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It's going to take me a good week to get caught up on my personal email, work email, and blogs, so don't flick my ears if I don't read your page for a few more days.
So, yeah...back from Hawaii, semi-rested, semi-sunburned, freshly tattooed, and feeling the pull of inertia which keeps wanting to draw me back to bed. (tons of pix up on our family website, if you're interested)
But, reality calls...
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I did manage to squeeze out 800 words on Aquarium during some downtime. That was as much time as I had, and about as much effort as I was willing to put into it. Last night was my first opportunity to write since we've been back, and I rattled out another 1k on the book.
I did manage to finish reading Rabbit, Run on the endless flight. Updike had a gift with words.
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Before I left, I put my name in for consideration to do some freelance journalism for Examiner.com. Examiner, it seems, is the re-imagining of the San Francisco Examiner. They ceased print operations earlier this year, and are now focusing on "citizen journalism", albeit with some minor editorial oversight and basic reporter vetting (had to submit a sample article, etc). They pay on a Google-style black-box sliding scale, which means you have no idea how much you'll make until you get paid. Hmph.
It's easy to be skeptical, but we'll see how it goes. I'm having fun with it. So far it seems to be shaking out to a penny a view or so, maybe a little more. I know some of you are interested in freelance, I'll let you all know how it goes as we progress (and I get paid). And, needless to say, I'll have a fresh crop of linkies up here as I put new articles up.
In the meantime, feel free to read my first two articles on workplace issues (here, and here). May not be the most exciting reads for this group, but hey...it's good practice, and it moves me further into the realm of full-time, professional writing. I just keep reminding myself that Gaiman started out as a journalist, too.
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We never made it to the sacrificial grounds on the north end of the island, but we did spend two days in the Volcanoes National Park, which was nothing short of amazing. Here is a lava flow from Kiluaea dumping into the ocean. I'll have a video up on Youtube later this week.
9 comments:
Love the last picture! I recently watched a PBS show about the lava that pours into the ocean. Cool beans!
Gorgeous picture - I love all things volcanic.
Welcome back.
What'd you think of Rabbit, Run? I wasn't too impressed. A few great moments, yes, but overall, well, it's hard to like a guy who's such an asshole (at least that's how I saw Rabbit).
Read the articles. Really liked the one on networking. Great idea, branching out like that.
Nat & Cate: yeah, it was something to behold...sucks that they keep you so far from the actual lava, though.
Robert: I had mixed feelings about Rabbit, Run. It had a poetic rythem that I really liked, but I pretty much hated all of his characters, except maybe Rabbit's son and father. They were all well-drawn, but extremely cynical and had this Ayn Rand-ish single-mindedness that was annoying in-and-of itself. Especially Rabbit...by the end, I hated Rabbit so much that it's going to prevent me from reading the other Rabbit books.
Welcome back. Good luck catching up and what a picture. I look forward to the video.
What a joy, to leave Hawaii and come back to THIS! It's definitely hoodie weather. I'm jealous of your kayaking and black sand.
I enjoyed your articles, and the green tie bio picture rocks. I'm still on the fence about committing, but it seems like it could really be a lot of fun! I think I'll apply and see what happens. Thanks for the heads up!
Oh, the meeting is tonight, (on journalism, ha!) but I'm not going. Our babysitter has strep.
Welcome home! Volcanoes...yes!
Thanks all...
Mercedes: yeah, still feeling it out. I think to make any real money at it, you'd need to really spend some time pimping yourself out as an "Examiner", do lots of astroturf marketing, etc...there's potential there, somewhere, although it may not be in outright money. It's fun trying on new shoes, though. I didn't dig around on it, but there's a referral program, too, so if a friend becomes a reporter and use your name, you get some kind of spiff. Not sure what. Might be a green lollipop.
gone from 2 cents to a half a cent.
Glad you're back! The pictures on your family website are lovely and amazing, especially the uber-cool lava tubes! Those things fascinate me. My brother and his family are in Hawaii right now, actually. I am jealous of all this Hawaii traveling.
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