A quick Google search and the top result being a Wikipedia article on the subject will tell you one thing: The Quarter-Life Crisis is REAL. Psychologists say that the phenomenon has increased greatly in the past decade, with millenials facing greater obstacles than the previous generations (with high student debt being the major contributing factor) inhibiting them from proceeding with the standard major milestones of adulthood, like marriage, buying your first home, and starting a family.
I’m turning 26 in less than a week, and thankfully, I’ve tackled one of these. That said, by 36, I’ll be expected to be well within the trenches of my career, in a starter home, and two elementary-school aged kids. I can say that it is “expected” of me, but it’s also what I want for myself.
That said, my birthday has me thinking a lot about the former of those “36-year-old” checkpoints. I want kids, a nice home, and great vacations. That will come with time and financial stability. But how can I get that point of financial stability if I don’t have the career I want?
I have wanted to be president of television for more than half my life (earlier career ideas included secret agent, marine biologist, and president of the United States). In the past week, I’ve been wondering if that’s still what I want. I love NBC, and it’s found ways to touch my heart in ways I can’t explain. But when I think about that job, it’s a fever dream of Miranda Priestly meets Jack Donaghy, and I have a gorgeous office and a gorgeous wardrobe and a high-rise luxury townhome in Midtown or a mansion on the Long Island Sound. I have so many details of what I want my home life to be, but I have no idea of what my career looks like. I’m so focused on the end game that I don’t know what the work to get there will be.
When I’m not thinking about that, I’m thinking about how much I don’t like my current situation. I love my family. I love my husband. I love my cats, my friends, my coworkers. But I want to cry at work sometimes dealing with people. It’s triggered me to the point that I spent my Friday night looking up jobs that involve no phone calls and no B2C work. I would even say B2B work included, because technically I don’t speak to the consumer, I speak to people who speak to the consumer. I’m wondering if I should speak to a career counselor, because I want to find something where I get to work with a team with the same goal, without having to deal with buyers or consumers. I want to create a plan for a project, develop the project, and then let someone else handle the logistics of buying and selling the project.
Does that make me a creative type?
While searching for those “don’t look at me please” career paths on Friday night, I just found myself thinking “What if I got a remote job on the west coast in a city that was cool and I was just super happy all the time?” Cut to me looking at houses in Boulder, CO, where I think about moving to sometimes and going to raw vegan juiceries and skiing in the winter. I miss skiing. I haven’t gone skiing in years.
But again: THAT’S THE LIFE OUTSIDE OF WORK. What about the part that pays for that?
The next night I watched “Lady Bird,” and the eponymous character, while finishing high school in her Sacramento suburb, fantasizes about moving to the East Coast, New York City specifically. At a point in the movie she goes into Manhattan and I just looked at the city around her and every time I’m in New York, every time I see it, I just think “Who wouldn’t want that?”
Okay, I think I just had an epiphany: if all I care about is where I live, then maybe I should really go for a remote job that will permit me to live where I want whenever I want. Aaron and I can spend a few years living in different parts of the US, maybe even parts of Europe, until we find the place we like best.
I feel like that feeds into the millenial procrastination Quarter-life crisis symptom of putting off the future, though. But when I think about it, I have so much of life to live, and so much of the world to see. I want to see it all.
Okay, maybe not war-torn countries where they cut off your hand for looking a man other than your husband in the eye, but still.
I have time to think about it, but I don’t want to just think, or dream, about it. I want to live it.
I’m grateful I have Aaron to talk to about this stuff. It is important. It’s my fifteenth resolution, right? BE HAPPY.
I do think I’m prone to melancholy moments sometimes. In general, I AM happy. I just want more.
If there’s truth to the math of the quarter-life crisis, I don’t want to end my journey through life at 104 with any regrets. I’ll regret not taking chances, just going for it, or doing the right thing when I can. I have this recurring joke in my mind that stems from a throwaway gag from “How I Met Your Mother”, in which I thank “past Mallory” for handling things so “future Mallory” doesn’t have to worry about it.
“Future Mallory” should look at “past Mallory” and say thank you. “Present Mallory” just has to get there.
I’m back, baby! Four books done for the month of May. This month felt special, because rather than wanting to finish these books to meet a deadline, I wanted to finish these books because I wanted to find out what happens next… even though I kind of already knew what was next!
If you couldn’t tell from my previous book preferences, my tastes don’t range far from the meta-fiction and memoirs. I’ve always found reality is stranger (albeit less complicated) than fiction, so I’ve never really ventured into the realm of fantasy novels. At least, not as an adult. Growing up I read the Harry Potter series like everyone else and L-O-V-E-D the Magic Tree House novels! My children will be read both. With corresponding voices.
Meanwhile, I don’t think Aaron, despite being a voracious reader, has ever read more than a few memoirs or biographies, instead consuming hundreds of medieval, space, and fantasy stories. With that in mind, I decided to sample a bit of taste from him. In spirit of “Star Wars Day,” May Fourth, may the fourth be with you, I elected to read four Star Wars-adjacent novels this month.
Note: if you have only seen each film once, or you haven’t seen Star Wars, some of this stuff might go over your head. I’m not gatekeeping by any means, but if you’re scratching you’re head a little from here on out, know I was scratching my head while reading, too. There’s a lot. A LOT.
I’ve seen the films in the Skywalker saga and thoroughly enjoyed Galaxy’s Edge, but that has been my extent of dalliance in the realm of Star Wars. Aaron, however, has read nearly every book in the Legends canon (also known as the stuff that came out between the originals, prequels, and before the buyout by Disney). I don’t believe in the concept of “real fan” vs. “fake fan,” but if I did, I’d say Aaron’s as real as they come. I knew I’d be in his capable hands if I asked him for guidance on where to start. He quickly recommended the novelization of Revenge of the Sith (arguably the best of the prequels). He also mentioned that the actress who voiced Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker’s padawan in the Rebels and Clone Wars animated series, narrated the Audible version of Ahsoka’s standalone novel, as well as a standalone novel about Padme Amidala’s early life as a senator. With that, and the knowledge of Carrie Fisher’s memoir sitting unfinished in my bookshelf, I was ready.
One month later and I can successfully say that I am still confused but equally excited about the prospects before me.
Image from Imgur. “Once Upon a Time in Springfield.” The Simpsons . Fox. 10 January 2010.
