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OPEN THREAD: What Did You Do Without Autostraddle?

the team

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So! Remember when Autostraddle was down for what felt like forever?

No no, not the time in June when Riese threatened to quit the internet forever and we were late for Julia's birthday dinner.

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And nooo, I'm not talking about when Autostraddle wouldn't work in Chrome and half of the world couldn't read our genius musings and we answered 34234 formspring questions about how to properly contact our tech support.

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I'm referring to this week's outage! Whew, it was a pretty stressful time! It was up, it was down, it was days old, it was a white screen, it was everything but good. We had things to share with you, but we couldn't! So what did we do? I mean, really, think about it, what could we do?

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Let's check in with Team Autostraddle to see how everyone coped individually with the loss of their favorite job.

Rachel

+ cried
+ answered formspring questions
+ read news about the outside world
+ baked muffins
+ refreshed the page constantly and then stopped trying to refresh it ever because it was too depressing
+ cried
+ called BOTH my parents
+ set up an easel in my bedroom
+answered formspring questions
+ napped
+ lay in bed awake
+ watched The X Files
+ started two new tumblrs
+ worried that i had an exotic and undetected disease and would die imminently
+ went to the gym but forgot to bring socks, had to elliptical without them
+ filled various online shopping carts with things I can't buy
+ cried

Katrina

There was sun in DC while Autostraddle was down. They tell me that this happens most every day, but I'm not really sure, because I'm usually inside working, sleeping, or cuddling with Autostraddle. At first I looked at my computer and was like, "Man, now what the f*ck am I supposed to do with this typewriter that plays DVDs?" And then I immediately went to go have feelings about it on Tumblr. Other than that, these past two days have been like getting born into the world again. I laughed, I cried, I was introduced to alcoholic whipped cream and subsequently got drunk with lesbians (all the lesbians). I rode my bike! I went for a run. I dragged home an ornate mirror I found outside a torn-down church cafeteria. I also found a cow painting that another church had thrown out, and I took that too. I was like, "World, the Internet is funny, but you are hilarious. Sorry I had forgotten." Autostraddle is back, and I love her the most, but the world and I still have plans to hang out once in a while.

Lindsay

+ Finishing the third season of Skins, like a proper honorary Brit.
+ Finally, finally got around to listening to The King of Limbs, which I was supposed to do like a week ago, I guess. And yes, it's good, but Thom Yorke Dancing Alone to Pony is better.
+ Got my dissertation topic approved, which I suppose officially makes me an insufferable academic.
+ Discovered the magic of pauladeenridingthings dot tumblr dot com.
+ Read. Like, from an actual book. Not a screen. Or an academic text. Highly recommended.
+ My friend and I had plans to see DRIVE ANGRY IN THREE DEE on Wednesday night but instead we went to the pub, had several drinks too many and I might have danced to Martha & The Vandellas with a middle-aged Frenchman.
+ Organized the Autostraddle Manchester (UK) meetup, which took care of the withdrawal symptoms.

Crystal

+ Downloaded books onto my new Kindle. Read a queer novel, Too Close To Touch. 2/5 stars.
+ Caught up on episodes of Castle. 5/5 stars.
+ Discussed my obsession on Formspring.
+ Channeled my energy into my day job. Pitched ideas for how our new robot overlord can use his powers for good.
+ Started a new blog. Deleted it.
+ Refreshed the Autostraddle homepage 19,474 times.
+ Created my first ever budget. Deleted it.
+ Binged on The Pretty Reckless' album Light Me Up.
+ Wrote a post about my love for Taylor Momsen. Deleted it.
+ Went to the Autostraddle meet up in Sydney. Hung out with some rad people

Laneia

+ skimmed a substantial amount of lesbian erotica in preparation for an upcoming post (sample theme: lesbian cowgirls)
+ watched season 1 of Arrested Development (funny) for the first time
+ washed dishes utilizing several techniques, including dishwasher, hand-washing, child labor and the power of suggestion (most effective: dishwasher)
+ watched The Fourth Kind (scary) in a sofa cuddling situation
+ taste-tested three types of raviolis sold at Trader Joe's (winner: goat cheese + sundried tomatoes)
+ laundered slipcovers
+ rearranged my closet
+ street beer
+ contracted pink eye (viral)
+ drank no less than six pots of chamomile tea
+ increased my texting by 65%
+ made hollandaise (local, organic eggs)
+ drafted at least three supportive emails to Riese that, in the end, didn't seem supportive enough
+ cried (unrelated to supportive emails)
+ cried (related to supportive emails)

Laura

+ Homework
+ Listened to the Dinner Party Download and this song on repeat
+ Lay in the sun with my housemate's cat
+ More homework
+ Watched re-runs of The L Word on Netflix out of sheer desperation
+ Caught a cold due to too many hours spent on public transportation
+ Went rock climbing
+ Searched for the perfect suitcase--I have not found it yet

Emily

+ lay on my bed
+ went to school
+ watched 2 episodes of Grey's Anatomy
+ lost track of what day it was
+ wondered if things were happening outside my room
+ took a shower
+ wrote a poem
+ almost formspringed riese
+ refreshed Autostraddle every 5 minutes

