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By Jess, September 3, 2010 12:37 am

I don’t remember much about my high school graduation, but I DO recall one piece of advice passed on by my Physics teacher, Mrs. Rosenthal, who was selected by students to address the Senior class:

“Just keep moving, just keep moving.”

I would be lying if I said I’d consciously kept this tidbit in mind during the last 5 years, but it’s been a subconscious effort nonetheless. Most of you know the story of what I describe as my post-college peril: some part-time work, two fantastic but unpaid internships, and cheap but deeply flawed housing. In the midst of it all were wonderful and supportive friends, but it was still hard to face when my future was an amorphous blob of which I could only see three months at a time.

Today, my life is a little less perilous, but the vagueness of the future persists. Two days ago, I was looking at a frighteningly open calendar and wondering… what’s next? Two days later, I’m happy to report I’ve lined up some solid work through the New Year. The catch? I will be working overnight shifts, and my life as I know it will change significantly (more musings on this in the future, I’m sure).

Now, usually, I’m not so won over by “motivational” blog posts, but given the timing, I’m compelled to share this bit of relevant wisdom which I stumbled upon today at Gigaom. On working in spite of not knowing, the author writes:

Perhaps the biggest part of it is learning to stay the course, even when the course doesn’t yet exist. There’s no path laid out ahead of you, and you’re learning to navigate as you go. Learn to keep going, in spite of not having clear directions. Create a plan you believe is most likely to succeed by studying the cues of those who have succeeded before you, but accept that you are forging a new path in many ways, so the answers may not always be immediately available.

I am now a year out from graduating from college, and from what I’ve seen, it seems many of my close friends and peers are freaking the f**k out. I’m freaking out, too — no doubt about it — but there’s a comforting solidarity in it all, this collective experience of not knowing. So be scared, freak out, cry, watch a whole lot of You’ve Got Mail, but keep on moving. If we just do that, I think we’ll be ok.

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By Jess, August 29, 2010 12:19 am

I was poised to write a thoughtful reflection on my current feelings of anxiety. But then, I saw that The Time Traveler’s Wife was on HBO. Having read the book, I knew exactly what it had to offer. I watched it, I cried, and now my inspiration has evaporated.

This is not an unusual situation for me, and I’m not altogether sure how common (or uncommon) it is. Approximately every two weeks, the faintest traces of worry manifest in my gut: worries about life in general, work, writing, not writing, family, the future, the mounting pile of dishes in the sink, everything. I brush off the feeling as it builds until, at some point, I can’t stand it. Then I seek relief — not in the more obvious choices of booze or drugs but in movies (and occasionally books and music). These are what I refer to as my “triggers,” the stimuli that coax the worry out of my system.

My ultimate go-to’s are inspiring dramas and romantic comedies, mostly movies starring Meg Ryan or Julia Roberts. I’ve watched my You’ve Got Mail DVD more times than I can count. (For me, romanticizing email correspondence is the equivalent of shirtless George Clooney or Robert Pattison).  When I moved to London for a year, I watched one of three movies virtually every week: Notting Hill, Something’s Gotta Give, and You’ve Got Mail. Most recently, I’ve discovered that Gran Torino, a dark horse of my triggers, can inspire tears as long as I tune in at least 15 minutes before the end. Impressive or terrifying? Perhaps both.

My triggers are my comfort food, and for the purpose of reading and writing more, I suppose it’s time I went on a diet of sorts. The ultimate goal would be to need no trigger at all, of course — to just react to life as it happens. But for now, I’ll settle with more books, more movies, more music and maybe a little less You’ve Got Mail. For the record, You’ve Got Mail is fantastic and the clip below captures everything I love about it.

My progress so far? This week, I subscribed to Harper’s Magazine and started reading Nora Ephron’s (coincidentally, writer/director/producer of You’ve Got Mail) 2006 memoir I Feel Bad About My Neck.

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By Jess, August 4, 2010 11:32 pm

Tonight, I find myself with an unexpected guest. Meet Thurman the dog, named (I think) after famous Yankees catcher Thurman Munson.

When your bed sits on the ground, it’s pretty hard to convince a dog to lie elsewhere but oh well. For the sake of hospitality, I will allow it.

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By Jess,

Although the movie starring Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson is one of my favorites, it’s unfortunately not the topic of this brief post.

In the past two months, I’ve cooked more often and eaten better food than I have in quite some time. I’ve seen more of my friends, D.C. residents and visitors alike. I spent two glorious weeks sharing my apartment with Alex. I finally squeezed in an appointment for both the dentist and the doctor. And after a year of feeling haunted by what I read in Suze Orman’s Young, Fabulous & Broke, I finally took the time to apply for a credit card of my very own.

