Hail, friend types.

I have decided that this ridiculously extended hiatus from regular posting has to end. There are several reasons for this:

• I miss the crap out writing for me and sharing my crazy thoughts with my friends.


• Writing out my crazy thoughts helps me become... well, less crazy.


• I know it's still a few months away, but I am planning on participating in NaNoWriMo (kind of) to get back to my novel and I think I could really use the practice of just being candid. I've spent the better part of a year writing mostly for my employer, and I miss being able to just let loose with my own written voice.


• I'm pissed at the news and it's an election year. I need an outlet other than my boyfriend, because I fear he may go bonkers if he has to bear the brunt of my rants about how the news media is failing the electorate.

To that last point, I am also going to revive spade_news. It was vastly helpful to me in the madness of the last election, people seemed to like it, and it's becoming abundantly clear to me that corporate-owned "old media" just sucks. I mean, c'mon. When an article in The Onion is the most believable and well-crafted piece you read all day, that's a sad commentary.

I blame a significant portion of this mounting angst on the fact that I've taken a shine to HBO's The Newsroom and I essentially am a younger version of the militantly idealistic EP -- but without the stab wound scars from reporting overseas in war zones. Surprisingly, despite having spent a full year in the belly of the beast and working at a local FOX station, I still love journalism and firmly believe in the necessity of the Fourth Estate.

In the spirit of this, spade_news will have none of the bullshit fluff that occupies a good half of the average nightly newscast. There will be no flowery profiles of candidates, no shallow abstracts about upcoming legislation, and there will certainly be no ridiculous fearmongering about which kitchen appliance could be killing you. Nay, the focus will be on issues that impact people, and I promise to deliver the straight dope using only the type of honesty that is as blunt as a spoon coated in silly putty.

Unlike old media, I want readers to be involved. If you want more information about something, tell me and I'll do my darnedest to look into it. If you think I'm wrong or that my source is crap, tell me and we'll talk. Creating an informed and vibrant discussion is what the news should be about, anyway. I'd also be happy to add writers dedicated to the mission to the group, and I may even do a little recruiting.

So, there's that. Plan set. Yukon, ho!

So, I have decided that I need to revive my journaling practices. There are many reasons why I feel this will be beneficial, and mostly I miss it. I miss my el jay friends, and I miss writing just to write it out, y'know?

I have several things I plan to do in the coming months, and I'm really excited about them. Here's just a few:

1. I'm going to do more music reviews. I really enjoy it and I want to get better at it.


2. I'm performing music again. My friend Laurel and I went busking for the first time last week, and we brought in 50 bucks. It was the most fun I've had in a long time, and I can't wait to practice more and get better.


3. I'm crocheting again, and doing more complex patterns than I've ever tried before. To my great surprise, I'm actually really good at it. Soon, I will be adding a Victorian handpurse to my Etsy store -- along with dread falls.


4. I'm going to get back to work on my novel. It will be a slow return to it, but I fully intend to attack it during November.

Life has the potential to be really awesome if I come flying out of the gate with this. I just need to find the balance and not get overwhelmed by the overlapping projects.

The last time we talked about work, I mentioned that I was no longer working for a scum-sucking corporation that gleefully wallows in the muck of bankruptcies, foreclosures, and shattered dreams. Neither am I unemployed and suffering painful interviews.

Nay! For the past six months, I have been working as a HUB Editor for Internet Broadcasting, a truly marvelous company that I absolutely enjoy on every level. I have a TV at my completely adjustable, moves-up-and-down-at-the-push-of-a-button desk which is decorated with a zebra print lava lamp (you bet your ass the wax is hot pink), mardi gras beads, a poster of Hunter S. Thompson and a collection of pictures of cats with stuff on them. We also have a Wii in the break room. I box when the news makes me angry.

So what does a Hub Editor dooo? That's complicated. I think it is sufficient to say that we pretty much just rock all the time, as my favorite coworker baltpup25 will tell you. Long story short, a broadcast news reporter e-mails me some facts and I throw together a story as fast as possible and then put it on the Intertubes for the public's edification because the Good Lord knows broadcast journalists can't write to save their lives.

I also maintain two news indexes focusing on education and environmental news, which is pretty sweet. I get to write touching stories about how students in Baltimore have taken a stand against teen violence by creating music videos and about how geothermal energy can rock your world -- and your energy bill over winter.

I also do a lot of odd jobs. Slideshows, features, video transfers, whatever is necessary to make our news coverage comprehensive and awesome. If you Google my name you'll find about a frillion articles I've written. It's still bizarre to me that at 23 I'm doing exactly what I want to be doing for a company I love with people I adore. I love going to work, and I feel very fortunate.

Best Moment: When my boss called me to ensure that I would interview for this job.
Worst Moment: When a member of my team got laid off.
Weirdest Moment: On Sunday I had to write a story about elephant herpes. Never thought that day would come, but there you have it.

Oh! Hello!

