i want to name my child bret

Okay, no worries, there's no plan of children in my eminent future (although after this past weekend I wouldn't be surprised---JK!) but I came to a recent realization that I LOVE BRET MICHAELs. As in the blonde-locked, 80s hairband frontman of Poison. Ahhhh. And the best thing about my crush is that my co-worker Jess is right there with me! (P.S.-We think that Posion is coming to town late summer. We're so there!)

So this recent crush I've been nursing on the Pittsburgh native (Steel City Hiyaaa!) comes right on the heels of an AWESOME weekend spent in Central PA hashing, camping, and just being generally crazy with some great people!

Now if your eyes blinked a little wider when you glossed over the word "hashing" don't be alarmed: I promise there were no illicit substances (at least not to my knowledge) present.

Even though the hashing motto is "A drinking club with a running problem," I tend to gravitate towards "a running club that doesn't take itself too seriously and likes to carve out really cool trails in the woods for sport." This past weekend was my second time hashing, and although I enjoy running anyway, the whole concept is something that I am just getting acclimated to.

Another really cool thing about the club is the whole subculture that comes with it. Now I don't want to risk divulging too much detail, dear reader, but I do want you to understand that most hashers seem to be pretty Type A-9-5-buttoned-up types who are all about partying just as hard as they work. Most are over the age of 25, with a vast majority of them above that, so I'm assuming that it's only appropriate to keep the debaoucherouness (sp?) to an ambigious mininmum. For the sake of identity protection, as well as just pure fun, tag names are given to each hasher-they tend to err on the side of inappropriate, (re: crude sexual humor) or serve as constant reminders for an embarrashing occurrance.

So getting back to this weekend...you know it was a good one when it's the Thursday after and you're still trying to piece it together with the assistance of photos, a dozen people's testimony, and scrapes/bruises.

Until next time....

yay for booze and freelancing (not both at once)

Trying to make good on one of my New Year’s resolutions, I dipped my big toe into the proverbial pool that is freelancing tonight, by taking a seminar course that was titled “Breaking into the beer, wine, and spirits niche.”

Throwing caution to the wind (as well as my sobriety-the course included a wine tasting which did leave me a bit flush) I decided yesterday that March 19th would be the date; I’m seriously going to get serious about cracking the shell and pitching myself as a brand-work skills that will no doubt supplement my career and just looks like a lot of fun.


First things first: besides my career interest, I knew this was course was going to be right up my ally: I mean, hello! What (normal) 20-something doesn’t like the prospective thought of getting paid to drink!

Okay, okay, so it’s not that simple: we’re not talking about just picking your old haunt and getting hammered on cheap pink well drinks. Instead, the course focused on the extreme and relatively untapped (no pun intended, haha!) market that lies out there for writers that would love nothing more than to revel and write all about the culture of drink.

The instructor Kara, was an accomplished freelance who said she stumbled into the booze niche by complete accident. Honestly I think that’s great; and while the exact details escape me (forgive me it’s been a long day) I couldn’t help but wonder if she “stumbled” into the market because she was drunkenly babbling with a bartender, asking him about he pretty colored bottles at an off-the-wall-yet-still-retardedly-expensive uptown bar.

Anywho, the class began with a brief syllabus overview, and she explained quickly that she intended to basically inform the class of 10-person class that she hoped they would come away from the discussion with a fast and dirty knowledge of the appropriate avenues to both conduct research, and places in the alcoholic beverage market to pitch ideas to.

See that’s the very thing about freelancing, it seems so obvious that the market is just some great fuzzy entity that has it’s arms forever outreaching and attracting writers. It can be, but it’s a bit more tricky then thinking that you can simply write, la,- la- lance freely, and just get paid for it.

So back to the seminar that I was at. It was very informative, although the focus was on wine. Wines cool and all, but I prefer the beer and spirits end.
(And now I’m going to interrupt this posting for a shot-out: thank you, to all of my guy friends-you guys know who you are- for taking me [and Pam, Laura, Holly, Abbie, Flo, etc.] on endless microbrewery tours in PA/VT/NY/pretty much every state we’ve visited. I seriously accredit my love of the brewed beverage to all of you.)

A really EXCELLENT point that the instructor brought up is the fact that even in the recent meh-economy-stuff that’s been going on, there is pretty much always going to be a hearty market for the hard stuff. Think of the serious dough that those glossy mags charge for the prime real estate for the back cover advertisements. And besides when you’ve had one of those days that just straight up suck-we’re talking dog throwing up on the carpet-which makes you miss the bus which makes you late for your promotional presentation day, what are you likely to reach for? A drink.

In total, it was a very positive and encouraging entryway into the freelancing sphere. I even made a few friends, (yay for networking) including some random guy who wants me to do some pro-bono review-style writing for a beer-oriented Web site he is launching in the early summer.

