Hope everyone weathered the weather! As for me, I have some entirely unnecessary liters of water to drink. Thanks for keeping me hydrated, Irene!
I honestly can’t believe I’m going into my fourth week of work. Fourth! I planned to post about my first week, but alas. It’s been busy. Though I’ve learned so much already, I have a while before all of these tasks become second nature. Metaphorically speaking, I can navigate the maze of my floor, but I’m still figuring out the best way to get where I need to go.
My apartment’s looking more and more like a home every day. Slow but steady progress is the key. The biggest victory was scoring the very comfy couch I’m currently sitting on, an L-shaped brown corduroy monster, off of Craigslist. It fits both my tall gentleman roomie and me in full lounge mode. Next nest project: art!
When not working or unpacking, I’ve been exploring around the Montrose neighborhood. Best discovery? My local watering hole. I’ve frequented Duck Duck several times since moving, and it’s perfect for launching or ending an evening. I had a tasty tuna melt at Boulevard Café and some yummy bagel sandwiches at Lula Bean. (The iced tea at LB is die for!) Great tacos have also been found but only serviceable Thai food. Recommendations, either in Brooklyn or in the city?
I had the pleasure of taking in an Otsego show at Halyards this past Friday. (Went with a good friend of mine from college, who went to high school with the drummer.) A talented ensemble that plays bluegrass-y good time music, Otsego does originals and covers with unassuming charm. I’ll be keeping an eye on these fellows.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
A Boston to Brooklyn Playlist
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| Click to see it bigger! |
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| Just a small typo with the quotes! Want to fix. |
MY TOP
The Arcade Fire: No Cars Go/Ready to Start
Bombay Bicycle Club: Always Like This/Ghost
Broken Bells: The High Road
Camera Obscura: Let’s Get Out of This Country
Chromeo: Night by Night
The Cure: Mint Car
Darwin Deez: Radar Detector
The Decemberists: Sons and Daughters
Devendra Banhart: Lover
Diane Birch: Valentino
The Dirty Projectors: Cannibal Resource
Ezra Furman and the Harpoons: Take Off Your Sunglasses
A Fine Frenzy: Electric Twist
Florence and the Machine: Dog Days Are Over
The Go! Team: Bottle Rocket
Hellogoodbye: When We First Met
Hot Chip: The Warning
Minus the Bear: Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse
Neko Case: This Tornado Loves You
The New Pornographers: The Electric Version
Robyn: Cobrastyle
Roisin Murphy: Ruby Blue
Thao with the Get Down Stay Down: Bag of Hammers
YACHT: Psychic City
Yeasayer: O.N.E.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Amy and Gracie's Epic Detour
Moving to Brooklyn and starting a new job within one weekend was pretty intense, but here I am two weeks later. I'm alive! I have a couch and a cubicle, a new city to explore and a whole bunch of acronyms to learn. (CRF, P&L/PPE, TMM, T&E, OOP, OTS...)
Before all that though was Amy and Gracie's Epic Detour. (A nod to Amy and Roger's Epic Detour, which I read right before I left and LOVED.) I took Roger's road trip advice and procured both snacks and tunes for my drive from Boston to Brooklyn. I'll let the pictures do the talking.
Here's my route!
Here's my trusty steed...
(which was immaculately packed)
...And my copilot.
(Yes, that is iTunes up on Gracie's beautiful screen. My abbreviated playlist is to come.)
I had a couple of detours, more or less epic. I had enough money for the tolls, I relied on some very friendly people when I got lost, I never ran out of gas, and I surprised myself. It was actually a lot of fun, just me and some music out on the open road. Still, thank goodness I'm here. I'm ready to stick around for a while.
A hint of things to come:
My coworkers are pretty great. <3
Thursday, August 4, 2011
SLB: EMPLOYED! Edition
So, I was holding out on you in my last post. Why? Because this news deserves its own!
I GOT A JOB. (Yes, a real one!)
I'll be joining Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers as an Editorial Assistant/Assistant to the Deputy Publisher. I could not be more excited. I loved everyone I met while I was interviewing, and I'll be doing what I love. How can I possibly improve on that?
Moving forward, SLB will be evolving as I figure out where to go from here. Of course, I'll still be talking about books, but I want to figure out how to do that in a way that's responsible and professional.
In other news, Gracie the MacBook and I are having a blast together. Anybody have app suggestions for me?
I GOT A JOB. (Yes, a real one!)
I'll be joining Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers as an Editorial Assistant/Assistant to the Deputy Publisher. I could not be more excited. I loved everyone I met while I was interviewing, and I'll be doing what I love. How can I possibly improve on that?
Moving forward, SLB will be evolving as I figure out where to go from here. Of course, I'll still be talking about books, but I want to figure out how to do that in a way that's responsible and professional.
