When New York Calls

Last week I started calling New York fashion magazine editors to ask about pitching stories. You don't want to send the wrong pitch to the wrong person, and there may be a particular format they want. I called three places, leaving messages with two and talking to one. 1 out of 3 ain't bad, so I was happy.

As I'm in a left-turn lane, my phone rings. Thanks to Sprint, my phone tells me it's New York calling. I answer. An editor from a major fashion magazine is on the other end, ready with names to give me. I see a Post-It in my car as I scramble for a pen and try to be delightful and professional as I'm driving through an intersection. I write down (very poorly, the damn pen would hardly work) names of editors who would accept my story pitches. I proceed to ask what their email addresses might be, giving the example of what the publishing company is. This would have worked, had I said the correct publishing company name. The editor corrects me and I respond as if I just offended the freaking Queen of England with many I'm Sorrys and "I knew that, I've just been in touch with more than one company." Editor laughs and assures me it's no problem. Editor gives me the correct email addresses and wishes me luck. I thank editor profusely for returning my call and hang up.

After making a few more notes to myself (all while driving, mind you) and accidentally honking my car horn at people, I put the phone down. Then I realize, wow. I called New York, and New York actually called me back.

Happy Anniversary

As of July 18, I have now lived in Florida for one year. Here is what I've learned about Florida and myself since jumping on a plane just 12 months ago.

~My favorite beach is Clearwater.
~If you live here, you are on everyone else's spring break or family vacation the entire months of March, April, and December.
~Disney is not my thing. It's just not.
~People here are...different. I've dated, I've gone out downtown, and I work here. And people are crazy wherever you go.
~Wearing a tie isn't necessary.
~Linen suits are supposedly ok.
~In the community I work in, there are people working so hard every day to make it better. That's pretty cool.
~It seems to me that being a workaholic is weird.
~I am capable of jumping on a plane and making it work.
~I miss my family, which is something I never thought I'd say.
~I miss having close friends within driving distance.
~I know my way around here, but that doesn't mean I like driving here. Tourists are nuts.
~I also know that we need the tourists because that's a huge part of Florida's income. I could still do without them.
~I'm accepting the fact that Florida is not the place for me.

This has been an enlightening year and a good experience for me thus far. As my priorities are changing, so are my wants and needs. As a 20-something, how long does it take to realize what makes you happy and actually act on it?

Wake-Up Call.

I've made some not-great decisions in my lifetime. It's to be expected as a human. Camo-jeans, frat parties, waiting until the last minute to study for a test, or choosing to purchase Ray Ban sunglasses instead of saving money for groceries: all of these are a sampling of the silly things I've done as a young adult (except the jeans, those were 6th grade). And I'm here to admit today that I've driven after having a drink or two. We're talking alcoholic beverages. And yes, there have been a couple instances whenI had no business getting behind the wheel, but did it anyway. These were only a couple instances, but still inexcusable. Before you start judging, my guess is that you or someone you know has done the exact same thing. I'm not telling you this so that you can tell me how dumb I've been because I know. In fact, I knew immediately afterward how stupid it was. I'm telling you this because I now am fully aware of the potential consequences for these actions.

With that being said, I'm here to tell you that drinking and driving will no longer be even close to an option for this girl. Not even 1 drink (which supposedly increases your chances of a car accident by up to 50%).

A 16-year-old girl was killed in Santa Fe last weekend, along with three of her friends, due to a drunk driver crashing into them. Four out of the five people in her car were killed instantly, including her, and the driver of their car is barely alive. The driver of the other vehicle walked away. He also has a DWI on his record already.

The girl I'm referring to is the daughter of a great family I grew up with in Illinois. I held her when she was born (July 4th, today is her birthday). All of us kids played when our moms wanted to get together. We visited them when they moved to New Mexico. We saw her mom last year when she came for a visit.

The news of this tragedy immediately brought shock. I couldn't speak. And when I did speak, it was pretty much me cursing like a sailor. Then the tears came. I couldn't be in my apartment alone and everyone I talked to that night and the next day could barely understand this story because I was talking through tears.

Typically I don't like to share this much emotion via the Internet, but I think this deserves attention. Even though I've made some really unfortunate decisions, I'm ok. I haven't hurt anyone else. This guy's decision took 4 lives in a matter of minutes. Am I lucky that it's never happened to me? Maybe. Or there's a guardian angel giving me X amount of chances to be stupid. Either way, this was my wake up call this week. It's been an emotional roller coaster and I thank my friends for dealing with my instability.

