Birthday Wrap Up

I took it nice and easy and even took a day off for my birthday. Which meant that I've been buried in work to catch up since I got back (it's that time of year--but honestly, it's always that time of year in PR). So instead of blogging, I've been working off cake and a week of decadence.

But here is the long overdue recap of the wonderful, awesome, super relaxing birthday that I got to share with Chef.

Nothing says party like some bubbly on the actual birthday. 

It sparkles so nicely. Champagne went well with the dinner he cooked me.
Apparently I ate that too fast to take a picture. 

The beautiful flowers he also surprised me with. 

This was not about cat CPR, but a book on screenwriting I've wanted forever. Good call by Chef. 

I managed to work in a much needed root touch up. Gotta keep red on the head.

I used my Sephora gift cards to do my annual "on my birthday" Sephora trip.

But the birthday just kept on going! I took off Friday to have some fun and we celebrated on Saturday too. That's how we roll in our household.  Below are more spoils from being spoiled (that included a two hour massage--somehow I've managed to tighten up again). I'm a lucky gal! Thanks for the birthday wishes everyone!

What Are You Gearing Up For?

I can't decide if these books
make me want to set a new
reading goal or a goal around
clutter for 2014. 

Only a few more days before the new year begins. I always get really excited at the new year. Mostly because I like the idea that things can change in a year. That hard work can make dreams happen. It's the wholesome American Midwest in me that likes to believe that working hard is rewarded. 

So I'm gearing up for what I'm going to concentrate on next year. This year I wanted to be well, write daily, try new things and be a better blogger. For the most part, I kept those resolutions. The end result is (the past week--okay, month--aside on the health part) has been more blog traffic lately (funny how that happens when you actually post more than 1-2 times a month), a solid draft on the novel plus several new stories and outlines for future stories, a fairly consistent running schedule, and an indoor skydiving experience under my belt, among other things. 

So now I'm thinking, what next? I will have a goal around writing, one around reading, one around my health for shiz, and then something else. It will have to be realistic, but maybe this time I'll start backwards. I'll start with what I want to have accomplished at the end of next year and then work backward on what it'll take to get me there. 

What are you preparing for in 2014? Any big goals on the horizon?

Public Relations isn't . . .

Since I did a post on what Public Relations IS, I thought I'd also clarify what it ISN'T for the record too. Public Relations ISN'T:

• like it is on TV. Samantha Jones would not be just calling people up and yelling at them to correct things or sweet talking them into writing things. That's not how it works. 
• like it is in books. I've read several books where the character doing PR will demand the media cover something and BAM! There just there for a completely non-newsworthy event (like a conference where nothing exciting is announced). 
• putting the media on beckon call. The only time in my career when ALL the great media outlets have voluntary shown up somewhere to cover something is when something crappy is happening. Every other time takes work, begging and relationship building. 
• about attending all these great and fun events. I have NEVER worked an event and had time to enjoy it. Usually I'm running around in heels and wishing that I were repping a sneaker company because then doing an ode to Melanie Griffith a la Working Girl wouldn't look inappropriate.
• Party planning.
• without strategy.
• spending all day on Facebook, twitter and instagram for funsies.
• without a budget. You have to be part time accountants to keep track of hours, dollars and everything in between. 
• about letter writing. Last time I checked, most people around me also had college degrees and can string together a form letter. Editing or pumping up said letter can be on the agenda. 
• stagnant. We tend to know about social media and "the next big thing" because we have to be able to explain to a company/brand/management why they should or shouldn't be on it.
• about perky sorority girls going to parties and events. 
• being a lawyer, but having to know a lot of law nonetheless. 

I'm sure there are other misconceptions out there, but just wanted to clear a few things up. Anything here surprise you?

