Weekly Updates: How We Made Two Twitter Bots Friends
Last week, we kicked off our weekly update roundup with Prime Day purchases, hydration, and makeup removal.
This week, our editors saved a monthly unlimited MetroCard, bought slippers for both indoor and outdoor use, expanded our photo editing tools, and, perhaps most importantly, sparked a conversation between two very nerdy Twitter bots.
What updates have you made this week? Let us know in the comments.
Melissa Kirsch, Editor-in-Chief
I paid $ 121 this week for a monthly unlimited Metrocard. My approach to paying for the NYC subway has always been lazy: I put $ 80 on my Metrocard and watch my balance decrease with each trip. When I have about $ 4 remaining on my card (less than enough for two trips), I put another $ 80 on the card. I will go to three different supermarkets to save a quarter on yogurt. I am scrutinizing my cell phone bill for hidden annoying fees. However, I have been content to pay full price for transport over the past decade.
(Why do you ask why $ 80? Because it’s less than $ 100 and so I feel less obligatory. It’s like the subway costs less if I pay for it in smaller portions!)
If I take 44 metro rides in the next month (not hard to imagine – I use 40 commutes to and from work), the price of the unlimited Metrocard will pay off on its own. And if I make more than 44 trips, each trip will cost me quite a bit less. This may be the last incentive I need to kick my growing Lyft habit. Now I just need to make sure I don’t lose the Metrocard.
Alice Bradley, Associate Editor:
I have avoided to-do list apps forever. I was convinced that the app was where tasks died, and that in order to carry out my various responsibilities in the spotlight, I needed to use a notebook and pen – you know, the kind of things you get lost all the time, and then find three weeks later you try to decipher your handwriting and finally give up. Unsurprisingly, I was not the most organized. It was great when I was a full-time creative person and my disorganization was expected and delightful. (Maybe not so cute.) But now I have people who depend on me, emails that need to be answered in a timely manner, writers who are not fascinated by how I forgot the whole story they wrote. My days of disorganization are over as I downloaded Wunderlist, a simple and elegant to-do list app that takes no time to set up and / or understand. I can make neat and understandable lists of everything I need to do in every aspect of my life. I enjoy the pleasant “ding!” as one more thing gets done. I stay awake at night thinking about what I don’t know, what I have forgotten, and who can be angry with me for reasons that I don’t even know. Wunderlist has all sorts of features that I barely had time to glance at, and maybe someday I’ll get to them, but right now I’m just deeply enjoying its simple pleasures and choice of backgrounds. (I chose a puppy.)
Beth Skorecki, staff writer
I introduced each other to two Twitter bots. @muted_mountains creates images of surreal landscapes, and @I_Find_Planets describes fictional worlds, if you ask politely . They belong to each other.
Virginia K. Smith, Managing Editor
It sounds ridiculous – at least to me, a person who eats toast quite often – but for the past few years I have done without a toaster. Instead, I just put the bread or English muffins in the oven on the brazier, then fish them out when they feel like they are done, sometimes scalding my hand. No more! Last weekend I visited the (heavenly) new Target in downtown Brooklyn and, among other things, bought a new toaster. It wasn’t expensive and made the fluffiest, evenly-done English muffins I’ve eaten in years. I have absolutely no explanation as to why I didn’t do this before.
Nick Douglas, staff writer
This week, after years of procrastination, I have a new dermatologist. I am pale red, so it is very important for me to have my skin checked every year, and it’s nice to be back in this carriage.
Patrick Allan, staff writer
I bought a used iPad Pro to start editing all of my photos. Using an apple pen, I can make very small, discreet edits to specific areas of a photo. Also, it seems a little more fun and intuitive to me, so I’m more inclined to do it. Overall, it made my editing process more efficient and enjoyable.
Claire Lower, staff writer
I have home slippers and they are my new favorite thing. They are very fluffy and soft and they don’t allow things to stick to my feet, which annoys me a lot. Best of all, these are not shoes.
Michelle Wu, staff writer
I also just bought slippers. Patio slippers for guests. Fake Crocs for $ 3. I keep them on my patio. (Don’t copy Claire’s upgrade.) I don’t want people getting in and out with their boots on.
Lily Lou, trainee
I finally got a subscription to The New Yorker this week. I continued to pay for it every month, so I decided to just pay $ 6 for a 12 week student subscription, and I love it. I read this a lot more and don’t feel guilty about clicking on shorter chunks or not finishing articles I don’t particularly care about. Since signing up, I’ve gotten to know their columns much better and have been able to read about everything from Carly Rae Jepsen’s preforming in Canada to Elon Musk’s hyperloop. Also, I have a New Yorker tote that everyone seems to be carrying (and I’m still a little shy).