a.k.a. “iPhone: A Love Story” Author’s Note: This is not a promotional story about an iPhone.  This is the story about how my phone helped me fall in love.    To start this story off, I feel the need to clarify that we did not meet on Tinder.   I recently reconnected with an old friend of mine.   Okay, I say friend, but what I really meant was someone that used to come into my work and I would relentlessly flirt with because she was a 10 and IRead More

Today, my mum spontaneously called an old friend of hers from elementary school. When I was younger, our family and her’s would get together every summer. She had a daughter named Heather, who was my childhood penpal and faraway best friend. We used to call each other princesses when we discovered we could never become royalty. As we sat in mountains of strawberry bubbles while our mothers struggled to bathe us, we plotted ways to annoy them for the next day. We wore more matching outfits than typical twins probablyRead More

  1. You sort of catch on that the guy you’ve been talking to might have feelings for you, and that freaks you out. 2. Like, you’re filled with a combination of confusion and inexplicable dread. The type of inexplicable dread that just weighs on you, paralyzes you. 3. Being physically intimate with someone is easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy. “This guy is going to see me naked? Who gives a fuck?” But if he asks you about your goals, or fears, or god forbid, what you want out of this relationship, your mouth seals shutRead More

I love to travel, especially in the summer when it feels like all I should be doing is having fun, laying by the pool, and reading. Unfortunately, now that I’ve graduated and my dear mother isn’t paying my bills anymore, a whole lot of travel during the summer isn’t feasible. Yes, of course I’ll go on a couple small weekend trips, but it will be nothing compared to the month I spent in Switzerland two summers ago (although it will be infinitely better than the two months I spent inRead More

Last week, indie rock superstars Arcade Fire unveiled the music video for their song “We Exist.”  Released May 16th, it is described by the band as “the story of a young person’s struggle with gender identity” and stars Andrew Garfield of Amazing Spider-Man and Social Network fame.  Garfield is shown shaving his head, donning a wig and going out to a bar where he is victimized and beaten by the patrons before being resurrected at the band’s Coachella set. While intended as a shot of support for the trans community, the bandRead More

The moment I turned 18, I threw myself a VIP-access, glitz and glamour, dance party extravaganza…because technically, I no longer had to call myself a teenager. I had finally emerged from adolescence alive. I felt like Batman because I had clawed my way out Bane’s inescapable pit. I wholeheartedly believed that the rest of my life was waiting with a bigger and better everything. I simply couldn’t wait to hop on a plane with my dream in my cardigan, and never look back. Simply being an adult empowers me toRead More

It’s no surprise that retail has plummeted the past few years. The economy, alone, has been an utter disaster. Consumers are strictly looking for the best deals and why not? E-commerce has changed the way people shop dramatically. You can buy goods from across the world with free shipping, better prices, superior quality, and in bulk. For example, in my last internship I helped my boss style her outfits for New York Fashion Week (NYFW). By shopping online, I saved her over $500. It’s all about keywords and knowing whatRead More

Former NFL players are a mess. Whether their plight is due to too many concussions, poor financial choices (2 years after retirement, an absurd 78% of NFL retirees are bankrupt or in debt), or now, painkiller addictions, the NFL stars of yesterday seem destined to spend their elderly years in poor physical, mental, and financial health. This week, it came to light that a group of eight former NFL players are suing the NFL, alleging that the league “illegally supplied them with risky narcotics and other painkillers that numbed theirRead More

Summer is here! For the college crew, that means a three month vacation at your parents’ house. For the post-college crew, that means a few visits to your hometown. For both groups, that means bumping into old classmates. And no matter how well you once knew your high school peers, that can be awkward. Let’s face it, small talk is inherently uncomfortable, but if you’re trying to avoid a little bit of pain, steer clear of these questions:   What are you doing after graduation? Talk about a conversation buzzkill.Read More

I woke up the other morning, in company of a stray popcorn kernel (I get rowdy on Friday nights) and it dawned on me, suddenly.  I can’t remember the last time I cried, minus that Saturday night I didn’t get a bacon wrapped hotdog and I was starving.   I do feel disappointed that I let myself suffer in a relationship that was no longer serving me, but I’m not heart broken any longer. I mostly feel relieved that I don’t have to have sexual intercourse like a married forty yearRead More

Here in the North West sector of our country, the rain has let up (sort of), school’s out (for those who are students and don’t go to U of O or any other school on the god forsaken quarter system), and people are trading in pants and flannels for shorts and tanks (they’re not), which means… It’s time for Sasquatch, the Northwest’s premier annual music festival!   For those of you who are unfamiliar, Sasquatch is a three-day, outdoor music festival stationed on the cliffs of the Colombia River Gorge.Read More

When I first entered the bar scene at the ripe age of 21, I was a nervous wreck. For one, I may have been 21, but I looked about 12 (or so I was harshly told) …so I had this unfounded paranoia that I just didn’t really belong and would subsequently be stuffed in trash cans or kicked out and have cheap liquor thrown in my face if I even attempted to order a drink. Furthermore, my only experience with alcohol up until that point had been whatever horrid concoctionsRead More