26 Things for Turning 26

Last year I wrote a post like this where I listed 25 things I thought about the previous year and hopes for the next and silly things like that. It's my birthday again today so I'm going to give an updated and beautiful new list of things to celebrate.

1. The song I listened to most over the last year was "Cancel Man" by Self Defense Family. A song I love. Imagine that! A deeply beautiful and evocative song, in my personal opinion! I wrote about a bunch of Self Defense EPs earlier this year so I've spoken on the topic. Awesome song. My second most listened to song was "Do It Faster" by Militarie Gun because one day when I was in Portland, I fell asleep while it was playing on repeat. That does mean I was listening to it on repeat, I just didn't intend to listen to it for as long as it ended up playing. Scrobbling is an imperfect art.
2. My favorite show I went to in the last year was probably seeing Jeff Rosenstock at Baby's All Right. Just thought it was neat to see him play in a small little room. I also liked seeing him play at the Met with The Gaslight Anthem. Opposite vibes, but cool either way!!
3. Living with Eric meant I watched a lot more TV this year than I have for most of my life. All it led me to was believing American Dad is my favorite show, but that's okay.
4. The best thing I ate in the last year was probably popcorn in a movie theater.
5. The best thing I drank in the last year was an Elderberry Mead made by Enlightenment Wines that I would buy from Tiny's Bottle Shop in Port Richmond. A beautiful shop, a beautiful beverage.
6. The worst thing I drank this year was an Oli Pop. What the fuck is up with that???
7. My favorite episode of Endless Scroll, the podcast I co-host, was when we had Grace Robins-Somerville on to talk about boygenius and Wednesday. So good and so fun.
8. I made so many cool new friends in the last year! Sometimes it can feel difficult to meet new people, but I really have met so many great people and am so lucky to do the things I do and exist within a little community of similarly minded people.
9. For a while it felt like a failure to want to move back to Chicago, like I was giving up on The Next Chapter of My Life. Now I think it just feels like choosing the place that I feel the best. I feel like I can breathe in Chicago in a way I don't feel in Philadelphia.
10. I'll miss my friends in Philly. Seeing Eric and Devon and Ivan and everybody I love around the city has made everyday better.
11. I'll miss Wawa.
12. I went to Portland and Seattle alone which was a nice thing to do because I'd never been to the pacific northwest, but I also rented a car for the first time and that's really what felt like a milestone. I hated driving that car, but I liked that I felt really independent and capable in a way that I don't think I have before.
13. I'm going to be living alone again which is, frankly, a bit of a bummer. But I have an apartment with a real living room and real dining room and I'm stoked.
14. I still need to get a new couch.
15. I did find overalls I liked this past year and I did go to the doctor a bunch.
16. I started subscribing to Billy McCall's patreon and to Possessed Fanzine and continued to get the Chicago Reader delivered. It's hard to express just how much receiving physical written words in the mail improves my life! I love getting them and reading them and looking away from a screen. The way people write in print is so different than a blog or on twitter or whatever.
17. I love my blog, though.
18. I made fewer zines this year, but laid groundwork to make a lot more physical stuff! Coming as soon as I'm not about to move 800 miles away!
19. I have eaten more caesar salads this year than ever before
20. I no longer fit the criteria for PTSD and I'm very proud of that.
21. I hope to write more things for money, but also not feel bad if I don't actually end up doing it.
22. I hope to adopt an animal.
23. I hope I make new friends in Chicago.
24. The first song I heard at my brand new age was "A Life of Possibilities" by The Dismemberment Plan.
25. Being 25 was actually good for me.
26. I hope being 26 will be good, too.

As always, this blog is something that means a lot to me and I appreciate how much I've grown while doing it. Sometimes I'm embarrassed to do it in front of all of you, but I'm grateful to remember the person I was and the thoughts I was putting out into the world– for better or for worse.

Thanks for listening, thanks for understanding.
(Tequila take off, Tecate landing)

These are the 100 songs I listened to the most since my last birthday.

(It's also available on apple music!)

Here are 12 photos from the last 12 months of my life!

Miranda Reinert is a music adjacent writer, zine maker, podcaster and law school drop out based in Philadelphia. Follow me on Twitter or Instagram for more insights into my silly little cute life: @mirandareinert.  This blog does have a paid option and I would so appreciate any money you would be willing to throw me! You may also send me small bits of money at @miranda-reinert on venmo/on Paypal if you want. As always, thanks for reading!