Let’s do this, 2020

Yeah, so, it’s the end of a decade.

A lot has changed for me this decade. I got married. I had a baby. I lost a few loved ones. I got breast cancer (again). I started three (!) podcasts. I made a bunch of awesome, new friends. I got a new job. And so on, and so on.

Me at the end of 2009

Me at the end of 2019

In the past decade, I’ve changed from a person who could barely make boxed mac ‘n’ cheese to someone to absolutely loves to cook and bake all the time.

I fuckin’ made a vegan chocolate bundt cake.

I changed from the person who could barely work up the courage to talk in a meeting with more than 5 people to the person who cohosts multiple podcasts.

In 2009, I seriously wondered if not only could I have a baby, but should I have a baby. I worried that I didn’t have a maternal bone in my body. But here am I …

I have a lot of goals and wishes for 2020. On a national level, I’m hoping that this country can get its shit together and vote Predator Trump out.

You see, since I’ve got this amazing kid, I’d like the world to not be a massive dumpster fire all the time.

He got an Easy Bake Oven for Christmas. Lucky!

On a personal level, I’m hoping to be more active. I go to yoga on the weekends, but I know I can do more. I signed up for a hip-hop dance class (seriously, I did). And now that we have two dogs I have twice as many reasons to be walking more. #SoniaGetsHealthy in 2020.

I’m also hoping to do more traveling with my mighty, mighty good man David. We visited France, Belgium, Washington, DC, Baltimore, Denver, Portland, Las Vegas, Hawaii, and New York City in the past decade. Maui is on the agenda this summer with my family. I’d like to make a return visit to NYC, and I’d love to check out Chicago.

So anyway, I hope y’all have a completely rad New Year’s Eve. Let’s all link arms and dance into 2020 together.

Meet Max

Yeah, so, meet Max.

We weren’t really planning on adopting another dog. But, come on. That face.

We were having lunch at Cato’s in Oakland, and across the street there was an adoption event.

“Let’s look at the dogs,” I said. So naive.

Next thing I know, this happened:

Calvin named him Max after the dog in “The Grinch.”

He’s 11 weeks old, and he’s from Puerto Rico. Here’s the story about him and his family on the Rocket Dog Rescue site.

He’s probably going to get to 45-55 pounds. That’s the biggest dog we’ve ever had. Toby and Max are getting long, but Toby keeps putting him in his place. Toby is very possessive of his food, his blanket and his Sonia.

Our cat Kubo is curious and brave. They’re not friends yet, but I think it will happen.

Max is smart and eager to please. He’s a real sweetheart.

Welcome to The MansTracy family, Max.

Empire state of mind

Yeah, so, I’m 49 years old and up until last week I had never been to New York.

I know, I know. It’s ridiculous.

Our good friends John and Chris moved to New York earlier this year, and they were kind enough to offer us their guest room. Also, my podcasting sister from another mister Margo lives in Brooklyn, and we were overdue to FINALLY meet in person.

My mighty, mighty good man David and I had an amazing time.

We went to The Met. We saw two Broadway shows. We went to the top of the Empire State Building. We visited Rockafellar Center. We walked the High Line and the Brooklyn Bridge. We went to Washington Square Park, and we checked out the Union Street Holiday Fair. We visited the 9/11 Memorial. We walked around Central Park and visited Strawberry Fields. We went to Brooklyn and checked out Prospect Park. We explored a bunch of neighborhoods, including Park Slope, Chelsea, Gramercy, Midtown, Times Square, Upper East Side and Upper West Side.

We walked 8 miles every day, according to my Apple Watch. We had delicious food and drank local beer every day.

Here are just a few of the photos from our adventures.

My first subway ride.

Our hosts with the most, John and Chris, on the Brooklyn Bridge.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous the day we walked the Brooklyn Bridge.

This place is super famous for trying to bury stories about Harvey Weinstein being a rapist.

They filmed “Ghostbusters” at New York Public Library, so I had to visit it.

David got pasta mixed and served from a cheese wheel. It was not vegan.

My first Broadway show, “Oklahoma,” was so great. I thought it was going to be all happy, but it was actually really dark. I loved it.

The High Line had great views.

This was my favorite beer on the trip: Double Fluffed from Interboro. It was sweet, but not too sweet. It kinda reminded me of Highwater’s Campfire Stout.

Time Square is crazy.

Margo is adorable (everybody drink), and I hugged the shit out of her multiple times! I am so happy I finally got to meet her in person. She’s my people.

If we moved to New York, I would want to live in Park Slope. It’s rad.

We visited Strong Rope Brewing in Park Slope, and I ordered a vegan pepperoni and mushroom pizza delivered from Screamers. It was delicious.

Seeing David Byrne was on David’s bucket list. “American Utopia” was so great. David Byrne is a treasure. The songs were awesome (duh), and the staging and choreography was fantastic. I left the show feeling hopeful, and that alone made it worth the price of the ticket.

I got some vegan ice cream from Van Leeuwen. It was earl grey and cookies, and it was everything I dreamed it would be.

We went to the top of the Empire State Building at midnight, and we had the entire thing to ourselves. There was just a few other people, no lines at all. It was cold, but clear. The views were … well, you can see for yourself.

Kooooooonnnnnggg!

The perfect end to our perfect trip … We got upgraded for first class on our flight home! We’re so fancy!

Thank you to Margo for meeting up for lunch with us, and Caroline and Sam for enjoying a vegan feast with us one night. A big thank you to John and Chris for hosting us! And finally, a massive thank you to my mom for spending the week with my mighty, mighty good boy Calvin so we could make it happen.

Bare necessities

Yeah, so, I lasted a week before I signed up for Disney+. I immediately put on “The Jungle Book” for Calvin, because he’s never seen it.

