A few months back Erin was all "What would you think if I came down for your birthday?" which I responded with OMGYESTOTALLY. I didn't find out until later she thought it was going to be my 40th and she wanted to celebrate my milestone birthday with me. Ha! Looks like you have to come back next year bitch! We've been excitedly counting down for her arrival and making a tentative itinerary for months because ya girls love a plan. I sent her a list of restaurants and a list of possible activities to get her thoughts.
I picked her up on Thursday afternoon and we were both starving so it was straight to Se7en Bites. This was one of her picks from my handy dandy list. I've only ever been there once because it's very popular so you have to go on weird times on off days. Thursday around 2 p.m. was perfect! I really wanted to try their chicken pot pie but I didn't want something so heavy so I've added it to my list for my next visit. Maybe I can get Dustin to go with me one of these days.
After lunch we strolled around all the cute shops on Corrine Dr. Then Erin had the idea to go visit her Aunt Ali at work (also where we both used to work 20 years ago AND where we met in the first place). I was totally game. I'm a nostalgia addict so I'll never say no to taking a trip down memory lane or in this case Edgewater Drive. The offices have since moved across the street but it was still very familiar. The minute we walked in we saw Charlie in a meeting in one of those fish bowl type conference rooms. Ali came out, and since this was a surprise visit, she squealed, and then so did we which prompted a major shushing from the others in the lobby. Whoops! Just like old times - being too loud and having too much fun. We quietly walked away from the meeting and got to catch up with Steve and David. Of course Erin and Ali see each other a few times a year and I have even seen her a few times in recent years thanks to Mia's graduation and Erin's wedding. I had not seen any of the attorneys since the day I left which I believe was January 2006ish. They were exactly how I remembered them all except now all of their kids were full on adults which is always a true testament to the movement of time. I mean looking back, Erin and I were practically still kids when we worked there but at the time she and I felt so grown up. I'll never forget the fall of 2002 when I had just transferred to the Winter Park Panera because my OG downtown Panera was falling apart. I saw the "ad" (it was literally just a name and phone number written on the whiteboard) for an office assistant in my business/OJT class. I was looking to move on from my bakery days so I called the same day and the rest is history. Erin started 6 or so months later. Would you believe we didn't even really talk to each other for the first couple months she worked there? It's true. Then we both helped move their office from the first to the second floor and that was the day we fell in friendship love. The second we finally got some time to actually get to know one another on a personal level we were attached at the hip. Going back to that area with her was so fun and brought back so many memories. We couldn't even say them all fast enough...
Me: Remember when there was a post office box on the corner of the 7/11?
Erin: Remember when you drove me in your first car to the courthouse to show me where to park and how to file documents?
Me: Remember getting lunch at Shakers?
Erin: Remember having to wait at the post office for all the certified mail?
And so on and so forth...
After our catch-up with everyone I asked Erin if she wanted to go into a cute little shop I like to frequent that is right down the road. The minute we pulled out of the parking lot it started raining. The shop wasn't even a mile down the road, but by the time we parked, it was pouring. I just looked at her and was like "I have ponchos if you still want to go inside..." She laughed but agreed. It took us a whole 5 minutes to even put on the ponchos. They really should label where to stick your head. She and I kept getting it wrong and cracking up. We finally ran into the store, dripping wet as we apologized to the clerk. Erin then said her now infamous line which was quoted by the shop on their Instagram. I remember scrolling the following morning and seeing it and DYING LAUGHING. I'm like "OMG they quoted you!". Turns out it was worth it because we both left with little goodies.
Then I took her to grab dinner at Fresh Kitchen. She was VERY excited about this because they aren't in Texas. We went inside, ordered, and then I was recognized by the manager who said "Give her a discount. She's in here all the time. I remember her tattoos." which was very sweet. The funny part was I had already paid but Erin got my discount so still a win! We took it back to my house to eat and thankfully it met all of Erin's expectations and then some.
