In a few hours, I will be heading to the airport to fly to Chicago for a literacy conference. I won’t be a part of the conference, but rather helping sell books at an exhibit there. I did this back in November in Providence and it was a lot of fun.
I haven’t been in a plane in quite some time (can’t remember the last time), and so I have that anxiety that comes when air travel is not a habit. I am trying not to pack too much. For a few hours yesterday, I resigned myself to the fact that I couldn’t bring my camera. But, I decided to fuck it and bring it, because I really feel lost without it.
I just finished a book by John Robison, which was actually a gift I had given to Matthew for Christmas. I borrowed it from him after he quickly finished it post-Christmas. John Robison is the brother of Augusten Burroughs and lives in Amherst. He grew up in Shutesbury, just around the corner from where I work right now. The book is his first and it is about his life with Asperger’s. It’s a quick and engaging read; I highly recommend it. If you do get it, consider the hardcover edition. The paperback edition that I purchased removed expletives so that younger people could read it and learn about Asperger’s, or just growing up different (and all the bullying that comes with it).
Now I am between books and don’t know which one to start. I’m thinking that I’d like to switch to fiction, so I am considering Andre Dubus III’s latest The Garden of Last Days, which I received as a gift. I also received two nonfiction books that are en vogue right now–Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food. I heard about them at JBo’s tea party in December and put them on my Amazon list.
I also got Obama’s The Audacity of Hope, but I have already decided against reading it next. Something about reading Obama while in Chicago seems awfully cheesy.
I think I’ve settled on Ande Dubus III. I don’t know anything about the book. A perfect escape.
I won’t have any computer access for a few days as far as I know. Back on Friday night.
Sunday through Tuesday I was at a conference for literacy in Providence, Rhode Island. We had a booth and so I was going to help sell our books there. It’s my third week so I was a little nervous about being able to talk about the books. Although most people may have never heard of Pioneer Valley Books, we’re quite popular among literacy teachers. Our booth — it was actually more the size of six booths in the middle of the exhibit hall — was mobbed the first day of the conference. I was trained, but it was still difficult to jump in and pretend that I knew what I was talking about. By the second day, though, I was way more confident. I only got to check out one of the sessions, led by our company president. It was amazing to watch her talk about writing books for literacy. She showed videos of her working with three young children. It was quite a poignant moment for me to watch the children as they became readers. What a powerful–and empowering–thing it is to be able to read.
The hotel was attached to the conference center AND a huge mall, so I didn’t get out much during the three days. We did walk up to Federal Hill two nights in a row for delicious Italian dinners.
Heather took this photo me taking a photo of the view from the sixth floor of the Westin on our first day.
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It was suggested by one wise man that I should probably try to be a little less cryptic in my blog regarding some changes happening in my life.
Since I got married I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about life and what I want to be doing whilst living it. I remember when I was in college, a friend read my palm and told me that my lifeline drew its path through many different vocations — that I’d have many different careers in my life.
That’s always stuck with me.
More and more over the summer, circumstances and events were telling me that it’s time to try something new. An opportunity came about through a good friend at a small, successful children’s book publisher. The prospect of being able to switch to a whole different environment — the company is in Amherst and I currently work in Springfield — and to be able to learn a whole new way of doing business was exciting to me. I enjoy challenges and I enjoy learning new things.
I am going to be working as an editor, keeping the production of books on the right path. I’ll also be helping the company move into doing more multimedia. I have a lot to learn about print media. I know a lot has changed since I was in college.
It’s always difficult to leave a job, but I didn’t know how hard it would be to leave a job where I love the work and the people so much.
Of course, MassLive.com is also where I met my husband and he will still be working in this office in his position with Advance Internet after I am gone. I’ll miss our lunches and carpooling. I’ll miss running errands and going to the grocery store. These have been mid-day rendezvous not afforded to most married couples.
well, rumor mill, whoever and wherever you are.
Yes, I’m leaving my current job as of this Friday and it’s with a very heavy heart. I’m moving onto a publishing job, also in the valley. I’m not moving or anything.
On Friday, Matthew and I went to check out a new lunch place in downtown Springfield. It’s in the spot where the Main Street Frigo Foods used to be. We had low expectations, considering the name of the place. Yes, it’s Dillweedz. We were pleasantly surprised by the sandwiches and pleased by the portions. Thumbs up. I really wish they’d change their name or explain its significance, though.