Riese


+ Finished watching Season Four of The Wire and moved on to Season Five of The Wire, pausing intermittently to check imdb so I could be prepared for the impending deaths of these characters who at this point are essentially my closest friends
+ Took out all my paper and stickers and magazines to make thank you cards for people who were donating to paypal while we were down, made incremental but relatively insignificant process
+ Got my bike fixed because it got fucked when i was hit by a car on Friday
+ Used the gift certificate I got for Valentine's Day to get a manicure/pedicure
+ Looked into how I could get a teaching certificate for free (impossible)
+ Stared vacantly at my resumè
+ Read "How to Pitch" articles on Mediabistro, took notes in textedit, felt 'this is futile'
+ Edited a Julie & Brandy video
+ Started Valencia
+ Got lost in Oakland on my bike
+ Went to The Y
+ Sorted my mail
+ Ate two loaves of Sour Batard bread
+ Obsessively google-searched our problems
+ answered 60,000 formspring questions
+ Laundry

Tess

There are probably still a few kinks to iron out because hahahahaaa THERE ALWAYS ARE HAHAHAH! But! We're super glad to be here in your face space and can't wait to act like this never happened!

You guys are really supportive and patient and we adore you so. Share your stories / coping techniques in the comments! Best answer wins a pizza party! But you have to throw the party yourself.

210 responses to “OPEN THREAD: What Did You Do Without Autostraddle?”

  1. diver

    I was cast in a gay porn.

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    1. Meghan

      Woah…that is impressive. Can we see it? =)

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    2. riese

      i was gonna say “i hope it’s underwater porn” but then i thought, maybe “kelsey actually got a job working on a gay porn site while autostraddle was down” would be a better comment

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    3. Jactance

      You seem like you were very productive during the downtime.

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  2. diver

    I made a quilt about dogs.

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    1. e

      i love you. i think this is the second time i tell you this. but seriously, you make me snort liquids.

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      1. riese

        x2

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        1. diver

          Thanks e and riese. You guys are pretty righteous yourselves.

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  3. diver

    I gave someone a carrot and they said thanks.

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    1. terracottatoes

      thanks again.

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      1. terracottatoes

        fuck i’m so canadian.

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        1. diver

          Hehe, I just clicked your icon.

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        2. gillygilly

          I clicked it too, and lol’d :)

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  4. diver

    I pierced my thumb webbing with an awl.

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    1. Missy

      this i have done, with a gouge. darn wood carving hobby. *blood makes it mean more, maybe*

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  5. diver

    I ate a lightbulb.

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    1. Elizabeth (aka Elli)

      They have interventions for that. I was it on the teevee.

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      1. Elizabeth (aka Elli)

        Oh hey I made a typo and it won’t let me edit it. I SAW it on the teevee. Sob.

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        1. diver

          I thought you were trying to relate on a personal level.

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  6. diver

    I said excuse me and the other person said ok.

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    1. Laneia

      is there a diver award for diver yet?

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      1. Missy

        *hands drying wooden object* i made it special for diver.

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        1. diver

          Thanks. I also won a ribbon when I was like 8 for making a speech about how to boil rice.

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          1. Mason

            i won a ribbon wehn i was like 8 for making a speech on how to raise a bucket calf! (a calf you feed out of a bucket, not one you raise in a bucket. . .)

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  7. kd15

    I joined twitter and constantly refreshed the tumblr looking for updates

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    1. riese

      that’s so cute i feel like you joined twitter for us

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      1. kd15

        I kinda did, I think autostraddle was the first “person” I followed

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  8. C

    cried
    painted
    cried and painted
    wrote a paper! for class and everything!
    i have another paper due tomorrow though. shit

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  9. diver

    I ate beans and one bean had a different texture, so I threw it out.

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  10. Emily

    does this mean i have to do the comment awards

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    1. Missy

      yes. please. thank you.

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    2. Jon

      Maybe if you do them, Harry Potter will visit Canada. I hear he loves our comment awards.

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      1. terracottatoes

        precisely sixty nine canadian beavers are slapping their tails against their dams in agreement.

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        1. SomethingClever

          So that’s what they call it up there, huh?

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          1. Jactance

            We say “eh?”

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  11. K

    I seriously thought I got kicked off of Autostraddle.com due to over indulging in alcoholic beverages and embarrassing myself and annoying the hell out of Laneia at the Phoenix Autostraddle Meet-up!! :)

    P.S. This is a true fear as I DID get kicked off of an etiquette board I’d been part of for 5 years!! :)

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    1. diver

      Please give the link for an “etiquette board.”

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    2. softly

      nooo, never, I mean, I am inebriated on a biweekly basis regardless if I don’t have company and no one seems to miiind. I am drunkies at the mooooment and I mooed when I wrote all those oos. too many ooos makes a moo.

      I don’t know where that went but I love everybody.

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  12. RADAMIZE

    I laid in bed and listened to my cat snore. She has allergies. To cats.

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    1. riese

      me too!

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  13. leafdarking

    I made a sculpture of a cat with the word “pussy” written on the side.

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  14. e

    i got some college applications done? but mostly cried myself to sleep.

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    1. terracottatoes

      i named e’s poem

      (dear cemetery-keepers please be sure to include this accomplishment in my epitaph thank you)

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      1. e

        i think you will take the post of naming my things.

        should i ever have a baby, you know what to do.

