shallow thoughts by csolly

Hear anything about a job yet? Believe me, people, when I hear anything about a job, I am going to let you know. Everyone will know. I'll be shouting it from the rooftops. So, consider this a virtual 'shouting it from the rooftops.' I got my first bite about a job. Well, more of a nibble really. In response to a resume I sent out yesterday for a copy editor/writer position, I was asked, "Do you have any expertise with woman's Mystery fiction?" [sigh] No. I don't. My only book experience was with Jann Wenner, not Patricia Cornwell ... But just hang on a minute! While I was at that cool dot-com job, I had a slight editorial relationship with a mystery books web site (among a few hundred others ranging from stained glass to beekeeping - but mystery books was one of them!) Can I spin that to mean that I have experience with women's mystery fiction? You bet I did! This is a windfall of inspiration for me. I don't know why I didn't think of it before! I just sent a letter of interest to a cigar magazine, and I mentioned that I was the editor of the Cigars site. A new blank to fill in on that cover letter. ;) Maybe I could do OK in PR after all ... (well, shouldn't speak so soon; not sure how good of a job I did yet) Now, off to apply to be a catalog editor for Victoria's Secret. "Previous fashion experience is a plus." Nooooooo problem. Heh, awesome.

posted by Caryn @ 10/31/2002 06:23:00 AM

huh?

posted by Caryn @ 10/30/2002 03:21:00 PM

Why why why is it that: last year, here in New York City, amidst horror, we were told to resume our normal lives, to not be afraid, and we are; and, this month, in the DC-area, I, personally, didn't hear a peep of conscientious objection to people having their groceries delivered, holding indoor recess and crouching behind gasoline pumps?

posted by Caryn @ 10/29/2002 05:47:00 PM

Mom and I made a few spontaneous decisions midweek last week, and, for it, we were a rewarded with a weekend of romping on the beach. She'd planned on visiting me this past weekend for a few months now. We didn't really have any plans for what we'd do when she got here. She'd mentioned possibly driving to see my brother; I mentioned my interest in visiting Our Nation's Capital. Then pictures of our new house in Hilton Head were posted, which made Mom a bit ancy to get back down there to see it. So! A road trip was born. We only visited DC for a morning (we're early risers, Mom and I). We strolled the whole Mall and took a tour of the Capital building. (The lengths of the security measures and tour portion were equal.) Then we headed even further South crashed in Our New Home in Hilton Head. Each minute I was there, I was more and more excited that I'll be having a lifetime of vacations there, with my own bed to sleep in. My parents have made an awesome decision to move there. (They're not moving now; when they retire.) I could list all the reasons why HH is so great, but I won't bore you. I just hope that if I invite you down there for a vacation with me, you'll come. We rented bicycles and rode all through the Shipyard plantation. The views were awesome. I love the threes down there: palms and palmettos, Spanish moss, tall branchless trees with wide canopys. When we got to the beach we parked our bikes and crossed a dune. There were people on the beach! In bathing suits! In the ocean! Getting tans! Our jaws dropped. It was so warm and sunny! (The bike trails had all been through a very pleasant shade of said trees.) After a bike trip home to change clothes, we were back at the beach, and I had a giant craving to splash around in warm ocean water, days away from Halloween. The water was warmer than any I've waded into on Cape Cod in July. I swam out pretty far, but I could still touch the bottom. I was about 100 yards from the waning tide's edge when I heard my mom shout to me from the shore. She was pointing to something over my shoulder. I turned to see a dorsal fin slip out of a wave. I flailed halfway to my mommy before I realized that Jaws was actually Flipper. We laughed and I swam out, seeing several more groups of dolphins pass by during our time at the beach. (I've even got some color on my body. It will have faded from my my Irish skin by the time I see you, I'm sure.) We kept our mouths shut about traffic and road conditions the whole drive back, for fear of jinxing all the good fortunes we'd had in the last several days. Good thing, too. In North Carolina, our windshield was littered with debris from an RV that was sideswiped by a truck just in front of us (could have been worse). And, we were the last vehicle through before a police car turned on his siren and created a roadblock, weaving across all three lanes and halting half of the New Jersey Turnpike traffic. (It was spooky to have no cars behind us for more than 15 miles, when cars and trucks started entering at other points on the road.) I guess we'll never solve that mysetry. Mom just left for a plane back to StL. We're both so glad we decided to go down there. The house is great, the weather was great, the island is great. And I feel so good, out of my slump and a little more energy than I had 5 days ago. Thank you, Momma. [No smoking: 4 weeks today.]

