I’ve been in such a pissy mood for a few days now. People coming back from the past? Leave me alone. Dumb work shit? Leave me alone. Strangers with umbrellas at  my door? Leave me alone.

So I need to be forcefully uplifting right now and make myself appreciate the good/little things so that I don’t turn into a fireball of hatred.

I got an Olive Young package delivered today and forgot that I ordered this cleanser which comes with a cutie Jerry headband thingie!

I added a second G-Dragon doll to the collection! The one on the left was a gift from my mom several years ago, maybe 2017 or 2018? It’s from the Fxxk It comeback cyle, which was one of my favorite concepts for GD. I LOVED his lime green hair and that jacket!

This new one is the outfit he’s been opening his Ubermensch concerts in and it is already so iconic, I can’t stand it.

Another good thing is that Chooch got all As on his midterms so when he texted me this morning and said, so manipulatively, “There are so many concerts I want to go to ugh” I immediately responded with “Tell me!” because I wanted to get him something! He was so whatever about his birthday, I was hounding him for things that I could get him and just felt like I didn’t do all that I wanted, especially with him being out of town now. He said “Lorde” and I was like, “OK, please hold” and then did the fucking Ticketmaster heart attack dance. But in the end, I was able to get him and a friend 2 tickets during the presale and when I say that those two tickets combined cost less than one ticket in the same section to a kpop concert, I am not being even the tiniest bit facetious.

I think it’s hilarious that he knows which parent to come to for these important matters. Henry is the laundry help line, the Dunkin’ orderer, the fielder of financial aid / tuition questions. I’m the one who buys the concert tickets with no hesitate and geeks out over the new roller coaster announcements he sends me,

OK lastly I just want to say that I am DEEP into this Johnnie Guilbert phase. I know I said, “Oh if I had heard this back when I was still in Warped Tour mode, I’d have eaten it up” but truthfully, I am eating it up in this blessed year of our lord 2025.

His music encapsulates everything I loved about that time I spent in the scene, it makes me miss Choonimals and TOMS before soccer moms started wearing them and shirts from Kellin Quinn’s clothing line and my blond and black hair (well, it was more mocha because my hair stylist really did not want to use black dye and said I’d regret it and she was right). This is the sound of my HEYDAY, you guys. Warped Tour 2008 – 2015 was the best, 2016-2018 was OK. And whatever it is now isn’t for me.

He was JUST in Chicago on Saturday and I was like “!!!!!” But Henry was like, “Don’t start” because he doesn’t want me to be happy.

Well, I just did the whole “Wake up babe Johnnie Guilbert dropped a new video” bit to Henry. Byeeeee.

After the highway museum (which I’m still so geeked about, to be quite honest – PIE AND POSTCARDS. ‘Nuff said), we drove a few minutes away for lunch at Unity Brewing in Latrobe.

Right off the bat, the Crosby art was giving good vibes.

I got a:

• LEMON CREME COOKIE something. I don’t know what kind of beer it was – a wheat maybe? Whatever it was, it was my favorite. Subtle lemony sweetness without tasting like Pine-sol!
• Another Dimension IPA – just a solid, refreshing IPA that I liked very much
• Peach Ring Sour – remember when we went to that brewery in Youngstown last month and I was like, “I guess I don’t like sours after all?” Nope, wrong, scratch that. This was my redemption sour. It was SO DELICIOUS and fun.
• Vanilla Bean Blonde – apparently this is touted as the “undisputed pub favorite” and I can see why! It was so nice.

I legit loved everything. If I wasn’t a lightweight, I’d have probably gone back to the bar and asked for a full pour of….the lemon creme, I think. Any of them really!

Henry got the Maibock (a German spring lager), the Here’s the Dill! Pickle sour (LOVED THIS, so refreshing! I could have probably had a full pour of this if we were sitting outside with friends or something), the River Goat! West Coast IPA (decent) and….the Willie’s Reserve which I ordered for him and since I have bad eyesight I couldn’t see the smaller words on the menu which said that it was cannabis inspired. Hoo boy, was it ever. Henry and I aren’t like, NARCs or anything but we are both pretty averse to pot – I can’t stand the smell of it and haven’t smoked it since probably my late teens/early 20s because I have so many mental problems that it has the complete opposite affect on me and it AIN’T A GOOD ONE. So this was not our fave. You could smell the skunkiness without even holding it up to your nose.

MY FAULT though – I would not have  told him to get that if my eyes worked better, lol.

We were seriously having such a great time here, I can’t explain it (don’t worry, it was the calm before the storm, lol).

I had whatever “sweet flats” is – OK, I’ll tell you what it is: roasted rounds of sweet potatoes topped with black bean, corn, and two dollops of goat cheese. It was exceptional!! Filling without making me feel like sick, we love to see it.

Chooch called Heny’s phone when Henry was at the bar ordering our food, so I answered and without even letting me say hello, Chooch immediately demanded, “Dunkin.” That’s the only time he ever calls Henry, when he wants him to order (a/k/a “pay for”) his Dunkin lol.

Anyway, I was like, “Wow, hello, we’re at lunch.”

“With who?” he asked.

“No one…just us.”

“WOW. I didn’t know you people did that,” Chooch said, mind blown that his parents do date-like activities together I guess.

The post-lunch plan was to go down the street a bit to Ligonier so we could walk around and not have to be in the car for 60+ minutes after eating lunch. First, we used the gross “outside, needs a key” restroom at the local GetGo gas station. I liked my outfit that day so I took this picture but I did not feel cute that day at all, to be fully transparent. I am in a very low, low, low self-esteem cycle currently.

We took these dumb pictures of each other. Chooch said we were “Wow so cool” when I sent them to him later haha.

Anyway, Ligonier just pissed me off. I hated everyone there, it wasn’t my vibe, I rejected every store we passed, I got outrageously babyish at a cafe over a chai latte that was made with whole milk because I forgot to ask for almond milk and declined their offer to remake it and said, “No this is fine” in a monotone because at that point I was trying to be difficult while pretending like LOOK HOW EASY I AM BEING. As soon as we walked out, I thrust the latte at Henry and said IT’S ALL YOURS and he was like, “?????” because now he was double-fisting iced lattes. I don’t know, I was feeling uncomfortable in my skin, it was kind of hot out but I refused to take off my sweater because I didn’t want to show my arms, Henry was NOT LISTENING TO ME AS USUAL. It was a perfect storm. The last time we were in Ligonier together was before Chooch was born it was also a really bad day. Henry has declared a travel ban on Ligonier and I can’t say I’m going to argue with him on that one.

We drove home (in a big traffic jam) in silence, me listening to Johnnie Guilbert and scowling out the window while also silently crying and wanting to die. It gets easier until it doesn’t. I just don’t know. The day was so great and then….that. Can’t even blame it on hanger because it was after lunch. Luckily, once we got home everything was fine. I exercised. Ate dinner. It was a normal Saturday night.

Grow up, Erin.

(Henry tried to blame it on me revisiting my emo roots but I have been this bad if not worse for over a year now, not to mention since I was born. So.)

You know, it’s not great. It just isn’t. I miss Chooch. BUT!! Henry and I had a nice day out yesterday (well, mostly – I’ll get to that later this week) and I even treated myself to some stuff…like TWO Johnnie Guilbert shirts – I wanted to get a third but then Henry and I both said at the time “does anyone really need three Johnnie Guilbert shirts.” But yo, he has some really good designs! And I wanted to definitely have the one of him where his Robert Smith tattoo is showing.