I Promise I'm Still Alive

It's been an intermittent month, but mostly because I've been busy. With changes to my life and business travel mixing, it means my fun time has taken a hit. But in the mean time, here's a short blog post to catch you up. What have I been doing? Here's a hint:

I was working our new booth for my company. That's my team beside me (I'm in the striped jacket). For more than a year, we've been working with our staff, booth companies and vendors to make this happen. It was a great moment of pride for us. Not too shabby and under budget. We promptly spent 5 days in the booth working and meeting with customers. But it was still a good time in Anaheim.

The convention was the American Library Association. It's not only academic publishers, but also commercial publishers pimping new books. And because I'm always a fan of books and had just read the last of my free books from the ALA in January, I took a few trips around the convention floor to get some new titles. Another plus of it being a local convention is that I didn't have to worry about luggage space for my books so I grabbed them up. I ended up with 13 new (free) galleys to read and review.

I am now on my 13th straight day of work (another reason --or excuse--for my lack of blogging). But tomorrow I'm off all day! What should I do? (besides read, of course).

It's Tough To Own a Bookstore

I snapped this pic just moments after
my visit to Kramerbooks in Dupont
Circle in DC.

Or at least I imagine it has to be tough to own a bookstore. I like to frequent small local bookstores. They always have more character and books piled in weird ways that mean I see more than just bestsellers. One of my favorites is Book Soup in LA. I've been in Washington DC lately and always tend to stay near DuPont Circle so I've hit the Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe a few times. I went in recently to grab one book before my flight so that I had something to read during take off and landing. I'm not really a social flyer so I like to go ahead and kill the hopes and dreams of any seatmates that might want to chat me up. I'm sure they're mightily disappointed, but my type of celebrity is one that leaves me anonymous and sitting in coach, so really it works out for all involved.

I was in the store looking over my options and saw a bunch of books that I wanted. Or at least wanted to add to my reading list. I only had carry-on space for one book, so it was Sophie's Choice all the way. I had to make the tough decisions. Of course, one of the great things about independent bookstores is that they aren't beholden to a corporate mandate on which books get shelved where. So you're more likely to find weird stuff and stuff that staff recommends rather than just what a publisher pays to put on a higher shelf at eye-level, etc. That being said I was finding all kind of books that I wanted to read, so I did what came naturally. I whipped out my iPhone and took a picture of the barcode to add to my GoodReads list.

"I'm sorry but you can't do that in here," said a male clerk about my age or a little younger.

Me: Excuse me? Can't do what in here?

Clerk: Take pictures of the books.

Me: I can't take a picture of this book's barcode to put on my reading list? (Clerk nods) Can I have my cellphone out and type it into my reading list?

Clerk gives me a star and I wonder off because I'm a little ticked and also totally understand. Amazon has made bookstores run for their money because people can go in, find a book they want and in two clicks have bought it--for less money and delivered wirelessly in a minute to their Kindle. It's gotta be hard to sell books. But I'm a book lover and a lover of independent bookstores, so I was still a little sore about this. Then the guy came up to me and said:

Clerk: What reading list are you talking about?

Me: Good reads. It's a website that helps people connect over books, track what they've read and want to read. It's got an app that helps me add books to my reading list.

Clerk: Can you show me? I don't have one of those smartphone thingies. (I chuckled at this because I wasn't expecting that answer from a 30-something male. A 60-something female? maybe).

After I took the time to show him, I ended up buying a book (Anthropology of an American Girl) and the clerk was trying to make me feel better so he through a free t-shirt into my bag. It only made it on my carry-on because it was squishy. So, hey. free workout t-shirt.

Whatcha Doin'? Oh Me? Just Hittin' Some Goals

I've decided for the sanity of myself and anyone else who might read this that I'm going to combine and condense my updates on the status of my goals. But I have to say that I'm pretty stoked so far.

