Wanted to quickly share that my book and TheGenXPlayground were both featured in a little article in the Naples Press!

Check it out here:

https://www.naplespress.com/arts-living/growing-up-catholic-a-personal-experience-by-niederkorn/article_3a2c45f5-3f4e-45c7-89ad-d58705b445b9.html

But lately it seems that the algorithm has been a bit … off. Allow me to explain. Here are some examples of things that it normally suggests, so you can get a little sense of my taste and style:

Example 1: Amazon presented me with these super fluffy slippers. In fairness, my current slippers were looking pretty ratty (and I’m embarrassed to say how old they were) so I did buy these little beauties. They even garnered a “super cute” response from my husband. No regrets.

Example 2: Mark and Graham showed me these golf club covers that are both preppy and Caddyshack themed. JACKPOT. They basically brought together everything I like into one product. Well done. I have not bought them yet, but let’s just say I am tempted.

Example 3: Lastly, there’s this shirt … it’s classic, it’s well-made, it comes in many colors, and Oprah likes it. (Not usually a huge Oprah fan, however she does know her shit.) Naturally the price is so high that Macklemore might make another song about it.

Now, let’s see the confusing things in my feed:

Example 1: Dick’s Sporting Goods shows me a HARNESS. What? I have never shown any interest in horses in my life, much less clicked on posts about horses? I am so confused. What in the Black Beauty is going on? (That’s a famous horse name, right?)

Example 2: While Amazon showed me the cute slippers above, they also showed me these black thigh high fur boots. I am genuinely concerned about how many Muppets were sacrificed to make these.

Example 3: Chewy. Let’s start with the fact that I don’t own any pets, so Chewy should not even be in my feed. But secondly … a pitbull muzzle is the first thing presented to me? A Chewy Vuitton toy makes sense. This seems aggressive. I mean, at least buy me dinner first, Chewy.

And lastly … I won’t even get into the Marc Jacobs peplum collection that was presented to me, because frankly that was just insulting. The last time I checked, nobody was shopping for super lumpy sweaters with built-in beer bellies. I honestly had to check if this was real, and unfortunately it was. The translation from runway to store was a huge fail, IMO.

In conclusion … it’s been interesting and a bit confusing lately. What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen in your feed? Let me know your comments below.

Love is Blind, Brazil (Netflix) - I am aware that the Denver version of LIB is about to drop on Wednesday, so I’m sure I’ll be fully ensconced in that. (So much LIB, so little time!) But in the meantime, I’m two episodes into the latest Brazilian season, which is focused on the over-fifty set. I’m especially enjoying the one lady who had a bunch of dates and then basically declared, (not in these words) “I’m not interested in any of these jokers. But hey I’ll stick around and talk to the other women and live vicariously through them.” So now she does just that, and she’s turned into an unofficial narrator and sideline reporter for us all. I’m here for it.

The Morning Show (AppleTV): I wasn’t sure what the writers would bring for this season, but they wasted no time dropping some immediate drama bombs. And is it just me, or am I the only one kind of rooting for Billy Crudup’s slimy character, Cory Ellison?

The Golden Bachelor (ABC/Hulu): I don’t get into any of the “regular” Bachelor or Bachelorette shows, however I have a soft spot for the goldens. These are all kind people with huge hearts, and they remind me that genuinely good people do exist.

WATCHED, FINISHED, AND LOVED

My Life with the Walter Boys (Netflix) and The Summer I Turned Pretty (Amazon). A million things have already been written about TSITP, and like everyone else I too am going through some serious withdrawal. (So naturally I will re-watch it.) Walter Boys wasn’t nearly as good but there is nothing like a good teenage drama with a love triangle.

Love is Blind, U.K. Season 2 (Netflix): No surprise here, I will watch all of this franchise. Keep them coming!

The Hunting Wives (Netflix): It’s so smutty and over-the-top and sometimes just dumb … but I was immediately sucked in. If you loved the movie Wild Things with Neve Campbell and Denise Richards, then this is for you.

Wednesday (Netflix): Perfect cast, dark humor, interesting plot twists, Tim Burton magic, whimsical sets and costumes. Bravo.

Muslim Matchmaker on Hulu (and ANY matchmaking show, for that matter): Okay so this one was the most boring out of all the matchmaking shows, and hell I don’t think either of the matchmakers were that successful. However, like other matchmaking shows (Jewish Matchmaking, Indian Matchmaking, Love on the Spectrum), I appreciate the diverse backstories, the family support, and the realness.

