73 Comments
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Veronica Llorca-Smith's avatar

I'm stealing your line about "whoever has the most fun wins."

I would love to live in the same city as you, Jennie.

You have the BEST sense of humor. Red lipstick looks terrible on me but I can make an exception for you (and the bling bling). Lol!

Happy New Year!

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Jennie O'Connor's avatar

Steal away, Veronica! It would be so fun to live closer to you. I know you'd be one of my favorite favorites, red lipstick or not 😁. Cheers to a brilliant 2025, my friend!

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Andrea Johnson Beck's avatar

You had me at screw the news and social media😆I feel that in my bones.

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Jennie O'Connor's avatar

I'm so glad you're right there with me! I'd start a revolution about it, but that sounds exhausting, and I'd rather touch grass ☺️

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Andrea Johnson Beck's avatar

Agree. That definitely sounds exhausting, hahaha.

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Henny Hiemenz's avatar

It costs nothing to be nice!

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Jennie O'Connor's avatar

Ain't that the truth, Henny!

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Henny Hiemenz's avatar

Wow Jennie, looks like one of my many female admirers found me here 🤣🤣

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Jennie O'Connor's avatar

I'm trying to report her, but the "report" functionality won't work 🙄

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Zach Hively's avatar

I’ve left this post sitting in my inbox for six days because I knew I wanted to enjoy it. It didn’t disappoint. Absolutely here’s to the sea hags. Bonus points: you’ll probably never call the cops on your own self-brought party.

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Jennie O'Connor's avatar

I love this comment 🤗. Especially about never getting the cops called again. Thank you.

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Lakeisha | Temple Priestess's avatar

Listennnn… I just had a bday on Jan 4. A few days before, someone asked me, “what the hell is wrong is you? How can you look that young in your 40s?”

I kid you not. They legit asked me that. I just stood there and blinked. What do you say to that?

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Jennie O'Connor's avatar

Don't you love when a compliment is hurled in your face like an insult? So disorienting!! What is wrong with you that you look so good 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Haha, people make me tired.

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Lakeisha | Temple Priestess's avatar

Same, girl. Same. People make me very tired...

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Emphatically Me's avatar

Delightful, vibrant, and real! :) Thank you!

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Jennie O'Connor's avatar

What a sweet comment. Thank you!

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Alicia Joyful's avatar

I totally get the cheese comment

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Jennie O'Connor's avatar

Haha thank you for seeing me :)

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Alicia Joyful's avatar

Oh I see you on all the things, the cheese is a definite just please don’t take it away. Although, I know I should/need to but I have not given up coffee. I wait 1-2 house after I have been up before I will have it and I only have 1 cup day with other nootropics added to it. I just love it too much.

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Jennie O'Connor's avatar

I'm there with you. If you don't mind me asking, what happens to your system if you drink it too soon in the day (or at all)?

I'm testing what happens when I stop coffee altogether, and then I'm going to reintroduce it slowly and see if my body will allow it. Historically, though, once I quit something, having a cheat day ruins my life 😖 I'd better at least be able to drink decaf, so pray for me!

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Brenna Fender's avatar

I love this entire thing! I am 53 (but also 30, not sure how that works), and during the COVID lock down I stopped coloring my hair and I'm not gonna lie, I'm kind of into the silver streaks.

But, recently I have had to carefully design my social media experience to avoid the posts and ads and such that were constantly telling me that it's not okay to be who I am. It can be soul crushing if you don't figure out how to manage it. And every so often I look in the mirror and start to worry about whether there is too much hair here and not enough hair there and if that crease is the start of a double chin and, and, and.... Honestly I have started saying, "Just stop it!" when I catch myself in that spiral. It helps. Sometimes I follow it with, "You stupid idiot," or something, which is less helpful but still, that tends to break the spell.

We are okay just as we are.

Also, I did "The Year of Red Lipstick" maybe 10 years ago. We should probably be friends :)

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Jennie O'Connor's avatar

We should definitely be friends. For one, because you're 53 and also 30 🥰, but mostly because I love that you're interrupting the unhelpful self-talk! I'm inspired to take a page from Brenna's book!! Thank you!!

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Brenna Fender's avatar

Thanks! Yay! I'm all about making life better for ourselves and each other if we can. :)

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Jennie O'Connor's avatar

Btw, the gray looks AMAZING. It reminds me of how every man in the history of ever looks dignified with salt and pepper. Like, how does it always look good? But it does, exactly like yours does!!

That is decidedly NOT what my gray—or should I say aggressive white?—looks like 🤣🤣🤣

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Brenna Fender's avatar

And thank you!

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Brenna Fender's avatar

I bet yours looks better than you think! I went from coloring it to highlighting to try to blend the gray in, and then gave up the highlighting. I think that made for an easier transition.