What I haven’t been doing is writing. Trust me, I’m feeling guilty and regretful: guilty that I’m not carrying my weight over at Autostraddle, and regretful that I’m not seizing this opportunity to write at my job and not documenting my feelings in this crazy post-college period. I don’t have time! This is what I tell myself. But I must! I must have time! If a CEO or talk show host can do a million things at once, then I must have time to write a blog post. So I have decided: Something’s gotta give.

The first thing that comes to mind to go on the chopping block is sleep. As much as I love it, I truly believe that I can never be successful until my wake-up call arrives by 6:30AM. I secretly fantasize about drinking coffee and reading the newspaper before work each morning. This is my recipe for success — only I have no idea what the other ingredients are. (Also, I haven’t actually taken real steps to wake up earlier, aside from pressing snooze on my alarm with more frequency, nor have I subscribed to a newspaper).

Regardless of these recent failures, I’ve managed to live to be 23 years old and I’m feeling pretty positive about the years that are behind me. For now, I will focus on the small stuff. I will floss and wear sunscreen daily. I will write.. maybe daily (?) but certainly more than I have been in recent weeks. And hopefully, I will sleep less. I hope it all adds up to something good.

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By Jess, July 16, 2010 12:15 pm

“This Is Why I’ll Never Be An Adult” at Hyperbole and a Half sums up my daily feelings about life post-college. It’s both hilarious and frightening in how close it comes to the absolute truth.

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By Jess, July 10, 2010 11:34 pm

Today, I woke up at 5:20AM in order to be at work by 6.  I made coffee, packed my bag, and pedaled to work in the rain as the sun rose. And then I realized that my body thought I was going to the airport.

I didn’t need to hit snooze when my alarm went off, and I didn’t crave caffeine with the usual intensity. But why? Because my body expected to be in a white noise, airplane engine-induced coma within an hour or two. Symptoms? Well, for one thing, I craved a hamburger. Yes, at 6AM, I wanted nothing more than a Big Mac. I couldn’t quite make that happen, but luckily, the vending machine on the 7th floor sold microwaveable White Castle Burgers and man, were they delicious. My body eventually realized it wouldn’t be flying.

There’s no point to this story other than I wanted to share it and get better at blogging more frequently. If you need more, head to Autostraddle and read my latest post about Laura Marling, a folk singer I first fell in love with while in London.

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By Jess, July 2, 2010 12:15 am

When I’m not stalking other people on the internet, I’m stalking myself. Just kidding. I just like to keep an eye out for what my internet persona is telling other people about me. So tonight, I decided to do a little snooping and look what I stumbled upon:

Am I vain or am I vain? (Don’t answer that.) In reality, this “serious” face is not indicative of my normal bike demeanor. I’m usually more jolly, or at least I hope. Regardless, it was very fun to discover these photos nine months after they were taken by Brendan Smialowski for Micheline Maynard’s New York Times piece.  I took the liberty of posting my favorites below. It’s not everyday that someone documents your journey to work.

Thanks to Brendan Smialowski for posting these. You can check out some more of his photojournalism work here.

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By Jess, May 24, 2010 12:33 am

Please excuse my absence, Gitnerblog loyalists. These past month or two have rendered me busier than ever, with marathon-length work weeks and stacked assignments. Highlights of the month so far include my interview with musician/hero Kaki King (photo below) for Autostraddle and my latest for NPR, a write-up on Ratatat’s LP4 for our First Listen series.

One year ago, I was graduating with no job prospects and had just barely secured a summer internship with Sirius XM. Honestly, I felt like a failure — that all I’d worked for and come to expect after taking this certain path was imaginary.

Today, I’m happy and relieved to say that, so far, things have worked out. There were some bumps along the way, times I doubted what I was doing would pay off — living in a 1-bedroom apartment with 3 people, not having health insurance, eating meager dinners of canned tuna with rice, for example. But here I am, doing job(s) I genuinely enjoy and living in a neighborhood I love. I didn’t do it alone. (Does anyone?) But I did work like a damn dog (and still do) to make it happen.

2010 seems to be a kinder year for new graduates but if anyone’s having trouble, I have this advice. Work hard and stick it out. Find something, whether it be retail or restaurants or coffee shops, to weather the storm. And lastly, aim to do what you love because anything else will make you miserable. That’s a pearl of wisdom from this 22-year-old.

To close the post, here is me with Kaki King. Just because it happened.

