Tag Archives: party

Another Low-Key Halloween (or Still Doing Punny Costumes)

Posted on November 8, 2023 | Comments Off on Another Low-Key Halloween (or Still Doing Punny Costumes)

I’m always so grateful that not only do I have a fun group of friends to celebrate Halloween with each year, but the party is always both low-key and creative. Some people go all out with their costumes and it’s so fun to see what people come up with. But not everyone does that so if you go without a costume or in a simple costume, you don’t stand out too much. So it’s perfect no matter what your mood might be with a costume.

I usually do a simple costume since I have a bit of a drive to get to the party. I know I could wear regular clothes to drive and then change when I get there, but I like having something that is easy to put together when I get to the party and to remove when it’s time to drive home. Since I do simpler costumes, I tend to have a costume that has some pun to it. I have a fun time figuring out what to be and how to accomplish it. Sometimes it’s easier to make a plan than others, but I always enjoy what costume I come up with.

This year, I was stuck for a bit with what I should do for Halloween. Nothing was really jumping out at me or inspiring me, so I just kept looking online to see what I would connect with. It took a bit of time, but I found the perfect punny costume. I dressed as a third wheel.

I actually don’t remember how the person dressed that I was inspired by online. I just remember that their version of the costume wasn’t something I could do or wanted to do. So I had to think of my own version of it and I was pretty happy with what I came up with.

It’s not super easy to tell from the photo, but what I did was print out a picture of a wheel and attach it to a headband with a zip tie. Then I made little stickers of different celebrity couples and I put those all over my shirt when I got to the party. I liked how it turned out and I was happy with what I was able to create. Especially since I didn’t have to buy anything for the costume so it was nice to save money.

The only downside to my costume was that not everyone got it right away. I guess it was an easier costume to guess when you knew what it was. But I got some interesting guesses from friends when they didn’t know what I was. The one I got the most was the paparazzi. I guess I can see how the wheel looked a bit like a flash and I had photos of celebrities on me. But it was funny how many people guessed that. Once I said what I was, everyone thought it was really clever.

As always with these parties, the main focus while I was there was catching up with my friends. I saw most of them at my birthday party, so it hadn’t been that long since we had a chance to hang out. But it also seemed like so many people had a lot of things that happened in the last month or two. I’m glad I was able to be there and catch up face-to-face instead of just online. I know I’ve always appreciated the time I’ve been able to spend with my friends in person, but I appreciate it even more now after the isolation of the worst of the pandemic. And I try to take advantage of the time that I do get with my friends more because I never know if something will happen where we won’t be able to be together in person for a while. I never thought like that before, but now it’s something I think about quite a bit.

Normally, I’m at the Halloween party for the costume contest to see who wins. I know I won’t place since other people have much better costumes, but I like to see how my friends vote. But this year, things were a bit later than normal because a lot of the people who go to the party were in a play that was happening that night. So they weren’t going to be able to be at the party until after the show was done. I wanted to stick around as late as I could to see everyone and see the costume contest, but I got really tired at the time I normally leave and had to head home before I was too tired to drive. I’m sad I didn’t get to see everyone or see who had the best costumes, but I’m glad I got to see some of my friends and have a fun night out!

And now, I have about a year to think of my next funny and punny costume to wear to a Halloween party. And hopefully, that costume will be one that will be easier for other people to guess.

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Default ThumbnailLow-Key Halloween (or A Work In Progress) Default ThumbnailLow Key Halloween (or Costume Flashback) Default ThumbnailHaving To Explain My Costume (or An Almost Normal Halloween) Default ThumbnailBeing A Word Nerd (or A More Normal Halloween Celebration) Default ThumbnailA Halloween Outing (or Dressing Up As Me) Default ThumbnailOscar Night (or A Very Low-Key Award Show)

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4th of July Fun (or Continuing The Traditions)

Posted on July 12, 2023 | Comments Off on 4th of July Fun (or Continuing The Traditions)

I think many people felt like having a holiday in the middle of the week was a bit odd. I have to agree. I only had the 4th off, so I worked Monday and Wednesday. Some people had an extra day off, but I was just happy to have an extra day off in the middle of the week. But that made things a bit harder to plan to celebrate the 4th, but fortunately, I could still have some fun.

The party that I go to most years for the 4th was the weekend before the holiday. But that was perfect for me since I didn’t want to stress about how early I might have to be up the next day. And that gave me some time to prepare something to bring with me. I don’t always have the time to make something, but I was grateful I did this year because I was able to bring drunk fruit again with me. This is something that I like to make since it’s easy, and it’s also something that people seem to love. And I had time the day before the party to get everything together.

