I had to have that conversation with Mr Parade’s best friend when he lived with us, except it was worse because he was putting culturally inappropriate hot sauce on things. Don’t put Cholula on Japanese food! Sriracha does NOT go on pasta! Aaaarrrrggghhhh.

Like making mashed potatoes and gravy in a 1:2 potato:gravy ratio? My husband was really weirded out when he caught me doing that multiple years into our relationship. I have no regrets.

Fuck Scalia’s Argle-Bargle.

Me! I’m in a city where I don’t really know anyone, Mr Parade is off doing fieldwork, I’m terribly introverted so I didn’t manage to invite myself to someone else’s plans, etc. I’m thinking of getting wasted off Belgian beer while calming the dog, eating hot dogs, and watching zombie movies.

I really love skunks!

Me too. I don’t have any friends here, Mr Parade is in Alaska, and the dog is terrified, so it’s movie-beer-and-a-bath night for me. I did buy hot dogs, which I intend to make for me and the dogs to be vaguely celebratory.

I feel you, I went to the Mutter Museum alone because no one wanted to go with me but it would be more fun with company :-) Philly is actually a pretty small city, so depending on where you are staying you can walk or take the trolly or bus into University City. The Schuykill river park on the east side of the river…

I got my IUD at 20 and it was the best decision. Placement does suck, but depending on your relationship with your doctor you might be able to get a valium or something for it, and it’s over pretty quickly. I had about 24 hours of cramps, during which Mr Parade babied me out of joy that he didn’t have to worry about…

Ditto. Spending 4th of July with one terrified dog and one derpy dog who doesn’t understand why dog #1 keeps hiding in the bathtub. I just ran out of Walking Dead too so I’m at a loss on how I’ll spend my time. Drinking and staring at the wall, I guess.

I love the Mutter Museum! And the anthro museum at Penn is fun if you’re into that kind of thing. For food, I think Ishkabibbles is the best for cheesesteaks, rather than the touristy places that aren’t that good. Walking along South St shopping and then getting a cheesesteak is a good way to spend an afternoon too.…

I second the IUD! I just got my Mirena taken out because it had been six years, so the hormones were running low. I switched to the pill because Mr Parade and I are thinking of trying for little Paradelets in two or three years, and I wasn’t sure getting a new IUD would be worth it, but I miss it! It was so easy and I…

Lemonade with rosemary-infused vodka! It’s delicious!

One of mine is terrified too. He’s basically dragged me home at a near run with his tail between his legs every time we leave the apartment because he’s so scared of fireworks. I’ve been using his patheticness as a way to justify the fact that I’m a loser and staying home by myself on the 4th of July, to comfort the…

Love the floaty-to-pool ratio.

Also silicon earskins! My ears have been anywhere between 1/2 inch to an inch over the last three years, and I buy flexible, clear, silicon earskins. They keep the hole open, so there’s no cat-butt effect, and you can wear hooked earrings or hoops like its nbd. These are the ones I buy: http://www.bodyartforms.com/prod…

That is a serious 00s throwback outfit right there.

My first tattoo was fairly big (the silhouette of a fern taking up the whole outside of one calf) and I love it. It aged really well, the design looks better big than it would have smaller, and I’ve had multiple tattoo artists mention that it avoided all the usual first-tattoo pitfalls (cheesy/generic tattoos, too…

Go for it! One of my friends got a nose stud last year at 33 and loves it. I feel like they’re so widely accepted as to be a non-issue these days - she’s a med student and hasn’t gotten any flak for it. If you switch to an open ring like this once it’s healed, it’s really easy to take out the ring and put in a more…

Love it! I am so in awe of your planning - I feel like big tattoos that occupy a whole feature of your body make such a statement! I like the aesthetic of a bunch of smaller pieces too, but a single big one can be totally jaw dropping. Really incredible placement and it’s already gorgeous.

That’s what Mr Parade’s family did - they’re french, and I guess FirstName MiddleName Mom’sName Dad’sName is pretty standard. We’re thinking of doing the same, since I kept my name, but my name is so boring I’m not even sure it’s worth it.