And then because I’m emotionally regressing, I also bought tickets to Pierce the Veil whom I have not seen since 2017!!! Also, I said that I had only ever seen them in Pgh at Warped Tour but apparently I have also seen them at Stage AE THREE TIMES. You know you go to a lot of concerts when you lose count of how many times you’ve seen one of your favorite bands.

Today was decent. Chooch actually called me ON THE PHONE this morning to wish me a happy mother days and I got lots of other nice messages too which made me feel loved because I think everyone knows I haven’t been dealing with life very well & am in my KMS era.

Later, went to Home Depot to get paint samples for the bedroom dresser and then to an antique store on Library Rd because the vision of the dresser has finally fallen into place in my head and I wanted to look for crosses and rosaries lol. We struck out (did get two other items though but one is for Chooch and I don’t want him to know what it is until he comes home!) but I got two rosaries later on eBay and one of them is glow in the dark!

Came home and I started to make my lunch after getting super hangry while antiquing because that makes me frustrated and angry in general only to find out once I pulled everything out of the fridge that WE WERE OUT OF AVOCADOS. I was big upset but Henry was like “calm down I will go to the store chill plz put down the knife.”

I got to wish New Girl Buddy a happy Mother’s Day but she didn’t seem impressed and looked at me like “I come here for your walnoots not conversation.”

Jesus.

That was Mothers Day. It was mid but at least I didn’t cry.

Just for something to do today, we laid loose plans to go to Ligonier for the day. Technically not quite in Ligonier, but we stopped at the Lincoln Highway Museum first. I only just recently learned that this place existed which is nuts because we have driven part of the Lincoln Highway many times on trips to eastern PA. I wasn’t sure what this place would entail (I mean, obv. highway educational tropes) but I did know that coffee and a slice of pie is included in the admission and that was enticing for me!

I want to say first off that the woman working at the welcome desk was the EPITOME of welcoming. Like, give her a wagon already. She was a delight and seemed genuinely invested in the quality of our visit by giving us a pamphlet, A STAMPED POSTCARD (this comes into play later!), instructions on how to use the self-guided audio wand, detailed directions to the restroom (which was what Henry asked her IMMEDIATELY, so embarrassing), etc. She was great. I wish I caught her name but I am so bad at that.

Hoshi!

I loved the photos of some of the roadside attractions in their glory days. Anyone who knows me even a little knows I am Amish-enamored with a penchant for that sweet ass shoo fly pie so and have visited Dutch Haven many times over the years. I am so glad that it’s still thriving!

Historic Route 30: Dutch Pies, Elusive Pretzels & a Pachyderm Paradise

And the shoe house! Grateful that Chooch and I got to tour it before it closed to the public :( I think Henry said it’s an air bnb now ugh.

…then whipped them all soundly and put them to bed.

Then in this room, the museum lady came in and turned on a 13 minute video for us. Right before that, Henry was like, “We better choose our seats” and I thought he was joking because we….were the only people in the room and there were about 50 empty seats? But he wasn’t joking so now I’m scared that he’s seeing dead people. I mean, the museum is in an old….something. I wasn’t paying attention.

You guys my ADHD is unhinged. I zoned out almost immediately after the museum lady turned off the lights and shut the door on her way out. Henry was enthralled, but I was reading my Insta DMs. There was this one point where I thought it was over so I whisper-yelled, “Yay!” but it was just a very long blank transition into the next scene.

Any road enthusiasts out there can feel free to ask Henry for a synopsis because he watched the whole thing like a hawk and probably was saying, “Knew that. Knew that too. Yep, already knewed.” while mentally chopping away at Rt 30 facts as they came at him like some boring infrastructure version of Fruit Ninja.

(OK look. That is the one part I was listening to, when something was being discussed about INFRASTRUCTURE and in my head, I burnt myself on the lit up lightbulb and said, “OH THAT IS WHAT INFRASTRUCTURE IS” because literally the other day some political canvasser came to my house and was yapping on and on about why he supports the guy running against our current mayor and he was like, “and because of the infrastructure” and I said, “Yeah totally” but had no idea what was going on. This guy was like 20 too and had his finger way more firmly on the pulse of local politics. I will be frank here and say that I pay attention to world news and national news but NEVER watch the local news so I have no idea if I’m for or against our current mayor. I do know his name at least and he’s who I voted for in the last election, did I do bad?)

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day so I sent this to Chooch. His response?

“Wow.”

You already knew that. Just like Henry and his Lincoln Highway knewing.

Not pictured, but there was also an exhibit on license plates and they said that all but like….3 or 4 states? have inmates making license plates and I practically screamed OMG THAT’S ACTUALLY TRUE?? Henry just smirked and nodded because again, he knows everything. I wonder if he knows this one firsthand though…

OK OMG OMG OMG this whole time I was like “I HOPE WE CAN FIND A PEN SOMEWHERE, I HOPE THERE IS A PEN IN THE CAR, I HOPE THERE IS A MAILBOX NEARBY” but then there was a whole section of the museum DEVOTED TO POSTCARDS with TABLES AND PENS AND A MAILBOX!!!!!

I was GEEKED.

I made Henry write one to his mom. He tried to say he didn’t know her address off by heart and I said, “NO WORRIES I HAVE IT SAVED TO HER CONTACT INFO ON MY PHONE” and spun my phone so that the screen faced him. I am always prepared in case there are postcards in the near future.

I wrote mine to Chooch! I signed it MOMMY and wrote “stan Johnnie Guilbert” on it too so he will be so thrilled when he gets that. If he ever checks his mailbox.

They had enlarged postcards from the past on display. This place was totally my jam.

I loved this! It reminded me of when I was smoking in highschool (UGH) and used to purposely go to the same 2 0r 3 diners specifically to use their cigarette machines. WTF was wrong with me. Well, I mean, aside from being addicted to nicotine.

My dad would be so stoked on so many of these exhibits! He is a connoisseur of pop machines and coolers and ESPECIALLY loves his bevvies in glass bottles. Definitely mentioned this numerous times but Henry won my dad’s heart by gifting him with a case of glass-bottled Faygo root beer for Christmas years ago.

Before roadside motels, there were roadside CABINS and this is what the inside of one looked like, much nicer than a lot of the places Henry has had us holed up in, that’s for sure.

The pie and coffee portion of the tour came at the end. There is an actual vintage diner inside the museum!

That lady over there was so nice and got our pies for us. Two men came in right after us and also sat at the counter. It turned out that they were from Mt. Lebanon which is just two towns over from us, so that was kind of wild. The diner lady was laughing because she said she expected to meet people from all over when she started working there but most people are from within an hour away. She said the first guy she ever met there was from Latrobe, and she was like UGH THAT’S WHERE I’M FROM TOO. Lol.

Somehow, she mentioned that her daughter is in Portugal this week and the guys were like, “Oh wow one of our friends is also in Portugal this week!” The full sitch was that her daughter was going with friends and meeting a friend over there, and they were like, “OUR FRIEND IS ALSO GOING WITH FRIENDS AND MEETING A FRIEND THERE?!” and the lady was like, “What is your friend’s name? No, that doesn’t sound familiar.”

