| On (or Close to) Schedule

Travelogue: Asheville, North Carolina Pt 2

2026-07-08T17:20:25Z

Hot as blazes

The next morning, we met up with alla Sara’s relatives for brunch.

And then hung out with them for some swimming, day drinking, and chips.

Nice buncha folks.

Forgot to take pics so here’s what I had for brekkie instead.

That night was the wedding, which was HOT.

Me: Holy cow, it’s 6PM and feels like 2PM.
Her: The sun sets later down south, Logan.
Me: I’m seeing this.

It was on the roof of the brewery from the previous entry.

Gorgeous day and view but hot as blazes.

I stayed indoors for as long as I possibly could.

I had originally brought a vested suit and dress shirt to wear but I heard someone say that shorts were allowed so I quickly pivoted.

Sara, unfortunately, could not as she was one of the bridesmaids.

I thought she looked great, though.
Poor Sara had to be in the 95+ degree sun for over an hour for the ceremony and pics.

The actual ceremony was pretty quick, which is good because everyone – myself included was melting.

I actually bought this tiny little fan that I kept on me the whole time; at least half-a-dozen people commented on that.

Him: That is genius.
Me: Yeah, I got it as soon as I heard it was an outdoor wedding in July.
Him: I should have done that.
Me: I don’t do well in the heat.

I like things that are clever and there were two rather clever ideas that the bride and groom had regarding the table seating.

The first was that the groom is a tenured librarian so there were two Dewey Decimal System drawers with actual cards on them that our assigned dinner tables.

The second had to do with how they met; they’re both avid rock concert goers and met at a concert.

So, the wedding was music themed with every table having an album (I guess they really are making a comeback) name.

Sara and I were assigned the Fleetwood Mac Rumors table.

I couldn’t wait to get in the air-conditioned main hall – and start shoveling some North Carolina BBQ down my piehole – so, as soon as the ceremony was done, off we went.

After a buncha speeches, we got to the eating, which was excellent.

Me: When do you think we can go up for seconds?
Him: I think you gotta wait until all the tables have gone already.
Me: Fiiine. (later) Do you think it’s ok to get thirds?
Someone else: Go for it, people are going for dessert.

On that note, even the cake – cupcakes, really – were music themed.

Obvs, they are Grateful Dead fans…

They seriously felt like they were meant for each other.

Her: I love weddings! I love love!
Me: (laughing) I can tell. (thinking) It’s good. Waiting for the right things in your life.
Her: It took me a really long time to figure out what I did and didn’t like. I mean, half the time I still don’t know what I like.
Me: Well, you know you like old Chinese men.
Her: (laughs) Yes, I do.

Location: back at home, eating dinner number three
Mood: still hungry
Music: I’ll tell you ’bout the time when I first met you, listen to our favorite song (Spotify)
Subscribe!
Like this post? Tell someone about it by clicking a button below.

Travelogue: Asheville, North Carolina Pt 1

2026-07-06T02:30:59Z

Plus a trip to the Biltmore Estate

Her: So, I was thinking. If someone wanted to rob a bank, why not give ice cream to everyone as a distraction beforehand?
Me: Maybe you should just stick to being a teacher.
Her: You don’t think it would work?

Sara had a cousin getting married in Asheville, so the plan was to head down, spend a few days in Asheville, and then head back home on Saturday night.

Unfortunately, something came up where I had to be back by Thursday afternoon, so I had to cut my trip short.

Sara was super bummed but understood.

But, lemme back up a bit to the beginning.

This time, we decided to fly so we headed out to the airport and it ended up being a super-fast 90-minute trip or so.

FAR better than the 12+ hours it took us the last time we headed down.

But not without some hiccups.

Him: Unfortunately, we don’t have a car for you.
Me: I think Avis and I differ greatly on what the word “reservation” means.
Him: (clicking on computer) Sorry but…wait, you booked a car…four months ago?
Me: Yes, although that seems have been a waste of everyone’s time.

