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VoxPopPersonal essays about the trials and triumphs of everyday lifeThe eHarmony Blues
By Tara Jo Quinn Three weeks before Dan and I got engaged we signed up for an online dating service. It was a game, you see. One afternoon, while we were watching baseball highlights, a commercial for eHarmony came...
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My Entry-Level Trap
By Zach Sinemus I entered my freshman year at Swarthmore College in the fall of 2006 with wide eyes and high hopes. My goal was to receive a liberal arts education that would prepare me for anything; I'd major in...
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The Van Seat
By Christine Fisher Whenever company asks how to get to my apartment in South Philadelphia, I tell them I live in the apartment between the flower shop and the van seat chained to an alley. These are the landmarks that...
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Rent to Own
By Lauren Hall Last summer, my husband and I relocated to Philly from Boston. I gave myself a weekend to find an apartment in Center City, and lined up several appointments with local realtors well in advance. I figured it...
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Wissahickon Days
By Lucien Crowder It's a cloudless morning in the middle of May. The sun shines pale and lemony. The winter was a brutal prison. This day is joyous release. I have disembarked the R6 train at the Wissahickon stop. I'm...
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Desperate for Work
By Jennifer Lejman The ad on Craigslist was for a High Roller Host in Atlantic City. Having worked a seemingly endless string of dead-end jobs, I was drawn to the flashy job title "High Roller Host" -- that and...
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Public Is the New Private
By Phylliss Mass Remember Steve Martin's line when people asked if he would mind them smoking? He smiled politely and replied: "Mind if I fart?" Today, though smoking is banned in most public places, no one would bother to ask...
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The Hipster Commandments
By Desiree Raucci As South Philadelphia native, I am annoyed at how my neighbors have handled the influx of hipsters moving into our neighborhood. I wouldn't use the word "hate" or even "dislike." Overwhelmed is more accurate, so great has...
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Finding Work
By Shannon Fandler For the classes of 2009 and 2010, having a job has become not the logical next step in a graduate's life plan, but something akin to a miracle credited to God, the alignment of the stars, lucky...
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A Bad Hair Day
By Robert Felsted Jr. Can a new look really change your life? I really hadn't considered it before, but trying to make a name and a defining your own image is not an easy thing to do. I had lived...
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Fade to Gray
By Beverly A. Black Should I dye my hair? Before you jump to conclusions and decide I am a petty, superficial woman, you must understand that this is apparently no small question in my new hometown. I now live in...
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A Biker's Plea
By Greg Karpinski I used to hate SEPTA, and still kind of do, but it was the mess that resulted during last year's strike that gave me second thoughts about the full scope of utility mass transit provides. Being a...
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Riding Their Bikes
By Lucien Crowder There are two kinds of bicyclists in South Philadelphia. If you think I am over-generalizing, go to the corner of Ninth St. and Washington Ave. and try to find a third variety. You'll be standing there a...
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The Perfect Prom Tie
By Shannon Fandler Did you ever want to strangle a man with a necktie? The man in question is actually only the torso of a man made of plastic, but wrapped around his neck is the last tie of a...
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Welcome to Library Work
By Roz Warren The week I started working at my suburban Philadelphia library, a scruffy-looking man in his twenties sauntered up to the circulation desk wearing a SHOW ME YOUR BOOBS T shirt. Although we librarians are expected to strive...
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