Erin was very worried that the cats, Cheeto especially, weren't going to give her the time of day. Cheeto has been extremely friendly in recent years (even when Erin and Jon visited last May) so I wasn't worried about it. The minute she sat down here came Cheeto's orange self to plop down right on her leg just as he does to Dustin when he sits in the same spot. The real shock of it all is when Olive came to lay right next to her again and again for the duration of her stay. Olive tolerates houseguests. She will let people pet her but she isn't going out of her way for anyone but Dustin and I, except sometimes Pat. She sure as hell isn't cuddling up to anyone other than those that live in this house. Then comes Erin. So she and Olive are new besties and I couldn't be more excited.
After dinner Erin and I ran out to Publix to get her some snacks while she was here since she's on a special diet. While at Publix I pointed out the Tru Fru she told me about and she looked at me like I had two heads. She's like "No, those aren't them. They are in the frozen section!" Ok but they literally say Tru Fru so how was I supposed to know there is another version in the frozen section?! The funniest part was she told me about the chocolate peanut butter banana ones and Dustin and I searched several places for it with no luck. Well, no wonder! Hyper-dried vs. hyper chilled in case you were wondering and also so you don't make me same mistake.
She wanted me to open my presents that night. I can totally relate to being so excited to give someone a gift you know they will love, It's so fun! She got me a Taylor shirt and earrings which I wore together that Saturday. She also got me this cute cat shaped anxiety stone. Boo did great!
I woke up on my 39th birthday at 5am to the sound of someone breaking in. Thankfully no one actually was, however, Cheeto was full on catapulting himself in the air and hitting the sliding glass door as if he was in a heated volleyball match, in an attempt to murder a lizard. Cheeto is 22lbs so you can imagine how that sounds when slammed against a glass door. It truly was a scary way to wake up. I appreciate his vigilance and dedication on the Night Watch but he took it a bit too far. Since I couldn't go back to sleep I ended up laying on the couch with my headphones on catching up on tik toks until Erin woke up (WHO SOMEHOW SLEPT THROUGH THE WHOLE THING). Cheeto then decided to come join me and pass the hell out not making a single peep. Go figure.
Erin is a full on shoulder pad business woman, a boss bitch if you will, a hashtag boss babe - ok you get the point. She owns her own business so she had to do some work for a bit before we started the day. But as soon as we were done it was straight to get pedicures. I legit have not had a professional one since 2023. I just do them myself because shit is expensive and in this economy I can't just be popping out for a pedicure on the reg. It truly felt like a special occasion since it had been so long and I was doing it with my boo.
She picked a pink similar to her last pedicure and I picked a purple with some sparkles. But then the guy who did my pedicure threw a wrench into our plan when he pulled out the brightest damn yellow. I immediately changed my tune. Erin agreed but hesitantly. Girl won't get a matching tattoo and barely a matching toe color. Does she even love me at all?! Just jokes boo! But I know it was way out of her comfort zone so I definitely appreciated the gesture. She even said a week later it's growing on her!
We picked up Torchy's for my birthday lunch and brought it back to the house to enjoy with Dustin. I started to get a gnarly ass headache and it was really kicking my ass. We both decided it was nap time. She slept in my bed, on Dustin's side, and kept mentioning how comfortable it was and how dark the room was. I don't fuck around with naps or comfort in general. Ha! But the compliments were nice because if anyone appreciates a nap as much as me, it is her.
We got up and changed into our yoga attire. I really was hoping there would be a Taylor dance party to go to for my birthday but Taylor Swift yoga is just as good. Erin and I used to go every Saturday morning when she and I lived in the same city a lifetime ago. She was nervous because she literally hadn't done yoga since then - a decade, but I assured her that the class is so chill and Stephanie, the instructor, is so supportive of whatever you want to do. Full on yoga routine? Great! Yoga with a little singing and dancing? Awesome! Lay on your mat and just feel the music? Cool! I would never attend a class that is so regimented myself so I wanted to relay that to Erin so she felt more comfortable. Of course she did great! Nicole, Nicole's friend Tiff, and Alyssa all came to this one as well! It was another therapeutic hour long class of yoga flow set to the sister albums of folklore and evermore. After the class I thanked/hugged Stephanie as I do every time and asked her if she could tell me the quote she said at the end of our practice because it really resonated and I didn't want to get it wrong. She was overjoyed by the request and let me take a photo of it from her phone.