I usually make it more than a day in advance, so this time they weren’t quite as potent as they have been in the past. Maybe since I was making them later, I should have added a little extra tequila, but normally the pre-made one is perfect for this. I still think everyone enjoyed them and I liked the combination of strawberries and watermelon.

The party was pretty low-key as they have been lately. It was a nice time to hang out with friends and have some good food. It wasn’t too hot, so we were all mostly outside during the party. And of course, my friends and I had to get our traditional photo done. We were missing one member of our group this year, but we still took a photo to add to the collection.

We’ve been doing this for almost 10 years now and only missed 2 years (one year due to the pandemic and one year due to my friends having a new puppy and not having a party). It’s so silly and ridiculous, but we also love it! And I think our other friends who are not in the photo but at the party get a laugh out of us acting a little crazy to get the photos done. But it’s such a fun thing to have to remember my friend group over the years. Also, considering how long we’ve been doing this, I don’t think any of us look like we’ve aged about 10 years!

I was at that party a bit later than I planned, but that was ok since I was able to sleep in the next day. And then I started my normal work week with work on Monday.

On the 4th, I slept in a bit and then went to a workout. I was debating about trying to make some plans to go watch fireworks or something else, but I ended up just hanging out at home and enjoying a day without work. I think a lot of my friends did the same since nobody really went out and did much. Maybe that’s a sign of us getting older or maybe that’s because it wasn’t a weekend and a few of my friends had a regular work day the next day like I did. But just having time to relax and not worry about doing much was nice and a luxury. On my days off, I’m usually trying to get errands done or other things I can’t do during the week. As much as I try to do all of those things on Saturdays so I can relax on Sundays, it doesn’t always work out that way for me. So I took advantage of this free time and didn’t stress about doing anything. It might not have been the most social holiday, but it was perfect for me.

I’m glad that I had the party the weekend before, so I had some nice social time and got to feel like I celebrated a holiday a bit. And I was able to take the day off work to make sure I was ready for the rest of the work week and feel a bit more refreshed when I have been a bit exhausted lately.

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Default Thumbnail4th Of July Weekend (or An Early Holiday) Default ThumbnailFinally Seeing Some Friends (or Having An Almost Normal 4th Of July) Default Thumbnail4th Of July On The 1st (or Another Awesome Party With Friends) Default ThumbnailFabulous 4th Of July (or Fireworks!) Default Thumbnail4th Of July (or Hot Dogs, Fireworks, And Rooftops) Default ThumbnailNot My Typically 4th Of July (or Taking Advantage Of A Day Off)

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Oscar Night (or A Very Low-Key Award Show)

Posted on March 16, 2023 | Comments Off on Oscar Night (or A Very Low-Key Award Show)

After going to the Artios Awards earlier in the week, I was ready for a casual party for watching the Oscars. I was going to go to the same party that I normally go to, and I usually try to wear something comfortable when I go since I spend most of my time there sitting and watching the show. But since it’s also a costume party, I try to figure out something fun to do that also isn’t too awkward to sit in. I seem to be pretty good at figuring out lazy costumes, but this year I was cutting it close with making a costume.

Since I hadn’t seen that many of the movies, I knew it wouldn’t be too easy for me to be inspired for my costume. So I decided to pay attention to the names of the movies and use that for my inspiration instead of the characters and storylines. And I think I figured out something that was really funny and easy. I decided to go as the movie “Blonde”. For my costume, I used a box I already had and printed a photo of a hair dye box and covered the box with that. I know I could have gone out to buy hair dye, but I was doing this about an hour before I was leaving for the party and it was much cheaper to do this. But I think the box turned out ok and my lazy costume came together.

I didn’t wear anything to go with the costume, so I knew that there was almost no chance I would win the costume contest. But I know that I never place in the costume contest so I don’t try too hard. I just like to make a costume of something and this worked perfectly for me.

I got to the party right as it started, which was about an hour before the show started. Since I am in a room watching the show for most of the time I’m there, I wanted to get my social time in during that hour. A bunch of people were there early as well, and we had a nice food spread that was much fancier than what we normally have. Right before the show started, I put together a little plate and brought it to where I would be watching.

There are two viewing areas at this party, the quiet room and the loud room. I’m always in the quiet room since I like to focus on the show. We do talk during commercial breaks and sometimes we say little comments to each other during the show, but for the most part, we are quiet. Most people at the party hang out in the loud room, so we are a small group and I didn’t really see people who showed up after the show started until I took a break to get something during a commercial break. It does feel a bit weird to not be social when so many of my friends are hanging out just one room away, but I think everyone understands that we will hang out a little later in the evening.

