I listened to One Direction on RDIO a couple of weeks ago. Like NBC re-runs, if you haven't seen [heard] it, it's new to you!

Looking good Formspring crew!

Stripes are my favorite. I LOVE stripes. Blue and white are an awesome combination, definitely into the quasi nautical theme thing.

But lately I've been trying to move into... POLKA DOTS. I know. It's a big step, but I'm feeling like it's time for a change.

When I was 15 years old, I got a job at Harmony Bakery for the summer. The bakery was owned by a family and I was pretty pumped to work there - free coffee/baked goods, nothing too stressful, my friends could come by, etc.

Once I started, there were immediately a few issues:

1. The place was not doing very well. I would spend 20 or 30 minutes at a time before anyone would come into the bakery. I didn't have a smart phone, I didn't have a computer to play with, I wasn't supposed to be reading.... so I would just sit there. And wait.

2. They never trained me. So people would come in and ask for a cappucino, or a latte, or macchiatto... and while I knew how to work the espresso machine, I didn't really know what the difference was between all the beverages. So no matter what you ordered, you got espresso + steamed milk.

3. They didn't pay me on time - or until I asked. So I'd have to find a time when the owners would be in the bakery and ask to get paid. They'd pull out my timecard, do a quick calculation, and then say something like "well, you worked 50 hours over the past two weeks... so minus some social security & taxes, at $7/hour, that comes out to roughly....." and then they'd make up a number, press "NO SALE" on the cash register, and then pay me in cash. No record of anything.

4. Later on, after I'd left at the end of the summer, people would find out I worked at the bakery and say things like "Ohhh... were you part of that whole thing where if you asked for a double chocolate chip cookie in just the right way you could also get a dimebag of weed?" Needless to say I did not realize there was a weed-dealing operation out of the bakery. Not part of my official duties.

And that's pretty much it. I also interned at Cosmopolitan for a summer in college. That was pretty bad, too, but mostly for all the reasons you'd expect (aka being treated like an intern/the girl from The Devil Wears Prada).

Tea! Coffee! Talking Rain!

Tea is yuck. Not into weakly flavored water.

A very nice friend of my mom is throwing me a bridal shower. I'm not sure what the purpose of a bridal shower is but I hear I get PRESENTS.

Not really... but I also never really learned how to touch type. I kinda type with only three fingers on each hand. It's a little embarrassing. Any thoughts if I'm too old to go back to Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing?

I don't really know slovenia. Tell me why I should like it and maybe I will!

That's a good question. I *always* use sunflowers, obviously - that's your cash money so you can buy other plants. Beyond that, it depends on the terrain. Pea-shooters (the doubles or three prongs) are great, but they don't work on the roof.

The one plant I probably use most consistently after sunflowers are the giant potatoes. They regenerate quickly, are cheap and are effective. I wish there was MORE Plants Vs. Zombies to play. I'm sick of DrawSomething - would love a good no-Internet-required game to play on my phone.

Favorite game is Plants V. Zombies. I could play that game on FB, on iPhone, on XBox... PVZ 4 LIFE.

Go to Russ & Daughters for bagels and creamcheese.

I had a great brunch at Momofuku (I think Noodle Bar, Ssam bar is the expensive one). Maybe go to Momofuku Milk Bar if you can't get into the restaurant.

Walk through central park. Go to the Met to take in art for an afternoon.

If you're there on a weekday, two totally ridiculous lunch options are at Jean George and Bouley. Jean George is three courses for $35 and Bouley is 6 courses for $35 ( I think). Jean George was more fun/less weird, but both were super delicious and an incredible value for what you get.

Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge is fun if the weather is nice.

In general when I'm in NY I tend to do a lot of walking around - West Village, SOHO, Lower East Side, etc. Never a bad way to spend an afternoon.

This is more like 30 seconds of fame, but here goes...

When I lived in Chicago after college, my closest friend was Olivia (OliviaLeighPhotographie.com). At the time she was something of a Flickr celebrity. Yes, I know this sounds dumb, but this was 5-6 years ago and you could be a Flickr celebrity. She was an early user of the site, and at one point one of her photos was the homepage photo so she developed a ton of followers that way. Since I was one of her closest friends, I was frequently in her stream. Me out at a bar, me at home cooking, me walking down the street, etc.

One day I was in a coffee shop by myself and this guy looked at me and looked down, and then looked at me again.

Him: "Sorry, I don't mean to bother you... but are you friends with a photographer online?"
Me: "Excuse me? Not sure what you mean..."
Him: "This photographer I follow on Flickr...."

And then I realized he must have followed Olivia on Flickr and as such recognized me from her photos. So that was about 30 total seconds.

Someone who is much smarter than I. Best boss or manager = one you can learn from. Also one who appreciates brown-nosing (@dorotheefisher, @rochoy).

Peeta of course! No question.

Over the weekend I saw Miss Representation, a documentary about how the media shapes and defines the way women think about themselves and other women -- and how that affect our ability to become leaders. Very thought provoking and pushed me to think about how I think about myself and other women in a critical way and how that could be holding me back.

I love to curl up on my couch with my dog and an old comforter. Then I put on the TV and pretend I'm going to watch it and instead drift off to sleep...

Hi James, this is indeed a random question! A random day with me would look something like this:

Get up at 6:30 and walk the dog.
Head to gym and work out from 7:30-8:30
Go to work at Formspring HQ. From there as a newspaper you'd probably sit on my desk while I worked and went to meetings for the next 9 or so hours.
After work, we'd go home and walk the dog again (6:30 or so).
Then it would be time for dinner. Leftovers? Burrito? Something else?
Post dinner fun = Hulu, more dog walking, a stroll to another neighborhood, reading a book, wedding planning hijinks and more.
And then to bed around 11.

Not super exciting. And, I generally read the newspaper online, so I'm not sure how much quality time we'd get together. Perhaps I could re-learn to regularly read a print paper?

Peonies! Ivory + coral + peach + green/succulents. Can't wait to see 'em.