Your new era begins when you choose yourself unapologetically and release the weight of who you were yesterday, it beings when you decide that you're deserving of a life better than the one you're leaving behind, it begins when you start to believe in your own worthiness.
We grabbed Chick-fil-a on the way home and spent the evening watching Inside Out since Erin had never seen it and the second one just came out. I went out to my car and to check the mail when I noticed the most beautiful sunset overhead. It was a lovely ending to a mostly lovely birthday (minus the headache).
Erin mentioned wanting to get a tattoo while in town. She started off wanting an orange and then changed it to a swan. I reached out to by boy Shane, and although he was down to do it, the only time he had available was literally right before yoga. Then I reached out to another artist that I have followed for a long time but not had any work done by yet. She was also super sweet and game. Also she said she could get us in at 9:30am the following morning. When Erin told Meagan she replied "Is she sober or something?!"Lolz I love her so much just for wanting and liking to tattoo so early in the day. She is in the same shop as where I got my eyebrows done a few years back. We arrived early as the boo and I tend to do and hung out in the car until she opened the shop. Erin had decided on a few different swans and then narrowed them down to two after I threw them all on an app. so we could really visualize them at once. I told her I really loved the neck and thin lines of the one swan but the feathers of the other. She agreed and boom the design was even better than imagined. Erin sat like a champ as I sat next to her rubbing her arm. Now we are both repping our beloved Swan City bay-bay!
I've got to set up a consult with her immediately.
We went home and napped before my bowling party, which I will devote an entire separate post to. On Erin's last day in town we went out to breakfast and hung out. We were both feeling exhausted and not our selves. We wanted to enjoy the last few hours together therefore we sucked it up and went over to her Aunt and Uncle's new place, told Hazel she was the best girl in the whole world, and then we went out to lunch. Erin and I both forgot Sunday was Father's Day and that maybe her family had plans but they didn't and were excited to go hang out with us. Her cousin, Mia, decided to try out the new SoDo location of A La Carte. Val had told me about this place so I was familiar but had never been. It's a super cute open air building with a little lawn and food trucks on either side. The downside is it's all outside. There is some cover and fans but it is pretty miserable to go in the summer. I had the meatballs from a pizza truck and they were phenomenal. However, I won't be back until the highs are in the 70s or lower. The heat really made me and Erin feel sick and Ali went with us back to the car to cool down in the a/c. I truly will never understand the lizard people who can be out in that and enjoy themselves.
It was a quick trip to the airport to drop off my Er-Port. We immediately got honked and yelled at upon pulling up to the drop off curb. Can everyone just chill the fuck out? We hugged, she grabbed her bag and I went home. I slept for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. My introverted body was like RECHARGE BITCH and so I did. But damn, another good meeting of the boos in the books.
The Anthology has more folkmore vibes than the first album. It really lets a multitude of instruments have their moment, while the synth is almost non-existent. A lot of my Swiftie friends seemed to love The Anthology more in those first few days and weeks of listening. I was hopping all over because I loved songs from both right off the bat. In fact, if I HAD to pick songs from both to create just one perfect-to-me-album, guntotmyhead, this would be it:
Florida!!!
But Daddy I Love Him
Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?
Down Bad
Fresh Out The Slammer
I Can Do It With A Broken Heart
The Tortured Poets Department
loml
Guilty As Sin
The Black Dog
So High School
I Hate It Here
I Look In People's Windows
imgonnagetyouback
The Bolter
TTPD wins with 9 songs but The Anthology is still solid with 6. So it goes.