posted by Caryn @ 10/29/2002 08:53:00 AM

A dull blog? A bull dog? Well, it's a dull life right now. My own fault, I will make no bones. Today, that is all going to change. The blog will still be dull, but my life will not. For a few days, anyway. My mother is swooping in on a big white bird that serves honey roasted peanuts to save me from this spotless apartment. She'll whisk me through Sniperville -- which I'm not worried about in the least -- down to the currently-rainy golf haven of Hilton Head, South Carolina. We're leaving this afternoon, provided I can change her car rental reservation without any problems. I don't know what we're going to do when we get there and neither does she. Relax, I suppose. Read. Enjoy being in a quiet place, have fun together. We'll have a good time. See you next week!

posted by Caryn @ 10/24/2002 07:51:00 AM

I was just catching up on reading, and there's an article in last week's TIME magazine about the company I used to work for. I was the first person at the company to be contacted by the reporter (I was in the PR department). Fun to know I have a little connection to a TIME feature. Maybe one day I'll write one ...

posted by Caryn @ 10/21/2002 05:22:00 PM

Oh, I'm sorry. I can't go out today. Seems I have a touch of agoraphobia, and I wouldn't want you to catch it.

posted by Caryn @ 10/21/2002 09:38:00 AM

Still nothing -- ab-so-looooot-ly nothing -- going on. Though, I can, again, list for you the things I've been doing to keep myself entertained: got a facial, cleaned the house, watched some more movies, bought a few movies, eating, still reading Franzen, taking pictures, redecorating. I only told one person this, and it probably wasn't you, that last week I was flirting with the idea of going to DC for a short vacation. I started to really love the idea -- and of going within a day or so of deciding. But I ended up changing my mind because I have to start getting more responsible with my money, as the last of my severence arrived on Friday. Oh well. I'll probably keep the idea in the back of my head though. I just want to get out of New York for a little while. Oh yeah. And I'm still not smoking. 20 days.

posted by Caryn @ 10/20/2002 10:34:00 AM

I have almost nothing new to report, but I thought I'd write and say hi anyway. Hi. I've been keeping busy by going swimming, running errands in the rain, trying to charm my kitten, reading Oprah books, watching lots of movies, shopping on ebay, and still not smoking.

posted by Caryn @ 10/17/2002 09:19:00 AM

OK, OK, I'm trying to do something about all this, battle my depression. So, I started looking for events that I could go to, maybe meet some people at. I'm not feeling quite up to my tip-top adventurous mode that I wish I was, so I'm feeling a bit shy about going to any of these things myself. This listing from mediabistro looks particularly interesting to me. Does anyone want to go to any of these? Maybe the Trivia Night (which I definitely do not feel I could do on my own, but would love to see what it's about). You know how to get in touch with me.

posted by Caryn @ 10/14/2002 10:32:00 AM

I'm pretty unhappy. I want a job so I can go back to having normal kind of days. I do love watching movies, cleaning my apartment, sewing, reading books and magazines, taking walks around the neighborhood, playing with my cats and all the other things I do to pass the time, but I am getting really bored. I should join the pool like I said I would. I should go to more museums. (I've only been to one since I lost my job.) And, because I've quit smoking, I think I've gained a few pounds (though anyone that looks at me probably does not notice, but I do), which makes me feel ugly and gross and even more unhappy. I miss interacting with people on a regular basis. I feel like I'm losing any sort of people-skills I ever did have. Are you done wallowing yet? Almost ...

posted by Caryn @ 10/14/2002 08:52:00 AM

Just wanted to update you on the quitting smoking ... Things are good. Today is the 11th day that I have not smoked a cigarette and I am doing 11 times better than I was a week ago. I also called my doctor for any advice she may have, and I'm going to go in next week to talk to her about it more. (And maybe get a flu shot while I'm at it.) That's really about all I have to say. Go Cards. :-/

posted by Caryn @ 10/11/2002 07:44:00 AM

Yes, yes, I am alive. Some people tell me I'm too addicted to the Internet, so when I finally step back for a little bit, everyone wonders where I've disappeared to. Sheesh. Pick up a phone. ;) [edit: deleted] I'm not being very eloquent in describing my problem. Pay me no mind. I'll figure it out.