As I said, I’ve seen each of the mainstream Star Wars movies at least once, some more than once. With that in mind, there were some bits and pieces of each novel where the original trilogy or prequel films were alluded to in some way or another. Each time that happened, it felt like when the characters in the movie say the name of the movie, like “Ooooh! He said the the thing!”
Star Wars: Queen’s Shadow by E.K. Johnston. This novel acted as an in-between of The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. Padme Amidala has ended her reign as queen of Naboo, and her successor has asked her to serve as Naboo’s senator in the Galactic Senate. She takes on the role, and learns the ropes of dealing with politics where, as the little boy from Tatooine would say, “the biggest problem in the universe is no one helps each other.” As wacky as it sounds, I sympathized with the story of this former royal striving to bring peace and equality to the galaxy when it seemed like even her close allies weren’t interested in helping her. People make fun of her traditional clothing, her inexperience, and everything you can think of to diminish her credibility, despite the fact that she was one of Naboo’s most beloved queens in history. She eventually finds her footing with the help of her handmaidens and the few allies she makes, chief among them being Senator Organa from Alderaan.
This novel is full of “Oop! She’s talking about Anakin! She’s gonna see him again in a few years and fall in love! Oop!” moments. It also left me balking at some of the dramatic irony. Knowing what becomes of Chancellor Palpatine and the senate as a whole, I remember scoffing and thinking, “Really, Padme? You’re gonna sit there and see all of this happen and it’s not gonna occur to you to think ‘Hm, I’m being opposed at every turn by the guy who I thought wanted to help me and the things I want are pretty moral things that most people with integrity would expect from modern society and he doesn’t want to help me maybe I should look into that’? You’re just gonna keep letting this slide?” The audacity of it all! She’s supposed to be brilliant!! How’d she not see this coming at all?
That said, this line stuck out to me, as another female senator provided SOME guidance to Padme on how to deal with offensive news articles:“The newsnets went after you because you were an easy story,” Bonteri said. “Which is not the same as an easy target, so don’t get all worked up.”
I wish I could send that to Billie Eilish, Adele, and every girl with a smidgen of TikTok fame. The novel leaves room for another (and maybe more than one) leading up to Attack of the Clones, and I kind of hope they write one! In the meantime, the prequel to this book about Padme’s rule as queen comes out tomorrow. I just might indulge!
Revenge of the Sith: Star Wars: Episode III by Matthew Stover. Revenge of the Sith was my favorite of the prequels, and it was the first Star Wars movie I saw in theatres (unless you count when I snuck in for the last ten minutes of Attack of the Clones, which my brother went to see with my dad while my mom and sister and I went to see another movie and our movie finished early and I wanted to bond with my dad so I went in to watch the rest of their movie… which I don’t).
Here’s some footage of eleven year old me watching the lightsaber battle between Anakin and Obi Wan on Mustafar:
“Environmental Science.” Community. NBC. 19 November 2009.
Granted, I went in knowing what was going to happen as a result, but that didn’t mean I didn’t appreciate it any less. If anything, this novel had bits and pieces that weren’t included in the film, like a scene with Count Dooku that really makes you think about his duel with Anakin and Obi Wan. The dramatic irony is strong in this one.
There were a lot of great quotes in this book, and I’ll bring up a few of them later, because they fit so well into what’s going on in the world right now. It’s been a shocking week, but I will get there. In the meantime, here’s a few quotes that stood out to me:
“The adults have a sickening suspicion that Jedi cannot be trusted. Not anymore. That even the greatest of them can suddenly just … snap.”
“But for Anakin Skywalker, the completely impossible had an eerie way of being merely difficult.”
“Anakin realizes that this isn’t actually an order. That it is, in fact, nothing more than what he’s been waiting for his whole life. Permission.”
Reading this, and thinking about my own personal struggles, I’m not gonna say I condone Anakin’s transformation, and what he does as a result of it, but if I were given all this power and all this dismissal of it and no one listens to me and everyone tells me what to do except for this one guy who ALWAYS listens to me and NEVER tells me what to do and then I get to be with the love of my life and the people I’m supposed to trust say I can never be with her and that if she dies that’s just life but then this ONE guy says if I channel the energy of this power I have that literally no one else has as strongly to save her life but only with his help can it happen but then those other guys are like hey you gotta kill that one guy… like… I get it.
Star Wars: Ahsoka by E.K. Johnston. While reading these books, the Clone Wars television series came to an end. The Clone Wars television series was focused on (yep, you guessed it) the Clone Wars, from the perspective of Anakin, Obi Wan, and Anakin’s padawan, Ahsoka Tano. Ahsoka Tano’s story took up the majority of the narration of those last few episodes (which are currently being lauded for their storytelling, animation, and more). She’s a fascinating character, and this novel details what happened to her after the finale and before Star Wars: Rebels, which takes place between the prequels and the original trilogy. I think. I never saw Rebels. After what’s happened this month I will probably watch Rebels.
There are a few detail discrepancies since this novel was released prior to this season of Clone Wars, but the overall gist is mostly the same. To me, there’s no glaringly obvious plot-holes. Ahsoka hides out on the planet Thabeska and the moon of Raada, eluding capture and a similar fate that her Jedi Alliance friends faced during Order 66. While in hiding, she plants seeds of resistance to the Empire, makes new friends with the planet (and moon) dwellers, and copes with her loss of Jedi friends, Clone colleagues, all while contemplating the fate of her Master, Anakin Skywalker. Again, plenty of dramatic irony. Having the voice actor of Ahsoka made listening to this Audible even more delightful!
The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher. Carrie Fisher had written plenty in her too-short time on this Earth, and this memoir focused on her life as the iconic Princess Leia. She reflects on her life prior to the movie, and shares the diary she kept while shooting Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The diaries mostly reflect on her affair and crush on Harrison Ford. He was married at the time, and they divorced not long after shooting, but nothing ever became of “Carrison,” as she calls it in the memoir. It isn’t lewd by any sense, and Carrie mostly just recalls how it started and how in love with him she was at the time. Reading through her diary entries, and thinking about how charming Han Solo is and how Harrison Ford, even now, in his late seventies, can get it, I totally understood her feelings for him at the time. I mean oof, that cool guy grin. THAT’S MY TYPE.
