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20 Signs That You Hate Your Job

It feels like every day an article titled “20 signs that you hate your job!” pops up in my inbox or social media feed.

With 70% of Americans disengaged from their work, it comes as no surprise that these type of articles appear with frequency.

I hated doing the 9 to 5 monkey dance and that is why I left it. It’s been two years since I worked in a conventional office setting and I haven’t looked back (she says while slurping the last drop of her Top Ramen).

Unless you work for a company like Google or a similar company that encourages work-life balance and creativity, “working for the man” can feel soul-sucking and pointless.

It took most of my twenties to realize that I was disillusioned working for people who didn’t care as much for me as I did for them. Here is a story about the height of my dismay, but was in too much denial at the time to recognize it.

I’ve never shared this story publicly before.

I used to work at a celebrity-owned production company. Very few people (more…)

September 20, 2013 by hipstercrite

Hipstercrite Life

When Ambien Causes You to See Double-Headed Clown Monsters

via Toothpaste for Dinner

So, last Saturday I tried Ambien for the first time, or as what I like to call the “HOLY SHIT! AM I DYING?!?!” pill.

The Ambien was not prescribed to me, but rather to my boyfriend who is in the process of convalescing from arm surgery (hey, don’t judge- you probably would have taken it too if it was in front of you and you had no clue that it is the tears of the Devil). Last weekend he was out of town and due to my anxiety of living in a neighborhood where you often call 911 because someone dressed like a ninja is sitting on your front lawn at 4:30AM, I thought it would be helpful if I took the sleeping aid to prevent any “Is there a ninja currently on my front lawn?!” panic attacks.

I had never taken Ambien before, but some friends are frequent users and I figured, “Hey! What’s the worst that can happen?”

If seeing double-headed clown monsters is the worst than can happen, then I experienced the worst.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that (more…)

September 18, 2013 by hipstercrite

Film, Music, Pop Culture, Writing

Why I’m Sick of Hearing About Celebrity Children Becoming Actors or Models

Yesterday my friend Facebook chatted me to discuss the recently announced casting choices of Fifty Shades of Grey the movie.

I have neither read Fifty Shades of Grey nor intend to, so she had to explain to me who the roles of Christian and Ana went to.

“I can’t believe Dakota Johnson is playing Ana!” she said.

“Who is Dakota Johnson?” I asked.

“She is the daughter of Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson,” she replied.

It made perfect sense. Why wouldn’t she be? Why wouldn’t she be the daughter of not one, but two famous celebrities?

It feels like every day I see a different headline boasting the stories of celebrity children becoming actors or models:

Ireland Baldwin Aims to Follow Parents Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger into Film

Hot Pics of Scott Eastwood on Buzzfeed

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Son, Patrick, Modeling for Hudson Jeans with Georgia May Jagger?

Look up any entertainment news section and there is a good chance that whomever graces the top articles (more…)

September 10, 2013 by hipstercrite

Austin, Travel

Foodie Tour of Austin Restaurants Featured on Reality TV

It should come as no surprise that Austin has been on a butt-load of reality TV shows. Why is it not a surprise? Because Austin is currently America’s shiny ball that they like to poke, play with and stare at.

Many of those aforementioned reality shows are food-based. The culinary scene in Austin has grown by leaps and bounds in the past several years. Having moved here from California (let the name-calling begin), I was initially disappointed in what I felt was a lackluster food scene in Austin. Fast-forward five years later and Austin is on the top of the list of American food destinations. Austin’s very own Paul Qui won Top Chef two years back and our beloved Franklin BBQ was named the best BBQ in America by Bon Appetit Magazine. Austin is full of incredible culinary talent and it’s a fantastic place to be a foodie in right now.

I use to work at a local restaurant that was featured on a popular Travel Channel show and based off the influx of traffic the restaurant received, you (more…)

September 9, 2013 by hipstercrite

Music, Pop Culture

Forget Miley: How to Talk to Your Children About Their Shitty Taste in Music

There has been an abundance of articles circulating the web on how to talk to your daughters about Miley Cyrus or how to talk to your sons about Robin Thicke after their shocking performance of Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” at MTV’s VMAs, but the greater conversation still appears unspoken: have you talked to your children about their shitty, shitty taste in music yet? Or more importantly, have you talked to yourself about how you could let you children have such shitty taste in music?

While everyone is ranting and raving about Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke’s best impression of LeeLoo and Beetlejuice doing softcore porn, we should really be asking ourselves as a society how we’ve let such incredibly bad music seep into our homes.

