A heist at the Louvre, registry shopping, and easy, work-appropriate Halloween costumes

If you’re hoping for seasonal work this holiday season, it’s getting suuuper competitive. Napoleon jewels were stolen (and will likely never be seen again), and my mom is cute as ever. Let’s get into it.

Monday was a great day to get nothing done, thanks to a massive AWS outage

Amazon Web Services (which hosts basically…everything) experienced significant outages on Monday, which caused issues at sites including Lyft, McDonald’s The New York Times, Reddit, Robinhood, United Airlines, and way more (basically…everywhere). The cause is officially a “technical fault,” and not a cyberattack, but, I’m sorry, “technical fault” sounds so vague? More info should be released over the coming days.

OH MY GOD A HEIST AT THE LOUVRE

Ok obviously theft is bad. I am not condoning theft! But does anyone else find an art heist at the Louvre in BROAD DAYLIGHT kind of…extremely thrilling? Here’s what happened: thieves used a cherry picker to access a high window, smashed open a glass display case, stole Napoleon jewels worth a reported $13.4 million (although let’s be real, Napoleon jewels are priceless), then fled on motorbikes. According to one gem expert, the jewels will likely be recut (so they’re not recognizable and can be sold)—which means we will likely never see them again. LMK as soon as there’s a podcast about this. I will be listening!

Seasonal gigs are more competitive than ever

Searches for seasonal jobs (think: seasonal retail associate or cashier) jumped a whopping 27% this year compared to last year, likely due to a slowing hiring market, which is leaving more people in search of full-time work (and side gigs to plus up their income). But the seasonal job availability is not rising in line with the demand: hiring is expected to fall 8% compared to 2024, thanks to tariffs, inflation, and automation that’s replacing human workers. If you were dreaming of being a seasonal Santa, good luck!

What? Another weekend at home? October is shaping up to be the chillest month I’ve had in ages (which…isn’t saying much). I went registry shopping with my mama, who has about 10x more stamina than I do. After 2 stores, I almost passed out. Meanwhile, she is still evaluating placemats and gravy boats with the gusto of a woman half MY age. She is goals. And her skirt is to die for!

Okay, don’t get mad at me for spending $68 on a basic long-sleeve tee. I know it’s insane! BUT it's my favorite shirt in my closet, which means the cost per wear is basically $0. I wear it at least twice a week, and no, she doesn't shrink in the dryer (who has time to hang dry?? Not me. I’m so sorry!). Threw on a trench and I suddenly looked way more put together than I deserved for how little effort went into this look.

Here are lazy-but-actually-good Halloween costume ideas that don’t require panic-buying from Spirit or hot-gluing things at midnight. Bonus: they are all work-appropriate in case you have an office Halloween costume competition to win.

1. Error 404: Costume Not Found: white tee + black marker or iron-on letters. Add a blazer if you’re going to the office.

2. Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada: all-black outfit, oversized sunglasses, coffee cup, permanent judgmental expression (too easy). Carry a folder labeled “Runway.”

3. Hot Girl With a Spreadsheet: button-down shirt, glasses, clip-on badge that says “Modeling scenarios.” Carry a print-out with random formulas highlighted in neon.

4. Corporate Ghost: white sheet + cut-out eye holes + lanyard and ID badge. You died doing Q4 reporting.

5. Coworker who’s in stealth mode: black turtleneck, say “can’t talk about it yet.”

6. Excel & PowerPoint (duo costume with your work bestie): wear green and red respectively, write the app icons on your shirts. “Together we ruin weekends.” Spooky!

Thanks for reading!