February 2019

We're doing wedding stuff right now

- by Alyson Shane

Well, John is. I'm blogging because he's in the process of editing a photo of the island of Caye Caulker, Belizem with little notes and arrows and Xes like

X <-- The Split

X <-- Wish Willy's

X <-- Wedding

and watching him is the most charming thing. 

As it turns out, John is very good at wedding planning because he

like me

is an A-type, and we both like to take charge of a situation. 

We have very specific and well-researched and strong opinions, so it's good we agree on most things. Like:

waffles are better than pancakes 

wet cold is better than dry cold (but no cold is best)

inequality and climate change are the two most pressing issues of our time

new Weezer sucks. 

the best way to decorate is with plants and books

dogs are superior to cats (sorry T and BJ)

steaks should only be eaten rare

punk's not dead.

Y'know, the important stuff.

It's also good that we agree on wedding stuff because I don't want to fight about our wedding. 

I once dated a guy whose brother and his fiancée nearly broke off their wedding because they had an argument about the colour of the candles they wanted to have on the tables at the reception.

The candles! 

But I get it. Weddings are stressful and expensive and that shit gets to ya.

So I'm thankful we haven't had a dumb wedding fight yet, though this hasn't been a stressful experience so far.

The wheels are in motion, and now that we're back from Thailand we're shifting our future-planning, A-type attention to this

the next big thing.

One of the Biggest Things.

I know it'll be different than what I expect, so I'm trying not to expect anything specific.

We're gonna get to the island, get off the plane, and it'll all work itself out. Even if the weather is trash or someone sprains an ankle or I cry so hard that I can't wear my contact lenses.

It'll work itself out.

I'm still nervous, but that's more because our buddy Adam is officiating the ceremony

and I know he's gonna steal the show like he always does.

I should really go see if John needs help with those maps.

Tags: Personal

 

Enjoy what you got while you got it

- by Alyson Shane


One of the things I'm worst at is living in the present moment.

Which sounds hippy-dippy and something you'd interpret from a tarot card reading, maybe, but taking a few moments to really sink into what yr experiencing is a good thing to do from time to time.

Maybe that's what meditation is. I don't know because I've never really gotten past the point where everything is itchy and distracting.

When we were in Thailand I realized I was suffering from this problem because I was constantly feeling pressure to get out there and do something. 

John got a throat infection which kept him in bed for several days while we were in Koh Tao and I got really stressed because I felt like we were "wasting our vacation" relaxing at the AirBnB rather than being out and about 24/7.

This pressure, to be doing something all the time, is a leftover from my super-anxious days when I would judge myself for taking downtime, or for not filling every minute of every day with some task or to-do. 

I know that, but I'm not always great at recognizing it in the moment. Which can really suck because, okay, we were just hanging out at an AirBnB 

but we were also spending time in a new place on the other side of the planet, still getting street food and enjoying the warm weather even if we weren't hiking up to see wats every damn day.

What I should have been doing in that moment was soaking it up with my partner, not worrying about when we could get back to filling our vacation time with stuff.

Lesson learned, and luckily I figured that lesson out early enough on in our trip that I was able to chill out for the rest of it.

(Okay, most of it.)

And I'm glad I did because I was able to enjoy my vacation with my partner while I was there instead of glossing over it because I was busy thinking and worrying about who knows what. 

I need to bring more of that into my day-to-day because worrying about stuff removes me from enjoying what I have while I have it.

Being "fully present" means I can soak up the good, bad, and in-between feelings and create more vivid memories of things that are, in reality,

fleeting.

Because each new day runs the risk of being the last of something. 

It's scary to think about which is why I think most people don't, but it's true.

This could be the last day you see the person you love.

This could be the last day you talk to yr mom or dad or awkward great-uncle.

This could be the last day you walk into a job you've had for 20 years.

This could be the last day you eat at your fav sushi place before they close.

Nothing stays the same. 

Things Fall Apart. 

So enjoy what you got while you go it.


 

Valentine's Day tips from a serial monogamist

- by Alyson Shane

I've been in long term relationships for most of my life since I was a teen. Most of them were a couple of years each, usually with a six month to one-year break in between, but overall I've spent more of my life in a relationship than being single.

