Nut Allergies and living in Chicago 12/5/23
I was wrong about Rate My Plate; everyone agrees with Joe. A lot of journalists are wrong most of the time. This is AMERICA. And actually, it's a topic on Josh Terry’s blog this week. (please shout me out back, Josh)
Nut Allergies
Recently, I have been spending my days in a nut-free zone. My favorite snacks are almonds, and I love eating peanut butter sandwiches for lunch. Nuts are a great source of protein. It’s really made me think. We should do better as a society. Why does no one care all these people have nut allergies, and they can die! I interviewed people allergic to nuts so we could get the inside scoop. Due to a recent rise in biological warfare of people on Reddit giving people nuts to see if they’re really allergic, I have changed the names of my sources.
All nuts or just peanuts?
Auke Lsen: I am allergic to just peanuts! Peanuts grow in the ground where, as other nuts come from trees. So something about them growing in the ground my body doesn't like.
Carlo Jon: Just peanuts
Lynn: All nuts
How did you find out
Auke Lsen: (didn't reply )
Carlo Jon: When I was a kid, I ate a Snickers, and it made my mouth feel crazy, and then I got tested, and it was confirmed
Lynn: When I was a kid, I ate a brownie at a church potluck with nuts in it and my mouth started getting itchy and swollen.
Have you ever wondered how your life would be different?
Auke Lsen: My life would be drastically different, Receses Cups could have been my favorite candy!
Carlo Jon: Sometimes, I’ve never tried peanut butter.
Lynn: My life would be better if I could eat nuts. It is embarrassing that a nut could kill me.
Have you ever thought about trying some and then using ur epi-pen right after?
Auke Lsen: Having had allergic reactions many times, the urge never comes up to try it just for kicks. The smell of peanuts gives me a headache, and my body has a natural adversity to them.
Carlo Jon: Yes, but I’m too scared. I accidentally ate some of a peanut butter-flavored ice cream bar last week. I had to drink a bunch of water to make my mouth and throat stop itching.
Lynn: I have considered it before, but I would still have to go to the hospital. I always forget my EpiPen oops.
How often would you say this impacts your life?
Auke Lsen: It honestly impacts my life pretty often, lots of cuisine cooks with peanut oil, so I have to be careful when eating out.
Carlo Jon: Ranges… as little as Once a year (Halloween) to as often as every day.
Lynn: Whenever I eat. If anyone ever gives me food or desserts, I have to ask if there are nuts. I miss out on a lot of yummy little treats just because there might be nuts in them.
I have good news and bad news for you. Are you ready to hear it?
Auke Lsen: (didn’t reply)
Carlo Jon: Yes
Lynn: Let’s hear it
Almonds and cashews are better than peanuts, but almond butter is way worse than peanut butter. How does that make you feel?
Auke Lsen: I have never had peanut butter, but agree that almond butter is mid as hell! I hate how it separates sunflower butter on the other hand is delicious and BETTER than peanut butter. My dad even thinks so.
Carlo Jon: Better. Is this for your blog?
Lynn: Sad - I will never know the difference. They all smell nutty to me.
If you were dating someone with a nut allergy, how would it affect your relationship?
Auke Lsen: My life would be ruined. I'd have massive trust issues. If someone is casually consuming something that could endanger my life??? I just couldn't live with myself.
Carlo Jon: If I were dating someone with a nut allergy, it would bring us closer together because we both share the experience of being outsiders in a nut-centric society
Lynn: Sometimes you have to go to the ER with your loved one and it isn’t fun. The ER is a weird place with a limited selection of TV channels to watch in the waiting room, so you might get stuck watching Family Guy or Big Bang Theory for hours while your loved one is sick.
What would you like my readers to know?
Auke Lsen: I would like your readers to know that peanut allergy is no laughing matter and it's a real struggle we face every day. The constant jokes I've received my whole life about a medical condition is sickening. END THE STIGMA
Carlo Jon: One in every 3 people has a nut allergy.
Lynn: All potlucks and dessert tables should have labels. Nut allergies suck. It sucks asking if things have nuts in it.
Blind Items
This controversial bald 90s musician is trying to spread his seed with young girls of Chicago.
This local band is pissing me off.
Samuel Aaron Q and A
Photo by: Brandon Mendoza
Do you think you sound like John Mayer?
Hahaha, I do shamelessly love John Mayer, and there are moments in some tunes where I probably emulate him a little too obviously …but I definitely can’t play guitar like that guy.
Do you think Taylor Swift’s fans were too hard on him?
Nah, he definitely deserves all the shit he’s gotten over the years dude has said some heinous things. He deserves all the hate from everyone except from the deadheads… that pisses me off.
Who are your inspirations?
I feel like this answer is gonna be pretty corny: McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, Bill Withers, Mac Demarco— lately, a lot of Big Thief, Laura Marling, Dijon, John Darnielle/The Mountain Goast. If I was cooler my answers would be like way more obscure artists, but I think there’s a reason some of these people are recognized as the goats also Dylan, John Prine, and The Grateful Dead— there’s definitely a reason my parents played all this stuff for me growing up… it’s had a huge impact on me just in the last 4 years.
