One year ago today, Alice designed this site and gave it to me for my birthday. I was all, like, “Oh man, now I have to start sharing my random thoughts with the world a few times a week again! What a burden!” Psych, I was thrilled. I had been in withdrawal since the Universal Review bit it and I desperately needed a venue where I could write about New York Magazine, books I’ve read, and violent grudges against ANTM contestants. That place was not about to be my slapdash freelance bar and book reviews, the copy that I write for work (“We all sell something for a living, whether it’s a product to consumers, formula to a toddler, or learning to students . . .”), or my and Zareen’s PG-13 YA novel. Clearly, I needed a blog. And I still do. I need this blog! And I own that. I am not ashamed to need or to have a blog. Blog blog blog. I love you, Emily Magazine. And I love all the people who have provided ill-paid and unpaid tech support along the way (Andy P, Henry, and that Harvard student who reinstalled my archives AND knew a lot firsthand about Kaavya Viswanathan — thank you!) as well as all the people who inspire me (look to your left) and the people who read and comment. I will refrain from going into full acceptance-speech mode now and I’ll just leave it at this: thank you for being a friend.