Dilemma

More than a dilemma. A life crisis.

I moved to NYC last September to get a master’s degree. I graduate in May, and so far I’ve had no luck in finding a job. I’ve had two internships, and I would gladly take another, if I could get it. The publishing industry is rapidly evolving, and while the need for content will always be there, perhaps certain jobs and positions won’t be. I’ve been told people are proud of the things I’ve done. And a friend said to me that I moved here for my “dream job,” so I should be happy that I’m even getting, or taking, the chance.

But the truth is. I have no idea if this is my dream or not. I have no idea what I truly want out of life. Well, I thought I knew. I really thought I had it all figured out. And then last year, that part of my life was gone. Just like that. And I can’t help but have the thought that if I hadn’t moved, if I hadn’t left home to pursue this thing that I wasn’t really 100% sure about anyway, that maybe that part of my life would still be in tact and I would be happier. As graduation looms, and potential joblessness, I keep turning my thoughts back to Michigan, back to home. But I doubt things could ever be the same, even if we both wanted them to be. And what would I do in Michigan? Move back with my mom (no offense meant, I love being around her, but I’d be closer to 30 than 20, and still living with my parents. No thanks.) And what would I do for a job there any more than I would do for a job here? At least at home I’d have people I know and love, and a lower cost of living. But I’d feel useless, and like I wasted my time, and money, even doing this in the first place.

I have about 5 months to get my shit together. But right now I’ve never felt so conflicted and truly lost in my entire life.

Posted: January 6th, 2010 under Uncategorized - 4 Comments.

Vegemite sandwiches, that’s how.

Currently Reading: Callisto by Torsten Krol, and various manuscripts

Last week I had the opportunity to meet Gary Corby, a genius writer from Australia who is represented by the agency I currently intern with. He discussed his two manuscripts with us brilliant interns. He writes historical mysteries set in ancient Greece, and his main character is the older brother of Socrates. I read one of them, and it’s quite spectacular. His first book will be pubbed in Fall 2010. You should all buy it. Then he took our photo and wrote this awesome blog post about us, called “How to Poison an Intern.”

Note: Joanna, who is wearing the blue and gray stripped sweater, is not an intern but an agent. She also likes Vegemite.

Oh, and check this out. This is the annual fund-raiser/world-record-breaker “Thrill the World” dance. My sister Amanda participated this year. Watch this video. At about 1:10 in, you can see her doing the “booty bounce” and “swim together” parts of the dance. (And yes, those are the technical terms.) That’s her on the far right, wearing the red corset and black pants. She also gets screen time later, so watch the whole thing. And if you do, check out the young girl in the front row. Just awesome.

Posted: October 26th, 2009 under Misc., books, family, geekdom - 2 Comments. Tags: amanda, FinePrint, gary corby, thrill the world, thriller

Poor Manuela

A classmate, on the Harry Potter books:

“I do get annoyed with the inconsistent Americanizations in the US-texts–sometimes Harry wears sneakers, and sometimes trainers. Sometimes they have sweaters, and sometimes they have jumpers. Either always use the British word for something or always use the American!”

I bet there are a lot of inconsistencies in books five and on. And I bet I could tell you exactly why, too. If Manuela Soares was dead, she’d be turning over in her grave reading that quote.

Posted: October 1st, 2009 under Uncategorized - No Comments.

He didn’t even have a telescope around his neck

Currently reading: The Prince of Frogs by Annaliese Evans

Last week I started interning for two literary agencies that share office space. Everyone who works there is odd in a good way, has unique tastes and areas of expertise when it comes to books, and is really nice and fun to work with. Even the other interns (there are 6 of us total) are totally fun. Especially when we’re sitting together reading query letters, passing around the ones with the most ridiculous contents, getting second opinions on the ones that seem like they might be worthwhile projects. I wish I could share with you all some of the amazingly stupid things I’ve read over the past two weeks, but unfortunately, I cannot. Not on the interwebz anyway.

Every time I go in there I know more and more that it’s what I want to be doing with my life. Reading manuscripts, talking about books, meeting new people… I’m even “required” to go to an industry schmooze fest with a bunch of Tor/Forge employees next week. At DBA. With Laura. Seriously. How could this non-job get any better? The long and short of it is that it couldn’t (well, I guess if I was getting paid, that might be an improvement, but I’ll take resume-improvement and school credit all the same).