I really enjoyed the Oscars this year. The show didn’t feel long even though it was a bit longer than in some past years. I loved the speeches and everyone seemed like they were happy for each other. There was a nice sense of community at the show that I don’t remember seeing in the past and that made it feel more like a celebration of the work that was done in the past year versus a competition. I think there are some things they should still fix, such as letting the winners speak and not cutting them off, but there have been changes that they have been working on making and I think they are paying off.

Once the awards were done, we all gathered to vote on the best costume and see who guessed the most winners correctly. I sometimes do well with guessing the winners, but this year wasn’t my year. I missed so many of them and I think there were 8 people who did better than I did. But that’s ok since almost all my guesses were random and not based on seeing the movies. And I just have fun being around everyone and winning something at the party isn’t something I feel like I need.

I wish I was able to stay later than I did, but I needed to head home to get to bed early so I could get enough sleep before my workout. But even with the limited social time I had while I was there, I still had a great time seeing my friends and I know I’ll see them again at whatever the next party will be. And that next party will be much more social since we won’t have a 3 1/2 hour long show to focus on.

Maybe next year, I’ll have a more interesting costume or will have seen more movies so I can make more educated guesses on who the winners will be. But even if that doesn’t happen, I know I’ll still have a great time watching the show in the quiet room and being in my lazy and casual costume.

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Default ThumbnailA Night Of Oscars (or Last Minute Costumes and Enjoying The Show) Default ThumbnailOscar Party Time (or Feeling Inspired) Default ThumbnailLow-Key Halloween (or A Work In Progress) Default ThumbnailLow Key Labor Day (or Just A Regular Weekend) Default ThumbnailOscar Party (or Looking “Frozen”) Default ThumbnailStill Watching The Oscars With Friends (or Not Missing This Tradition For Anything)

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A Santa Barbara Birthday (or Happy 2nd Birthday Presley!)

Posted on February 22, 2023 | 1 comment

This past weekend was my niece Presley’s 2nd birthday. I was happy her birthday fell on the weekend because I was able to drive up for the day to celebrate with everyone. I wasn’t able to do that for her 1st birthday, but I still was able to go up the next day to be a part of a mini-celebration. But I was excited that I could be at her birthday party this time.

It was a small birthday party. The only non-family people there was another family that has 2 little boys around the same ages as my niece and nephew. But I think a bigger party might have been overwhelming for my niece, so a small party was perfect. And it was a really nice afternoon.

For most of the party, all 4 kids were busy playing with all the different toys my niece and nephew have. They have a few different little motorized toys, like garbage trucks and bulldozers. And they are still young enough that they weren’t turning them into bumper cars or anything. But what I think was one of the biggest hits was actually a gift I got my niece and nephew for Hanukkah this past year. I got them a mini-bounce house that was set up in the backyard. It was the perfect size for all the kids to play on it and they all kept going down the slide into the grass.

I’m so glad that my niece and nephew loved the bounce house since it can be tough to pick out good gifts for kids. But I had a good feeling that would be a hit and it was nice to see that it was!

Of course, since it was a birthday party, there were presents and cake (but cupcakes since it was a small party).

Opening all the presents was a bit overwhelming for Presley, so she opened most of them while I was there. But she did open the gift I got her, which was a little flower-building kit, while I was there and she did start playing with it right away. So I think that gift was another hit! I know that she has a lot of toys already, but I wanted to find something fun for her. I’ll probably try to find non-toy presents in the future, but it was fun to find something cute this time.

After a couple of hours, it was naptime for all the kids. So the other family headed home so their kids could nap and then my brother and sister-in-law worked on getting my niece and nephew down for their naps. Both kids were probably over-exhausted and were fighting a nap, but they went down after a bit of a fight. And when they were asleep, that was time for me to head out.

I could have stayed and hung out with my parents for a few hours, but I was going to see them again in a few days when they got to LA, so there really wasn’t a discussion or plan for me to stay in Santa Barbara through the afternoon. And I had things at home that I wanted to get done, so I was fine making the drive home so I could have the afternoon and evening to get things checked off of my errands list.

My nephew’s birthday is only about 6 weeks away, but since his birthday is on a weekday I’m not sure if I’ll make it to his party. I’ll just have to wait and see what day his party is planned for. I did give him his birthday present early since I didn’t want to have to ship it (and he wouldn’t really know the difference between getting it now or later). If I don’t make it to that party, I’m sure I’ll make it to Santa Barbara another time in the future. And I’m so glad that I was able to make it to Presley’s birthday party and have a nice family afternoon with everyone!