We ended up having to wait 40 minutes for a car to show up, which was super annoying, but we were just happy to get onto the road.

Since we were all starving, we hit up a cute little southern restaurant along the way.

It was good but not great.

Her: That was disappointing – I’ve never had that much black pepper in fried chicken or mashed potatoes before.
Me: Yeah, but it’s just as well, otherwise, we’d have eaten the whole thing.

Sara needed to get shoes for the wedding and there was a Belk along the way, so she went there while her kid and I camped out at the Barnes and Noble.

It was ginormous.

Me: Whoa! I’ve not seen records for sale in decades.
Her: Really? It’s making a comeback.
Me: I truly do not understand the world.

We got to our hotel – finally – and immediately crashed.

The next day, we did what Sara was looking forward to for months – a tour of the Biltmore estate.

Her: It’s the largest private home in the world!
Me: …yay?

She enjoyed herself but the weather really drained me.

In the main picture of this post, you can tell on my face that I just wanna nap; Sara is the Energizer Bunny.

There were some cool things to see, like an indoor pool…

…bowling alley…

…plus, a cool little operator-run elevator that actually still worked…

https://loganlo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/VID_20260629_135436_DOLBY.mp4

…but I’m not sure I would have done the 2.5+ hour tour myself.

We ended up meeting up with her sister and her family for some beers near our hotel.

Me: They have a chopped cheese!
Her Son: YES!
Me: (after getting it) You know, they did a pretty good job here. And it wasn’t 20 bucks and tiny like at the ballpark.

Sara and I ended the night with drinks that she got comped because of her Hilton status.

The next day, everyone slept in and I didn’t do much at all during the day, (a) because it was hot as blazes but also (b) we were all exhausted from all the travel and activities.

I did have my first Firehouse sub, though – she got The Engineer.

Later that night, Sara had her rehearsal dinner at Highland Brewing – which is actually Asian owned!

I’m not really a beer drinker but they had kombucha and their air conditioning was on point.

After she finished up, we went to the bride and groom’s AirBnB for an informal pizza party on the top of a mountain.

Woman: Hi, my friend says that he recognizes you from YouTube.
Me: That’s cool! Why didn’t he say something himself?
Her: Oh, he didn’t want to bother you.
Me: I’m a D-level celeb, it’s never a bother.

All-in-all, it was a pretty fun night, and everyone was super chill.

I musta eaten my body weight in pizza.

But this entry’s getting super long so I’ll wrap up the trip tomorrow.

Location: back at home, melting
Mood: so. hot.
Music: I’m just trying to find my way home (Spotify)
Subscribe!
Like this post? Tell someone about it by clicking a button below.

Three trips

2026-07-03T07:25:45Z

Pushing us forward

By the time you read this, I’ll be flying back from a wedding in Asheville, North Carolina.

But lemme back up a bit and tell you where I’ve been lately.

The kid had his last day of school the other day.

Me: When you walk out these doors, you’re never coming back here as an elementary student again.
Him: I’ll be in middle school! (walks out the door and stops) I’ll never be here again as a student? (looks sad) I’m not ready.
Me: (gently) We never are. But that’s how life is; it pushes you forward even if you’re not ready to be.

He was pretty emotional for a bit, but then I reminded him that we had to catch a train to see his grandmother.

So, off we went.

Unfortunately, all of the tunnels were dark when we arrived.

Entering into the dark train, the conductor said that none of the tunnels had power due to an issue with Amtrak.

They were hoping to fix the issue. But at least half the car already left, like the lady above.

Me: (after 20 minutes) I think we should go.
Him: Can we wait until 3PM?
Me: Fine. (at 3PM, another 10 minutes later) I don’t think this is happening, kid. Let’s try again tonight.
Him: Just five more minutes. PLEASE?!
Me: (sighing) OK, five more. And then we go.

Literally two minutes later, the AC and lights came back on.