So many things have happened in my absence! LJ is aflame with hatred for the new info layout, half of my f-list is shamelessly fangirling over a mixture of Twilight and Quantum of Solace, and there is SO much FUG going on I can't even believe it -- although, I did know it would keep coming in buckets from Katy Perry. Good Lord I want her to get in some horrific accident that permanently removes her from the public eye.

That being said, I'm back. I swear. No really.

I've thought about it, and I miss the LJ. I do not know if I'll be updating daily, but it certainly won't be this twice a month nonsense I've been rocking while getting things sorted.

So, what have I missed? How are you? Did you miss me?

I'm going to do a multi-post roundup of what's been going on, mostly because some of it needs to be filtered because I don't want to offend anyone's delicate sensibilities. Also there's a lot of it and I'm getting sleepy. Think of this post as a frenetic wave and another invitation to tell me if you want in on the sex life filter.

Okay. That'll about do it. I have a lot to write about. Also, my boob itches?

Oh, and if you need a laugh quidditchkiss almost KILLED ME DEAD with this. I may have compromised the structural integrity of my spleen.

Coffee at 7 p.m. is a wonderful thing. It also, however, illustrates how very tired I am.

And I have dinner with Mike pretty soon! I can't be this wiped out!

Although, by all accounts my exhaustion is completely justified. I stayed up until 1:30 in the morning talking to Dan about his concerns regarding our failed relationship which actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. He just wanted some opinions, and no one got hurt. In fact, I think it will make our interactions going forward significantly less awkward.

I was also editing Carmen's final paper for one of her courses. I tell ya, there's nothing quite like learning about cloud seeding after midnight.

Speaking of said paper, Carmen woke me up at 7:50 in the mornin' saying that she couldn't open the doc I sent her so there was a lot of grunting and yawning and resending of things. All of which was then, of course, succeeded by a whole lot of explaining and directing on the functions of Microsoft Word.

After that I couldn't get back to sleep, so I resumed ransacking my wardrobe. When I say ransacking, I mean I threw out 3/4 of all the clothes I own today. I took them to Goodwill, and I bade them farewell. I took the survivors to the dry cleaners, and then I went on an emergency shopping trip to recover some of the necessities I had thrown out in my passion. You know, things like socks, underwear, and shirts. Kind of important, if you're into that sort of thing.

There were other tedious errands involved too, but the moral of the story is that I just got home about a half an hour ago and my feet really hurt.

I kinda want to just shout: HAY GUYS, I'M NOT WORKING 7 DAYS A WEEK ANYMORE BUT I'M STILL RLY BUSY. WHAT GIVES?

Siriusly. The rest of this week's itinerary:
Thursday

1. 10:45 - Physical @ the Doc's
   
2. After that - Zoo w/ my great and worthyopponent
   
3. Post zoo - Shopping for necessities (I have four casual shirts and 2 pairs of jeans now, guys! I have almost nothing for summer.)
   
4. Post shopping - Probably something. There's always something. Hopefully it involves liquor...

Friday:

1. Begin closet excavation
   
2. Give up on closet excavation
   
3. Clean
   
   • Dust
     
   • Windex
     
   • Vacuum every nook and cranny
   
   
4. Laundry! (At least there's significantly less now...)
   
5. Packing
   
6. Leaving for Chicago w/ Mike

Saturday

1. Chicago w/ Mike.

Sunday

1. Chicago w/ Mike
   
2. Returning to the cities
   
3. Purchasing Eddie Izzard tickets

And then on Monday I start my new job. I think I need another week off.

*sheepish* Hello? Oh, Hi. It's been a long time hasn't it? I'm sorry. I have a good excuse though!

Notice: I have a brand new boyfriend! I am not a moron. His name is Mike. And we like him. Yes, yes we do.

If you want all the juicy details, let me know and I will add you to the sexxeh filter to be updated later. If no, then here's the quick run down.

( I like Mike!Collapse )

In other news, I applied for a full position as a National News Editor with Internet Broadcasting. Please wish me luck. This job would be a freaking dream come true.

I also have started going to a weekly writer's group on Tuesday nights, which has inspired me to reactivate drabble_0n, and expand the focus. Drabbles are great writing exercises, but they can be limiting. So drabbling will continue, but so will general writing exercises.

I strongly encourage anyone interested in creative writing (both reading and writing) to join the community and participate in the writing assignments either by writing or giving constructive criticism!

drabble_0n drabble_0n drabble_0n

I'm also going to be posting some of my favorite stories on here. Please feel free to rip them to shreds/shower them with praise as you deem appropriate.

Jeez, I should've bullet-pointed this beeyotch.

Anyway, I realized it's been almost a full year since I graduated college. What the hell?

I'm turning 23 in 4 days, and I don't really care. I was horrified when I turned 22, but this time around I'm almost pointedly disinterested. I have no idea what I'm doing for my birthday either. I know I'll be working and then going to Sandy's bridal shower, but I have no clue beyond that. Faith assures me that there will be some sort of surprise.

I have to write an article about China and the issues surrounding the Beijing Olympics. Current events with the appropriate glance into China's history. I know dick all about China, you guys. I'm fairly intimidated by this assignment. So Imma go read up.

How are you?