hi. my name is

hi. my name is krissa c., and …
i know i said goodbye, and this is the blogger equivalent of that adolescent game of “you hang up! / no, you hang up!” – but there’s something i need to tell you, before our relationship gets any deeper.
i am a blossoming yuppie. yes, you heard it here first, before all the hipster-mags can slander my name and cast me out to the garden with martha. i am a yuppie. i live in the shabbiest-chic neighborhood – astoria – which says “yes, i’m concerned with not spending a chunk of money, but i’ll be damned if i have to live on staten island” and also says “i like to buck convention, turn my nose up at brooklyn, but still be able to enjoy some outdoor cafes for brunch.” i work at a magazine but i’ve got my sights trained on law school. and i don’t mind considering international law. so there.
my house is decorated according to the yuppie standard manual for members aged 22-26. this means i have plenty of slightly weathered yet authentic pieces of furniture from my parents’ house – like a cherry wood dining room table and a thomasville coffee table, but i also have funky retro deli signs found on street corners, crazy lampshades, and paintings done by talented friends. our hallway is filled with candid, charming photographs of friends, in cheap frames. i may have mismatching plate configurations, but they are coordinated mismatching. i buy good colombian coffee and cold-pressed olive oil, and don’t cook with margarine. my bedroom has elements of crate and barrel, childhood, and african art pieces. yes, oh yes. the house is straight out of yuppie paradise.
this isn’t about my politics. i’m smart, i read, i think, and i’m still essentially a capitalist with very liberal social beliefs. i understand things like retirement saving plans, health care systems, and globalization. i also understand about media brainwashing, the backlash against capitalism, free-market systems and the democratization of information and technology, and the flaws in the justice system. and anything i don’t know, i sure as hell don’t talk about until i do understand it. i am a well-rounded political being, and i know what i believe in. this isn’t what makes me a yuppie. this is what makes me smart and fascinating, and individual.
what truly makes me a yuppie is that i’ve suddenly had the urge to start going to driving ranges on the weekends to let off a little tension. that i covet clutch bags sold exclusively at barney’s. that i’ve started checking for wedding bands on men i’m attracted to. that i’m becoming just as attracted to the solid, friendly, smart ambitious suit-wearing guys as i always was to the tall, skinny, doe-eyed, song-writing vintage-tee boys of my halcyon college days. that the sight of a 30-something couple having fun in the park with their toddler makes me get all puppy-dog-eyed and swoony. that i read the wall street journal now, because i know it’s important.
did i mention the sudden urge to spend sunday mornings at the driving range?!
i would say my inner yuppie is showing her true colors. only, i think i’ve been this way all along.