Expressing emotion through writing is an avenue I thought I'd take to try to deal with this. So, I figured sharing her story with you would help me overcome my sadness and grief while maybe providing you readers some insight into what happens when you make stupid decisions.

Can I do anything about the decisions I've made? No. Can I change how I act in the future? I plan to.



And click here for the article.

We were lucky to have known you and will never forget you. Thoughts and prayers to you and your family.

And Another

I've started a new writing venture: online. Obviously I've been blogging for awhile, but the new gig will actually pay me to write about fashion and style in Orlando. It will be updated frequently with fashion news, trends I witness on a weekly basis, and hopefully I'll be able to cover different events to share with the masses. The more hits the site gets, the more successful it is. Check back frequently for updates! And, please be patient as I get used to online formatting. :)

Orlando Fashion and Style Examiner

Enjoy!

You've Got Mail

I'm online constantly. So why not try online dating?

One of the challenges is joining a website geared toward meeting people. Mine was some obscure site that was too easy to navigate. Dating isn't meant to be easy, so why would I try an easy site? So, I tried one of the more "well-known" sites.

Internet dating for women is...interesting. You can choose the age group of men you would be interested in, but someone who is 35 can still see your profile and comment on it. Some people post pictures, some do not. I'm the type of internet-dater who needs to see a pic, sorry, but if you don't have a pic, what's a girl supposed to think? Anyone who messages me and seems a little pushy (i.e. "hey baby, let's chat"), I'm immediately turned off. I don't answer men on the street who talk that way, so why would I answer an online message?

Now, there have been a few who may be proven worthy. Legitimate email conversations not eluding to meeting in a desolate location = within my comfort zone.

Obviously, playing it safe is a given. If someone asks to meet in the middle of nowhere, alone, then red flags should be going up. But, so far, the people I'm "meeting" and actually spending time responding to, seem relatively normal. We'll see what happens if/when I take the next step of meeting a couple of them.

Nail Polish and Tattoos

I started volunteering at Give Kids the World today. For those who are unfamiliar with GKTW, this vacation spot is meant for children with disabilities and/or life-threatening diseases. Some people think it would be very difficult to volunteer in a place where you see sick kids all the time. But this is a place where kids can come without being poked and prodded and just be kids. They offer wheelchairs that can go in pools, they have parties, they have dinners, games, all kinds of activities. And it's all paid for. The families stay in villas set up like a neighborhood. They travel to theme parks, the beach if they can, or they just hang out and enjoy their time together. Here are a few observations from today:

-A 9-year-old girl who was in a coma in December and her family never thought they'd be able to travel to Florida. She went to Disney and couldn't make the walk from the tram to the gate, but after getting her nails painted at the spa in GKTW, her long day was a little more bearable.
-An 8-year-old boy who went to Disney on Saturday, his 2nd day in town. He ended up in the hospital Saturday night. The cancer in his blood takes a lot out of him. He was thrilled to get an airbrush tattoo at the spa with his younger brother.
-Siblings who offered all the support they could, no matter how old they were.

And last but not least, parents who, no matter what's happened to their families, were excited to see their kids happy. They are some of the strongest people I've ever met considering they don't know how much longer they have with these brilliant kids.

I booked spa appointments, helped kids pick out tattoos, and heard about how much fun they had seeing Shamu. It was wicked awesome.

To be continued...

I'm finding that traveling by plane is my favorite way to travel. I get so much accomplished. And I'm not even talking about work, as much as I greatly appreciate a day of nothing but productivity. I'm talking about relaxing.

I was able to finish a book and three magazines last weekend while flying back and forth to Philadelphia to visit a friend. I apparently don't finish reading material at home, so why not count on a flight to make it happen?

My real relaxation was actually during the course of the weekend, though the flight helped. I've forgotten my appreciation for the northern states. I stayed outside the city, which is aesthetically appealing, unlike Florida. I slept more than I've slept in months. We drank wine, talked, played cards, wandered around the New Jersey/Pennsylvania border, and ate more ice cream than I should have.

It was an incredible break from the craziness of my life here. And not even my own life, but being able to enjoy myself without feeling like I'm on everyone else's vacation. Plus, the weather was perfect. Warm sun during the day, and cool evenings without humidity. It was actually comfortable to sit outside.

It was a perfect weekend for some reflection time. And while I'm still in the reflecting process, I came across this quote:

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do."

In other words, I'm thinking about things that would be out of my comfort zone, but so exciting to take on. And with that, I'm leaving this post as a cliffhanger until I figure out what's coming next. :)