ON THE FENCE

The Gilded Age, HBO: In theory, I should love this show. I am a sucker for period pieces, and I’ve always enjoyed anything Julian Fellowes does. But for some reason I can’t make it through the first episode … I’m just. so. bored. Do I stick with it?

Love Life, Netflix: I watched the first season with Anna Kendrick, and after a few episodes it grew on me. However, season 2 now switches over to the story of someone completely new … and the jury is still out. It may be a filler.

WHAT I TURNED OFF

Too Much, Netflix: I had just gotten back from London and was all excited to watch this seemingly lighthearted and cute show about an American girl in crisis who moves to London for work. I should have done my homework, because this was clearly Lena Dunham’s opportunity to funnel more of her Girls-isms onto an innocent and unsuspecting Netflix audience, only this time through a younger actress. In summary, Dunham basically created another annoying character with a lot of the same disturbing traits as her Girls persona, only it’s a bit watered down and not quite as disgusting since this is fancy pants Netflix and not edgy HBO. I found nothing endearing, relatable, nor realistic about the main character and then decided I didn’t care anymore. I made it maybe four episodes and said buh-bye.

p.s. Side note: I have seen the previews on the Ed Gein series, and that is a hard no. No. No. No. No. A million times no. It’s bad enough that all the flesh-wearing serial killers seem to be from my home state of Wisconsin, but for the love of all that’s holy I don’t need to watch any reenactments of this horrific stuff that happened to real people and their real families.

WHAT I REWATCHED (and will unapologetically continue to do so)

Pride and Prejudice (BBC Version, Hulu)

Pride and Prejudice (2005 version, HBO Max)

File these under “in the mood to be a lovesick puppy”. However, to be fair … I will never not be in the mood to watch these.

ON DECK:

Very excited for another new season of Abbott Elementary (ABC or Hulu). Every character is downright funny in their own right, however I find myself laughing out loud the most at random comments from the school custodian, Mr. Johnson.

I’ve been getting a lot of clips from Kids in the Hall on my Facebook feed lately, and frankly I’m hooked. It looks like it’s available on Peacock.

I moved to Florida in 2020, it wasn’t long before I became a Walt Disney World Annual Passholder. As fate would have it, I happened to find a group of friends who were as Disney-obsessed as I was. Let’s just say that despite living 3.5 hours away from the Most Magical Place on Earth, we still get our money’s worth.

Recently a friend and I decided to do a Disney weekend, but with a twist: On the first day, we would each be on our own and do our own thing. If things went sideways and one of us freaked out or were just too darn lonesome, we could always reach out and meet up with the other. However, we thought this would be an interesting social experiment, as well as a chance to just do whatever we wanted without having to consider anyone else’s agenda. Here’s how it went:

7:10 a.m.: Flight from Ft. Myers to Orlando. Okay, this is a bit indulgent, but at first, I was going to be flying out of Orlando to another destination, so it made sense at the time. However, I am loving the 29-minute flight time … and a one-way flight is relatively cheap (about 46 bucks).

8:30 a.m. (ish): Dropped my duffel bag at the Dolphin hotel and then walked to Epcot. I had early entry due to my hotel stay, so the park was relatively quiet. I immediately went over to Ratatouille and walked onto the ride by using the single rider option. Ah-mazing.

Next, I headed to Soarin’ which was a 10-minute wait (again, fantastic wait time). Or rather I should say, Nice work, pal. (IYKYK).

After that I needed a little something more in my stomach because I knew I would be drinking before noon; I got a granola bar, banana, and water at the Sunshine Seasons quick service area in The Land Pavilion.

I checked in with my husband and then walked over to Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind for my 10:35 a.m. Lightning Lane selection. This was definitely worth the 17 bucks; I ended up waiting maybe 10 minutes tops in the hallway before being brought into the first pre-ride “show”. I was a little nervous about who I would be seated next to, but it turns out it was … nobody. No one was seated next to me. They just put the bar down next to me and it was an empty seat. I guess this was okay but also a little sad? Oh, and by the way I got Tears for Fears for my song (Everybody Wants to Rule the World). Not a bad song, but damnit I am still missing two songs: Disco Inferno and September. At least I didn’t get Conga. I swear I am going to get a t-shirt made up that says, “Anything but Conga please”.

