Yeah, it's waaaaay easier for me. gc needs a feature instead of subscribing to a thread, like a post notification. thread actually would be more simple
When you don't have any new notifications it goes back to the old "Private Messages" link. It'll show up again when you have a new notification.
If you click on Notifications it comes up with a drop down menu, click on the Likes Received link and it'll take you to the Likes Received on your profile. That should clear it for ya.