posted by Caryn @ 10/10/2002 11:14:00 AM

One thing about quitting smoking is that the senses of taste and smell are heightening. And, really, New York City stinks. Having my senses dulled by smoking might have been a blessing. The subway stations smell like piss and vomit. The streets are horrible the night before garbage collection day. Bus fumes, jackhammer dust, and dirty people. Disgusting. I'm not sure if this better sense of smell is such a good thing.

posted by Caryn @ 10/07/2002 08:14:00 AM

Really, is anyone having a good morning? I'm upset about my kitten. Someone else is sick. Someone else hasn't been called by the man she's seeing. Someone else is having a dilemma. Someone else might be in the middle of a typhoon? Lord, give us a good weekend. Please!

posted by Caryn @ 10/04/2002 11:11:00 AM

I love my kitten, but it makes me so upset that he wants nothing to do with me. As has been suggested by more than one friend, I should just let him be. That's so disappointing that I'm going to have a cat that I take care of but wants nothing to do with me. He's so cute and I just want him to love me back. I guess that's not going to happen and I have to get used to that ...

posted by Caryn @ 10/04/2002 10:49:00 AM

I had a dream last night that I smoked a cigarette. After I did, in the dream, I actually felt really guilty about it. I was glad to wake up and realize that I still have not smoked any cigarettes. Boy howdy, this quitting smoking is a bitch. It's making me a little crazy. But I've been pretty busy this week, doing as much as I can to keep my mind off it (which hasn't worked -- I think about it all the time). I haven't hung out with any smokers this week, which has been a big help. But that'll change this weekend. I'm going to Boston. Most of my friends there, now, don't smoke -- and they've been trying, nicely, to get me to quit for a long time. We're going to a party on Saturday night and I know I'm going to be very tempted to step outside and ask someone, "Can I bum a smoke?" Luckily, I have a brute squad named Eleanor on my side who has offered to wrestle me to the ground if I smoke. I hope it doesn't come to that, but nice to know there is a last resort. That's really about it. I think about smoking all the time. But I feel good that I'm doing the right thing. Let's see where I am on the quitting-smoking-timeline ...

Your chance of a heart attack decreases already Nerve endings start to re-grow Your ability to smell and taste is enhanced Bronchial tubes relax making it easier to breathe Lung capacity increases making it easier to do physical activities

Cool.

posted by Caryn @ 10/04/2002 07:51:00 AM

Heh. My alarm clock really isn't dead. It's alive! Alive! Um, that's all. I'm off to the Department of Labor's Work Orientation "which could take up to 2 hours." Joy.

posted by Caryn @ 10/03/2002 07:38:00 AM

I haven't had a cigarette in a few days, and I can feel myself starting to get a bit ... punchy. You've been warned.

posted by Caryn @ 10/02/2002 11:42:00 PM

"On Thursday, October 3rd at the Rockefeller Center Barnes and Noble on 48th Street & 5th Avenue, Sarah Jessica Parker and Cynthia Nixon will be signing books from 1:00 to 3:00pm." Damn! I just made plans for that time! Should I cancel said plans? ... Hmmm ...

posted by Caryn @ 10/02/2002 10:53:00 AM

Wow ... I just finished watching the Blair Witch Project -- and that is one scary movie. I saw it in the theater when it first came out, and it scared me then. I didn't think it would scare me that much again. But it has. I'm ready to sleep with the lights on. I don't think my scaredy cats could stop a witch if one decided to hop the Queens-bound R train and climb through my first-story window. And I might be taking a trip up to the woods in a few weeks! But it's a house, and there are neighbors who would hear screaming if a dark furry witch decided to execute us in the manner of her choosing. I think I'll be watching a comedy now before I go to bed. G'night. Note to self: No more scary movies before bedtime.

posted by Caryn @ 10/01/2002 11:35:00 PM

... tell me to go to bed ... remind me about how i was up until 5am last night (this morning?) ... and how much it sucked when i woke up at 1pm ... and i felt all achy and crummy ... ask me if i want to feel like that again tomorrow ... cuz it'll happen, just you see, caryn solly, just you see ... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ...

posted by Caryn @ 10/01/2002 01:04:00 AM