Sex and the City’s Samantha Jones is treated by the media crit community as this virtually satirical character who’s been touted as unrealistic by viewers, particularly younger viewers coming across the show for the first time. But as my forties loom closer, I find her MORE realistic and relatable than ever before. — I distinctly recall this conversation I had with this guy I slept with after a punk show in 2010.

Only Yesterday is a lesser-known Studio Ghibli movie geared towards adult women that deserves more attention, and it beautifully highlights the way that our happy and horrible childhood experiences shape us as adults. — A few months before the writing and publishing of this essay, there was this tweet that went viral about Studio Ghibli movies. …

In bringing you that hard-hitting varanid journalism, one picks up some unexpected morsels of life in interacting with big lizards. There’s even more facets to reptile husbandry beyond the care and stewardship of monitor lizards, endangered Komodo dragons, geckos, snakes, and then their amphibious counterparts like frogs, toads, and newts…

Self-work and inner reflection are important. But they are not a fix to systemic problems, particularly in dating culture. — The “toxic positivity” cult on Instagram wants to sell mindfulness workshops and meditation retreats while we’re being eaten alive by record gas prices, groceries cost as much as takeout, and measly stock portfolios are falling like dominoes if you even have enough disposable income to invest.

Stasis gets confused for boredom, but women aren’t allowed to express discontent in their lives without getting backlash for it. — As I gear up to take my game in development out of hiatus after prioritizing other projects and clients, one of the cornerstones of its narrative is that the main character is depressed because she’s in stasis. It’s up to the player to determine how she’s going to combat this…

It doesn’t matter what your reason is for needing an abortion. You deserve access to one, and your abortion story doesn’t have to be about horrific assault or medical trauma to be valid. — So this is something I’ve been thinking and saying for a while, but it really came to surface when I saw this article by Jon Pavlovitz for The Good Men Project. Now, look. I’m not going to come down on the guy for addressing this issue of trying to meet…

I took a 2-week bucket list trip to Ireland with no makeup and a bunch of athleisure with absolutely no prerogative to meet men. Here’s what went down! — As a single woman in my late thirties with a bunch of airline cards and a consulting career that was travel-heavy prior to COVID, I’m a pro at planning epic vacations by myself. Having just done a massive voyage that kicked off with a hilariously bad time at the most…

When you know you’re right, you’re right, and sometimes the universe just lets you know. — I interrupt my vacation in Ireland to quickly churn this out for the Internet, for the sudden rush of emotion brought on by the past few days was that powerful. I’ve been on the road and in the sky for several weeks and now reporting from Ireland. I did a…

The capitol region in upstate New York was growing as a tech and games hub for some time, then the pandemic caused mass migration from downstate/NYC. But unlike its downstate counterpart, Troy seems comfortable in temporal discord. — Previously, on Episode 3 of the Return to the East Coast Travelogue, I had an unexpected little adventure checking out Moynihan Train Hall after returning to the northeast from Raleigh (which now feels more like an extension of the northeast rather than a southern city).