Liveblogging From Work (Again)

...this time from a different coffee shop.

If you think this post is waste of your time, imagine how my various editors feel.

Shut Up, Ethan Hawke, and Not Just Because I'm Tired

Ethan Hawke: "To use cinema for self-expression in an age when everything is supposed to be a commodity for sale, I felt so privileged, and all of that was such a luxury. People who don't like my film don't like it passionately because they get this idea that self-reflective art is an act of egregious narcissism. And if that is true, what do we say to Emily Dickinson, Jane Austen, to Proust to Whitman?"

Given that you are saying this in relation to your steaming pile of crap book, turned into a steaming pile of crap movie, to that we say, Ethan Hawke, you reveal yourself to be a bigger and bigger douchebag every time you open your mouth. Please, please don't refer to "The Hottest State" as "cinema" or "film" when we can all plainly see it is actually a "shitty" "movie." And, extra please, do not hold yourself up for comparison to Dickenson, Austen, Proust, Whitman, or, for that matter, Jacqueline Susann. Your words were printed on paper, true. You were writing about yourself, true. But there's a difference between self-reflective art and insanely stupid self-centered tripe.

Okay, fine, I have made the choice to spend all day drying out my eyeballs writing and transcribing various things, and denting my soppy brain by chasing elusive interview subjects through different time zones all day (please call me, nice designer lady in Texas, and nice architect man in Utah!), and choosing to live yet another day in a largely text-based existence.

I stayed out late last night after a really great open mic for some very important comedy conversations and the initiation of some new friendships, and I didn't get much sleep, so maybe I'm a little crankier than usual. I promise, tomorrow I will blog about all the super great stuff that's been happening in my life. There's a lot. A whole lot. More than I feel worthy of, some days.

But for now, my carpal tunnel syndrome is paining me, my head is thick and dumb, I feel unaccomplished and awfully struggl-y and flail-y for all the hard work I've been doing lately, and I've worked so late that I have to go straight from the office to tonight's open mic, which means no makeup, sweaty fried bike hair, stinky tennies, worrying about lugging my laptop around on my squeaking and creaking bike on darkened Chicago streets, and feeling a little less than hilarious and sparkling. Oh, and Ethan Hawke is a douchebag.*

Just so you don't think I'm the only one, check this out: Googling "'Ethan Hawke' douchebag" gives you over 12,000 hits, including cartoons, a bit from the Portland Mercury, and, this, and shoot, there was another link that insisted that the camera should be forcibly removed from his hand. Can't find it right now. Doesn't matter.

Fortified With Even More Fruit, Fun, and Frolicking!

A lot of new challenges are popping up on the horizon -- things I've been wanting to do for a long time. Very, very good work and comedy things. More people than ever are going to be counting on me to do my best.

I've got to get even more serious and focused, and take the best possible care of myself. I've got to get good sleep, blast out a lot of energy in the gym, cram myself full of healthy food, and watch out for the twin pitfalls of "comedy food" and beer.

Yes, these are actual pictures of today's lunch. (God, it's so much dumb fun having an iSight camera.) A giant spinach and broccoli salad, five kinds of fresh fruit, and a fistful of vitamins -- even fish oil capsules, which give me weird burps for a few hours afterwards -- oh, here comes one now.

I also need to take better care of myself in other ways. Chill out and let myself enjoy the little things in life. Work more social fun into my calendar. Don't isolate myself and work like a crazy little red hamster when deadlines loom. Don't be afraid to ask for emotional support when I need it.

Another key thing I need to get a better handle on is dealing with the stress that comes from the negativity of others. The more I reach out of my comfort zone and push myself to do new things, the more I'm going to have to deal with people who don't like what I'm doing, don't like me, don't like themselves -- whatever those things are about. I'm always on the lookout for the nuggets of truth that are sometimes buried in angry criticisms, and I'm not a big grudge-holder, but I'm not going to absorb other people's unhappiness and misdirected anger and let it slow me down. If I'm going to do that, I might as well eat bacon burgers and vodka on a barstool at the Cubby Bear and scream at the ball game on tv all day.

Anyway, fruit, fun, and frolicking. That's what I want more of.

How do you strike a balance between life's responsibilities and personal well-being, and manage stress?

Desk Renting as a Leap of Faith

I'm blogging from what is most likely going to become my permanent new office space, just a short bike ride from home. Writing from home was too challenging, for various reasons (the least of which is a certain distractingly adorable stripey furball), and though it's something of a leap of faith, I'm going to take it.

I'm renting a desk in a very cool office space where a fellow writing colleague is also beginning to put down working roots.

It's a little nerve-wracking because so much seems uncertain as a freelance writer, but maybe this is the sort of definitive statement I need to make to myself and the universe that I'm serious about this, that this is what I'm supposed to be doing, and I have the power to create the kind of circumstances and environment in which I can thrive and succeed.

As you can tell from the picture, one thing hasn't changed yet - I'm still working makeup-free in grubby t-shirts. But at least I'm out of my jammy pants and out of my house.

Elizabeth McQuern in the Indianapolis Star

Surely, giant clouds of Pulitzer prizes will be swirling over my apartment building any day now.

Things I Learned This Week at Work

Some lessons you only need to learn once. Here's what I learned at my current working-class girl job this week:

#1. Never sit down with a box cutter in your back pocket. Duh.

#2. If you swing a plastic bag of garbage upwards into a trash bin hard enough, and you've packed too much heavy stuff into the bag, and you underestimate the increased upper body strength your new weight-training regime has afforded you, you can actually watch the handle snap off in your hand too late to realize you're about to punch yourself in the eye.

#3. Laughing with your co-workers is a requirement for getting through any kind of work day. The more laughter, the better. This is especially easy to achieve if you perform frequent acts of hilarity like punching yourself in the eye while tossing trash bags.