I peaced-out somewhere through that discourse but tuned back in at the end and thought, “Oh what a bummer” but then I just asked Henry for the full story because after we left, he was like, “THEIR FRIEND AND HER DAUGHTER HAVE TO BE GOING TO MEET THE SAME FRIEND THAT IS TOO COINCIDENTAL” and I was like, “I’m saying.” But I had no idea what was going on until right now, hours later, as I’m writing this so you and I, blog, are learning together.

Look, don’t expect a fat ass slice, but it’s free so just be happy with that. Honestly, it was good, maybe not Double R Diner tier, but I would have definitely written home about it if I hadn’t already mailed the postcard.

(OMFG HENRY FOUND THE INSTAGRAM OF THE FRIEND OF THE GUYS’ NEXT TO US AND SAID, “YEP THIS IS HER BECAUSE SHE’S IN PORTUGAL” but we don’t know the museum diner lady’s daughter’s name so what good is that…? Creep.)

After this, we did other things which I will post about later. But this was a good start to the day and I had no complaints.

1. Accidentally Emo Again

OK guys I mentioned the other day that I fell down the rabbit hole thanks to WE WENT TO COACHELLA videos brainwashing me into subbing to Jake Webber. And I mentioned that I was also like Wait hold the phone is his friend Johnnie Guilbert from the Warped Tour / Bryan Stars YouTube days? Confirmed. So then I started watching videos from Johnnie’s channel too because he’s funny to me OK I have immature emo boy humor. I’ve seen his gf in some of the videos and one time he was wearing a CHRISSY from Stranger Things shirt and said, “I’m wearing my girlfriend.” I thought, “Yeah, she does look like Chrissy from Stranger Things.” Days went by and then I stumbled across her Instagram and said to Henry, “Oh his gf has a lot of followers too. She looks like she’s a model, I guess?” Then a few minutes later, “Oh, she’s an actor too.” Then another minute later, “OMG HIS GF LITERALLY IS CHRISSY FROM STRANGER THINGS.”

Anyway, I bit the bullet and listened to some of Johnnie’s songs on Spotify today and almost immediately sighed and said out loud, “Great. I’m a fan.”

I would have flipped out over this in like 2010 but it scratches that latent emo itch, I swear to god, I feel like I’m waiting in line to get into Warped Tour right now. No, it gives me that same giddy feeling from like, 2004 when Christina and I discovered From First To Last.

2. New Furniture to “ruin” or “beautify” depending on what camp you’re in

We bit the bullet and finallllllly bought a new dresser from Ikea (I don’t know why we keep buying shit there) and a wardrobe. There is a big reason why there are barely any pictures of our bedroom and it’s because there are clothes everywhere. I am a fucking clotheshorse, I can’t be stopped. But Henry and I both have our own broken dressers and they don’t match and are ugly (see also: they’re just wood, oh no). Anyway, Henry brought the new dresser/wardrobe combo home today and I’m giddily thinking up refurb ideas for it. I definitely want it painted a light pink to match the pink accent wall of our bedroom (the rest of the walls are hunter green) but I’m deciding on if I want to use wallpaper on the drawers or whatever. Need embellishment inspo.

Meanwhile, Henry is like, “Why can’t we leave it as-is?” I mean, that’s probably what he’s writing in his diary or the Mother’s Day Card he’s giving to his mom. “SOS mom, she’s making me inhale paint fumes again.” He doesn’t dare say this to my face.

I also have a plan for our OG beverage buffet which presently lives in the attic lounge. I think having projects will help me.

3. Pope Shit

In group chat yesterday, everyone was going on and on about the pope shit like this whole rigmarole was news to them? Like it hasn’t happened two other times in our lifetime?? I stayed quiet on the subject because I was about to drag out my cross and get super righteous up in Teams, so I instead turned my frustration on Henry.

“DON’T YOU REMEMBER ME FORCING CHRISTINA* TO WATCH THE WHOLE POPE BENEDICT DECISION WHEN THEY WERE VISITING SPRING OF 2005 AND I WAS OBSESSED WITH EWTN???” (That’s the ETERNAL WORD TELEVISION NETWORK, FOR YOU HEATHENS.)

“Yes,” Henry sighed. “How could I forget.

Oh, I just went poking around in LiveJournal to see if I actually wrote about that part of their visit and that was a time travel I didn’t need.

I do want to add that I was very concerned to learn that the new Pope is AMERICAN and started panicking that Trump pulled some strings, but now I’m ok after doing some non-fake news’ing and learning that the Pope is actually against everything Trump and Vance the Pope Killer stand for, so fingers crossed that it stays this way and that he does good things.

*(Two C-word mentions in one post; one more and they might pop out of a Mexican jumping bean.)

4. Catching Co-Workers in My Emo Web

I was telling Nate about #1 of this Friday Five (hopefully your memory isn’t so jacked that you don’t have to SCROLL UP for a refresher, but if so, now is the time to do that). I told him I need a YouTube detox and then went to lunch. In that period of time, Nate had done his own Johnnie Guilbert research so I came back to a Teams message from him alerting me to the fact that Johnnie’s girlfriend is not only Chrissy from Stranger Things, but the daughter of Casper van Dien. What a wild ride that was. Hope you were wearing your seatbelt for that.

5. Excuse me, but did you mean Dazee?

I have been pretty bitter in general lately about family stuff (OK that’s always) but my brother texted me and mentioned our old dog Dazee but called her Daisy because ofc he did. This seriously gets under my skin so much because Dazee was my dog. I was the one who went with our mom to pick her up and no one else knew about her yet. I named her Dazee. But he consistently refers to her as Daisy to this day and makes me feel so disrespected, like I was completely written out of family history after I moved out. I even corrected him by replying with “*Dazee” and he said “lol.”

She was my fucking dog.

I have so much anger in general haha. Ha.

__________________________________________

Let’s end this with some CHRISSY, WAKE UP:

Why does it feel like April was so long ago, yet it seems not right that we’re already in May. Time gets weirder the older you get, I swear to GD. Anyway, I keep telling myself that I am not going to get lost in the weeds in my feeble attempts to craft concise reviews because let’s face it: a book reviewer I am not. So, I’m aiming for 2 or less sentences, maybe even just one word if it was that mid.

1. Serial Killer Support Group by Saratoga Schaefer

This wasn’t on my radar at all but I needed something to listen to on my morning walks. Interesting premise of a woman infiltrating a support group for serial killers in an effort to find her sister’s killer. Slightly predictable but still a good time.

2. Listen to Your Sister by Neena Viel

I saw this compared to Jordan Peele and I could 100% see him adapting this into his next great Black horror film. It was YA but seriously filled with vivid, gory imagery and really shone a creepy, red light on the real life horror everyday can be for Black kids.

3. Evenings and Weekends by Oisín McKenna

This was fine but the “for fans of Sally Rooney” should have tipped me off that this was going to be a big book about nothing filled with a cast of annoying, wayward 20-somethings in London. It was practically DARING me to care about any of them and I definitely didn’t win.

4. Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle

DUDE, YESSIR. This is the horror I came for. 4 solid stars, witty writing, super fucking creepy vibes. I bet the audio book slaps, but I just read this the old-fashioned way. ALSO, THE COVER.