Bookending her reflection of her relationship with Harrison Ford, Carrie discusses what it was to be Princess Leia: not realizing at the time what would happen with this tiny space movie she shot at nineteen years old, being many a man’s first crush, and being forced to look at herself almost daily in a slaver’s bikini. She says that many young fans at Comic conventions didn’t recognize her as she aged, expecting her to be the young princess in person, and that many fully grown fans were disappointed that she wasn’t Slave Leia shape in her forties. Sometimes she struggled with people who couldn’t separate Leia from Carrie, and sometimes she struggled with that, too. Try as she might, which admittedly wasn’t super hard, she will always be Leia Organa Skywalker. More than that, she will be Carrie Fisher.
Carrie wrote this book not long before her untimely passing. Her daughter Billie is two years older than I am, and she was in the sequel films and played a scene-stealing Gigi in the coming-of-age movie Booksmart, which was one of my favorite movies from last year. I don’t think anyone could ever replace Carrie, and I genuinely think Billie will come into her own as an actress. That said, if Billie has half her mom’s talent, charm, and “take no prisoners” fearlessness, she will be just fine. In her time, Carrie was appreciated for her brutal honesty. All that said, I hope that if there’s an after life, I can meet her, thank her, and maybe share a laugh.
As I said, I had started her memoir when it came out a few years ago, but between moving around that time and mourning her, it was hard to pick up again. Today I did, and it took me maybe three hours to do so. No regrets. Here are a few quotes that stood out to me:When referencing her need to clear her mind through keeping a diary: “Better an empty house than an unhappy tenant.”
From her diaries, when thinking about Harrison: “George says that if you look at the person someone chooses to have “a relationship” with, you’ll see what they think of themselves. So Harrison is what I think of myself.”
By the way, in this context, George = George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars
“My mind has a mind of its own. I try to define my limits by seeing just how far I can go, and I find that I passed them weeks ago.”
“I noticed right away that Harrison tended to quote philosophers when describing what he thought of the film. ‘As Winston Churchill said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts,’he might’ve said when asked if he thought success would change us. He also might’ve said ‘Give me a minute–I’ve only been successful for a few weeks.’ He might’ve said these things, but I’m pretty sure he didn’t.”
She also has a full diary entry where she laments her taste in men, and how she thinks she should just fall in love with chairs instead, which are at least consistent and sturdy. I won’t post the whole thing, but it brought an inner laugh.
I felt such enjoyment reading these books this month. I genuinely think I will return to Star Wars novels more than once in the rest of this year, they genuinely made me happy. They have symmetry, even if there’s so much I still don’t understand.
That said, in the past month but especially the past week, society has descended into madness. Earlier this month, people were protesting COVID-19 lock-downs with picket signs, few face masks, and machine gun rifles gently slung across many a protester’s shoulders, because they could. The government lamented and began decreasing restrictions, to many’s delight and many a frontline workers’ horror.
In the past two months, there has been a crazy strike in public hate crimes. Will Smith commented “Racism is not getting worse, it’s getting filmed.” Two men were arrested for shooting a black man named Ahmaud Arbery while jogging. He was my age. Breonna Taylor was killed when police broke into her home and shot her when her partner picked up a gun to defend them from intruders (her partner was shot in the leg during this conflict).
Another woman’s life is effectively over because she was caught on film making a false emergency call to NYPD. Amy Cooper, an affluent white woman, was in Central Park with her dog in a section where dogs are required to be leashed. Her dog was not wearing a leash, and Christian Cooper (no relation), a black man who happened to be in the park birdwatching, told her she needed to leash the dog. Amy responded by saying she was going to call the police to tell them an African American man was threatening her. Christian filmed the interaction, which also featured Amy holding her dog not by leashing him, but by the collar, effectively strangling the crying dog for a few minutes. Amy Cooper has been fired from her job, and she surrendered her dog to the adoption agency from whence she got it pending an investigation. That was just last weekend.
In the past week, a video was released of a white police officer arresting a black man and kneeling on his neck for nine minutes, killing him. The man’s name was George Floyd, and it was initially printed that he was being investigated for a fraudulent check. It was later announced that he was accused of using a fake $20 bill. He hadn’t. Regardless, the cops were called, and he was killed by his arresting officer, Derek Chauvin. Chauvin has prior entries of aggression, even racially biased aggression, and within the week of Floyd’s death, he was taken into police custody. His wife has since filed for divorce. Many are considering the implications, given that the wife was in an abusive relationship before and that most women in abusive relationships tend to find themselves in multiple abusive relationships in their lifetime, having been used to the behavior. With that in your head, she waited until he was away from her to file for divorce. It just. It does make you wonder.
The streets are filled with protestors, calling for peace and justice. As people took to the streets, the president tweeted that he supports the police in question and encouraged officers to shoot the protestors. His tweet was removed by Twitter for violating their standards (and many have called for the company to delete his account entirely, as people get removed a lot quicker for a lot less). This weekend has seen cops throwing tear gas, shoving protestors, shooting bullets at protestors, driving police cars into protestors, calling ICE to deport any illegal immigrants at protests, and bringing in children in riot gear as shields.
This is my world right now. I can’t gif that.
As I read through tweet after tweet of anger, flipped through countless Instagram stories about protests and unnecessary race-based murders, all of which are certain to continue, my blood boils and my heart breaks. I don’t really like talking about this for a myriad of reasons, but this is the best way to condense them:
1 – I am a white woman, with an affluent upbringing and no true influence (YET). My words are mostly meaningless and you know what, I don’t think white people should be explaining racism. I genuinely don’t think that’s my place.
2 – Retweeting “SPREAD LOVE, GET JUSTICE! :random emoji” is useless to me. Oh wow, she hates crime and wants everyone to get along, so she posts a social media status about it? How special she is!
This works on two levels because it emphasizes the sarcasm of being “special” and it’s also Padme Amidala. Image from Google.
It’s armchair activism and it does nothing. I’ll sign petitions and donate what I can quietly. The rest feels performative. And again, *I* know that I support the cause. Maybe if I had 15 million Twitter followers or a high Youtube subscriber count, I’d feel more of an urge to make more of a public statement, knowing that what I said could inform people who don’t fully understand what’s happening here. For now, I’m just part of a millions-large Twitter mob that’s angry. Everything above what I do in the privacy of my own brain feels like a “LOOK AT ME!” show.
This week I watched as police officers assaulted its people, only to then turn on the Ahsoka Audible book and listen to the sounds of Stormtroopers murder citizens of Raada for the slightest dissent. There are so many riots and protests across America right now. Businesses are being looted and people are being assaulted in the streets. Buildings are on fire.