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Default ThumbnailCelebrating My Niece’s Birthday (or Another Santa Barbara Day) Default ThumbnailA Very Fast Trip To Santa Barbara (or Getting To Celebrate My Nephew’s Birthday A Little) Default ThumbnailA Big Family Day! (or A Birthday Party and Meeting Presley) Default ThumbnailI’m An Aunt Again! (or Welcome To The World Presley!) Default ThumbnailA Santa Barbara Afternoon (or Celebrating My Future Nephew!) Default ThumbnailA Little More Time In Santa Barbara (or Hanging Out With My Sister-In-Law)

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Another Low-Key New Year’s Eve (or At Least I Made It Until Midnight)

Posted on January 6, 2023 | Comments Off on Another Low-Key New Year’s Eve (or At Least I Made It Until Midnight)

I continued my tradition of having a low-key New Year’s Eve again. I know that some people love going out or going somewhere fancy and festive, but that’s just not who I am. I do love occasions where I can dress up, but not when it’s going to be super crowded and likely overpriced. So doing something that isn’t too fancy is much more my speed. And pretty much every year I do the same thing, hang out with my friends and just have a very easy evening.

I’m glad I got to spend time with my friends and it was a smaller group than normal for a few different reasons. But we all still had fun and a nice time being together. It was a little crazy getting there because of the rain storms, but at least I wasn’t in a rush to get there and could take my time while driving. And I lucked out and found a parking spot very close to my friend’s house so I didn’t have to walk too far in the rain.

Since it was storming, we all pretty much spent the evening inside. We sometimes went outside to get fresh air, but it was cold and windy as well. So I’m glad it was a smaller group since we were inside a lot more than normal. Everyone there also were people I knew so it wasn’t like I was around a lot of new people who I couldn’t be sure took as many precautions about things as my friends and I do.

And like many times when I’m with my friends, we just enjoyed spending time together and we didn’t need to do anything crazy. Most of the time I was there, I was just talking with my friends about various things. One of the friends in our group just moved back to LA so we were talking about their job hunt and move. We also occasionally would glance at the tv and joke about how we all must be old because we didn’t recognize the different performances going on. There was also some karaoke happening, but I don’t usually join in for that since I don’t sing. But I do love seeing my friends having fun.

Once it was closer to midnight, we started to play a new card game my friends got for Christmas. It was called Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza and it was really fun! There were some moments when we were all confused about a rule, but most of the time we were playing we were laughing and making fun of each other for some of the silly mistakes we made. I was shocked that I did well in the game, but I ended up not winning in the end. But that’s ok.

I was a bit tired while I was there and there were moments when I wondered if I would have to leave before midnight. I knew I didn’t want to drive if I was tired, especially in the rain. But after the game was over, it was only a few more minutes until midnight so I managed to stay late enough. And when it officially became 2023, we all celebrated together. A lot of people in our friend group have had a rough year (or a few years) and we could celebrate making it through another year and still all of us being in pretty good health.

Only a few minutes after midnight, I decided to head back home. There was a bit of a break in the rain so I wanted to drive before the next storm started. And I never like staying too late since I’m less likely to be on the road with a drunk driver right after midnight compared to an hour or two later. Maybe one year I’ll stay later, but I don’t mind leaving earlier than many of the others since I do have one of the longer drives home.

Once I was home, I realized I took no photos while I was at the party. Usually, I’ll take at least a few, but I guess I was more focused on spending time with my friends and enjoying the moment. So that’s ok with me. Even without photos, I know I had a nice New Year’s Eve and I have fun memories from that night. And I’m sure that in a year, I’ll be doing the same thing again with another low-key night and enjoying it just as much.

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Default ThumbnailA Very Low-Key NYE (or I’m Glad I Don’t Have To Impress My Friends) Default ThumbnailA Chill New Year’s Eve (or Getting To Have A Little Celebration) Default ThumbnailNew Year’s Eve In PJs (or I Think This Is Finally My Last NYE Post) Default ThumbnailLow Key Labor Day (or Just A Regular Weekend) Default ThumbnailA Very Chill and Low-Key Birthday (or Being Ok With Not Doing Much) Default ThumbnailLow-Key Halloween (or A Work In Progress)

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Being A Word Nerd (or A More Normal Halloween Celebration)

Posted on November 2, 2022 | Comments Off on Being A Word Nerd (or A More Normal Halloween Celebration)

For almost as long as I’ve lived in LA, I have celebrated Halloween at my friend Marie’s party. It’s a tradition for me and I look forward to it every year. Of course, we had to skip the normal party for 2020, but we had a virtual party that year. And last year, it was a much smaller party than normal because it was mainly for people who have been in the same pandemic bubble together. All of the in-person parties since the pandemic have been that way, so they’ve been smaller groups. But even with fewer people at the parties, they have been so much fun and we all love hanging out together.