Both albums are very cohesive in way of metaphors, poetic lyrics, literary references, and her signature easter eggs, but less so in the musicality and production of the songs. I don't say that as a judgement or dig - just as a fact; because I really do love both overall. However, I do feel that TTPD is stronger as a whole. Songs like Robin and thanK you aIMee are great songs and I appreciate both, but more as an every now and then listen. For me, they aren't on repeat and if I'm being honest, I will probably take them off of my phone entirely at some point because I'm never going to seek them out.
The fact that we actually got a double album is still mind-blowing, but not totally surprising with the speed Taylor can pop out a track. I mean, Midnights was kind of a double album or at least an album and a half, you know? And folklore and evermore came out within 5 months of one another and are known as sister albums. She feeds us a variety of mostly hearty meals, some junk food, and sweet little desserts on the reg. I am truly so grateful to be a Swiftie. I couldn't imagine those who have to wait 3-6 years in between albums of their favorite artist. Like what? I don't know that life and I never want to.
Check out this thread of all the crazy but actually good theories on this double album.
Interesting words: esoteric - intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with specialized knowledge
exorcise - to expel an evil spirit by adjuration or religious or solemn ceremonies
Fave lyrics: Six weeks of breathing clean air
I still miss the smoke
Were you making fun of me with some esoteric joke?
Now I want to sell my house and set fire to all my clothes
And hire a priest to come and exorcise my demons
Even if I die screaming
Thoughts & theories: To say I was overwhelmed by this double album upon first release is an understatement; which is why I didn't even realize she mentioned the band at first, since the lyric videos had not been released yet. I remember liking The Black Dog a lot when I first heard it but I only found out about the TSL portion of it all because Dustin told me. Then my little giant head exploded. Taylor Swift referenced one of my fave pop-punk bands? Two worlds colliding? Swemos rise up!
This news really ignited something in me and so I did a very poor yet fast photoshop of Taylor as the girl on the cover of their album. And hours later came across a much better version on the interwebs.
The Starting Line's music, especially Say It Like You Mean It and Make Yourself At Home played such pivotal parts in my formative years. Those albums bring me back to high school, to 17, to seeing them live for the first time at Vans Warped Tour in '02, to my Isuzu I-Mark, to several lifetimes ago. It was only a few years later that Taylor came out with Tim McGraw and the rest is history.
The Starting Line played a 10th Anniversary tour of SILYMI in 2012 which I attended and even wrote about here. I even re-watched/uploaded the video from that performance to my YouTube in the middle of writing this. TSL has been dormant for years even though Ken has been doing his own solo thing, so that P.S. at the end of their letter to Taylor got me psyched.
It's definitely a Matty Healy song or at least mostly. This article talks about him covering TSL's 'The Best of Me' just last year. Now this is TSL's most popular song but also the lyrics the worst is over / you can have the best of me / we got older / but we're still young / we never grew out of this feeling that we won't give up which really correlates to the whole Matty theme of TTPD. '
Also I noticed the much more subtle use of TSL in Fresh Out The Slammer when she sings Now we're at the starting line / I did my time.
Interesting words: bygone - belonging to an earlier time
Fave lyrics: Flip the script and leave you like a dumb house party
Thoughts & theories: We all noticed the lilac short skirt in that Fortnight Tic-Tok she posted, right?
I personally thought the whole argument about stealing Olivia Rodrigo's song 'get him back' was laughable. Yes, both songs are about wanting to get back with someone; but they aren't sure if it's for love or revenge. That's it.
But the fact that the title is all smushed together and all lowercase is definitely on purpose; and clearly screams 'fallingforyou' by The 1975. She also sings I keep these longings locked / In lowercase inside a vault on 'Guilty as Sin'.
