Oh what is it about Forever 21...

that is just so bloggable? My first blog post almost two years ago was probably the last time I purchased anything at this establishment. My former colleague at the Daily Northwestern has devoted half a blog to educating readers on "Making Forever 21 Your Bitch." And here I am again.

Friday was a day that was too beautiful not to be outside so cut out of work early to walk to Union Square and do some summer shopping. I've recently lost about two clothing sizes worth of weight which makes shopping really fun, 1) because I've been listening to everything society has told me for the last 23 years and would rather be thin than fat and 2) maybe because of 1), or maybe not, clothes just look better when you're thinner. Or at least when I am. I just had an experience last week at one of those boutiques on Bedford Avenue, where I was in a fitting room and the clerk (who was actually nice! A Williamsburg boutique anomaly!) told me how good I looked and I'm like "I haven't been this size since high school!"

So anyway, I'm on a buying spree, and I bought jeans at Banana Republic, then went to Urban Outfitters and tried a bunch of things on. This one shirt looked really great, but it was $48, and I've been spending a lot of money recently and Urban is really overpriced and I found out that this trip I'm taking to Puerto Rico will be a lot more expensive then I anticipated because apparently PR doesn't have hostels and I don't think I'm ever going to get a raise at this job I have now. So I didn't buy it, rationalizing that I could find something comparable at half the price at Forever 21. Totally wrong. After waiting through the massively long line which I think is so long because they realize that if you wait that long on a line, you'll feel like you might as well buy something now. Normally I would just try clothes on in front of a mirror, but since I should have been at work, I had time, so why not get the full experience?

Also, on line I overheard a guy on his cell phone saying "I take cabs now" which just said so much about New York and Forever 21 shoppers and upward mobility. And "I take cabs now" is another possible title for a novel I have yet to write. Basically, if I spent as much time writing as I do thinking of book titles I would be a best-selling author by now.

Anyway, I decided to buy two things I liked but didn't love and were not well-made. One of the items, a blue shirt dress, was worth the $11 I spent. Another plaid jacket, for $28, I realize now doesn't even fit properly, proving that even though I'm thin for me right now, I am a little bit zaftig for Forever 21's target body-shape demographic. And worst of all neither is a replacement for the blouse at Urban. I'm sure there was something comparable in the piles of clothing, but nothing worth I think I'm going to return the poorly fitting jacket-thing and buy the blouse I actually like. I've just spent 10 minutes looking online for a picture of any of the items so I could include a picture with the post but now I have to go, so I will search later.

Monthly blog post

I figure I should blog once a month if I want anyone to read this ever.
Isn't it crazyness that I've been at my job an entire YEAR now? My first blog post was about how I didn't know if I should answer my work cell after hours. Now I don't really, but I check my work e-mail constantly since I'm all blackberry'd up, but I don't respond unless it will make my life easier the next day. And I have a decent work/life balance. I work kind of a lot now but all New Yorkers seem to work a lot...I think I work a little more than average since I still spend Thursday nights up until all hours, and ok, this week I was semi-on track and I told my editor I'd be done at 9pm and he's like "Oh, do you think you can squeeze out this other story?" "Umm, no," I said. How insane is that, that if I say I'll be done at 9pm that's considered an EARLY NIGHT and I should do a little bit of more work? Ok, so that part of my job I hate since I can never make plans Thursday nights. But that should be changing w/this redesign thing, but enough else I like that that's not bad. Like I get to travel to cool places and am writing cool stories that I enjoy. I feel like I am doing what I like about journalism and not the stuff I don't.

I realized I've been a reporter for almost 10 years. I realized that watching MTV's The Paper aka the greatest show maybe ever, a reality show about a high school newspaper. As a former editor-in-chief and journalism dork I relate to it, though I wasn't as obnoxious as Amanda the editor-in-chief, or at least I don't think so. But then again me and my staff weren't followed around with video cameras so I don't know what people really thought of me or what 17-year old Diana was really like. And anyway after this week, I like Amanda more then I like the popular clique in the back of the room. I wonder if I had ever been the popular clique in the back of the room if I'd like those kids more. But it's so easy to watch a show like that and for me to place myself there, since it's the only reality show I could have actually been a member of. this makes no sense if you haven't seen the show. But you should.

Anyway, that made me realize what those kids are doing is journalism, and I've been doing some form of it since I was a freshman in high school. And it's weird, because I don't know how much longer I'll be a journalist. I might write a book, or some more articles, and I will of course use all the skills I've used all these years, but realistically, I can't see myself working in 90% of journalism venues.. But who knows, maybe I'll continue journalism forever, so no need to get nostalgic about the last ten years before the last ten years have passsed (ben folds).


And I finally got business cards!!! so I won't be leaving my job quite yet.

Also, a note:
I saw Jon Stewart on the street! With his wife and children. On 17th btwn & 6th on the beautiful day Saturday. It was exciting, but not as exciting as when I saw Christy Turlington for some reason. I think because that was my first celeb sighting in nyc after a drought of forever, and now since I'd seen A celebrity, even if it was just a former model, made Jon Stewart less climatic, though I do love him.