Him: SEE?!
Me: (laughing) I’m happy to be wrong here. We’re off to see grandma!
Him: Yay!

We arrived in NJ where I had dinner with Alison’s parents and caught up with them.

After a few hours, I took the train back.

Me: Do you have a painkiller? My jaw’s been killing me for the past few days. Can barely chew.
Him: What happened?
Me: I’m not sure. Maybe I got an ear infection?

Got home and crashed.

Sara: You should go to urgent care and get that checked out.
Me: Yeah, if I have an ear infection, the plane ride will be hell.

So, bright and early the next day, I went to urgent care.

The doc said that, while I didn’t have an infection, I did have some earwax buildup, which he irrigated out – it feels awesome if you’re never done it before.

Him: But I don’t see an infection. (thinking) Are you sure you don’t remember getting injured in your face?
Me: (thinking) Shoot, now that you mention it, I remember that I got a nasty face-crack on my face a few days ago. He was definitely trying to crack my jaw.
Him: What?! Does that happen a lot?
Me: (shrugging) More than you might expect.

By the next morning, I was ready for my flight.

Sara was going to see her family for an annual visit AND her cousin was getting married.

I’ll tell you all about it in the next entry.

Location: AVL, realizing that I’m at the wrong gate
Mood: antsy
Music: feels like summer (Spotify)
Subscribe!
Like this post? Tell someone about it by clicking a button below.

The kid graduated from elementary school

2026-07-01T02:45:06Z

Wanting but not ready to

I always try my best to keep all my entries in chronological order because it acts as my own personal journal – I can’t tell you how many times in a week I’ll search through the blog for some bit of information

But the issue here is that the kid’s graduation was actually a full four days before the last day of his school.

So, that means that the first part of this entry happened before the last entry about the baseball game and the second part, after.

The kid let me sleep in an extra hour but after he woke me up, we quickly made our way to the 84th Street where his graduation was taking place.

Sara took the day off to come and support him, which I really appreciated.

Unfortunately, we were running about five minutes late, which Sara and barely noticed but the kid was apoplectic.

Him: (upset) What if I miss it!? I can run there.
Me: Dude, it’s 85 degrees, the bus is here in two minutes, and it’s six blocks from here.
Him: But what if we miss it?!
Me: We’ll be fine. You gotta believe in the system.

Luckily, the bus did actually come in two minutes and we were there within 10.

Him: We made it!
Me: Never had a doubt, kid.

Before I knew it, they had called his name, and he was up on stage getting his “diploma” and shaking alla his teachers’ hands.

The last time he graduated from anything was five years ago and I had so many mixed feelings then.

This time, I still had them, but it was less so.

Alison would have cried because she would have been so happy and proud.

Like I was.

Afterward, I quickly hit up the gym for two reasons: (a) to work out and (b) to let the kid play for a bit with his friends.

Then I took him and everyone else down to Chinatown to celebrate.

Me: What are you in the mood for?
Him: Hand-pulled noodles and soup!
Me: In the summer?!
Him: You said I could get anything!
Me: (laughing) So I did. Steaming hot noodles and soup in the middle of summer it is.

The next three days were weird as he “graduated,” but he still had school.

A lotta his classmates – he said about half – had already started their summer vacations. After all, we went to a baseball game until about midnight the day before his last day of elementary school.

But I suppose that he’s like me in that he wanted to spend time with friends that he would no longer see on the regular.

Because it finally hit him that he would never be an elementary school student again.

And, truth be told, it finally hit me just now as I wrote these words: He’ll never be an elementary student again.

He’s growing up, as he’s supposed to and as I want him to.

But, while I want him to grow up, I’m not ready for my little boy to grow up yet.

Location: Asheville, NC, having some fried chix
Mood: conflicted
Music: I never knew me a better time and I guess, I never will (Spotify)
Subscribe!
Like this post? Tell someone about it by clicking a button below.

