Tag: John Green

Ain’t got time for messin’ around, and it’s not my style.

Sara Mazariegos

John Green’s Hollywood, Ending. This is not a review of the book, I’m on page 80. This is about seeing John again, and the jumble of emotions I feel.

Luis and I saw John Green again for his Hollywood, Ending book tour last Thursday. It’s always a pleasure to see John and hear him read his work, and hear him talk about the process of writing and existing as a human in this messed up world. His discussion with Clint Smith was great, a lot of insightful questions were asked and it felt like two friends having a chat rather than John being interviewed, which I liked. I’ve been so spoiled in the past by these book tour stops. My first one was for The Fault in Our Stars, which led me to finding my local Nerdfighter community. My second one was for Turtles All The Way Down, and I don’t need to talk more than I already have about how that turned out…

So it’s natural for the book tours and events that followed to feel somewhat…less magical, right? I still love seeing him and reading his books, and watching his videos, and being part of the Nerdfighter community. But, as I posited to Luis at dinner after this event, John had to have known that he made the Turtles All The Way Down event the most special for us. I feel very honored and spoiled that something as great as that ever happened to us. But also, I think about the time of that book versus now and it kind of goes along, at least a little, with the themes of this book’s tour. 2017 was so different from now. I know things were not great by any means, but I look back at 2012-2017 with such wistfulness. When we went to the Turtles All The Way Down event, Hank was there. Our friends were there with us. It felt like such a community to us. And I feel like, at least from our vantage point, so much of it has splintered now. Friends aren’t really friends anymore; they’ve either moved away or grown away from us. Our Nerdfighter group isn’t really active anymore. Which is fine, it happens. But it still makes me miss them and that time.

I can’t always meet my future husband at a John Green event. I can’t always be given a wedding gift or clink red Solo cups with the guys. But I also can’t always have our friends there with us, and that’s perhaps what makes me saddest of all.

But, by that same token, one of our Nerdfighter friends is helping take care of our cats when we’re out of town. So I really shouldn’t be too sad. Nostalgia can be a dangerous trap.

The cat-sitter saga. Our usual cat-sitter is going to have a baby so she can’t come take care of our cats while we’re out of town. Luis and I went onto the pet sitting app we use to try to find a replacement, and we found a person named Ashley who seemed great. She’s a vet student, so she’s got plenty of experience taking care of cats. But then, a few weeks ago, she messaged saying she realized she’ll be out of town several of the days we’re gone, so she can’t take care of the cats the whole time. We had to cancel with her and try to find someone else, with time running out to give them the keys and show them what’ll need to be done.

Then we found our friend Emily*’s wife Ashley on the pet sitting app! Luis messaged her and told her we could pay her directly instead of through the app, and it’s all worked out that our friend who already knows the cats can take care of them. She’s going to be out of town some of the days, too, but Emily will be able to cover those days she’s gone. We came full circle, because Emily and Ashley used to help take care of our cats.

It is much better to have good friends help, because they know us and the cats already. Even Boo might behave herself with them as opposed to a new person. (And they already know not to try to cuddle her, haha.)

Josh Johnson’s Comedy Band Camp! On Saturday, we’re seeing Josh Johnson on his latest comedy tour. If you don’t know who he is, he’s one of the correspondents and sometimes hosts of The Daily Show. I’m very excited to see him; I’ve liked him so much when I’ve seen him that I subscribed to his newsletter and that’s how I found out about his tour. I thought it might be a long shot to see him, but he announced he was coming to D.C. pretty soon after I started following him.

I don’t know what to expect, because there’s a whole camp theme to the tour. He has a personality quiz you can take to find out which troop you’re in. It’s a whole thing. This is mine:


So that’s fun. I kind of love that I have no idea what to expect, but it’s sure to be funny and thought-provoking. I recommend his YouTube videos.

Writing update. My story is still coming along well. My outline has been invaluable this time, and I’ve taken plenty of notes for other ideas to add in or make sure to include. I feel like I’m sailing with a map this time, instead of having to come up with a bunch of stuff on the fly. I’m leaning more into the Planner part of me instead of Pantsing so much. To borrow the parlance. I make up scenes as I go, and little vignettes to fill out the story, but I also add the new ideas I’ve introduced in the story to my notes so they’re accounted for and given more room to develop in later drafts.

I learned at John’s event the other day that he doesn’t use outlines. I knew he erased most of his drafts and rewrote everything a bunch of times, but I didn’t realize he didn’t use any kind of outline. It takes a special kind of brain to be able to create without any kind of planning, in my mind. He also has aphantasia, which blows my mind because his books are always so visual. I wish I could talk to him about writing.

