28 things i did before 29.
i've never heard of "the abbiestack" either tbh.
so, i’m tired.
“abbie, there hasn’t been a stack in forever!”
“abbie, you promised us reviews! how will we know how to feel about music without you!”
“abbie, is there anything you haven’t said about djo yet!”
whatever, whatever. turns out having a part-time job while also taking classes is tiring. who knew!!!
honestly, i’ve been tired since august. that was when i had my second round of summer courses. i took three total over the summer, which is the course limit for summer sessions at the community college i attend virtually. and ever since then i’ve felt… nonstop. like i just keep going. there was maybe a week break between my second round of summer courses and the beginning of fall semester. and then, of course, my part-time job is in retail and we’ve been ramping up to the holiday season since august, basically. it’s been a lot for me. between school and my job and all the shit that leo & i have gotten up to in our lives lately… i’m so tired.
even as i write this i’m struggling to keep my eyes open!!!
so that doesn’t leave a lot of time for the abbiestack. or music. i mentioned before that when i get busy, music is the first to go. well. i didn’t, like, lie about my own behavior. my music-listening is basically nonexistent right now. sad!!!
i’m trying to come back. i have a bunch of stuff i’d love to get out before the new year. mostly my reviews. round-ups are, like, suspended until january. i wanna do a few year-end posts, too. but we’ve gotta get this started somehow, so let’s start with… my birthday.
i celebrate my birthday on the same day every year, as i’m sure you all do as well. 11/11. that’s me. scorpio, of course. so it’s been a few weeks since my birthday. i had a good one—most of my birthdays the past few years have been good. i mean, you don’t want to have a sad birthday, but i’ve had plenty of those.
last year, i did a post for my birthday in which i chose one song for each year i’d been alive. that was a fun one!!! i didn’t wanna double-dip that concept, though. so, i decided on something else. when i turned 28, i took a page in the back of my 2025 planner and wrote out 28 things to do before i turned 29. i fulfilled very few of those. on some i was too specific, others were too broad, and some just depended on a few outside factors that didn’t end up having any bearing on my life while i was 28. so, instead of looking over what i did at 28 and deciding if i fulfilled my goals, i wanted to look at what i actually ended up doing.
kind of cheating, but i went back to school. i started my first semester at community college in august 2024, right before i turned 28 in november. i’m still gonna count it. i’m really proud of myself for going through with this. since then, i’ve completed two full semesters and a summer session. in a week or two i’ll have my third semester under my belt.
in february leo and i watched the superbowl at his sister’s philadelphia home and after the birds won we immediately ditched the place and marched on broad. that was pretty cool…
also in february, i attended katsucon once again. fandom is a silly thing but being really into shit has helped me cultivate some of the most fulfilling friendships of my life. probably my last con for a while for Reasons. one of my big goals for the con was assembling a real “they beat jesus with that” lanyard and i totally succeeded.
i became a hat person. baseball caps, at least.
attended a listening party! had never been to one before and hope to go to another one sometime. hopefully i’ll have the courage to engage with fellow fans at the next one.
discovered my current GOAT, mk.gee.
leo and i went on a long roadtrip! we went to montreal. it was my second time ever outside of the US and my first time visiting our neighbors to the north. it was also only our second roadtrip (really) and our longest!
while in montreal, i got my second-ever tattoo!!!
i joined djotwt and met a bunch of new friends. at least in the corner i’m in, everyone is sweet and welcoming. i love what i’ve found.
saw djo in concert… twice!!! first go-around at franklin music hall was kinda bust, but the second round at brooklyn steel was just perfect. four rows back with my djo bestie. great view. riding the high of handing out the buttons that i’d made to give out to fellow fans. beautiful.
i really fell back in love with vintage this year. i feel like i’d been on a vintage hiatus for a little while, and then one day in 2025 i opened depop for the first time in a while and everything i saw was perfect and beautiful. i even managed to go to a few vintage markets this year!!! and a whole bunch of vintage stores!!! i’d love to do a post about some of my favorite sartorial acquisitions from this year, so…
saw deafheaven in concert!!!
we saw deafheaven the same night that we attended the most recent live ricky. we skipped the openers so that we could be there for the live pod and then i left before leo so that i could see all of deafheaven’s set. i did all of the illustrations they threw up on the jumbotron for the show. i’ve been with the ricky for a while now and done some extra stuff here and there but seeing my images blown up big for a massive crowd is so much.
i actually made a little bit of money selling some art again!!! i joined djotwt and started producing little pieces inspired by songs off the crux and the community really responded to them (❤️). i made a few stickers and a few small prints and people actually bought them!!! absolutely crazy to me. super thankful and so super happy imagining that my silly drawings have a place in others’ hearts.
i went on a little trip ALL BY MYSELF to see my friend. this is extremely rare for me as i am scared of absolutely everything, including being alone. this was huge for me and i’m still so proud of myself for taking initiative and just doing it!!!
ate so much fucking good food. leo has become a bit of a foodie after falling in love with both the great british bake off and anthony bourdain’s oeuvre, so i tag along on his food escapades. we’ve eaten some really fantastic food the past year and i have tried so many new things. life is full of discovery!!!
got tattoo number three during the summer!!!
saw nine inch nails in concert!!! this one was huge. all the concerts i went to this past year were huge but this was HUUUGE. might have been the best show i’ve ever been to.
this is kind of a silly one, but over the summer we drove right beneath the path of a hot air balloon. i absolutely adore hot air balloons. i would never go up in one, but any time i spot one it just instantly makes my day better. i love to take pictures of them!!!
got high again and again. this one is also kind of stupid. i like taking edibles. i like being high. i like chilling out. i like relaxing. i like giggling. whatever!!!
i became a “mentor” at my job. this is kind of a meaningless upgrade. i don’t get paid more and i don’t really get a title or anything, but i’m up on a brightly colored board and i get a pin. other associates can come to me for guidance on certain tasks and subjects. it feels good. honestly!!!
saw ethel cain in concert!!! another big one for me. don’t you just love music!!!
we hit some great hangouts this year. with my friends, with our shared friends.
took an outrageous number of mirror selfies.
kinda served face a couple times.
saw post animal in concert!!! this one was so good. johnny brenda’s is a pretty small venue, so we were able to get pretty close even though it was a sold out show. i’m going to write more about the show soon, so look out for it but rest assured it was legendary. to me.
visited a college. by the time this comes out i actually will have visited TWO colleges, but i only got one visit in when i was still 28. this is the next step after my stint at community college. hopefully next fall i will have transferred to one of three colleges and i will be learning something!!!
i think what i might be most proud of is new djaven. i put myself on a train and went somewhere by myself again, but there was a stranger waiting for me. i met rae online, but unlike when i went to go visit my friend megan on my own, i’d never met rae before. this was our first time meeting. and i’d made so many buttons and bracelets for the show, and i gave so many out, and i met so many awesome people and saw so many online friends for the first time… it was really special to me and i’m so happy it happened.
i won’t share the “29 for 29” list i wrote. you’ll just have to check in next year to see what i accomplished!!!