Sunday, October 05, 2008

Pasadena Lights Up!


The city of Pasadena has really impressed me lately. A few weeks ago, I received  a little box in the mail from Pasadena Water & Power (PWP). The box contained a couple of spiral-style, compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) by Earthmate. As part of their energy-saving campaign, Pasadena is not only making greater green efforts, they’re offering easy and free alternatives to help residents transition. Here, this latest environmental endeavor, in mailing 53,000 of these energy-saving kits, including CFLS and a $75 vouchers, will:   
“… challenge all Pasadenans to help the city cut 10,000 tons of annual carbon emissions by replacing 10 regular bulbs with 10 energy-saving bulbs and telling 10 friends to do the same. Your family can pledge to make the switch at www.cityofpasadena.net/CFL

 
Earthmate CFLs are packaged with post-consumer waste materials, but what I liked was that there was even a sweet little bird design on the box. Anyway, immediately after receiving the bulbs, I replaced the lightbulb on my nightstand. Seemingly insignificant, but I felt like I was helping the effort. CFLs use 75 percent less energy than regular bulbs and last ten times longer. Energy creation is a leading cause of greenhouse gases, by using CFLs, individuals can trim down on carbon dioxide and other “greenhouse glasses” being released into our air. For an extra two bucks, you can pick up a CFL at most stores from Home Depot, CVS, Ralph’s to Whole Foods, where regular bulbs are sold. Here are some common places where you can use CFLs:
  • Table and floor lamps
  • Recessed and overhead lights in the kitchen
  • Ceiling fan lights
  • Bathroom overhead and vanity lights
  • Outdoor flood lights and patio fixtures
One thing you should be aware of though, is that CFLs contain a minute amount of mercury in the glass tubing–three to five milligrams, about the same amount that’d cover the tip of a ballpoint pen. Fortunatley, mercury is never released in your home when CFLs are in use. Therefore, be sure to recycle your dead CFLs as electronic or hazardous waste. Happily, the PWP’s little package even included a list of recycling collection locations and handy pouches, which you can use when they’re ready to toss out. If you’re not a Pasadenan resident or didn’t find one of these neat packages in the mail, don’t fret. You can also look up recycling collection centers, order the eco bulbs and even receive a free 3-pack of CFLs on their website. They also include tips on what to do  and how to avoid mercury contamination if your CFL breaks.
Flip the green switch!


Thursday, October 02, 2008

The Subject of My Passion AKA Obsession: Finding Footing in the Publishing World


This week at work, I had to face hearing from a former editor, who only last year, had sent me packing at the end of the work day, tears in tow. At the time, when I was unexpectedly and insensitively cast off by the very journo folks who I’d assumed would jumpstart my career aspirations, I’d felt defeated. I can still remember nimbly scooping up the last of my belongings from my EA desk. I had some great friends/reporters sitting next to me and was beyond devastated knowing I would not see them the next morning or pass our Trader Joes snacks over cubicle walls. When this happened, my goodness, I’d just flown the collegiate womb. I was crushed by the fact that I’d been let go from the first FT publishing job I’d landed! Afterwards, I literally felt nauseous with the devastating thought that I would never find footing again in the publishing industry. Details aside, I did get the boot that beautiful day in August and for whatever reason—good, bad or stupid—it forced me to change my perspective about my industry for the better (I’m still an idealist and want to be an editor for a national pub, working with the likes of Susan Cernek, Susan Shapiro and Plum Sykes).


But as brutal as that experience was, it forced me to grow up fast. Weeks later, I realized that if I was to continue doing what I wanted to do: A freelance journalist, that I was going to have to embrace rejection as a part of my profession. I recently read from How to Get a Freelance Lifethat “In this business, rejection letters are the norm.” I would expand on that and say that beyond just trying to sell ideas for stories, you are selling yourself as a brand. Whether it’s working your nepotism, network, personality or reputation to get work done, every professional writer,who I’ve talked couldn’t get through this industry without employing at least two of those factors. I have used connections to get jobs. I’ve gotten call backs for magazine jobs based on my personality–this I know since I didn’t have the right (read: no) experience for that particular publication’s subject. For another thing, the scarlet F(ired) is pretty widespread in my industry.

