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.

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.

Heather and I took just a few photos in the hotel and on our last day we went on a little photo safari.

First stop was Federal Hill.

Then we sort of got lost and ended up in a questionable part of town.

Then it was over to RISD to snap some photos.

My full gallery is available at Flickr. Heather’s is also available there.

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.

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.

I enoyed the decor, from the shiny, dark hardwood floors to the brightly painted green walls. Floors not pictured.

They also use art created by local kids. This canvas is from the Dunbar Community Center. Very charming.

Photographic evidence that this place is indeed called Dillweedz.

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.

The photo of Commercial Street was taken the day after the Parsons Mill fire. As you can see from the next photo, the fire was still going one day later (and even longer).

The Galley in West Springfield will be closing as of June 30, 2008, according to the big sign in the window. It’s located on Riverdale Street between DiGrigoli Salons and the big truck repair shop.

The federal building in Springfield will be vacant once the new federal building on State Street opens. The city needs to think hard about what to do about this space.

Second to last photo: The view on Main Street, heading towards Hampden Street. Hippodrome sign beckons ahead.

Final Photo: Shakago Bar on Hampden Street, Springfield, Mass.

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.

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.

Me: Does your new job ever make you feel like a sellout?

Tony: To me, selling out is doing something simply for money that you really don’t love. Working for the LA Times is a dream come true and a job I’ve been wanting for a very long time and I love it. I can’t even really believe I have this job. There have been two Pulitzer Prize winners who have sat at my desk and typed on my keyboard. So damn cool. Me having this job is probably a lot like how Theo Epstien feels about being the GM for the Red Sox – outsiders who always loved this Old School iconic thing, and somehow we get to work for it in a major way due to our New School beliefs and ways.

Working for the love of things is the polar opposite of selling out. It is what people should be doing more of.

Me: As someone who has worked for a small web site within a large company for several years now, sometimes I feel like we’re always chasing the next big thing in new media. Do you feel any pressure at the LA Times to be the trendsetters?

Tony: The Times has not earned its reputation by setting trends, but by being credible and delivering news in a timely fashion. So trendsetting is not a pressure that I think anyone here has ever felt. We have other pressures, like competing with new sources of news like Yahoo, CNN, and those 100 million other blogs.

Do you pay the LA Times bloggers?

Tony: Yes. Even our interns get paid here. It’s quite a different world, in that respect than most of the blogosphere.

Me: What section of the newspaper do you typically take with you to the bathroom?

Tony: The best thing about working at a newspaper is you can carry the paper with you and no one knows you’re headed to the john. I like to bring Metromix in there because a) it’s fantastic and b) I like to leave it in there as a passive-aggressive way of sharing it with my cohorts. Metromix is owned by Tribune Corp but doesn’t always get all the love that it deserves. It’s sorta like the (hot) red-headed stepchild, I feel.

Me: Did you go to your senior prom? What do you remember about it?

Tony: I did go to the senior prom. Even though it was a long time ago, I remember everything, in vivid detail. I went with a junior named Claudia who had dated one of my closest friends, Mike, but he broke up with her a month or two before prom. I wanted to go with my quasi-girlfriend Mary but she had moved and her parents wouldn’t let her fly back to me because they had found out that my mom was going to be out of town that weekend.

I remember clearly how I asked her to prom. I was very superstitious back then and I said to myself, if a good song comes on the radio I will ask Claudia to prom, if not I will beg Mary to go with me one last time. The Kinks’ “Come Dancing” came on and I asked her, she said yes, we kissed, and I thought all would be well.

When Prom came, she looked great (she eventually was Homecoming Queen the next year), I put the corsage on her, etc., but when we got to the dance she didn’t wanna dance. She said she was “sick”. She didn’t seem sick to me, so I was pissed and me and all of my friends, like Mike all danced together in front of the band. I didn’t even kiss her goodnight when I dropped her off.

Turned out it was that time of the month for Claudia, but because she was 16 she didn’t really know how to share that info with me, since we really didn’t know each other all that well. I felt awful. So what I learned was, if a woman says she’s sick, be super cool, cuz it might mean something that men couldn’t fathom.

Me: Favorite songs right now?

Tony: Lil Wayne “I’m Me” and The Ting Tings “That’s Not My Name”.