2012: A Year in Review

Only a few days left of 2012 and I have to admit... minus a few rocky weeks in the beginning, it's been a phenomenal year for me. I have very few complaints about everything that happened this year, and anything that I could really complain about honestly made me a better, stronger person, so I can't really even complain about those...

Let's take a closer look, shall we?

JANUARY
I rang in the New Year with my best friend and two (nearly) perfect strangers, but it was a good first step toward my major resolution for 2012: meet new people and make new friends. I spent most of January trying to figure out what was going on with my relationship, which was technically off, but realistically still on. Matt went to Italy for the last week of January and we spent a lot of time writing emails, g-chatting, and further realizing that we really didn't have much of a choice: The relationship was certainly not over.

FEBRUARY
I don't necessarily remember much about February, other than receiving a Kindle Fire from Matt for my twenty-fourth birthday. This machine would change my entire perception of ebooks and I quickly became addicted. And I mean... buy-one-or-two-books-per-week addicted. Daily Deals are examined closely every single day and the monthly deals blow my mind. I no longer shunned ebooks, though I almost always have a hardcover or paperback on hand or in progress. Best gift ever. Even, possibly, better than my Pandora bracelets.

MARCH
I visited Andrew in NYC for St. Patrick's Day. Despite being pinched by complete strangers (I forgot to wear green...), I had a great time. He introduced me to The Strand, which is a little slice of heaven for every book lover, and I remember telling him that someday soon I'd be working in the city. I didn't know how true those words were when I spoke them.

APRIL
Matt and I book a somewhat last-minute six-day trip to Chicago and completely reconnect. We decide to "officially" pick up our relationship where we left off and we celebrate our seventh anniversary (because we're in agreement that the break didn't really happen... it was all a dream nightmare) in style at Moto. Then we dine at Alinea for the second time in two years and seriously make a memory that will last a lifetime and then some. We spend some time with my cousin in his natural habitat (Lincoln Park) and we walk all the way to Hot Doug's and experience a cocktail tasting menu at The Aviary. We spend more money than I make in a month and we go home and rarely leave each other's side the rest of the month.

MAY
I am completely miserable at my job. I don't like what I'm doing, I don't feel appreciated, and I don't feel respected. I force myself to get out of bed in the morning and I can't sit in my seat a minute after 5:00. I feel like I'm wasting my time and I start applying for jobs in New York. I apply for a job as an editor and am told that, despite my three combined years of working for a book production company, I don't have the experience necessary to edit trade books. So I ask if there is anything open at said company and I'm invited to interview for an internship on May 14. On May 15, I'm offered the full-time, paid internship. On May 16, I give my two days notice. On May 18, I cash out my final week of vacation time and say goodbye to my old office and coworkers.

I spend the next week packing my apartment, convincing myself that my relationship will survive this decision, and looking for somewhere to live in NYC. My start date is May 30 and I need to be settled in somewhere by Memorial Day. I have one full week to find somewhere to live. Andrew hooks me up with the woman he stayed with when he went to Columbia and I promise her a full month's rent in exchange for a bed, a shelf in her fridge, and the use of her bathroom.

My first day as an intern, I proofread more material than I was given in a full year at my old job. I know I've made the right decision for my career.

JUNE
Work is easy, work is fun, work brings new friends who have a ton of the same likes, dislikes, and attitudes. I do what I'm told, ask for extra, and am loving it. At night, I hunt for apartments, expecting to find a place with a July 1 move in date. Matt has agreed to move to NYC when I find a place for us and I'm determined to make that sooner rather than later, as I'm stuck in a tiny room all night by myself and am still in an unfamiliar land. Before I moved to New York, I'd been there three times: once senior year of high school for a Broadway show, once for a conference in college, and once to visit Andrew.

Matt visits early in June and we meet a realtor I've been emailing. He shows us three places within an hour and we decide to take the third place. Two bedrooms, separate living room, separate kitchen, laundry in the building. We're set. We receive a move-in date of June 15 and the woman I'm living with flips outs. Long story short, I was out of there on June 15.

During the last week of June, I'm offered a full-time, salary position at my company. I accept without any hesitation and soon find myself working with the editorial director, managing editor, the publisher, and a bunch of really great people who are all close to my age and are extremely personable.

JULY
Washington Heights is... different. (You'll get a glimpse if you watch the new MTV show Washington Heights, which debuts in January. I won't be watching. Because I already know that "in the heights, shit gets real." Uh huh...) I stick out, men speak to me in Spanish, and I'm afraid to walk around alone. But I love the apartment and have no problem being there alone until Matt moves in on July 9. After more than seven years of dating, we finally live together. And living with a boy isn't too bad... especially since we work opposite shifts and get a lot of time to ourselves.

Matt starts his job at DBK and kind of likes it, but knows it's not where he ultimately wants to be. He hates burgers with all his heart, but he sucks it up for a bit. A paycheck's a paycheck. For now.

AUGUST
I acquire my first book, a healthy cookbook written by a woman who is more than enthusiastic about the process. I catch the acquisition bug and am soon reviewing proposals sent directly to me by various agents and authors. I love my job. I don't regret a single decision I've made all year.

SEPTEMBER
Matt continues to hate his job. I feel guilty, but I know other opportunities are out there for him. He just has to want it.

One of my best friends moves to Washington—yeah, the state. Despite the distance, we talk almost every day and I'm mostly happy that she's happy. It really sucks that she's so far away, but... other people are starting to fill the void. That's not to say that she has been replaced; no one can replace her. But I've grown close to a few people in the office and am excited to be invited to lunch, dinner, happy hours, and shopping as often as I am. Again, no regrets.

OCTOBER
Matt and I celebrate our seven-and-a-half year anniversary because we've learned to really appreciate our time together. We're closer than ever and it's clear that moving in—and away—was a great decision. The hurricane hits the East Coast and power is knocked out in almost all of lower Manhattan. We barely feel a thing in the Heights, but my office and Matt's restaurant are closed and we get to spend an entire week together. We eat horrible food, watch a ton of superhero movies, and walk the streets on Halloween, weaving our way in and out of clusters of children dressed as Disney princesses, Spiderman, and Batman. All the subways are still down, so we really have no place to go. But that's okay, because we're perfectly happy on our couch.

NOVEMBER
Matt stages (interns, pretty much) at wd~50, a Michelin-rated progressive restaurant on the Lower East Side. He works for free for five days and comes home every single night with a huge smile on his face. He's truly happy with the work he's doing for the first time since we moved and I couldn't be happier for him. The day he goes back to his full-time job, he comes home with absolutely no spirit. The light is completely out.

Two days later, he quits his job at 2 in the afternoon. Three hours later, the chef at wd~50 calls him (completely unprompted) with a full-time job offer. I receive the news while waiting in line for a bus to take me home to W-B for the weekend and desperately wish I could celebrate with him. Instead, I settle for texting nearly every person I work with and every family member I can think of. Shortest unemployment ever, happiest guy ever.

We moved to NYC for our careers and now we're both actually making progress. All is well.

We get to spend Thanksgiving together for the first time in seven years. Since we started dating, one of us always had work, be it at the grocery store where we both worked in high school or at whatever restaurant Matt worked at. We cook a turkey big enough to feed my entire family and I eat leftovers for a week and a half, which undoubtedly added to the slight weight gain I've experienced since moving.

DECEMBER
My parents visit, Matt's parents visit, and my sister's boyfriend speedily recovers from a horrible accident. My grandparents are as healthy as can be and everyone's looking forward to the holidays. Amy asks me to be in her wedding; I say yes. Two years till the big day.

Matt loves his job, I receive a positive review and a substantial raise at mine, and I agree to help a friend of the family and a very talented young woman with her first young adult novel off the clock.

We struggle with the idea of breaking our lease and moving south. Matt's commute is way too far. We're still not sure what will happen, but I don't think we'll be in the Heights much longer.

I find a gym closer to work, we find a grocery store that delivers with a very small fee, and we recommit ourselves to a healthier lifestyle. We'll see how long this lasts.

Like Thanksgiving, we get to spend Christmas together for the first time since we were in high school. We make a very small amount of food, spend about three hours in the kitchen drinking an entire bottle of wine, and finish the night with the season finale of Dexter and the mid-season finale of The Walking Dead. We get two full days together, as I took my only vacation day the day after Christmas. I couldn't be happier.

RESOLUTIONS FOR 2013

• Eat great, lose weight
• Cook more
• Move closer to Matt's job
• Write creatively
• Become more organized (if at all possible)
• Meet more new people
• Reconnect with some people from the past
• Become more confident
• Continue to be happy

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year everyone! I love you all. Thank you for accompanying me through one of the greatest years of my life. And, if you were around for 2011, thank you for sticking by my side while I struggled to overcome my issues and move my life forward. <3

Apartment Hunt #2... Already? (Maybe.)

My six-month anniversary in New York and at Skyhorse came and went as of November 28. I noticed it a day or two later, but really didn't have time to acknowledge it. Now that I finally have a night to myself that doesn't include passing out early (although I could definitely go to bed right now...), battling a sinus headache, or burying myself in freelance (although I do have some I could be working on...), I can give it the recognition it deserves:

WOO! SIX MONTHS AND STILL NOT BROKE/DEAD/SINGLE.