I write this now not as the performative activism I mentioned earlier, but for the same reasons I’ve reflected on Coronavirus in the past few months. Documenting so I never forget.
Assuming things lighten up in terms of the Coronavirus in the next few months, we will have an election to choose whether or not our current president gets a second term. I was convinced that he would get a second term, because the people who want him out don’t want the current frontrunner/ probable candidate for the opposing party to be president either.
Just in the past week alone, I think those who weren’t in his favor are singing a different tune.
These quotes from Revenge of the Sith have truly stood out to me in the past two weeks:
A Senator might carefully construct a reputation, appearing to all the galaxy as honest and upright and honorable, all the while holding the rotten truth of himself so absolutely secret that no one would sense his evil until he had so much power that it was too late to stop him … It was possible.
The brightest light casts the darkest shadow.
It comes only by the release of self, not the exaltation of self. It comes through compassion, not greed.
Love is the answer to the darkness.
To those directly impacted by all of this, and those who have joined them in arms in any way… may the force be with you.
We’re almost at the halfway point in the year! I want to celebrate all my little victories but at the same time I can’t help but feel like this year, in terms of goal-setting, is no more special than last. That said, I set these goals for a December 2020 end date. Let’s reflect on how we’re doing 5 months into the game:
1. Read 52 books – I have finished two books this month and am listening to an audiobook. I genuinely think that I will get four books in by the end of the month. I said I was going to read Star Wars books for the month of May, and I have, but I think I’m also going to read other Star Wars books later in the year. I really liked them. I’m falling down a Star Wars rabbit hole and honestly, it’s about time.
2. Do pull-ups – Quarantine is making this tougher than it needs to be, but I’m trying harder to work my body out to get this done by the end of the year. I’m emotionally prepared to have to start from square 1 when my gym opens back up and I have access to a pull-up bar.
3. Spend LESS. TIME. SCROLLING. – I actually feel like I made a modicum of progress here! I told myself that I can only scroll when I’m doing my steps, and it’s worked! Along with that, I’ve been staying off the phone while re-watching “Community” with Aaron. I still have a long way to go but I feel like I’ve taken a step towards being better about this.
4. Write 104 blog posts – I think twice this month I’ve thought “… Oh, right! Gotta write!” I’ve maintained my consistency, though. At least I’m staying on top of this here!
5. Romantic trip with Aaron from Dec. 26 – Jan. 2 2021 – As restrictions are slowly lifted, I’m keeping things optimistic about this end of the year trip not falling through from spikes in cases. Fingers crossed!
6. Stop engaging in schadenfreude – I’m still on the right track here. I fell victim to rabbit hole twice this month, but I think it was just for ten minutes at the most both times. Twenty minutes on something that I used to spend hours on is pretty good!
7. Take better care of my skin – Skin is still improving, thankfully! I hope that my shoulders and back continue to heal with my face. I can put foundation on my face, but if I want to wear a bathing suit, it gets really awkward when I have acne on my back and chest. I feel like this has improved in the past few months too!
8. Go stargazing – There’s still a nighttime curfew in lockdown, but we’re heading into June! It’s warm and if we get anti-bug candles, it could be a dang nice night.
9. Get a new job – I have nothing new to report here, and I’m really hoping that changes soon.
10. Do a handstand – I didn’t work on this at all this month. It’s still on my list. I haven’t given up and I won’t.
11. Go see two of my favorite performers – So fun fact, an email was sent out two weeks ago saying that all dates before Labor Day Weekend have been refunded. I would say this is the only resolution that might not come true, based on my scheduling, that I can blame on quarantine and not my own failures. They say life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans, and whomever they are, they’re not wrong! I hope I can reschedule for November or December, but if not, I think next year is going to be a great year.
12. Lose weight – Physical progress? Not so much. Mental progress? Very much so. See you next month.
13. Give Aaron a great 26th birthday – Well well well! The Disney parks will be opened by his birthday. Wheels are back in motion! I’m thinking dinner at his favorite restaurant and a new lightsaber at Hollywood Studios. Yay!
14. Be a better friend, wife, sister, daughter, and granddaughter – I think May has been my best month for this. I had a great Skype call with my best friend where we talked about life and how much we mean to each other. I’ve been supportive for my friends going through big transitions and crazy circumstances in light of what’s happening in the world, and sending funny TikToks along the way! Aaron and I have really grown so much as a couple since quarantine started. I think we fall more in love and feel more happy every day. As far as family goes, I went home for Mother’s Day for an extended weekend and spent a whole night gabbing with my brother and sister, and even went jogging with my mom. My dad and I talked on the phone earlier last week, and I spoke to both of my grandparents on the phone this month. It was my grandmother’s birthday this month, so I sent flowers, helped my mom make her a birthday playlist, and sent a photo album (that I made myself!) of wedding photos and she loved it. I should keep this up next month! I love the people in my life!
15. Be happy – I am so lucky. I feel so loved and so grateful for what I have. I am still doing my best, and working to accomplish my goals. I wish I could bring the peace I feel in my heart sometimes and give it to other people. The world is scary and I’m so thankful for the security blanket I have.
As I approach the final week of my Couch 2 5K Program, I feel as though I’ve improved as a runner during this experience. Unlike previous experiences with this program, I’ve been running outside through the neighborhoods surrounding my development. Previously, I had been running the program on a treadmill. Treadmills were effective in keeping a consecutive speed, but it took away from the actual strength it takes to keep up a consistent rhythm in a realistic environment. It’s one thing to run on a treadmill, but in a 5K you hit pavement, and that kind of ground is different on your bones than a path being fed to you by a treadmill belt.
Here’s a few tips that I can share from running the road for the past eight weeks:
Run in quarter length socks. For a while, ankle socks that didn’t peek from beneath your sneaker were the stylish choice. It seems now like socks that go somewhere between past the ankle and below mid-shin are en vogue. Style choices aside, there is nothing more painful than a blister on the heel. A heel blister will ruin my run and keep me off my feet for two days. If you’re going for a run, make sure your sneakers fit and your socks go above the top of your shoe. Since I made the change, I haven’t had a heel blister! That said, these babies are GREAT for treating a heel blister.
