Okay--I just realized I haven't posted anything here in a month. Yeah, life has been busy, but I'm striving to make it more manageable. In the mean time, however, it's totally out of control.
That said, I know this is silly, but since when did blog captchas (or however you spell it) get so difficult? Every time I type one, I feel like I need to (a) clean my screen and/or (b) put on my new, stronger reading glasses. Reminds me of taking exams in Bio 3: Anatomy & Physiology, a class I was never prepared for or qualified to take then had to repeat in order to up my college GPA. Sad tales of woe aside, maybe it's just me who's having trouble with them, so I shouldn't complain. I'm sure the new captchas must be doing a great job foiling robots or whatever.
All right--enough of that silliness! The thing that's more mind-consuming this week (and will continue to be in the weeks to come) is that I recently got my first set of "real" notes. Not to say previous notes from agents and editors haven't been real, but these are different. I can't talk about what the project I'm working on is about or anything, since that's all top secret, but I do have permission to tell people I'm working for Alloy Entertainment, writing a new book for them. Which is where the notes come in.
Recently, while trolling online academic resources for my oldest child, I came across a lecture by a high school friend of mine. In it, he quotes Yoda, saying that sometimes, "You must unlearn what you have learned." Can I just say how timely that advice was? Anyway, thanks, Mehran/Yoda! So true. Because we (read: I) may think we know so much, but until someone with a higher level of expertise steps in, we have no idea how much we still need to learn.
Hopefully it won't take me another month to get back here, but it might--I've got a lot of work ahead of me.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Frivolous Travel Lessons Learned
Notes I need to review next year when traveling to New York for the winter SCBWI conference:
1. If you're going to take the subway to and from the airport (JFK), bring a small enough suitcase (even if you're checking it) that you'll be able to navigate the escalators. Also keep in mind that stairs are the way out of most subway stations, so don't pack too close to the 50-pound limit.
2. If you're staying at a hotel that's not within easy walking distance of the conference, bite the bullet and buy the one-week-unlimited subway pass. You may not think you'll need it, but you will.
3. Seriously, don't pack the exercise clothes and shoes. Even if you've been working out every day and your hotel has an awesome fitness room, don't do it. The tennies take up too much space in that little tiny suitcase and the unused workout attire will just give you a guilt trip. If you want exercise, walk to the conference instead of taking the subway--there'll be plenty of time to hit the gym machines when you get home.
4. Pack fabulous-looking but comfortable shoes. Shoes that can be walked in, for distances longer than anticipated (yeah, I'm talking to you on this one, Dana, although your heels did look amazing).
5. Don't quote me on this, but American Airlines was way more lax about the size of carry-on luggage than I found Delta Airlines to be last year. Tops, though, for flying to NY is JetBlue, who lets passengers check one bag for free.
6. Free breakfast as part of a hotel package is basically useless, since you'll never have time to eat it; free internet, however, is extremely helpful. Also, if the wireless connection isn't good, ask for a blue cord, which leads to a trouble-free connection (important if you're staying in a century-plus-old brick-and-mortar hotel).
7. Nine blocks is a healthy walk; twelve, sort of a nuisance (unless you're trying to get some exercise), completely justifiable in taking the subway.
8. Paying a cab $45 plus $5 for the bridge toll into the city from the airport is legit (we weren't sure, since I usually cheap out and take the subway).
9. Consider rush hour traffic if planning to take a cab back to the airport--the subway might actually be faster during the late afternoon hours, since it doesn't contend with auto gridlock.
10. Forty-degree weather with rain is enough to wash the ice off the sidewalks, rendering rain boots unnecessary. If snow's still on the ground and puddling up the gutters, however, go ahead and pack 'em for January.
Hope this helps anyone who might be traveling to New York for the first time during the winter! Friends~please leave your tips in the comments. I want to hear your advice!
1. If you're going to take the subway to and from the airport (JFK), bring a small enough suitcase (even if you're checking it) that you'll be able to navigate the escalators. Also keep in mind that stairs are the way out of most subway stations, so don't pack too close to the 50-pound limit.
2. If you're staying at a hotel that's not within easy walking distance of the conference, bite the bullet and buy the one-week-unlimited subway pass. You may not think you'll need it, but you will.