This means I've spent most of my Valentine's Days either in the throes of a relationship, or stinging from whatever happened that caused the previous one to end. But that doesn't mean I don't still love Valentine's Day.

People like to get upset about V-Day because it's a "made up holiday" (which it is) but, really, aren't they all? 

Valentine's Day is probably the most made-up of all, though personally I think if you can find someone who you love, and who loves you right back, then that's a cause for celebration. 

A lot of people go through life being really unhappy and unfulfilled and if you can find a little ray of love in your life, even for a little while, hang onto it for as long as it's healthy and good for you and celebrate that shit, yo.

Even if all you do is make dinner together or spend some time with one another or get down and dirrty on each other's business.

Last night I asked my Insta fam if they were doing anything for V-Day and I was surprised to hear that a lot of people refuse to, and do so on the principle of capitalism omg.

Which is funny to me because we buy into a lot of weird and dumb things that may or may not be related to capitalism and yet the one hill people seem willing to die on is the one that is explicitly dedicated to honouring and celebrating relationships with the people we love.

Maybe it's that people (ladies, I'm looking at you) put a lot of pressure on what should be a chill af day. 

I used to be this way when I was younger and a lot more insecure. Like if my man didn't go all out on V-Day he didn't "really love me" which is a bunch of baloney and something that (hopefully) most of us grow out of as we get older.

But in case you needed a reminder, here are some tips on how to handle your V-Day activities from someone who's been through a lot of them:

If you're single, that's cool. Be happy for other people who are in love and spend the day treating yourself like the king/queen you are. Have a bubble bath. Watch some trashy TV. Order in a pizza and get high and drink some box'o wine in your undies. 

(It's what most people blowing money in restaurants wish they were doing anyway.)

If your partner can't get (or afford) fancy restaurant reservations but you wanna go out, go to McDonalds and share a pack of McNuggets. 

Hell, go crazy and split a 20 pack together if you're really in it for the long haul.

If you want flowers then tell yr partner to get you a flowering plant. 

That way they won't blow a bunch of money on blooms that will start wilting right away and leave petals all over the floor and you can have something nice to decorate your place with for months or even years if you don't kill it.

(If you have a cat, make sure to check which plant varieties are safe for your furbaby.)

Unless your partner specifically asks for sweets, don't waste your money on boxes of chocolates. That's shit's played out and unoriginal.

Only plan big, elaborate dates if you know that's what your partner is into before planning it. 

Not everyone likes surprises and nothing ruins a special occasion faster that expectations that weren't met.

And if you want to bang on Valentine's Day follow the advice of sex columnist Dan Savage, who is way more well versed in these topics than I am. His advice, in a nutshell, is: before you fill up on wine and sweets and sleep-inducing carbs

fuck first.

Happy Valentine's Day, lovers!

Tags: Thoughts

 

I never used to be a morning person

- by Alyson Shane


I've always been a "good sleeper". I usually don't have trouble falling, or staying, asleep as long as I'm in my own bed and am not in the throes of some anxiety attack or panic-inducing situation.

I also have really vivid and interesting dreams, which helps.

The last few years though, I've been getting more into early starts.

Part of it is that I don't party as much as I used to. When you're awake for days doing bad things to yr body, yr body needs to crash and reset and it does so through sleep.

I also like being awake more. In my pre-therapy days, lots of days felt like I was just trying to muddle through until I could crawl back into the safety of my bed and my dreams.

Sleep was more like an escape.

But in the last few years that has changed a lot. I still love sleeping, but if I could go without sleep for several days just so I could be productive and also do all the things I want to do, then I would.

I still want to stay up for days on end, but for different reasons.

I haven't been able to stay up for days per-se, but lately our jet lag has me waking up at 2 - 3AM most mornings, and passing out before 8PM. It's been weird, and is kinda like getting the flu at the end of your day because yr body is super confused internally.

Yesterday and today I woke up at 5:30AM and it was great.

Turns out I can get a lot done super duper early in the morning, and since I'm one of those people who are very very on and clear-headed and productive right after waking up these early-morning hours have been great.