Anyway, I’m already going to be writing the final chapters of my novel when we come back from our trip. It feels like it hasn’t taken me long to write this one at all, probably because this process has been so pleasant. I just hope when it comes time to read it I’m not horrified. I know it’s going to need work, but how much remains to be seen.

* Emily is one of our Nerdfighter friends. She was at our wedding. 🙂 And we were at hers! How ’bout that?

Little notes that sing, little words that rhyme, make the mighty memories and the dreams of time.

Sara Mazariegos

PowerPoint Party! On Saturday, we went to our friends’ PowerPoint Party. I’ve heard tell of such things *tips cowboy hat* but I’ve never been to one before. I made a PowerPoint (actually a Google Slide, shh) about Tim Curry. It’s mostly silly, with pictures of some of my favorite characters of his, and amusing sound clips. Example: the slide for Hexxus from Fern Gully plays, “A special kind of horny!” Which is from the complete version of “Toxic Love” he recorded for the soundtrack.

I hope I haven’t lost you already.

Anyway, the party was fun. Everyone’s PowerPoint presentation was interesting and amusing in its own way. I think Luis’s zombie escape one was the best, but I’m also biased. He made a PowerPoint like he makes escape rooms: well thought-out, cool graphics, humorous, and fun. There was another guy there who made one all about people named Kat and it ended with Kat, my friend who was hosting the party. That was very cute.

Getting in the Spirit (Halloween.) I’ll see myself out. On Sunday, Luis and I went to Spirit Halloween. The one closer to us didn’t open this year, so we went to one all the way in Wheaton, which means I had to ride the dreaded bus again, but with Luis it didn’t feel as long and I didn’t have to worry about cars. I set out to get a new Haunted Mansion item, though, and they didn’t really have any. At least we’re going to Disney World soon. #privilege

However, they did have something I really want but probably can’t have maybe ever and I’m sad about it. They had the Freddy Fazbear animatronic. I made it move several times and posed for pictures with it, but I want one of my own so he can live in my house. He’s so cool. The only thing I’d change is that I’d make his jaw move. Then he’d cost even more, probably, but whatever. The cost is less of an issue than the fact that none of the stores have the supply to meet the demand. 😭

Widow’s Bay is so freaking good. Speaking of spooky things, a few weeks ago, Luis recommended that we start watching Widow’s Bay since it’s a Halloweeny show. Oh my god, it’s so good. I’ve said it’s like Parks & Rec mixed with Stephen King stories. It’s everything I wanted Castle Rock to be. It’s spooky, it’s quirky, it’s a small town, it’s full of weirdos, it’s funny. Castle Rock feels too much like a lot of other police shows to me. It’s too slow. I also thought it would be a little more fun. How fun would it be to live in a town made up of Stephen King characters? I mean, in real life, it would be awful, but for a show? It’d be kooky and cool. Sadly, the show isn’t. But Widow’s Bay has that. Plus Stephen Root, and who doesn’t love Stephen Root?

Widow’s Bay won all of the Emmys this year, which is fun and exciting. We started watching right before it won, so we were a little late to the party, but it still feels cool to be able to say the big winner is a show we like. Matthew Rhys won best actor for it, and he also won for a dramatic, limited series, so he has two acting Emmys this year. And he was Nite Owl in the great, animated Watchmen miniseries we watched recently. I like him.

We’re usually behind on watching a lot of the popular shows. Being behind on Shogun or Severance would be okay, though…We caught up on both and now we have to wait until next year (at least.) Widow’s Bay also uses a lot of special effects, so the second season of that might take a while, too. Ahhhh, I hope not.

Writing update. Things are coming together in my story. There are definitely a few areas where I want to add more detail or subplot stuff, but for the most part this story is coming out the way I envisioned, which is reassuring. Normally it takes a few more drafts for me to think, “Ah yes, I’m on the right track now.” So I take this as a sign of real improvement.

It also helps that I wrote a slightly different version of this story once before, though I didn’t get very far. The ideas have been flowing around in my mind for a few years now.

Relatedly, Luis and I are seeing John Green tomorrow! 😀 I’m so excited to hear more about his new book, Hollywood, Ending and see other Nerdfighters. Last time he went on a book tour for one of his novels, Turtles All The Way Down, Luis and I got married three days later. So it’s been a while*!

* Yes, we saw him twice last year, but that was for his nonfiction book. Not the same thing.

It’s time to move on, it’s time to get going.

Sara Mazariegos

7 days left to deal with the Metro Red Line shutdown // 45 days until vacation! But who’s counting? 😉

Kate McKinnon at the DC Book Festival! Luis and I went to the DC Book Festival last Sunday with one goal. We went straight to Kate McKinnon’s meet-and-greet line and stood there for over an hour. We bought her book, Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science: Secrets of the Purple Pearl, which served as a ticket for the meet-and-greet, and we met her! She shook each of our hands and asked for each of our names, and then she posed for a few photos with us. She was really polite and smiley. She looked the same in person as she does on camera; she’s so pretty. I was a little worried that I’d look into her beautiful blue eyes and forget how to form words, but I didn’t. Also I wasn’t able to say much to her, because the line was moving quickly. But still! Ahhh!