Interesting words: albatross - a very large oceanic bird
anoint - to select for an honor or role
persona non grata - an unacceptable or unwelcome person
hackles - erect hairs along the back of an animal that rise when it is angry
Fave lyrics: Cross your thoughtless heart
Thoughts & theories: This was the song I was most excited for based solely on the name after hearing when she was pushing the collector's edition CDs. It's not my favorite but certainly holds up to my expectation. This one is so literary heavy which you really only can start to understand once you follow along the lyrics and read a million articles like this one.
Interesting words: post-mortem - done, occurring, or collected after death
maladies - a disease or disorder of the body
interlopers - one that intrudes in a place or sphere of activity
bereft - suffering the death of a loved one
Fave lyrics: My beloved ghost and me
Sitting in a tree
D-Y-I-N-G
Thoughts & theories:Reddit of course didn't disappoint with their interpretations. Someone posted it's about Taylor's experience with the media after a breakup and not being able to process the grief herself. Another person thinks this song isn't about one relationship but her luck with them. Whomever or whatever it's about it's a tried and true track five with that gut punch of a bridge.
Thoughts & theories: Is this song cute as hell? Yes. Of course. BUT I think I connect with it even more because she is describing specific things from my own high school experience. I mean, she is only 4 years younger than me. American Pie on a Saturday night? First saw that in 9th grade when it came out. Every Saturday was spent at the movies back then. Touch me while your bros play Grand Theft Auto? Yep, totally remember the days of sneakily touching whenever we got the chance; and that game was super popular in the early aughts. Brand new, full throttle? I think of the band Brand New when I hear this because again high school is when I first got into them. Obviously she's not talking about the band (or maybe she is lol) and just describing the feeling of young love when it's just zero to sixty in no time. She even threw in a reference to the marry, kiss, or kill me moment.
Interesting words: consolation - the comfort received by a person after a loss or disappointment
debutant - a young woman who is making a formal entrance into society
precocious - indicative of early development
lucid - to think clearly again after a period of illness or confusion
Fave lyrics:I hate it here so I will go to
Secret gardens in my mind
People need a key to get to
The only one is mine
I'm lonely, but I'm good
I'm bitter, but I swear I'm fine
I'll save all my romanticism for my inner life
and I'll get lost on purpose
This place made me feel worthless
Thoughts & theories: I related to and loved this song immediately. For me, it's about depression. It's about the world being a shitshow and trying to create some semblance of joy in your brain. It reminds me of escapism that I enjoy in books and movies. The phrase "I hate it here" is a popular one amongst millennials and will probably trickle down to every generation henceforth. I, too, get lost in nostalgia but then when that blurred memory starts to focus, I realize even that time wasn't that great because of x, y, z. Her line is nostalgia is a mind trick but I keep singing it as mind fuck - because it is. It's a drug. It can distort your brain. It can hurl you further down the hole. But goddamn it's also fun as hell.
Thoughts & theories: On the surface this seems very cut and dry about Kim Kardashian. Bronze spray tanned statue, descriptions of a bully, and oh yeah the whole capitalization in the song title that literally spell out K-I-M. I read a theory that Taylor was probably re-recording reputation and that time period came back in full force and she was like yeah I'm not done writing about this. I kind of hate the fans who have called this one petty or the famous line everyone loves to hear when they've been through something traumatic JuST gEt ovEr iT! EYEROLL. Writing and singing is the way she processes things. It is essentially her form of therapy. Also I can list a bunch of other songs by just as well-known artists that go the petty route but they never get called out about that. I can totally see Taylor feeling like the world expects her to always take the high road and be this perfect little angel but she's not. She's as messy and petty and hurt as the rest of us. This song is catchy as hell but it's not a fave. It's one of those songs that I appreciate for what it is, but not one I will revisit often. Also saw a theory that the whole Kim K. thing is a red herring which I find fascinating. Taylor's brain!
Thoughts & theories: I am constantly going over "what if" and "if only" in my head with just about every experience I've ever had. So when Taylor says she's addicted to it, I get that big time. There is something about it that is addicting. I am so inherently "a fixer" that I treat it like a problem that could be solved when really it is what it is. There is no going back and doing it different. We all have to accept reality but the daydreaming of different outcomes is so real. Also the whole picture she paints of hoping she will run into this person. Been there too! Haven't we all? You're still hurting from whatever happened and don't want to reach out intentionally; you just hope it'll be a natural run-in.
