What I think about late at night

Life is made up of stories. We read stories, we hear them, we watch them. We live them and then tell them to someone else later on. I've decided that's what I want to do. Tell other people's stories. I realized this after reading this New York Times story about a couple who fell in love while one was on death row. It really resonated with me for some reason, and I came to the realization that what I want to do most is find out other people's strange stories and tell them. Because everyone has a story to tell about something, all the time. It may not always be the most interesting and engaging thing, but every once in a while something absolutely crazy happens to someone, and it's almost too good to be true. That's the kind of story I want to tell.

So I've gotten into the habit of writing down everything I hear from people whenever I can. I figure something will come up eventually, and just the other day I actually heard an insane story from my coworker. But I'll save that for my next entry.

Part of me feels like I should change the name of this blog from "Jo-Anne Doing Things" to something along the lines of "Other People Doing Things," but I like the name of my blog, so whatevs. I don't even care.

I'm baaaack

I can't believe I haven't updated this thing in over two months. A plethora of events have occurred in my absence from this blog. Here is the abridged version. I like the word plethora.

1. Summer in NYC = beautiful sunny days, a lot of walking, sitting in parks, getting off work early on Fridays, bottomless brunch, meat festivals, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II, dancing until 4AM, old friends visiting, Brooklyn Bowl, funnel cake & roller coasters at Coney Island, Alexander McQueen exhibit, watching Dan Radcliffe on Broadway, unexpected natural disasters, macarons.

2. Finally got an apartment in the city. I live in the East Village now, and so far it's been great. I like my roommates, I like hanging out with my friends, and I like not having to worry about taking the bus back to New Jersey before 1AM when going out on weekends. The only real problem I have is my lack of a bedroom closet, which combined with owning entirely too much clothing has meant piles of dresses, underwear, leggings and a large collection of purses in different shades of black I didn't realize I have scattered everywhere, but that's nothing a trip or two to IKEA or Target won't solve.

3. Took two trips back to Texas. Once was to visit Austin peeps, and one was for my parents' 25th wedding anniversary. Both times it was ridiculously hot, and I stuffed my face with enchiladas and Vietnamese sandwiches and got to hang out with people I love. My only regret is not packing a suitcase full of bahn mi's and salsa before I left.

4. Other than that it's been a lot of working, and a lot of gallivanting around this city, from Fashion's Night Out (not a fan), to impromptu Childish Gambino shows, to themed dinner and movie nights to long walks through the West Village after eating greasy food. Those fish and chips were worth it, though.


That's about it. It's getting colder now, and I'm kind of hating it but I guess I'm just going to have to deal and live in leggings and over sized sweaters for the rest of the year. Also I'm kind of excited for Halloween, don't really know why, but I've already been seriously thinking about my costume. Although knowing me I won't decide on anything until the weekend and just throw something together and tell everyone I'm a sexy robot or something.

This Week in the Internet

Mini Warbler


Korean Susan Boyle aka this week's "Thing That Made Everyone Cry"


Weinergate Weinergate Weinergate Weiners Weiners Weiners

Chopping off body parts in music videos

Exhibit A

Kanye West - Monster (feat. Jay-Z & Nicki Minaj) - Official Music Video Vidéo MrMusic sélectionnée dans Musique

Exhibit B


1,178 videos/photos/memes involving cats

A Syrian lesbian blogger gets kidnapped oh wait maybe she didn't

Facebook can now recognize your face

Tumblr changes its Dashboard, people FREAK THE FUCK OUT

And last but not least, this:

In Transit

The Huffington Post stole from me. I swear to God they did. The other morning I visited the site like I normally do and in annoyingly huge maroon capital letters were the words, 'THE LOST GENERATION." What followed was a story about a girl who graduated from college the same year I did with a degree in art history, and how she struggled to find a job. She still doesn't have one, and had to move back home with her mom. The story continues about the current crop of graduates and how they can't find work and the recession and how life sucks you should just kill yourself, blah, blah, blah.

