Okay, okay. The title of this blog post is a bit misleading or a slight exaggeration.

I didn’t really meet Ali Wong on my birthday or hung out with her while she was in Chicago for her August 16th and 17th shows. And my birthday was about 10 days before Ali Wong’s shows in Chicago. But I did get to see Ali Wong on stage (about 10 rows from the stage) at the Chicago Theatre on her Milk & Honey Tour with my friend, Diana (who also happens to have an August birthday and is a big fan of Ali).

If you haven’t heard of Ali Wong, she’s a stand up comedian. I found out about her on Netflix with her two comedy specials – Baby Cobra and Hard Knock Wife. This past summer, I was thrilled to watch her very cute romantic comedy on Netflix – Always Be My Maybe.

I became a huge fan after watching the comedy specials while pregnant with the twins and eventually started following Ali Wong on Instagram. I’m also obsessed with her choices in eye wear! I need reading glasses (because hello, after 40 your eyesight goes downhill) and I’ve been searching for similar glasses like hers. I guess you can say she’s influenced me!

So when Ali Wong announced she was coming to Chicago as part of her Milk and Honey Tour, I asked my friend Diana if she was interested in going with me as a way to celebrate our birthdays. As a fellow Leo, she was totally in. We went all out and purchased some pretty good seats because we were treating ourselves!

We attended the 7 pm show on August 17th but before seeing Ali Wong on stage, Diana and I had to take some pictures of the famous Chicago Theatre! We couldn’t use our phones or cameras while in the theater so that’s why the pictures I’m sharing in the post are from the outside. It’s great to find a friend who understands your love for taking pictures because Diana went along with some fun Instagram story videos and we cracked ourselves up even before the show started.

I don’t want to go into details about the show or the specific content but overall, I thought it was very funny. Ali hit on some points that I could totally relate to and then some moments where I had to say “Oh my god, did she just say that?” I’m a huge fan of Ali Wong and wanted to share what makes Ali Wong’s comedy relatable to me.

Three Things About Ali Wong’s Comedy That Are Relatable to Me

1 – Motherhood . Her two comedy specials on Netflix were about being pregnant and what life is like after having a child. I find her take on both very funny and true. She said a few things I was thinking but too scared to saw out loud about motherhood. So thank you for that!

2 – Unapologetic Personalty. I don’t know Ali Wong personally but based on her stand up comedy, I can tell she has an unapologetic personality. Her candor and honesty is a breath of fresh air! Something that I have been working on myself for quite awhile…to be more confident in being myself in saying what I want instead of holding back. There are times that I’m quite comfortable in my own skin though – that saying what I feel feels good (not mean things, of course). I get that vibe from her. The – what you see is what you get – vibe.

3 – She’s Vietnamese American. It’s very rare to see an Asian American in stand up comedy and being really funny and successful at it. Being Vietnamese myself, people are often surprised by my dry sense of humor. I don’t fit the traditional stereotype but I do have a fun personality and I love making people laugh. I’m not saying I want to get into stand up comedy any time soon or ever. But I love that I now have someone who is that I’m a huge fan of, who happens to share the same heritage as me but doesn’t need to announce it. She’s just funny. Period. (or exclamation point!) And so many people can relate to her humor.