Why do your children listen to knock-offs of Marvin Gaye? Why don’t they just listen to Marvin Gaye? Don’t you have Marvin Gaye records lying around, for crying out loud? Marvin Gaye sang about sex, but in a sexy way. Not in a rapey way. For example: while (more…)

August 29, 2013 by hipstercrite

Pop Culture

Why We Should All Care More About the Civil Rights Movement

16th Street Baptist Church, where four little girls were murdered in a racially-fueled bombing

We just got back from a road trip to Birmingham. Though the drive was full of interesting discoveries that only the Deep South can offer- 10-foot road kill alligators and strange women accusing you of practicing witchcraft- it’s a very exhausting drive to do in four days with a handicapped boyfriend (damn you, rotator cuff surgery).

The reason we drove to Birmingham is for the lovely Sidewalk Film Festival, where our film, Loves Her Gun, screened. I was very excited to visit this complex city and to learn more about its history regarding the Civil Rights Movement.

Birmingham has very strong ties with the Civil Rights Movement- for good and for bad. It was the home of the brave and fearless Civil Rights leader Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth and the cowardly Eugene “Bull” Connor (I wrote about Fred Shuttlesworth, who died on the same day as Steve Jobs, about why he ultimately is (more…)

August 28, 2013 by hipstercrite

Hipstercrite Life

Why My Mother Deserves Love After Twenty Years of Being Single

Unsuccessfully teaching my mom how to use chopsticks

My mother hasn’t dated in over twenty years.

In twenty years, she hasn’t felt the touch of another when she becomes scared, frustrated, or confused. In twenty years, she hasn’t heard the words “It’s going to be OK” when she needs to hear it most. It twenty years she hasn’t had a partner to help her with tasks around the house, to sit an enjoy watching The Big Bang Theory with (so, my Mom likes The Big Bang Theory- do you have a problem with that?), or to take her out to dinner and a movie.

In twenty years my mother has been alone.

When my father left in intervals during my one-digit years, my mother had tremendous difficulty with it. I would scold her for crying because I needed her to be strong; it wasn’t until I was an adult and had my heart broken that I could grasp the severity of what she was going through (and realize how selfish I was being). Her dream was broken and there was nothing she could do to repair it. How (more…)

August 13, 2013 by hipstercrite

Writing

Everything You Need to Know About Freelancing and Health Insurance

Health insurance.

One of the largest difficulties freelancers face.

Can I afford health insurance for myself? Which provider should I get? Do I qualify for Freelancer’s Union insurance? How high or low should my deductible be? Should I get a HSA plan? Do I have to get health insurance before Obamacare goes into effect?

It’s a mental maze that can keep you up at night.

When I went freelance almost two years ago, I PROMISED myself I would get health insurance no matter what. And I did. A broker found me a Blue Cross and Blue Shield HSA (Health Savings Account) plan for $110/month with a high deductible and no co-pays. I knew it was essentially “catastrophic insurance”, but I was happy to at least have something. After a short period of time my plan went up for no reason and the financial burden of paying for basic doctor visits became too much. When a pain in my right side popped up last winter, simple blood tests ended up costing me over $500. I was sad and frustrated, and, (more…)

August 12, 2013 by hipstercrite

20-Something, Hipstercrite Life

Crowdsourcing Your Future

I’m at a point in my life where I have no idea what my next creative step is.

There are so many ideas I want to bring to fruition, but indecisiveness due to fear is holding me back (like it always does).

Do you have that problem?

Don’t you wish you could just turn to a random stranger, grab them by the collar and drool, “PLEASE SIR/MADAM, TELL ME WHAT I SHOULD DO WITH MY LIIIIIIFE!!!”

Maybe that is why so many creative friends hire life coaches. Sometimes it’s easier to have someone else tell you what your next step should be.

Or sometimes it’s easier to default to what Prince would do.

I have an obnoxiously talented and beautiful friend whose biggest obstacle is this exact thing. Everything she attempts turns out excellent: music, art, film- you name it! But her indecisiveness and fear of failing holds her back. I constantly tell her, “JUST DO! JUST CREATE!” and when she does, she feels AWESOME, but she typically abandons the project and never finishes. Sadly, I can (more…)

August 8, 2013 by hipstercrite

Austin, Travel

Tubing in East Austin: Where Small Children Find Stabbing Knives

I live with a toober, a person obsessed with tubing in Texas. Every chance Geoff gets to go tubing, he will take it. Even drifting into a snake ball hasn’t stopped him from floating. He has tubing regalia: an adorably gay mesh tee, cherished cut-off denim shorts, water shoes, and koozie with a neck string. His affection for tubing exceeds that of many of us and like a small, adventuresome child, Geoff often finds himself excitedly planning tubing trips without the support of others. Until recently, the most worthwhile tubing was at least 30 miles away from Austin and required a lot of pre-planning and flaking out on friend’s parts.

That is why we were extrememly excited to discover that tubing in East Austin was suddenly a thing. I guess it had always been a thing, but with the opening of East Austin Tubes, at least we know it’s legal. I think? We had been patrons of the Extremely Public Beach (previously known as the Secret Beach) and always wondered what tubing through the area (more…)

July 29, 2013 by hipstercrite

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