5. All the Missing Pieces by Catherine Cowles

SO.BAD. I didn’t know this was ROMANCE, I thought it was a mystery about a podcaster trying to solve her sister’s murder but then there’s some gruff and grumpy small town sheriff that IMMEDIATELY FALLS IN LOVE WITH HER and his chapters are so gross. I have never heard so many descriptions of eyes “flashing.” WTF DOES THAT EVEN MEAN. HE WAS OBSESSED WITH HER “FLASHING EYES.” Also, I hated the narrator for the sheriff’s chapters. Oh god I hated this book so much. SOMETIMES IT REALLY DOES PAY TO READ THE FULL SYNOPSIS, ERIN.

6. I See You’ve Called in Dead by John Kenney

Five solid stars. I cannot recommend this book enough. It has set up camp inside my heart and will probably stay there until the coyotes find it and tear it apart, I don’t know what I’m saying because now I’m thinking about this book, the characters, the writing, the plot, the beauty and perfection of it all. I need to read everything John Kenney writes now.

7. Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle

Not as good as the other Tingle book, but this was a pretty solid LGBTQ horror. It kind of read more as YA to me, ngl, but still great nonetheless. And can we also pause to appreciate the author’s book jacket pic?

8. No Place Left to Hide by Megan Lally

Speaking of YA – this one just hit, I can’t explain it. I loved her other book, That’s Not My Name, as well, and this one was just as fun, great twist, unlikable protagonist.

9. The Wolf and the Watchman by Niklas Natt och Dag

Dude, I dunno how this ended up on my TBR but I apparently requested it from the library, read the synopsis when I got home, thought, “Why did I request this book? I’m going to hate this!” and then by the middle of the first chapter I was hooked. It’s historical fiction (1793 Stockholm) and I know NOTHING about this time of history. But! It has an element of horror to it, it’s macabre, it’s gory, it’s dirty, and the characters pop off the pages. I gave it five stars. I have to gear myself up to read the rest of the books now because I believe this is a series. but I will tell you now that Winge and Cardell are two of my favorite fictional characters now.

10. The Next Mrs. Parrish (Mrs. Parrish, #2) by Liv Constantine

But did anyone ask for a sequel? Mid. I rooted for no one. Also, there’s a diamond story line that is so fucking cringey and if I wanted that kind of absurdly unbelievable plot, I’d watch Days of Our Lives, ok Liv?

That’s all, you’re dismissed.

Hey hi whatever. I’ve been feeling down again. Super neurotic and panicked, sad, depressed, antsy, bored, low self-esteem, uncomfortable, paranoid (mostly I just feel like I’m dying).

I had therapy today and I guess I will try to stay positive by listing some things that are making me stay above water. Like this song that G-Dragon produced, where he personally selected a number of singers, actors, TV personalities, comedians, even a chef, who were relevant over the last year and then had them collab on a mashup of two Dosi Brothers songs from the 80s. And it was all for charity. GD’s reasoning was that he wanted to bring back the big collabs that used to happen when he was a kid, a la We Are the World, but it sounds like Korea was doing their own versions of that back then too.

I just love this so much. For any Squid Game fans out there, Player 333 is the guy in the beret in the beginning. <3

I started painting my nails again recently after being too despondent to care for several mths. Little things, right?

Hoping to get in at least one good road trip with Chooch this summer. I have a few days off around my birthday and have proposed that we drive to Iowa for two parks there (Lost Island and Adventureland) and then head down to Missouri for Worlds of Fun and a redemption tour of Silver Dollar City. Henry was buying a one-way ticket to Frown Town when I excitedly called him over to show him the map I made. We’ll see how much of this actually comes to fruition haha.

(I added Bowling Green because there is also an amusement park there, too, haha.)

(If you are familiar with anything cool / weird / tourist trappy on this route, let a bitch know.)

I saw HNC outside on Sunday and he jokingly asked me if I want his cats and I return-jokingly said, “Haha sure” and then he texted me later to see if I was serious and gave me this big spiel about “having peeps” who are allergic and I was like “OMG no I am not seriously offering to take your cats, mine would have a conniption” and he was like “OK because we prob wouldn’t actually give them up anyway” (???) and then the next morning he texted me AGAIN and apologized for being wishy-washy. Henry thinks my texting adventures with HNC is amazing.

Recently, I had been watching Coachella content on Youtube for two reasons: Enhypen performed both weekends, and my favorite YouTube siblings – the Alexanders – all went to weekend 2 and I love their vlogs. But that screwed up my algorithm so then I just started getting oversaturated with Coachella content. HOWEVER, this is what brought YouTuber Jake Webber into my life!? At first I was like UGH THIS GUY IS SO ANNOYING UGH HIS FRIENDS ARE SO ANNOYING but then I was finding myself genuinely laughing and being entertained?! And then I was like HOLD UP IS HIS FRIEND JOHNNIE GUILBERT THE SAME SCENE KID FROM THE WARPED TOUR YOUTUBERS DAYS?

Um, that would be a yes. And he is still emo and almost looks exactly the same?! So now these highly obnoxious videos are playing constantly and even Henry is getting sucked in. Chooch is SCANDALIZED by this. He hates it so much. I keep texting him pictures and videos of Henry watching and laughing and Chooch is like, “No, I reject this from my life.”

Then this sent him:

Oh! Oh! Oh! Speaking of Chooch, he texted me this the other night and my ego was POPPIN’ off.

I love that Chooch has been deep-diving into my blog archives! Until he finds the weird shit. But still! Practically his entire life is on here, at least my version of events, and I imagine that’s gotta be interesting to him someday.

Well, I think I’ve hit the bottom of my positive reserves and also, I had taken a break writing this to exercise and I jacked my left knee kind of (???) bad and I think I need to go and ask Dr. Google if I need surgery now so that’s kind of all that’s on my mind right now hahaha ugh.

Oh you guys, when Onew announced his US solo tour, I was gagged. And this was legit right after seeing Taemin too!! Onew is lowkey my favorite member of SHINee – yes I love Taemin so much but there is something so magical about Onew’s vocals. I was so anxious about getting decent tickets for this that I opened a CITI credit card so that I could do the CITI Ticketmaster presale like a freaking unhinged kpopper. If I was going alone, I would have had better luck but I still managed to snag Henry and myself two seats in the second row of the balcony so I was content with that. After being on the floor for Taemin’s theater show, I was set on getting balcony seats for this one!

Doors had opened by the time we found our way to back of the line, but there was only one entrance I guess so only small groups were being let in at a time. The people around us in line were so nice though so it was a pleasant wait. The girl in front of us was handing out banners and pouches that held a little flashing LED ball with instructions to remove the little plastic tag during Onew’s performance of “Winner.” She was farther up in line passing them out and her mom, who was standing two people ahead of us, could sense my manic “OH PLZ, ME ME ME” anxiety so she nodded toward me and her daughter came over and banner’d me up :)

Henry declined as usual. Ugh. Not much of a Jjinggu.

(Onew’s fan name! I actually wasn’t sure if he had one but when Megan decided she wanted to stan him, she asked me and I was like, “………you know, I’m not sure!” Then I saw it mentioned on Reddit and almost died because it’s such a cute name. Onew’s real name is Jinki, and the word for “friends” in Korean is CHINGU which you would KNOW of you pay attention to my free teachings here on OH HONESTLY, ERIN DOT COM. A double j is the equivalent of the “ch” sound so…Jjinggus is a mash-up of his name and chingu – Jinki’s friends!)

Henry was commenting on the fact that it was a “strange crowd” meaning notsomuch that it was a collection of strange people, but moreso that there were a LOT of people in line who wouldn’t necessarily be pegged as a Kpop stan. Lots of older (and I mean like even older than Henry) people but it makes sense because SHINee is second gen, so they do have lots of senior fans at this point.