But this year, they did a more open party and it was the biggest party I’ve been to in a long time. There were still people wearing masks, which I think might be the way things go for a while, but since the party was held outside I felt pretty safe. And even though I didn’t know everyone there, I knew most of the people and the new people were friends of friends. So it was much more comfortable than being at a party where I didn’t know too many people or if I was at a party that was held inside.

I loved getting to be around so many people and even though I can be overwhelmed in crowds, I know that I was craving this social interaction. And I was so excited before the party to see what costumes everyone would come up with. I know that everyone is so creative and that I would be in awe over what crazy ideas people would come up with. For my costume, I went with something simple which is what I tend to do. I like to have costumes that I don’t have to necessarily drive in since my drive to the party can be an hour if there is some traffic. So having things that can be added to my outfit are the best option.

I didn’t have an idea for the longest time and I was worried as the party was getting closer if I would have some inspiration for a costume. But as it usually happens, I was inspired and knew immediately what my costume would be as soon as I saw it. This time, I saw it through TikTok, and I was so excited to make it as soon as I saw it.

I love playing different word games, including playing Wordle. I play it every day and have a text group with my family to share our scores each day. And I loved the idea of going as a game of Wordle to the party. I picked the words I put on there carefully because I didn’t want to have to make a ton of extra letters. So I figured out something that would make it super easy to guess, but I had little velcro strips on the extra letters and spaces to the costume so it would be interactive. I didn’t end up using any of the extra letters I made up since everyone was able to guess it on the first try, and I didn’t want to keep taking them on and off the costume. But I think people had fun with it even if they don’t normally play. But in the costume contest, I wasn’t even close to the top ones. The best costume was someone as Madame Leota from the Haunted Mansion. They made a tabletop that went on their shoulders and had a plastic bowl over their head to make it look like a crystal ball. It was so impressive and they easily won first place.

I was at the party later than I normally would be, but I knew the next day I could sleep in a bit and didn’t have to worry about getting too much done in my day. I wanted to spend enough time hanging out with my friends and getting to know the new people at the party since they probably will be at future parties as well. It was really a great time and felt like the old normal for a brief moment of time. I know all of us are still being careful with Covid and making sure we don’t take too many unnecessary risks, but it is also nice to be able to put down my guard and just relax with my friends.

And now, I have only a few months until the Oscar party and I know I want to think of a good costume for that one too! It might not be too elaborate, but I like having something fun and clever and I want to start planning for it as soon as I can!

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Default ThumbnailHaving To Explain My Costume (or An Almost Normal Halloween) Default ThumbnailFirst Halloween Party Of The Season (or At Least I Made An Appearance) Default ThumbnailHalloween Awesomeness (or I Am Covfefe) Default ThumbnailA Halloween Outing (or Dressing Up As Me) Default ThumbnailA Busy Halloween (or Dressing As A Box Office Employee) Default ThumbnailHaving Some Halloween Fun (or Creating A Clever Costume)

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A Pretty Traditional Holiday Celebration (or Still Pretending To Run Through Sprinklers)

Posted on July 5, 2022 | Comments Off on A Pretty Traditional Holiday Celebration (or Still Pretending To Run Through Sprinklers)

Normally on the 4th of July, I go to the same party each year. The party isn’t always on the 4th, depending on what day of the week it is, but it’s always around that day. This year, it was a few days before so the party was on the weekend. And since the pandemic, things have been a little different, but they have been getting closer to normal.

Last year and this year, there was still a party, but it was a much smaller group than it used to be because of the risk of getting sick. Obviously, any gathering can be a risk, but keeping the numbers lower and making sure everyone is vaccinated and not sick helps. And I think knowing everyone at the party I go to helps because I can feel like everyone is taking all the precautions that they can. Some people still wore masks, but not everyone did. And nobody made a big deal out of anyone who did wear a mask, which was nice to see that it was normalized. I can see wearing a mask in the future if I’m about to see people who are immunocompromised or if I felt like the risk was higher. And I’m glad that I’m friends with people who don’t mind that or think someone is overreacting.

And it was a pretty standard summer party. A few of us discussed how weird it felt celebrating when so much is happening in this country. But I think all of us also were just glad to be hanging out together and didn’t think too much about it being the 4th of July. It is always nice to be together and able to catch up. And of course, enjoying a bunch of food. I have made drunk watermelon in the past, but this year I didn’t get the ingredients in time and I couldn’t make it the day of. But I hope that there will be another summer party so I can make it for that one.