Calling all gals/nonbinary pals – STRAP DOWN THE CHEST. I’ve noticed a lean towards minimum impact in sports bras, which are very comfortable and perfect for workouts that don’t require CRAZY amounts of movement (think yoga or weight-lifting). As a girl who wears minimum impact sports bras almost daily (way less stressful than traditional bras for me, since I don’t like no coverage at all), I totally get this shift. That said, if you’re more Kim than Kendall on the Kardashian scale, you’re going to want to go for the MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE bra. If you’re in the market for a new sports bra for running purposes, I recommend two-tier-trying before buying. Don’t buy online, go to the store and put on something that advertises “Maximum Impact.” If it seems to be a good fit, attempt a few HIIT exercises, like burpees or jumping jacks. If, ahem, everyone stays in their assigned seat, you’re in a good spot! The Victoria’s Secret Knockout Bra has worked for me for years, but Old Navy makes a good maximum impact bra, too.
Scent up before you lace up – This might be TMI, but sometimes my sweat distracts myself. The moisture and yes, occasionally, the smell. Yup. I said it. It’s never made me stop mid-run, but I’ve noticed it, and that’s enough for me. A good spray deodorant keeps me dry (I like Dove Coconut!) but NATIVE stick is a favorite too!
Your music. Is. Everything – I have touched upon the importance of a good workout playlist in a previous entry, but it’s worth mentioning again. Intuitively, a good lifting playlist should make you feel strong, and a good running playlist should make you feel fast. My running playlist is full of music from the last ten years. Indie pop is a great feel- think MGMT, M83, Florence & The Machine. Of course, my previous entry on workout playlists featured a “superhero” theme. Superheroes are both fast AND strong, so you can mix and match here (just last week I beat my speed record while running to the Wonder Woman theme)!
Run in the early morning – CHASE THE SUN. It is the best time to run. The temperature is cool, but the sky is light. You won’t be blinded by the sun, nor will you be sweating in scorching heat. As well, the world is typically quiet this time of the morning. You won’t really run the risk of traffic, and there’s nothing better than a cool-down walk under a pink-and-blue sky. Sweat the night off, and turn your mind on under the sunrise.
To some’s dismay and others’ delight, restrictions are being loosened on society! Restaurants are opening to half-capacity, as are shopping plaza and entertainment venues. I might not even have to wait until full normalcy to get my Dave and Buster’s date! Certainly, people are becoming more relaxed in the face of the return to normalcy. I am still weary of an uptick in COVID-19 cases as thing accelerate towards this return, but I am leaning on the side of cautious optimism. I can’t help but reflect on how people spent this time over the past two months of isolation. Many baked bread, others clung to TikTok like oxygen, and a lot of people took out their antsy feelings on their hair.
Salons were one of the first things to close as a precaution during this time, and many of the protesters of these conditions complain of needing blowouts and their roots retouched.
Others took the lack of salons as an opportunity to do that one crazy thing with their hair, figuring either they will like it or no one will see it if it’s terrible. I’m interested to see how many stylists will have tales of “I had to fix THIS box dye job” within the first month of normalcy!
Some people cut their own bangs, some people touched up their own roots for the first time, and some people cut their hair and dyed it blue… and it came out FABULOUS.
I like my hair, and I’ve only dyed it once. During my spring semester of my junior year in college, I was studying abroad when it hit me: “YOU MUST DYE YOUR HAIR RED.” I waited until I got back to the US and found a box and begged my mom to help me do it.
That was my hot girl summer. And it was glorious.
The red quickly went ombre, and then went completely as I got some lowlights done a year later, and I haven’t touched it colorwise since. I’d gotten bangs the year after (and liked it), and brought the bangs back after my wedding last year (hated it). I don’t take big risks with my hair because while I think some people can rock the dark blue, cotton candy pink, unicorn bob of their dreams, that life is NOT for me. I keep it simple and classic. Fun fact: Anna Wintour has had the same haircut for decades. I know what I want my haircut to be for the rest of my life, but I’m WAITING until the right time. Just like with my junior year dye job. It will come to me when it’s ready.
SPEAKING OF WHICH: While I did not trust myself to re-dye my hair on my own, I did decide that this year, I will add some color. I don’t think I’ll ever go full blonde because I’d have to bleach my hair to do that, and I don’t want to completely ruin my natural hair color. That said, quarantine has inspired me to come up with a few ideas:
Darcy Edwards from Degrassi: The Next Generation – A well-intentioned, but judgy teen played by Shenae Grimes. She went on to star in the CW reboot of 90210 in 2012, leaving her role in Degrassi to do so. I started watching the show as Darcy’s younger sister, Clare Edwards, began her freshman year at Degrassi High. I was a freshman, she was a freshman, it made sense! At any rate, a saint in the Internet ether uploaded the entire series onto YouTube. As a result, much like I did in high school, I watched Degrassi reruns for an entire weekend.
Image from Reddit. Deleted scene from “The Office”. NBC.
I forgot how much I liked Darcy’s hair. I think that when my hair grows out a bit more, I want to grow it out and color it like hers. I like the sidebangs with, yes, a bit of red.
Images from Google, taken from screenshots of “Degrassi: The Next Generation”. CTV.
Chocolate Chili. This is a darker version of the color Darcy has, and it’s more like my natural color. I don’t know if “Chocolate Chili” is the actual name for it, but I saw it used as one of the descriptor/captions and I think it works. Think dark chocolate and a chili pepper.
Image from Pinterest. Click to View.
Caramel Highlights. Light brown flowing seamlessly through dark brown.
Image from Pinterest. Click to view.
I basically went down a Pinterest rabbit hole of dark hair with lowlights or highlights.
I don’t know how far into the future this is, but I do want to do something a little bit more dramatic with my hair. Anyone will tell you that good hair = good attitude! I’m not desperate for something new, but I feel like I’m three blowouts away from a new color. Time will tell!
On Thursday afternoon, I packed up my things and drove the two and a half hours down to my mom’s house to surprise her as a belated Mother’s Day gift. To be honest, her reaction and hug to me walking in the kitchen alone was worth the trip! I’ve spent the past three days at home with my family. I had to work Friday, but I got to speak with my siblings during lulls and my mom came home not long after my work day finished. It was just nice to be with all of them knowing we couldn’t really go anywhere, as things in my hometown are still shut down almost entirely until tomorrow (just as I leave!).
While I was home, I realized a few things by being around my family.
