Ridiculous. What are these "paying projects?" There are no paying projects in the media now! Emily we demand you return at once, with your handwritten take on the Super Bowl and predictions for Sarah Palin's future and the spring shopping season and some good tamale recipes you picked up on a venture down to one of these "Mexican" restaurants. Don't mess around.

Emily live-blogged the show to herself, on paper, then transcribed those thoughts on her blog. We've condensed it down to the two most insightful parts. #2:

Whit, Olivia is not ‘uptown crowd’. That’s not a crime, but ‘uptown’ crowd throws on Jcrew, does Melons, went to Park Ave Christian maybe Brick (or somewhere funky uws or downtown if the parents are ultra lib/media). or maybe moved here from CT, NJ–sometimes MA. They do Nettis and sometimes Bea, but they don’t look like runway models bc they’re usually busy by day. They’re lawyers, teachers, bankers, volunteers, parents, consultants. Seldom PR. although exceptions obviously

And #1:

My handwriting is cryptic and so am I.

2009 belongs to you, Emily. [Essentially Emily]

Confession: I was out for some quiet and casual on the Upper West Side with a friend when an old man (must’ve been in his 80s, no joke, and mildly inebriated) innocently insisted on buying us drinks–I opted for cofffee–and ultimately wound up with this crowd pleaser of a line upon observation: “You’re TOO YOUNG for pearls…”

NEVER.

Oh, we agree. Lots of kids get em in their teens these days.

I feel like everyone expects me to dress a certain way now that I’ve transformed, but why? I lose 100 lbs and suddenly, I should dress like, say, a cougar? Or something in between ‘pearls’ and ‘cougar’? I’m not changing the fundamentals of myself just because I slimmed down. Why is that so hard for people to understand?

Preach, O ultimate narrator.

Oh, and any guy who has a problem with a girl who wears pearls at any age isn’t a guy I’d ever date.

I have friends who concur.

HEH. [Essentially Emily]

Interview With Emily Brill from Stanley Stuyvesant on Vimeo.

Emily's literary style is informed by a lifetime of urban experience:

The Clinton Years were glory days and we loved Rudy. Booming economy (or starting to), and it was Court TV…I think we also had a million snow days that year. Oklahoma City scared the hell out of us and the WTC was attacked that year too i think (or maybe it was in 5th grade–regardless, that was really really creepy), but things were still good. Hey, even my grades at Dalton were finally getting good!

Her ability to transcend hardship resonates with her fellow strivers in the Rotten Apple:

I guess a girl in New York can’t win. One minute I’m getting accused of having an eating disorder for being honest about my reluctance to eat a burger in the Hamptons and the next thing I know, I find out that guys see me as pigging out because I go nuts on foods like lobster salad.

Can you relate? It’s the reality of New York life.

Still, she's unafraid to give the unvarnished truth about her impressions of a new bar, damn the consequences:

I sat with a girl I hadn’t seen since 9th grade–now a lawyer–and we compared Park Avenue colorists, and she was with my other lawyer friends.

It’s a carefully crafted, intimate mix of people and if you get New York, you understand that this is a really good place to hang out and it’s only going to get better. But it would be ridiculous for me to sit here and write fluff. You’re not going to get that on this blog.

Who among us can say that?

[Pic via NYM]

everything in me says not to engage this question, but sheila [ed. note: not our Sheila] you should know that i haven’t slept more than 5 hours in recent memory. and please try to imagine how it would be if every aspect, every second, every thought, every moment of your life felt like it was conceivably part of your ‘work’. you speak of clubbing? dining? hamptons? my god the hamptons? the truth is that even my weekend in bedford wasn’t entirely restful because i still felt ‘on duty’ because i knew i’d be writing about it. and nothing i do when i’m off right now will be entirely ‘vacation’ either. my laptop is with me wherever i go, and i’m always in ‘blog’ mode. and that’s okay. i love this and i want to do it. this is what i’ve chosen to do with my life.

Fuckin A right. We can only imagine.

this misfit thing? my weight was a physical manifestation of being a misfit but i’ve been a misfit my entire life. the only thing i can do–the only thing i know how to do–is write about people, places, things, experiences. past, present, future. Be the ultimate narrator.

God forgive me for covering this.

[Emily Brill]