I just had a really good feeling about this, is all I mean to say.

!!!!!!!

OK, Fillmore! I want to say right off the bat that the staff was exceptional and the theater itself was a dream. I was so excited for Onew – while he definitely performs in much larger venues throughout Asia, I really knew he would shine here at the Fillmore.

We were in our seats by 6:30ish, I’d say, which was great until I noticed that the show didn’t start until 7:30. People-watching time! There were mostly older women in the row in front of us – one of them looked to be in her early 70s and she was fucking SHAKING IT throughout nearly the whole show so props to her, living her best golden age! There is just something so inspiring about seeing people of an older generation lose their minds at a concert. I hate to admit this, but younger Erin would have FOR SURE mocked this display and then ran home to post all catty-like about it in her offensive and problematic LiveJournal, but adult Erin understands the true rarity of this type of joy and hopes that she too still experiences this kind of music-related happiness in her elder years.

I guess that is GROWING UP.

Henry tries so hard to be like me so he had to run and grab an IPA before the show started. I had had ENOUGH beer (like, the equivalent of two throughout the entire day!) but I was happy to steal some sips from his can. I am definitely not the type of person who needs to drink at a concert.

MANSPREADING. I took this and sent it to Chooch, who was sick in Philly that weekend but not sick enough to care to live vicariously through us.

And then at 7:30PM, it was Onew Time! He apologized for not having a band or dancers, but yo – if anyone can and SHOULD own a stage on his own, it’s Onew. His stage presence and vocals were beyond, next level, on point, divo coded. Pick one! The vibes were immaculate, as they say.

I knew immediately that this was going to be a night I’ll never forget. When I first REALLY started paying attention to Kpop, I remember looking to see if any of the groups ever toured here because please remember that prior to this, I was an emo girlie, a Sad Boy Music groupie, going to cheap shows at tiny venues so I had NO idea if this stuff was popular here in the States. It was apparently still pretty niche back then but JUST popular enough that some of the bigger groups in Korea were selling out arenas here in the States. I remember getting excited when I saw that SHINee was coming here soon (I feel like this was winter of 2017) so I looked it up and saw that none of the shows were near Pgh and they were all sold-out anyway, lol. That was the last time SHINee was in the States. At the end of that year, Jonghyun took his life, leaving them as a 4-member group and they never came back to the US again.

I am still so scarred by this, still cry over Jonghyun, still think of him heavily on the anniversary of his passing, still keep a framed picture of him on my bedroom wall in reverie.

Kpop may seem like “tone deaf bubblegum bullshit” to some, but it is so special to me and some of these singers have my whole heart. Onew is one of them. So, being a Shawol and missing the chance to see SHINee in their prime, I feel very grateful that I was able to see Taemin AND Onew in the same year!

Sorry, these pictures are basically screenshots from my videos so they are shitty quality, but I need to always remember how precious he looked on this night!

OK, I try not to record too much, but I recorded this full song because it’s one of my favorites and it’s also the exact song that got Megan to stan him so I wanted to send it to her. His vocals are so angelic!! He was so perfect all night. Even Henry said he wasn’t bored during the ballads and that’s usually where singers lose his attention. I kept sneaking peeks at him and he seemed to be focused the whole time!  I mean, he wasn’t moving or emoting, but his eyes were opened and directed at the stage. That’s a big deal.

And “Beat Drum”!!

And “Yay”!

For his encore, he came out with a basket of balls and was sad that he his aim wasn’t powerful enough to get them up to the balcony from the stage (I understood this without having to rely on the translator he had with him! My contextual Korean is semi-decent as long as no one asks me to repeat it back word for word) so he came down off the stage and walked closer to the balcony – I was so nervous that someone was going to fall over because people were clotheslining themselves along the edge, trying to get closer so they could catch one of his balls. I’m not sure what was inside but NCT127 does this too at their concerts – the last one I went to, someone at the end of my row, like 3 people down from me, caught one.

So, that was entertaining.

I think the ONLY annoying thing of the whole night was the girl in front of me who appeared to be anywhere from 15 to 20, I truly couldn’t tell, who was with some broad that looked much older but not her mother? I didn’t get mother-daughter vibes from these two, but the older one had opera glasses with her and the younger one kept leaning back into my sightline so that she could record the older one dancing or singing or fake-crying, I have no idea what was going on but I was like, “CAN YOU HAVE SOME SPATIAL AWARENESS PLEASE, STAY IN YOUR BOUNDARIES.” It only happened a view times but it was so annoying because every time, she blocked my whole view with her idiot head.

The two girls next to me were both singles. The one right next to me recorded the whole entire show, no stopping. Henry’s big oaf body ruined her video though because he got up once in between songs when Onew was talking because he wanted to grab a shirt for me rather than waiting in line after the show. I admit that I do break my “only short clips” rule depending on the concert and will sometimes record the entire song if it’s a BIG FAVE of mine, like something that goes on the perpetual playlist, but I can’t fathom having the endurance or lack of self-consciousness to blatantly hold up my phone through an entire concert. She didn’t seem to be blocking anyone’s view so…cool I guess.

SETLIST:

1. Focus
2. Shape of My Heart
3. O (Circle)
4. Boy
5. Dice
6. Beat Drum
7. Graduation
8. Love Phobia
9. All Day
10. Always
11. Illusion
12. MAD
13. Starry Night (acapella snippet where he said that in Korea, this is the song on the setlist where the fans sing with him but he took it off the US set list. He was like, “Do you want to try to sing some of it together?” and then it all fell apart because only some of the crowd could sing the Korean parts so Onew laughed and said, “Yeah, I think it was a good idea that I took  this off the list” and it was so genuinely funny I love him so fucking much)
14. In the Whale – !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVES AND I DID NOT THINK WE WOULD BE HEARING THIS THAT NIGHT!!!!!!
15. Maestro
16. Yay
17. Winner

ENCORE

1. Hola!
2. Conversation
3. Promise You

Oh, what a beautiful night. Even Henry taking this terrible picture of me couldn’t ruin the vibe.

Then we stopped at a gas station for snacks and bev – Henry the Beer Monster got ANOTHER beer to take back to the hotel and then later saw a WARNING NOTICE that Michigan Law prohibits alcohol from being brought into a hotel, for some reason? “Oh well,” he shrugged, and continued drinking it as the ubiquitous “Friends” reruns played on the TV in the background. Wow, what a fucking rebel.

Anyway, this is a mirror selfie from the lobby of the hotel.

The show was over pretty early (by 9:30!) I guess because since it was just Onew and he didn’t have wardrobe changes, there was no need for the typical VCRs that happen at other Kpop concerts, where the artists leave the stage and you watch some recorded content until they return in new outfits and the stage set is swapped out. This was just Onew churning out song after song on his own and it was EXCEPTIONAL.

On the drive home the next day, I blurted out, “I have to admit something to you and it’s something that I have been thinking about heavily.” Henry looked v. concerned.

“I think I liked Onew’s concert better than Taemin’s,” I said all in one quick mashed-up sentence.

Henry considered this and then said, “Yeah, I can see that.”