And as it seems to be at parties, I didn’t take a ton of photos. I was more focused on being present with my friends. But there was one photo that I knew we would need to take. In 2014, it was really hot and a few of us ran through the sprinklers. We took a really funny photo and it’s become a tradition to take the same photo again each year. We’ve never had the sprinklers on except for that first year and the photos always come out awesome. And this year’s photo didn’t disappoint.

And I love how all the photos look together.

When I was putting together the collage, we were looking at all the past photos. We knew why we didn’t have a photo for 2020, but we were all confused about why we were missing one for 2019. We couldn’t figure it out and I thought maybe I missed the party that year. But I then realized I should look at my past posts and that’s when we realized they didn’t have a party that year since they had just gotten their dog. But considering we’ve done this since 2014, only missing 2 years isn’t that bad! I did think this year about how I should have asked everyone in 2020 to take a photo alone pretending to run so I could combine them. Too bad I didn’t think about that back then, but missing the photo will always remind us of going through the pandemic.

Even though the party was a few days before the 4th, there were still people setting off fireworks in the area. Some of them were right on the other side of the fence and the sparks were coming toward us. I had one get my arm, which stung, but it wasn’t too bad and didn’t even leave much of a red mark. And it was nice to see some fireworks since I wasn’t sure if we would.

I always try to stay at these parties as late as I can, but I’m also always mindful of my drive back home and how other people driving might not be the safest. So I usually leave before it’s too late. This time, I left around 10, which was later than I was planning but I was just having a good time with my friends and lost track of time.

I felt like this was the perfect way to celebrate the 4th. I didn’t really feel like celebrating, and doing something a few days earlier felt better. On the 4th, I didn’t really do much, which was fine with me. I had some errands to run and I took advantage of having a day off and being able to do them. And even though I didn’t do much on the 4th, I still got all my traditional 4th of July things in a bit earlier and I didn’t miss out.

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Default ThumbnailAnother Union Holiday Celebration (or Being Social And Working Social Media) Default ThumbnailBirthday Party Adventure! (or Another Traditional Celebration) Default Thumbnail4th Of July Weekend (or An Early Holiday) Default ThumbnailFinally Seeing Some Friends (or Having An Almost Normal 4th Of July) Default Thumbnail4th Of July On The 1st (or Another Awesome Party With Friends) Default ThumbnailA Chill New Year’s Eve (or Getting To Have A Little Celebration)

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My First Big Social Event In Over 2 Years (or This Was Overwhelming In A Good Way)

Posted on May 24, 2022 | Comments Off on My First Big Social Event In Over 2 Years (or This Was Overwhelming In A Good Way)

As I wrote last week, I’ve been trying to be more social when I can do so. It’s not easy and I’ve become more of a homebody and introvert in the past 2 years, but I am working on finding ways to get my old life back. I know I will never have the same life I used to have because I may always have an extra bit of fear about getting sick. Even if Covid is eradicated, I might still worry about catching a cold or the flu more than I did before. But I also know that I miss being out and seeing friends, so I push myself to do that when I can and it feels safe. And I had that opportunity this past weekend.

It was a friend’s birthday and they were having a casual get-together at a bar that has a seating area and has food and not just drinks. When she invited me, I wasn’t sure if I could make it because of my schedule, but I was free so I decided to push myself a bit and go even though I hadn’t been at a big gathering since the beginning of 2020. Almost all my socializing since then has been one on one or maybe with 2 friends. I haven’t been to a party or somewhere I could meet a lot of new people in a long time. But I knew I needed to go out, plus I wanted to go. I know it was a risk I was taking, but I decided it was worth it and I was going to try to be as safe as I could be.

It did feel weird to be inside a bar since I haven’t really done that in a while. And almost all the meals I’ve had in the past 2 years have been outside, so eating inside was almost a novelty. But I could tell that most of the people around me were taking things seriously too. Not everyone was wearing masks, but a lot of people were. And people seemed to be aware of how close they were to others. But the weirdness of being out went away pretty quickly for me. I still was more cautious than I would have been before, but I wasn’t as scared as I have been of other things I’ve done in the past 2 years.

And I’m so glad I went. It was awesome getting to celebrate my friend and her birthday. I got to meet some really nice people that I wouldn’t have met otherwise. I got to see someone who I knew about a decade ago through a friend group and reconnect with her (and she’s now married and pregnant so that was something to celebrate too!). And I just got to have fun. I know I’m not having as much fun in my life as I used to, and I need that. I crave fun. I just don’t seem to have the opportunities to do things like I used to do and it’s hard to make new friends as an adult and find people to go out and do things with. But this was a way to ease into meeting new people since not everyone there was new.

