Several versions of the following email have sauntered into my Inbox over the past few weeks:
Dear O/Melissa,
I have read and enjoyed your blog for months. However, I feel the need to tell you that ever since you quit your job and revealed your identity, your blog has sucked. Please bring it back to the way […]

It’s officially been three months since the start of Project Cohabitation, and neither of us has resorted to bodily harm or heavy drinking, which I’m taking as a good sign. In the interests of posterity, I’ve decided to keep a running list of habits that Boyfriend has picked up from me since we started living […]

“Wait, so you’ve been asked to speak at a law school?”
“Yeah, pretty funny isn’t it.”
“But don’t they know you hated law school? Why would they want you to speak about it?”
“What are you talking about? I didn’t hate law school.”
“Well it sure seems that way.”
“I’ve never once said that I hated law school.”
“Like I said, […]

The following conversation has occurred several times over the past few weeks:
One of Multiple Friends at Various White Shoe NYC Firms: Hey Mel! What’s up?
Me: Hey Friend at White Shoe Firm. How are you?
Friend: Doing OK. Did you hear about the $20K raise for associates in New York?
Me: Yes, I heard.
Friend: So, what do you […]

“What the hell! Melissa, we’re late for the movie! Why aren’t you ready to go?”
“Boyfriend, calm down, I’ll be ready in thirty seconds. Give me a break here, I was on the phone.”
“You’re never on the phone. Why right at this moment?”
“My friend called to tell me she just got engaged. That’s one of those […]

It never ceases to amaze me how clearly society has ranked and labeled professions. This job is worthy, that one is not, we’re taught this from the moment we set a tiny foot into the modern world. And, non-coincidentally, the level of prestige associated with a profession is directly proportional to its potential for a […]

Apologies for the lack of daily posting this week, I’ve been chained to a table plugging away on Boyfriend’s computer (mine is currently in the shop receiving laptop CPR). I emerged from my writing hideaway for a few minutes yesterday, but had to race back to avoid being trampled by the stampede of frantic […]

“I read your post the other day. Have you patched things up with your mom?” P asks. I’m wincing at the DJ’s sudden delve into bad ’90s pop while trying to avoid dumping my vodka & soda down P’s shirt. We’re standing by the bar at one of those Chelsea clubs that take me less […]

“Oh my God, what is that sound?” Boyfriend asks as we bolt up from the couch, toppling Cat from her perch across our stomachs.
“Jesus! She’s at it again!”
“What??”
“It’s the woman upstairs, screaming at her husband again.”
“The one who woke us up last week?”
“That’s the one.”
“That noise is unholy. She sounds like she’s performing a […]

Today’s anonymous story is a perfect example of a near-universal phenomenon I call the Critical Moment. We make it through law school and land the high-paying firm job. We enter the firm determined to leap any hurdle between us and that prized 500-square-foot corner office on the 48th floor. Most of us trudge along for […]