I enoyed the decor, from the shiny, dark hardwood floors to the brightly painted green walls. Floors not pictured.
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I take my camera everywhere I go – even on simple walks to get lunch. Sometimes I get time to post these photos. Sometimes I don’t. When I don’t, I put them into file folders called “MMDDYYphotodump” and then I forget about them. I just went through a few of these file folders and am pulling out some images of Western Massachusetts. I hope to do this more often in my blog. We’ll see.
The first photo is of the exterior of the Wistariahurst Museum. I took it on the afternoon that I went to hear a talk on Holyoke resident Anna Burns Sullivan. Sullivan was a prominent union organizer for the local mills in the late 30s and continued to be an activist until her death in 1983.
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These past couple of weeks have found me doing a bunch of things – getting ready for vacation, planting things in our front and back, celebrating someone’s birthday, working, taking photos, going to picnics, successfully not getting too many bug bites in the process, visiting family, watching what I eat. I promise to have something up here on this blog soon (besides this pathetic post).
Following our trip to Brimfield, I spent some time in the kitchen, figuring out something to do with all of our leftover parsley. The great thing about parsley is that it costs almost nothing, it comes in an abundance, and will last a decent amount of time stored in the crisper.
We originally purchased the parsley to make this fantastic salmon recipe for Mother’s Day. A week later, there I was, looking up recipes in Mark Bittman’s How To Cook Everything Vegetarian.
I’ve been trying to cut down on high-fat foods these days, in anticipation of our vacation next month (next month!?!), and this recipe fits the bill as a nice substitute for a sandwich condiment, such as mayonnaise. I modified it slightly by using less olive oil than was called for (4 TBSP instead of 1/2 cup) and two garlic cloves instead of a one-half clove. I think Matthew would have rather I put less garlic, because as he says, I am more “garlic obsessed” than he.
The recipe appears as part of a clam entree in the NY Times, but stands alone in Bittman’s cookbook.
The above photo was unenhanced. That’s the true color of the parsley puree.
I’ve been reading tony pierce for pretty much as long as I’ve been reading blogs. I’ve purchased his books and rooted for him all the way from the xbi to laist to now the big time latimes. He still updates his famous busblog (where he writes about women, music, and sometimes politics, sometimes religion, sometimes his job.) As the blog editor for the LA Times, he oversees that entire section of the site. That’s kind of amazing, considering the fact that he wrote a lot of revealing stuff in his blog over the years. It says a lot about LA Times’ forward-thinking editors who clearly value and respect and understand blogging. Anyhow, seeing that we’re now working in the same kind of profession (overseeing and producing online content as part of a newspaper-branded site), I wanted to get his insight on some topics.
Me: Are there any new trends you’re seeing in the blogging world that bother you?
Tony: Most of the new trends I love: Twitter, Tumblr, FriendFeed, SocialThing, because they are helping bring back the idea that the individual bloggers’ lives matter and those tools make it easier for people to share their experiences with their readers.
The only trend that bothers me, as you say, is the ongoing obsession with people trying to make money off their blogs. I am speaking of the popularity of the Make Money Blogging blogs. These blogs don’t tell the truth about blogging which is: less than one-tenth of one percent of blogs make any real money. You’re better off playing the lottery or OMG getting a second job (or a better primary job) than thinking you can either tweak your blog into some sort of money-making machine.
There are over 100 million blogs out there and about 500 people making money blogging. You have a better chance being a starting quarterback in the NFL. So if you want to blog, blog and forget about the money. Do it because you want to express yourself. If you wanna make money: get a damn job. Read more »
Just this week a new producer started working here. One of her hobbies happens to be photography. Before she started I emailed her about doing some photo safaris on our lunch breaks from time-to-time. She is much more experienced than I am, so I am somewhat shy about showing her my work. Plus, she is a Canon girl who enjoys making fun of my Nikon! But, whatever, it’s just a hobby and I can only get better with practice. We’ve already gone on our first adventure — the MassLive parking lot. Her jawdropping photos are here and a few of my less-than-awe-inspiring photos are below (and after the jump). I really want to learn her little Photoshop tricks. Maybe if I’m nice to her she’ll show me.
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blogging, books, current affairs, photography, travel, western mass, workplace | kristen January 14, 2009 | 
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