I did have some moments of being overwhelmed with so many people around me and I could feel some really minor panic attacks come from time to time, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it could be. I think it helped that I spent most of the time that I was there talking to the same small group of people and I didn’t have to track multiple conversations at once. I was with a lot of people but it felt like a smaller gathering at the same time.

I do worry now a bit that I might have been exposed and could get sick, but I also know that could happen to me anywhere. I could get exposed and sick by going to the grocery store (even though I wear a mask, a lot of people don’t anymore). I could get exposed by being at the mailboxes if another neighbor is next to me when I’m getting the mail. I think for so long, I saw some things as necessary risks and other things as risks I needed to avoid and I haven’t been able to merge the idea that they might be the same thing now. Everything is at a similar risk level if they are similar activities (being inside a grocery store versus a restaurant are probably the same risk level now).

I don’t know if I’ll have another chance to be in a big gathering like this again soon, but I’m glad I’m over the hurdle of being scared of doing it now. And hopefully, the fear decreases each time I go out and things just start to feel a bit more normal to me again. I know we aren’t in a post-pandemic world yet, but we are also not in the same world we were in 2 years ago.

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Default ThumbnailStill Not Feeling Like We Are Post-Pandemic (or Continuing To Struggle Being Social) Default ThumbnailCelebrating A Friend’s Birthday (or Not Letting Feeling Gross Stop Me From Being Social) Default ThumbnailBeing Social Feels A Bit Cold (or Another Realization About The Pandemic) Default ThumbnailHaving More Virtual Movie Nights (or Still Trying To Be Social) Default ThumbnailAnother Union Holiday Celebration (or Being Social And Working Social Media) Default ThumbnailA Chill New Year’s Eve (or Getting To Have A Little Celebration)

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Watching The Oscars With Friends (or Another Thing That Is Almost Back To Normal)

Posted on March 30, 2022 | Comments Off on Watching The Oscars With Friends (or Another Thing That Is Almost Back To Normal)

Even though the pandemic started just over 2 years ago, there was only 1 Oscar ceremony that was really affected by Covid. The 2020 ceremony was one of the last “normal” things that happened before everything shut down. Somehow, that feels like it wasn’t really 2 years ago but also so long ago. And I don’t think any of us were that worried about Covid at that time. I know we were all aware of it, but it still seemed so far away from us and not something that would affect us. We really had no clue what was about to come.

The Oscars last year was an odd experience to watch. There was no party to go to but the group that I normally see for the Oscars was together on Zoom. So we all watched on our own and then during the commercials, we unmuted our computers and talked about what we just saw. It was nice to be able to still be a bit connected for something that has become a tradition for us, but it was also a reminder of things that we were missing out on. And the ceremony itself didn’t feel the same as it normally does, so I think the entire evening felt a bit off to me. But I still was grateful that I was able to have something that reminded me a bit of what I used to get to do.

And for this year, my friends did a small gathering to watch the awards. Everyone who was there has been vaccinated and boosted and most of us are somewhat in a pod together or we don’t see others. I know that it would have been amazing to have a big party like we used to, but this was the way we had to do it to stay safe. I just was grateful that I am in this small protected pod so I was able to go. And I think also a bunch of people took Covid tests leading up to the party to be extra careful.

Because I was going to go to an in-person party, I had to think of a costume. I know that it would have been ok if I didn’t have one, but I wanted to take advantage of being with my friends and doing something that I used to do before the pandemic. But the problem with thinking of a costume was that I really didn’t see that many movies in the past year. I didn’t even see all the screeners I got for the SAG Awards. I hate how disconnected I have become with movies, but I’ve had other things taking up my time and I just don’t love watching movies at home as much as I do in theaters, and I don’t feel ready to go back to movie theaters just yet.

So I decided to look at a list of movies that came out last year to see if anything inspired me. I was willing to dress as either a character in a movie or something that represented a movie. And as I was looking down the list, I figured out what I should do pretty quickly. Even though I didn’t see this movie, there was a movie that came out last year called “Licorice Pizza”. And I knew I could do a fun thing with that movie name.

In one of my grocery deliveries a while ago, I ordered something that wasn’t available and they swapped it for these microwave french bread pizzas. So I had a pizza box. And it was very easy for me to go to the store and buy some of my favorite licorice. And my friend suggested I should find a way to make it a purse, so I took the strap off of a water bottle holder I had and used a hole punch to make holes in the pizza box.

It wasn’t a crazy or elaborate costume, but I thought it was fun and I was happy with how it looked. And I think other people really liked it and thought it was funny because it got a good reaction at the party! I didn’t place in the costume contest (but I never expect to) but I did get a few votes!