So now I can finally say I’ve met a former SNL cast member. And also a Ghostbuster.

She was the only person we wanted to see at the Book Fest this year, so we went and got Chinese food afterward, and saw Spider-Man again (at long last!) in 4D this time, which was kind of insane. Every time we took a drink of soda or ate some popcorn, it felt risky because the action scenes made our seats move a lot.

My (albeit biased) thoughts on Hank Green. There was a livestream last week for the donors to the Dear Hank & John podcast, which is hosted by John and Hank Green. (Makes sense.) A lot of it felt like an intervention for Hank, because he has been struggling with an addiction to using LLMs to help him do research for his videos and projects. Emphasis on his videos, for his YouTube channel, not for his videos with John and not for Complexly’s content. He does his own research and writing for Vlogbrothers, and he doesn’t really write for SciShow, etc at all. There’s a big team at Complexly and it is important that people don’t assume all of those good people are using AI, because they are not.

Anyway, all of us in the livestream, which is pretty much exclusively made up of Nerdfighters, feel for Hank because we have been following him for years and we’ve seen him putting more and more pressure on himself to create things. He has so many ideas and he feels like he alone can make them happen. I commented, “Hank, let other people do things.” And John read it back to him, and said it was good advice. I understand the feeling of having a lot of ideas and excitement for said ideas, but it’s important to take a step back and realize the burden of every new thing doesn’t and shouldn’t fall on one person’s shoulders.

John pointed out that Hank should stop trying to make so many things for the greater Internet, where people can be mean and unsupportive, and he should focus on creating things for the Nerdfighter community instead. Because we are kinder, and we know him well enough that we can be gently honest when he’s made something we don’t like. It’s a little bit like when The Fault in Our Stars came out and suddenly everyone had a mountain of opinions about this little author in Indiana named John Green. Not everything is for everyone, and that’s also okay.

No books til John Green. Please tell me you read that in the rhythm of “No Sleep Til Brooklyn” by the Beastie Boys. Speaking of John Green, I’ve given myself a quasi-rule not to start reading any other books because I’m going to have John’s new book next month! I’m currently reading three books: Death at Bishop’s Keep by Robin Paige, As You Wish by Cary Elwes, and House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. They’re all sort of neck-and-neck in terms of how far into them I am, because two of them are short and one of them is House of Leaves.

It’s been difficult to read a lot lately, because I’ve been extra tired from the longer commute. I was literally falling asleep while holding As You Wish the other night. (It’s my before bed book*.) But I’m determined to finish all three of them by September 24th, when I get John’s new novel!

I may bend this rule slightly and read Kate McKinnon’s book while I wait, too, but only if I’ve finished one of the other ones first!

Stuck in the past. As I write my novel, I’m noticing how nostalgic it makes me. I’ve been looking back and remembering all sorts of things from my life, and using them as gentle inspiration. It’s been cool to go back through my memories and my old emails and try to piece together what happened and what was going on in my life. I randomly remembered the name of one of my professors, but not quite how to spell it, and then Facebook brought her up as someone I might know. That was jarring. Does Facebook have access to my literal memories in my brain?

Writing this story has been cathartic and fun. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

* I usually have a purse book for my commutes, a living room book for evening/weekend reads, and a before bed book that lives on my nightstand

And if I had an aeroplane, I still couldn’t make it on time.

Sara Mazariegos

Getting used to new commutes & a little TMI. It has been rough taking a different route to the office. I get up at 6:40 in the morning instead of 7, which you’d think wouldn’t be that big of a change, but my body disagrees. I’m still getting used to the longer bus ride and the, frankly, terrifying escalator at the different Metro station. And it’s also hard because, between the anxiety and the caffeine, I end up feeling like I need to hit the nearest bathroom. Last week when I went home, I decided to go to the mall near the Metro station to use the restroom and, long story short, I nearly got lost in JC Penney trying to get out and find the restroom in the food court. It was Backroomsesque, especially when I went downstairs into the totally empty children’s department. Horror. Movie.

Anyway. Luis recommended that I stop drinking caffeine in the evenings, which already seems to have helped. *knock on wood* I drink a little caffeine in my cold brews at work (made by Luis, because he is the greatest) and then when I’m home I have some caffeine-free fruity soda now. There’s less of an issue during my commutes if my body isn’t telling me I need to pee at every point along the journey.

I just hope I get used to the journey and stop feeling so exhausted, though.

