I didn’t catch Jess on TV this time, but I did see the paw squad 😍
Welp, I renewed my lease on my downtown apartment even though the Padres postseason is uncertain and the park across the street pushed it’s debut yet another month. I had to make a game-time decision before the rates went up, and I really didn’t want to deal with finding a new place to live, even though I’ve had a less than stellar experience these past few months – Most notably, the maintenance guy who helped during my smoke alarm incident snitched that I had a dog – he was a nice guy, so I think he may have just mentioned it in passing, bc Milo was quiet, didn’t bark or make a sound or bother him at all when he was here. My building is pet-friendly, but I never mentioned to them that I had a dog – they charge an additional pet deposit and monthly fee (that can be waived with an ESA letter). I have an Emotional Support Animal letter that I got online when I first got Milo, so I gave that to them when the leasing office emailed me about having an unreported dog in my apartment. They denied my ESA letter, bc apparently there’s diff rules in California for ESAs, and I needed documentation from a doctor in California and not some physician from the east coast I paid on the internet 🤪 So I made a virtual appointment with my PCP (who’s still in LA), and she wrote me an ESA letter that day – she’s been my PCP since I had my stroke and is very accommodating, helping me get short-term disability, medical leave from work, a permanent handicap placard, and now an ESA letter so I don’t have to pay extra housing fees to have a dog (the perks of having a stroke, otherwise 0/10 do not recommend). I sent it to the leasing office, and they said it could take up to 2 weeks for them to review it – which is laughable bc it took them less than an hour to deny my first ESA letter. If they denied my new letter and were gonna charge me additional monthly fees to have a dog, I def wasn’t gonna renew my lease. They approved it and waived all the fees, so I’m here for at least another year. Hopefully, the park across the street will be done before then (it was supposed to be open last fall!), but at this rate, I’m just hoping construction will be completed before I’m on social security 👵🏻
I had a list of places I wanted to eat at in NYC, but the humidity made it impossible to travel anywhere, so we spent most of our time in air-conditioned food halls and ate breakfast in the hotel.
Cinnamon babka french toast (@ Pendry Manhattan West)
Artists & Fleas & air-conditioning (@ Artists & Fleas Market Chelsea)
Draft Nitro (@ Cha Cha Matcha, Moynihan Food Hall)
Partly bc Grand Central had a BTS takeover, but mostly bc the station was air-conditioned (@ Grand Central Terminal)
We made custom BTS shirts and made one for Donna, too, since she’s the one who got us into BTS 💜
We ventured to Soho to pick up a viral cinnamon roll from Loser’s Eating House, but took a rideshare back to the hotel and doordashed NYC’s iconic bagels and baked goods.
Humidity is a different beast. I can take the dry heat of California or Phoenix or Vegas, but this wet heat??? 🥴 We went to Cabo for Jessie’s bachelorette around this time in the summer, and the humidity made me want to punch a baby. I went to Alicia’s wedding in Vegas the week after, and the dry heat was a welcome reprieve from the humidity in Cabo. We met people at the show who had traveled from Thailand and Florida and they said this weather was nothing compared to where they live – Well, I live in California, so please excuse the ice ring around my neck and my portable fan 😅
The lines just to get into MetLife Stadium were insane, but that’s also where people exchange lots of freebies, so it was def a tradeoff.
Found my husband (@ MetLife Stadium)
Crossing over to New Jersey for the concert with a rideshare was easy peasy, but coming back to the city was a nightmare. We didn’t get home the first night till one in the morning! It was impossible to get a rideshare out of MetLife Stadium after the show. We had to take multiple forms of public transportation – the bus, the subway – Our ordeal with public transit can be summed up by something I overheard this guy say at the train station – ‘When did people stop wearing deodorant???’ 🤣
People were generally in good spirits despite the crowds, and they were v appreciative of the freebies Pammie and I passed out!
Run BTS
2.0
Micdrop
Body to Body
IDOL
Fya
Fire
Into the Sun
Day 2 was amazing – Yes, I went both days 😅 We had suite tickets and got awesome freebies from everyone in the suite. The crowd was more hype than the day before, and the energy was insane. It started raining halfway through the show, and we didn’t even notice bc we were in an air-conditioned suite with free food and drinks and amazing seats under a concrete awning.
