1. 18:39 31st Jul 2009

   

   Happy Birthday! Oh wait, you’re still single. Happy Being Single! [screw you, OK Cupid!]

    
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2. 18:38

   Worst. Birthday message. Ever.

   Yesterday was my 23rd birthday. (Thank you!) I was at work, plugging along with my tasks and feverishly switching back to my Gmail screen where friendly Facebook alerts were popping up, congratulating me on the anniversary of my nascence. And suddenly, I get an email from OkCupid!, my seldomly-used online dating site on which I have a free account. What could this be? “Happy Birthday, jessenorth!” Why thanks! “Still single?” Um, yes. Come to think of it, I am. “Come check out your matches and find the women who want to meet you for your birthday!”
   
   I could hear the air quickly whooshing out of my birthday balloon. I felt slighted, but in one of those back-handed compliment ways. This email was the equivalent of saying to someone, “Happy birthday! You’ve lost so much weight since last year!” Or, “Happy birthday! Are you still working at Target?” Even, “Happy birthday! Have you ever considered a hair transplant?”
   
   This message made me feel like I should be “out there,” searching for a date. As if it really is the most important justification of worth. And being someone who actually has been down about a past relationship and a lackluster dating scene recently, this message was definitely not one I wanted to receive on my birthday. And what’s this about finding a woman that wants to “meet me for [my] birthday”? Shouldn’t your birthday be an event spent with friends and loved ones-people who know you and love you for who you are? I hardly think a birthday should be spent trying to impress a stranger who you may or may not forge a strong connection with. What a waste of a special day!
   
   Thank you, OkCupid!, for reminding me on my birthday that I am alone and sad.

   ~Jesse North
   Spanish Harlem, NYC
   Jessenorth@gmail.com

    
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3. 13:23 30th Jul 2009

   Thanks Sam- But I think you are really stronger than me. You have accomplished so much more than I did at your age and have such great dreams. Dreams can come true, it just takes time and patience. Love you be safe and don’t let the jerks in life get to you. Remember, be your own best friend. There are always many people ready to shoot you down. Don’t do it to yourself. I am going to forward you something really funny but oh so truthful. Read it and laugh and weep! Mom

   — 

   Postcards from Yo Momma would be proud.

   But I’m more proud of my mom for being there for me — no ifs, ands, or buts.

   Love my mom.

    
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4. 08:40 25th Jul 2009

   Illustrated Missed Connections. Like a chapter book with pictures.

   Ever have those days where you just want to fall in love? Today is one of those days.

   Special thanks to @seanblanda for passing this along.

    
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5. 14:46 24th Jul 2009

   Oops. I didn't brag about being in Time Out New York yet? OK. Here it is.

    
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6. 19:11 23rd Jul 2009

   notes: 3

   An Unsolicited Joke from a Coworker at 8:35 am This Morning

   Q: What’s the difference between bird flu and swine flu?
   
   A: For bird flu you need  tweetment, for swine flu you need oinkment.

    
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7. 19:09

   notes: 1

   I’m moving (back) to NYC

   …And my car got broken into last night in Brooklyn. Not a good sign. Good thing I don’t believe in that hooey (I do).

    
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8. 21:00 16th Jul 2009

   notes: 1

   Cardboard Love

   He loves her. Maria. And he tells her everyday, in a unique way, on a piece of cardboard. [or rather, photoshopped onto a piece of cardboard]

   love or loathe? I can’t decide.

    
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9. 11:20

   We've all got it

   1. Ying: I'm frustrated at work. I think I just have to work harder instead of fucking around at work all day.
   2. Ying: I think I have ADD
   3. Erin: I think we all do. I've been at work since 8:30 am and haven't done anything but look up the movie "50 Days of Summer"and read GQ.
   4. Ying: Maybe, but it doesn’t work in my job. Everyone else can pay attention very well and I zone out even when I'm trying not to. That movie looks really good.
    
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10. 18:10 14th Jul 2009

    notes: 8

    reblogged from: woodand

    

    The outline for Gay Talese’s legendary Esquire piece “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold.” Via Harper Studio.

     
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11. 10:13

    notes: 1

    20 Things Every Woman Should Do Before Getting Hitched

    —from www.thefrisky.com. I’ve acomplished almost all of these. Except #20, which is a valid point.

     
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12. 09:38

    notes: 1

    Before there was “Lost”, there was “Felicity.” And I’d like to say the show has nothing with me moving to New York, or glamorizing semi fucked up relationships, or call out the name “Ben” from time to time. I’d really like to say that.

     
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13. 09:26

    

    Though admittedly hard to read, it says “love”, and was spontaneously written by the clerk at Papaya Dog at 2:15 in the morning without prompting.

     
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14. 09:23

    notes: 1

    There are certain people you love who do something else; they define how you classify what love is supposed to feel like. These are the most important people in your life, and you’ll meet maybe four or five of these people over the span of 80 years. But there’s still one more tier to all this; there is always one person you love who becomes that definition. It usually happens retrospectively, but it happens eventually. This is the person who unknowingly sets the template for what you will always love about other people, even if some of these loveable qualities are self-destructive and unreasonable. The person who defines your understanding of love is not inherently different than anyone else, and they’re often just the person you happen to meet the first time you really, really, want to love someone. But that person still wins. They win, and you lose. Because for the rest of your life, they will control how you feel about everyone

    — Chuck Klosterman, ‘Killing Yourself to Live’
     
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15. 00:19 11th Jul 2009

    My high school alma mater has a drug/alcohol problem. So says the local newspaper that hasn't died yet, anyway.

     
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