Archive for September 2010

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30 September 2010

Random Thursday thoughts

By: Jessica B.
Tagged: apartment, Random, television

Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday because this week has been a long one. I’ll blame the start of the new month…yeah that’s it.

Either way, woo for Friday!

As I’m easing back into a blogging groove again, I realized there are a few loose ends I wanted to revisit based on some recent blog posts.

Roomba

First up, Roomba. I tweeted last week that I haven’t run my beloved Roomba in almost a week. I think she fears that I’m mad at her or don’t love her any more. That could not be further from the truth. Mama J has just been busy! But I’m sure there is plenty of hair for her to pick up this weekend :)

In fact, I wanted to share a quick video I made a few weeks ago of my babies Roomba and Bubbles. I grabbed a photo of them together in my apartment and now I have physical proof of their interaction while Roomba cleans my apartment.

Yeah apparently they do NOT get a long. Roomba is one tough b*tch.

Glasses

So my contacts situation has not improved and lately, I’ve been wearing my glasses more. Sure, I’m still nervous about wearing them in public, but due to horrible eye itching and discomfort, I’ve had to get over that more and more. And, to my surprise, people come up and compliment me on them. Again, they may just be acting nice but it is helping the anxiety ease up :)

And to further help me get over my dislike of wearing my glasses in public, here is a slightly bad photo of me in them.

Cash Cab

Okay this isn’t in a previous post but I am obsessed with this show. I watch it at the gym sometimes and I cannot get enough. When I was in New York during BlogHer, I hoped every single cab I got in was Cash Cab. Tonight, Cash Cab did a bit on 30 Rock and it made me laugh and feel jealous that Tracy was “on” that show. I don’t want to brag but I think I would be awesome on it, especially if there are mostly movie/pop culture questions. Is anyone else obsessed with this show?

Anything random on your mind? Or do you have big plans for this weekend?

Movie Review: Sneak peek at Hillary Swank’s new movie Conviction. Is it that arresting? (bad pun)

14 Comments

28 September 2010

Social media is personal

By: Jessica B.
Tagged: Random

Every few months I try to clean up my Twitter profile because, well, it can be overwhelming.

Updates never stop (like the mail) and hitting reload on Twitter after being away from your phone for even 10 minutes is scary.

That is the joy and curse of non-stop information.

Anyhow, a few weeks ago, I saw on Twitter that someone’s feelings were hurt when she found out she was unfollowed by an online friend. While the original person did apologize to her, that didn’t resolve the issue and caused some follow up tweets about how upset she was, etc.

I know being unfollowed can hurt and no matter what he/she says to reassure you, you take it personally (even if you’re not vocal about it.)

People (myself included at times) take social media very personally, especially when it comes to being unfollowed or unfriended. And after thinking about it more, I get why they do because social media IS personal. You tweet and Facebook and link to things that you like and care about. Blogs, especially personal ones, are an extension of you, where you are more honest on screen than you may be in person. So hearing that someone unfollowed or unfriended you does feel a little like rejection.

I’ve even wondered “what could I have done differently to keep them?” or “why don’t they like me?” It’s like being teleported back to high school, full of crippling anxiety and nerves.

I’ll be fair, it isn’t like this for everyone, but the Twitter incident I mentioned got me thinking.

How can you be you but also be “dead inside” to the way blog comment, Facebook requests and Twitter followers fluctuate?

The only answer I can come up with is to write and be you and those who are really worth your time and find you interesting will stay loyal to you.

So that’s my mentality now. I appreciate and love reading every single comment I get, and still feel bad at times when I can’t read everyone’s blog, or follow everyone that follows me on Twitter. But I do the best I can.

Yes, even with this tough attitude, seeing people unfollow me or seeing low comments on a blog post I put my heart and soul in does hurt at times, but in the end, I keep plugging along and hope that even though people don’t comment, they’re out there still reading and enjoying.

Do you take things personally online? How do you respond when you see followers, comments, etc. go up and down?

33 Comments

27 September 2010

Being afraid to use things I buy

By: Jessica B.
Tagged: Random

Today I brought my new iPhone to work with me, where I showed her off like a prized pony and my coworkers admired her, clearly giving her high self-esteem. Yes, it’s a girl iPhone and she loves attention.

But now I’m terrified that I’ll drop, break, spill something on her or somehow scratch, ding or damage her so she’s no longer perfect and brand new.

This weekend, I wrapped her gently in a scarf in my purse so my evil wallet, keys or loose change couldn’t hurt her. Heck, I even don’t let her sit on my couch unless a magazine is underneath her (SAD!)

One of my coworkers noticed me handling her with extreme care and said, “hey why haven’t I seen your new purse yet?” The new purse she’s referring to is my new Marc Jacobs quilted bag that I bought for my birthday. Yep, it’s still in my house, in the dust bag, barely touched. Why? For the same reason that I’m clutching my iPhone for dear life: I don’t want it to be ruined.