I’m funny. The power went out while I was home, and my sister demanded entertainment for the four hours (give or take) that we had no electricity. We played Cards Against Humanity, and I won! We played “Would You Rather” and “Who Would You Rather” (tee hee), and at a certain point I started blaring dance music and prancing around without a care in the world. My sister laughed so hard, to the point that she said my “moves” made the power outage worth it. My mom also said I made her laugh while we played “Clue”. I tend to get dramatic when I accuse people of being the murderer. Image from Pinterest. The Trial of Leslie Knope.“Parks and Recreation.” 1 December 2011. NBC.
I miss cooking. When I’m at home during the week, I love to bake, but Aaron is the one who cooks almost all of our meals! In my mom’s house, my siblings and mom take turns making dinner, but my sister is struggling to find things she likes to make. She’s very picky and not a great cook! She’s hoping to change that, and she and my mom were really excited that I had recipes and cooking ideas to offer. Talking about it made me wish I cooked more! I told Aaron that when I come home, I want to make more of our meals. He suggested cooking our meals together. I feel so happy he wants to share the “joy” of cooking with me!
I want to work out more. I’ve been keeping an ambitious step goal and enjoying Couch25K, but I want to work on my strength more again. My mom kept talking about how impressive my brother’s body looks after spending time doing laps in the pool daily, and my sister is a petite double negative. I want to be fit, dangit! I’ve honestly started thinking that I might want to try getting fit enough to do a bikini competition. I’ve gone down a Youtube rabbit hole of a fitness influencer I like, and a few years ago she did a few of them (and won at least once!). It’s not a test of how hot you look in a bikini, it’s based on muscle. I don’t really like the idea of getting super spray tanned, and it’s definitely something I have to research more, but I think it’d be kind of cool to be in a fitness competition this time next year! Can you imagine?
I had such a great time with my mom, brother and sister. I’m going to do a girls’ weekend in a month with my mom and sister, when things will have become a bit more sanitized! Family time is everything to me. I’m so lucky to have the family I have!
It’s a party with all your friends. It’s so late you’ve forgotten what time it is, and you’re on your third slice of cold pizza. Conversation has drifted towards the philosophical, and it all culminates with talk about how great your moms are. Sound familiar?
It’s a cliche to say that you should treat your partner like every day is Valentine’s Day. While I think there is some truth to that (with a few exceptions: 365 days of chocolates and jewelry could bring breakouts and bankruptcy), I think that the phrase should really be saved for Mother’s Day. Being a mom is the toughest job, and it’s often a thankless one. So with this post (and yes, a card with some flowers and a surprise long weekend visit planned for this Thursday), I thank my mom for being my biggest fan, closest confidant, and ultimately my best friend.
My mom was a doctor for six years (give or take) before I showed up on planet Earth. To be honest, I had a bit of a bubble burst when I discovered that not every experience with a doctor was a pleasant one, because I couldn’t imagine every doctor not being as perfect as my mom. When I was a kid, we used to get stopped at the supermarket, the movies, restaurants, you name it, by some patient who would gleam at me and tell me how my mom saved their life.
A few years ago, Aaron got a skin irritation on his hip that kept getting worse. My mom got concerned and asked that he come into her office for her to take a peek at it. I gripped his hand as my mom fixed him up, him wincing in terrible pain the whole time. He later told me that it was the most excruciating thing he ever felt, but it was still the most positive experience he had with a doctor (it got better after a month of treatment with my mom’s input).
I could just stop at appreciation for my mom with the fact that she’s a doctor, and serving the on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis. That said, I want to switch gears to the more fun things about her. When she was growing up, she learned fast how to live from my grandfather, who I think is the definition of an American success story. For the Braver family, you can find happiness in the pride of a hard day’s work… and when that’s not enough, hop on a plane and go see the world. My grandfather would work tireless hours in his accounting firm (from a corner office where occasionally, my mom and aunt would go visit to watch the Thanksgiving Day parade), and then take my grandmother on a grandiose adventure. We’re talking a hot air balloon ride around countries in Europe, and I’m pretty sure he did that more than once! He instilled in my mom (and myself) to never accept a B when an A is attainable. My mom clearly took that to heart as she went off to college and med school… and a year of study abroad in the UK. Like mother, like daughter!
When she’s not hard at work, or up in New York taking care of said grandparents, she’s on a jet-setting adventure. She’s been to Central America, Canada, South America and almost all of Europe! If I had a million dollars, I would pay for her to have a cruise around the world. She loves a good museum, but she’s an even bigger fan of a cruise (a floating hotel to get from nation to nation). I’m the same way!
I remember that once a year, around her birthday, my grandparents would take my mom and her sisters on a trip somewhere beautiful. I was always too little, but I was so excited for the future when I could go on trips of my own with my mom. In junior year when I studied abroad, my mom was so quick to sign me up for a travel group. With that, she got notifications about future trips. One day, she got an email for a weekend trip to Amsterdam. She asked if I was going to go, but I already had a trip planned that weekend (to Wales!). I joked, “Hey, maybe you can meet me in Amsterdam while I’m abroad!” She paused and said, “Let me work on that.” Cut to three months later, and we’re staying in the prettiest hotel (with a daily wine and cheese special) on the banks of the canals of Amsterdam. We went to all the museums, visited the tulip gardens, and discussed life in a restaurant called Red that only served variants of steak and lobster. It’s a great memory, and hopefully the first of many trips together!
I don’t think I could have had the wedding of my dreams without my mom’s attention to detail and love for planning. We spent so many weekends in Vermont finding the right venue, the right vendors, and the right dress. We would toast champagne and split a plate of escargot at our favorite French bistro in Burlington. Planning a wedding in and of itself was special, but between our work schedules, her weekends with my grandparents, and having to share home visits with my siblings, the weekends just with her were the best.
I talk a lot about how Demi Lovato, Tina Fey, and Mindy Kaling are my biggest role models, but slot number one is reserved for my mom, Robin Ann Braver. She’s funny, intelligent, and compassionate to everyone she meets. She is a truly special person, and the world is better for having her in it.
Happy Mother’s Day to the best mom a girl could want. I love you, Moooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom!
May it be said that this month has started off precariously. Firstly, we have been made aware of killer hornets present in North America. This is a new development that has our society wondering who moved what artifact to curse 2020? As well, we are currently seeing the restrictions being lifted in regards to quarantine conditions for COVID-19. Restaurants are opening at 25% capacity, retailers are being allowed to open under specific guidelines, and more “non-essential” businesses are being allowed to reopen (again, under specific guidelines). Most seem eager for a return to normalcy, but others are concerned that the return to normalcy is too soon and will lead to a second spike in COVID-19 cases.
