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By Jess, June 30, 2011 12:17 pm

Hello! Almost 2 months have gone by since writing a real post. (Let’s face it. The last one was basically self-plagiarism, if that can be a thing.)

I can barely remember what I’ve been up to without consulting my Google Calendar. So I looked back over the past few weeks, and man, it’s been busy.

In May, I went up to Long Beach Island, NJ for a weekend retreat. I attended the SweetLife Festival, where I donned rain pants, jacket, and beanie to see Crystal Castles‘ 20-minute set (also, other less exciting bands). I saw The Antlers and Paul Simon in concert. I saw the Bridesmaids at the movies. At work, I produced a piece on Death Cab for Cutie’s new album, Codes and Keys (after interviewing Ben Gibbard and Chris Walla in May.)

In June, I saw The Lonely Forest/Death Cab for Cutie, Smith Westerns/Yeasayer, and Bahamas/Noah & the Whale in concert. I saw my second Woody Allen movie ever, Midnight in Paris — much better than 2003’s Anything Else. I saw adventure photographer Jimmy Chin speak at National Geographic HQ and was inspired to start climbing again. Confession: I have still not gone climbing since that surge of inspiration. I interviewed Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and produced this piece on his new self-titled release. And to round out a great month, I travelled to Duxbury, MA for a mini-reunion weekend of eating, walking, sitting, and more eating. Oh, and of course we stopped by a photo store in Plymouth to take some authentic Pilgrim photos.

Also in the past two months, I stayed awake for 24 hours or more on four separate occasions. I revisited my guitar and finally donned the running shoes again. I begrudgingly joined the world of smart phones after my phone died. And, to preempt the imminent death of my beat-up Schwinn, I purchased a new bike.

Maybe that’s not even busy for the average person?

The big news, though, is my return to DAYS after 9 months working nights! I’m already fantasizing about happy hours, dinners with friends, and Sunday afternoons. But a part of me will also miss the overnite: the people, the built-in excuse to do my own thing at all times, and my midday dog park excursions with Amos. Am I still socially competent enough to function during the day? We’ll find out. Hopefully more posts in the future.

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By Jess, June 2, 2011 10:50 am

Another defense of not writing in Gitnerblog. This is more like the typical day in the life as of late.

8:00-8:30AM – Arrive home. Play with dog, talk with roommates.

8:45 – Eat.

9:30 – Shower. Catch up on internet. Play guitar.

10:30 – Read. (Also, obsess over some work email that is probably meaningless anyway.)

11:00 – Sleep.

2:00PM – Stumble into the light to take the dog out. Depending on guilt/generosity, take dog to the dog park.

2:30 – Bathe dirty dog.

3:00 – Eat a burrito and/or a bowl of ice cream.

4:00 – Take out over-hydrated dog to pee.

4:15 – Try to go back to sleep.

5:00 – Beg for sleep. Give up and read.

6:00 – Succumb to sleep.

10:30 – Wake up, head for the coffee.

11:15 – Roll out.

…more or less. Repeat.

Clearly, I’m still working out the kinks on this one. But I love the little man, and for now, it’s ok. To bed now to start it up again.

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By Jess, March 29, 2011 10:57 am

In an attempt to defend my non-writing in Gitnerblog, here is an example of a typical day in the life.

8:00-8:30AM – Arrive home. Play with dog, talk with roommates.

8:45 – Eat.

9:30 – Shower? Maybe. Catch up on internet.

10:30 – Send emails. Write? Play music? Listen to music? Any work-related writing trumps everything else, hence the sad state of the Gitnerblog. (And my progressively escalating guilt for not writing for Autostraddle.)

11:30 – Read Wall Street Journal (it’s a new thing) and/or book.

12:30-2:00PM – Go to sleep.

8:30 – Wake up. Catch up on email and the day’s news. Sometimes, I sleep until 10:30, which eliminates my precious “sitting” and catch-up time.

9:30 – Make coffee.

10:00 – Drink coffee. Sit.

11:00 – Sit some more.

11:30PM – 7:30AM – Work.

…and repeat.

Now, if there is a social event or concert thrown into the mix, I take a sleeping pill (may I pause to give a shout-out to Unisom?), forgo my morning time, and try to go to sleep as early as I can. But my productivity in other areas (reading, writing, ‘rithmetic [ok, not the last one]) plummets. Thus, I have a blog here that is neglected for weeks at a time.

Some still don’t quite get what my schedule means. For instance, my brother sent me a check in January and occasionally writes me semi-aggressive text messages. “Really? You haven’t cashed the check?” “I will, I will,” I say. “Haven’t had the chance.” I doubt he believes me, but I mean it. If you require my presence between the hours of 9AM and 5PM, even if you want to give me money, you’re in for a multi-month wait.

It’s now 10:57AM. In just over 7 hours, I’m heading out to a Kaki King concert. Only for you, Kaki. Only for you.

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By Jess, February 5, 2011 8:27 am

Today is Saturday. I woke up at 5AM, saw it was 5AM, and tried to will my body to sleep longer.  But at 6:30, I gave up and succumbed to wakefulness. Then I proceeded to the kitchen where I made coffee and washed dishes for half an hour.

Since settling into the overnite shift, this has become a typical Saturday morning. Before this, I’d had little experience with voluntary early mornings, but I admit I like them. I encounter this whole group of people who I’d never see five months ago. They say “hello” on the street as you pass them walking to the grocery store at 8AM. Two or three hours later, the vibe of the neighborhood changes. The brunch crowd spills out onto the streets, sporting bed heads and large sunglasses. Never sweatpants, though — This is Dupont f*cking Circle.

There’s one drawback to the early mornings. They are, by nature, solitary. At least if you’re not shacked up with a fellow early riser. And while this is one reason I love them, it’s also a bit of social handicap. I was never one to go out of my way to hit up the bars and, as the yawns begin around 8PM, my aversion has only escalated.

My favorite kind of bar is the kind where you can sit down and/or have a conversation. This isn’t quite in line with the scene favored by most early-20-somethings, so last weekend I tried to expand my horizons. I went out to The Mighty Pint in Foggy Bottom to meet some friends who had suggested the place. Upon arriving there, I immediately wondered how long I’d have to stay. After five more minutes in the place, I decided not a minute longer.

I am under no delusion: I am not the most easy-going when it comes to social events and being in a dark, crowded space with drunk strangers exacerbates the problem. So… I have my own version of the Irish exit. As defined by Urban Dictionary, an Irish exit “refers to the departure from any event without telling any friends, associates or acquaintances that one is leaving.” Typically, an Irish exit-er is drunk and that is his/her excuse for an unexplained departure. But as a bit of tea-totaler as of late, I have no real excuse — only complete intolerance of my surroundings. Luckily, two friends shared my sentiments and, gracefully and silently, we power-walked to the Bier Baron where we sat and talked and drank a single craft beer each.

Well, at 8:30AM, after she has slept the whole day away, Alex is awake. And so I bid farewell to the internet for now. Until next time.