One good thing about an outdoor stadium – the fireworks were wild! I’ve only seen BTS in an indoor stadium (Allegiant in Vegas) and upcoming shows at SoFi in LA, so while the indoor shows are air-conditioned, we didn’t experience all the pyro!
It was like watching Tame Impala in Hollywood/NYC vs. Phoenix – All were outdoors, but the festival grounds in Phoenix are next to the airport and directly under the flight path, so they had airspace restrictions. Tame Impala normally has a sick ass light show, but they had to keep it contained inside the stage in Phoenix.
Tame Impala (@ Hollywood Bowl)
Tame Impala (@ Panorama NYC, Randall’s Island Park)
Tame Impala (@ Innings Fest, Tempe Beach Park)
Going home was also a nightmare, even though we had a plan of action – Take the bus out of Metlife to Secaucas. Take the subway from Secaucus to Penn Station. Walk 2 blocks to the hotel. Everyone else had the same idea from dealing with the nightmare of getting home the night before (no one ever attends one BTS concert in a city when they have multiple dates!), plus it was raining.
(@ The Irish Exit, Penn Station)
We packed when we got to our hotel, and slept for 2 hours before we had to get up again for our flight home! We overslept by 45 minutes, and left the hotel an hour before our plane boarded – It takes an hour to get to the airport from our hotel. Our rideshare was the worst – He didn’t get out to help us with our luggage – I get it, you’re an Uber driver and it’s not your job, but you selected a ride to the airport – ofc we’re gonna have luggage, and be a fucking gentleman, my guy. It smelled like spoiled Indian food and B/O in the car – Again, when did people stop wearing deodorant? LOL. I cracked open my window, and he closed it bc it was raining. My sister asked him multiple times to turn on the A/C bc it kept turning off and we were dying with the humidity and the smell. It was an electric car, and he made some excuse about how it’s raining outside so it probably keeps turning off bc it’s already cold outside. To quote my grandma, ‘Did you think I was born yesterday?’ I had to put Bath & Body Works sanitizer on my hands and breathe it in so I wouldn’t pass out from the smell. He got so lost driving circles around the airport – At one point, he drove into an employee parking area, and drove over a median to get back on track. He kept blaming the rain for getting him turned around. We finally got to the airport with minutes to board. Pammie has all the things – Priority Boarding, Global Entry, Clear, and TSA Pre-Check. I rarely travel internationally, so I let my Global Entry and TSA Pre-Check lapse last year. My sister got through TSA within minutes, but I had to stand in the regular line with the gen-pop and get sniffed by drug dogs. Pammie was so worried I wasn’t gonna make it, but I literally made it 10 minutes before they closed the gate. Luckily, I was in the last boarding group! LOL. She got me a water and fruit plate for me to eat on the plane while she waited for me to get through TSA.
(via @ricotaquito)
Pammie is Type A as fuck, and was STRESSING. I am Type B through and through, and just knew it would work out and I’d make it on the plane ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I slept through most of the flight home, then slept again for 5 hours once I got home. 4 days later, and your girl is still tired 🤪
(via @jy.killa)
The chances are slim, but never zero 😏
I picked Milo up from my parents after coming back from NYC, and I couldn’t find his dog leash when I got home. I thought I left it in my car or my parents’ house, but we couldn’t find it. I was taking my CVS bag out of the fridge this morning (some of my meds have to be refrigerated, so I just put the whole bag in there when I picked it up from the pharmacy last week), and I found his leash inside the CVS bag 😅
Many moons ago, I was going to Vegas with my ex and friends, and I couldn’t find my driver’s license. I had the face of the minor back then LOL, so I def needed to bring it with me. Guess where I eventually found it? In my then-boyfriend’s freezer with a bag of popsicles I bought earlier that day.
All that to say, I haven’t changed in 20 years ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
New York is always a good idea 🗽
…so is doordashing bagels to your hotel to eat when you get home 🥯
Being on east coast time even for just a few days always fucks me up, and it takes my body a while to adjust when I’m back on PST. A bagel and schmear and a big ass iced coffee hit the spot this morning!
