite part about writing is that first spark of an idea. It can happen at any time, for any reason. The idea for the Opalite music video crash landed into my imagination when I was doing promo for The Life of a Showgirl. I was a guest on one of my favorite shows, The Graham Norton Show. For those of you who aren’t familiar, it’s a UK late night show where Graham Norton (the insanely charismatic and lovable host) invites a random group of actors, entertainers, musicians, etc to be on his show and we all sit there and chat like it’s a dinner party. They even serve wine. Anyway. I remember thinking I got ridiculously lucky with the group I was paired with. Cillian Murphy, Domhnall Gleeson, Greta Lee, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Lewis Capaldi. All people whose work I’ve admired from afar. When we were all talking during the broadcast, Domhnall made a light hearted joke about wanting to be in one of my music videos. He’s Irish! He was joking! Except that in that moment during the interview, I was instantly struck with an *idea*. And so a week later he received an email script I’d written for the Opalite video, where he was playing the starring role. I had this thought that it would be wild if all of our fellow guests on the Graham Norton show that night, including Graham himself, could be a part of it too. Like a school group project but for adults and it isn’t mandatory. To my delight, everyone from the show made the effort to time travel back to the 90’s with us and help with this video. You might even recognize some friendly faces from The Eras Tour. I got to work with one of my favorite people in the world, Rodrigo Prieto, again! I had more fun than I ever imagined - Made new friends, metaphors, and fashion choices. It was an absolute thrill to create this story and these characters. Shot on film. The Opalite video is out now on Spotify & Apple Music. 

https://taylor.lnk.to/OpaliteMusicVideo

[jicasas]

This is my favorite music vid and I’m so giddy it’s for my favorite song. 🫶

[jicasas]

I don't start it but I can tell you how it ends

Seattle, WA 23 January 2026 :: iPhone 17 Pro Max :: f/2.8 1/20s :: ISO-2500

Dear Stranger;

Don't get sad.

Magically, -j