Seeing John Green again! John announced his tour for his new book (Hollywood, Ending, available September 22nd!) and I thought for sure there was no way we’d be able to go, because Luis’s job doesn’t finish until 6pm and the show’s at 7pm and he’s at home in Rockville (remote) and I’m in D.C., but then Luis told me we could make it work! So I bought us tickets. He’s going to meet me there, possibly a little late, but awwww! We’ve seen John Green every chance we’ve had, pretty much, so it’s great to not have to break the tradition of me thinking it’s impossible and Luis telling me we can do it. I cannot wait to read John’s new book. It sounds amazing. I may be biased, but still! This one is for adults, too, so it’ll be a little different. We literally saw him twice last year. Ahhh! We’re still spoiled.

Sorry, carry on. 🙂

Nail-biting World Cup games. After the game between Cabo Verde and Argentina, I thought the games would chill out a little. But then Egypt said, “hold my Karkade.” The game between Argentina and Egypt was also crazy close, and Egypt hates Argentina and FIFA now. FUN. So fun, these games. When Messi scored the equalizing goal, Luis collapsed and our cat Boo flew across the room in surprise. A lot of haters think Argentina was helped in that game, but come on. No one helped them score three goals in a little over ten minutes. That was all Messi and his team. They’re amazing.

People also complained about England beating Norway (I’m sad for Norway) but they won fair and square. I feel like the cable thing is so minor, and Haaland shouldn’t have pushed the guy. Sigh. And then Argentina beat Switzerland in another insane game with red cards and controversy. It’s been fun to watch these games, but they’ve also all been ridiculous. It’s hard to believe it all ends this weekend! My order of favorites in the top four is Argentina, Spain, England, France. I’d like anyone but France to win, honestly, because France winning is just boring. They’re too good, haha. I feel like people might think the same about Spain, though. Or Argentina. So it’s subjective.

By the time I’ve posted this, one of the teams (Spain or France) will have moved forward and another of the teams (Argentina or England) will move forward a few hours after I post this! This weekend will have a winner. So you have a summation of all that to look forward to next week.

When 14ths aren’t on the weekend. As I’ve said previously, Luis and I try to have mini celebrations on the 14th of every month—not like big, expensive trips or even big expensive meals every time, just little acknowledgments and date nights—but it’s sometimes difficult when the date doesn’t fall on a weekend. They actually usually don’t fall on weekends. When they don’t, we usually Doordash something fancy for dinner together or sometimes watch a movie if there’s time (this likely won’t happen while the Metro is messing up my schedule.) And I like to do something extra special on the weekend before or directly after, depending on the day of the week the 14th falls on.

I put a lot of thought into this, okay?!

This past weekend, we went to a nice Tex Mex restaurant near our house since we couldn’t go to a place on Tuesday the 14th. We also got some delicious Indian food before the games on Saturday. I also got a lot of reading done, which is something I don’t usually have left over time for. It was a relaxing weekend, which was what I needed since I’d been so drained. Then, on the 14th, we ordered Thai and watched The Four Seasons (the show, not the movie.)

August 14th is on a Friday, at least, so we might be able to watch a movie! Even when we have time to do things, we don’t do anything too crazy. 😅 Maybe when the Metro’s back to normal, we’ll go to D.C. to do something fun again. But September 14th is a Monday. Argh. We have time to plan a nice, fancier 14th then, for the future.

Just having fun with writing. Between reading Every Version of You and taking a different commute to and from work, I’ve had some interesting inspiration for my writing. I got an idea the other day while riding the scary escalator in Wheaton station. I obviously didn’t take out my phone to write it down, because I’ve gotta hang on for dear life while I’m riding the escalator to Hell. But I wrote the idea down as soon as I got off the escalator and onto the bus. {The scary escalator was the idea.}

So far, it’s been nice to have fun with writing this story and see where my thoughts take me. I’m following my outline, but it is loose enough that I can play around with things. Pizza has already come up as a plot point. I can’t avoid writing about pizza. Sorry not sorry. At least this time it has more of a reason for being in the story. Sort of like Every Version of You and its lobster. If you read it, you’ll see what I mean.

All the times that I’ve cried, keeping all the things I knew inside.

Sara Mazariegos

Haha, I just realized I used a “Father and Son” lyric for this entry. I did not plan that. I love that song, though. It always makes me think of Rocket Raccoon because I’m me.

Father’s Day funtimes. We had a mini-Father’s Day get together last Friday with Luis’s stepdad when we went to a bar and saw the US vs. Australia game. Then we celebrated Father’s Day with my dad, with margaritas and Tex Mex and 1 1/2 World Cup games as well. Both events were fun, and much soccer was viewed. My dad even agreed to let us watch at least the second half of the game on the 4th of July (the one in Philadelphia, because it’s the perfect location for the 4th of July, provided we don’t have to actually be there in person.)