Look. Brenda, listen to me before you start running your mouth, OK? It’s just that Taemin is A PERFORMER. He’s a DANCER. He brings dancers with him and has costume changes and elaborate stages. But in America, he performed at small theaters where he was contained to tiny stages and it just really stifled him. Yes, of course he was still fabulous and of course I was ecstatic to have gotten tickets to see him. But it’s just that I know he does HUGE concerts in Asia and this just felt like it did him no justice.

But Onew is a SINGER. He is known for his distinct vocals and incredible singing ability. He performs in musicals, he acts, he singer opera. This man does not need bell and whistles – just a stage, a mic, and his voice. He was incredible and kept me captivated to the end. I felt absolutely OBSESSED by the time we walked out of the theater, and we listened to him the whole way home the next day in the car. I mean, I obviously already loved him so much that I named our car after him (“You did?” Henry recently said, and I was like THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN, I EVEN BLOGGED ABOUT IT THE DAY WE BROUGHT THE CAR HOME?!??“) but it’s on another level now.

Oh, I also want to add that a few years ago, Onew went on a suspicious “hiatus” right after SHINee had a comeback, so they did all of their music show performances and concerts as a three-piece. He looked REALLY gaunt and unhealthy, and then just kind of went off the grid for about a year to the point where I was like, “HENRY CALL SM ENTERTAINMENT AND TELL THEM THAT YOU’RE A CONCERNED KPOP DAD AND DEMAND TO KNOW IF HE’S OK?!” and Henry was like, “Yeah, I’ll get right on that.” But in all seriousness, it was so concerning and handled very poorly by SM (not shocking). Eventually, he made a vague post on IG and we were all so relieved that he was still alive. Shortly after, it was announced that he (and soon after, Taemin) had decided to not renew his contract with SM and signed with Griffin, who has been taking such great care of him. He has been releasing SO MUCH music and then got to come to the US for a tour! Same with Taemin. SM would never send them here. Onew looks so happy and healthy, and as a true fan, that is what you love to see.

Stan Onew!!

I’m a big advocate of post-meal walk-abouts, constitutionals, digestive jaunts – whatever you want to call it. I like to walk after eating. Especially after having been in the car for 4 hours. So, after our so-so Batch Brewing lunch, Henry suggested the Detroit River Walk, as if I would ever say no to that. Right away, we saw a carousel, but it was closed. :(

I begged him to please wear the BooSeokSoon hat that I got him for Christmas, which he has worn NOT ONCE, and he was a big baby about it because he’s ashamed of his Kpop heritage, I guess. Finally, he agreed but said the moment I started being mean to him, it was going in the river. LOL ok, sure, Captain M.T.Threat.  I love this hat so much! I specifically got in a color other than black because ALL OF HIS HATS ARE BLACK, so now he uses the “it doesn’t match anything” excuse. Looks pretty complementary against his burnt orange shirt, if you ask me.

In case you care, BooSeokSoon (a/k/a BSS, a/k/a the gag trio) is a sub-unit of the Kpop group Seventeen. They actually started out as a joke but the fans loved the combo so much that they’re a legit sub-unit now with albums and music videos, and we love them in this house.

Boo = Boo Seungkwan

Seok = Lee Seokmin (his Seventeen stage name is Dokyeom / DK)

Soon = Kwon Soonyoung (his Seventeen stage name is Hoshi)

Here’s a compilation of clips from when they got to hang out with THE LEGENDARY G-DRAGON recently, and it made my Carat/VIP heart swell to abnormal, undocumented sizes.

OK now that I got that out of my system, here are more pictures of the RIVER WALK which is right across from Canada! (Windsor, I believe? I think that is what Jessi told us the next at breakfast.)

Some buildings.

Some mural.

For as many times as we have been to Michigan in general, visiting Bill & Jessi, going to concerts, etc., this was the most amount of time we have spent *in* Detroit. I really want to spend more time there sometime and maybe GO ON THIS BOAT??? It looked so cool. I love river stuff.

Henry is so annoying. BUT ALSO DOESN’T THAT HAT MATCH WELL WITH HIS SHIRT??? I am a big color theory expert.

Then we joined that pro-Canada, Fuck Trump rally that I previously posted about from our hotel room last Saturday night. 

I don’t know what this pose is and I look like trash, but I’m leaving it here though because of Canada <3 looming behind me like the big, beautiful sovereign country it is.

After this, we drove about 20 minutes out of the city to check into our hotel, a Hampton Inn near the Detroit airport, specifically in Romulus. The first time we stayed in this area, I made a joke about how maybe the next time, we could stay in Remus, but it bombed, as Biblical jokes usually do.

This particular Hampton was actually a pretty decent hotel, good job, Henry. It was nearly 4PM by this point, and doors opened at 6PM for the Onew concert so I was in a big hurry to get back downtown and find real food before that, since our lunch was more of a snack than anything else. I didn’t want to be Big Hungry after the concert and needed to eat something sustainable. When you’re an old person, you start pre-planning the types of meals you need to have based on the events you’ll be attending later. Love this for me.

I started screaming when we came up on the Fillmore!!

Little did we know that not only was a baseball game JUST letting out, but it was a double-header so it was a chaotic flux of crowds coming and going. Luckily, we pre-paid for a parking spot in a lot right between the baseball stadium and the Fillmore, so we had that going for us. However, it made it miserable trying to find a place to eat because all of the people leaving the game had teh same idea. I am now super-familiar with three or four blocks of downtown Detroit and it’s much nicer than Pittsburgh, BTW – so lively and lots of cool & fancy shops. Pittsburgh could never. Detroit definitely does not live up to the bad rap it gets.

The original place we were going to eat was Detroit Beer Co. but there was a wait of course, so we kept walking in circles, with no back-up plan, me getting hangrier and hangrier. AND it was kind of chilly and I didn’t have a jacket so I was Mrs. Miz about that too. Then I got very mad because some older man walked by us and he was also complaining about the cold, so his wife goes, “Oh, it’s not that cold. Look, THAT guy is wearing shorts!” and gestured bigly toward Henry. Henry of course gloated about this and that did NOTHING to boost my morale.

We were going to go this fast-food looking place called Mister Dips in a super trendy alley. We were actually standing in line to order when my stomach started to preemptively cramp up on me – the thought of eating an Impossible Burger and then going to a (seated!) concert was making me have hives. In the end, I decided to leave and find something else, but I am keeping this place in mind for the next visit because it looked totally my style!

At the very least, I want one of their shakes!

I thought I did a pretty good job not “throwing a fit,” but I was definitely grumpy. We even went back to the parking lot and sat in the car for a bit before deciding to try Eminem’s Mom’s Spaghetti which is right next to the Fillmore. There’s a walk-up window so we were going to do that and just eat in the car like a pair of hungry, de-homed rats, until we realized that the line we thought was for the Onew concert was actually for the walk-up window. (Oh don’t worry, the Onew line was also long, but it was on the OTHER side of the Fillmore.)

We ended up roaming around again and this time, the Detroit Beer Co has no one waiting in the entrance! We got a table almost immediately and I silently thanked the good Onew for sprinkling the town with his Jinki magic dust.

I was so happy and content. I ordered vegan pasta which was light and just the right amount of filling. And I had this seriously delicious IPA from actually some other brewery, not Detroit Beer haha. It was M-43 N.E. from Old Nation Brewing Co. and now I would like to go visit their establishment sometime!