Things have been going very, very well. Everything at home is finally stable, it seems, so I'm not afraid to check my texts or answer my phone anymore. For a while, I was afraid something even more tragic would happen that would beckon me home for a few days (and put me under the weather for a few months), but I think we're in the clear for a while. Everyone is (mostly) happy and (getting) healthy, so that takes a lot of stress out of the equation.

Matt loves his new job at wd~50. Love, love, loves it. The only problem is the commute. (And, for me, the hours. But... We moved out here to work, so work we shall.) His shifts run from 11am until about 12:30/1:30am. So he's already working a hell of a long day. Add to that a 45 minute to 1 hour commute in the morning, plus 1.5 to 2 hours at night, and he's spending between 3/4 am and 9:45/10am at home. And those hours are spent sleeping. And I am also sleeping during that time, and then leaving for work, so we're not seeing a whole lot of each other. And he's running on empty.

A shorter commute wouldn't exactly give us a ton of time to spend together, but it'd at least get him an extra hour or two (or three?) of sleep a night. So, the only way to get a shorter commute is to move. And our lease isn't up until June 30 and we really want that security deposit/last month's rent back. He said he could handle another seven months of this schedule, but I really don't want him to have to...

My parents visited this weekend, and my mom suggested subletting. Not sure why that thought never crossed my mind, but a severe sinus infection/head cold stopped me from thinking logically for about a week and a half so I like to think I would've eventually arrived at that idea. But the world will never know now...

Not sure if our landlord allows subletting. I emailed our realtor, who said he'd be happy to help us find someone to take our place, but we need to get the landlord's approval first. Before I even attempt that, though, we need to get through the holidays. Pay all those bills. And I need to have my six-month full-time review at work. Which should come with a substantial raise. Then we can figure out what we can afford, where we want to live (thinking southern Manhattan, possibly on the East Side, but not entirely sure yet), and if we want to use a realtor again (uh... yes. lol).

If we lived on the Lower East Side (or at least close to it), we probably will have to give up some space. We may lose a second bedroom, but Matt's maybe used the room for more than an hour approximately twenty times in the nearly six months he's lived with me. So it's really unnecessary (except, of course, having a guest room is nice for our guests). So if we have to part with it, then that's fine. We also are giving up the idea of having a dog anytime in the next year, since our schedules just won't allow it. So that opens up a few more potential places than it did originally.

But anyway, if we move closer to his job, we could go out together more often. I could meet him after work for drinks (which I can't do right now) on the weekends and we could hang out in the morning before he has to leave. We'd be surrounded by people our age, instead of angry Dominican grandparents, and most people down there speak English, that we've seen. And that'd be nice.

So maybe I'll get up the courage to ask about subletting in mid-January, and we could be out by mid-February? Depending. I think if we do go this route, we're skipping birthday presents and Valentine's Day next year. Which would kind of suck because I love presents, but I'd get over it.

So much to think about!

My Guy's First Michelin-Star Restaurant Job (and some other stuff)

So... let me set the scene:

It's 4:30 on a Thursday afternoon and my cell phone buzzes at work three or four times. When I finally get around to checking it out, I see texts from Matt, who is on Day One of a five-day "stage," which is like an internship. The stage is at wd~50, a restaurant Matt has had his eye on for years. The first text says "This place feels like home." In one eleven-hour shift, Matt fell in love with this place and all the people who work there.

Every night of the stage, he came home smiling, upbeat, and energetic. He talked about how great it was to finally work in a kitchen with people who respected the food they were making as much as he does. They listened to music, they spoke English (big plus in a kitchen out here!)... He told me stories about $10,000 machinery and centrifuges and carrot balls and celery strings and it was very clear to me that he was finally home. In the back of my mind, I feared the day he actually had to go back to DBK, where he's been miserable for quite some time.

So the last day of the wd~50 stage rolls around and they ask him to come back two days a week (Fridays and Saturdays) to help them out. He says yes, but he has to check to make sure DBK will work around that schedule. His first shift back is Wednesday, and Tuesday night all he talks about is how badly he doesn't want to go back. We play around with the idea of him quitting and finding a part-time job to accommodate his weekend work at wd, but we ultimately decide that we just can't go without an income.

Wednesday, he talks to his chef about going part-time and the chef basically tells him no and that he can't cut Matt's hours. Matt's the strongest guy in the kitchen and he can't afford to cut his hours, especially with the holidays coming. He asks Matt to stay on full-time until mid-December and then says he can find another job. Matt relays this information, we're both unhappy with it, but we don't really see what else we can do.

Thursday night, he comes home and he's just... "miserable" isn't a strong enough word. He was all pale and disheveled. He dropped his bag right onto the floor and just fell onto the couch. "I can't go back there" and "I never want to step foot in that kitchen again" pass his lips. We had a really rough year last year, and that still doesn't compare to what I saw Thursday night. He was so upset and so... defeated. At one point, he even curled up on our hardwood floor and didn't want to get up. Again, we talked about him quitting and I finally gave in. But I told him he had to immediately start looking for a part-time job so we'd have some sort of second income.

Friday comes and three hours before his shift (and less than one week before DBK's big Thanksgiving dinner), he quits his job. I immediately ask my assistant managing editor for more freelance work when it becomes available and I secure a few extra hundred dollars a month—but certainly not as much as another full-time job would bring in. I'm stressing out already. Matt comes to take me to lunch at 1:30 and we have this big long talk about what kind of job he can get and where he should look and he promises that while I go home for the weekend, he'll start applying for jobs. I get back to the office at 2:30, wrap everything up, and leave for Port Authority at 3:30.

At 3:45, I get a text from Matt saying that he just missed a call from a 212 number and he's afraid it's going to be someone from DBK either bitching him out or asking him to come back. Then I get another text that says "CALLMENOW." I call. And he tells me that the chef de cuisine from wd~50 just left him a message asking him if he wants a full-time job. The chef had no idea that Matt had quit his job earlier that day; he was simply calling to offer him a job. And this is like... the job that Matt moved out here to get. It's a one-star Michelin restaurant and the head chef, Wylie Dufresne, is a chef first and foremost. Not a celebrity (although he's been on tv a ton of times), but a real chef. An innovator. And Matt actually met him and cooked beside him while he was a stage. I'd imagine he can learn a lot from him as a real employee.

So Matt was unemployed for a little over three hours. And as soon as I heard of this incredible job offer, all the stress I was carrying around about his happiness and our bank account just evaporated. I was kind of worried that I'd have to start ordering appetizers when I go out to eat with my friends and limit myself to one drink during happy hours. I saw myself searching for movie matinee times and stressing over the check book. And maybe we do need to be a bit smarter with the way we spend our money, but it's not that bad. We're still in the green every month. And now we get to have a real Christmas!

Also, we actually get to do Christmas this year! And Thanksgiving! And New Years Day! And that's probably one of my favorite parts of Matt's new job. This place is the first he's worked in that is only a restaurant. It's not a country club, it's not a nightclub/restaurant/bar, it's not attached to a casino, and it's not attached to a hotel. It's just a restaurant. And that's fabulous because there's no special orders (They offer two tasting menus. If you don't like it, tough.), no owner's daughters demanding pots of plain pasta, no holiday meals, no promotional coupons, no room service... Just the restaurant and its menu. In all the time we've been dating (except maybe our first year because we were still in high school), we've never had a holiday where Matt didn't have to work. This is our first Thanksgiving and our first Christmas and even though he'll have to work New Years Eve, at least I guess we get to relax on New Years Day. And I think it's very appropriate that it's also our first year living together for these holidays. Which makes them extra special.

In addition to the holidays, he'll also get two days off each week—two days in a row. Wednesday and Thursdays. We're not sure how switching for other days will work out yet, but it's really cool that he'll have a set schedule. Restaurants rarely do this, but at wd, they want to give their employees "weekends." So that's pretty cool. What kind of sucks is that we won't have Saturday and Sunday mornings together anymore because he'll have to leave for work by 10. And on my only days where I can sleep in, I'd like to sleep until at least 10.

But this is actually going to work out, because it will give me a bit more time to work on my new project: co-authoring a young adult novel.

So let's set another scene...

Aunt Fil emails me to ask me some questions about the way the publishing industry works because she has a friend who wrote a book. We go back and forth for a bit and then she gives her friend my work email address. The friend emails me her pitch and asks me for advice getting an agent. I tell her I like the pitch and would like to review the manuscript; if my company likes it, she could just skip the agent altogether.

So I love the idea for the manuscript, a young adult novel written from the perspective of a sixteen-year-old girl with cerebral palsy who goes to a summer camp and falls in love. The writing needs work, but I figured that if I pitched it to my director and he liked the idea, too, then I would polish the writing after we acquired the title.

The director and publisher love the idea, but then the hurricane hits and no one has time to review the full manuscript. Finally, last week, the managing editor of our children's imprint reviews it and says the writing isn't strong enough to publish, but it's almost there. My director calls me into his office and says, "I would typically reject this, but..." and suggests an alternative. He said that he and the publisher like the idea of the book, but that it needs so much work (not so much work, but more work than a novel should need when it's acquired) that they can't offer on it. He says that he can tell how emotionally invested I am in it and then tells me that if I want to personally help the author on my own and in my free time (see also: unpaid), that I can do that. And then I can pitch the manuscript again and, if it's up to par with the other best-sellers on the market, they'll make an offer.

