1.24.2006

post #100

what a milestone - this is post # 100 for booker street. funny that it won't be related to home improvement, as that's what this blog was really intended for. i think it has morphed over the course of the last year into more of a way to keep you guys - my favorite guys - in the loop. i tend to keep my thoughts to myself and am not very good at volunteering them. having this blog allows me to dump them all out and sort through in a way that i wouldn't normally. maybe i should rename it "booker street sees a therapist"? i digress...

i do have a new job now - although it is a job i was slightly ambivalent about when i applied. it's far from my dream job, but i do think it will be rewarding. it will at least get me out of the job that i currently hate and into a new experience.

speaking of dream jobs: i've been thinking alot about this subject lately. i feel decidedly depressed about my career and the reason why is that i see myself drfting further and further away from that career-place where i envisioned myself at 30. (no, i am not yet 30 - i'm almost 29 - but really, what's the diff?) the longer i stay in legal publishing (almost 3 years now) the further i get from humanities publishing and the least likely i am to be a strong candidate for any humanities position for which i might apply. sure i can keep my feet wet, but only be volunteering my free time for free - and while that doesn't seem all that bad, it hasn't really been working out. i have literally been volunteering my life away. i used to scoff at my dad when he would say "why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free" but he was right. (he's usually right, but that's a different story!) i have been taken advantage of over and over, and the *experience* i have gained has only served to make me more and more skeptical of people and their motives, and my career prospects.

i keep asking myself, is it wrong to have a job for which you are not passionate, but that pays the bills and allows you to live a comfortable life. i REALLY wanto to convince myself that yes, it is OK, that a person is not defined by his or her work. but honestly, i don't feel OK about it. everyone around me works in the field of their choice, even dj husband. and he didn't even try to get the job of his dreams - it was practically handed to him on a silver platter (i am only slightly resentful). and i have worked so damn hard to figure out what i want to do and how to achieve it and i can't even get spit on.

so what do you guys think about all this. you are what you do, or do you do what you can? obviously you do what you can cos you have to, but when do you give up looking for that dream job?

posted by bls @ 9:15 AM 4 comments

1.12.2006

bleargh

could i be more bored? jesus, i do hate my job, but i like to be busy. i am not busy. seriously, who knew knew the interwebs could provide only finite entertainment? apartment therapy does not update enough to keep me entralled. and, they never post my good questions, damn them.

what are you stylish girls thinking of my spectacle selection? i think i like pair #2 best, but pair #1 is pretty sharp too. i bet you're saying, "i can't even tell the difference." make like an architectural historian and look closely, you'll see. and then you can help me decide! do you think silver or black is preferable? i'm thinking black - to make more of a bold statement. but maybe silver is more refined? tell me, tell me!

home depot is having a sale on behr paint (the best afordable paint available) this weekend. that's just the impetus we need to buy and begin to paint. walls in shades of persimmon, olive, and chocolate sound yummy!

not sure what else to post today, so i'll keep this one short. current obsession moving from furniture to art...

posted by bls @ 10:42 AM 0 comments

1.11.2006

four eyes

i need new glasses. will you help me choose?
pair #1


pair #2

pair #3

pair #4

posted by bls @ 10:45 AM 2 comments

1.10.2006

updating classic america

dear unfailing supporters,
today i mailed my proposal for Foursquare: Design Ideas for Renovating, Remodeling, and Building New to taunton press. holy shit, i finally did it.

allow me a brief moment of self deprecation because i am worried i may be a little too late. maybe they may have already begun this book with someone else - afterall, i did send my original email proposal last august. ugh, i will be devastated if someone else gets to write this book.

you might be wondering, "what was the impetus to finally send off the proposal?" well, if you'll indulge me a brief moment of bragging, i will tell you that yours truly has recently been published. i was asked to write the afterword for a collection of photographs by William Frederking of his home, a foursquare, in oak park illinois. realising that this had finally come out and that i am mentioned on the cover of the book gave me a little confidence to send in my proposal.

so we'll see. i hope to at least receive an acknowledgment of receipt of my proposal. best case scenario is that i'll get a book deal. holy shit, book deal.

thanks for all your encouragement, pals.

love,
hip to be square

posted by bls @ 12:09 PM 1 comments