I really liked the vibe of this place. We were seated by a busboy who reminded me of a younger, nerdier version of Henry’s son Robbie. He was really nice and I felt so bad for him when these two SPORTS DUDES came in, sat at the table behind me, and asked him to PUT THE BASKETBALL GAME ON. The remote / cable / TV in general was really giving this kid a tough time and I sat there helplessly watching him. The TV was right behind Henry, who was in the bathroom, so it was just me and this kid locked into an awkward scene together while the SPORTS GUYS sat behind me and talked SUPER LOUDLY about their SPORTS KNOWLEDGE even though we were the only two tables in this corner – there was no one even remotely within ear shot for them to be trying to impress. I hate white men so much, truly I do. I glanced over my shoulder a few times and they looked just as I had imagined – a few years out of college but still hanging on to the glory years, bearded, big outdoor voices for no reason. The one – the loudest – kept  talking about when he was in Turkey.

WHEN I WAS IN TURKEY.

MY TURKISH FRIEND IN TURKEY.

I know, everyone reading this is like, “OK Erin but replace TURKEY with KOREA—” but I would just like to note here that at least I use my indoor voice when I am constantly reminding everyone around me that HEY GUYS REMEMBER HOW I WENT TO KOREA.

Been a while since we were treated to a COLESLAW MASTICATION shot. I wish I had more of these so I could make a “60 Photos of Henry Slawin’ Down” commemorative book for his upcoming 60th birthday. :(

Henry also ordered a beer as an afterthought, and it took our server (who was great if not slightly flustered) an extremely long time to bring it, and I was doing the big foot-tapping song & dance because it was almost 6PM and I wanted to leave and get in line for the concert. She finally brought it over around 5:50 and I was trying to make him chug it.

“This is not chuggable!” he borked, so I tried it and it immediately burnt the tip of my tongue which is probably a good indication that Henry had the right call there. I went back for another sip and I actually liked it so I kept stealing more sips to “help him.”

Overall, a decent place for pre-concert food and drinks! The pasta was very light and flavorful (and it had artichokes, which I love in pasta when it’s done right) and did not lay in my belly like a load of bricks so I was able to comfortably enjoy Onew and his heavenly vocals. (That will of course be another post!)

Well, in case anyone is wondering, we’re well over 24 hours of no power here in my part of Pittsburgh. It is what it is as the wise whoever say. I had to take a PTO day for today and I guess I’ll be going into the office tomorrow (which by the way had some windows blow out during yesterday’s storm so that is also not great, but I guess it’s still open). The dumb electric co says it could be 5-7 DAYS before everything is fully restored and uh, excuse me what? I know there are far worse problems out there than this but you gotta be kidding me. I was not built for this type of pioneer lifestyle lol.

I took a shower tonight and then had to take my hairdryer to Henry’s work to dry my hair. Most of our food is now in a cooler, and the things we don’t need right away are in the fridge at Henry’s work.

Today I was so bored that I went on four walks and listened to an entire audio book. I spent most of the day on the backporch with Penelope and she was so confused like, “bitch why are you staring at me.”

We passed a Duquesne Light truck on our thwarted walk to Potomac Station and I was like “FIX US! OR TEACH ME HOW TO DO IT! GIVE ME RUBBER GLOVES AND A BOOST!

I think the part that pissed me off the most was when, ok wait two parts:

1. we walked to Potomac Station to get a treat only to see that they closed EARLY TODAY even though they had POWER and taped up some pisspoor sign apologizing for the inconvenience. Well yeah, they DID inconvenience me, actually and a Sharpie-scrawled “apology” is NOT good enough. Boycotting them, effective immediately.
2. my neighbor (on the other side of HNC) who is also THE LANDLORDS SON and I truly hate them both, came home with a GENERATOR so now we have to sit here and listen to his generator generating knowing that his trashy NRA-shirt-wearing ass has power while we’re over here having to actually converse with each other because there is NO YOUTUBE TO MUTE EACH OTHER.

(OMG Henry is walking around with a headlamp on lol.)

Oh and speaking of HNC, I got a very Yinzer check-in from him:

“Not!” seriously cracked me up but also the Dancin Girl he’s referencing is that pinball glass sign we have in our kitchen which he can see from HIS kitchen window, and has brought it up numerous times like, bro how often are you peering into our house n’at (sorry I was trying to feel out Yinzer lingo and it is definitely not for me, just like pioneer womanhood).

Then he immediately followed it up with “call me if u can.” Ugh, I did too because I’m a sucker and I think there may have been a point to the call but it seemed like he mostly just wanted to chat?? I will say though that he is a very nice and concerned neighbor, and even offered to lend us some of the coolers he went and cleaned out for makeshift refrigeration purposes. He is also wanting to help out in a pinch and even though his wife hates squirrels, you gotta appreciate the humanity and good neighboring there.

Anyway, it is now 9pm, my hair is office-ready, Henry put a new battery in the transistor radio* (LOL) and I am drinking a BEER (it’s a VOODOO IPA, one of my faves!). I know I said no more drinking at home BUT I feel like I have two reasons:

• Getting thru this mini-doomsday
• Celebrating a promotion that I got that officially starts tomorrow

Chooch-in-Philly thinks it’s so wild and entertaining that we’re over here roughing it. Ugh and sigh.

*(ugh the first song that came on with the new battery is the Eagles’ “Take it Easy.” I cannot take it easy right now don’t tell me what to do, DON HENLEY OR WHATEVER EAGLE SINGS THIS ONE GLENN FREY WHO CARES.)

It’s currently 9:18pm and the electricity in large swathes of Pgh has been out since around 5pm when some tornado-esque storm blew through and I am sitting here in candlelight bemoaning my new pioneer woman status while blogging from my phone. I’m also dying a little because when we were cleaning out my pappap’s house in 2016 I found an old transistor radio in a kitchen cabinet and brought it home – sometimes I turn it on in the 1980s dream kitchen for the lofi vibes but now Henry has it on because we literally need SOUND in this house right now. Ugh, knock knock electric company. Let’s gooooo.

I dunno is that what a transistor radio is?

In the meantime, here are some pictures of our brewery lunch in Detroit on Saturday! I was really excited for this but it was kind of a let down. The beers were ok but the vibes were off, fam. Unlit, just like my house right now.

Apropos of nothing, I was wearing my SHINee Obama pin on Saturday in honor of Onew <3

Lil baby pours. I think we got all IPAs and a Pilsner. Everything was just fine but nothing made me slam my fists on the table and feel inspired to, I dunno, lift my shirt up.

The fuck, Henry…

I hate ordering from QR codes. All of the “veg” options for the tacos were “out of stock” so I ended up with a side salad and mushroom soup. I didn’t finish either. The soup was really good for the first two spoonfuls then I started to hyper focus on the taste.

Henry got cauliflower wings and I usually love me some cauli-wings but these had a…taste. I can’t explain it but my tongue was like no thank YOU.

The beers, in case I need to reference them at some point in the future. You never know.

A tasteful Untappd snap.

Yeah I don’t know. I probably wouldn’t return here but it wasn’t AWFUL. We did up end up getting a soft pretzel to share and THAT was good.

Well on that note I better go and conserve my phone battery because who knows how much longer we’ll be in the dark over here. Cries in pitch black.

We had the best weekend in Detroit seeing one of my absolute faves, Onew from SHINee. There is so much to unpack but I want to just say for now that our good friends Bill & Jessi (two more of my absolute faves!) made time to meet us for breakfast this morning before we headed back to Pittsburgh. We met at the Red Apple, a local joint that they first took us to probably the first time we visited them I think?! We’ve gone back several times with them since and it’s just a whole vibe – cozy and frozen in time, the perfect backdrop for breakfast and good convo.