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        1. terracottatoes

          jennifer schecter.

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          1. wasteunit

            Sarah Schuster.

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            1. Jo

              Stacy Merkin.

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              1. Jon

                Ilene Fucking Chaiken

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        2. scattered

          When I got all these single name comments in my inbox out of context I thought they were in reply to “What did you do while Autostraddle was down?” and I lol’d.

          Of course I am also lolling in the present, knowing that they are potential names for your first born.

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  15. sideback6530

    + watched seasons 1 thru 4 of Skins for the first time. (I have a whole new vocabulary)
    + tumblr
    + refreshed
    + prayed for mercy.

    I’m so glad its back.
    :]

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  16. Pie

    I surmised I had sustained a concussion and then proceeded to sleep it off. When I regained consciousness, Autostraddle returned.

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  17. Jules

    +refreshed autostraddle obsessively
    +looked at all the lovely sounding autostraddle articles in google reader and wished i could read them
    +had a lot of sex
    +tried to read autostraddle again
    +caught up on all the other things google reader
    +looked at pictures of naked ladies
    +slept

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  18. Nora

    laundry
    read AS posts on tumblr
    found some new queers to follow on twitter
    ate vegetarian chick’n tenders
    cupcakes
    slept
    wished i could be watching julie and brandy videos

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  19. foist

    Started on my taxes.

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    1. kd15

      Thanks for the reminder, I’ve been meaning to set an appointment to have someone do my taxes

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      1. riese

        you guys autostraddle paid its taxes last year but i did not pay my own personal taxes, and now it’s almost this year

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        1. foist

          It’s almost been 2 years; you’d think Autostraddle would have qualified as a tax-exempt religion by now.

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          1. kd15

            I would happily be baptized into the Church of Autostraddle (autochurch?)

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            1. Liv

              I’m splashing water on my head as i wright this!!

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  20. Azzy

    I watched a vampire movie that didn’t suck.

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    1. RADAMIZE

      Twinklight?

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      1. Azzy

        No, but I’ll make sure to check that out :-P

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  21. magiclovemuffin

    Sold all my shit on Craigslist. No one wants this bed, even though it’s less than a year old. I paid $350 for a piece of crap and now I need to beg someone to cart this thing away for me.

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    1. e

      BRO, i know. I HAVE A BRAND NEW BIO 1408 LAB MANUAL. THE FUCKERS DIDN’T LET ME RETURN IT, ANYONE? ANYONE?

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      1. Carly

        I bought my bio “textbook” for about $100, and it was just a 4in thick stack of papers. It seemed as though someone had attempted to hole punch them, but the circles were still stuck in the pages, so I rehole-punched all of them, and put them in a binder. But, since they tried to make as much of a profit off of my broke college as as they could, the pages are all so shitty that they basically just rip out whenever I even put my book down.

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        1. Carly

          I guess my broke college ass* should learn to reread things that I type, haha

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    2. justlookinaround

      do you live in LA? i’m looking for a bed :)

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      1. magiclovemuffin

        Hah, no. DC. And I just sold it to some nice Ethiopian man for $100… and I felt horribly guilty because it’s worth about $0. Seriously, it took weeks for my body to accept that it was my new bed. Sigh. I just need to keep repeating to myself: “I paid $350 for it brand new less than one year ago… $100 is more than fair…” Craigslist guilt!

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  22. Supernaye

    I was kinda sad, I cant lie. Though, the site worked alright for the most part. I only couldn’t view anything for a day.

    Nonetheless, i’ve been counting down til tomorrow (huge frat party ^_^) and doing homework. Trying to make it through the week, wishing that I had your sassy articles to help it go by faster…i cried. Not alot! …just a little bit.

    Yeah.

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      1. Jon

        OMG I do this too. Allie Brosh is helping us make the internet a better place for bibliophiles and grammerites everywhere.

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        1. j

          grammArites. I’m sorry; I can’t help myself.

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  23. Whitney

    Watched 2 seasons of Shameless
    Met some cool Ottawa Autostraddlers
    Went to work
    Went to school.
    Drank too much beer.

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  24. justlookinaround

    thought about tax but realized it’s too complicated so i’m just going to stress later
    refreshed AS 37892354 times
    read AS on tumblr posts
    read 37892354 tech news (including taylor’s articles on tecca. great articles btw)
    taught students
    answered i dont know to my students’ questions

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  25. Sam

    got all the shit sorted for my sisters wedding in costa rica
    watched some spring training baseball
    watched carnivale
    twitter
    tumblr
    tried and failed to find something else to read at work.

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  26. FDR

    I started dating a beautiful, sweet, funny, absolutely incredible woman who I’m falling head over heels in love with. And who told me she loves me. I think you can forgive me for saying I couldn’t care less that autostraddle was down this week. I love you, autostraddle, but not as much as I love falling in love.

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    1. chantalope

      Awww…

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    2. ragdoll

      SO CUTE, this makes me happy. Congratulations!

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    3. Maggie

      Well, damnit. Now I feel even less productive than usual.