I’ve enjoyed my time in quarantine as much as one can. I’ve mostly been in sweatpants, with no makeup, and snuggling with my cats and Aaron when I’m not at work. I’m very lucky to say this, I know, and I’m aware that most people are struggling under lockdown conditions. With that in mind, there have been parts of life that I have sorely missed while being in lockdown. As such, I have put together a “bucket list” of sorts of the things I want to do when things are truly over and the world has returned to homeostasis.
Here’s a look at what my schedule holds, loosely, when we are officially all done with “quarantime”:
*note: this list does not include stargazing, because that’s already implied with my new years resolution!
1. Play tennis. Tennis is one of few sports I enjoy and do well playing. I used to play somewhat regularly with friends and Aaron a year ago, and I miss it! I found local courts near my neighborhood and I’m hoping that I can get access again for a few games before it gets too hot.
2. Go to Disney. Travelling will appear a fair amount on this list (and for good reason), but come on, fam! How could this not be at the top of the list? I haven’t been able to enjoy Disney in months, missing an entire EPCOT festival with it. I’ve missed the parks so much. Aaron and I have plans to visit at least my favorite Disney restaurant (with an excellent view of the Magic Kingdom fireworks) for my birthday, but I want to do a weekend day trip like the good ol’ pre-COVID days.
3. Play minigolf. I love minigolf. It is so much fun. I went minigolfing earlier this year (coincidentally at Disney) and I had so much fun. It’s just delightful! I want to either go to the Disney minigolf course or go to the one at CityWalk (or the dozens of others in this theme park/family vacation hub of a city)!
4. Visit Boston. I miss my girls (girls referring to Allison and Kelsey, or as we call ourselves, “The Snapdragons”), and I love being in Boston with them. I foresee us going to the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum, the dim sum place we love, and Boston Commons, where we can sit in the shade and I can climb a tree. I can’t wait to see them.
5. Visit Camden. Another Snapdragons trip! We were supposed to go to Greece this year, but I don’t see that in our future anymore with these current travel conditions. That said, there is a summer home in a quaint lakefront town in Maine. It is so Americana and quiet and beautiful, with walking trails, boating, and a delicious waterfront restaurant called Peter Otts. We all agreed that taking a week off from work seems a bit of a stretch this year, but a Friday and a Monday off to go to the family lake house? Doable. Oh so doable.
6. Visit New York. I refuse to say anything about my July trip for my grandfather’s birthday. And my best friend’s birthday. And my Hamilton tickets with said best friend. I’m going. No one can stop me. It’s happening. SssSsSssSSsSsssSsHhhhhHHH.
7. Go to *a* waterpark. I love a waterpark. I love waterslides, I love wave pools, I love feeling something akin to zen on a lazy river. I am thinking I want to go to Volcano Bay, since I could get in for free one day as a perk of my job. That said, I’ve never been to Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon! I have options!
8. Enjoy a good spa day. I’ve added facials into my monthly self-care routine, but I want more on this day. I want the facial, the massage, a float, and maybe even an eyebrow wax. I also might want to put on eyelashes. Who knows? I will plan something perfect.
9. Go to Gideon’s Bakehouse. This place is the stuff of legends, and by legends, I mean Instagram. Gideon’s Bakehouse is on the far side of Orlando for me, which is why I haven’t gone YET. This bakery has the most droolworthy cookies you could imagine. They have a partner BBQ restaurant in Disney that occasionally sells their cookies, but I haven’t gotten one any of the times I’ve been to that restaurant. The line is almost always out the door for these cookies. I want to make the drive, brave the line, and just… enjoy. I officially proclaim that I will have no cookies until I go to Gideon’s. They are open right now under COVID-19 restrictions (pre order online, contact – less pickup), but I’m not going until this has ended. Where’s the drama in that?
10. Go to Dave & Busters. I am a girl of simple pleasures (minigolf and cookies, clearly). My ideal date? Eighty dollars worth of tokens. Skee-ball. Air hockey. That one arcade game. That other arcade game. Pizza. Maybe laser tag as a pregame. Aaron and I have yet to do a Dave & Busters date. After quarantine ends, that will change.
I want public safety, and I want to be able to do these things without picking up or passing on the germs that cause COVID-19. I’d hate to accidentally infect someone, especially someone I love, and I’d be doing all these activities with someone I love (except the spa day. That’s ME TIME). Until then, I will keep my visits to the “outside world” sequestered to grocery trips, my Couch25K runs, and the occasional trip to a local restaurant for pickup. Aaron has already requested bagels for breakfast on Friday. I am powerless before a bagel.
It’s been over a month since quarantine began, and people have started to protest and demand that life return to normal. I feel so terrible for the people who have lost their jobs since this started. What’s wild is that the protesters I’ve seen have been demanding people return to work so they can get their hair done, go to restaurants, and socialize again. I don’t see anyone protesting to say they miss their jobs and their paychecks. It feels very privileged. I feel like people don’t realize that people are dying from this thing.
Speaking of privileged, my life hasn’t changed much since the outbreak. As a result, as much as I miss the normalities of being with friends and going to Disney, I’m in a chill bubble and content to sit and wait this out until it’s safe to visit my grandma again. A lot of people are in the same situation for me but are not taking this experience… well.
Rather than talk about my favorite things this month, I want to dedicate this post to the things that are keeping me sane during this quarantine. I am keeping my cool and feeling happy thanks to the following things:
1. Deleted scenes of “The Office.” If it weren’t obvious, my favorite television show of all time is “The Office.” It ended seven years ago (wow), but it’s probably the most watched television series on Netflix. I have probably seen it a hundred times by now, and yes, hundreds seems like a small number, but if I’ve watched the show almost every day for ten years… excuse me, it’s time for me to do math.
Okay, if I’ve watched the show 350 days out of the year, for an hour a day, for ten years, I have watched 3,500 hours of “The Office.” Yikes. But not yikes, because it makes me happy!
As a result, I still love it, but I know the episodes practically by heart. In the past month, particularly in the past week, I’ve found compilations of deleted scenes from the show. It’s like watching the show for the first time all over again! It just brings a smile on my face.