3. Seriously, don't pack the exercise clothes and shoes. Even if you've been working out every day and your hotel has an awesome fitness room, don't do it. The tennies take up too much space in that little tiny suitcase and the unused workout attire will just give you a guilt trip. If you want exercise, walk to the conference instead of taking the subway--there'll be plenty of time to hit the gym machines when you get home.
4. Pack fabulous-looking but comfortable shoes. Shoes that can be walked in, for distances longer than anticipated (yeah, I'm talking to you on this one, Dana, although your heels did look amazing).
5. Don't quote me on this, but American Airlines was way more lax about the size of carry-on luggage than I found Delta Airlines to be last year. Tops, though, for flying to NY is JetBlue, who lets passengers check one bag for free.
6. Free breakfast as part of a hotel package is basically useless, since you'll never have time to eat it; free internet, however, is extremely helpful. Also, if the wireless connection isn't good, ask for a blue cord, which leads to a trouble-free connection (important if you're staying in a century-plus-old brick-and-mortar hotel).
7. Nine blocks is a healthy walk; twelve, sort of a nuisance (unless you're trying to get some exercise), completely justifiable in taking the subway.
8. Paying a cab $45 plus $5 for the bridge toll into the city from the airport is legit (we weren't sure, since I usually cheap out and take the subway).
9. Consider rush hour traffic if planning to take a cab back to the airport--the subway might actually be faster during the late afternoon hours, since it doesn't contend with auto gridlock.
10. Forty-degree weather with rain is enough to wash the ice off the sidewalks, rendering rain boots unnecessary. If snow's still on the ground and puddling up the gutters, however, go ahead and pack 'em for January.
Hope this helps anyone who might be traveling to New York for the first time during the winter! Friends~please leave your tips in the comments. I want to hear your advice!
Monday, January 30, 2012
New York, New York
I'm still here, actually, both excited and a little sad to be going home tomorrow night, but the trip has been great. A friend of mine, Dana Elmendorf, flew from San Diego to New York with me on a Thursday night redeye. Despite our constant need for additional sleep, we had an awesome time hanging out and running all over town (including an amazing dinner at Marc Forgione in TriBeCa, after which we think we saw this guy in the Chambers Street subway station). Dana had to fly home on Sunday afternoon, but I'm hoping she'll plan on staying an extra night or two next year.
The SCBWI conference itself featured incredible keynote speakers (especially Chris Crutcher, who made us cry then followed it up with snort-worthy laughter) and informative breakout workshops. All three I went to, Revision by Cheryl Klein of Scholastic, Young Adult Fiction with Tara Weikum of HarperCollins, and a session on diversity led by Stacy Whitman of Tu Books, were fantastic. I learned all sorts of new stuff from their presentations, and then even more from their candid approach to addressing audience questions. On top of all that great main-conference programming, the marketing-for-writers intensive on Friday introduced me to a wealth of marketing resources I had no idea were at my disposal. Definitely worth the extra money I paid, since I wouldn't have learned that stuff anywhere else.
Post-conference, I had lunch with a friend I met at the 2010 conference, Nora Olsen. Nora's already had her first book published, but our writing careers began the same year, back in 2001, so it's always fun to catch up in person, sharing about our experiences and just generally about how life's unfolded for us in the months previous.
Sunday night, I went to church. Church? Yeah, church! As it turns out, my church has a location in Manhattan. I think they're meeting at the Scholastic Auditorium next week, but they're usually in the Times Center on 41st Street. Anyway, it was fun. C3's a different type of place (as in, I have to wear ear plugs during the worship music, it's so loud, and at 41, I'm pretty much the oldest one in the house, since everyone except maybe the lead pastor is in their 20s).
Today, I've been seeing friends and colleagues. I had a wonderful breakfast this morning with a dear friend I used to work with at Price Stern Sloan. Later in the day, I went out to lunch with Kerry Sparks, my extremely cool, extraordinarily wonderful, can't-say-enough-great-things-about-her agent, and two new friends, Emilia Rhodes and Sara Shandler of Alloy Entertainment.
Okay--is anyone reading between the lines? I don't want to speak prematurely, but I'm pretty sure there's a God-sized miracle going on here, and I'm really excited about it. Hopefully I'll be able to announce something big in the spring. For now, though, I've got a little reading and maybe a bit of self-editing to do before I turn in for the night.