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  27. Hobbled

    I feel asleep while attempting to ponder the meaning of life and dreampt that I was a cat and therefore allergic and I suffocated to death. Life lesion do not eat cheese before falling asleep. Life lesion number 2 being a lesbian and allergic to cats makes it impossible to find a girl willing to give up their cat for you and therefore you have crazy resentful dreams about cats ALL THE TIME

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  28. Liz

    Wait, Riese was hit by a car?! I feel like this should be slightly more important than it apparently is.

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    1. magiclovemuffin

      I kind of thought the same thing. She seems to be alive though. Yay!

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      1. riese
        1. magiclovemuffin

          If I ever catch the douchebag in the little red car, IT IS SO ON. Glad you’re OK and able to autostraddle!

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        2. scattered

          DUDE can we see the gnarly elbow?

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          1. scattered

            OH ALSO glad you’re okay

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    2. Sherri

      Agreed.

      You ok boss?

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  29. Jactance

    Ate Nutella. That’s really all that happened. Good times.

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    1. terracottatoes

      JEALOUS.

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    2. hematopoietry

      ME TOO. Out of the jar. With a fork (out of spoons). This is my life right now, people.

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      1. Jactance

        Nutella is life.

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        1. Maria

          are you my roommate’s boyfriend?

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      1. Jon

        awww, i suck.

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      2. Jactance

        HEAVEN ON EARTH MUST EAT

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      3. terracottatoes

        shot in the dark, but orangered alien bacon narwhal? they use html hereeeee

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        1. Jactance

          O.O Another one of you! Us!

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          1. terracottatoes

            all day errydayyy :)

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  30. kateh

    I drove to the grocery store and back like fifteen times, because I can never think of anywhere else to go…

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  31. chantalope

    + Downloaded porn
    + Made food
    + Watched porn
    + Met some cool Ottawa Autostraddlers
    + Downloaded more porn
    + Refreshed Autostraddle
    + Watched more porn
    + Opened internet bill; $130 CAN
    + Cracked open a bottle of Jamieson and re-watched same porn

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    1. Amanda D

      Wow, you’re my kind of girl.

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      1. chantalope

        I’m every girl’s kind of girl.

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  32. Chrissy

    I watched the only two episodes of the L Word I have on my computer, the one where Dana dies and the one where Shane leaves Carmen at the altar. And was sad.
    Also yeah porn.

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    1. chantalope

      Dana… dies?

      jk!

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    2. riese

      i think those are two of the episodes on the list of ten episodes I refuse to ever watch again

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  33. k

    Diver,

    Etiquette board:

    http://www.etiquettehell.com/smf

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  34. Liz

    I saw Lady Gaga in concert, drank a lot, had a lot of sex and tried e for the first time. Very productive few days.

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    1. chantalope

      If that was all in the same night, THAT would have been cool.

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    2. wasteunit

      E as in ecstasy or as in the wonderful commenter?

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      1. Liz

        It was all on the same night, actually. Although lots of sex was spread over a few days. But like, Gaga’s show just seemed meant to be enjoyed high, you know?

        And e as in ecstasy. Though I’m a little in love with e as in the commenter, so that wouldn’t have been too bad.

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        1. e

          ohmygod lets get married our first born will be jenny sarah stacey ilene schecter shuster merkin fucking chaiken. we can call it bob.

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  35. Dessy

    While the site was down, I obsessively refreshed, then I checked my tumblr dashboard a lot (Autostraddle Tumblr Presence FTW). I also did some homework, wrote a really long entry in my paper diary about maybe changing my major,and ate tons of spicy guacamole.

    I’m so happy you’re back!!!!

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  36. Jon

    -refreshed Autostraddle once every hour the entire time.
    -went out to brunch and sex-toy shopping with some amazing Chicagostraddlers.
    -fought with my roommates a lot.
    -drank beer.
    -played Tony Hawk American Wasteland without the cheats for two minutes in ‘Sick’ mode and then turned them back on.
    -created a FB group for said Chicagostraddlers. Much Flirting (it’s capitalized the way I do it) has ensued.
    -created a Google Group for same.
    -got a second job.

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    1. Elizabeth (aka Elli)

      I did some of these things. Sort of. I mean, I’m involved with some of these things. Also I did homework. And bathed a cat.

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      1. jifener25

        I definately read this as “battled a cat”

        Which sounds pretty epic

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        1. scattered

          bathing a cat often entails battling a cat and does indeed get quite epic

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    2. yo-ren-ishii

      refreshed autostaddle like every 10 minutes, went to the gym, checked audostraddle, went to work….. checked autostraddle, went to school, checked autostraddle, did homework checked autostaddle, checked facebook, checked tumblr, checked autostaddle…. masturbated, checked autostarddle masturbated again, checked autostraddle… watched julie and brandy’s shit you didn’t see. when to work, had my tattoo worked on, went to the bar, drunk facebooked and now…. i’m on autostraddle!!!!!

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      1. Mr.Z

        i had to read this really really fast. like my brain was trying to keep up and it was difficult.

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  37. karmalaluna

    *Started following autostraddle’s tumblr presence
    *Also started watching reruns of The L Word out of desperation
    *Had nostalgic feelings over how that show was actually pretty good at the beginning
    *Started following an L Word tumblr
    *Tried not to cry as I refreshed the homepage 32402459234589 times
    *Went to school
    *Trained a woman who will not stop eating so much and just “can’t understand why she’s not losing the fatty pounds”
    *Checked autostraddle while I was training her. You were back and I cheered in her face. She totally thought it was for her.