Anyway, The Huffington Post totally stole from me, because just 2 days ago I was sitting on the bus thinking about how me and my friends and all the people who've recently graduated from college should be considered the "lost generation." If you didn't know, I recently got hired as a full-time employee at the company I was interning for. I was excited, surprised, relieved, overwhelmed when I got the offer, because it was a long-ass road that got me to where I am right now. Two years of sending in probably about a hundred applications and cover letters, going to interviews, phone interviews, group interviews, accepting unpaid internships post-graduation, finally sucking it up and moving to New Jersey to continue pursuing my dream of working for a magazine, taking yet another unpaid internship. Leaving that internship to take my current one because they were willing to pay me. And finally finally getting hired.

So I was mulling all this over on the bus the other day, and how in those two years I watched as I wasn't the only one having a hard time out of college. Friends and classmates struggled to find work, moved back into their parents' house, took jobs that had nothing to do with what they studied and majored in. Pretty much no one around me had any clue whatsoever as to what to do in their lives, what the next step was. And especially that first year it seemed we were all stuck in this weird limbo, this in-between stage straddling the line between childhood and adulthood. And we did pretty much everything we could to distract ourselves from the fact that we were very, very lost.

And that's when I thought that we were kind of this "lost generation." I coined this term in my head, and then thought it was kind of stupid. And then the goddamn Huffington Post had to go and use it for their front page story.

Reading through the story made me realize how both lucky and unlucky I am. Lucky because at least I'm better off than the girl in the story (but she was kind of asking for it, I mean she majored in art history) and at least I didn't have to settle for a job at Starbucks or some job that didn't even require a college degree. Unlucky, because in a way, I kind of feel like I am settling with this job.

Now don't get me wrong. I enjoy what I do. I do social media for all the company's clients, writing their Twitter and Facebook updates. And social media is definitely a growing, constantly changing, interesting and relevant industry. But it's not what I wanted to pursue initially. I majored in journalism. I want to work for a magazine. If I had my way, I would rather not be limited by 140 characters. But a job is a job is a job. And after two long years of rejection, there was no way in hell I was going to turn down a job. A real job. It is what it is though. And even though I vow and promise myself over and over that I won't give up on my editorial and magazine dreams, I don't know what the future holds for me. I guess we'll see. I may still be a little lost, but at least now I've got a map.

WTF of the Day

Have you ever been getting dressed in the morning and you just can't decide what to wear. Mary Janes or boots? These are the tough decisions we used to have to deal with every day, but not any longer. With Prada's Mary Jane leather boots, you can wear both! Get the stylishness of Mary Jane shoes and the comfort and warmth of a boot all at once. Big plus if you're a fan of that "flesh" color that only applies to white people! And for only $1,500 these shoes can be yours! Two styles of shoes for the price of one, how can anyone pass this up I ask. How?! Oh, what will Prada think of next?

I love this

The Flaming Lips and MGMT sing an acoustic version of "Kids"



The Flaming Lips are incredible live, I got to see them last summer at Free Press Summer Fest in Houston. They put on one hell of a show, complete with giant hand props that shoot out green lasers, Wayne Coyne crowd surfing in a man-sized plastic bubble, crazy video projections and lights, cameras on the end of their microphones and copious amounts of confetti. Pretty much one of the most amazing and elaborate shows I've ever seen.

Another reason I love this is because I'm pretty sure I'll never get tired of MGMT's song "Kids." I still listen to it a lot and every time I do it reminds me of dance parties and being carefree and friends and fun and laughter and spring and summer and Austin City Limits Festival 2008 and a late night run to Kerbey Lane where MGMT's album played in its entirety and we discussed its merits and singing too loudly in the car and drunken nights and hungover days. Too bad MGMT kind of sucks now, but "Kids" will forever be one of my all-time favorite songs.



Good times.

Yesterday was Thursday

This is my 12358127392367th attempt to revive my blog. I realized why I never updated it, it's because I thought it was really ugly and I never wanted to look at it so I never visited it. So I revamped my layout, and I'm satisfied with it for now. I was never really HTML savvy, and maybe one day I'll have the effort to learn and churn out something fancier, but for now I'm digging this simple and clean look.

Anyway, today was one of those days that made me really happy to be working (and hopefully very soon living) in the city. After a busy day at work I decided to check out The Strand bookstore, because I had never been there before.