From there the timing was perfect for my 11:10 reservation at Epcot’s new adults-only bar, Geo 82. I did use a little help securing this reservation since it’s a hard ticket to get, and even every bar stool required a res. I used an app called Mousewatchers, which allowed me to get an alert every time a spot opened up on September 6th. For a mere 5 dollars, this worked very well. I’ll admit it was probably a bit easier to secure a spot for one person vs. two or more, which is another advantage to being a singleton at Disney.

Geo 82 starts out by seating you in a little waiting lounge. They even hand you some nicely scented refreshing wet towels. Then the hosts come out and seat each party one by one. I was taken into the bar and was promptly seated … behind a pole. Yes, I got the least-coveted position at the bar … and was then forced to awkwardly stare at a pole in front of me. I ordered something called the High Brow Batanga: Tapatio Reposado Tequila, Ramazzotti Amaro, Kola Nut, Lime Cordial, Salt, Bubbles. It was a little out of my comfort zone, but I wanted to try something different. It was refreshing and light, but I think it’s a one and done situation for me. As for the overall bar? I hate to say it, but I was underwhelmed. Maybe it’s prettier at night or if you are seated by a window, but I really don’t understand the hype. And 25 bucks for my cocktail? Well, that was a bit steep.

From there I wanted to sample some of the deliciousness at the Food and Wine Festival. My first stop was for Pumpkin-Mascarpone Ravioli with brown butter vinaigrette, pecorino cheese, pomegranate seeds, and hazelnut praline. This was super yummy and also the perfect snack-size portion. I then decided that I needed more carbs, as I couldn’t resist the cheddar and bacon soup with a warm pretzel roll (found at Canada).

It was then onto a Friendship Boat over to nearby Hollywood Studios. I made my Lightning Lane at the Hollywood Tower of Terror with seven minutes to spare. I know that a lot of people can’t handle this ride, and I sweat profusely every time I’m about to ride it, but it still brings me great joy and tons of laughs. I was seated next to a very nervous British girl in her twenties who kept saying, “Oh … I hate it … I hate it so much…” as we were gearing up for the elevator. Would it be bad to say that her ongoing commentary and general terror made it even more enjoyable?

I decided I needed another drink, so I dipped into the Tune-In Lounge. I wasn’t feeling the vibe there, so I instead went over to Star Tours, which had a 5-minute wait. (Poor Star Tours … I think it gets a bad rap, but honestly, I don’t think it’s too bad.) Speaking of Star Wars though, I headed to Galaxy’s Edge to check out the wait time for Rise of the Resistance. It was 90 minutes (oh hell no) so I instead went to Oga’s Cantina to see if I could walk in as a single. No such luck, they weren’t even taking single walk-ins. I instead went to Baseline Taproom, got a margarita, and went outside to a communal table where nobody talked to me. After enough awkwardness had passed, I took my drink over to a bench near Toy Story Land and just people watched. This was much more enjoyable.

By then it was time for my Toy Story Mania Lightning Lane, which ended up being less than lightning speed; they were at half capacity, so my wait was at least 30 minutes. I did strike up a conversation with two girls behind me in line; they were from Long Island and about to embark on a Disney Cruise. Again, nobody was seated next to me on this ride either, so I did especially miss my husband on this one … mostly because my score is always better than his, and I can gloat. (Sorry, honey.)

Well, it turned out that the delay was well-timed, because apparently there was a huge downpour while I was inside the ride. The park was full of puddles and sunshine, but it also meant that Slinky Dog Dash was temporarily closed. I didn’t want to wait around for that opening, so I did a little browsing in shops and then took a Disney bus to the Contemporary’s Steakhouse 71 bar. Again, nobody was really talking to me, so I made the effort to chat with a couple who came in a little later. (And again, yay me for making an effort.)

It was then time to head back to the hotel and get ready for dinner, so I took the monorail to Epcot where I then met up with my friend. We took a Friendship Boat back to the Dolphin and got ready for dinner at Topolino’s at the Riviera Hotel. This was a lovely way to re-cap our day and also watch the Epcot fireworks from the rooftop.

Here’s the quick and dirty summary:

Steps: 27,000. Special shout out to my Olukai tennis shoes. I think I have my new go-to walking shoe. I never once even thought about aching feet.

Parks visited: 2.

Hotels visited: 3.

Number of conversations with strangers I initiated: Five (at Ratatouille, Tower of Terror, Steakhouse 71, Toy Story Mania, Geo 82).

Number of conversations strangers initiated with me: Zero.

Would I do a solo day again? I would, however no more than one day. Disney is best enjoyed with friends or family, but every once in a while, it’s okay to be selfish and just do what you want, when you want, at your own pace. There’s a nice freedom to that.