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    1. riese

      that last one made me LOL

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  38. Billy

    I found fifty dollars on the ground.

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  39. Pie

    I found comfort in the autostraddle.tumblr

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    1. Azzy

      Amen.

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      1. scattered

        So say we all.

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  40. Liz

    -Contemplated my cosmic insignificance
    -Cursed all technology
    -Cried
    -Watched porn
    -Cried
    -Improved my GPA by a whole point

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  41. gdaymate

    -AS was unresponsive for me the whole time. I missed you terribly.
    -Tumblr.
    -Studied for midterms.
    -Took 2 midterms (last one tomorrow).

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  42. Raksha

    + Made bourbon banana bread.
    + Cleaned the house.
    + Took a nap with my cat.
    + Watched old eps of The L Word on Netflix out of desperation (high five, Laura!)
    + Read some books.
    + Visited my grandmother in her new nursing home.
    + Re-read almost the entirety of Hyperbole and a Half‘s posts to date.
    + Masturbated. A LOT.

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    1. scattered

      THE CUTE OF THAT PICTURE AHHH

      also, love Hyperbole and a Half!

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  43. Ka

    Without Autostraddle, I DISCOVERED Autostraddle.
    No joke. I was linked, and I was like, “This article sounds neat, I really want to read it!” But I clicked it and it was like, “NO LESBIANS FOR YOU.” And then I found out it was down. And I was like, “damn it, I still want to read that article.” And now its back! And I read that article! And I read more articles!

    And so help me, it was worth the wait.

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    1. Laneia

      I LIKE THIS ONE CAN WE KEEP HER

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      1. Ka

        Yes. Yes, you may.

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  44. Missy

    i am a creature of habit (please don’t stalk me).

    a couple days ago, after coming home from work, i logged on and checked autostraddle first, per usual – it wouldn’t work, & i thought it was me…but i have a new computer, & everything says it’s okay, so idk. i really missed the group, but thought, “hey, what’s one day?”

    i went to check the news so i’m not totally ignorant, listened to music, read some great books (dystopian YA), and talked to peeps on the twitters.

    next day, checked autostraddle first – it wouldn’t work, so i put some effort into it, updated some settings, checked the browser and security features, and then when it still wouldn’t load, i went on the twitters and saw that Riese was quiting and other people were also not able to get to the autostraddle awesomeness. i wrote supportive tweets to Riese, thought happy thoughts, and then spent the evening talking to friends on twitter.

    then today…oh glorious day. i read a siren’s call of “it works it works it works.” i shared the information around the twitters and dove into the last couple days of posts that i missed.

    it is so good to have autostraddle back. let’s stay this way forever (except, you know, for regularly scheduled software updates). :)

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  45. lauren

    the tess kitties are definitely most hilarious.

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  46. Amanda D

    -Watched Chicago Code
    -Daydreamed that I was a cop that had to go undercover on said Chicago Code
    -Continued to daydream that Jennifer Beals’s character was my boss, then I got partnered up with Tasha Williams
    -You can imagine what I did for the next 20 minutes
    -Drew a lot, now I feel accomplished
    -Played with guinea pig

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  47. Meese

    I misread everything to be dirty on accident, which made life very strange for me.

    Example: Being cast in porn.

    That makes you very reproductive.

    Brain: wtf? Oh, productive. Makes sense now.

    Also, watched every lesbian show online, including web series. (Love Lip Service, Skins USA (DONT MAKE TEA BISEXUAL! KEEP HER LESBISEXY) (I’m not pedobearing on her, we just need more lesbian youth around, y’know?), and Girltrash. Try them.

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  48. katiebug

    I didn’t clean my house, and I didn’t get caught up on either of my projects for work, and I didn’t get caught up on my writing. I honestly have no idea how I managed to waste these past few days away. I did apply for a job, though! And I got it! And then I found out that the job they wanted people for wasn’t the job they’d actually advertised, and I couldn’t do it after all. This week, I don’t even know.

    I went to the Autostraddle meetup tonight, though, and that was fun! But the site wasn’t actually down at that point, so I guess it doesn’t count as something I did when the site was down. I did nothing, guys. Nothing at all. Probably I looked at pictures of kittens.

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  49. Squid

    AS was never down for me… so, I read the articles. I think I missed out on missing AS.

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    1. Bree

      Yeah, same. I was able to happily procrastinate by looking at AS’s lovely gallery of semi-clad ladies. (Mmmmm. Boyshorts.)

      Also, I had sex.

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  50. reg.e

    I got a whole essay done. Every time I tried to procrastinate by reading autostraddle I was like….crap. I had to actually do homework. So traumatic.

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  51. Azzy

    I went outside.

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    1. Jactance

      I tried this. It looked nice and sunny from the inside and instead I got pelted by hail minutes after I stepped out. Never again, “outside”! I have had enough of your trickery!

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  52. Ericka Simone

    i swear to god those cat photos are the greatest EVAR

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  53. hematopoietry

    Let’s see.
    While AS was down, I failed my week of midterms (two more tomorrow YES). Hilariously, I probably wouldn’t have failed so hard if the site were up, since I had to instead devise new and tricky ways to procrastinate. (Like Discover Magazine. [No but really have you seen this article on WHALES: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2011/02/28/the-mere-existence-of-whales/)

    At one point I tried to close my eyes and imagine what Autostraddle had looked like. Tried and failed. It was traumatic. Like trying to imagine a dead relative’s face/voice and failing. But more sad.