The number of books in this store is insane, shelves and shelves go on forever! I didn't end up buying any books because I was so overwhelmed, but I did end up buying a red moleskine. I didn't really need it, but I have a major weakness for pretty notebooks that are waiting to be filled. Plus it was cheaper here than at any other book store I've been to.

I was kind of disappointed that they didn't have a magazine section, but with 18 miles of books, I wouldn't say they are lacking. After leaving The Strand I decided to walk through Union Square Park, and who do I see walking out of the building next door?

Lead singer of The Strokes a.k.a. my future husband Julian fucking Casablancas! It was so surreal because The Strokes have been my favorite band since I was 14, I love them so much. Also, this is the SECOND time I've seen Julian in the city, the first time I passed by him eating dinner with his wife and baby in a restaurant in Chelsea. I freaked out and had to restrain myself from chasing after him across the street.

I know I'm a month late, but I was lucky enough to see The Strokes at Madison Square Garden on April 1 and it was one of the best shows I've ever been to. The video below is one of my favorite moments from the concert. That disco ball in MSG was seriously magical.



After resisting the urge to stalk Julian Casablancas, I walked over to Union Square Park. I found a bench to sit on, smoked a cigarette and enjoyed the last few minutes of sunlight. While sitting there two people asked me for a cigarette. One was a young dude who looked like an Austin drag rat, and was visibly on some type of drug. The other was a bearded guy in a button-up and tie who was really stoned. He sat next to me on the bench and we chatted for a while. He told me about how he was having a bit of a panic attack because he was high and walking around outside and that he had a job interview earlier today. He also told me he got arrested earlier in the week for being provoked into a fight by some homeless guy in Brooklyn. He then said he was an artist, and showed me his sketchbook. His drawings were actually very good, really intricate patterned buildings. Then he said he had to go, he was on his way to Staten Island because a bisexual man owed his friend money and she wanted him to get it from the guy. I'm not sure if any or all of that was made up, but it was definitely amusing and I'm glad I decided not to lie like I usually do about having an extra cigarette.

I hope to spend more days like this, I realize there are so many places I haven't been and things I haven't done in the city and I've been here for seven months. Now I should probably go to bed because I'm getting up early to watch the royal wedding. Stupid England, having the wedding at an inconvenient time for us Americans. Pshhh.

This is a fashion post

I've been thinking a lot about personal style lately, and what exactly it means. I think I've always been fascinated with fashion because what a person decides to wear really says a lot about them. It's an expression of who they are, or at the very least who they want other people to think they are. I don't think there is anyone who completely doesn't give a shit about what they wear, if anything people who "don't give a shit" choose things to wear that specifically say they "don't give a shit."

The reason I've been thinking about it so much is probably because I've been reading a ton of fashion blogs at work, since some of the Facebook and Twitter messaging I write has to be fashion-related. I've been drooling over all the beautiful fall collections from all the fashion weeks, and I love the innovation and creativity some people put into what they wear. One blog I've become completely obsessed with is Jess Loves Fred, who is this cute Australian girl who dresses amazingly. I was so inspired by how she manages to take current trends and put her own spin on them, and how she takes risks and just owns whatever she's wearing. Her style is so original and refreshing, and most of the stuff she wears is thrifted. Here are a few of my favorite looks of hers.




So I got a bit carried away, but I basically love everything she wears. Her blog's inspired me to try to take more risks in my fashion as a way of figuring out exactly what my personal style is, so I'm going to try to take pictures of my outfits to try and document the evolution I guess, of my personal style. Below is what I wore last week.

From L-R: Urban Outfitters sweater, Charlotte Russe tank, Forever 21 leggings, UO necklace and rain boots; H&M gray dress, Gap little boy's blazer that used to belong to my brother, no idea where the tights are from, shoes I stole from my mom; F21 sparkly sweater, Claire's fake leather leggings, Target necklace, F21 bootie heels; American Eagle sweater, same Charlotte Russe tank, F21 leggings, lace-up boots that used to belong to my mom; mom's old red sweater, Express sequin tank I got as a gift from Samantha, F21 skirt, Target tights, H&M knee high stockings, mom's black shoes again.

