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Evelyn Saves America: Part I

Jessie Rosen - October 5, 2017

I wrote this little story during my free write yesterday. More on how free writes are going, but I liked this enough to post it. No idea what it really is or where it’s really going, which is probably the biggest success of my whole free writing experiment.       Evelyn was already awake when her alarm went off at its everyday hour, 5:45am. She …

Why I Did My Daily Free Writing Once In Four Days

Jessie Rosen - September 26, 2017

It is Tuesday. Last Thursday I set out to free write daily until Monday. On Friday I woke up, did my morning routine (walk dog, pour coffee, don’t drink coffee until it’s too cold to drink, wash face and apply 37 lotions) and head to a cafe. I putzed around (1920’s term for went on Facebook) for 30 or so minutes and then opened a document …

Issue #1: I Never Free Write

Jessie Rosen - September 21, 2017

This is going to be bad. This is going to make me a hypocrite to the now hundreds of students I’ve taught blogging over the course of my years working with Writing Pad. I’m going to ease into the confession (that’s already in the headline of this post) with a story about how I figured it out. Yesterday I read a little of Anne Lamott’s Bird …

Where Have I Been?

Jessie Rosen - September 20, 2017

It has been a long time since I’ve written a blog post – the longest time ever, actually. For the past few weeks, I’ve been trying to figure out why it’s been so long, while the number of lacking posts ticks up and up and up. Last week I woke up at 6:30 to get a nice, early start on writing something just like what …

Arturo the Urban Adjacent Rooster: Part I

Jessie Rosen - August 9, 2017

Last month R and I moved to what you might call suburbia. I wouldn’t call it that because I am a city snob. I said things like, “I don’t know…it just looks too much like a family would live here…” as we searched for our first home. But it turns out our perfect first house was on a quiet street, in a quiet enclave of …

Thoughts on my 34th birthday

Jessie Rosen - August 7, 2017

34 crept up on me. First because I spent the better part of the year thinking I was turning 35. Secondly because we moved to a new house, our first house (hence the horrendous blog absence over the past month plus). And third of all because I’m busier right now than I have been since I first left my 9-5 to become a full-time writer. …

Why You Should Not Skip Singapore

Jessie Rosen - June 9, 2017

It’s been a long time since I’ve published a proper travel piece, but that’s because it’s been a long time since I’ve properly traveled. Here is a post that I wrote on my first full morning in Singapore, from my hotel room overlooking the infinity pool, overlooking the Singapore Straight. A lot of people told me that I didn’t need more than 24 hours in …

10 Questions I’d (Still) Like To Ask Roger Ailes Mourners

Jessie Rosen - May 22, 2017

Today I woke up really mad about this whole stealthing situation. Have you heard about this? It’s when men take their condom off mid-sex without telling their sex partner, and it’s a trend. Today. In 2017.   It made me mad about Roger Ailes and the men like him all over again. Reminder: he died last week. It was a busy one, so I don’t blame …

A Secret To Successful Marriage: Count It All

Jessie Rosen - May 10, 2017

Today is my third wedding anniversary. I’ve been telling people all morning – the receptionist at my dentist office (who said, oh three years is still newlyweds!), the hygienist at my dentist office (who said, three of infinity!), the dentist at my dentist office (who said, congrats kids and did I tell you I did Johnny Depp’s teeth for the new Pirates movie?). The headline: …

Do You “We” Instead of “I”?

Jessie Rosen - May 9, 2017

On Sunday night I hosted a No Boys Allowed edition of my storytelling series Sunday Night Sex Talks. I started Sex Talks almost six years ago. I had the idea because of a gathering I fell backward into during college (a gathering of conversation, not sex). I was looking for some way to get involved with the comedy community when I moved to LA, and …

How To Play The Waiting Game

Jessie Rosen - May 2, 2017

It took me almost eight months after I graduated college to get my first, official job. I moved from the halls of Boston College to my old bedroom in central Jersey and hit the Monster.com search hard. At the time my dad kept a roll top desk in a carpeted corner of the basement. I would wake up every morning, eat my Team Cheerios (now …

What If Every Woman Said What Blake Lively Said?

Jessie Rosen - April 25, 2017

Last week (I think? in #TrumpsAmerica the weeks are like decades) Blake Lively stood up to a reporter that asked what she was wearing on a red carpet. She said some combo of: “I’m here so we … become more aware, and that we change, and that we build women up….So, you can ask me another question.” and “Are we really doing this? Would you ask …

How Activism Works, On You

Jessie Rosen - April 24, 2017

Yesterday I went to a meeting run by an activist organization working on voter suppression issues.   The group is a division of the Action Group Network launched by Beau Willimon, who created House of Cards. It is an impressive, motivated and organized group of friends and strangers tackling the very specific issue of affecting change in government by ensuring that all Americans eligible to vote can actually …

There’s Been a Blip in the Blog

Jessie Rosen - April 5, 2017

This is the longest I’ve gone without publishing a blog post in…ever. I even delayed publishing this post for three days because I didn’t want to type that it’s been the longest I’ve gone without publishing a blog post in…ever. I like routine and ritual and commitment. I like being accountable and productive. This blip in the blog is the opposite of all that, and …