Reader of the Week: Meet Blackbird

There was such an overwhelming response when I asked readers to introduce themselves on a weekend open thread that I decided to give you all a weekly column to do just that. I’ve always said this site wouldn’t be what it is without the engagement and participation of its readers and this column is the place to learn more about who you are what makes you tick. After the jump, let’s meet Blackbird.

 

 

1. What’s your name, age and whereabouts?

My name’s Jessi, aka blackbird. I’m 23 and moved to Chicago from Phoenix this summer. I don’t post often, but I still feel like I’m part of the Dear Wendy “family.” Maybe a distant cousin or something.

2. What’s your relationship status?

I have been dating my boyfriend Adam off-and-on for the last two and a half years. He’s from Chicago, and we met at Lollapalooza ’08. After about a year of sporadic LDR-ing, he figured out that he wanted to commit to me, and moved to Arizona with me for a few months, and drove
with me (and my cat) back to Chicago. It’s been like a dream ever since, especially after only being in non-serious relationships since high school.

3. How do you spend your weekdays?

I work at one of the busiest Starbucks downtown, so my day is spent being yelled at by people who think they’re better than me, kicking half-naked homeless people out, and more recently, having our windows broken by people wanting to cause chaos, and using Occupy Chicago as an excuse. It’s exhilarating. I try to work on artwork when I’m not at work.

4. How do you spend your free time?

Trying to meet new people, which has never been one of my strong suits. Taking advice from a few columns past, I’ve started taking classes for things that I’ve never tried before, but always wanted to (burlesque dancing!). I’ve been trying to progress my artwork by drawing a comic or illustration a day. I spend way too much time on the internet.

5. What are your top likes and dislikes?

I love food. Seriously. The best dating advice I have to offer is to date a chef (except for the long hours and the binge drinking/heavy drug use types). I have never been more happy to gain 15 pounds in my life. I love great conversation and I love alone time. I love discovering new things. I love politics and history. I love comics and music. I love dressing up for no reason.

I dislike know-it-alls (probably because I myself am a know-it-all; we don’t play very nice together). I hate ignorant racism and sexism. I dislike lack of work ethic and constant complaining. I strongly dislike Skrillex, mostly because he brought Korn on stage at Coachella and it was terrible and I wanted to die but my friends were really into it for some reason. I dislike when people don’t look me in the eye or get off their cell phone when they’re in line at Starbucks. I’m going to stop now because if I type out every little thing that Starbucks customers do that annoy me I’d have a War and Peace-sized tome (and I just said I dislike complaining).

6. What’s the best relationship advice you’ve ever been given?

“If he wanted you, he’d be with you.” I can’t tell you how many times I’d been told this (in some form or another) and it I felt like it didn’t apply to me at the time. The time I could have saved! My friends knew what they were talking about, and I never listened.

7. What’s the best relationship lesson you’ve ever learned?

To never settle. Staying in relationship because it was comfortable or easy always made things worse in the long run, and looking back, there were so many other worthwhile people I could have pursued.

8. Besides DearWendy.com, what are some of your favorite websites?

Notcot.com for cool artsy stuff, thedailywh.at for pop culture and interesting stuff, and npr.org for news. Oh, and Regretsy. Vice Magazine’s Do’s and Don’ts is my guilty pleasure.

*If you’d like to be a Reader of the Week, shoot me an email at [email protected] with “Reader of the Week” in the subject line and I’ll send you some questions to answer.