My second baseball game

2026-06-29T03:03:18Z

But my first with the kid

Me: Do you like that I don’t watch sports?
Her: Oh yeah, I couldn’t be with someone who was locked into the TV every weekend watching some sports ballgame.

The last time I saw a baseball game was a Mets game that I saw when I was about 11 or so with my brother and his buddy Ira.

I brought a canteen for water and was mercilessly mocked by the people around us – my brother was (rightfully) embarrassed.

But people regularly walk around with 32-ounce water bottles so maybe I was just ahead of the curve?

In any case, after 42 years, I caught my second one the other day with both kids, Sara, and *50* of ABFFs friends and family.

It was kinda a surprise for the kid the day before the last day of elementary school but he figured it out.

Me: Why can’t you let me have these things?
Him: But you told I could guess!
Me: I didn’t think you’d figure it out!

So, this past Thursday, we all hopped the train for a 90-minute ride to Coney Island to check out the minor league team, The Cyclones, at Maimonides Park.

The first thing I did was get a beer and some food – essentially a burger and fries cost $20 and things went from bad to worse from there, food wise.

Me: I can’t get full. I’m gonna have to get a second mortgage and some more food.
Her: Are you even watching the game?
Me: There’s a game on?

I have to admit that it had its moments, but I was really there because the kid loves sports so much.

I wanted him to have some memories of the two of us going to a game together so that was really my main impetus.

He was definitely into it.

And the fact that Sara and the ABFF’s kids were there just made it that much better.

Oh, the tickets we got included some food, a hat, and a ring – all together, it wasn’t a bad deal.

It had some fun moments here and that we all enjoyed.

The stadium was about half empty, which I appreciated as I don’t like crowds, or people in general.

It was nice seeing the kid so into the whole experience.

I liked checking out the rest of the stadium and all of the cool things at Coney Island that I never get to see.

Ultimately, the Cyclones lost – they gave it their all in the 9th inning.

Her: They have nothing to lose so they’re going for it.
Me: Makes sense. Do you like that you have to explain sports to a man?
Her: I love the strategy of the end of the game – it’s super exciting. I’m happy to explain it!

The ABFF’s sister was the one that came up with this idea in the first place as she’s a teacher that’s really into baseball, so she figured it was a nice thing to do the day before school let out.

And she picked this particular game because (a) it let the kids round around the bases when the game was done and (b) there was a fireworks display at the end.

Of course, the kid was thrilled at these two extras at the end.

It was close to 10:30PM by the time we left…

…which meant that it was dark and relatively cold as we made our way to the station.

We were all pretty exhausted.

And, unfortunately, the trains went local for a good part of the way so that meant we got home even later than planned.

Him: Can we take a car home?
Me: We’re not made of money, kid. Plus, we’d literally just save like 20 minutes at most.

The kids tried to go to sleep but no luck.

They were too wired from the experience and the copious amounts of junk food they had while there.

It well after midnight when we got home.

Me: Did you have a fun time?
Kid: Yeah. But now I just wanna go to sleep.
Me: Good call – tomorrow’s your last day of elementary school!
Him: (sleepily) Yeah.

But he was actually excited to finish up elementary school, which I’ll tell you about in the next entry.

Location: Somewhere over Pennsylvania, I would guess
Mood: hungry, what else is new?
Music: You know I think it’s time to give this game a ride (Spotify)
Subscribe!
Like this post? Tell someone about it by clicking a button below.

Father’s Day 2026

2026-06-26T04:46:23Z

Like some peon

Her: You are such a back seat driver.
Me: That’s because I’m the better driver. (she flicks my ear) Ow. Ow! OW! Stop that!
Her: You are not!

It’s been a whirlwind of activity around here.

Partly because of the vermin issue, partly because of some distressing family news that I’ll keep to myself for now, and partly because the kid is winding up another school year.

To this end, I went to his school again to see the very last presentation of the year.

Him: Why are you late!?
Me: So much stuff is going on at home, kiddo! But I made it.

Because it’s the end of the year, he’s got all these activities; I think he’s been to no less than six or seven parties in the past three weeks.