What’s your future looking like with your music?
I feel like the Chicago music scene has been mostly very welcoming to me and my lil community of collaborators. My band and I have played some amazing shows, and our last EP was thankfully very well received… the next step is trying to build more of a community outside Chicago. I’m really hoping this debut album we’re working on will help us tour and find a crowd out there in the world. Chicago feels like home and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else but it’d be really cool to travel more and share my songs with people in other places. (if any bigger bands read the meg memes substack— hi, I’d love to open for you on your next tour)
(Editor’s note if you’re a big band reading this, can you post my blog on your Instagram and ask your fans to buy a paid subscription)
I just found out your music name is Samuel Aaron, but at first I thought it was Sam Aarons how does that make you feel?
Meg memes, you can call me whenever you want.
Advice Column
Dear Meg,
I work in the film industry here in Chicago but I’ve found myself pretty dissatisfied with the kind of projects I get to work on in this town. Most of it is serialized TV shows that I think are really boring and not artistic or interesting enough for me. A friend of mine will be moving to Pasadena and I might have the opportunity to move with them, but I worry about leaving my friends and family in the Midwest behind. Do you think it might be worth it to move there for my career even though I don’t know many people? If I decide to stay in Chicago, what kind of career moves do you think I should make? Thank you!
Yours truly,
Indecisive Illinoisan
Dear Indecisive Illinoisan,
DON’T MOVE YOU ARE MY ONLY FRIEND HERE!!!!!!!! When this blog blows up, you can be my assistant.
Love,
Meg Memes
Due to me being an ethical journalist I have brought in a guest for this advice column. My friend Ruby, who used to live in the Midwest and then moved to Pasadena.
Dear Indecisive Illinoisan,
Ok, I fear that you don’t realize TV shows that are boring and not artistic or interesting enough will be everywhere you go. However, If you're gonna be working with serialized TV shows that are boring and not interesting or artistic you might as well do it somewhere that's beautiful and warm and gorgeous and you might as well move somewhere like LA specifically; you should move to Pasadena. Pasadena is the oldest suburb in LA; it's haunted; It's spooky; rich people say that it's more expensive than other parts of LA. That's bullshit. And it's my personal favorite part of LA. I moved from there to Echo Park recently, and I'm fucking pissed because I don't get access to rich people's shit anymore as easily. Huntington Gardens is the most beautiful botanical gardens you'll ever see. There's so much haunted shit when you drive down one of the main streets. There are all these beautiful gas lamps. LA is still cool, and there's a lot of cool shit, and you're only a 15-minute drive from all the cool shit like East LA. But you get to live in like a haunted, spooky part of town. The rose parade is there. It's this beautiful parade that happens on New Year's Day and literally rose petals will fall from the sky and all these gorgeous Floats come down the street, and they're all made out of roses. What else can I say about LA and Pasadena? Why should you move here? I don't know, career-wise if you're gonna be in film, this is literally the only place that you should be. You’ll be more likely to be prosperous and successful, and I don't know, it's easiest to make connections here. There are tens of thousands failing actors, and there, tons of failing people in the film industry, and if nothing else if you fail, you can just commiserate with the fucking failing people in the film industry and that's kind of just as fun too. Well actually, I don't know if that's true, I work in a field where I do not need to be here so I will immediately leave once I can. However, I'm probably gonna miss it here because there's like a lot of hot people. Oh, in addition, there are so many cool things to do out, but I like Chicago. I understand it's a really cool city, but most of it is like nightlife. There is the nightlife in LA but there are so many more things to do my world was so expanded when I moved here. I'm famously an alcoholic, and I didn't have any idea that you could do something other than meet somebody for a drink or go out to a fucking bar and get blacked out. When I moved here, people asked, " Do you want to meet for breakfast?” “Do you want to go on a walk?” “Do you wanna go on a hike?” and I was like “fuck you absolutely fucking not” but then when I started doing that, I really loved it. It became part of the fabric of my life, and it changed my life, making it so much more fulfilling and diverse. Yeah, I don't know. I do highly recommend moving here actually Pasadena specifically, just because it's such a beautiful place to live. It's so different from the rest of LA regarding scenery and much more fresh air and space. But yeah, I am grateful to move to Pasadena. What a weird place to land on honestly ultimately what to have landed that’s all.
Love,
Ruby
(Editors note: This was sent as a voice memo)
email memesmeg@gmail.com for advice
Spotify Wrapped and Apple Music
Spotify Wrapped came out two days ago that was fun, but last month I changed to Apple Music and it’s been HORRIBLE. So many songs won’t scrobble to my Last fm. The whole interface sucks. It’s hard to search for things. I know they pay artists more but honestly, Idgaf at this point. It’s having an extremely negative impact on my life maybe I’ll try Tidal next.
IOS 17
DON’T UPDATE YOUR PHONE! DON’T DO IT! THEY MESSED UP THE UPDATE, AND NOW EVERYTHING TAKES UP WAY MORE STORAGE, AND I DON’T RECEIVE TEXTS SOMETIMES OR I’LL SEE THEM, AND THEN THEY DISAPPEAR. Can someone drive me to the Apple store this week?