• Pages of fiction read: 104
• Fiction read:- Finished up Everything Is Going to Be Great: An Underfunded and Overexposed European Grand Tour and began Big Girl Small.
• Fiction listened to via audiobook: Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman (and finished an abbreviated version of The Paris Wife)
• Creative writing every day: yes
• Five pages written:You betcha. And some more stories started.
• Calorie tracking: Not only tracked, but UNDER my allotment.
• Exercise:Every day and have started going back to two-a-days.
• Friends and family: Made several calls, sent a card and an email.
• Weight Loss: Down 1.4 lbs. Only 3.6 before my pedicure.

So SUCK IT any doubters out there.

Harry Potter is Dead. . .Kind Of

More than a week after it came out, Chef and I went to see Harry Potter: The Dealthy Hallows Part 2. While we certainly could've gone last week, I wanted to wait a week for a couple of reasons. 1) I'm never a big fan of watching movies in large crowds. Cell phones, texting and annoying conversations are more likely the more people are involved. Hence my love of the sinner showing. 2) I wanted to hold off on the last piece of a long era. It's like saving favorite gummy bear flavors in a pack until the end.

And so Chef and I packed up this morning and went to The Grove. It's not our favorite movie place Arclight rules), but HP7 wasn't being played at the Arclight Hollywood, so it was either hit The Grove (about 10 minutes door to door) or drive 35 to the next nearest Arclight. Of course, the tipping point was that I thought I had gift certificates to the Grove theater, but it turns out, I did not. Oh well. We'll definitely use those on another occasion.

In the end, I loved the movie and thought it did just as well as the others in capturing the Harry Potter spirit. In the end, I was thinking about all my Harry Potter memories and one in particular came to mind. It was the summer just after I graduated from college. I had gone home to help take care of my mother while she was ill and that summer wasn't the best in my life.

One of the high points was that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire came out. I had pre-ordered my copy through Amazon and unfortunately had to go to my day job at GE when it was supposed to be arriving at my house. My mom had ordered something from QVC too, as was her past time. She decided that she'd make something special out of our packages arriving, so she said she'd wait until I got home and we could open them together. Kind of like a Christmas, even if we both knew what we were getting.

So I got home, and we tore into the packages like it was Christmas morning. I danced around the living room so excited and a few minutes later hole myself up in my room to read. I don't remember what was in the box for my mother. I do remember it was a surprise to her because she opened it and said "Oh, that's not what I thought it was going to be!" and was excited genuinely as well.

Now Harry Potter is over and I think about those kinds of memories. The story was great, but the context of where i was in my life when I read or watched the story progress is something different and special altogether. I mean, I know I'll remember this movie because it was the only Harry Potter I saw or read for the first time as a wife.

I Make Time Because They Make Me Happy

Going along with the falling back in love with books theme, I also did a little personal inventory of things that I am making time for because they make me happy. Or maybe the actions themselves don't make me happy but the end results do. So here are my weekly goals that I hope to keep track of things that make me happy (Yes, I realize it's a little sad that I have to have goals to do things that I enjoy, but I'm a goal-oriented person):

• I will chat with Chef every day. Pretty easy most days. Not so easy when I'm travelling.
• I will read 100 pages of fiction each week.
• I will write something creative (fiction, non-fiction, blog) each day.
• I will write at least 5 pages each week of something for my fiction or non-fiction pieces.
• I will record my calories-honestly-each day.
• I will try to be honest with my self, even when it's hard.
• I will do some form of exercising each day even if it's just walking (more than normal, of course).
• In my off hours, I will try and let go of having a "schedule" in my head and just enjoy the moments.
• I will email a friend or family member each week just to see how they are.

I've had these in my head for a while and will post how I did on Saturday. There are some other ones, but those are private. I know I've met some of the goals already. Others. . . well, I still have two days.

Falling In Love Again . . With Reading

While I clearly didn't have the best time on my Canadian excursion (the company was lovely but the location-not so hot-although I'm willing to try Canada again--just maybe Vancouver,) there was one definite plus: I fell in love again with reading.