The wildest one was a speedboat that he went on with a number of his soccer buddies.

Her: Hi! We will start at pier 83 at 12:45 – ride starts at 1:00 – and go on the beast ride. We will make our way to Dave and Busters and be done at 4:30. The kids will eat at Dave and Busters.
Me: In the 80s, a killer party would have involved Pizza Hut and copious amounts of soft drinks from a red plastic cup.

But, we also had Father’s Day.

Her: I decided to get you BOTH a jelly donut and a croissant.
Me: Oh man, thanks! Shoot, I’m gonna be a fatty-fat-fat.
Her: (shaking head) Nah. You’re waifish.
Me: WAIFISH!?

It’s fine. She got me the below.

And that’s walnut butter – not peanut butter like I’m some peon.

Sara and the kid took me out to Indian food as well where I had all the carbs.

All-in-all, it was a pretty nice few days to counterbalance the grossness and anxiety of the vermin issue.

It’s gonna be a while before we get over that.

We all have PTSD.

Me: What was that?!
Her: It was my foot, Logan!
Me: It’s gonna be rough around here for the next few weeks.

Mainly me.

Location: the kid’s new middle school, hoping I made the right decision
Mood: sigh
Music: And we can sing just like our fathers (Spotify)
Subscribe!
Like this post? Tell someone about it by clicking a button below.

The things he carried

2026-06-24T03:14:43Z

What they represent

The stuff I took from my sister a few weeks ago deserves its own entry here, but I wanted to talk about some things that I found that brought back so many memories.

See, I recall the picture of my mom that you see above, and the vocab cards were always in his wallet.

I didn’t know about the other two pictures.

It reminded me of the picture of my son’s sonogram that Alison carried around in her filofax.

She must have looked at that image a million times and dreamt of the life that she and he would have together.

Fuck.

But this entry isn’t about her but about my dad.

This Father’s Day, the kid gave me this card that he wrote up in Chinese school.

He kept his promise from Mother’s Day and handed me the card you see below.

Just like with the Mother’s Day card he gave me, he wrote on this one: Happy, happy, happy.

Only, this time, it really was. He handed it to me beaming.

Me: Why did you write, “Happy, Happy, Happy?”
Him: (shrugging) I dunno. Why aren’t you going to read it now?
Me: Because it’s not Father’s Day just yet. I wanna have something to read that day.
Him: Oh, ok!

And I saved it for that day, which is its own entry.

I think children don’t really know what their parents truly carry around with them.

Alison and my dad both carried around physical pictures of the things that they loved because that was the time they were born in – there were no smartphones, no jpegs, no MP4 files, no digital flashcards.

So, they picked the most special things to carry with them and those were my dad’s

I know that Alison stared at that sonogram a million times throughout the day.

My dad looked at my brother and me so many times that he had to laminate the picture you see above.

And the picture of all three kids was folded, so I know he kept it in his wallet.

Finally, that picture of my mom always made me realize just how much he loved her.

I’m guessing that he looked at that picture of my mom – prior to him cutting it – and thought:

She looks so beautiful. But this isn’t a good picture. I’ll just cut out her face because I want to look at it while I’m busy at work.

Now, I totally made up that conversation with my dad to himself.

But, lemme tell you, I would bet my entire pad that I’m 100% right.

Because he only had eyes for her – everything else could go away.

My dad wasn’t perfect, but he taught me how to be a good father and husband without talking about either.

He just did it – meaning he just was a good dad and was a good husband – so I could copy him.

I think those are the best dads and the kind I hope I am, or at least could be.

I told you, decades ago, that:

You don’t love a picture because of the paper it’s printed on.

You love a picture for what it represents.

These are the pictures and things my father loved.

As for us, we are so very lucky; I have an entire phone that has access to thousands of pictures and videos – of Sara, of the kid, of my family, of Alison.

I carry my phone wherever I go, which means that I carry them wherever I go.