In other news, Gracie the MacBook and I are having a blast together. Anybody have app suggestions for me?
CPC: Weeks Five and Six (Plus)
I promised a doozy of a recap, and I always deliver on my promises. (It's really not my fault though. So many cool things were squeezed into the last few weeks!)
---Saw HP7.5 with a gaggle of CPCers. Though I missed certain scenes, I think the creative team did a great job distilling the essential magic of the book. I may have bawled like a baby, but I can partly blame it on the snifflers/wailers around me. I couldn't have picked better people to say goodbye to Harry with me. It does feel like a part of my childhood has ended.
---The "magazine" workshop was much less stressful than the book workshop for me, but my team and I still did plenty of work. We created a website this time around, a community/resource site for parents of teenagers. We called it "GROUNDED: A Parent's Guide to the Rocky Teenage Years." I served as the Information Architect, which meant I got to create the wireframes for the website's design. (Basically, telling the designer where to put what to give our users the best browsing experience.) I had a ton of fun with the girls in my group, and we all were invested in our concept. A silly yet serious good time.
---We had some more excellent speakers come share their lives' work with us. Choire Sicha (previously of Gawker, currently of The Awl and my super-fav forever The Hairpin) is a funny fella. Chris Kimball of America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Illustrated magazine is just as dapper and bow-tied in real life. Christopher Cerf (known for his musical contributions to Sesame Street and for co-creating the children's literacy show Between the Lions) was such a sweetheart. I still can't believe I shook the hand of the man who wrote "Put Down the Duckie." (I am personally tickled by his "Furry Happy Monsters," but you should check out his impressive list of accomplishments for yourself.) One of my favorite people to chat with was Jennifer Romolini. She's the editor-in-chief of Shine, a comprehensive community site that celebrates woman-centric topics, and she knows her stuff. Such a cool lady.
---I was one of the lucky few that got to attend the CPC field trip to Scholastic. For those of us who love children's books, visiting the building was like stepping into a sacred temple, and meeting Arthur A. Levine (better known as the US publisher of HP) was like meeting the guru.
---The last night of classes, about a third of the program went out on a massive karaoke night. The room wasn't that big, but the fun was. I had a bit of a moment when everyone sang the Frank Sinatra version of "New York, New York."
---At the final banquet, the food was delicious, but the company was even better. The wine also flowed freely, so our table got a little sappy speaking about our dreams for the future. (I was sitting with the next Martha Stewart, obviously.) My favorite part of the meal was when anyone who wanted to could stand up and make toasts. (Yes, I gave a toast. Yes, I got a little teary afterward.) I am so, so impressed by my 100 incredibly funny, warm, and talented fellow graduates.
---In our downtime, a group of post-program dorm stragglers ventured to Brooklyn for pizza. We braved an hour-and-a-half-long line for Grimaldi's, but it was all kinds of worth it.
---The career fair and the alumni reception (generously hosted by Christopher Cerf in his gorgeous home) wrapped up the last week. The same sentiments go for both events: I met such nice people from a multitude of different publishing outfits and generally had a grand old time schmoozing.
I can't believe it's over, but something new is about to begin. More details soon...
---Saw HP7.5 with a gaggle of CPCers. Though I missed certain scenes, I think the creative team did a great job distilling the essential magic of the book. I may have bawled like a baby, but I can partly blame it on the snifflers/wailers around me. I couldn't have picked better people to say goodbye to Harry with me. It does feel like a part of my childhood has ended.
---The "magazine" workshop was much less stressful than the book workshop for me, but my team and I still did plenty of work. We created a website this time around, a community/resource site for parents of teenagers. We called it "GROUNDED: A Parent's Guide to the Rocky Teenage Years." I served as the Information Architect, which meant I got to create the wireframes for the website's design. (Basically, telling the designer where to put what to give our users the best browsing experience.) I had a ton of fun with the girls in my group, and we all were invested in our concept. A silly yet serious good time.
---We had some more excellent speakers come share their lives' work with us. Choire Sicha (previously of Gawker, currently of The Awl and my super-fav forever The Hairpin) is a funny fella. Chris Kimball of America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Illustrated magazine is just as dapper and bow-tied in real life. Christopher Cerf (known for his musical contributions to Sesame Street and for co-creating the children's literacy show Between the Lions) was such a sweetheart. I still can't believe I shook the hand of the man who wrote "Put Down the Duckie." (I am personally tickled by his "Furry Happy Monsters," but you should check out his impressive list of accomplishments for yourself.) One of my favorite people to chat with was Jennifer Romolini. She's the editor-in-chief of Shine, a comprehensive community site that celebrates woman-centric topics, and she knows her stuff. Such a cool lady.
