Hi!

Hello folks. I apologize for being gone so long. Can you tell things are crazy?

In my absence, it became autumn. I cannot believe how quickly time is passing. Midterm exams are coming up soon, which just completely boggles my mind. There are lots of fun things going on despite all of the chaos. Since I've been gone for a while, I thought I'd give you the rundown regarding what's been going on as of late.

Working on: the October/November issue of albemarle. It will be on newsstands very soon. I am so excited and proud of this issue. I can't wait to hold it in my hands!

Listening to: "Empire State of Mind" - Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys. I think this will be my theme song for the next year. "In New York/ concrete jungle where dreams are made of/There's nothing you can't do/Now you're in New York/These streets will make you feel brand new/big lights will inspire you." Love it!

Looking at: Marie Claire featuring Drew Barrymore and Ellen Page. Vogue featuring Michelle Williams. I love all of these beautiful, strong women!

Watching: The Wackness. Chance and I rented this movie over the weekend. It seems like the desired audience is Chance to a 'T.' Even though I'm not Chance, I thought it was a really good movie.

Reading: Emma by Jane Austen and In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway. This is just a small portion of my assigned reading, but they're both interesting and completely different from one another.

Looking forward to: U2 concert. They're coming to my town next week and I can't wait! It's going to be a great show.

Waiting for: Whip It! Drew Barrymore's directorial debut that comes to theaters on October 2. I love, love, love this girl and I am so excited about her movie. It looks awesome!

Welcome to C-Ville

I recently stumbled upon Kirei Nest, a gorgeous site by Nicole Ossola focusing on 'daily registry and gifting inspiration.' I especially love the site's feature called Locale Lovelies. Special guests from blog-land share lists of what they would include in a welcome basket for people new to their state. I was led to this interesting site through MartaWrites (one of my absolute favorite blogs), as Marta was just featured there with her picks for Idaho.

I was happy to see that the site also has TWO Virginia features (here and here). I loved both of the lists, but it got me thinking of things that I would include in a welcome basket for people just arriving in Charlottesville.

First, I'd have to include some delicious fruits from Carter Mountain Orchard (peaches or apples, depending on the season). Right now, I'd be including some deliciously sweet Gala apples to start the fall season off right.


(Image courtesy of Carter Mountain Orchard)

With Charlottesville's growing wine market (and a few beer microbreweries), I'd have to include an adult beverage or two. With a shout-out to old T.J. (Thomas Jefferson was not only the third president of the United States, but he also lived in Charlottesville and founded UVA), I'd throw in a bottle of wine from Jefferson Vineyards. For the beer lovers, I'd include a seasonal choice from Starr Hill.

I would insist on adding something to satisfy one's sweet tooth. From BreadWorks, I would add a nice loaf of bread, a few Blueberry Streusel muffins, or Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter cookies.


(Image courtesy of http://www.joythebaker.com/)

Other Charlottesvillians would probably kill me if I didn't include bagels from Bodo's. My preference is a Cinnamon-Raisin bagel, so I'd add a few of those as well.


(Image courtesy of Bodo's)

Since there is some major UVA pride in Charlottesville, I would include a UVA foam finger or Cavalier Jelly Bellies.


(Image courtesy of UVA Bookstore)

And a welcome basket would never be complete without an issue of albemarle magazine.

(Image courtesy of albemarle magazine)

What a long list! The more I thought about it, the more I realized that there are TONS of great things about Charlottesville. My list could go on forever.

Project Runway

Has anyone else been watching the sixth season of Project Runway on Lifetime? I had my doubts about the network switch and about the show's move to Los Angeles (it was previously filmed in New York). Although I don't really like the coastal switch, I have been pleased with the show so far. It's been a little heavy on the celebrity appearances with Lindsay Lohan on the premiere episode and Rebecca Romijn on the most recent, but I like a lot of the designers and the challenges have been fun.

My favorite designers this season are:

Shirin Askari

Althea Harper

Louise Black

(Images courtesy of Lifetime)

Of course, this could change weekly! I hope you watch so we can discuss.

Print Will Never Die

Well, I made it through my first week alive (barely). This semester is going to be insanely difficult, as I have way too much on my plate already. Nonetheless, it's really exciting because it's my last year and I'll be doing a lot of really fun things.

In case you're interested, my readings for this week include:

A Room of One's Own, Virginia Woolf
Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
Pride & Prejudice, Jane Austen
Fantomina, Eliza Haywood
Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan

Along with my English classes, I am also taking an Anthropology course entitled "The World at Play." We'll be discussing humor, laughter, and why people find different jokes funny. It should be really interesting!

As you can tell by my reading list, I probably won't be around much! I am still doing my internship, which is tons of fun. On Friday, I met someone who used to intern at the magazine and is now working in publishing in Moscow. If only I could be so lucky! He discussed the state of the publishing industry with me a bit and, although he believes there is a rocky road ahead, he assured me that I should ignore the recent "get out now!" philosophy. It was really nice to hear some encouraging words, especially after the doubt I've recently had regarding my plans.

Back to School

It's getting to be that time again. In just a week, I will be returning to Jefferson's University for my final year.


(Image courtesy of UVA)

I'm dreading it a bit. I am worried about juggling work, a full course load, and an internship. I know I'll be ridiculously busy between the papers and the reading and rushing back and forth between tutoring, classes, and the magazine office. It will be a chaotic semester, but I hope it'll be an enjoyable one. I know once I'm walking along the lawn, watching the little squirrels burying their nuts and sitting in my classes listening to professors lecture about Jane Austen or Chinua Achebe, I'll settle in just fine.

Until then: panic. I've got books to buy, tutoring training, internship orientation, and a whole bunch of other time consuming tasks that I must accomplish before next week. Wish me luck! And don't hold a grudge if you don't hear from me for a while.

On a Lighter Note

Hugh Dancy was on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night.

(Image courtesy of kissfendi.com)

Along with promoting his new film, Adam, Hugh also discussed this strange project he is working on in which he and others photograph the carpeting in various airports across the world. They document their travels (and the carpets) in Carpets for Airports. Check it out! It's interesting to take a look at the strange, often tacky airport carpets around the world.

Wednesday Confessional

I've had a bit of nothing-to-do time in between my summer internship and the start of my fall semester. It's given me just enough time to freak out about my future. It's frightening to be facing my final year as an undergrad. It's going to be a busy, overwhelming year.

As I'm thinking about life after college, I feel like I have direction, which is actually new for me. It's a nice feeling, but I am also worried that I am headed into a dying industry. I shouldn't say dying. Publishing is a rapidly changing industry. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. It could actually be exciting, as I will be part of these changes. At the same time, I am worried for magazines. Many people are saying that the future won't be in print, but that magazines will be transformed into purely digital media. As someone who loves magazines, - loves holding them in my hands, loves filing them away - I fear the prospect of losing the aspects of print media that I cherish. Robert Sacks (www.bosacks.com) says that "It's the publishing model that is dead, not print" (from NYU-SCPS Center for Publishing). I suppose this is comforting. Nonetheless, it's certainly scary to be stepping onto shaky ground and into the unknown.

I've been reading all of this advice from "how to take away as much as possible from your internship" to "how to apply for jobs and pitch stories." It's frightening. Am I here already? It's becoming a little too real for me. It's also showing me that I have a lot of decisions to make. What aspects of publishing do I want to focus on? If I want to be a writer, what sort of publication do I want to write for? What experience do I really need? I'm hoping that the coming academic year will provide insight (and answers) to these questions.

I apologize for the 'heavy' nature of this post. It's certainly not necklaces and headbands.