It was nice to have a long weekend to celebrate and spend time with family. We spent the evening of Juneteenth watching Rustin, which is about a civil rights activist who was also gay, performed by Colman Domingo. I love Colman Domingo. It was a busy weekend, but it also felt productive and fun!

My Toy Story 5 thoughts. On Saturday, Luis and I went to another bar to watch the Netherlands vs. Sweden, and then we saw Toy Story 5. Remember me promising we’d see it because Conan O’Brien is in it? I really enjoyed it, and not only because of him. He was in it way more than I thought he’d be, though, which was great.

I love that it focused on Jessie, and it reminded me a little of Inside Out because Jessie worked very hard to help make her kid happy. We got to see more of Bonnie than we ever really saw of Andy. And the message that technology isn’t completely bad but it should be used sparingly, especially for kids, is a good one. I was sniffly in several parts. I kind of want to see it again.

Going to events as an adult with a job. Luis has a new work schedule, so meeting in DC to go to events is harder. We’re going to see Rush in October, and we’re navigating the best way to swing getting dinner and being there at showtime. He may end up working at least some of the day in my office, so we can leave together on time. At least my office isn’t too far from the arena. It’ll be nice to work together. We never get to do that anymore! But of course I’m also worried about the timing of things, because I’m me.

John Green is going on a book tour for Hollywood, Ending in September/October as well, and I really hope to see him, but it’s going to be tough. It may not be at an easy-to-get-to venue, and it may also be while we’re off on our anniversary trip to Orlando. I feel like I always run into this “I dunno if we can make it” situation and then it works out, but this year feels like it might be different, and I’m pre-sad about it. We’ll see, but…

It’s great to have jobs and be able to pay for goods and services, but it’s a bummer to have to miss out on things because of work hours. I wish all events could be on weekends. Then again, I’ve worked jobs with weekend hours in the past. (Hopefully never again, because that is the worst.)

Sometimes reading counts as writing. I’m looking forward to writing my next novel, but I’m also a little nervous. I guess I’m always like that when I start a new project. Luis told me to have fun with it instead of giving myself deadline pressure that doesn’t exist, so I’m going to try. I’m in a good place with the outline I have and the ideas I’ve written down. I’ve been thinking about it a lot before starting, which I can’t say I always do, so hopefully it’ll help me get started on the right foot.

I finished reading my comp novel, the ARC novel I shouldn’t talk about until July 7th when it’s released. Just know that I love it very much. It’s in the spirit of my story, and it’s been a great motivator as I think of ideas for my own novel. My story is not the same, but it would fit on the same shelf, if that makes sense. I’m getting another comp novel next month, too, so stayed tuned for my reactions to that one as well!

If you’re lost you can look and you will find me, time after time.

Sara Mazariegos

A brief—BRIEF—write-up about our wedding. Apropos of nothing, I wanted to share the story of Luis’s and my wedding. I’ve never written a full post about it, and now of course it’ll be relying heavily on memory, but how could I forget one of the best days of my life*?

On October 14, 2017, Luis and I got married in a Super Mario Bros.-inspired wedding. We’d been together for over five years, since Valentine’s Day 2012. Three days before our wedding, we went with our Nerdfighter friends to see John & Hank Green in D.C., and they literally toasted our nuptials. Luis and I met because of their silly internet videos and the group that came from them, so it was the perfect pre-wedding party for us.

We already lived together, so we didn’t have any of the separation before the wedding that some couples do. In the morning, my best friend and bridesmaid Kat picked us up and drove us to the venue (a Courtyard hotel with a beautiful lake and a bunch of cute shops and restaurants near it.) Then it was off to the salon for Kat and me while Luis went off to get ready with his groomsfriends. At some point, a Potbelly sandwich was handed to me by my bridesmaid and our wedding officiant, Eli. My bridal posse and I spent the next few hours getting our makeup on and getting dressed while the photographer snapped pictures. There were no tears, only giggles. They took turns crawling under my dress to adjust my orange crinoline.

© Michelle Whitley

Once I was properly made up and dolled up in my dress plus crinoline plus sash, Michelle the photographer and I went to link up with Luis for some first-look photos. We were excited and happy to see each other again. We gave each other gifts (a Messi Barcelona jersey for him and a green ukulele for me.) Then it was time for us to head to the venue’s balcony for the ceremony.

People often say their wedding ceremony went by in a blur, but I remember our ceremony. Kat held my bouquet so I could hold my orange vow notebook. He was holding a green notebook for himself. Eli held the mic for us as we each read each other our vows. Mine included a John Green quote, because of course it did, and Eli’s speech also included a John Green quote. My mom told me I sounded loud and confident, which makes sense to me because I wasn’t nervous to marry Luis at all. A lot of things make me anxious, but not that.