My dad carried less than I did, I carry more than he did, but we loved every single one of them the same way.

And he carried those vocabulary cards because he loved learning and I love learning because he did.

Just like him, I always carry something that will make me a little smarter than I was yesterday.

Just like I carry him with me.

Sara: You ok?
Me: Yeah. (pause) I just miss my dad.
Her: Yeah. (thinking) What do you want for dinner tomorrow?
Me: (brightening) Oh man, carbs! Like maybe pasta? Or sushi? Or…noodles? I know! Indian food – rice, bread, potatoes…yeah.
Her: (laughing) It’s Father’s Day. You can have all that.
Me: Thanks, baby. (sighing) Thanks.
Her: (nodding gently) Anytime, Logan Lo. Anytime.

Location: Chinatown…with all the carbs
Mood: wistful
Music: 上を向いて歩こう (Spotify)
Subscribe!
Like this post? Tell someone about it by clicking a button below.

We should stop drinking tea

2026-06-22T04:04:12Z

It was seven

Her: We need to stay at a hotel.
Me: What are we, made of money? We just have one more to go.

When the exterminator didn’t show up, I texted him. This is what he wrote me.

I had so many questions – both about his business sense and his parenting skills.

But I didn’t have time to mess around as Sara was at the limits of her patience.

Her: OK, we can get a two-bedroom in midtown for essentially what this place is worth and there’s also a wraparound…
Me: (interrupting) I’m working on it, baby. I’m working on it.

In the past, I’d used AlleyCat Pest Control – who were here last in 2021, and we literally didn’t have a lick of trouble until this time – and I really liked the owner as he was both really good at his job and a great guy.

But he couldn’t make it.

Don (the owner of AlleyCat): You know I’d love to help you, but I’m swamped and I’m also covering for someone else.
Me: Oh crap.
Him: (continuing) But six rats in 12 hours usually means you have a serious infestation. Still, based on everything you’re telling me, it could well be as you think – that when the construction workers next door took down all their stuff, the rats hiding and living in their stuff just ran into your building and set up camp.
Me: That’s what I’m hoping.

Another tenant in my building suggested Chelsea Pest Control, so I rang them up.

They sent someone within two hours that same day (!).

The guy that came, Sammy A., went through my entire apartment and did a bang-up job sealing the pad but couldn’t find the last rat.

Him: I assume he ran out. But your apartment’s totally sealed now; I think a pregnant rat got into your place and had her litter here. Because you definitely have signs of rats but not like a colony.
Me: Well, at least there’s that.

It turns out that, for every rat you see, you have 10-20 hidden behind the walls.

That means that if I had SEVEN rats – the mother, the five I killed, and the one missing one – which could have conceivably been up to 140 rats in my building (gross).

But both Sammy and Don said the tenants would be losing their minds with the scratching and the squeaking the walls and would have definitely seen something.

Here, literally no one had a single problem – including me – until the past Sunday.

Both Sammy and I assumed that the mother was dead in the wall, because flies started coming out from under my radiator (vomit) but, luckily, I had a bug zapper, so they didn’t make it far.

By Friday, we hadn’t seen the last live rat, so we assumed it was gone.

Because of this, I cleaned the entire apartment a second time, which – again – took almost the entire day.

Feeling satisfied with my job well done, I stopped to make tea and heard something in the cupboard.

Opening it, there it was.

I yelped and slammed the door shut.

Running into the bedroom, I geared up in my sweater, jeans, sneakers and got some thick gloves. I was ready for yet another rat battle.

Her: You know you look ridiculous, right? Why are you wearing a SWEATER?! It’s 100% degrees!
Me: OK, do you wanna go grab the rat?
Her:
Me: Yeah, I thought so!

There was only one hole in that cabinet for the power cable to my microwave. It was so small. I still have no clue how the rat got through the hole.

I stuck my hand into the cabinet and sealed the hole with some Gorilla Tape. I did try to grab the rat but I was worried that I’d let it escape if I kept trying.