So I love the idea and I felt like I already had developed a working relationship with the author. I relay all this information to her and tell her that if she doesn't want to work with me and if she wants to take it to another publish, I would totally understand. And instead of doing that, she totally agrees to work with me. So over the next few months, we're going to work on her novel (hence my call for young adult novels on FB) and hopefully get it to a point where my company will publish it (and then I'll work on it some more, but paid).

I'm hoping that working with this author will allow me to kind of get into a groove. And will inspire me to write more of my own stuff. I've been saying that for a while now, and I've written a short story and a few essays in the past month or so, but this is a real, full-length book. And yeah, we're not rewriting it from scratch, but it'll get me thinking creatively and that's what I think will help.

So on top of 9 to 6:15 (I've adopted a later schedule because the train at 5:30 is impossible), freelance for two companies, the gym three days a week (I did it last week!), and Matt's new schedule, I'll be doing this, too. I'll definitely be busy. But busy is good...

Had a great time at home this weekend. It was nice to see everyone, and I'm really looking forward to visits from Matt's parents, my parents, and then the trip home for Grandma's eighty-fifth birthday. Should be good times. :)

And this was great to come home to, too!!! It's really nice to be missed. It's hard to do the missing, though. <3

Surviving Hurricane/Super Storm Sandy, Or Why I Am Craving Human Interaction

So... Sandy. What a bitch.

For the first time since we moved in, I can honestly say I'm grateful for living so far away from all the fun and the lights of New York City. At one of the highest points in Manhattan, Matt and I barely felt the weight of Hurricane (and what later became Super Storm) Sandy. While friends of ours lost power, lost cell service, and pretty much lost their minds, we were sitting pretty.

A little wind, a little rain... lots of chips and Oreos, lots of delivery (Chinese and pizza, back-to-back nights), and lots of sleep. Aside from not being able to leave Washington Heights due to little or no subway service, and aside from it being beyond strange that we're spending so much time together, this storm really didn't affect us. And, again, we are grateful.

What sucks (kind of) is that Matt's restaurant still doesn't have power. Which means... one less paycheck this week. But we'll deal. Especially since I got paid to sleep until noon, watch The Dark Knight until 4 AM, and proofread a super smutty manuscript of Fifty Shades of Dorian Gray (coming to bookstores near you this spring!). My office just opened today, but we don't have internet yet and most of us can't actually get to the office. It's optional, but I'm going to head in tomorrow for a bit. I just... want to see other people. I need an excuse to wear real pants again.

Matt and I have not spent this much time together (or eaten so much horrible, yet delicious food) since... April. And at that point, we were actually on vacation in Chicago (and the food was much better... and way more expensive!). And before that... oh geeze. Probably our vacation to San Francisco last May? Point is, we have never had five days like this. And although it's honestly very nice to have absolutely no agenda, it's getting to the point where we're both craving interaction with other people and things to do that will get our lazy asses off the couch.

We're not fighting, we're not irritable. We're just... bored. It's one thing to choose to stay in for a weekend or to choose a staycation instead of a vacation. But when you physically can't go anywhere, it's not that enjoyable. One of our two subway stops opened today, but considering they have a "free fare" going on, we decided to stay away from it, knowing it'd be packed. Same thing with the buses—they've been going since Tuesday night, but we know there's no way we're going to get on one without pushing and shoving. And it's just not worth the effort.

We've taken a few walks to get some fresh air. Went down to the bridge on Wednesday (I think? Honestly, the days are blending together now.) and we walked along the river today. Down near the water, the wind is still pretty rough. Tree limbs are down, but you could tell nothing was under water. This part of the Hudson was never a threat. Thankfully.

Watching the news is depressing. Hearing some of my coworkers talk about still not having power and being unable to actually get back onto the island is rough. Luckily, I don't know anyone who is missing or dead. And I don't think any of my friends actually have family that are missing or dead. But seeing the death toll rise and watching stories about little boys getting swept away from their mothers as the water rushed in is heartbreaking. And then seeing the more than eighty houses that burned to the ground in Queens... It's pretty rough. Definitely makes me grateful that we got by without even the slightest scratch.

I'm also happy to learn that everything back home is just as it was before the storm. Unfortunately, some of that stuff is not... great. But. At least it's not any worse, right?

Tomorrow, back to work. And if Matt's still off from work, we're going to the movies. And we're going to stay away from the apartment for as long as possible. I think it's safe to say we're sick of being cooped up, but we're definitely not sick of each other. Which is definitely good!

4-Day Week, 3 New Contracts, 2 Full Trains, and a Nobel Prize

As the title to this entry suggests, I've had a busy week. Mix in some insomnia, a handful of really horrible headaches, and more than 3,400 written words and we've pretty much touched on all the other fun stuff. (Actually, the writing is a really good thing. I hit my goal for last weekend and plan on attempting to hit another one when I'm done here.)

Let's do it count-down style:

(4)
Due to holes in our Employee Handbook (and a huge increase in hiring over the past eight months), I was able to take Columbus Day off. Hence the three-day weekend and the four-day work week. Despite it being a full day shorter, I felt like this week was longer than most have been. Because I dedicated part of that three-day weekend to writing and the other parts to spending as much time as possible with Matt (and yet another part to freelance work), my sleep schedule got screwed. Hard.

This whole week made me remember another reason why I've been so creatively unproductive the past seven years: My brain is most creative at night. I produce all my best stuff after twilight. Midnight, 1 AM, 2 AM... bring it. This is when my brain is most active, when I get my best ideas. And this doesn't only apply to the actual act of writing. This whole week I barely got any sleep because even though I was in bed, my brain wouldn't shut off. I kept getting ideas for things I wanted to write. So I've been dragging myself out of bed and into the living room at 2:30 or even 3:30 in the morning, and writing down everything that I've been thinking all night. Just random ideas... chicken scratch. And you'd think that just getting it out and down on paper would help, but oh no... No... the next hour or so is spent thinking about how I would actually approach the idea. I can't stop it.

Hence, the longest 4-day work week in the world. Completed on less than 15 hours of sleep, I'd say.


(3)
I currently have three contracts in the works: one novel (the one I was super excited about a few weeks ago that my director told me probably wouldn't happen), one memoir (about a young Jewish girl teaching in the Bronx—the total opposite of Freedom Writers and everything along those lines), and one nonfiction coffee-table-ish type book (called Kitchen Things, it features the photos on this site and really awesome historical and entertaining narrative about each utensil). The author/photographer of Kitchen Things is actually the younger brother of the late Pulitzer-Prize winning poet, W.D. Snodgrass. Pretty freakin' cool, in my opinion.

Nothing's confirmed until the contracts are returned and signed, but everyone seems pretty content with the deals, so hopefully they'll all work out and I'll have three additional acquisitions to my name. Today I received a submission from an agent representing the former pastry chef of one of Michael Mina's restaurants. Michael Mina is a Michelin-star rated chef in California and Vegas and he would even provide a blurb for the cover of the book. I'm reviewing it next week. If it's written well, I'll pitch that one, too.


(2)
I was reaching for two of something to finish this title, and it occurred to me that during the hour and a half it took me to get home today, I couldn't fit on two A trains that stopped at Penn Station. They were all running behind, so even though I got to the station at 5:35, I didn't step foot on a train until 6:30. In that time frame, tons of trains went downtown and the C and E passed me a zillion times, but me and about 100 other people paced and bitched while waiting for an A train. And, of course, when one finally did show up, it was so packed that the majority of us couldn't fit inside. This happened one more time around 6:15. Then, as I was about to give up and take the C to 168 and transfer, I caught sight of the A train's lights down the tracks. The car was so empty, I actually got a seat. Which is nice when you have to go 150 streets...


(1)
Ah, yes. The best part of this week... for me, for Mo Yan, and for my company. Years ago, when Arcade Publishing was its own company, they acquired English translations of works by a Chinese writer named Mo Yan. At the time, no one else wanted Mo's work. But the publisher of Arcade, the late Dick Seaver, took a chance. He liked what he read, he had faith in it, and even though it wasn't the best thing ever, he took it on. Throughout the years, Arcade picked up five of Mo's books. In 2009, Mr. Seaver passed away and his wife, Jeannette, sold the company to Skyhorse.

This year, Mo happened to be nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. As Jeannette told us in a company meeting on Thursday, she did not expect Mo to win. All eyes were on the Japanese nominee, not the Chinese. But Mo won. And, in a way, so did my company. Phone calls were made at 5 in the morning, tens of thousands of reprints were ordered, and the design team worked on "Nobel Prize Winner" emblems for the covers of the reprints. The phones rang all day, looking for quotes from our executive editor of Arcade, our publisher, and even Jeannette, who works in the office with us a few days a week. Around 3, our publisher called a meeting, poured champagne for everyone, and we celebrated the rest of the day. It was... awesome.

Of course, I had absolutely nothing to do with any of the books Arcade printed between 2000 and 2008. And I didn't even have anything to do with the reprints we'll be putting out this weekend. But still... we're such a small company. And this is so huge for us. I don't agree with everything we publish, but this definitely shows that taking risks is worth it. And if you believe in something enough, even if it doesn't sell, that doesn't mean it's not good writing. I think we're all going to be a bit more open minded when we're reviewing submissions from now on. You never know when you may be taking on something bigger than yourself.

This story's going somewhere...