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Jennie O'Connor's avatar

Mine’s a thick band of white that makes me look like I have a receding hairline! There will be no easy transition I fear 🤣🤣🤣

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Brenna Fender's avatar

Colored hairspray and wide headbands!!!

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Danielle Uhl's avatar

“What’s Hotter than Hot Frosty When He Was in Schitt’s Creek and Actually Hot” yesssssss, but for real ☺️🤣 love that this made it in this great article.

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Jennie O'Connor's avatar

We need some meat on the bones, sir! 🤣

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Danielle Uhl's avatar

Agreed!! Please eat the cheese but save some for me 🤣

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Natalie White's avatar

Always love your writing! 💙

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Jennie O'Connor's avatar

Aww thank you for saying so 🙏🏻 😘

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Charlotte Pendragon's avatar

“……often say I can have fun inside a paper bag or in Bakersfield”

I live 30 miles north of Bakersfield. Bakersfield is a nice town 👍❤️

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Jennie O'Connor's avatar

No shade on Bakersfield. It's just not a destination, and people (outside of CA) have never heard of it.

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Charlotte Pendragon's avatar

I didn’t think that you thought — no shade on Bakersfield 😉

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Daniel Catena's avatar

A delightful read, Jennie. I like the idea of collecting beautiful words. There’s more to discover everyday.

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Jennie O'Connor's avatar

I absolutely LOVE this practice. I return to that folder time and again for inspiration and to remember that sometimes someone else says a thing better than I could ever hope to 😍

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Daniel Catena's avatar

Over time I’m sure the list has some beauties!

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Vince Roman's avatar

Got a foreskin facial once

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Jennie O'Connor's avatar

I want to believe you but I don't. Should I?

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Steven Barnhart's avatar

For 2025 I want to have the mostest fun it is more gooder than not so much fun. (my grammarly app just exploded). Grammar police you are not the boss of me.

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Jennie O'Connor's avatar

Oh dear, my mother is coming for you.

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Steven Barnhart's avatar

I know the Grammar Police showed up with a no-knock warrant. :)

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Nicolle Sloane's avatar

In n Out and Substack are one and the same. And I love them both so very much.

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Jennie O'Connor's avatar

I'll meet you at In n Out in 30, and we can talk all about Substack 🥰

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Mark's avatar

I've got this thing, where I try to think twice about the links that I click, you know, just in case I'm arrested for a crime I didn't commit I don't want my browser history to be "too weird", but now, thanks to YOU, I have two articles forever burned into my browser history about "baby foreskin facials!"

Sometimes I'm just too curious for my own good. I suppose at least I didn't have to Google it, you did the heavy lifting there 🤣

Also keeping a list of cool stuff throughout the year is something I've started doing, it's nice to be able to look back and reference something that you can only half remember.

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Jennie O'Connor's avatar

Hahaha I am sooo sorry I have contributed to your delinquency!

And I love the cool stuff lists. I have dozens. Sometimes, they even turn into articles, so it really is the gift that keeps on giving :)

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Mark's avatar

They used to be just screenshots but I've started actively organising them, so I can search them now, so they may well find their way into posts.

Don't worry about the delinquency, I used to be on Reddit 🤣 if there's anything I learned from being on there it's never trust a link!

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Jennie O'Connor's avatar

I feel like we need to add "never trust a link" to the life lessons we teach kids, like stranger danger. This is not a thing I would know otherwise 🤣 Thanks for saving me.

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Mark's avatar

You can never be too careful, the thing with Reddit especially is it could be a legitimate link to a legitimate source, it could also be a rick roll or something entirely worse!

The sad thing is I encountered my first obvious bot spam replying to comments today, both mine and others I follow. I hope this isn't a common theme where we spend just as much time deleting comments as replying to them!

"Modern advice for modern kids a handbook of what not to do in life and online" coming soon to bookshops near you, click this link to read more 🤣

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Jennie O'Connor's avatar

OMG, please write that book; you will make millions!

Okay, so can you explain to me why bots comment? What's the endgame? I'm convinced 94% of the comments I get on Medium are bots but I don't understand what they're playing at . . . and you seem like a guy who gets things.

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Mark's avatar

So if it's just comments without any "ask" such as a link, it's to try and build legitimately with the account. An account that just spams links will hopefully get spotted and dealt with straight away. If they have a post history of likes, comments etc. It "looks real" and appears real to the algorithm. That account can then be used for shady stuff in the future, be it link posting contacting unsuspecting members etc.

And with regards to the book, something like this might actually be useful for my own kids. So you never know 🤣 the kids won't care but the parents would definitely buy it!

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