So, instead, I sealed the cabinet doors and called Chelsea again.

They had a different guy come out literally 40 mins later. He came in, grabbed the live rat, and shoved it into a bucket.

Sara: Did you get it?
Him: (grinning broadly, holds up the bucket, and answers in a thick Slavic accent) Ya!

So, I then cleaned the entire kitchen and bathroom a THIRD goddamn time.

The moral of the story?

We should stop making goddamn tea in the house.

Location: my rat- and mouse-free home.
Mood: still exhausted but also still grossed out
Music: They don’t push, don’t crowd. Congregate until they’re much too loud (Spotify)
Subscribe!
Like this post? Tell someone about it by clicking a button below.

We have to burn this apartment down

2026-06-19T03:21:39Z

My unwanted houseguests

The below is why I didn’t post this past Sunday.

Her: Why do you think it happened all of a sudden?
Me: They were doing construction right next door for a year, and they just pulled out all their tools, junk, and equipment. I guarantee you that they were nesting there when alla sudden their home disappears and they scattered and went into the closest place.
Her: Our building?
Me: (nodding) Our building…and this apartment, evidently.

It was a pretty uneventful trip back home from my mom’s but I was beat and just wanted to crash.

As I walked into my apartment, past my kitchen, and glanced at my stove, I saw TWO furry heads looking back at me.

I froze. Mice. Two of them.

Both Alison and Sara were/are neat freaks and keep an immaculate house, which means that, in the 30 years I’ve been here, I’ve only ever seen 8-9 mice ever, but I’d never seen TWO before.

Not putting up any gross pics, so this entry will be fulla rando pics of NYC.

So, I quickly ran out of the house and looked for some traps.

Had to go to three stores before I picked up a bunch at my corner bodega.

Ran back and laid them out in my kitchen – but then a RAT (!) not a mouse ran past me, into my bedroom (!!) and disappeared into my bathroom.

This was my first rat sighting EVER in my home.

But I had two to contend with. So, I pretty much covered my kitchen and bathroom with traps.

I took a shower (yes, in that bathroom) and Sara and I went to bed but just as we were settling in, I heard some shrieking in my bathroom and ran to find one trapped.

Me: Holy cow, that was fast!
Her: (running in from the kitchen) LOGAN! I was getting a cup of tea and saw another one in the trap.
Me: There’s another one?!

I ran into the kitchen and, yup.

I quickly dispatched both of them, beyond relieved.

Me: Honestly, that was the best possible outcome.
Her: It’s still gross.
Me: Well, alls well that ends well.
Her: Did you put away the other traps you had out?
Me: Nah, I’ll do it tomorrow. I’m beat.

The next morning, Sara went to work before me, as she usually does, but she pounded on my door.

I groggily went to the kitchen, but Sara was already halfway out the door.

Her: (leaving) There’s another rat!

Except, she was wrong.

There wasn’t A rat there – there were TWO of them, each in their respective traps.

That means I went from zero rats in 30 years to FOUR rats in eight hours.

I took a deep breath and dispatched those as well.

I had just two traps left.

There can’t possibly be more, can there? I thought, before starting the long process of cleaning and sanitizing every inch of the kitchen and bathroom.

Spent the entire morning cleaning before taking a quick break at noon or so to make a cup of tea.

I went to my bedroom to doom scroll when I head the trap go off in the kitchen.

What the…?!

It was a fifth rat.

Her: (on phone) You’re kidding.
Me: Oh man, I wish…

That’s gotta be the last one, I thought.

So, I dispatched that one and continued to clean the entire kitchen again.

Sara came home and couldn’t believe there were FIVE rats but was happy it was over.

Her: We should move.
Me: (shrugging) If you’re buying, sure.

We settled into a quiet evening when she went to get a cup of tea, herself.

Her: (from kitchen) LOGAN! I almost touched it!
Me: (running in) Touched what?!
Her: ANOTHER RAT! It was sitting on the sink, and I went to wash my hands and almost touched it before it ran away.