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    1. terracottatoes

      I read that article a couple days ago! Aren’t whales so kickass?!
      Also, whale heart model: http://www.mywhaleweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/madison-mary-blue_whales_heart1.jpg

      woah dude.

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      1. hematopoietry

        That photo is awesome.
        If only we had all learned more whale in school: http://www.theonion.com/video/in-the-know-are-our-children-learning-enough-about,14151/
        But for real.

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      2. diver

        Damn, that guy could practically crawl in through one of the valves!

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  54. Triple D

    Watched porn with a group of my friends, circle jerked, and cried.

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  55. theflyingdutchwoman

    i watched new episodes of the good wife, white collar, the big bang theory, pretty little liars, nikita, house, greys anatomy, glee, fringe, fairly legal, bones, 90210 and air crash investigation..

    wait, i do this every week, what’s wrong with me?

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    1. Raksha

      NIKITA! I can’t decide who I want to lick more: Nikita or Alex.

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      1. theflyingdutchwoman

        given nikita’s aggressive moves i would say she’s more into fisting..

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        1. Raksha

          That’s okay. I’m a big girl; I can take it! :D

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  56. Nicole S

    My throat got sick with strep throat, and then I joined the Chicagostraddlers group on facebook

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    1. Nicole S

      Also

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      1. Nicole S

        Also my iPhone sucks^ , also I watched Riese freak out via tumblr

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    2. Triple D

      Ooh I got strep too, which sucks can I had to miss classes and I’m trying to get all A’s this semester

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    3. Jules

      Where is this fb group you guys are talking about?!

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        1. Jon

          Okay, I’m sorry. I can’t remember how to hyperlink, apparently :(
          That’s the right address though. Or you can friend me on FB and I can add anyone who wants to join the Chicago Autostraddlers for meet ups, flirting, and a lot of new friends :)

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  57. Paper

    +drank chocolate milk
    +watched two seasons of Chuck
    +received hourly updates from Paris, were ALL MY FRIENDS are partying this week. Fuck money.
    +missed my girlfriend who is rock climbing in Turkey. Fuck rocks.
    +fixed my bike
    +read a book
    +got drunk
    +drew Brittana
    +looked at every single post on my Tumblr dash. I follow fuckloads of people

    I just realized my life is pathetic.

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  58. E

    .watched every one of these chloe sevigny parodies: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoVbnv01Qek (who doesn’t love toe-est)
    .read and covered semi-awful hetero romcom scripts that will gross millions
    .felt like PLL was incomplete w/o recap
    .twitter/tumblr/googlerdr obvi
    .felt surprisingly bad for tess [at] autostraddle [dot] com

    ps this is kind of fascinating

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  59. Rachel B

    + Took a lot of naps.
    + Listened to a lot of Steel Train.
    + Spent a lot of time on Laneia’s blog.
    + Attempted to bring the site back by sheer force of will while staring at the broken page.
    + Also watched The X-Files. (apparently, gillian anderson is my longest lasting crush. and here all this time i thought it was natalie portman.)
    + Tried a new coffee. (it’s good.)
    + Worked on my fitness.

    Three things:
    I think Tess deserves a big thank you from all of us; because I can only imagine how dealing with all the shit of trying to switch servers – on top of a million angry/panicky lesbian emails – is/was really stressful. Thanks Tess. <3
    Riese I am really glad that you were not seriously injured. Maybe you should begin wearing one of those orange vests and flashing lights round your wrists and ankles.
    And finally, and most importantly: you were all really, really missed.

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    1. novastar

      When I was little I wanted to be Mulder so bad because he got to spend all his time with Scully. Oh Gillian Anderson…*swoon*

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  60. mega_roo

    I got sad then went dancing then made out with ladies i met while dancing. Rinse, repeat.

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  61. Kimmie

    Went to work. Actually did some work b/c Autostraddle didn’t work. Then I remembered the Autostraddle tumblr (sowwy, I forgot) and stopped working.
    Also saw some video’s on youtube, including a video about kittens, which made me think of Autostraddle..

    Glad it’s back up! And now: waiting for the calender video!

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    1. Kimmie

      Also, last night I dreamed I asked a question on formspring and nobody answered…

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  62. cynthia

    I had such a radical range of emotions / feelings. This is basically what happened:

    I went to check out Autostraddle.com & realized it was impossible. And I thought to myself – WHY do I lock myself up in these chains? (You know??) I almost thought that the shutdown was the moment that I wanted to turn around & say good-bye. But then I realized – WAIT baby – I am definitely not going to let them (the shutdown) hold me down and make me cry. Because I did know – I knew things COULD change – they could go MY way..if I just held on for one more day.

    And now look – it’s back.

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  63. TSwizzle

    I watched Mean Girls 2. I’d make a witty comment about how bad the film was, but I kinda loved it. Don’t hurt me.

