The B-Sides

It may not be a surprise to most of you, but new to others, that i’m out here in Ann Arbor, Michigan, chilling with the amazing dudes from Found magazine, being their faithful intern. This magazine is very DiY, so i didn’t really expect to come out here and make coffee like so many studious co-eds at law firms or the prestegious offices of congresswomen. Instead, my job is opening mail.
But the mail i open is shit that people find. Just this week i’ve gotten to peek into the lives of prison inmates, inner city girls writing notes to their dead-beat boyfriends, posh suburbanite 15 year olds and their journals, shopping lists of the damned- just shit. Most of it is pretty wild, post cards with delicate flowers on them which only say, “Fuck You” in a delicate script. The other part of my job is transcribing hours and hours of video for the documentary these guys are making all about LOVE. At first, it sucked a lot. A bunch of people i don’t know getting drunk and talking about girls or boys or whatever. But tonight, i got to be one of those drunk bastards.
We went out to Toledo, Ohio for a reading at the house of Clamour magazine, (which you should all check out, it is quite cool) where some beer was consumed. Then bowlling, where more beers than pins were knocked down. Finally, back to my place where we sat around eating burritos and drinking some more, talking about all of the significant others we’ve loved and left, or just loved. Or just left. Hearing myriad other people tell stories about their heartbreak puts your own tribulations into perspective, without trivializing what you’re going through. I don’t know if it is beer or compasion that brings people together, but i know i’ve shared some shit with a few people tonight. So i’m going to keep this blog moving with some stories about being an intern at Found magazine.