All in all, the experience was extremely positive, and I would recommend mediabistro.com’s seminars to anyone; the instructors are accredited, (meaning they are EXPERIENCED and they know what they are talking about) the atmosphere is casual (lots of time to talk, openly ask questions) and the wine was a-flowin (we had an informal writing exercise which focused on doing the whole taste-texture-smell-color of two different Argentinean wines).

And with that, I’m off to go have a nightcap.
Until next time!

If the movie Office Space was real, this would be their job app:

WANTED:

Some general agency that doesn't really matter anyway is seeking someone who will fill another banal cubicle. The ideal candidate will have 10-plus years of experience of not really doing anything, as well as possessing a real "fire in their belly" which really translates into someone who has no problem adding inches to their mid-section due to hours of sitting on your ass, then this is the position for you!

Tasks of the position will include, but are not limited to, slow-but- steady insanity by means of checking your office invoices 239,983 times a day, dealing with a bunch of burerocratic agencies that won't call you back anyway, as well as making copius cups of coffee for everyone else to drink. Now, I know you specialized in coffeee brewing in college, so if you minored in the art of the filter change then please send us your resume!

Of course, like every other job on the planet, we expect you to have excellent communication skills, duh! These will come in real handy when you have to use your words and become a master linguist to defend yourself when you didn't file your TPS reports on time. You also have to know a shit load about Microsoft Excel just cuz it's so badass.

If the above specs sound like your dream job, please send us your resume to Brainisnevergonnareadit.org, and don't forget to post your salary requirements in your cover letter. Due to a recent recession in the economy, we cannot actually afford to pay you in US dollars. We hope you speak fluent Spanish, because pesos are the way to go!

-----
Bitter much? Me, nah. I just am looking forward to a vaca.
Leaving for California in 4 days= one very happy Stefania.

online stalking....the mistake that makes you feel stupid time and time again

word of advice: don't do it.
It's not cool.
Especially when you run into that person in the work sphere.
yikes.


The end.

Happy new year, happy new life...a note on saving dough

"I like money. I'd like to have more of it. I keep it in a jar on top of my refrigerator."

Mad props to you if you can quote which beloved movie the above sentences are from. But in all seriousness, last New Year's I made a promise to myself: that every January I would do something a little more fiscally responsible than opening a GAP charge card to save 15 percent on that really cool sweater.

Anywho, I digress into a more serious note on investing. Now, I'm no Diamond Jim Brady, but, I do believe in the power of time. And the power of being disciplined with saving as much money as you can based upon your income. (Seriously even if it's just $20 a month.)

Last year in January I opened up an ING account. (Which, by the way I highly recommend to anyone and everyone who is looking to make the same "cents" when it comes to savings...the interest rate is so appealing, why wouldn't you have one?)
Over the course of the last 11 and a half months, I have been cultivated (and sometimes taking from) my account here and there, and I must say that while catching a great sale makes me smile, taking a look monthly at my interest paid (literally free money--or at least the closest thing to it) is even cooler.

The coolest thing (in my opinion anyway) about my online savings account is that money is there if I really do need a bit of a safety net, but just inaccessible enough that I'm not tempted to dig into it all of the time.

So my big fiscal decision for '08? As I sit here on Dec 28 I'm still not sure. Perhaps a Roth IRA, (never too young to start!) but probably on the for-front of my priorities is to find a job with a higher income. In a city that could be described as "the seat of the western world." Those who know me know what I'm talking about. Those who don't, well f$%& off.

Just kidding. Happy New Year!

gnocchi doesn't opt for plastic bags, so neither should you!

Alright, so the title has nothing to do with the actual content of this post. But, in my recent obsession with all foods of the Italian decent, (and bazaar-o pronunciations)I decided it would be fun.

In light of keeping with the character of my third-to-last blog entry (the ranting one about the end of civilization as we know it) I have been proud to say that I have been plastic bag free for one week precisely.

And how, do you wonder, have I been able to achieve such a feat? By simply taking a canvas bag to do some grocery shopping (paper is cool sometimes too, I don't know if what degree of earth-pilaging goes into creating one, but I know that they are far more bio-degradable than plastics) and re-using small plastic sandwich baggies.

I'm convinced that being more earth friendly is like how you would look to get into shape--by taking the stairs instead of the elevator, by parking further and walking, or by opting for the apple instead of the fast-food apple pie.
I guess MTV was really hitting their mark dead on when they came up with the PSA "Decrease your daily impact, improve your life" campaign.

oops

I meant to say in that last post that it IS cool to be asked questions.


Sorry. Either I have grown far too accustomed to the copy editor's extra pair of eyes, of I'm just le tired.

Adios