Uhm, I've been busy. I apologize. I don't think anyone really cares except for my mom, though. ;) Either way, it's a good idea to write stuff down and store it somewhere (and why not on the internet?!) because you never know when you'll need it. Maybe I'll write a memoir one day. Or an autobiographical novel. Who knows...

I've been thinking a lot about my own writing lately. And how I just really need to get back into it. I have ideas... tons of ideas. I just haven't honestly given myself the time to sit down and work them out. It's not even about selling them or making money off them or even, really, publishing them. Right now, it's more about actually finishing something I started. To be perfectly honest, I haven't completed a single short story or novel-length work since Matt and I started dating.

Before that, I was fifteen years old and queen of fan fiction (strictly characters from bands I liked listening to at the time) and I was working on my first story with original characters. It seemed promising; I had a really good following in a few online communities and a decent amount of traffic to my LiveJournal, where I posted everything. I was really liking what I was writing.

But then Matt happened. And I let the relationship eat up a lot of my free time. I spent time with (or, God knows, waiting) for him and when he wasn't there, we were on the phone. I used to use writing as a way to pass the time because I didn't have anything else. Friends came and went quite frequently, so many of my closest friends were online. They were dependable and always there when I signed on and they were incredibly supportive of everything I produced, even if the subject matter was... questionable... Come to think of it, I really miss that. I was a weird kid, but we were all pretty weird. We all had issues we were working through, hence the reason we were online every second of every day.

Back then, especially in the summer, I'd be up until 5 AM just writing and chatting. I'd finish a chapter, send it to a friend (Ashlee, most times) to proofread (though, at the time, I don't think we knew that's what we were really doing), and then I'd post it everywhere people were reading. The next day, I'd have more than fifty comments to read through and questions to answer. It was... great. People liked what I wrote (or at least liked the people I wrote about) and it was empowering. I think those late nights are probably among the strongest reasons I chose to go into publishing. I loved reading what other people were writing, I loved sending them critiques, I loved writing my own stuff. I was a little editor; my adolescence definitely foreshadowed my young adulthood/beginning of my professional career.

I don't blame Matt for my lack of creativity the past seven and a half years. Not at all. I know why things have been this way. As I mentioned, I wrote to get myself through a lot of rough, teenage stuff. I was bouncing around between groups of friends and then it was just me and another girl against the world. And then she got a boyfriend and I slowly became background music. I couldn't play sports anymore, I didn't have a ton of close friends, and I needed something to do with my time. So I started writing. And I met all these really great, sincere people through my writing communities. And we had all the same interests. And they always wanted more of what I had to offer. They kept me going. Then Matt and I got close, and I wasn't unhappy anymore. I spent less time online. I didn't have as many issues to work through, to write myself through.

And here I sit. Seven and a half years later (almost to the day my writing died) and I have almost nothing to show for it. Tons of ideas are in a giant binder, which is still packed away from the move. All my old stories are saved on CDs, but I don't ever pull them out because I know they won't be as good today as they were years ago. And they're not anything that I can even revise and use today. They were silly, but they were a part of my childhood, too. And I refuse to just throw them out.

I need to set a few goals. Forget contests and book deals. Forget writing groups and beta reading. I just need to do my own thing on my own time and then go from there. I need to set aside some time and just do it. Stop talking about it and just do it. That's how moving to NYC and working in publishing worked out. Maybe it's a life lesson. Put your money where your mouth is. That kind of thing. Who knows. All I know is that it needs to happen.

The urge has been strong recently, mostly due to what I've been working on, in and out of the office. Freelance has started up with my old company again. This requires me to research and write summaries about mostly upcoming books. Whenever I get one I'd be interested in reading, I wish I had written it. Whenever I get one that sounds absolutely horrible, but is being published by a major house, I think, "If they could do it, I could do it."

At work, I'm editing my first original novel. I acquired it, I formed a great relationship with the author (he seriously calls me every day to check in; I tell everyone I talk to him more than my dad), and now I'm finally combing through the manuscript. Track changes on. (The poor, poor guy.) I've been sending it back to him part by part, and he always calls to say how "excellent" the edits are and how smart I am and how much he agrees with all my suggestions. At one point, I told him I thought there was just way too much dialogue in one chapter and suggested he break it up with a few details about the scene or action between the characters. So he called and asked me if it'd be possible for me to send him an example so he knew what I was looking for. I turned a 300-word conversation into a 700-word scene in less than ten minutes. And it felt wonderful. I was so proud of it. I sent it back and he sent me a one-word email: "Excellent!" And it was. Definitely not my best piece of writing ever, but actually working on it felt great. I came home and told Matt that I felt like that was it. That's all I needed to get back into this.

So this weekend (which happens to be three days long!), my goal is to get something started. First on paper, then on the computer. I don't care if it's not something I totally finish right now. But I know that if I like it enough, if I work the idea out from beginning to end on paper (outline... I outline everything), then I'll want to go back to it. I'll want to finish it. I just need something to finish first.

But before I do any of that, I have to finish a 380-page proofread by Tuesday and write 20 book summaries by Wednesday. This is my life. It's stressful and demanding and full of deadlines, but I love it.

Instructions for you: If you ever text me/call me/see me and ask me what I'm up to and I say "nothing," please ask me about my writing. Guilt me into it. I need the push sometimes.

Good Things Are Happening

To start, a sad thing: the memoir I pitched to my editorial director a few weeks ago was rejected. I felt bad, but... two novels I've pitched have both gotten nods of approval. Just waiting for my publisher to give the final word! I was forwarded a manuscript that I absolutely fell in love with on Monday and I spent the past two days or so just reading through it and loving it. I pitched it today and my ed. director actually complimented the pitch. He said he liked the way I presented it, which was nice because that's one area where I'd been struggling. It's nice that people are taking notice of—and calling attention to!—the progress I'm making.

In other news, I have not been making progress in the kitchen, as some of you may have noticed. The past few weekends have been kind of crazy. After flipping through a bunch of Matt's cookbooks, I decided that they're just all too advanced for me. I understand it, but it's too complex. Too many pans, too many cuts, too many ingredients. So I ordered a simple one for myself from Amazon the other day. It's not diet-ish, so I won't be going all over NYC looking for random "light" ingredients, but it's easy. And that's a good start. Hopefully as the days get cooler, the kitchen will be more comfortable to cook in. We're just getting to the point now where we don't need the air conditioner in the living room, but the bedroom is still too warm at night. But we're getting there. I can't wait for all the windows to be open and the breeze to carry itself through the rooms. At that point, I'll light my fall candles, crack a book (or a proofread!) open, and just go to town, figuratively speaking.

Last Saturday was actually a really beautiful day: warm in the sunlight, chilly in the shadows. Matt and I went to the farmer's market in Inwood, which is only two stops away (compared to roughly 20 to Union Square) and much smaller than we were used to. Because it was so close, though, we found ourselves willing to buy cold products that we knew would make it home before melting or going bad. We bought delicious chocolate milk, different types of cheese, maple cotton candy, and a bunch of veggies: peppers, brocolli, tomatoes, corn on the cob, carrots... Lots of stuff. And then we used some of the cheese (I think it was ricotta made of goat cheese) and the tomatoes and some fresh basil for dinner later that night. It may have been the first time Matt made us dinner since he's been out here, actually. It was delicious.

Before dinner, though, we got sandwiches for lunch and had a picnic in the park near our place. Spread out a blanket, read some books, and just enjoyed the beautiful weather. (Pictures at the end of this post.) About an hour or so into our picnic, we were approached by the most adorable bulldog puppy I've ever laid my eyes on. It was his first time at a park and he was so curious and cute. It made me want one so bad. We've agreed that our next place needs to have certain things, and one of them has to be that pets are allowed. This will let Matt's parents visit with Sammy and it'll allow us to get a dog—something Matt can't stop talking about. We have the perfect schedules for one, but it's really not worth delving into too much right now since we have until at least June to worry about that. And it's only September.

After the park, we ran to Macy's because I wanted new shoes. I found a pair of Lacoste/Converse sneakers that were out of my price range, but I held on to them while I tried on a bunch of flats. After waiting more than a half hour for one particular pair to come up from the storage rooms, the store announced its closing and the person helping us apologized that I never got to try on the shoes I wanted and gave me a HUGE discount on my sneakers. They ended up being $40. Which is not bad for a $70 pair of shoes.

Oh! Another good thing. I've been picking up some pretty repetitive freelance—proofreads for work and now an old project is coming back to my old office and they've offered me some work on that, too. The extra money is much appreciated, especially since we have so many things on our list for the apartment, like a shredder, an air purifier, and a headboard or artwork for the head of the bed. I enjoy that my career choice/skills allows me to do extra work; overtime is limited at my office right now and has to be approved beforehand, so I can't go in too many weekends in a row to get ahead because it's kind of unnecessary. I worked six hours this past Sunday, but I won't try to go in again until sometime in October, if I have to.

Hm... what else. Matt and I are going home this Saturday! For the past how many years, we've made sure to get to the Bloomsburg Fair at least one night and we plan on continuing that tradition while we can. (We like to eat!) I also plan on visiting my grandparents this weekend. (Grandma told me she misses me the other night on the phone. It was sweet.) Matt couldn't get Sunday off, so we'll be on a bus Saturday morning at 8:30 and probably Sunday morning at 9:30. And then Matt'll go to work and I'll do more freelance work. So it'll be like I'm going to work, too. Except I get to do it on my couch. And maybe take a nap in the middle of my shift.