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  64. Mandyyy

    Watched Lady Gaga’s musiv videos more times than healthy.
    Obsessively checked tumblr, and formspring.
    I talked about porn with my guy friends.
    Went to the bookstore. Bought manga. Read manga.
    Went to the thrift store, and took pictures of tacky shoes and knick knacks.
    Went out for sushi.
    Visited my Gramma, and now I’m at my Gramma’s place and since it’s an obscene hour of the morning, and she’s still in bed, I check Autostraddle.

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  65. marya

    The site hasn’t worked properly for me for probably the last 3 weeks, so after I finished crying and was numb with sadness..
    I cooked & baked. And ate everything I made.
    I read Portia’s book.
    I shoveled all 34765 feet of snow that fell in my yard.
    I snuggled with my cats.
    And refreshed AS hourly hoping it would finally work.

    Now I have to go back and read every post I missed, which will probably take another 3 weeks.

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  66. hmhr

    -met autostraddlers
    - ate pasta for every meal for five days
    -cried
    -read the girl who played with fire
    -studied for arabic midterm
    -bombed arabic midterm

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  67. settlingbones

    + went to the dentist 3x
    + thought about starting a paper for class
    + did not start paper for class
    + made spinach pizza
    + bought organic peanut butter and ate half a jar
    + continued to find things more interesting to do than my laundry
    + went to class only to find it was cancelled
    + over-indulged my cats in catnip for amusement
    + slept a lot

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    1. terracottatoes

      went to the dentist 3x?

      ARE YOU A SHARK

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      1. settlingbones

        I just had a really bad infection. D:

        But we can say I’m a shark, because I think it sounds better. Care to see my fin?

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        1. terracottatoes

          Ooh, gurlllll. My gills are a-tinglin’.

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      2. scattered

        LITERALLY LOLLING

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  68. KayDee

    I slept mostly. And when I didn’t sleep I read 4354 books /hr. And then sometimes I cried to my mom and girlfriend and dad because autostraddle was dead and I had no connection to the world.

    But in real life it was way more dramatic than that.

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  69. Lost

    I don’t know how long the site was down because I use Autostraddle to mark the passage of time.

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    1. Emily

      yes! that happened to me

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  70. Carmen

    i didn’t get to submit to this because my life fell into like, a hole for a little bit but:

    while autostraddle was down, i was still on the internet. but eventually i stopped writing in my secret tumblr / pretending i was writing for autostraddle / answering reply-all autostraddle emails about autostraddle and wrote in my real journal instead. i also went to class for actually and did not write for autostraddle in class, but i don’t really remember what we learned.

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  71. Mr.Z

    oh pHuck.
    I love you but bad timing.
    Chem midterm is going to prolong my autostraddle withdrawal.

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  72. settlingbones

    First Autostraddle. Now Tumblr. >_____<

    This is my life.

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  73. Tia

    -considered going to get chinese food
    -ate turkey/swiss sandwich instead
    -took nap
    -considered going to gym
    -took brisk walk around campus to get chai tea instead
    -ate large pack of twizzlers
    -studied
    -more twizzlers
    -considered going to gym
    -decided it was too cold, did yoga in dorm instead
    -caught up on last 2 eps of chicago code

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  74. cookiecrisp

    refreshed the page constantly because i had TOO MANY FEELINGS

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  75. hedonisting

    i know i was very productive but now that i’m here i’m not sure what it was that i accomplished.

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  76. scattered

    Based on this facebook conversation, I made a Twitter for my vagina.

    I also took 118 photos of my cat.

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    1. settlingbones

      So excellent. Following!

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      1. scattered

        Sweet! I’m up to 5! Although one of them says he is a “Catholic husband, father, blogger, speaker & founder of TweetCatholic.com, flockNote.com & FallibleBlogma.com. He also blogs 4 @NCRegister. http://www.FallibleBlogma.com/“. I think he maybe misinterpreted this tweet:

        “If this is what being an #American means, I think I’ll leave: http://goo.gl/IKrPf #teaparty anti-#Muslim #protest in #Orangecounty”

        Unless he’s like, a REALLY COOL pro-choice sex-positive Catholic husbandfather.

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        1. settlingbones

          Yeah, I don’t know how likely that would be. -____-

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  77. Grace_B

    +Hung out with the winnipeg autostraddlers
    +Failed a history midterm
    +Applied for a job
    +Got an apartment for the summer and two parking tickets
    +bitched at my best friend and now he isn’t talking to me

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  78. MyJenneration

    for real: i didn’t even know it was down cuz i had midterms ALL week

    …please don’t ban my ip

    <3 u all tho

    kthnxbai

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  79. fynnie

    -wrote riese a lot of things on formspring about how it was ok and we still love her and we don’t know any better sometimes, and that it wasn’t going to be forever.
    -got a piercing apprenticeship.
    -acted like a small child when i found out i’d be getting paid for it, too. jealous?
    -proofread so much other people’s shit, i don’t want to proofread mine anymore.
    -wrote a poem.
    -read about ee cummings and cried.
    -listened to sufjan stevens.
    -listened to john wayne gacy jr. while reading about john wayne gacy jr. and cried. don’t do it you guys.
    -ate an entire pound of pineapple gummi bears and drank root beer with vanilla rum while writing a poem about how sad i am when people do mean things.
    -slept a lot.
    -i did not make out with any cute girls. i did not have sex. but i thought about it a lot if that counts

