My brush with fame
And other thoughts I've been thinking
Listen, the life of an editor-in-chief of a Substack isn’t as easy as one may expect. I started on an essay for today’s newsletter at the end of last week, but didn’t really crystallize my thoughts on the topic until my therapy session yesterday morning. With very little time to write yesterday (I have a day job you guys), I didn’t complete the essay. And I’m not one to give you something half baked!
So instead, here’s a little story and a list of thoughts I’ve been thinking lately.
Spotted: Tess, perfectly folding leggings - hiding a crease or a secret?
Yesterday, I clocked in to work at lululemon as I always do, flustered and almost late. I headed upstairs to man the pant wall. If any customers had questions about leggings, I was their girl. Close to 4pm, two girls came in looking for heather gray Align leggings. As I helped one, the other leaned against the table staring at her phone. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the leggings. Apparently heather gray is hard to come by. I apologized and sent the girls on their way. As they turned to leave the store, the girl on her phone said, “They must’ve taken it down!”
I thought to myself, ah yea, lululemon dot com must have taken down the leggings. But as I listened closer, I realized my assumption was incorrect.
“It’s a TikTok of this girl who sat down on the subway and realized she sat in shit!”
I gasped. They were talking about me. Readers, it’s important for you to know that when I started working at lululemon in late December as a way to make steady cash while freelancing, I made the conscious decision to not mention shitgate. If someone brought it up, I’d discuss it, but I didn’t want to be the girl who couldn’t shut up about a viral TikTok at work.1 But when these girls were talking about said TikTok, I had the overwhelming urge to gab with them.
“Girls,” I called after them. “Come over here.”
They ran back, probably hoping I’d found them their pair of heather gray leggings.
“I’m that girl,” I said to two confused faces. “I’m the girl who sat in shit.”
The girl with the phone, who wore a long patterned coat, looked at me aghast.
“No way,” she said.
I laughed and pulled out my phone and showed her my TikTok and she screamed. Her friend (heather gray leggings girl) had not seen the TikTok, so I handed her my phone and let her read. Long patterned coat girl told me her experience reading the TikTok - how she laughed so hard she cried, how all her friends back home in Arizona told her to watch where she sits on the subway. After heather gray leggings girl finished reading, they both took photos with me as I held my TikTok up to my face. I couldn’t stop laughing.
My coworker popped his head over to find out what was happening. Long patterned coat girl exclaimed, “She’s shitpants girl!” His jaw dropped.
“We’ve worked together for three months!” He yelled. “Why didn’t you tell me!”
Everyone was then laughing and tearing up from said laughter. After plugging Please Read Me (duh), I bid the girls adieu reminding them to look before they sat. My coworker ended his shift, repeating, “I can’t believe you never told me!” as he walked towards the elevator. I’m sure that my identity will be revealed to more of my coworkers and I will have to explain myself once again. Shitgate may never end.
A list of thoughts I’m thinking lately
NYC influencers are so annoying and crying on the Internet because a girl on TikTok called them boring.
My dreams have been eerily vivid lately, does anyone know what that means?
I am deeply in love with my Dyson vacuum cleaner.
Paying for things with cash is wholesome.
I’ve been trying to drink coffee an hour after I’ve woken up. So far I haven’t noticed any difference.
Cava is better than Naya in bowl based Mediterranean food.
Authors should get better at ending their books.
Going for walks with friends is the best way to catch up.
It’s okay and sometimes even preferred to switch trains instead of taking one the entire way.
Yoga Sculpt at CorePower is an incredible workout.
I’m ready for it to be warm outside.
Buying flowers is an act of self care. Throwing them in the trash when they die is an even bigger act of self care.
If you aren’t ready to become a paid subscriber, but enjoy my work and you have the capacity to leave a tip, I’d love you forever.
For those catching up….
The sun is back and so am I
Hello Dear Reader! Exciting news - you can get a discounted subscription to Please Read Me for a full year! That’s just like, 11 cents a day. It would be crazy cool if you subscribed! With it, you get exclusive access to Worthy Distractions and maybe more importantly, you help support a girl with a dream.
Uh oh, my neighborhood is trendy now
Three years ago, I moved to Prospect Heights in Brooklyn. Well, technically, my apartment is in Crown Heights. It’s situated on the street that divides the two and since my building faces Prospect Heights, I seem to navigate there more often in my daily life. Before taking the train on a rainy Wednesday in Marc…
Adrien Brody's insufferable Oscars speech, Timmy and Kylie, and more
The world keeps being bad but pop culture keeps culturing. I was so smart to launch this section last December. I knew we’d need distractions, but I could have never predicted just how desperately we would need them. And how good the distractions would be! What are your distractions this week? Let me know in the comments.
I however am extremely comfortable not shutting up about it on this very newsletter.