I apologize for the mish-mash of subjects. This is kind of how my brain has been the past few weeks. One topic to the next. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming... One of these days, I'll focus a bit more. Maybe. Time to work out!

The Day the Pipes Burst, or Why We Are Now Considering Renter's Insurance

So to draw on my last post quickly, I'll just say that the 5k was fun, even though our group really didn't stick together much once the race started. And Matt had to pee the entire 3+ miles. But we made it and had enough time to eat lunch at Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery in Columbus Circle and then make a quick stop at Whole Foods and then a nap.

My diet has been substantially better than it was in weeks past; I'm trying really hard to remember that what I eat goes directly to my hips. Although I'm eating better and staying hydrated, I've still been having some pretty abnormal stomach issues. Am going to ride it out for a little while to see how I feel in a week or so, but I've been asking people in the office for the names of their doctors or the clinics they go to, just in case I don't start feeling 100 percent again soon. The stomach issues have kept me from doing much exercising this week, but I'm going to try to do a little P90 cardio (did circuit earlier in the week and was sore for three days; definitely out of shape again) after I finish this blog. Try to get back into it at home and then I'll hit the gym again. It's just so hard to go alone.

________________

Anyway... to the issue at hand. The reason renter's insurance has been a hot topic in our apartment this week is because on Tuesday morning before work, I noticed water dripping from the light on the ceiling in our bathroom. I woke Matt up, even though it was his day off and it was 8:00, and told him I was going to text the super and let him know. The super lives on Long Island, so I figured he'd be a few hours until he came to check it out.

Two minutes after I texted him, he was at the door. Guess he was in the building. So he came in, checked the leak, and then went upstairs. Matt moved from the bed to the couch in the living room, I went to work, and I didn't see the super come back.

At about 10:00, I got this text: "The ceiling is fucckkkkedd."

Followed by these photos:

The super and plumber and construction crew spent most of the day in the apartment above ours, replacing the bathtub and fixing the broken pipes while water poured down into a big blue bin in our bathroom. Apparently, there had been a leak for some time and it must've destroyed the underside of the tub. Had I not noticed the dripping, and had Matt slept until his usual 1/2:00 in the afternoon, I'd imagine things would've been much, much worse.

Around 3:00, Matt was itching to get out of the apartment, but neither of us were comfortable with people coming in and out of our place without either of us there. So he was on lock down. And he made sure to let me know how unhappy he was about that. We had had plans to spend the night in the B&N at Union Square, browsing, but those plans went out the window when the hole in our ceiling was still there around 4:30. I called at 5:30 when I was leaving work and they were just starting to patch it up. By the time I got home at 7 (yes, it took me more than an hour to get home because there was a huge delay because the A-train SUCKS), the super was just finishing up the patch job on the ceiling. We immediately got changed and got Matt some fresh air.

After spending a little bit at the B&N on 82nd, we bought some bathroom cleaners and then had dinner before returning home... where we Swiffered (wet jet, dry, and wet and dry again) the bathroom floor, the hallway, and the kitchen for a very, very long time. Sure, the workers had cleaned up the mess, but they left a lot of dirt, plaster, and chunks of ceiling in their wake. I'm still finding pieces of the ceiling. On Wednesday, I came home, did some work, and then attacked the rest of the mess in the bathroom. Everything had a layer of dust on it and the dirt in the tub was ridiculous. The cleaners worked wonders, though. And I was actually pretty proud of myself.

So, this whole ordeal was not our fault. And luckily it happened in the bathroom and not above our TV, dvd/bluray collection, or computers. However... had it, what would we have done? My mom was nice enough to get us a really reasonable quote on renter's insurance, but we're still trying to figure out if we want to spend the money. It's like... do you hand over money for something that may never happen, just in case? I mean, we do that our whole lives with savings and college funds and everything else, but at least when we do that, if we decide not to go to college or we die before we use our savings, that money can be used for something else. If I fork over hundreds of dollars for renter's insurance every year and nothing happens to my apartment, then I'm out money.

However, if I shut my mouth, pay the money, and then, god forbid, a pipe bursts in the living room, then I'll be very, very thankful for that insurance. Or if someone upstairs leaves the gas on and the place explodes when we're not home, that money would be helpful. Or if someone breaks in through our fire escape and steals all of Matt's expensive toys... It's a good idea. We're just not seeing eye to eye on it right now. When I say yes, he says no. When I say "eeehhh maybe not," he doesn't agree or disagree. I feel like I'm just going to have to make the decision. It's not that much money, and it'd be good to be insured.

________________

In other news, I'm hearing of many friends losing their jobs recently (either being laid off or being so frustrated that they're treated so poorly that they quit), and I'm becoming more grateful for mine. I've made a ton of friends so far (and being invited out way more than I ever was in W-B; I guess sometimes a fresh start really is best) and I really do like most of the work. I've been keeping a record of everything I do every day, just in case I'm ever asked if I ever worked on a certain book, and I finally made a list of every book I've worked on since I was hired full time. Along with the title, I recorded what I did with the book.

Since July 2, in some capacity, I have worked on 90 books for my company that weren't mine to manage. Since July 2, I have been managing/have managed 25. These are crazy numbers. I knew they'd be high, but I didn't know for sure if they'd be this high. I'm very happy with this number and the fact that it's this high when I haven't even been there full time three months yet.

Matt's going to start his next job search this weekend. He's drafted a cover letter and I'll be helping him mold them to fit the companies. I don't think any of the places he actually has on his list are actually hiring right now, but he's going to apply anyway. He wants something better than DBK, and I'm certainly not going to stop him. We'll see what happens. I'll keep everyone updated.

Well... off to do some cardio in my living room. Or at least, see if it's possible. Matt does Insanity in the living room every single day while I'm at work. So I should be able to do P90 in the space. We'll see. This is one of those times where I wish the living room was carpeted...

Matt's off tomorrow. And I can't wait to spend an entire day together. These things never happen. I think we're farmer's market-ing and then having a picnic in Fort Tryon park. That's all we have planned so far. It's going to be nice not to have smoosh everything in before 2pm.

It's All Here: Cancer walk, author meetings, parents' visit, etc.

I feel like I can't even really remember anything past last Friday. What was the date? Where was I? Did I do anything with my days/nights? The days have been blending together and I don't like it. Other than work Monday through Friday, I don't have much stability in my life. So that's the goal of next week: create a routine. And freakin' stick with it.

This will include the gym. And will absolutely include a better diet. And I seriously need to stick with it. I've been so tired and grumpy and have just felt so sluggish. I miss the two- to three-hour work outs. The discovery of my jeans becoming too big even after they've gone through the dryer. The ability to think clearly. My body has been betraying me in recent weeks and it's time I start fighting back. I haven't cancelled out all the progress I made last year (give or take 5 pounds, depending on the day), but I certainly haven't lost any weight on top of that. And I'm sitting here, on my couch, feeling like crap (specifically about today), and paying for a gym membership I'm not using.

To kick off my "official" return to fitness, Matt and I have registered to walk in (I'd never be able to run) a 5k in support of breast cancer research. This walk will be so much more than health-related, actually. Awesome that we're donating money, and it's great that I'm going to try to use it to kick-start my own personal battle (against my growing waist), but it's also the first time Matt's going to meet someone from the office! My friend, Julie, messaged me Tuesday night after the office draft (she and I are two of four girls that were selected to participate) and asked me if we'd be interested in walking with her and a few of her friends. I immediately knew I wanted to, but I asked Matt when he got home and he was all for it. So at 9 a.m. Sunday morning, we'll be signing in and at 9:30, I believe we start walking. In addition to meeting Julie, Matt will also get an up-close-and-personal view of Central Park. We've briefly walked through a bit of it before, but we'll get to see more this way. We should be done with plenty of time to spare, so we can come back here and relax before he has to go to work. Should be a good day.

Next weekend I may try to work some overtime. Not necessarily for the money, but because of developments made today. So far, I have 16 books for the Spring 2013 season. This means that I'll be managing the production of a handful of reprints (cover design, catalog copy, back cover copy, scanning, light editing) and all that plus heavy edits of new books including a BDSM book (written by a local elf—check this out), a novel about a basketball coach, an encyclopedia about sports parenting, and a healthy cookbook. I will touch every single page of these books, and I couldn't be happier. Though I could do without the elf bondage, which will surely make me super uncomfortable. However, she's well known. And this could be good for sales. And has the potential to be thoroughly entertaining.

I may even be acquiring a few new books, depending on how my editorial meeting tomorrow works out. I'm meeting with the director to go over the writing book I pitched a little while ago, plus a memoir and a novel I found in the submissions inbox last week. I've written reports, done my research, and hopefully at least one of these (would love if all three!) will be approved. That'd be my third big meeting of a very short week.

On Wednesday, I met with the woman who wanted to gut and totally rewrite a memoir we published in 2010. My associate publisher managed to convince her that the book was just fine and we agreed to change the cover and include a few new chapters, which will be way easier than basically rewriting the entire book. The author is... very loud. Has a very strong personality. She intimidates me. But it's worth the challenge.