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    1. Rachel

      true story i had to uncheck john wayne gacy jr. on my itunes because it was too much and i can’t listen to it ever again

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  80. Caitlin

    It happened just after I got my new laptop and I thought that was the reason it wasnt working…..I was seriously thinking of returning it

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  81. Natalie

    -Went to Italy, thought “has DeAnne Smith posted anything while I was gone?” about 1000 times.
    -Got very upset because I couldn’t go to the meetup.
    -Decided to go to a tumblr meetup.
    -missed tumblr meetup.
    -met a cute girl my age through tumblr, started texting her.
    -went on 4chan to see what it was like
    -found a board that is made of hipsters and some gay people and people FAR too willing to showcase their genitalia online.
    -ate a gigantic tub of ice cream in one hour
    -finally watched Easy A, watched Inception for the 3rd time, cried during both because I was in a plane.
    -started cyber-stalking a tiny island in the pacific (Pitcairn)
    - started reading the book my parents german friends got me for christmas.
    -accidentally posted something with “your” instead of “you’re,” cried over my deteriorating grammar skills.
    -listened to riot grrl at top volume on subway, charted reactions of others (Best song for this: Terrorist by Heavens to Betsy)
    But I missed having no life and reading autostraddle constantly. I need you guys, you’re my enablers.

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  82. Chika

    Watched shit on netflix (funny)
    Worked (yay?)
    Did puzzles in magazines (mind-boggling)
    Listened to music on Pandora (awesome)
    Went to the gym (YAY!)

    **Very happy we’re up and running again :-) **

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  83. Rachel

    laneia i feel like you’ll never get this far in the comments but i needed to say that wasn’t the fourth kind SUPER SCARY? i have to try really hard to never think about it ever again because if i do i get too scared

    also i love you all obvs

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  84. cj

    emailed the cute techy girl in my office to find out if she knew why the internet was killing my soul…went to work…got a new job…played with my cats…made cookies…drank gin

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  85. Chelsea

    -Skipped the gym x3
    -Downloaded the entire discography of The Killers
    -Fell in love with The Killers
    -Got drunk. Spent the night telling a slightly older man about my cats and past mental health issues and let him buy me drinks.
    -Ran away from the older man when he wasn’t looking
    -Went to almost all of my classes
    -Tumblr forever.
    -Didn’t have sex
    -Didn’t make out with anyone
    -Thought a lot about sex and making out
    -Cried.

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    1. Chelsea

      Note: by “x3″ I mean I skipped the gym three times, not some weird ballsack smiley.

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  86. persephone

    I panicked because, at times, Autostraddle would come up but the Deanne Smith article I’d seen but was saving for later was not there anymore. I was worried that it was gone forever.

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  87. kariyeah

    I left my home in fear that I would break my laptop in a fit of rage…
    While in the outside world, I was asked if I wanted to buy dope…
    I guess I looked like I needed a fix…
    Which I found quaint, because I did…
    I needed my Autostraddle fix oh so very badly…

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  88. wildhunter

    really busy work week but going through the formsprings, a bit worried for Riese/AS team, obvs they were going mental with the situation

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  89. Elly

    Can I point out THAT ITS STILL NOT WORKING ON GOOGLE CHROME!!!

    I downloaded firefox so I could read the website :P

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  90. happypuppy

    My first and only thought: “Damn it, you internet!”

    And then as I found Autostraddle on tumblr and twitter, the sun came out for a little while.

    Cheers from Estonia! :)

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  91. Margo

    I texted Carmen Rios (heyyy new writer) and asked why Autostraddle was so confused. Then I left the coffee shop before 9pm for the first time in a week.

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  92. Nell

    I watched Riese quit via twitter a lot of times
    started following other Autostraddle people
    wondered how many of them have ever been diagnosed
    wished I had friends just like them
    Tried, unsuccessfully, to figure out how to navigate tumblr
    quit
    ate cookies
    listened to Adele’s new album (LOVED IT)
    caught up on American Idol
    contemplated the existence of Brett Lowenstein
    Started the Hunger Games
    netflixed Series 1 of Skins UK – hated it
    agressively avoided Charlie Sheen
    re-read the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
    felt a desperate need to read Autostraddle posts I would not have read if the links were working – which I’ve since read (you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone, I guess)

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  93. Ana Iti

    guys, I made a blog. THAT is what no autostraddle does to me. Productivity.
    It’s called inspired by socks and me and my friend post pictures we drew, but I am techno deficient so it took my a while to set up.
    you should go and look at it.
    http://inspiredbysocksforever.blogspot.com/

    cool story.

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  94. AG

    I actually did homework. WTF Autostraddle the things you make me do.

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  95. Sarah

    Can I please use this space to do a tiny poll about my feelings? While AS was down I felt down as well. Then I did a lot of thinking and made plans about having a dog. God, I love them and I always wanted one. Now that I’ve settled and my live (with a job mostly working from home) finally seems a bit more predictable. My worry is that I will fall for a wonderful girl with a cat that hates dogs…

    My dearest fellow Autostraddles,

    any feelings about that? Do you hate dogs? Do you have a cat that hates dogs? Why are puppies not a lezzy thing like kitten?

    Thank you.

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  96. 180

    : Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce

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