After our vows, we kissed under the Mario arch with little clouds and coins and power boxes. Then we were whisked off for more photos. Our bridesmaids and groomsfriends joined, and we all went around the lake to pose near a carousel and with the lovely fall foliage. When we arrived back inside the venue a little later, it was time for the reception. During the speeches, Luis’s groomsfriend Aymon, who’d been friends with him since middle school, spoke about how happy we obviously make each other. {It was especially touching in hindsight because, sadly, Aymon passed away in 2020.} Next, his groomsfriend Janine—also his friend since middle school—informed us in her speech that she’d briefly lost our rings but then they were recovered when a custodian at the hotel graciously found them and kept them safe. She had to prove what they looked like. Silver bricks with question marks. She was scared she’d ruined our wedding and we were going to hate her, but it’s a funny and cute story now. I can imagine how stressed she must have been. Finally, my dad made a speech that included “D.F.T.B.A.,**” which floored me. He did some research in preparation, which was very sweet.

I barely ate during the reception, because I wasn’t feeling hungry at all. I had little tastes of things, like our mushroom risotto and Girl Scout Samoa Cookie pie. We had several pies from Dangerously Delicious Pies instead of cake, because we prefer pie. Writing this now makes me want some again…Anyway. During the dances, while Luis danced with his mom to “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Queen, his uncle invited me to dance with him, which was cute and not planned. Then I danced with my dad to “Romeo & Juliet” by Dire Straits and we laughed because the song is long and no one wanted to come join us. Toward the end of the reception, Luis and I danced to “Barcelona” by Freddie Mercury, and I twirled a bunch to show off my bright orange petticoat. Then we gave a bow and went upstairs to our bridal suite.

Kumail Nanjiani hosted SNL that night. We flew to Barcelona the next morning. And I couldn’t have asked for a better wedding and honeymoon. ✨

* The other best days of my life were when I met Luis, a few other times with him like first kiss and when we got our dog Scout (rest in peace), and when John and Hank Green (but mainly John) spoke so kindly about us during their Turtles All The Way Down tour and gave us a KitchenAid mixer as a wedding gift!
** Don’t Forget To Be Awesome. It’s the slogan of the Nerdfighters.

There was a time, a storm that blew so pure.

Sara Mazariegos

Not all movies need critical analysis. I saw the Super Mario Galaxy movie got some pretty brutal reviews, and it’s made me wonder why we have reviewers for every movie. I appreciate that critics are writers and they need jobs. I get that. But I don’t think every movie must be held to the same standard that some of the critics expect. No one expects a Mario movie to be anything other than what it is: fan service for people who love the games and characters. It’s a little bit like the Five Nights At Freddy’s movies. They’re made for people who like the thing. Anyone interested should go see it and they’ll probably like it. Maybe there needs to be more segmentation with reviewers. What do fans of Super Mario think about this new movie?

I thought the first one was cute. It wasn’t amazing, but I’m glad I saw it and I’d watch it again. I don’t remember why Bowser is tiny. I’m excited to see the new one next weekend.

The allure of Robert Pattinson. Luis and I forwent Mario last weekend because we knew the theater would be teeming with kids for Easter weekend. Instead, we saw The Drama starring Robert Pattinson and Zendaya. That movie is definitely not for kids. I’ve got to say that Robert Pattinson has grown on me. I was never a fan of Twilight so I didn’t like him, but it’s not his fault. He didn’t write it or direct it, and he’s grown a lot since then. I really liked him in Mickey 17, and he was quite good in The Drama as well. He’s someone a lot of people find attractive, and I never have (no offense to him) but I can appreciate a good actor regardless of how they look. I also appreciate that he seems to be shying away from the handsome leading man roles in favor of more quirky, interesting scripts.

The Drama has a controversial subject matter, but I think it’s a subject worth thinking about. It’s not pleasant, but it’s important. I think it’s handled in a pretty realistic way, considering it’s in a dark comedy. I don’t quite understand the people who think it’s a topic than can never be explored like this. It’s not like the movie makes light of it or acts like there’s nothing wrong with it. (I’m not spoiling it; you should see it for yourself, if you’re interested.) It’s intense, but it’s good.

The Martian during real space times. On Easter, we watched The Martian as the next space movie on my list. It’s based on a novel written by the same author who wrote Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir. It’s got a very stacked cast, with all sorts of actors. We liked it, though we liked PHM more. The Martian is more stressful, and it also doesn’t have the cute element. I don’t want to spoil PHM, though I think the Internet is already spoiling it quite a bit. I also think that, while it’s better and makes sense not to have Matt Damon actually lose a bunch of weight, the CG looks a little weird. I suppose it’s always a risk. AI crap in things won’t age well either. It already looks bad.

