HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEF! LOVE, A+ AND THE INTERNET

Today is our dear Music Editor Stef’s 31st birthday! This is a really exciting occasion because if there’s anything that makes you feel better about where you are in life than turning 30, it’s turning 31. Trust me, I speak from experience.

Anyhow, Stef turns THIRTY ONE TODAY! Stef is a very special human. She’s a founding member of Autostraddle.com and has worked all five A-Camps, serving as A-Camp Family Band leader and Get In The Van Icon. Stef is an amorphous weirdo who has many life passions, including Selena, darkness, vegan nonsense, t.A.t.U., her cat that I’m allergic to, and The Spice Girls. Stef knew everybody before they were famous. Stef and I have broken up as friends like 3-4 times in the past seven years, but it’s all good now. The first time I met Stef, it was when she got Carly and I into a Northern State concert. The next time I hung out with Stef, we went to a strip club. Stef accidentally ended up in the same place as Kate Moennig twice in 24 hours, which means Kate Moennig was probably stalking Stef. Stef is Mel B’s personal policewoman. Stef knows where to get an inexpensive vegan lunch in your area. Stef will send you drugs in the mail. Hahahahaa jk no she won’t. (Yes she will!) (Of course not! That’s illegal!) (I’d never!)

So here’s the deal: we recently put out a call for a new intern and applicants were required to submit a cover letter and a birthday card for Stef (to show off their photoshop skillz) and there were something like 40 applicants so that’s a lot of birthday cards! We were so impressed by the applicants that we ended up hiring three interns instead of one? But we also wanted to hire everybody! Regardless, although there were variations in other aspects of the job, one fairly universal aspect of every application was that you made a really sweet and creative and interesting birthday card for Stef.

I wanted to share at least some of them here with you today — for Stef, but also for you, the world!

So, Happy Birthday Stef, love Autostraddle and a bunch of really talented Straddlers.