I realized after I uploaded these that I should have taken them in natural light instead of the nasty fluorescent light in my basement. I also realize how stubby my legs look. Eww. Also compared to the pictures above, my outfits look like complete shit. Oh well. This is why I'm doing this I guess, to improve upon my style or whatevs. This entry got way too long so I'm going to end it now.

What what in the butt

I've been commuting back and forth from Jersey to the city for work for about a month now, and since obviously I take the exact same route twice a day five days a week, I come across pretty much the same kinds of things every day. And so, since lately I can only organize my thoughts in list form, here are some things I can always count on seeing during my morning/evening commute.

Devoted/crazy Christians handing out pamphlets and preaching the Word or whatever. They set up a table right by the 1 train which I take to work every day, and are there without fail morning and afternoon, Bible in hand and voices echoing off the walls as they passionately spout off about how Jesus ate fish and how we're all sinners. As annoying as they are, I've gotten so used to seeing them that if they happened not to be there one day, I probably would be very alarmed.


The Subway entertainment. It's one of my favorite things about riding the subway every day honestly. Whether it's a Beatles cover band, Inca New Age or a little person Michael Jackson impersonator, it definitely makes my commute a lot more interesting. And I always love me some pan flute.



The old Asian lady. Every morning I walk through the long passageway from Port Authority to the 1 train and every day I pass by this old homeless Asian lady sitting in a corner next to a large green plastic bag, filled with her things I assume. She sits in the corner right next to a little convenience store/stand and most of the busy morning commuter crowd are in too much of a rush to even notice her sitting there. I don't think I noticed her until about a week after I started work. But I see her now sitting there every single morning, and there's something so silent and sad about her. She seems almost childlike in the way she sits there quiet, staring straight ahead. Every time I see her I always think to give her some money but I never have cash on me or I'm in a hurry because I'm already late for work and I always promise myself I'll pull out cash to give her the next morning, but I always forget and it never happens. I'd like to think this will change on Monday, but knowing me I'll forget all over again. :/

People asking me where things are and me never knowing. Okay, so this doesn't happen to me very often, but the other day I was walking to work and two girls asked me where the Marc Jacobs store was. Of course I had no clue, but I was kind of flattered that I looked stylish/cool enough to them to know where the Marc Jacobs store is.

I just realized that most of these are things I see on the subway. I don't really see anything on the bus/bus stop other than other commuters and stuff. Whatevs. Look out for more posts on the way, mostly fashion-related ones because I've been reading a ton of fashion blogs lately. Fun stuff.

what begins as an unguarded train of thought

So I realized that even though I think most of what I write is total shit, it's not going to get any better unless I actually, you know, write. So I'm just going to write in here every time I think of something to write about, and hopefully my writing will improve. Plus it's not like a ton of people will read this anyway.

I guess also part of it is I've been feeling pretty uninspired lately. Usually I carry around a journal everywhere I go and jot down anything that comes to mind, but that hasn't been happening lately. I've been pretty preoccupied by work and when I'm not working I just want to lay around and do nothing. Lately I guess I've just been going through the motions of living. I don't think I'm depressed though. I mean not any more depressed than any of the other 20-somethings I know who don't have much direction and are still figuring out what they're doing with their lives. So I've figured that it's normal to feel like this, since pretty much everyone I know feels like this. But what I want to know is when the hell does it stop feeling like this.

Don't really know how this turned into another "pity party about my life" post but these are the things I think about at 2 in the morning. I think I'll make it a point to write more this week. About whatever.

This weekend I've found myself listening to a lot of new music (new to me at least), which has been pretty cool, since I haven't been this active at seeking out new music since I worked for UT's radio station KVRX. Through my random clicking and Youtube watching, I found Yadi, and I've been playing her song "Guillotine" on repeat all weekend. So before I go to bed I leave you with this. Night.

I'm terrible at keeping a blog. A lot of the time I'll write a few paragraphs of pointless shit, realize it's dumb and delete it all. I've spent my entire Saturday night clicking aimlessly on the Internet, looking at Tumblr or watching music videos on Youtube. This song pretty much describes how I feel about my life right now.