2. Baking. It’s not exactly helping my goal to be healthy, but I’ve been taking the whole “studies say baking relieves stress” theory to heart. I’ve made incredible chocolate chip cookies, dulce de leche cookies, and today, I made fried Oreos! I have plans to make “slutty” brownies (I hate that name. Why did we call them that? You could bring these to your bake sale and then your step-grandparent is all “Wow, these are great! What do you call these?” What do you say to that) this Friday, and when they run out I am making M&M cookies. I feel inspired.
3. “Crazy Ex Girlfriend.” Did I start watching this only three days ago? Yes. Do I want to forsake all other forms of entertainment until I finish it? Yes. This show has everything: musical numbers, Jewish moms, that one Disney prince who CANNOT BE TRUSTED. It’s truly remarkable and funny and I love it and I don’t wanna go to sleep until I finish this season. Unless it ends with a cliffhanger. Gosh I hope it doesn’t end with a cliffhanger.
4. “Couch to 5K.” I am “fittish,” which means I work out a lot and would probably be unstoppable if I cared enough to change my diet to match my healthy tastes. I like to walk the treadmill and get cardio from the elliptical and this “gazelle” machine that’s like a stairmaster/elliptical hybrid. What do those things have in common? They’re cardio machines. I don’t have access to such equipment. To get in my cardio, I started jogging with “Couch to 5K.” It’s about thirty minutes, three times a week, of fresh air and exercise. I get to listen to music and think about everything and nothing. I gotta be honest, it feels great!
5. Writing. Between journaling and “escapril,” I feel so creatively channeled into my mind. I’m being honest without being dark. It’s refreshing!
I feel very lucky to be in a situation where I still have my job (which has been busy as of late), my health, and almost 8 years’ worth of long-distance friendshipping. As the Nutella topping, I have Aaron. Getting to have lunch with him and give him hugs throughout the day makes everything even better. I am feeling so grateful to have him through all of this. I have great people in my life. Them, plus these distractions, are making my life livable.
I hope that people respect the current quarantine limitations. I want everyone to return to their normal, but the more we don’t take the rules seriously, the more exposed we will be to COVID-19, and then we will be in lockdown for months. WAY more months than need be. I hope people find better ways to pass the time than yelling at the doctors treating the patients. Or at least, some self-esteem. The most photographed protesters are people with ugly hair (objectively ugly, like too long or natural roots). Hair isn’t everything. Stay safe, love yourself, and please, stay inside.
Because if anyone messes with my “Hamilton” tickets or my end-of-year cruise I will be forced to riot.
Under COVID-19, life has sort of hit a standstill. Routine and repetition are the norm, and there isn’t much room for change. That said, I have not much that’s new and exciting to report on in my life as of late! With no new subject or ideas as this lockdown drags on, I thought I’d take some time to discuss my favorite topic: me!
Q: What are 10 things you are really good at?
A: Baking, trivia, applying nail polish, problem solving, writing, organizing spaces, staying optimistic, making jokes, Pictionary, and Charades!
Q: What are 5 physical features you love about yourself? A: I have a really nice smile! I also have pretty eyes, considering they’re brown (as opposed to hazel, blue, green, or some other fun color). Along with that, I have long eyelashes and good natural eyebrows. Lastly, I’ve been told multiple times to not change my hair color, because my natural color is so pretty!
Image from Gifer. “Recall Vote”. Parks and Recreation. 14 November 2013. NBC.
Q: What is your ideal vision of your “dream life?” A: I wake up at 5 AM. I have a green juice and go to a workout. I come back and get my kids ready for school, feeding them breakfast before I take a shower. I put on a well fitted suit and simple, pretty makeup before kissing Aaron, who works remotely from our NYC penthouse apartment, goodbye as I leave for work. We live on the Upper East Side, so it’s a twenty minute walk from our home to 30 Rockefeller Plaza, where I work as the Vice President of Programming for NBC. I have a gorgeous corner office and have breakout sessions and production meetings on how to retool our current programming for better ratings, as well as meeting with potential talent on creating new content for our Thursday Night lineup. Twice a week I have a business lunch, and twice a week I have lunch on my own to give myself some private time for myself. Once a week I have lunch with Aaron! I start my work day at nine and on most days, I end at six, walking in the door at six-thirty to have dinner with the family. After dinner, I sit with the kids and Aaron to help them with their homework, or we go on a walk as a family with our dog. Once we get home, the kids have an hour to play and get washed up for bed while Aaron and I have an hour to ourselves. After bedtime, Aaron and I read or watch a show together before bed, preferably with lights out at 9PM for a full eight hours of sleep!
Q: What are ten positive affirmations you love? A: I am loved. I am safe. I am happy. I am content as I am. I forgive you. I love you. I praise you. You are bold. You are brilliant. You are beautiful.
Q: How can you love yourself more? A: Three ways I can love myself more are by making more healthy choices in my life, staying conscious of my actions, and forgiving myself when I do not act perfectly.
Q: What do you love most about your life? A: Right now, I have a remarkable consistency in my life. I have a steady job, good friends, and a wonderful family. I have a husband that I love. I have people that I love and a job that I’m good at doing. I have my health and I have easy access to life’s necessities. That makes me feel very blessed.
Q: Describe yourself positively in ten words: A: Ambitious, creative, clever, daring, friendly, kind, loving, compassionate, optimistic, and strong.
Image from Pinterest. “The Return.” The Office . 18 January 2007. NBC.
Q: What’s standing in the way of your happiness and what can you do to fix that? A: The only thing standing in my way is myself and time. I know eventually I will have my dream job, but I feel like I won’t be truly happy until I get there. To get my dream job, I have to work my way up to it! You can’t go from answering phones to president overnight, it takes time and effort. I think I have to forgive myself and recognize that it will all happen in time, and until then, I should embrace the now, and appreciate the time I have in this place in my life.
Q: What are five good habits to start next month? A: Whitening my teeth twice a week. Yoga for ten minutes a day. Read every night. Practice a new language three times a week. Call my grandparents once a week.
Q: Write yourself a thank you letter. A: Dear Past Mallory,
Thank you for looking out for future Mallory. Future Mallory wants to just enjoy her life, and that means that you have to do all the work. Future Mallory is so grateful for you taking care of business. Please know that everything she does is in celebration of everything you do. Please know you’re doing wonderfully. Keep going. You can do it! Thank you for all you do!
–Present Mallory
A bit unconventional, if not honest!
“Hey Baby, What’s Wrong?” 30 Rock . 9 February 2012. NBC.
