I’ve been wearing it my entire life and I turned out fine…right?

Ahh Home. Let me come home
Home is wherever I’m with you.
Ahh Home. Let me go ho-oh-ome.
Home is wherever I’m with you.

Coeur de pirate, “Comme des enfants.”

Et il m’aime encore, et moi je t’aime un peu plus fort
Mais il m’aime encore, et moi je t’aime un peu plus fort

Regina Spektor, “Us.”

They made a statue of us
And it put it on a mountain top
Now tourists come and stare at us
Blow bubbles with their gum
Take photographs have fun, have fun.

[Psst: Though I wish I were that talented, all the photos are from the Etsy Polaroid section.]

Next time you’re confused at the indie coffee shop on that tree-lined street, consult this.

It wasn’t “if” I’d do a post about hipsters, it was “when.”

Seriously. Look at them.

I just needed more time to observe this fascinating culture of irony and societal rejection.

As displayed by this hip chart:

And this totally rad one below.

Mad photo props to gawker.com, Verbicidemagazine.com and Jerk Magazine Blog.

There’s so much to say, and too little time this evening.

The woman put her tea down. She didn’t laugh, though, and her clear blue eyes were without the trace of merriment I had come to associate with the honeysuckle of this place.

And isn’t that the worst thing in the world, when someone says something is funny and they never crack a smile? To state the humor instead of laughing out loud makes life at that moment seem rather bleak.

She was responding to something I had said, but now I focused on what she wasn’t saying back.

The glass teetered as it hit the white porcelain saucer, with lipstick covering the delicate trail of painted bluebells on its rim.

I couldn’t help but stare at this remnant of high society, the tea and saucer and lipstick from a woman who thought self-worth was the color pink. Blonde chignon and black suit said she made it through the ceiling. Shattered it, even.

But not without the scars that forced her to assume the world was no longer teeming with promise.

“I assume you’ll be accepting the position, then. And when can you start?”

The words were more a challenge than a welcome. Blue met brown in a stare down. Look down. My loss.

“I have to think about it, actually,” I said. “I didn’t realize how…multi-faceted this decision would be.”

Her eyebrows raised a fraction of a millimeter in an attempt to display emotion. A struggle for her.

“It seemed like you’d been wanting this position for a long time,” she said. “Four rounds of interviews, an offer that meets your every demand. To turn it down now would be almost unheard of.”

I knew then.

For in the last five minutes that stood between me and the goal that had become part of my identity, I understood what could happen when life became something to work at rather than live.

Understanding is a funny thing. It often strikes, unwelcome, during the moments you so carefully planned for. The balanced world falls off again and you scramble to right it before you fall flat.

And the following moments become part of this new path away from ignorance.

“Eh…something’s come up, I think,” I said, without thinking. “Thank you for spending time with me. It really helped me get a feel for what I could be getting into. Excuse me.”

I put my napkin on the chair and gathered my purse. My hip banged the table and her cup click-clacked with the saucer.

Pink lips quivered and frowned, then turned up into the shadow of a smile.

“It was nice to meet you,” she said. “I wish you the best.”

For a second I felt the current of authenticity. A look that seemed one of relief took control of her features. Soft revealed itself. Then the mask was back again.

I expressed my last thanks and walked away.

With a glance back I caught a remarkable glimpse of sadness that comes from choosing the constant pursuit of something that looks a lot like the right choice.

The next day I made plans to leave.

Kristen also hates when people refer to themselves in the third person, similar to Lebron James.

So she’ll duck out now and return in the next few days armed with her usual cargo load of nonsense.

“Set aside half an hour every day to do all your worrying. Then take a nap during this period.”

Where health meets heart.

Made by hands.

Shameless Flickr promo.

I don’t even know what this post is about, but it’s coming from how overwhelmed I feel when I look at all these accounts I’ve created for myself.

For example.

If Google is going to take over the world, then how come no one likes Buzz?

The only people who like Buzz are usually tweeting and Facebooking at the same time, while simultaneously blogging and updating their Linkedin’s.

I’ve spoken too soon, though. By tomorrow, I’m sure that something will come out about how Buzz is awesome and Twitter sucks, and there will be a giant Internet coup d’etat. And I’ll have to dig through my Google settings and turn the sucker back on.

Linkedin is terrifying. I am afraid to sign into my account because it reminds me that I’m still a student while everyone else in the First World is working and making a decent salary. These reminders come in the form of Linkedin invites to “technology conferences” or “networking events.”

I love Facebook, as many of you know. I get most of my daily amusement and stalking out of the way early on, especially when I see these characters pop up:

Click on those. You won’t regret it. That list, though undeniably true, forgot a few characters. Like:

1. Mother Theresa’s Godchild: This character is usually a girl who had a “service” experience in foreign, poor nation. She has a profile picture of her wearing a colorful sarong and sandals, surrounded by smiling children overwhelmed by her holy presence.

2. I Heart My Significant Other: Boy or girl who consistently updates their couple’s profile photo with new couple’s profile photo. Their other half will then “like” said picture and/or comment “yay, you made it your picture! “who’s that good looking pair?” Wink face, “1 year! <3."

3. Human Newscast: Person who updates status with articles about the state of the economy or latest world disaster. Usually person leads with comment like "OMG, can you believe this?" or "looks like we haven't hit rock bottom yet!" It's like reading cliff notes for the Wall Street Journal or CNN.com. Except these are not well written, and usually involve unprovoked opinions. They also talk about these subjects at parties while playing beer pong.

This leads me to 4. Guy on Political Soapbox: He posts articles supporting his extreme viewpoint on the American government. If highly conservative, he usually makes a lot of hate comments about America becoming socialist. He thinks Sarah Palin is hot.

If liberal…wait, no. Conservatives are the ones with a lot of pent up, elitist anger.

This person can also be Girl on Mission to Save Humans from Themselves. She joins 10+ groups per week that "support" a cause, and reminds everyone that the plastic rings from their six packs of beer are choking Nemo at this exact moment.

5. Girl who posts lyrics or quote about love, life and nostalgia leading others to ponder her emotional state for a fleeting moment.

6. Serial IPhone Status Updater: We can usually follow said person as they progress from sober, to drunk, to drunker. Or from their bed, to breakfast, to work, to commute, to happy hour, to pass out. If we're lucky, he or she may post a blurry picture showing us their antics.

7. Girl/Guy with Hard Knock Life: Very similar to Misery Girl. Usually posts "I hate today," "Why is this so hard?" or "Seriously done with this." What are you done with? Your lunch? Your boyfriend? We're dying to know.

8. Guy Who Wishes He was still in College: And from the look of his pictures, he might still be. In fact, you're not sure if he walked at graduation, and he's drunk messaging you on Facebook right now.

9. Person Who "Likes" Everything. Everything: Their wall is inundated with "________ likes this." This person is so agreeable, you picture them bear hugging, smiling and giving you the thumbs up 98% of the time.

10. The Jokester: Status usually involves making fun of a friend, making a witty statement or playing a prank on someone. I actually love this person, Facebook "like" them and am in no way peeved when I see their status appear on the feed.

This post may anger a few people. It might even cause a de-friend situation. That's okay, though. I've been meaning to get rid of a few of you.

Wink.