Sweet dreams! : )
The SCBWI conference itself featured incredible keynote speakers (especially Chris Crutcher, who made us cry then followed it up with snort-worthy laughter) and informative breakout workshops. All three I went to, Revision by Cheryl Klein of Scholastic, Young Adult Fiction with Tara Weikum of HarperCollins, and a session on diversity led by Stacy Whitman of Tu Books, were fantastic. I learned all sorts of new stuff from their presentations, and then even more from their candid approach to addressing audience questions. On top of all that great main-conference programming, the marketing-for-writers intensive on Friday introduced me to a wealth of marketing resources I had no idea were at my disposal. Definitely worth the extra money I paid, since I wouldn't have learned that stuff anywhere else.
Post-conference, I had lunch with a friend I met at the 2010 conference, Nora Olsen. Nora's already had her first book published, but our writing careers began the same year, back in 2001, so it's always fun to catch up in person, sharing about our experiences and just generally about how life's unfolded for us in the months previous.
Sunday night, I went to church. Church? Yeah, church! As it turns out, my church has a location in Manhattan. I think they're meeting at the Scholastic Auditorium next week, but they're usually in the Times Center on 41st Street. Anyway, it was fun. C3's a different type of place (as in, I have to wear ear plugs during the worship music, it's so loud, and at 41, I'm pretty much the oldest one in the house, since everyone except maybe the lead pastor is in their 20s).
Today, I've been seeing friends and colleagues. I had a wonderful breakfast this morning with a dear friend I used to work with at Price Stern Sloan. Later in the day, I went out to lunch with Kerry Sparks, my extremely cool, extraordinarily wonderful, can't-say-enough-great-things-about-her agent, and two new friends, Emilia Rhodes and Sara Shandler of Alloy Entertainment.
Okay--is anyone reading between the lines? I don't want to speak prematurely, but I'm pretty sure there's a God-sized miracle going on here, and I'm really excited about it. Hopefully I'll be able to announce something big in the spring. For now, though, I've got a little reading and maybe a bit of self-editing to do before I turn in for the night.
Sweet dreams! : )
Thursday, January 19, 2012
January
Poor, neglected blog! I thought this month was going to be so focused on preparation for my upcoming trip to New York for the SCBWI conference, but it turned out a little (read: a lot) different than expected.
First off, one of my friends lost her battle with stomach cancer. A fast moving, debilitating, genetically linked cancer, her brother died of it in 2008, at the age of 37. Sandra was one month shy of her 40th birthday when she passed last Friday. Her memorial service was yesterday. A sad event, to be sure, but I'm so glad all the pain she endured is over.
Trivial in comparison though still time-consuming, stomach flu made a trip through our house last week. Not a fun way to spend the days, making Jello and rinsing throw-up bowls.
I'm back to work now, but I'm not sure how much blogging I'll get done between now and after I get home from New York, at the beginning of February. Hope January is going better for everyone out there! So far for us, it's been a cold, sad month, but I'm looking forward to happier times in the weeks ahead.
First off, one of my friends lost her battle with stomach cancer. A fast moving, debilitating, genetically linked cancer, her brother died of it in 2008, at the age of 37. Sandra was one month shy of her 40th birthday when she passed last Friday. Her memorial service was yesterday. A sad event, to be sure, but I'm so glad all the pain she endured is over.
Trivial in comparison though still time-consuming, stomach flu made a trip through our house last week. Not a fun way to spend the days, making Jello and rinsing throw-up bowls.
I'm back to work now, but I'm not sure how much blogging I'll get done between now and after I get home from New York, at the beginning of February. Hope January is going better for everyone out there! So far for us, it's been a cold, sad month, but I'm looking forward to happier times in the weeks ahead.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Biggest Hit of the Season
All right--I know I swore at some point I'd never blog about cat stuff, but this thing is just too darn surprising not to share in case any of you have feline friends in the house. Anyway, hands down, the most loved Christmas gift this year? The Super Scratcher +, a cardboard box with sideways-cut cardboard inside that you sprinkle with catnip. We have three cats, and they're all fighting over this thing. One of them (our alpha cat) just sits on top of the thing, seemingly guarding it from the other two cats for hours at a time. As soon as she's in the litter box, eating, or in another room, though, the other two kitties take advantage of her absence, trying to sneak turns using it.