In the words of Mickey Mouse, See you real soon, Disney.

It was a Thursday night, and my husband and I were going to play trivia. As we pulled into the parking garage, he immediately started to bark at me.

“I can’t see anything! Did you … did you … adjust the headlight settings? I can’t see!”

Yes, I had driven his car earlier, and he had assumed that I had tinkered with all the settings in it. While I had adjusted the seat and the mirrors, I hadn’t touched anything else, and I most certainly had not touched the automatic headlights setting. If anything, touching that setting makes me extra paranoid since I have seen way too many people driving without their headlights on.

Me: “I didn’t touch anything!”

And then I noticed that I could see the headlights on the car just fine. What the what? I pointed this out, but his rant continued even stronger.

Him: “Well you must’ve done something. I can’t see anything!”

From there, things escalated so very quickly. We both became so exasperated and angry … and probably let a few f-bombs fly in the process. In the meantime, we went up the ramp in the parking garage to an area where the lights didn’t matter, because it was uncovered and sunny. He parked the car and we both became a tad calmer, although still fuming.

Cut to about ten minutes later, we are settled in and ready for trivia to shortly begin.

My husband leans over to me, laughing, and whispers in my ear: “Uh … I’m sorry. I realized I couldn’t see anything in the parking garage because I had my sunglasses on the whole time.”

And that, my friends, is what your fifties will be like.

If there was main takeaway from the London trip, it’s that London is very expensive. The second one would be, do not watch the movie The Substance on a flight while you are being served a traditional British breakfast of sausage and baked beans. (Seriously. I want to throw up a little right now just thinking about it.)

But beneath the surface, there are a few other things that stood out, from an American perspective:

1. The Brits know how to name things. We are grown adults yet we couldn’t help but giggle like stupid teenagers when we heard that we were on the eastbound train to Cockfosters. That being said, I love the cheeky and sometimes unconventional thought that goes into naming local establishments.

   For example, this chain of pubs:

   

   Next, this breakfast place:

   

   Third - and unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of this one - “After School Cookie Club”. Brilliant! Are you kidding me? Sign me up for a membership! I want to show them some love based on that name alone, so here is a link to their site: After School Cookie Club

2. The Brits love a good queue. If I had one complaint about Wimbledon, it would the queuing. Lines, lines, everywhere lines. It started with our first line at 4:30 a.m. We were not rich enough to buy actual Wimbledon tickets ($2000 a ticket, anyone?), nor lucky enough to win the ticket lottery. So that left option three: The Queue. Not surprisingly, we opted to not camp out overnight for the possibility of actual reserved tickets, since well … I don’t actually camp in real life, and I wasn’t about to start now. Besides, I don’t think that camping would translate into my best Wimbledon self. I had a cute dress to wear for the occasion, for Pete’s sake.

   Anyway, we waited in that queue from 4:30 a.m. until 11 a.m., when we finally got our grounds passes. Surprisingly, the wait went faster than I expected, and it was all very organized and orderly. But then the rest of the day seemed to be spent in other queues. Queue to get re-sale tickets. Queue to get strawberries and cream. Queue to get into a side court. Queue to get lunch. Queue to get a Pimms Cup. Queue for the merch. It probably didn’t help that London was experiencing record high temperatures, however I do think that the folks at Wimbledon just let too many people in, as it was way too crowded and hard to maneuver at times. By the end of the day, we were done with lines. But props for the “orderly fashion” part; I do appreciate that.

3. The Brits love their pub culture. I know, I know … this is not exactly a huge revelation. But let’s just say I loved walking around London at happy hour time, because every single neighborhood pub spilled outside with hundreds of people enjoying pints after work. For whatever reason this just gave me joy … but it was even better when we took the train to Richmond to see where Ted Lasso was filmed. Let me preface this by saying that I am a HUGE Ted Lasso fan, so you better believe I fan-girled all over that place. However, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the pub was actually filled with locals and not American tourists. After a while of standing outside with our pints, a picnic table opened up where we were soon joined by three retired chums from the broadcasting industry. We spent the next few hours chatting with them as if we were old friends … and that became one of my three favorite days in London.

4. Nobody knows what side of the sidewalk … er … pavement to walk on. So from what I could gather, Londoners walk on the left side of the pavement … I think? I’m actually not quite sure, because London sidewalks are a royal mess. Everyone is from somewhere else, so some people walk on the right, and some on the left.

   I guess you could say it’s just one big Cockfoster.