get stoked for 2024….?

Well, here we are, like anything is different but the GOSH DARN date.

(I’m trying to swear less in 2024.)

(Sike.)

(I’m bringing “sike” back in 2024.)

I don’t have any resolutions per se, like, things I want to quit, etc. But as with every year, I want to be more present in my friends’ lives and I feel like it never works as well as I hope. As much as I’m glad to be off of Facebook, it does make me the odd one out when it comes to missing big announcements and seeing my friends’ kids grow up, etc. I know back in the old days, we would just call each other with news or send an email god forbid, but I can’t expect everyone to be like, “Oh yeah, Erin!” and then send me a special text or email about life events. So…I need to be better at checking in, and that’s that!

What else…

Always up for making new friends. I got to finally meet Lindsey (twice!) last year and I hope there’s more fun lunches to come! I need to dust off* some of my older friendships too and actually make hangouts happen rather than just going through the motions. Like, sending a text with, “We need to catch up. Here are some dates and places to eat. Pick one of each. Alternatively, come to my house for pizza and to be served by Henry.”

I CAN BE MILITANT WHEN I NEED TO BE so I better get a solid, confident response after the initial text, none of this wishy-washy bullshit.

*(I did reconnect with someone from my childhood though and that was a really special thing that happened in 2023!)

More game nights? We only had ONE last year and it was impromptu.

More weekend day trips? We have lots of time now that Chooch doesn’t care about us. I asked Henry where we could and he was like, “You have lived in Pgh all of your life,  you know what is close” and yeah OK but I want him to tell me?? I like to find sickening-looking donut places and/or artery-clogging vegan fast food places to travel to. And I really want to go to CALL YOUR MOTHER deli!

(Am I ever going to come back to this post for reference, or am I typing just to type while waiting for dinner?)

We don’t have any amusement park trips planned yet, but I’m sure we will go to some. I did unilaterally decide that we should just make Dollywood our Thanksgiving tradition. I told Chooch and he was like, “What makes you think I’m going to vacation with you losers when I’m 18 and in college?” Wow OK. Cool.

I just want 2024 to be fulfilling and less stressful if possible than 2023, where I ended the year having what I believe were actual, clinical panic attacks throughout the month of December (starting the day and evening of Chingumas, actually) where my heart was fluttering out of control and I actually thought perhaps I was having a heart attack. I have never had anxiety/stress/panic that bad probably since 2016 aka The Year of the House / 116 Gillcrest. I was actually so scared one day last week while I was working that I called Henry and considered going to the hospital, but I truly think I was panicking.

So yeah, hopefully none of that in 2024. Maybe more quiet time would be nice, if I can actually get myself to do nothing?!!? How do you do nothing?! I was supposed to go to brunch with some friends on Saturday (it was ultimately postponed) and there was the option to go to a nearby spa first. Three of them were like “LET’S DO ITTTTT” and I was like, “LOL no thanks.” Like, me? Sitting/laying still and having a relaxing experience? No sir.

Well, one thing I can promise is that this blog will probably either stay at its current level of useless, or dip even deeper into worthless territory.

Bye!