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By Jess, April 25, 2010 9:57 pm

When I decided to contribute to NPR Music’s Sweatin’ To NPR workout series, I knew I would write about biking. After all, I am a proud bike commuter and the gym, to me, is about as foreign as Turkey.  The post, combining music with cycling, would be inherently controversial so I wrote cautiously, trying my best to convey an attitude of respect and safety without sounding too preachy. Despite my efforts, the story was flooded with criticism from cyclists and non-cyclists alike. Here are some gems:

“Riding with headphones on in the city… Good way to get killed. And kill someone else. Nice one NPR” (Christopher Genovese)

“This total absence of synthesis is troublesome for me. I’m losing faith in some my ‘fellow mankind.’ (R D Harmony)

“No helmet, no brakes, AND headphones!?! (based on the image above) Deathwish. Someone didn’t think this playlist through very well…What a stupid way to die.” (K Cook)

“We need NPR to promote “agression” in transportation? We don’t have enough road rage from drivers of cars? We have to have a picture of a biker, no helmet, the article promoting use of earphones, a horrible degradation of our social interaction, let alone unsafe in a car or a bike.” (David Pearce)

A reader called Brim Stone, at one point, asked, “Did this piece get edited? It now says ‘boombox,’ ‘not too loud,’ ‘helmet.’ ” The answer is “no.” The piece appears now as it was first published, meaning the majority of commenters did not read the text at all. They simply jumped to conclusions and took the opportunity to a.) condemn cyclists as a whole for being wreckless; b.) condemn ME as a cyclist for giving good cyclists a bad rep. I did have a small (but very much appreciated) bunch of defenders:

“C’mon people! Whoever, other than the first poster, said anything about wearing headphones while biking?!? Certainly not the author or NPR. At some point, you gotta let the stupid people (both bikers and drivers) live and learn. No amount of ranting in the comments section is going to change their minds about wearing headphones while biking. Anyone have anything interesting to say about the music, which is really the point of the whole article? I’m still listening but so far an interesting mix.” (ReNae Gorder)

“Just like the ‘wistful workout’ for depressed people and other past NPR workout mixes, this is just another fun way of introducing people to new music. and no where in the story does the author encourage the use of headphones while biking. Take it for what it is, another enjoyable mix of music from the nice people at NPR.” (Meg Ruddick)

Initially, I was a little disturbed that so many people had responded negatively to my list. But as the comments poured in, I became more concerned about the general attitude about cyclists.

Comments from fellow cyclists almost universally condemned the “recklessness” of certain riders, particularly fixed gear riders (fueled by the photo I chose for the story featuring a man with no helmet on a fixed gear bike). There was an air of superiority, even: an attitude of “I ride more safely than you,” if you will. For those of you that don’t know, a a true fixed gear bike has neither a free-spinning hub nor brakes. It makes for clean and simple aesthetics, a look I consider beautiful, but calls for incredible skill in the rider. I don’t possess those skills and thus, I don’t ride a fixed gear. But they can be ridden safely, and that went unrecognized by most readers.

Both cyclists AND drivers condemned wearing headphones while riding, and I agree! But of course, that doesn’t matter. These people didn’t actually read my text, in which I wrote, “So strap a boombox to those handlebars, crank it up (not too loud, because the sounds of the streets are vital in the battle of bike vs. car) and pedal to the beat.” Will you really strap a boombox to your bike? No, and it doesn’t matter. This list is hypothetical, but that point was clearly misunderstood.

Finally, cyclists and drivers reacted to my call for aggression — healthy aggression, though that part was also ignored by readers. One reader’s criticism distinguished aggression from defensive riding, but I consider it one and the same. Respect pedestrians and drivers. You are, after all, a diplomat of sorts. But if they disrespect you, I believe in letting them know. Ding your bell, shoot them a glare, or even verbally tell them they almost killed you.

Why did I write this overly long defense/reflection of my bike list? Well, as a cyclist, I take pride in being a safe and respectful rider, and I needed the last word even if no one reads it. In the larger scope of things, the comments revealed to me how utterly dysfunctional the relationship between drivers and cyclists is; even among cyclists, the vibe is less unified than I expected. We need to change that. So Washington Area Bicyclist Association, expect a donation from me very soon.

You can read the post in question here.

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By Jess, April 23, 2010 11:38 am

Photo by Pierre LaScott/Flickr

As many of you know, I commute by bike in the lovely city of Washington, DC. I’ve been interviewed by The New York Times on why I ride my bike (both love, convenience, and necessity). I ride in rain or shine, through the pollen season and during cold winters.

In celebration, I’ve compiled a list of songs for the Sweatin’ To NPR workout series at NPR Music. It’s called Bike To The Beat: Songs For The Urban Cyclist. Check it out if you’re a cyclist or even just to hear the songs, my favorite at the moment.

Note: I will inevitably face criticism about “encouraging” cyclists to wear headphones while riding, and even including a photo (seen above) of a cyclist without a helmet. To this, I emphasize the importance of experiencing your full environment while riding in the city (or anywhere, for that matter). Your ears can be just as important as your eyes in protecting yourself. However, I do not discourage a friendly bike radio or .mp3 player, as such is in the budget for a bike commuter. As for that photo? Well, my argument is that photo is the most aesthetically pleasing one I found. And recognizing we are logical humans who can see a beautiful photo and appreciate it for what it is, I encourage you to wear a helmet.

Thanks for reading.