Today—before I left the office to work from home with a brutal stomachache that has since calmed itself—I met with the author of the basketball novel. All the contracts are signed and everything's good to go. Problem is, we're going to try to get it out at the very start of the Spring season. So we want the book in the warehouse by February, which means to press in January and to production in December. Which doesn't give us a whole lot of time to work on it (considering it does need some work [show, don't tell]). But, again, it's indicative of most books in the industry today, as in... it's rushed. So I may pick up a few hours on the weekends to try to punch out some editing (and get paid for it) in an empty office sans distractions.

It's really crazy to think of everything I'm doing right now. And I've only been on staff, officially, two months and some days. Meeting with authors, pitching proposals, editing entire manuscripts (unsupervised). The pay's not great, but... I'm kind of at the point where I can just shrug and accept it for now. I'm doing everything I ever wanted to do and I'm only 24 years old.

Now, if I can only get Matt to where I am... While his job was great to start, he's starting to realize that it's not everything he wanted it to be. The management isn't what he wants; he works six days a week because the chef fires people left and right. There is no second chance; you're just gone. And Matt's sick of being attached to something that's open (and serving some type of burger) 365 days a year. In a more upscale restaurant, not only will burgers not be an option, but he'll also get some pretty important days off. Thanksgiving, Christmas... Probably not New Years. Maybe even a certain day of the week. Alinea in Chicago (his dream restaurant) is closed on Monday and Tuesdays (I think) and from mid-December to mid-January because the chef believes holidays should be spent with family. How awesome would that be? There are places like Alinea in New York. And I think the past few weeks have convinced Matt to start looking. He wants to update his resume this weekend. I'm all for it and am willing to help in any way I can.

While Matt is somewhat unhappy with DBK, my parents and I really enjoyed dining there this past Sunday. After touring some popular areas of Manhattan (Battery Park, the World Trade Center, Union Square, and Central Park) and then dining at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill on Saturday night with everyone (Kerri and Nick included), my parents and I took a more relaxed approach to Sunday. We went to brunch, saw the GW Bridge, watched a movie, and then went to Times Square. I showed them my office, Madison Square Garden, and the Empire State Building, and then we went to dinner at Matt's restaurant. Just before dessert, I asked the waiter to send a message back to Matt. Just a simple hello. The waiter had other ideas, though. He brought me back into the kitchen to personally deliver my message and Matt just about flipped out. He asked me to leave, told me he was busy and embarrassed, but the other chefs all shook my hand (and apparently yelled at him for being such an ass to me!). The next thing I know, our table is flooded with desserts. The head pastry chef (who has been on Top Chef Desserts—see him here) even personally delivered a blueberry chocolate cheesecake type dish that wasn't even on the menu yet. He said it'd be debuting later that week and wanted to know what we thought of it. (It was delicious.) After that, another chef brought out this cute little play on dippy eggs made of white chocolate, rice puffs, and a sugared passion fruit jelly. It was even presented on a tiny cast iron stove. When we were leaving the waiter thanked us and said, "Next time mention you know the chef sooner. You'll get like, four free courses!" Will have to remember that. ;)

It was nice to see my family this weekend, even if most of the weekend didn't go as planned. It's difficult to shove six people in a space that two normally share, especially when it's 90° outside. But I think it went as well as it could and I enjoyed spending the day with my parents, talking and just catching up. It was a nice way to end the summer. Not sure who will be visiting next, but the more people come out, the more we'll get used to having and treating company. We may try to go home before the end of September, since both of us want to go to the Bloomsburg Fair. But I'm not sure if that'll work out since Matt rarely gets weekends off. But we'll see.

I can't really think of anything else. Pics of dessert and the weekend are on my FB. I think it's almost time for dinner. Have to see what my stomach can handle. Hopefully it can take one of my mom's homemade stuffed peppers!

Progress! (It's almost football season!)

It's been a while! I feel like everything's been absolutely nonstop—and nothing's happened the way it was supposed to! I should've had two pretty big work-related meetings by now and neither of them have happened. I should've also caught up on my sleep (and I haven't) and Matt and I should have drafted our Fantasty Football teams (but we haven't). Instead, I'm being super social! And when I'm not social, I'm working. It's seriously exhausting.

And expensive.

Freelance work got the best of me this past weekend. A proofread about how to hunt and kill white-tailed deers took up most of my free time—and then some. Matt and I did a decent amount of laundry (see also: all) Saturday morning and I had a pretty good meal with Andrew on Sunday. There's been so much going on, and I don't want to recap it day-by-day because that could get boring, but I can highlight some stuff:

• Last Thursday — Work party was tons of fun. I talked to a lot of people I never get the chance to speak with in the office and my group of friends (colleagues?) were the last to leave. I even came away with a bottle of champagne!
• Last Friday — Shooting at the Empire State Building. (Thanks to everyone who texted to see if I was okay!) My office is two avenue blocks away from the ESB, so we weren't in danger at any time.
• Saturday and Sunday — Calling, rattling, and decoying whitetails. Almost all day. Plus laundry, grocery shopping, and brunch at home made by Matthew! No date night/cooking because I had too much work to do and we didn't have enough food in the apartment (at the time) to do much with.
• Monday — Is it sad that I can't even remember what happened yesterday? I think I finished up my deer murdering proofread and that was about it.

That brings us to today! I put an entire book about rabbit hunting ("Wabbit season! Duck season!") together and am still pretty ahead of the game in reference to my own work. I have four proposals I need to read and was thrown a few compliments from my editorial director today about my "eye" for what the company needs.

Then it was happy hour! Something we'd been planning for a while, but weren't able to execute until tonight. A decent amount of people showed up; people I hadn't really ever talked to. It's so weird to think that I was able to make my rounds and talk to everyone tonight, rarely feeling uncomfortable or without something to talk about. This time last year, I was struggling, like I had been for years. I remember going to a happy hour with a group in which I knew two people and I was so uncomfortable that I shut down completely. I barely spoke to anyone and I ran out of there pretty quickly. That just doesn't seem to be the case anymore. It's not because of the move to NYC or my new job; it definitely has something to do with the way I grew as a person while Matt and I were apart. I learned to fend for myself in more ways than one.

The rest of the week includes researching NFL players for the office's fantasy football draft on Sunday. (I made the team!!) I won't be able to participate in the actual draft, but Henry's going to sign in as me and pick my players for me since my parents will be here and it's pretty time consuming. We'll probably split the prize if I happen to win (which I doubt I will).

I also plan on cleaning some more (Matt did a wonderful job with the guest room/office/man cave today!) and getting everything situated for my family's visit! I'm super excited about it; I hope I can be a good tour guide and I don't send them home too tired/annoyed. Manhattan can be overwhelming.

Can't wait for Friday!!

Date Night #3: Veggie Lasagna

That's right, I made lasagna ALL BY MYSELF.

Kind of...

The noodles were "no bake" and most of the veggies (carrots, onions, leeks, zucchini, purple peppers) were all prepped before Matt went to work—because he still doesn't trust me with a knife—but I did put it all together. I skinned a tomato for the first time ever and Matt taught me how to correctly cut basil via text. I also made a pretty bangin' cheese sauce without curdling anything. My wrist hurts a bit today because of the continuous whisking, though... Regardless! It was delicious. I was impressed; Matt was impressed. ("I am pret-ty impressive." – Bridesmaids) But it wasn't very photogenic. Either way...

Date Night #3 = Success.

No plans for next weekend yet (except maybe a trip to the rooftop bar/club thing attached to Matt's restaurant), but I might try to make something a little lighter. And not pasta-based. I'll figure it out as time goes... My cookbook author recently submitted her first section of appetizers for her book and I skimmed it yesterday and came across a very tasty-looking/sounding buffalo chicken wing hummus I may make. Just to... make. Cooking is definitely a different, yet enjoyable way to pass the time. I've seen so many desserts I want to try, too, but have to try to stay away from those for a little while.

Even though I really don't want to. :(

This weekend was pretty eventful and uneventful at the same time. I feel like we got a lot accomplished, but I was still able to find some time to relax. Friday night I was exhausted and spent the night watching True Blood. Saturday morning, we went to the Union Square farmer's market, had our first food truck lunch (from Gorilla Cheese!), and did a little bit of grocery shopping. Then we both went to work.

In the three hours I spent at work (totally, completely alone), I'm pretty sure I did a day's worth of work. I sent a bunch of emails, completed five jacket design forms, finished tweaking a manuscript, and scanned four different books that we're reprinting. What killed me, though, was tearing apart the books to scan. I know we have them in the office for that specific reason, but I typically give the task to someone else because I really hate cutting and tearing books. I don't even like bending the corners of my pages to keep track of my place; this process is painful.

This afternoon, Matt got his hair cut and then we walked through Central Park for a bit since he'd never been there. It's so hard to remember that not only have I been out here longer than him, but I get out more. I've seen  more of the island than he has and sometimes I forget that there are still places he's never been. It's difficult, though, to get to those places with his hours. But we're making it work, I think. My family is visiting for Labor Day weekend and I'm planning on taking them down to Battery Park and Chelsea and the World Trade Center, all places (except Chelsea) that Matt hasn't been yet. Two birds, one stone. I'm really looking forward to it. The place will be a bit cramped (especially if my brother and his girlfriend decide to come, which... is going to be up in the air until the second my parents pull out of the driveway, I think), but it'll be a good time!

