No matter how much you love someone—whether it be a romantic partner, an actor, or a musician— never, ever get a tattoo of their name or face. Even in my most consuming moments of fangirl fervor, of which there have been many throughout the years, I knew that there was…

As a pre-teen, I always dreamed that I’d take a beachy, tropical, possibly debaucherous senior trip in high school. Cancun. Acapulco. Hell, even Myrtle Beach would have sufficed. …

All of this isolation has given me a lot of time to reflect, and I think I owe each one of you an apology. Yes, you in the Burlington Mall. You in the Cambridgeside Galleria. Even you in the filthy, dirty Corner Mall. You’ve provided me with generosity, kindness, deceptively…

Start by entertaining the idea of having a roommate for the rent relief, and maybe the camaraderie, before having flashbacks to all of the terrible experiences you’ve had. The one who had sex with your mutual male friend while you were trying to sleep five feet away. The one who…

Time to Make the Donuts It was destiny that brought Dunkin’ Donuts and I together. More accurately, it was getting fired from an ice cream shop in the summer of 2005 that facilitated our blessed, caffeinated union. But fate works in strange and soul-crushing ways. As I began looking for jobs in my small New…

I’m just not cut out for virtual life. If the past eight-plus weeks have shown me anything about myself, it’s that tiny, pixelated, and frozen Brady Bunch squares of friends, family, and potential employers are fine when they’re occasionally supplementing actual, in-person interaction. But otherwise, get them out of my…

As 2010 began, things were comfortable in a lot of ways. I had a good job — my first one out of college — as a travel copywriter. I was just about to attend a book club meeting on a total whim where I’d meet a group of women I’d…

The Reach and Rotate Next time you find yourself strategically at Home Depot on a Sunday afternoon, pick an item on the highest shelf you can find, like, say, a lightbulb. Don’t need a lightbulb? Doesn’t matter — that’s not the point. Raise your right arm up to the sky…