I know my kids like the Christmas presents we got them, and my dog's been carrying around his new toy squirrel nonstop, but the level of hysteria around this silly cardboard contraption (which is so basic, anyone could make one themselves using a sharp knife and a couple of old moving boxes) floors me. Any surprise holiday gift hits in your family this year?
I know my kids like the Christmas presents we got them, and my dog's been carrying around his new toy squirrel nonstop, but the level of hysteria around this silly cardboard contraption (which is so basic, anyone could make one themselves using a sharp knife and a couple of old moving boxes) floors me. Any surprise holiday gift hits in your family this year?
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Anyone Heard of This?
Okay. I realize I'm often the last to know about these things, since I'm not afraid to admit how techtarded I am, but has anyone out there heard of Klout.com? While paranoidly checking page 2 of my own Google profile for anything untoward (like that one horrible short story that refuses to go 404 error and die), I ran across my Klout listing for the first time. Apparently, I am an influencer regarding dogs, books, and writing, in that order. But I'm only a "dabbler," so I guess I'm not that influential in the larger scope of things, so I should just get over it and stop Googling myself.
With that disclaimer in mind, however, my question is still, Really? I have a dog, a wonderful dog who's sitting right next to me as I type this, but I don't often (if ever) mention him. So how'd I rate as a dog-topic person before writing and books? I know it's silly to second-guess search engines and such, but I'm perplexed. Maybe it's the comments I make about other people's dogs? I have cats, too, but I guess they're a secret.
With that disclaimer in mind, however, my question is still, Really? I have a dog, a wonderful dog who's sitting right next to me as I type this, but I don't often (if ever) mention him. So how'd I rate as a dog-topic person before writing and books? I know it's silly to second-guess search engines and such, but I'm perplexed. Maybe it's the comments I make about other people's dogs? I have cats, too, but I guess they're a secret.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Party Time
So last night, I went to a big party. One of at least five evites I'd received in the past couple weeks, I wrote down the day and time in my calendar, then moved on with life. Not sure if it was going to be a dressy affair or a casual night, I settled on wearing an understated black outfit with a pair of heels that are cute but not too uncomfortable--basically, my equivalent of what Sue Grafton fans will recognize as Kinsey's all-purpose black dress.
Before I even made it inside the building, I realized I should have read the evite more carefully. Event staff were busy inflating a bouncy-house-like cushion around a mechanical bull at the edge of the parking lot. The sidewalk leading the the front entrance was strewn with hay. A small army of barrel-shaped barbecues rimmed the buffet line, which was stacked with paper plates. And then I went inside.
Although in the presence of a totally warm and welcoming crowd, I no longer felt comfy in my all-purpose party outfit. The only one not wearing a cowboy hat and boots, I lamented the fact that I didn't even have a bandanna to wrap stage-coach-robber-style around my neck.
I wasn't the only one who didn't dress to the theme, however. Out of the approximately three hundred people at the party, I counted at least four others (hey, Gina! Steven! Mark! Chris!) who wore normal clothes. And the food was delicious! Next time, though, I'll scroll all the way down, taking time to read the whole evite.
Update: Found some video footage of the party.
Before I even made it inside the building, I realized I should have read the evite more carefully. Event staff were busy inflating a bouncy-house-like cushion around a mechanical bull at the edge of the parking lot. The sidewalk leading the the front entrance was strewn with hay. A small army of barrel-shaped barbecues rimmed the buffet line, which was stacked with paper plates. And then I went inside.
Although in the presence of a totally warm and welcoming crowd, I no longer felt comfy in my all-purpose party outfit. The only one not wearing a cowboy hat and boots, I lamented the fact that I didn't even have a bandanna to wrap stage-coach-robber-style around my neck.
I wasn't the only one who didn't dress to the theme, however. Out of the approximately three hundred people at the party, I counted at least four others (hey, Gina! Steven! Mark! Chris!) who wore normal clothes. And the food was delicious! Next time, though, I'll scroll all the way down, taking time to read the whole evite.
Update: Found some video footage of the party.
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