Now we just have to see Arrival and Interstellar. Speaking of space movies, it felt pretty surreal to be watching The Martian while we have real astronauts in space at this very moment, exploring the darker regions of the moon. I hope they return safely to Earth on Friday and bring back a whole host of new images and stories. So far, it’s been pretty incredible to watch and learn about.

Aging out of things. Lately I’ve been feeling as if I’m aging away from a lot of the Nerdfighter stuff, not through lack of interest but because there’s so much to keep up with. When I first became a Nerdfighter, everything was pretty much online. I was on the old ning website and everything, and I never missed a video. I bought all of John’s books and inhaled them. Then, a little later, I found my local Facebook group and met a bunch of Nerdfighter friends in real life. You know how that turned out. ☺️

But now that I’m older and we’re all older, I’ve got a job and other commitments and I find it hard to keep up with everything going on. I do my best, of course, and I’m still there for a lot of it, but I wonder how much longer I’ll be able to show up. And it’s sort of bittersweet because, like I said, I still love John and Hank and the community, but keeping up with livestreams and events is becoming less tenable. I don’t know. I mostly just wanted to mope a little. I’m going to do my best to go to John’s latest book tour stop (if there is a book tour stop) but I fear something like NerdCon Nerdfighteria might be out of the question for me. We’ll have to see, and I do so hate having to see.

Evolving conflicts. While writing the other day, I realized my new story draft has a conflict that evolves as the characters and plot evolve. It starts out as one bit of drama and then it sort of snowballs as the story progresses. I’m proud of myself for coming up with a conflict like that, because I think it means it’s more realistic but also more impactful.

As soon as I finish writing this draft, I plan to wait a few weeks and then dive back in to read it and add a few details/subplots that I came up with while I was writing but didn’t want to stop and go back to add. I’m a little past the halfway point now with this draft, and I’m really enjoying writing it and playing around with things.

It’s definitely true that the best way to improve your writing is to keep writing.

Hold the line; love isn’t always on time.

Sara Mazariegos

Birthday postdate. My birthday weekend went well, if not entirely how I’d planned it. We got sushi and Asian all-you-can eat stir fry bowls with Luis’s family on Saturday, then even more sushi with friends on Sunday (my actual birthday.) We ended up not going ice skating because I noticed my ankle felt sore on Saturday just wearing shoes and walking a little, so I didn’t want to make it worse. I think I twisted it just walking around the house; a certain cat of ours loves to parade around in front of me when I’m trying to walk. Not that it’s his fault. I mean, it is, but… It’s okay. We ended up just watching The Princess Bride and chatting, which was nice. After sushi on my birthday, some of our friends came back to our house and played an escape room in a box with us.

I’m going to be eating leftover baked goods and pickle or ketchup flavored chips for the rest of the week. Oh, and drinking this interesting hard cider type drink that tastes like Fruity Pebbles. 😊

Finally spring. I’m so glad it’s not cold anymore. I always get excited when I can put my coat away. And the sunlight lasts longer. It’s so much nicer. I’m not looking forward to the hot summer, but I’ve been enjoying the nice, spring days we’ve been having. It’s in the 60s this week. Sure, it’s rainy some of the time, but that’s part of it.

One thing that’s not as nice is the allergies that come this time each year. I woke up last week thinking I might be coming down with something, but I’m pretty sure it’s just allergies. It’s never progressed on from my sinuses and my throat being scratchy. It’s not like I went frolicking through flowers. Spring’s a season that just hits you in the face when it’s ready for pollen time.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest & The Stanford Prison Experiment. I’ve seen the movie version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, but it was a long time ago and I don’t remember it well. I started reading the novel the other day, and I’ve been enjoying it even though it makes me feel pretty sad, too. I feel bad whenever it makes me smile or chuckle, because the characters are going through a lot. I appreciate the choice of narrator for it. Some authors would’ve made McMurphy the narrator, but it’s better to see him from the outside, from the perspective of someone who’s more in awe of him.

Speaking of psychological stories, Luis and I recently watched a documentary series about the Stanford Prison Experiment, on Disney+ of all places. I didn’t realize much of the “experiment” was made up. The guys involved in it were nevertheless still affected by it and it still gave them some level of trauma, at least several of them. It’s interesting because it was pretend, but it was made to not look pretend and in so doing, it became a little real? It’s interesting and I recommend it. Probably not before bed, though, because it’s sad and you’ll be thinking about it.

Being patient with myself. This week has been rough with writing so far. I have a pretty easy time when I’m at the office and can write during my lunch break, but when I get home I’m so tired. It doesn’t help that I’ve had bad sinuses because of allergies. But I’ve been kind to myself and let myself take some time off and I’m planning to write 500ish words on Sunday to make up for it. There’s no reason to force myself to write when I’m not feeling up to it.