This week should bring some pretty interesting work, meetings, and parties. Hopefully more exciting things to talk about! Like... possibly my second acquisition! We'll see!

Half-birthday-ness!

As previously mentioned, half birthdays are a big deal in this house (apartment... whatever). In honor of my own half birthday (and our 7-year-and-4-month anniversary!), I'm taking the night to try to relax. I'll read a little bit, watch some True Blood, and just try to wind down. It's been a long, tiring week... Nothing to really report, work-wise. Going in tomorrow (and getting paid for it, yay!) to try to get ahead of the game. Other than that, all is well.

Also in honor of my half birthday (and due to pure exhaustion), this will be a half-entry. I'll leave you with some pictures detailing what I found when I got home from work today, though. :) Click to see larger images. Enjoy!

(And yes, we will be making our Fantasy Football teams this weekend!)

Pretty sure he bought these from the guy at the top of the subway exit who sells them from a shopping cart lol. But whatevs. First time I've received flowers since our 5-year anniversary!

Upcoming Social Engagements (aka PARTY!)

In the next two weeks, I have two somewhat important meetings coming up with two different authors. The first is with the author of the novel (which I still haven't finished reading) I have unofficially been assigned (still negotiating the contract). He's a middle-aged college basketball coach from Rhode Island. We'll most likely go to lunch and the sports editor, the publicist assigned to the book, and my boss will join us.

The second meeting is with the author of a reprint who hated her original book about an animal sanctuary in New York. She wants to rearrange the chapters, write new chapters, change the title, and get a new cover. Essentially, she wants a do-over, not a reprint. She doesn't trust the company, and she especially doesn't trust me. I have a feeling it has something to do with my title. Editorial assistants don't typically do the job of editors, so I think she just assumes I don't know what I'm doing. Every time I make a suggestion, she wants me to run it by my publisher or associate publisher—two pretty important men who don't have time for her BS. I'm concerned that if I can't pull her in and make her believe that I'm responsible and that I know what I'm doing, she's going to try to go over my head by calling someone higher than me every time we disagree on something minor. Her disagreements with the editor of the original book actually brought her into the office, where she sat down next to someone and asked questions about every single change in her manuscript. She's probably going to be worse this time around. We've already rejected her idea for the new cover (a picture of a turkey and a goat cuddling—no joke) and none of us are really fans of her new title, but we're letting it slide for now. She also wanted to write new chapters, but the associate publisher veto-ed that today. (I'm not sure if she knows this yet, though.) At this meeting, we have to eat vegetarian and we'll be joined by the associate publicist (who intimidates me more than any person I've ever worked with).

So my issue is... what do I wear? Do I go ultra business-like? Very, super professional? The dress code at the office is very casual—I went in a Planet Fitness t-shirt and jeans today. (I woke up with the worst headache and just didn't feel like getting my shit together. I'm having a rough week.) But I think I should represent the company better. Problem is, I don't think any of my dresses are appropriate for a business lunch and the only dress pants I own are kind of big on me. I've put off shopping the last few months and now I'm faced with a decision... Go buy some new clothes, or try to make something else work? I don't want to spend what is essentially rent money on clothes. But I kind of feel like I don't have a choice. I don't know when I'll find time to shop, but I'm going to have to do it soon. The first meeting can be as early as Tuesday. Maybe that's what I'll do Sunday afternoon. Maybe Constance will want to shop... Hm...

Saturday's out. I'm working OT this weekend. Got it approved and everything today. I was assigned three more books for the Spring season today from a series we're doing with Instructables.com. Which brings my total to... 8 or 9, I think. Half are reprints, half are from scratch. Regardless of whether they've been published before, though, they all need new covers and catalog copy and sales materials and I just haven't had time to think about them. My first big deadline is next Friday. Figured I could use this Saturday to get ahead. After work on Saturday, I'll come home and make vegetable lasagna for Date Night #3!

Oh, speaking of date nights! Although I doubt Matt will be able to accompany me next Thursday, I'll be going to a surprise party at my boss's apartment on Riverside Drive. I told Julie I'd be her date since her boyfriend is in law school and with the hours Matt puts in, he might as well be, too. The party is for one of our... well, I actually don't know what he is. He used to own a publishing company, but now works for us. He's been in the business 51 years, so they're throwing him a 50+1 party to celebrate. I wasn't going to go since I felt like I'd be awkward and uncomfortable, but then I found out how many people are actually going and figured I might as well. It'll be interesting to see where my boss lives, too. He lives in a really nice area, so I hope the apartment is kind of cool. It must be big if he invited the entire company and their +1s... Jealous! Also, this marks yet another event I should probably go shopping for.

I'm tired just thinking about the next week or so. Maybe this week really won't ever end. It's aready going on... 11 days without a break. I suppose I could consider last night a break since Matt and I skipped all our plans (grocery shopping, fancy Mexican dinner) due to thunderstorms. I came home, pretty much soaked through despite my umbrella, to find him in the living room surrounded by clothes. He must've done five or six loads of laundry last night between his work clothes, our regular clothes, and the towels. Mine were fresh out of the dryer and almost folded. It was sweet; he was so excited about it lol. So we put the clothes away and then I made tacos while he ran to the liquor store next door. We watched a marathon of American Pickers, drank, and called it an early night. Although I got a decent amount of sleep, it wasn't enough. I think tonight is going to be another early one. Not as early as Monday (8:30!!), but early enough.

Well... off to do some work and not get paid for it! Oh well. Someday I'll be done with all these late (and lame!) books (when you talk to me next, ask me how much I love Swedish boat restoration) and caught up on my own stuff. Someday soon, hopefully.

The Week that Never Ends

New day, old news: I am so tired. Exhausted. I went to bed at 8:30 last night and wish I could've done it again tonight. I just can't seem to catch up on all the sleep I've been missing since Matt moved in, I think. I also haven't been working out, and while my diet isn't the best it could be, it's not the healthiest either. I need to get a grip! It's difficult, though, when work is taking over my life.

I still love everything about my job, but it's starting to lose it's shine, I think. I do so much "assisting" that I barely have time to work on my own books. Which is fine—that's my job. But it's frustrating. I have so many things to do for myself, but yesterday I got slammed with a proofread of a 260-page book that was due Friday. I'm impressed that I was able to finish it between 2:00 yesterday and 5:00 today. It was on such a depressing subject (When Cancer Strikes a Friend was the title). But... I did it. And learned quite a bit in the process. But still... I think I'm going to see if I can go in this coming Saturday for some over time. I'll head south with Matt at 3 and see how much I can get done, perhaps. It's the only way I can work without being handed other tasks all day long.

Silver lining of today would probably be the meeting I scheduled with my editorial director for Thursday to discuss that proposal about the writing book. If he likes it as much as I do, it'll go to the publisher, and hopefully I'll have my second acquisition! Another editorial assistant was promoted today, having been with the company a year and a half. It took me three weeks to go from intern to editorial assistant. I believe I see my next challenge up ahead of me!! If I acquire a few books that make the company some money, I think it should score me points...

I titled this entry the Week that Never Ends because I've been going nonstop since last Monday. I had plans Monday through Thursday and then went home Friday, only to return again on Sunday. Seeing my family was great; I enjoyed every single minute of it. Breakfast with Ange on Sunday was worth every minute I didn't get to sleep in. The distance from Matt was... weird, but easier than living in NYC while he was in PA all those weeks. I think he had a hard time, though. He's never been utterly alone in an unfamiliar city. I got quite a few texts, but he bought a new video game and powered through. Tomorrow is his only day off work this week, so I think we're going grocery shopping and then going to some Mexican restaurant he wants to try somewhere in the 200s. Should be a good time.

I might try to go back to the gym Thursday, depending on how much work I get done the next few nights. The author of the first novel I was assigned wants to meet to discuss his book, even though the contract isn't signed and the manuscript isn't 100 percent finished yet. So I kind of have to have the book (manuscript) read by the time we meet. He hopes to be in the city next week, but doesn't know of a specific date. The best approach I can think of is to have it all skimmed (with summaries of each chapter) by Monday. Then at least I can discuss it with him. I know I'll be the only one at the meeting who has any insight into it, so I have to be prepared. I didn't want to start bringing my work home, but... I just don't have time in the office. Maybe once all the books Eleanor left me publish and I'm working on my own, things will even out. All of hers were complicated and were already late, so I inherited a bunch of frustration. When they're gone, maybe things will settle down... Until then...

I suppose the week will keep going and going, especially if I end up at work both Saturday and Sunday. Ugh!

It's Been a While: So Much Good News!

Oh man... I have been busy! So many hours spent on the subway and watching the Olympics. So much money spent on... food. So much good news about work! So many plans this weekend.

I don't even really know where I left off last... I know I made cookies (which are in the freezer because even though Matt had to try them, and even though I looked all over the place for freakin' mint extract, he ate two and then said he was getting serious about dieting) and I know I announced my very first aquisition. (Which become official on Monday! More about that in a bit.)

Let's see... Matt finally saw The Dark Knight on FRIDAY. And we had some really great Thai food. And SATURDAY I made a veggie stack for our late night dinner after spending the day exploring Harlem with Constance. (Yay, another friend living on the island!) It was basically just roasted veggies set on couscous. And chicken. And I made the dressing that went on it. Very simple... and Matt may or may not have cut all the veggies and cleaned the chicken the night before to eliminate the possibility of me cutting my fingers off. I'm going home Friday night and I have to admit... I'm actually kind of bummed that I won't get to make dinner this weekend. Who would have thought?