It’s like a “rite of passage,” as my boyfriend had pointed it out once. Hmm … It seems the print folks are getting enough rites of passages that would put to shame any fraternities going through rush. It reminds me of one of those store front announcements, “Everything Must to Go!” Well, everything is going, i.e. print news is being bought up, split apart and watered down to online versions. Sorry, some newspaper web versions just can’t compete with their print counterparts.

Some still see the glass half full. Former Vice Presidents and philanthropists seem to do so, even thinking that this is a lucrative time to begin their careers in the news media.
These days I still am a complete ingénue in my industry, but the difference is that I have continued pushing myself through the “rejection” and accrued more experience and a stronger sense of “writer” self because of it. Today, I get to write a lot more that I expected and work with different editors on topics that interest me or that I’ve crafted on my own. And I’m constantly reading tons about my industry. I read FishBowlLA, Mediabistro newsletters, Ed2010 newsletters, Huffington Post, LA Times, Ideal Bite, Daily Candy, Gawker, Glamour’s Storked and Susan Cernek’s blogs (OK, that’s just for fun). Last fall, I even joined a book club just for editors/writers. The girls are so hip and nice! Next on our list is Cathy Alter’s “Up for Renewal: What magazines taught me about love, sex and starting over.” Apparently, the woman hit rock bottom, and decided to take one year off to take advice–no questions asked–from women’s magazines. Not sure if that’d be my route, but I love reading inspiring stories about how people keep the faith, work hard, accomplish dreams and then lead more satisfying lives. I think anyone can grab their dream if they want it and are willing to work harder than they ever have before. For me, working in publishing has become a dominant thought in my head. I’m not joking when I say it’s pretty close to being obsessed with something. I can’t remember spending as much time thinking, planning and acting on something that I wanted to achieve, than with writing. I can spend half my day thinking about what I can do, who I can talk to, or what I can write about to get me where I want to be. But it’s great, it’s a happy obsession passion of mine that I want to live by.

Happily, I’ve even stayed in touch with friends from that job. I will even be seeing some of those folks tonight.

Cheers,
~S


Workspace

You know those little specks that sometimes flick off your toothbrush when you’re brushing your teeth? Yes me too. I really despise having to look at my mirror through an onslaught of Colgate speckles just to check my clean teeth.
Workspace is supposed to be crowded right? There’s downfall to spending an entire day in an air-conditioned office. I come home and it’s like 85-fricken-sauna degrees in my place. Damn the cats must be really mad at me now. Lesson learned: Even if you turn on the a/c for the rest of the evening, your apartment will still feel like that sauna at 24 hours. It’s a/c units people — I’m too broke to have internal.


Workspace for me is just like my brain, scattered and full of stuff. Just take a look at press kit at left (still waiting to be completely read through for story), the newly ram-ed up laptop (I seriously never thought 1 gb of ram would make me that happy, and then, there’s the Maybelline Express finish 60-second nail polish — aptly called “timely rose.”


Yes, in case you noticed the time of this log, it’s late. I work late. People say it’s nice early in the morning because it’s peaceful and quiet. I’d have to say the same for the wee hours at night.


Back to work companeros …

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Li'l Pumpkin


Fall fever has got a hold on me. Autumn’s first official day started this Monday. Pasadena is still lovely with its sticky and humid weather, but the morning is faintly colder. On my usual Trader Joe’s trek that Monday, a Sweet Pumpkin had found its way into my cart. A mini mountain of petite-sized sweet pumpkins at TJ’s was made to look even more adorable with the store’s little adage: Cut Sweet Pumpkins and bake, add cinnamon and brown sugar for a sweet treat. Their cuteness alone, was enough to sell me on a dozens of Sweet Pumpkins. But now, they were promising a delicious and festive dessert? I must have one, I thought. And at $1.99 a pop, who could resist?