That being said, my story is coming along nicely. As I was walking to my office this morning, I thought of something to expand upon in my edits. It made me smile. Sometimes I come up with my best writing ideas when I’m walking. The bad thing about it, of course, is that I’m nowhere near my computer when I come up with the ideas! But then I think the ideas I remember are the ones worth using.

John Green has a new book! I just need to mention that John Green announced his new novel and I cannot wait to read it! It’s his first novel for adults, and it sounds really interesting and sweet, and like it comes from a unique perspective that a lot of people can sympathize with even if we don’t quite know how it feels.

This is not an April Fools Day prank, by the way. That wouldn’t make sense on a website where you could be reading this any time past today. 😝 This holiday always frustrates me.

Until next time,

This will be our year. Took a long time to come.

Sara Mazariegos

Christmastime. We had a really great Christmas this year. We were so organized, it never felt like we were rushed. In fact, everyone showed up a little late on Christmas Eve, which was fine. We forgot eggs for our sweet potato casserole, so Luis’s mom brought us eggs and we put it in the oven once his parents arrived. I also drank probably too much egg nog over the last week, but ’tis the season!

We played a fun card game Luis invented and then it was midnight and we opened presents. I got a snuggly “Biscuit Bandit” hoodie with Meeko the raccoon on it. I’m wearing it even as I type. Luis’s sister gave me a martini glass and a bottle of fancy espresso so I can make my own espresso martinis at home, since I like them so much. My dad gave me not one but TWO Beatles calendars this year. That’s his silly tradition. My sister got me an ice skating Barbie and Ken doll from the early 90s. I haven’t seen them since I was little. So Luis and I might have to make them skate around our dining room table once the table cloth has been removed. All of the presents were very nice and fun. One thing that’s good about being older is there’s less of a disappointed, “Aww, I wanted x” feeling after the presents have all been opened… Mostly because I’m already spoiled.

Luis’s big surprises. We were already planning to go to Disney World for our anniversary in 2026, and I was eagerly waiting for December 27th to book things with Luis. He told me we would wait until then. Nevertheless, his big present for me, which he put in a McDonald’s Happy Meal box (along with a toy Mirabel from Encanto and Mr. Incredible from The Incredibles), was a print-out confirming our one night in the Contemporary Resort, plus four nights in the Art of Animation Resort, plus four days of park tickets!! He booked all of it himself, using our loose plans document and calendar!

He said he booked it all so I wouldn’t worry about it. 💖 I told you I was spoiled.

Now we just have to worry about getting good dining reservations, but why worry?

Luis also got me a big update for my Sims 4 so I have all the game packs I didn’t already have. He’s been busy this Christmas. I got him some Guardians of the Galaxy figures he asked me for, and when I asked him what he wants for his anniversary gift, he told me we could just use the money toward booking another nice dinner at Disney. 🥹 He’s the best and I love him.

John Green told me not to. Anyway, enough gushing about my husband. Time to gush about John Green. This weekend I had a dream that we were hanging out with John and his brother Hank, and I told them I wanted to adopt a raccoon. Dream John and Dream Hank were very supportive of the idea, which is amusing because in real life they wouldn’t be. So I shared it on Threads, and who to my wondering brain should write back?

As much as I love raccoons, I know it would be crazy for me to adopt one. They are not pets. The fact that he wrote back to me at all – during the holiday break, no less! – makes me happy. I laughed out loud when I saw his comment. And I’ve been getting tons of comments and likes ever since. I didn’t think my silly little post would get so much attention. I even got a comment from Mychal Threets!

Like I said: I’m spoiled. 😊

New Years Plans. At my job, we work a half-day on New Years Eve, so Luis is going to meet me at my office and we’ll go out for a nice lunch. I found a fun-sounding English bar and made a reservation so we wouldn’t lose out like we often do. It’s hard to make New Years Eve plans in DC if you don’t like staying out late and you’re not looking for a big crowd. We usually go to the zoo, but this year is a change of pace. We’ll probably be home by five p.m. and watch a New Years-themed movie. And of course check in later on Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen to see how drunk they already are.

I can’t believe the year is at an end. 2025 has been a rough one. I’m looking forward to a better 2026. *crosses fingers* I certainly have a lot of things to be excited about!

Ahaha, I just remembered we saw John Green twice this year. That was a highlight for sure! And our amazing trip to California. Wow. Luis definitely makes my life happy. Everyone should be so lucky as to have their own Luis.

Happy New Year! 🎉

Won’t you be in Nerdfighterlike with me?

Sara Mazariegos

My Nerdfighter story. Strap in. This is going to be a long one.

Continue reading “Won’t you be in Nerdfighterlike with me?” →