---I was one of the lucky few that got to attend the CPC field trip to Scholastic. For those of us who love children's books, visiting the building was like stepping into a sacred temple, and meeting Arthur A. Levine (better known as the US publisher of HP) was like meeting the guru.
---The last night of classes, about a third of the program went out on a massive karaoke night. The room wasn't that big, but the fun was. I had a bit of a moment when everyone sang the Frank Sinatra version of "New York, New York."
---At the final banquet, the food was delicious, but the company was even better. The wine also flowed freely, so our table got a little sappy speaking about our dreams for the future. (I was sitting with the next Martha Stewart, obviously.) My favorite part of the meal was when anyone who wanted to could stand up and make toasts. (Yes, I gave a toast. Yes, I got a little teary afterward.) I am so, so impressed by my 100 incredibly funny, warm, and talented fellow graduates.
---In our downtime, a group of post-program dorm stragglers ventured to Brooklyn for pizza. We braved an hour-and-a-half-long line for Grimaldi's, but it was all kinds of worth it.
---The career fair and the alumni reception (generously hosted by Christopher Cerf in his gorgeous home) wrapped up the last week. The same sentiments go for both events: I met such nice people from a multitude of different publishing outfits and generally had a grand old time schmoozing.
I can't believe it's over, but something new is about to begin. More details soon...
Monday, August 1, 2011
Playing Catch-Up + New Computer!
Hi, fellow bookworms! Long time, no blog. Sorry for the radio silence, but there’s been a few things occupying my time recently:
---The end of the Columbia Publishing Course! I have a doozy of a recap post (Weeks 5 and 6) coming up for you soon.
---Lucy the Laptop kicked the bucket. (She joins Charlotte in my personal computer graveyard. May they rest in peace.) I always said I’d get a Mac when my current Dell died, so here we are. Please welcome Grace the MacBook to the Internet!
---I’m slowly learning my way around this new OS. I had my first one-to-one session with a Mac Genius (shoutout to Cliff!) and asked aggressively silly questions. He was so nice and explained everything I wanted to know. I could get used to this. Side note: The Apple Genius Bar is FULL of adorable scruffy nerds. Ten times better than a regular bar.
---Slight diversion: I’m way too much of a chicken to ever get one, but I love tattoos, particularly the stories behind them. I completely respect/admire people who are thoughtful about their ink and commit to having it on their skin for the rest of their lives. So, I saw one I enjoyed at the Apple store yesterday. A man had the word VERENDUS tattooed on his forearm. After some surreptitious Googling, I found the Latin word translated to “awe-inspiring.” This guy literally has AWESOME on his arm. Awesome.
---While I'm here, I might as well plug my current obsession. I just read Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour, and I’m seriously in love. I’ll do a full review when I get a chance, but this was the best contemporary I’ve read since Anna and the French Kiss. Absolutely the perfect book to read before a big move. The voice is warm, the format is interesting, the story is expertly layered, the pacing is terrific, and the characters won me over completely. More gushing to follow.
Today, I’m getting my first look at the apartment since we signed the lease. I’m crossing my fingers that it’s as perfect as I remember. Hold tight! More to come.
---The end of the Columbia Publishing Course! I have a doozy of a recap post (Weeks 5 and 6) coming up for you soon.
---Lucy the Laptop kicked the bucket. (She joins Charlotte in my personal computer graveyard. May they rest in peace.) I always said I’d get a Mac when my current Dell died, so here we are. Please welcome Grace the MacBook to the Internet!
---I’m slowly learning my way around this new OS. I had my first one-to-one session with a Mac Genius (shoutout to Cliff!) and asked aggressively silly questions. He was so nice and explained everything I wanted to know. I could get used to this. Side note: The Apple Genius Bar is FULL of adorable scruffy nerds. Ten times better than a regular bar.
---Slight diversion: I’m way too much of a chicken to ever get one, but I love tattoos, particularly the stories behind them. I completely respect/admire people who are thoughtful about their ink and commit to having it on their skin for the rest of their lives. So, I saw one I enjoyed at the Apple store yesterday. A man had the word VERENDUS tattooed on his forearm. After some surreptitious Googling, I found the Latin word translated to “awe-inspiring.” This guy literally has AWESOME on his arm. Awesome.
---While I'm here, I might as well plug my current obsession. I just read Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour, and I’m seriously in love. I’ll do a full review when I get a chance, but this was the best contemporary I’ve read since Anna and the French Kiss. Absolutely the perfect book to read before a big move. The voice is warm, the format is interesting, the story is expertly layered, the pacing is terrific, and the characters won me over completely. More gushing to follow.
Today, I’m getting my first look at the apartment since we signed the lease. I’m crossing my fingers that it’s as perfect as I remember. Hold tight! More to come.
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