Sonic 2: The Most Crowded Movie In Recent Times (+ My Life)

Tonight was a crazy night. At 3:30pm, I decided to go see Sonic 2 with Julie (I've been waiting FOREVER for this to come out!) and by 3:50pm, we got to the theater. (3:40pm showtime @ Cinemark in West Springfield MA)

We got tickets, (which were the HARDEST to find in my life BY FAR, we had to fit in the FRONT for the first time, and for the first time in my life, it said on the screen "limited seating"! 

This many seats being taken is something I'll probably never see again. Lesson learned: movie theaters are NOT dead in 2022!

After concessions (a small soda + popcorn), I got in without Julie (as she was in the bathroom) to find that the movie had already started. 🤭 Oops... 

(Trying to take a picture of concessions didn't work, it only sonic circled me back to June 2020 as a black image 💀)

After a few minutes, Julie came in, and we watched the movie together. We got out around 5:50pm and even for the upcoming 6:45pm showtime, it STILL said limited seating. 😱

The FIRST time I've EVER seen "limited seating" at Cinemark. (Technically the 2nd, the 1st was upon coming in) Even as far back as 2017, with seating not reaching even 10% most times, at BOTH Hadley and West Springfield, I wondered how they could still be open. Well, now I know, THEY. HAVE. BUSINESS.

The closed Carrabba's Italian Grill in West Springfield MA, a COVID casualty, which closed June 2020.

Holyoke Mall: the Christmas Tree Shops there is now moving over to the former Bed Bath & Beyond (closed Spring 2021) in Holyoke Plaza.

CTS: The new branding of Christmas Tree Shops. Moving out of the mall in 2022!

Tenants that have left the Holyoke Mall for a new location nearby recently:

Christmas Tree Shops (CTS): Spring 2022? (Former Bed Bath & Beyond in Holyoke Center)

Starbucks? - March/April 2022 (new construction near the mall)

Sleep Number - February 2022

2021: School (beginning of demolition at this time last year)

2022: New shopping center (does not appear to be open yet)

Does it ever drive you crazy, just how fast the night changes? (Please come back, One Direction... 🤗)

I got back home around 6:20pm. 

The leaves are coming, and so is summer! 😁

After someone in my community told me there was bingo at 7:30pm, when I got home around 6:30pm, I went to the center to check if that was correct, but it turns out 6:30pm WAS the correct time. (I thought 7:30pm was a little late, usually nothing goes beyond 8pm at the center, most activities end around 6pm at the latest, the last time an event passed 8pm was in 2019, pre-pandemic, which was the TreeCat Cafe, which was wrapping up by 8pm) Bingo was fun, but it was a weird bingo, as it involved playing cards rather than numbers, and was called pachinko or something like that.

This is what pachinko looks like.

During pachinko, around 7:10pm, I went outside to take some sunset shots and selfies (for Discord) and to make a liminal image out of the sunset.

Falling asleep? 🤣

Too much sun! (Not really, it was setting by then, and most of the day was rainy and then cloudy) 😆🤣

Original image

Edited image from my phone's editing software.

Liminal space image, with timestamp to make for a more liminal look.

After numerous losses in Pachinko, I won the final game around 7:45pm and went home around 8pm after being told to.

The sky is now visible at 8pm! 😁😎

I got THIS as a prize!

It was a great day, and here we are now.