Interesting words: pad - move along with a muffled step
prophecy - a prediction
greige - violin (although I keep thinking of the combination of gray and beige)
Fave lyrics: A greater woman stays cool
But I howl like a wolf at the moon
And I look unstable
Gathered with a coven round a sorcerers' table
Thoughts & theories: My interpretation is quite simply Taylor talking about how she's cursed in love, especially after such a long-term relationship that I'm assuming she thought would be much longer. And going back to my reddit buds, I found it interesting that someone mentioned she uses the word throttle in this and So High School, as if there could be a connection. She's mentioned in songs before being happy in relationships but having that anxiety as to when the other shoe is going to drop.
Fave lyrics: When the first stone thrown there's screamin'
In the streets there's a ragin' riot
When it's "Burn the bitch", they're shrieking
When the truth comes out it's quiet
Thoughts & theories: This whole song screams reputation - from the mention of witches and snakes to using the greek priestess, Cassandra, to tell her own story of being cursed (um callback to The Prophecy) and not being believed. All of that mixed with the line blood's thick but nothing like a payroll is giving another song about the Kardashians. I'm guessing a lot came up during those rep re-records. I can also see this being taken as a comment on the current political climate although I think that's just coincidence.
Interesting words: beguiling - charming or enchanting, often in a deceptive way
masqueraded -
Fave lyrics: And I won't confess that I waited
But I let the lamp burn
As the men masqueraded
I hoped you'd return
Thoughts & theories: Taylor and her metaphors is at it again! She uses the Peter Pan story to tell her own experience with waiting for someone for a lengthy period of time, presumably Ratty Healy. She also mentions Peter losing Wendy in folklore's The 1, which leads me to believe that that beautiful song also has a bit of Ratty in it as well.
Thoughts & theories: It's such a bop of a melody but really goes hard on Taylor looking back on relationships she's bolted from. She uses the word "mate" so it definitely leads us Swifties to believe it's concerning a British guy...or maybe several. The way she sings All her fuckin' lives / Flashed before her eyes gives me chills every damn time. I hate to admit that I thought the lyric was he was a cat, wanted her fat / just like any good trophy hunter. 😹 And this is why I love to lay down with the lyric book and sing along to new albums, but since we didn't get physical lyrics for the anthology I started making up my own damn lyrics. But they make sense, right? RIGHT?
Interesting words: bloodthirsty - eager to shed blood
tethered - tie with a rope or chain so as to restrict movement
showmanship - theatrical presentation
just - fair or impartial
Fave lyrics: You have no room in your dreams for regrets
Thoughts & theories: It's well-known that this one is about or rather for Aaron Dessner's son Robin. However, the theory I like best is that it's actually about her cats. I will admit this was bottom of the barrel upon the first 20 listens through the albums. It's a sweet song and I do love the way she sings Way to go tiger but just didn't hit me personally in any special way...unless it really about her cats and then I'll change my tune.
Interesting words: manuscript - a book, document, or piece of music
torrid - emotionally charged and passionate
good samaritan - one who voluntarily renders aid to another in distress under no duty to do so
above board - honest and not trying to deceive anyone
synchronicity - the simultaneous occurrence of events which appear
significantly related but have no discernible casual connection.
agony - extreme mental or physical suffering
souvenir - something kept as a reminder of a place one has visited
Fave lyrics: Looking backwards might be the only way to move forward
Thoughts & theories: I interpreted "the manuscript" in large part to be the lyrics of her entire discography but in small part also thought it could be her looking back on past text messages between her and another person (especially that first verse which seems like it might be verbatim). However, reddit is strong in their belief it's all about ATW10. But that's a Taylor Swift song for ya, they all could mean something different to each listener.
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