Playing catch-up

Ok, it's been a really long time - and now I am coming home in about 24 hours, so it's sort of strange to be blogging now. Sean called me on not blogging in a month and I admit he's almost right - except the last entry was June 30, and this is July 28, so I am in under the wire.

What has happened since last blog post? Well, the book workshop of insanity - in which I worked almost 18 hour days, during which I left my room around 9 a.m. daily and didn't come back until way past midnight. It was good - I was part of a children's book company (this is the Apprentice, book edition, remember?) called Green Banana Press, and basically I did marketing, advertising, promotions, and publicity. Fun, exhausting. I learned that we should always be using the serial comma, a.k.a. the last comma in a list (this, that, or whatever). Apparently. Someone trained me out of that a long time ago and I have fought over it since but apparently the serial comma is what's up, Chicago manual style.

Following the book workshop was a week reprieve and then we dove right back into it - the magazine workshop. Less effort this time around, I was the features editor of an Asian food magazine called Ginger. We had a great time with Ginger, partly because the resource people (think judges on Project Runway) LOVED it and Lindy, director of the course, told us she was sending it to Ruth Reichel, the editor in chief of Gourmet. Yes, good times. Last weekend Orges was in town, as was Miguel, and Dan and Rachel and I were the hostesses with the mostess. Lots of bar hopping, lots of fun, lots of nostalgic good times.

So I won't really recap everything, but that's just to show you I've been busy. Plus my computer was gone for a while, plus you don't really want to hear a rundown of every speaker I heard every day, do you?

Didn't think so.

Tonight, in a little more than an hour, is our last sherry hour - the wine-drenched (not sherry-drenched) event that is a hallmark of the program - they used to have it daily. Then we have our final banquet, where I believe we get served champagne in actual glasses, not plastic ones. We are all about class here in the publishing industry.

Then tomorrow I head back to the west coast - back to cool nights and hot days and away from thunderstorms, dripping air conditioners and sweltering subway stations. I could tell you that I love New York, and to be honest I kind of do, but I am also looking forward to getting back.

More later, I promise.