It's not like I ever truly fell out of love with reading, but you know how it goes. I hadn't had the best of luck reading the most captivating books lately, so I wasn't super excited to get through them and then I opt for a magazine instead. Not a good sign for a novel. I breezed through Bossypants because it is clearly awesome and then I picked up Water for Elephants right before I left for Canada. It had been sitting on my bookshelf since before the move. I remember buying it at McKay's in Nashville for $2.

It took me about 3 days of intermittent reading to get through it and it was a really entertaining book. But I left my Kindle at home on the charger, so I went to the Chapters store and bought two more books. I breezed through the first one in two days and started on the second one on my flight home.

Of course, books are something that I just love surrounding myself with PLUS I was working at frickin' Book Fair for 5 days, so I got even MORE tempted. Normally the Book Fairs I go to only have text books or academic writing (not the best for leisure time), but this one had FICTION! And good fiction. So I ended up buying four more books (hello? there was a conference discount!). So I left with two books read, six books bought and one more halfway through.

PLUS I just got two more audiobooks and finished the three I previously had. I've probably read or absorbed more literature in the last month than in the last 6 months combined. And I'm all the happier for it!

The Lilting Accents on my Radio

The last two nights I've listened to some southern drawls on my radio and it made me feel like I was back in Tennessee. I was listening to my first audiobook: The Help. I don't think I would've normally picked up the book if I were just on my own. I'm not really one for many bestsellers. At least blockbuster bestsellers.

But when you're trying to find some free audiobooks, the choices are most likely going to be the most popular ones. So, The Help it is. And I'm kind of glad that I'm not actually reading it. Mostly because it's a little slow in the story section. The voice acting is really well done and the southern accents are pretty dead on.

But most of the reason why I'm enjoying it is because it's not just music. I'm a visual learner, so I have to pay attention to the recording to really follow along. I can't tune it out like music. So before I know it, I'm through a chapter and halfway home.

But I need some suggestions. I can go through about 3-4 audiobooks a month so I need some help. What should I listen to next?

I want to go to there. . .

Last night Chef and I went to see Tina Fey and Steve Martin at the Nokia Theater. I'm a huge Tina Fey fan and was so excited when Facebook actually targeted me with the right ad. Because if it wasn't for the Facebook ad that popped up on my profile a few weeks ago, I don't think I would've known about it. So, score one for you, Zuckerberg.

Anyway, I asked Chef and he was game for going. He was also smart enough when he bought the tickets to also buy a parking pass so we were zipped into a space without having to navigate around the Kings fans. He's a master like that.

Unfortunately because I live so far from work and the theater was close to our house, we didn't get downtown with a lot of time to kick around walking. There's also not a lot of quick food options at LA Live, so we ended up just going into the theater and grabbing some cocktails, and food at the bar. It was also nice because we each got a signed copy of Tina Fey's book with our ticket price, so we got those real quick and sat down.

I'll admit that I've soured to Steve Martin in the last several years. I've heard too many stories of him being an asshole from too many sources for at least 10 percent of it to be true. Also, I'm not a huge fan of his writing. I read Shopgirl and while it wasn't terrible, it also probably wouldn't have gotten much attention if it hadn't been written by Steve Martin.

So I didn't know who would be interviewing who between the two because the tickets and show title didn't really clear that up. Luckily, it turned out to be Steve Martin interviewing Tina Fey. And it was pretty funny. I was mostly glad to see (as I suspected, but there's always the chance for disappointment) that Fey is as funny and smart in person as she writes and portrays. In fact, she was so quick-witted that she actually left Martin in the dust a few times.

All in all, it was a great event for me. I loved it. Chef was a little bored, but I can understand. They weren't doing stand-up; they were talking about Fey's book. It was a pretty funny conversation, but you could tell it wasn't entirely spontaneous. Which, frankly, as someone paying for a ticket, I almost appreciated the effort more.