And this party was really so nice. It wasn’t exactly like the pre-pandemic parties, but it was close. I sat in the quiet room as usual to watch the Oscars, and there were only 3 of us who were in there most of the time. In the other viewing area, there were a lot more people watching but I like being in the quiet room. And a highlight of the evening was that one of the people at the party was in a commercial that aired during the awards! That was so much fun and I can’t remember that happening at another party.

Before and after the awards, a lot of us were trying to guess the movies in the pictures that Marie and Chris made. I wasn’t able to guess a lot of them, but that was more about me not knowing the movies that came out. I guessed some of them based on the picture and then was surprised that it was a movie title and I guessed it correctly.

Overall, I had such an amazing time at the Oscar party. It was something that I missed so much the year before and I am so glad that we were able to do something that felt so close to normal. I can’t really forget that we are still in a pandemic and that this had to be an acceptable risk for me, but it was still a bit of an escape from the real world for a few hours. And I just hope that things still keep getting better so that we can continue to have things get closer to the old normal as we did for the Oscars.

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Default ThumbnailStill Watching The Oscars With Friends (or Not Missing This Tradition For Anything) Default ThumbnailWatching The Oscars (or Costumes and Twitter) Default ThumbnailA Night Of Oscars (or Last Minute Costumes and Enjoying The Show) Default ThumbnailOscars Time! (or Inside Out vs. Star Wars) Default ThumbnailIt’s SAG Awards Time! (or I Still Love Watching To See Who Wins) Default ThumbnailOscar Party Time (or Feeling Inspired)

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A Chill New Year’s Eve (or Getting To Have A Little Celebration)

Posted on January 7, 2022 | Comments Off on A Chill New Year’s Eve (or Getting To Have A Little Celebration)

Most of the time for New Year’s Eve, I’m at a party with friends. I don’t like to go out to big events, but celebrating with my friends is the perfect way to celebrate with others but also have a low-key evening. There is no pressure to dress up, things are casual, and I always have fun. When the pandemic started, I don’t think any of us thought it would last through the end of the year. But it did, and I spend the end of 2020 home by myself and alone. I didn’t like spending a night that is normally a celebration alone, but that’s what needed to happen so everyone could stay safe and healthy.

By the end of 2021, things were better and worse at the same time. There are vaccines and treatment options to help, but the numbers are very high and people are still getting sick and dying. So being at a big party with friends wouldn’t have been a safe or smart choice. Fortunately, I was invited to a very small gathering with friends for New Year’s Eve and this group was all people who take things seriously. For example, one person invited found out they were in close contact with someone who tested positive the day before. Even though they didn’t test positive, they didn’t come because they didn’t want to risk getting everyone sick. Knowing that we all were taking the pandemic that seriously made me feel better about meeting up with a few people.

It was a very low-key night. We hung out and played some silly card games. And of course just talked and enjoyed being with other people. Most of us are staying pretty isolated or with very limited contact with friends in real life, so it was a nice break from that. There was still a sense of needing to be careful and cautious while we were together, but we did relax a bit more than I normally would around other people. And I needed this after not seeing many friends for so long. While the state of the world and pandemic never left my mind, I didn’t think about it as much as I usually do and that was a nice break for me.

However, I was dealing with a lot of pain and nausea over New Year’s Eve, so I wasn’t sure how long I’d be staying at the gathering. I was hoping I would make it until midnight, but I also knew that if I was feeling horrible that I might have to leave sooner. And I also thought that leaving before midnight would probably be safer when thinking about crazy drivers on the road. So I went to see my friends knowing that I might leave early and that’s exactly what I did. I tried to stay as long as I could, but I really wanted to just lay in bed and try to feel better after a few hours. I left just after 11pm and was home in bed when it was midnight and 2022 officially started.

Somehow, having half of a party night and half of a night at home alone seemed perfect to spend this past New Year’s Eve. We are not back to the old normal, but we are not in the same place we were in 2020. We are somewhere in the middle and that’s what my evening was. It was between what my normal is like and what the last year was like. Maybe by the start of 2023, we will be able to have a party the way we normally do. I want to be hopeful and think that, but I’ve also thought that so many times and have been wrong before. But at least things are slowly progressing toward normal and I didn’t have to spend the entire evening alone again.

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Default ThumbnailNew Year’s Eve In PJs (or I Think This Is Finally My Last NYE Post) Default ThumbnailHow I Ended 2020 (or A Night Alone At Home) Default ThumbnailWelcoming 2017 (or The Start To My New Year’s Eve) Default ThumbnailNew Year’s Eve Fun (or Making Sure 2014 Is A Lucky Year) Default ThumbnailRinging In 2018 (or Being Festive While Being Lazy On The Couch) Default ThumbnailRinging In The New Year (or Starting 2013 On A Great Note)

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