I'm not going to miss falling asleep sitting up at 8PM, but y'know

tradeoffs.

Tags: Random Life

 

I miss Thailand

- by Alyson Shane


We're home and I'm so jet-lagged that I feel sick. My sleeping pattern is all out of whack and I've been awake since 3:30AM this morning and am going to try and stay awake all day to reset my circadian rhythm.

But Thailand was worth every lost hour and every weird grumble in my insides.

We were there for nearly a month, and stayed in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Koh Tao, Phuket, and Bangkok again before flying home. 

Bangkok was insane. It's big, bigger than I realized or can describe. The city, which houses 8.5 million people, stretches for miles and miles.

There was a smog warning when we were there and you could taste it in the air. Lots of people wore masks.

We saw Buddhist monks everywhere in their bright orange robes with their shaved heads. We saw a group of teenage monks filing into a 7-11 to buy popsicles to beat the heat which made me laugh.

The heat. My god.

+35C most days, humid, sticky and perfect. 

The best weather, food, and vibe were found in the northern city of Chiang Mai. 

We found the Cowboy Hat Lady, made famous in that episode of Parts Unknown and it probably comes as no surprise that the food completely lived up to the hype.

Almost everything we ate was made at a stall, cart, or cobbled-together shack on the side of the road (except some yakiniku and shabu-shabu that we ate while in Phuket).

I will deeply miss the food there.

Thai food (and Asian food in general) is so much more interesting and complex than North American food, I think. It's layered and spicy and every bite is different.

I discovered Prik Nam Pla, which is a condiment sauce made by pickling chilies in vinegar and fish sauce, sometimes with sugar to cut the tang. 

It can be kinda dull or spicy af, depending on where you are; everyone makes it, and everyone makes it a little differently.

Everyone in Thailand has "their recipe" for everything, which means there's a huge variety in how the same dish can turn out, and it's always good. I didn't eat a bad meal the entire time we were there.

The thing I will miss most about Thailand isn't the food, though. It's the people.

Everyone we met was so gracious, kind, and helpful. They seemed to appreciate that we tried to learn the language, which I'm sure we still butchered because Thai is a tonal language and is much more subtle than you realize while listening to it as a non-native speaker.

I'm going to miss saying (and lightly butchering) "sawasdee ka!" when greeting people, and giving a wai (a slight bow with hands pressed together) and saying "khob khun kha!" as thanks.

I'm going to miss being immersed in the Buddhist culture. All the little spirit houses, monks, wats, and flowers everywhere.

I felt peaceful in the wats we visited. I liked taking my shoes off and covering my shoulders and my knees out of respect for their places of worship. It was such a simple, nice form of reverence. 

I've never been a religious person, but Buddhism is something I can think I could get behind.

We met the most amazing people, as usual. John and I have good luck that way.

Every time we go on vacation we wind up having nights that make us wake up the next day and say "can you believe we did that?!"

It's also way easier to power through a hangover when you know a spicy bowl of Tom Yum at the stall around the corner.

(Did I mention I'm going to miss the food?)

Obviously though, the best part about the trip was spending it with John.

I really lucked out in finding a guy I travel well with. He's so patient and outgoing and records every day of our trip in a book every time we go on vacation, which is the cutest thing.

He even glued Thai coins and kept all the transfer stickers they gave us to get on different planes and boats in the book too, omg.

At the end of our trip we got matching tattoos. Which sounds lame and dumb but hear me out:

We're getting married next year and neither of us want to wear wedding bands day-to-day, so we decided to get matching tattoos of the constellation "Ursa Majora", which is a nod to a deep and weird inside joke and our love of science and space. 

They're both in the same spot, below our hearts. Pointing us home.

I know it's cheesy but whatever. I love them.

I wish I could describe everything we saw and did in that amazing country. 

How green and lush and humid it is. How every back lane looked. How the sky looks from the beach on Koh Tao at night. What it feels like to be lulled to sleep on the Night Train to Chiang Mai. 

But there aren't enough words to explain it all. All I can do is hold onto the memories of the things I experienced as tightly as I can, and plan to make more of them as soon as I can.

I'll miss Thailand.

But I'm really gonna miss their food, though.