It turns out too, that pumpkins–all breeds from the squash family–offer major nutrients for your hair. Instyle’s fall fashion issue even offered the tip that snacking an ounce of pumpkin seeds three times a week helps prevent hair loss. Hereditary, yes, but thin, fragile follicles are also a result of excessive levels of DHT (dihydrotestosterone) – a metabolic testosterone that normally helps teenage boys become men. Ingredients in pumpkins help break down DHT levels in the liver, helping to keep your mane thick and shiny. Here’s what one article said:

“Pumpkin seeds help to block DHT, which is responsible for genetic hair loss. This common seed is loaded with zinc and magnesium that have the ability to block enzymes, which yield DHT causing damage to follicles and result in hair loss.”

I love mother nature’s little cure-all secrets.

Once chopped open — and seeds are scraped out and properly baked for crunchy, hair-growing snacks later — Sweet Pumpkins can be baked or steamd and made into pureed for cookies, cakes, garnishes and pumpkin-flavored pancakes. Oh lord. To this day, my dad says that one of the msot delicious desserts he’s had were Grandma’s pumpkin doughnuts, which she used to bake when he was just a kid.

Once, my mom gave me a Halloween card with one of those soft, felt covers. It was the ’80s and the was considered fancy by my five-year-old standards. On the cover, there was an orange, smiling “fuzzy” pumpkin. The card was even shaped like a pumpkin. Inside, it said something like, “To my l’il pumpkin. Happy Halloween, I love you, Mom.” Back then, I think I had rubbed that card every moment that I could get it into my hands, just so I could feel its softness. Maybe I was just comforted by its tender surface or maybe it was a reminder of my mom. Regardless, it was the best l’il pumpkin that I’ve ever had.

Saturday, June 07, 2008

Condé Dumps Domino and Muse Marian

No thanks to those lax Condé Nast advertisers. They are even pulling the plug on Domino’s website (jeez!). I love Domino, it not only has one of the prettiest layouts every month, but their articles are fresh (really), quarky, pragmatic and oh-so-handy for me whenever I try to do the fabulous homemaker and host a dinner or redecorate the apartment.


This was the only major national magazine that would dedicate an entire spread to curtain coordination, find the perfect Persian rug, or how to green-ovate your home. If you’ve ever read Apartment Therapy (and you should!), Domino would be its long lost print cousin. And how is it that Condé is getting rid of their only etiquette columnist, Marian McEvoy? Unless you count Vogue’s William “Norwich Notes,” which mostly doles out advice/commentary on exclusive and impossible-to-buy-unless-you’re-an-heir labels. Marian’s expert decorum advice was helpful, witty and I felt, a real throwback to the true days of decorum, when ordinary folks appreciated the simplest of polite gestures. I think owning and working a genuine, courteous and kind disposition can make anyone classy! Before Margaret Russell came on, Marian was Elle Decor’s Editor in Chief. Before that, she also worked for Women’s Wear Daily and W Magazine. Do you know how to handle morning stress? Throw a fancy dinner? How to be a good house guest? How about dealing with tech etiquette? I really do bemoan impolite crackberry company. But whatever it was, Marian dealt with it all.



I hold Muse Marian up there with the likes of Kim Izzo and Ceri Marsh, Canadian, etiquette columnists and authors of “The Fabulous Girl’s Guide to Decorum.” They’ve published three, wonderful books — I’m on my way to purchase their third — that talk about learning to be society-savvy, career driven, fun, smart, enjoyable company, as well as learning how to be complimentary and genial to those around you. Think class, without the snob or fakery. I recommend reading the books and Marian, if you want to understand real, fun decorum and social etiquette, two undervalued qualities in modern day.