Oh, and I want to watch “The Mandalorian.” Duh.

Piñata party

Yeah, so, sometimes you buy a piñata for no reason.

Lizzo is good as hell

Yeah, so, like every other woman over 40 I’m completely in love with Lizzo. A few days before Halloween she came to San Francisco for two nights, and she was good as hell.

My sister Michelle and I had such a good time. The audience was the nicest and most polite audience I’ve ever seen at a concert.

I saw a woman trying to take a selfie in the restroom, and another woman (a stranger!) said, “You look so great. Let me take that photo for you.”

The crowd was mainly women and gay men, so it was also the most apologetic group ever.

“No, I’m sorry.”
“No, no. It was my fault.”
“You first.”
“No, I’m sorry. You first.”

Since the concert was a few nights before Halloween, and I knew everyone would have a 100% That Bitch shirt I decided to get something a little different.

Of course, my silly shirt wasn’t the best outfit at the concert. While waiting in line to get into the concert, I saw the most amazing jacket. I couldn’t stop staring at it, and repeatedly asking Michelle, “Whooooooose jacket is this?”

Sometimes I just text her this photo and ask her again, “Whooooooose jacket is this?” I will never not be funny to me.

 

New York, new hair, new job and new podcasts

Yeah, so, in a week I’m going to be in NYC for the first time! Whaaaaaa?

It’s kinda stupid that I have never been to New York, so my mighty, mighty good man David and I are finally making it happen.

Stay tuned to this blog or my Instagram for photos and updates on our adventures. Don’t go to Facebook, because I’m thisclose to deactivating my account.

We’re going to stay with our good buddies John and Chris, and I can’t wait to see them and catch up. And, AND, I’m finally going to meet my podcasting sister from another mister in person, Margo.

I know, right? That’s some pretty exciting stuff.

Other exciting stuff, my hair is pink now. It’s like a sunset on my head.

Oh, and my new job is going great. I’m so happy. The UX content strategy team recently had an offsite. It was just three days of talking about words, voice, and tone. It was so rad.

After 10 years at the same job, this has been a big change for me. Obviously, the job responsibilities are different, but the culture is different. It’s a tech company, and everyone is really creative. They have really interesting hobbies, and the company is supportive of that. There isn’t this culture of pretending that your life stops when you walk into the building from 9 to 5, if that makes sense.

For example, I can tell people that I write a blog or co-host three podcasts, and they ask where they can find them. Everyone follows each other on social media. Everyone seems really interested in each other’s creative pursuits.

Also, there was a board game night, which gave me an opportunity to show off David’s amazing board game collection. Here’s V, Sara and I playing Doxie Dash.

My favorite quote of the night: “What am I going to do with this bra?” – V

So, yeah, I’m really happy there. The other day the office brought in puppies. Seriously.

Speaking of puppies, last week David, Calvin and I went to Faction Brewing in Alameda with Beegs, Sass, and Levi, and we brought Toby. He made some friends while he was there.

A few quick podcast updates for you

What a Creep has a Patreon page now, so if you want to kick us a few bucks to keep What a Creep going, you’ll get access to our super-fun bonus episodes. Margo and I have a cocktail and talk shit. You’ll love it.

Over at Dorking Out, we’re doing #90sinNovember. We dorked out about “The Craft,” “Encino Man” and “Disclosure” with Adam Riske from F This Movie.

 

Saturday night sleepover

Yeah, so, good buddies Beegs and Sass invited Calvin and I to a sleepover on Saturday night.

Calvin and Levi hung out in the back room and watched “Toy Story 3” while the grownups drank too much wine and watched “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” which I had never seen. It was disturbing but not as gory as I thought it would be, which is the main reason I’d never seen it.

The next morning I woke up to this scene of cuteness.

That afternoon we went for a walk in their hood, and then grabbed some lunch at Cato’s, which is one of my happy places because it’s got great vegan options and huge beer list.

Punching up, punching down and the Blair Witch

Yeah, so, Margo and I talk about Louis CK on our latest episode of What a Creep.

There are some folks who think what Louis CK did isn’t that big of a deal. It is, and we talk about it. We also have a really good chat about the difference between punching up and punching down in comedy.

Oh, and, I get all ranty, so if you’re aching to hear Ranty Sonia, this is the episode for you.

Over at Dorking Out, we continue to celebrate F This Movie’s #ScaryMovieMonth with an episode about “The Blair Witch Project.” This movie absolutely terrified me back in 1999. How does it hold up? We talk about it.

We’ve got big plans for both podcasts in November. The Patreon page for What a Creep will go live soon. Plus, we’re celebrating season 5 (OMG!) in November with a theme: 90s in November. If you have a movie from the ’90s you’d love for us to dork out about, let us know on Twitter or send us an email at dorkingoutshow@gmail.com.

Robin Hood is a total fox

Yeah, so, let’s talk about creeeeeeps. We kicked off season 3 (!) of What a Creep, and this time we went a little old school. Margo tells me why Errol Flynn is a creep, and we decide that the Fox in the animated “Robin Hood” is the sexiest Robin Hood.

We’ve got a modern creep coming this week. I don’t want to reveal who is it now, but I’ll say that we’re going to have a really great conversation about punching up and punching down when it comes to standup comedy.

Over at Dorking Out headquarters, we’re celebrating F This Movie’s #ScaryMovieMonth. We dork out about “The Hand that Rocks the Cradle” and “Poltergeist.” We’ve got a few more scary episodes this month.

We’re celebrating season 5 (!) in November with a theme: 90s in November. If you have a movies from the 90s you’d love for us to dork out about, let us know on Twitter or send us an email at dorkingoutshow@gmail.com.