Congratulations, You're Having a Blog!

For the past two weeks, I've been planning how to write a blog post about the latest co-worker to leave my office. When I sat down to write it, it quickly turned into a ranty rant peppered liberally with variants of 'fuck' ('fuck;' 'what the fuck;' and, of course, 'fuck you'). Once I figure out how to write it without sounding like a crazy person, it'll be up--in the meantime, let's talk about rants.

My boyfriend, the esteemed Matt esq, has started the blog that I've been meaning to start for years. What Is Wrong With You? (http://wiwwy.blogspot.com/) will feature rants, venting, and general nonsense about the wrongness we must contend with every day. 'What is Wrong With You?' has long been my rallying cry--now it will be the forum for the riduclous and the crazy.

Check it out. Let us know what you think of our grumpy baby.

Soup Samples on the Boardwalk

2 posts about Craziness At Work coming soon, but I just wanted to write a little post while I'm in California. I'm in California! One of Matt's childhood friends is getting married in Monterey tonight, so we flew out early to make a little vacation out of it.

I know every state, hell, every city has its own special food identity, but Monterey's is a little odd. We walked down the wharf on Thursday evening, watching the waves crash in and the sea lions bark at tourists. In front of each seafood restaurant, high-school kids cried out to entice passers-by to try samples of clam chowder. Since we were by the sea, we partook, but I felt there was something very wrong about strolling past shops sipping cup after cup of thick cream, butter and clams.

The Kids These Days

Darci, a friend from college, and I were talking yesterday about the latest employee who left my office (much more about this in an upcoming post) and it afforded me the opportunity to launch into yet another rant about "the kids these days."

What's going on with kids these days? They don't want to start at the bottom and work their way anywhere! They have such a sense of entitlement! They think the world owes them something!

"You need to calm down," Darci said. "I've watched you get crankier and crankier about this kind of thing for the past couple of years. Why do you care about what other people are doing? Why does what one dumb girl does upset you so much?"

Why does this kind of thing upset me? Why do I take personal offense to what "the kids" are thinking and doing? I think it's because when I moved to New York, I thought the world owed me something. I thought I'd take New York by storm--be discovered, be famous, be successful. And it hasn't happened. It won't happen. At least not the way I'd always thought and hoped it would.

This isn't meant to be a depressive, whiny post. I define success differently than I used to. I'm glad I'm not a delusional 25 year-old anymore. I'm glad I don't have the same kind of impossible daydreams. But I worry that over the past few years, I've grown more bitter, more jaded. I don't what to be that person who isn't capable of being happy for someone else's success. I don't want to look away from the bookstands heralding the newest best-seller or be instantly rooting against the fresh-faced, hopeful new transplant to the city.

I still want a part of me to be the girl Darci remembers from college. I want to get excited about projects and have all the faith in the world that no matter what it is, I'll be great enough to make it work. Unfortunately, I'm old enough now to know better.

Aunt Jen

My boyfriend Matt's family has been nothing but warm and welcoming to me. His parents, aunts and uncles, 2 brothers and their wives, cousins and their husbands and all the kids have treated me like family since the first time I met them. They greet me with hugs and kisses and go out of their way to make be feel inlcuded.

So much so, that when Matt got a cold last weekend and told his brother we weren't going to be able to attend his son's birthday party (he's 3!) in New Jersey, both Matt's brother and Matt's mom wanted me to know that I was still invited.

And Matt's 4 year-old niece? She didn't care that Uncle Matt wasn't around but missed 'Aunt Jen' and wanted to know why she wasn't at the party. Super cuteness!