SUNDAY was pretty uneventful save for some freelancing (turns out chia seeds are getting pretty popular...). Then, some awesomness occurred.

MONDAY

• The cookbook girl agreed to all contract negotiations and she and my publisher signed the contracts, making my first acquisiton 100% official!
• I was assigned my very first novel! I reviewed the first few chapters of a manuscript a few weeks ago and highly recommended we publish it. In my review, I said I'd love to work on it. The publisher decided to pick it up and told me I'd be editing it. I emailed the author to introduce myself and tell him what I thought of what I'd read so far and he called me as soon as he received the email to thank me and tell me how excited he was. It's a novel about a retired basketball coach who loses his wife to cancer and has to deal with starting his life over alone. It's really well written and I can't wait to work on it for the Spring 2013 season.
• The publisher called me into his office at the end of the day to give me more information about the novel and he told me I'm doing a really great job. I got all bubbly and stupid, but was able to thank him for the compliment before I totally embarrassed myself.
• Went to dinner in Soho with Constance. The weather was beautiful, so we ate on the roof of DBK. Small bill, good food, poor service... but whatevs. We spent the rest of the night walking up and down Canal Street and Broadway, ducking into shops and commenting on fashion trends. She's trying to convince me to get a pair of dwarf hamsters (look how cute!!). She has them and they're adorable. Matt keeps telling me no because I'd be too heartbroken when they eventually died. He also said, "We can barely take care of ourselves."

TUESDAY

• I woke up to find the cookbook author/blogger had posted a huge announcement about her upcoming book. She was so excited. When I forwarded it to the woman in the office who helped me through the acquisition, she replied and said she got tears in her eyes reading it. (You can read it here if you're interested.) It kind of gave me some clarity. Sure, I want to some day earn my own book deal, but in the mean time, if I can offer deals to other people and help make their dreams come true (Seriously.), then I'll be more than happy.
• Another editor forwarded me a proposal for a book about how to physically beat writer's block. She said it wasn't really for her and told me if I wanted it, I could review it and attempt to acquire it. I definitely like it, and it'd be really awesome if I could get it for us. I just need to go through the process again: review, report, pitch, contract negotiations.
• Movie and dinner with Andrew. Hope Springs was... okay. I was definitely not the target audience. But dinner was good! Tapas... I think it was Italian? I'm not entirely sure. The star of the show was dessert, though. So freakin' good.

WEDNESDAY

• Tons and tons and tons of work to do. Deadlines set for two early spring books and one is way more complicated than the other. (Reprint/update/revision/expansion vs. Public Domain) I actually had to request help from an intern today—something I didn't really want to do just yet. I don't want anyone to think I'm pulling rank or can't handle things myself, but it's really hard to do my own work when I'm constantly doing the "assisting" part of my job for everyone else. But, that's the job. And I do really like it.
• On Tuesday, I submitted an announcement of my deal to Publisher's Marketplace. Today, they sent out the daily Deals newsletter to every professional with a subscription. Part of it looked like this!

• If you click the link to my name, it takes you to my very own page on Publisher's Marketplace. I was told that this may mean people may start submitting proposals directly to me. The more titles I acquire, the more proposals I'll get. The more proposals I get, the better the chances that maybe someday I can work as an aquisitions editor at a bigger company. Or... the better the chances I'll meet other editors who may want to someday acquire something I write!

• In addition to this awesomeness, Chatti was in town with a friend to go to a few museums. Andrew and I met her at Central Park and then we went for dinner. She's moving across the country soon. :( I'm skipping this topic.

TOMORROW, Matt's parents will be in town! Which means as soon as I'm done here, I have to start cleaning. I brought work home to do tonight, but I don't think I'll get to it. Matt said he'd do most of the apartment since he's off tomorrow, but requested that I put my clothes away in the bedroom. Which, I suppose, is an appropriate request lol.

FRIDAY after work, I'll be heading back to the W-B. I have plans nearly all weekend, but I'm most looking forward to seeing my grandparents. I haven't been home in a month. Should be a good weekend!

 

Two Firsts: An Acquisition and Homemade Thin Mints

I'm exhausted. As in... probably getting in bed before 10 p.m. exhausted. It's been a long time since I was this tired; I've been pretty busy, though, and not getting nearly as much sleep as I should.

Let's start with Monday! I had a meeting schedule to discuss the Prevention RD cookbook acquisition with my publisher, but he didn't get into the office that morning until almost noon. And our meeting was at 10. So I was pretty bummed. On top of that, an author (who may or may not be suing us) kept calling and demanding that the publisher call him back immediately. When the publisher finally got in, though, he called me in for our meeting. Five minutes later, I walked out with permission to offer the author of Prevention RD a contract!

If you're unfamiliar with the way acquisitions work, I'll explain: We see something we like, we go after it, we offer money/a contract, and then we publish it. Luckily, this is a more-involved process for me and this book because the book isn't written yet. So I get to walk this author through her very first book from start to finish. She's so excited about it—I got an email last week when we were working on her proposal that was literally 10 smiley faces in a row. I love that she's so enthusiastic; it makes me like my job even more.

As I've said to so many people this week, I did not think I'd be making acquisitions in less than one month with the company—especially as an editorial assistant. But, again, my company is small ("the fastest growing independent publishing company") and we all share various responsibilities. People are hired specifically by companies such as Penguin and Macmillan to acquire titles. You have to have so many years of experience and credits to your name to even be considered. And I just joined the staff, sent an email, presented an idea, and BAM! Done! I love it. It's unbelievable.

Monday night, Andrew and I went to DBK for Restaurant Week and had a pretty good meal. We also made a stop at The Strand (because I, again, bought a book I already own the last time I was there... You try keep track of hundreds and see how many you buy twice!) and Washington Square Park (I think?). Spent a bunch of time outdoors since our reservation for dinner was so late. The weather was nice, the food was great. Waiting for the A-train at almost midnight sucked, though. I didn't get home from dinner until past midnight. I was barely showered and ready for bed by the time Matt strolled in past 1 a.m. (Late night #1)

Tuesday was a really easy day at work. I was actually able to sit down with all the stuff I knew I needed to do eventually and make an Excel to-do list. Now I know exactly what's already done, what I'm in the process of doing (such as... a 1,400 page final pass!!), and what needs to get done eventually. I feel much better having it all laid out and easily accessible; after I finished, I literally felt myself relax. My muscles in my back released a bit and I just felt more in control than I've felt since taking over for Eleanor.

When I got home from work, I did three loads of laundry, paid the rent and a few bills, cleaned a bit, and made a batch of Thin Mints. My cookies aren't very thin, and a few of them burned, but they're minty and chocolately and there are tons of them. They didn't finish until almost midnight, and were not very pretty to look at, but... it was a first attempt. They were easy to make, so if Matt likes them, I'll try them again.

I think part of the reason they didn't turn out as well as they could... Well, actually... there were a few reasons. I have really shitty knives. Matt has super nice ones, but the ones in the kitchen when he takes his to work are horrible. There's no way I could cut 1/4 inch cookies, so they turned out to be probably 1/2–3/4 inches thick. So I figured that since they were thicker, they could go in the oven the maximum number of minutes (15). So I showered while they were in the oven, didn't check on them, and then pulled them out when the timer went off. And they were crispier (and blacker) than they should have been. I was just not as attentive as I should've been....

I mean, at one point, I was standing in the living room, watching the USA Women's Gymnastics team celebrate a gold medal while I stirred the chocolate so it wouldn't harden while I watched TV. Probably not good cookie-baking behavior, but the Olympics may or may not be one of the most important things in my life right now—it's all I can talk about with everyone. I love it. I couldn't tear myself away from primetime until well after 1 a.m. (Late night #2)

And, of course, barely sleeping the past two nights made me late for work this morning. No one seemed to notice, but you better believe it's not going to happen again. I was late all the time at my old job because I didn't care enough to be on time. I care now; I care way more than I've cared about a job in a while. Have to go to bed early, have to wake up early, have to be on time. That's that.

Tonight I went to happy hour with a pretty decent-sized group of people, a mix of interns and employees that I was able to bring together with few issues. I'm still hoping to make some real friends out of this job, and I think this is the right way to go about it. We had a great time, didn't spend too much money, and got along well. Gives me hope!

Matt was supposed to be off Thursday and Friday, and he had invited his friends to come visit, but then Chef kicked two different people off the staff last night and asked Matt to work Thursday. So... I think it's just me tomorrow. Which is fine, I suppose, because I picked up a tiny bit of freelance today that I can work on (a proofread of cookbook based on Chia seeds... yeah... ch-ch-ch-chia breakfasts, dinners, and desserts). I'd go to the gym, too, but I don't know if I'll have the energy. I'm super worn out and I think I just need a night of almost nothingness. He wants to make risotto on Friday night, and he left me a vegetarian cookbook on the couch tonight, which I'm thinking must contain a recipe or two he wants me to try for Date Night #2, which will be Saturday night (Sunday morning) this week. Who knows what will happen. I wish the food I made was good-looking so I could post photos of it. But the presentation is just not there. Oh well. Eventually. Maybe. If I can keep up with it.

Time for some tea and bed. Tired, tired, tired.