To the women who drink wine alone at home

30 is a weird, in-between kind of age. Some people have stopped going out entirely, others still go out a fair amount, and I think we can all agree that none of us can drink like we're 21 anymore.

Among women, there seems to be a clear line in the sand between two camps: those who drink at bars and those who drink at home alone. People in the second group seem to be the most vocal, saying things like:

"Yeah I just can't do the bar scene anymore. Everyone is so immature."

"All my friends are going out and I'm at home with a bottle of wine. #fridaynightwin"

"Eh, I'm over bars, they're so boring. Give me my wine, my pajamas, and my Netflix."

As someone who still goes out to bars, albeit much less often than I used to, I'm a little tired of being made to feel like I'm some sort of child for still enjoying my alcohol in public, as if going out to bars is a phase we all just have to get through on our way to being a "real" adult. You know, like playing mind games with potential romantic partners, using text speak when we want 2 talk 2 our frenz lol, or wearing tube tops. Sure, going to bars is definitely a phase you can grow out of, but so is bikram yoga and I don't think I'm any more mature for having moved on from that part of my life.

When I go out to bars, 99% of the time this is what goes down:

- Arrive at bar
- Order a drink. Sometimes vodka soda. Sometimes beer. Sometimes maybe even something else. THE SUSPENSE.
- Talk to friends
- Order another drink
- More talking. "How's your job going?" "What else are you up to this weekend?" "Oh my goddddd let me tell you about the creepy message I got on OK Cupid."
- I love this song! Let me dance to it while shoutmangling the lyrics! (Shoutmangling: verb. To yell song lyrics incorrectly)
- But first, let me take a selfie
- Shall we have another beverage? We shall
- I'm tired. Time to go home. "Love you girl, bye!"

 It's all pretty harmless, and what it really boils down to is having some drinks while talking to friends and maybe shaking your shoulders and/or booty to that Jason Derulo song that you love too much to even be embarrassed about loving it. It's not getting wasted and doing stupid shit (most of the time) because it's not college. I'm almost ashamed to admit how low the ratio is of crazy-times-at-bars to regular-unmemorable-but-still-pretty-fun-times-at-bars.

So there are women out there who sit at home alone, drinking wine and feeling better about themselves because of it, and honestly, I'm not sure why.

Is it because of the quantity of alcohol consumed? Because a bottle of wine is a lot of wine, ladies.

Is it because they're alone and some of us like to hang out with friends? Unless today is opposite day, drinking alone is never going to be the most widely accepted alternative (though I pass no judgment. You do you).

Is it because wine is classier than beer? (And why is it always wine, anyway?) The boxes of wine I used to drink when I was 19 21 beg to differ.

As someone who still enjoys the occasional night out, I harbor no ill will towards women who drink wine alone at home (and flaunt it). I too love a good night in with sweatpants and Netflix (although I never drink at home for no reason other than I just don't feel like it). Is there an insecurity issue at work here? Are there feelings of, "Ack, I'm super old and instead of embracing it I'm just going to make those who act less old feel badly about themselves"? Whatever it is, I wish people would just admit that maybe they don't have the energy to go out, or just don't like the scene anymore, as opposed to trying to act like they're above it. Judge not lest ye be judged, amiright? Especially those of you ladies drinking alone with cats. Thank your lucky stars that we don't get on our high horses about that one.

I went somewhere and didn't take a picture

This past weekend I had the opportunity to partake in one of my all-time favorite summer-in-NYC activities: walking over the Brooklyn Bridge.

The Brooklyn Bridge is awesome! It's the perfect Goldilocks-approved distance - not too long, not too short. It's pretty. It has nice views. It takes you from Brooklyn to Manhattan. And vice versa! I love it, especially when the weather is nice, and I will go out of my way to walk over it if I have the time.

When I walked over the bridge on Sunday it was particularly hot out, and I was running particularly ahead of schedule, so when I got to one of the nice shady pylon areas, I stopped. I leaned against the railing and I watched the traffic and stared at lower Manhattan while enjoying the breeze.

All around me, people took pictures. Of Brooklyn. Of Manhattan. Of the bridge. Of the water. Of the ferries. Of each other.

I did not take any pictures.

I didn't take any pictures because I didn't feel like rifling through my purse for my phone. I was also just enjoying the fact that I was doing nothing, standing there listening to my new obsession, The Floozies, and looking at stuff.

Even when I saw this cool Tetris-y building, which I swear I had somehow never seen (though how could I have missed it all these years?), I didn't take a picture.

(I'm thinking that perhaps I hallucinated this building because I cannot for the life of me find a picture of it but I assure you, it's a white building with geometric lines drawn on it and I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP).

I'm certainly not the first to say this and I know I won't be the last, but it is utterly insane how obligated we feel to document Every. Little. Thing. As if people, landscapes, experiences, and life itself cease to exist if we don't Kodak the shit out of the moment. So even though I am totally guilty of taking pictures all the time, and even though I was standing on the bridge thinking about how I wasn't taking any pictures and is thinking about not taking pictures really any better than just taking a damn picture already, I somehow feel a little better about not taking a photo.

After all, how many times have you looked back on a picture you've taken - of a touristy site, a sunset, or something else that you thought was so beautiful or majestic - and thought, "Wow, this picture really captures what I was looking at!"

I take pretty bad pictures, so for me, this is almost never. The photos I take on my phone never do the real thing justice. I've also realized that when I stop what I'm doing to try and document it, I inevitably stop paying attention to the thing I'm watching and only pay attention to what my phone is doing. Which is stupid. And silly.

I'm not really sure what the point is here. Will I never take photos from the Brooklyn Bridge ever again? I doubt it. Will I try to document my life less often? Maybe, but I might not succeed and I won't make any promises about how hard I'm even willing to try.

But can I at least acknowledge that sometimes, enjoying some good tunes and a good breeze and some pretty sights is just as valuable an experience even without photographic proof that it ever happened?

Hell yes.

I want a DJ logo

It's finally summer in these parts, and that means a few things: that I no longer wear actual pants, I take my coffee iced, and I spend a hell of a lot of time on music festival websites. Even if I don't plan on actually going to said festivals, I still, for some reason, spend a lot of time reading about them. Even I don't fully understand why I do this but let's just accept it.

There are 2 main types of music festivals that I go to: all-genre festivals (Lollapalooza, Governor's Ball, etc) and EDM festivals (Electric Daisy Carnival, Electric Zoo, you get it). After spending so much time on different festival websites, I've noticed something interesting. Here's the lineup site for Governor's Ball: 

And here's the lineup site for Moonrise, an electronic music festival that I have no intention of attending yet seriously why am I at this website like twice a week?

Do you see the difference? One has the artist names listed in the same font, and the other has actual logos!

This isn't the case 100% of the time, but what I realized was that I almost never see a non-EDM artist listed using their logo, but this happens a lot more often when it involves DJs. Why? I have no idea. And frankly I don't care. Because the point of this discussion is that I've decided that I want a logo. For me. Not for my DJ alter ego (though I wish I had one), just for the name "Arielle."

That would be awesome, right? To have your own badass logo and any time you signed an email or really put your name anywhere you could just have that logo appear instead. Why have I never thought of this before as something totally logical that I really want in life? It's probably the second best idea I ever had, right after making it a goal to marry someone with my last name.

If any of you are so graphic-designly inclined, I would like to request that when I turn 31 this October you create for me a sweet DJ logo. In return you will have my eternal gratitude. I can also throw in a hug and a lollipop. And a beer! 

Until then, I suppose just a regular font will have to do. For now, peace out!

-Boring Font Arielle