I just love how we only see each other once a year but it always feels like we pick right back up. I told Henry on the way up yesterday that I couldn’t wait to tell them about Janna falling into the grave (look in my head it happened, ok??) because I knew they’d appreciate it AND THEY DID.

It was sad not having Chooch with us. His presence was missed big time. Bill & Jessi have always been THOSE family friends to him, you know? He has such a great relationship with them and I attribute a lot of who has grown into to the good quality friends of ours who have been there for him all these years, and Bill & Jessi are definitely that. And we’re all at that age now where we find ourselves openly marveling over how long we’ve been friends, every time we meet up! God bless, LiveJournal.

It’s not that I haven’t always appreciated my friends but you know how weird I have been lately! Every day feels like one big ‘ment’ anymore. (For you non-kpop fans, ments are when kpop artists talk during the concerts about how special the night is, etc. literally “sentiments.”) And I always feel like I’m in a safe space with them. I talked/cried about Drew and didn’t feel judged or that they were uncomfortable by my crying. I guess I didn’t realize how badly I needed to talk about it.

Anyway, enough blathering! It was just really the perfect end cap for a fantastic weekend and I am super full of gratitude. (I know, WHO AM I.)

Today on a spontaneous visit to Detroit’s River Walk, we stumbled upon a pro-Canada, anti-Trump rally and I said, “WE ARE JOINING!” Sadly, it was already on the tail end but we did get to spend about 15 minutes standing in solidarity listening to speakers and showing support for the Canadians directly across the river. I really hope the outcome of their upcoming election is a positive one!

A woman was passing out small Canadian flags and if there is one thing I learned from standing in line at kpop concerts, it’s that if you want a freebie, ya gotta go and get that freebie. She was so sweet and even asked to take a picture of my panda necklace for her daughter who is an artist. It was such a pure interaction. Henry didn’t stick around for it.

Of course I got really upset which is basically just my current mood these days anyway so who cares. Also, extreme anger that wracks my body. But this still felt energizing in a way. Solidarity in numbers. Being a part of the right (but not RIGHT) side of history.

I wish I had it in me to pick up a speakerphone and intelligently articulate my thoughts to a crowd but…I’m all swears and feet-stamping when it comes to Frump and fElon.

I bought these pins there too and am especially excited about the Jasmine Fan Club one!

But yeah, just in case anyone didn’t already know where I stand.

I’M WRITING THIS ON CHOOCH’S 19TH BIRTHDAY, BTW!!! It feels so strange not getting to celebrate with him in person, and knowing him, none of his Drexel friends even know it’s his birthday. My work group chat wants to pool monies and hire a skywriter to fly over Drexel, lol. “HBD CHOOCH A/K/A RILEY, MOMMY LOVES YOU.”

I did buy him tickets to the Men I Trust concert this September, which as you know, I will always associate with the maybe-dead-body we saw upon leaving the Mattress Factory. :/

Anyway, in lieu of having real time birthday stuff to share on here, here’s some pictures from the second half our day in Philly last Saturday.

I have wanted to check out Laurel Hill Cemetery since years before Chooch started going to college in Philly and it finally happened last weekend! Lucky for Chooch, HENRY left the DSLR at home so the Easter photoshoot I had in my hopes and dreams was dashed – however, Chooch was also sick with a cold so I likely would have let him off the hook anyway. Instead, we just took some casual photos which was still annoying to Chooch.

But come on, dude. Moms need pics of their kids, no matter the age!

I loved this classic hearse! I had to send pictures to my dad who has always been a classic car aficionado. He responded right away with his guess of year – “Neat – looks about a 1948” he replied.

Dude, this donut bag pops up in every picture, I swear. It was even sitting on a wall later on when Chooch was taking pictures of me and Henry “running,” and I had to crop it out. (THAT WAS YESTERDAY’S POST IN CASE YOU MISSED IT.)

If this was Korea, we would have had to wait in line to get these pictures. Trees are famous in Korea! And the ones here in Laurel Hill were poppin’ off this spring. The juxtaposition of decrepit tombstones and bright florals was so my vibe.

FYI – Chooch got that shirt last fall when he won dodgeball or something.

Honestly, I didn’t even know he was sick until halfway during our cemetery walk when was like, “Leave me alone, I’m sick” and I was like, “Wait, you are?” and he was like, “Hello, have you not seen me coughing this entire time??”

All the moms are momming.

Then there’s me.

Me taking dumb selfies and apparently ignoring the symphony of sickn emanating from my child.

Mwah. Chef’s kiss. This place probably looks impeccably macabre on a rainy day, too.

Maybe this is where we’ll take Chooch’s college graduation portraits?!

I love a cem with layers.

Like a cake.

But old and rotted.

I am really so deep in my feelings over this birthday. 19!! This whole past year has made me question life and time every single time. Who am I? What is my purpose now? Just lots of panic and sadness. And confusion.

You can take tours here but we didn’t have enough time. I do know that the Rittenhouse guy is buried here (there is a Rittenhouse building thing in Philly so that’s my only knowledge of him) and the broad who petitioned the government to recognize Thanksgiving as a federal holiday.

I learned this by watching “Philly cemetery” vids on YouTube, which is also how I found a news clip of a recent incident at a local Philly cem where the pallbearers FELL INTO THE BURIAL HOLE and there was a video of it happening which, OK THIS IS NOT TRULY FUNNY, but that sick and dark part of me started cracking up and I sent it to Corey and said, “I AM PICTURING JANNA FALLING INTO AN OPEN GRAVE NOW AND US MAKING HER DO IT OVER SO WE CAN RECORD IT” and he was like, “OMG YES!”

Quick, someone ask Janna to be a pallbearer!!

Chooch in the middle of criticizing / judging / mocking me. Normalcy!

And me in the process of making sure he’s being in an active participant in our MOMMY / SON photo sesh.

Donut bags.

None of us have seen this movie, but maybe you have so this could be interesting to you.

(Who are you?)

This is in the “Millionaires” section.

I Wiki’d this guy for you:

An English American industrialist who founded the Keystone Saw Works in 1840 and developed the surrounding Tacony neighborhood of Philadelphia to build housing for his workers. His company became the Disston Saw Works and was the top manufacturer of hand saws in the United States during the late 19th-century and early 20th century.

Boring.

SERIOUSLY, GO OFF QUEEN!!!

I feel bad that these are in the worst part, butted up against a chainlink fence along a busy road, but here’s some Rocky stuff for you. Chooch mumbled, “I guess I’ll take a picture too, ugh.” LOL.

After this, Chooch got to drive for the first time in Philly. He asked “an undisclosed friend” for some cafe recs and we ended up at Greek from Greece around the corner from his dorm. I got a butterfly pea latte and it was very refreshing! If we hadn’t had donuts, I’d have definitely gotten something from the dessert display there. They had orange pie! Next time. Next time.

I didn’t think so, but thank you, Mirror.

And that concludes another visit with Chooch!

WHO BTW JUST SENT ME THESE PICTURES AFTER I BEGGED HIM TO MAKE PICTURES OF JANNA FALLING INTO A GRAVE!!!!!

She looks so happy! “Wheeee!” Also, the way her torso and legs are facing opposite directions is sending me!