However, knowing that I admire Tina Fey and yet she's only 8 years older than me has me thinking. And those thoughts could take me two ways:

1. Depressed because I haven't done nearly enough in my own writing to have made any kind of traction and because I never did the true artistic suffering stage in my youth, or
2. Motivated to finish my book, write every day and see what kind of magic LA has in store. I've heard that dreams come true here. I'm not sure how that gets verified, but I'm willing to test it out.

So, inspiration moves on and I am so excited to live in LA because I get to go to events like this that don't happen anywhere else. Plus Judd Apatow, Catherine O'Hara and Adam Scott were in the crowd. That added a little star shine.

I'm sitting here wondering: Who wants to go with me to the next talk they're hosting? It's not gonna have 5000 people and it features one of my favorite writers, Ann Patchett. Anyone?

And the winner of the Ashley Employer Lottery is. . .

well, me, of course. Because I've got a job. But the employer isn't getting a bad deal, either, because I work my ass off, as a rule.

And the lucky employer is. . .SAGE publishing, a higher education textbook, reference book and journal publisher. On Monday, I begin my tenure as the PR Manager. I get to continue management (or as Amanda quoted to me "We can put you in a position to be over as many as four people"--except that was Office Space and my new gig puts me over 2--one of which I'll have to hire), I get to work with the upper management and build the brand externally, and I get to learn a new industry. All of which are very exciting.

The things I really liked about SAGE were that it is an independently owned publishing house--which is highly unusual--and the owner has set up an endowment to keep it that way. The place feels like its on the precipice--at that crossroads where its trying to figure out how to expand while keeping the relationships and service that made it successful in the first place. And that's kind of fun.

I also got to meet a LOT of the upper management and the CEO during the interview process and they were all easy to get along with and understand. Plus the HR department sent me chocolate covered strawberries to welcome me to the team. Which was exceptionally sweet and Chef will very much enjoy them.

So on Monday I get to bust out my heels and cute work attire and head back into the fray. The one downfall is that there is about a 45 minute drive (with light traffic) to get there--up to 90 minutes in heavy traffic to get home. That's going to be a change from the usual 8 minute commute I had at the AHA. Which got me thinking back to my longest commute. Two of the longest commutes I had were 35 and 40 minutes to Princeton and Mount Vernon, respectively. Which kind of made me chuckle that my longest commutes thus far weren't in the city but my Indiana home.

So the commute is gonna have to become a useful time for me. I've decided to use it to do a couple things:

1. Listen to Mike & Mike and sports talk radio. Mike & Mike ends at 7 a.m. here, and in time, I'll be able to keep 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. hours at the new job. So that means, extra sports chatter. And until then, I'll listen to regular sports talk to get my sports jones in without sacrificing any Chef time, as he's not a fan.
2. Flush out my arguments. For a debate? Against Chef? What kind of arguments? All valid questions. The answer lies in Chuck Klosterman. Thank you, Greg, for introducing me to him and his wonderfully sarcastic essays. They've already got me thinking and that thinking takes time--so I'll use the commute to flush out some weird arguments to write. And be prepared for this blog to shift it's tone a little. I feel like I may have pulled some punches lately to buffer things from any potential employers or to keep from offending. But I've decided its time to be a little offensive.
3. Books on tape. Anyone got any good suggestions? I've never been a big audio book fans because I like to visualize my literature and its harder for me to visualize words that I'm listening to rather than words that I'm reading. Is anyone else like that? Does this mean that I'm a visual learner? I guess it does. I usually take notes as people are talking to me so that I can see the important words they're saying. It helps me remember better. I may never look at the notes again, but just writing them and seeing them help me.
4. And last, but not least, I need to use the time to be inside my head for a little while. I need to let my mind wander and go places that it shouldn't. I need to be my characters for a while and use the time to write. I might even get a voice recorder to see if I can transcribe anything later that could be useful.

So, that's my life and work coming up. Wish me luck on Monday. I feel good about it.