That’s SIX rats if you’re keeping count.

That was enough for me.

A neighbor highly recommended this “great” exterminator to come the next day, so I did that.

We just ate out and kept all the doors closed – but the exterminator was 90 minutes late and didn’t bring the right tools.

He’d come back tomorrow, he said.

But he didn’t.

This is getting crazy long, so I’ll wrap it in the next entry.

Her: Clearly, we have to burn this apartment down.
Me: Clearly.

Location: a sparkling and ridonk clean kitchen
Mood: ex-haust-ed
Music: They don’t scurry when something bigger comes their way
(Spotify)
Subscribe!
Like this post? Tell someone about it by clicking a button below.

Seeing my mom when I can

2026-06-17T19:23:23Z

Chopstick envy

We went out to see my mom this past weekend for two reasons:

1. The first was that it would be the last time for the kid to see his cousins for the rest of the summer and they wanted to hang.
2. But the second was that my mom’s getting older and that’s something that I’m only now really seeing/accepting.

So, I’m trying to see and talk to her as long as I can.

When my dad passed, I saw him age in front of me as the cancer took away the energetic man I knew my whole life.

I’m always been accused of dying my hair (the white hairs I have belie this accusation), but my dad had pretty black hair until the cancer and the treatments squeezed every last bit of life outta him.

Sorry, I was telling you about my weekend.

This always happens. Don’t mind me.

So, yeah, I went out to see my mom this week.

My mom was at church in the AM, and my sis was busy so Sara, the kid, and I took the train out to Flushing and decided to head over to the New World Food Mall on Main Street, which is always a good time.

It was supposed to thunderstorm that day but the day we went, the weather was just perfect.

I always over-order food as I forget that, while the kid loves to eat like I do, he’s still a kid and can only physically eat so much.

Like Sara, he’s been on a hand-pulled noodle kick lately.

Me: You really want noodles on a day as hot as today?
Him: Yeah!
Me: (sigh) OK, guess I’m having carbs.

This is the auntie cooking up his food.

I kinda want a pair of chopsticks that long.

Chopstick envy, I suppose.

Sara, meanwhile, got herself a Beijing savory crepe called a jianbing.

Below is a video I found showing how it’s made.

Sara: Oh, my guy made mine much prettier.

She wasn’t wrong, it looked and tasted amazing.

She only had half, and my kid only had half of his meal so I ended up eating what they couldn’t, which is what I wanted as I didn’t wanna haul food around with me on a hot summer day.

We ended up taking the bus to my mom’s because we still needed to kill an hour and because the kid wanted to ride it.

We got to my mom’s where the kid lived his best life.

Him: Can I get wet?
Me: Well, I guess if…
Him: YAY, thanks, papa! (runs off)
Me: (to myself) …you can maybe get some clothes from auntie.

The other amazing thing was that my sister found this briefcase that I’d not seen in decades.

I realize now that it was my dad’s go-bag of important documents – you know, birth certificates, deeds, passports, etc.

Finding stuff from my dad is like finding treasure these days.

It’s funny, when your dad’s alive a stack of papers is just a stack of papers but once he’s gone, dude…

But that’s a whole entry of its own so I’ll tell you about more of that some other time.

For now, I got to see my mom.

I don’t put up pictures of her for two reasons: (a) I wanna respect her privacy but also because (b) while I still find her beautiful, the woman I see isn’t what I see in my head when I think of her.

That’s also a story for another time.

We ended the evening with dinner, where I got my usual huge platter of Greek food before heading back.

When we finally got home, we got the absolute worst surprise waiting for us – which is why I didn’t post this past Sunday.

I’ll tell you all about it in the next entry.

Location: my pad, unfortunately
Mood: grossed out…so, so, so, so grossed out
Music: you’re not wanted anywhere (Spotify)
Subscribe!
Like this post? Tell someone about it by clicking a button below.