I know it sounds crazy but when I save and treat myself to something nice or get a nice gift, I am terrified to ruin it, therefore it sits in my apartment where I admire it from afar.

I’m also a big offender with this and shoes. When I do shoe fashion shows, I tend to parade around in the shoes I’m terrified to wear out. That way, I still enjoy them without seeing them ruined by the elements.

Turns out, I’m not the only one that does this. A coworker admitted she did the same thing with shoes and another friend said she did that with nice jewelry.

Yes! I’m not alone in this. I think it’s time for me to put my big girl pants on again and toss that phone in the purse (unprotected) and bring that new Marc Jacobs bag out in the public. Deep breaths!

What about you, are you super careful with new shoes, phones, etc. when you buy it or do you have certain items that stay at home because you don’t want to ruin them?

23 Comments

26 September 2010

Weekend recap: Phones and shoes

By: Jessica B.
Tagged: Apple, Fashion, shopping

Happy Sunday everyone!

It’s officially really fall in Chicago. Only in the Midwest does the temperature drop 20-30 degrees overnight.

But even with the change in temperatures, I had a lovely little weekend, where I finally started utilizing a few of my gift cards, you know, the things I tend to hoard? Yeah, well I started really USING them this weekend. Not all of them, but just a few.

I may be a purse girl but I love shoes too and lately, I’m in BAD need of fall shoes. And with the entrance of straight leg jeans to my wardrobe, I need a few more options to wear with them.

And because I’m behind on trends, I decided to use my Nordstrom rewards certificate to get a pair of TOMS shoes. Everyone I know that has a pair of TOMS loves them and I support the company’s mission to give a pair of shoes to someone in need.

Are they super fashionable? No. But they are seriously comfortable and look good with straight leg jeans. Yes. Win/win.

I can’t wait to wear them this week, look how cute they are!

The other new addition to my house goes back to my birthday. Yes, I know it’s over but I finally used another gift card I got for it on Friday, one that was insanely nerve wracking and thrilling at the same time: iPhone.

Not my actual iPhone

YES, it is here, in my house, sitting next to me on the couch right now. I put my big girl pants on Friday and walked into the Apple Store to get it and after a few panicked moments, my Blackberry was dead, contacts were transferred and I was the proud owner of a new baby girl iPhone.

And as with all new parents, the first few days were an adjustment, including late nights (trying to figure out how it works and downloading apps). I still don’t totally know what I’m doing, but so far so good.

So if you have any app recommendations or want to try face time with me, let me know!!! I’m dying to take advantage of both.

Yes, right now I’m a little obsessed with my phone. I cannot stop searching the app store, bus tracking for friends and I actually get giddy at text messages. I’m 16 all over again.

How was your weekend? Are you doing fall clothes shopping right now?

Movie Review: Easy A. Let’s see if it gets the grade included in the title :)

17 Comments

21 September 2010

Debt and relationships

By: Jessica B.
Tagged: Relationships

I’m not an avid New York Times reader but sometimes, I find some thought-provoking articles that inspire blog posts. Case in point, a recent article about how debt can doom a relationship. Oh this one hit close to home.

The article features several stories about women and men, all engaged or in long-term relationships, ready to take that step to marriage or a serious commitment, except one thing looms over them: debt. Each are heavily in debt (mostly from school loans or credit card debt) and the article asks the question: When and should you tell your significant other about the amount of debt you carry.

For me, the answers are, once you’re in a long-term, committed relationship and absolutely yes you should.

And, I would not marry a man unless he had made serious headway at paying down his debt.

I’m not the only one of my friends that feels this way too.

Debt is a reality for a lot of people right now. If it’s not school or car loans, it’s credit card debt, easy to accumulate when you are trying to find a stable job and have non-stop household expenses.

I am very fortunate that I have a small amount of student loan debt (under $20,000) and no credit card debt. Yes, I do not have a lot of established credit, but it’s solid.

And, debt doesn’t go away when you do get married because that debt ownership falls on both of you and could affect the partner’s credit score.

Yes, I’m obsessed with credit scores, it’s important!

When I talked to friends about this, they were very adamant that they would not marry someone with a high amount of debt as well, especially if he/she won’t be able to pay it off for a long time.

One friend said that her boyfriend has bad credit right now and lots of school/credit card debt and she made it clear that they won’t be getting married until that’s under control. Another friend said that he’s helping his girlfriend pay her debt down so they can get married sooner than later. Very interesting.

One example in the article was about a woman who told her fiance she was $100k in debt due to school when in reality, she found she was more like $170k in debt, causing his to call off the wedding because he felt she “lied to him.”

She admitted that she didn’t lie to him, she lied to herself by not finding out the true balance earlier. This I believe because I think at some point, no one wants to really know how much debt they have.

As great as college was, I’m so glad I’m not in school now. Costs and admission standards are truly on another level and many people are walking out with more debt than grads did five years ago. College is worth it but…damn that’s a lot of money. The fear of more debt is what’s keeping me from going back for my Masters.

What about you? How do you feel about having the debt discussion in relationships?

37 Comments
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