Posted: September 17th, 2009 under Misc., books - No Comments. Tags: books, internship, job

I hope it’s gonna make you notice

I love this Kings of Leon song. And I love Paramore. Therefore, I love this Paramore cover of this KoL song.

Posted: September 9th, 2009 under music - 3 Comments. Tags: Kings of Leon, Paramore, youtube

Hit ‘em low, Olive Oil.

The other night I went to the new “flagship” (i dislike that term) Barnes and Noble store on the Upper East. Apparently Marvel turned 70, and there were celebrations at comics retailers all across the nation. This particular B&N held a discussion panel with some of Marvel’s past and present bigwigs… Joe Quesada, Chris Claremont, Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente, and Klaus Janson.

I recognized at least two of those names, and I knew Chris Claremont to be funny and elusive with his question answering, from when I saw him at the “Comic Book Club” a few months ago. So I went, listened to them talk about previous and upcoming Marvel offerings for a bit, and then stayed to get the 70th Anniversary collection signed.

While they were talking, I looked around the room and realized I was the only female there ALONE. All the other girls, while many of them seemed like huge nerds, were there with other guys (mind you, not a single group had more than one female….) So when I was getting my stuff signed, all the Marvel guys were being super nice and extra smiley, like they’d never seen a girl before. Then the last of them, Klaus Janson, known for his inking (especially of Frank Miller’s works), flat out asked me if the autographed book was for me. Ummm, I know I don’t have the outward appearance of a comic book fan, but that doesn’t mean I’m not one. (not that I’m a really big into comics, but I like a good story, and Marvel has some of the best.) I honestly felt discriminated against. I was the minority in a room of fanboys, and let me tell you, I’ve never felt more inferior, yet surprisingly superior in my entire life.

What a strange yet satisfying experience.

Posted: August 14th, 2009 under books, nerdness - No Comments. Tags: B&N, comics, fanboys, marvel, nerds

I made some really amazing fried potatoes this evening.

That is all.

Posted: August 7th, 2009 under Uncategorized - No Comments.

“A true ballad tells a story of real life.”

I decided, being in the publishing industry and all, that perhaps I should put my blog to use for something related to that. So here it is, my first serious book review. I definitely won’t turn this into an all-reviews-all-the-time blog, but I find it’s a nice outlet to share all the great (and perhaps not so great) stuff I’ve been reading with a wide(r) audience. Oh, also, I decided to post images of me with the book, if possible, rather than use copyrighted pics of the actual cover art from Amazon or wherever. I realize using them probably falls under “fair use” but whatever.

Title: Ballads of Suburbia
Author: Stephanie Kuehnert
Publisher: MTV Books
Length: 368
Age group/reading level: Young Adult (14+)

Summary: The summer before her senior year of high school, Kara nearly died from a heroin overdose. As a freshman, when she moved away from her best friend and then her family fell apart, Kara turned to music, booze, drugs, self-injury, and bad-boy Adrian to make everything better. Between all the parties and concerts, her friends collected their heartbreaking ballads of the moments that defined them. After four years away from her friends and family, Kara returns to Oak Park to confront her past, and to finally write her own ballad.

Read more »

Posted: July 23rd, 2009 under books, reviews - No Comments. Tags: ballads of suburbia, books, reviews, stephanie kuehnert

I’m a rooster, monkey

New cracked out trailer for an equally-cracked-out game, Katamari Forever. Wish I had a PS3 so I could play this when it comes out.

Also, can I just say how awesome this Chibi-Robocop is. Chibi-Robo is adorable. He is definitely one of my all-time favorite video game characters. He cleans and waters plants and makes fun noises when he walks!

(via flickr)

Posted: July 22nd, 2009 under games, nerdness - No Comments. Tags: chibi-robo, katamari forever, PS3, trailer

Celebrate Brooklyn!

Last evening I traversed the city to Brooklyn (via subway train which took like an hour and caused lots of sweatiness) to meet Andrew in Prospect Park for a free concert. Free concerts in the park(s) are highly popular, mostly because they’re free, but also because they’re entertaining. I expected not to have very good seats, because my confusion as to where the hell I was going caused me to get there only half an hour before the opening act started. And while the view from the chairs we snagged was pretty uninterrupted and fairly close, the seats themselves were far from “good.” Metal folding chairs are not the optimal places to rest yr bum for … however long Andrew and I were sitting there.
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Posted: July 17th, 2009 under music - 1 Comment. Tags: Andrew, concerts, Kronos Quartet, prospect park