Housekeeping

Hi. Do you miss me yet?

Just wanted to pass along a couple items of note. If you've been missing my ugly mug, you can see it at 8 p.m. on NewsNight with Jim Braude on NECN for the weekly news quiz. I'm a little apprehensive since I haven't been keeping tabs on non-city-related news like I used to, but hope to bring the noise to Newton.

Secondly, I'm happy to announce my Blogging Hiatus Party has been tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. at the Alchemist Lounge in Jamaica Plain. The owners of the bar have kindly offered to reserve a section of the bar for us, so we must repay them by drinking their beer and snacking on their foodstuffs. I want all of you to come—journalists, bloggers, readers, friends, politicos, random hobos—and celebrate my new job while lamenting the lack of content on this and other Boston-area blogs. If something changes, I'll let you know.

Gone Communicatin'

So. That happened.

As you may know, I've got a new gig communicating for City Council President Mike Ross. Since shortly after my unfortunate layoff, I've been doing some consulting for him, and it turned into a full-time position. Which is great news for my bank account, but less than stellar for pasquinade.

I love blogging. I relish reading your comments. Yes, even the nasty ones. Although my family is less than thrilled by my willingness to talk about my life here (my mother still prefaces some statements with "don't blog this"), I've really enjoyed oversharing with strangers. When I was making textbooks or acting as my own media personality, that was appropriate. Now that I'm representing a politician, it's less so.

This means pasquinade will largely go un-updated for a while. I'm under contract to write for NESN.com for a while longer, so you'll see my sports-related thoughts there. When I'm officially done, I'm hoping to have a Blogging Hiatus party at a location to be named later to thank you all for reading. (By gracing you with my presence, that is. I was unemployed, remember. I can't afford open bar or snacks.)

With all the challenges facing Boston, this gig will be an interesting adventure. I hope you'll keep tabs on what's coming out of City Hall in the next few months, and I'll be talking to you soon.

Officially Freelancing

When I lost my job, the woman I babysit for said I had one week to advertise myself as an unemployed writer. "After that," she said, "you're a freelancer."

I guess that's true. Not only can you find my work here and on Blue Mass Group, but I'm also doing some work for NESN.com. Today I wrote about what the new Red Sox logos mean for the MLB-licensed caskets.

Be sure to check it out.

Giving Thanks. Yes, Really.

Well. That happened.

I'd like to thank everyone for the kind emails, calls, text messages, and riotous comments left on Boston Daily. I haven't responded to everyone yet, but know that I really appreciate it.

And yes, I'm fine. Really. That's not to say this doesn't suck mightily, nor that I'm not really disappointed. But I can't be angry with my colleagues over at BoMag. They took a big gamble in giving a girl with a writing degree and a Blogger account a job with a major city magazine. That kind of thing usually only happens in movies or chick lit novels. I think it worked out better than they thought it would. As I've been writing for the past year and a half, the media business is horrible right now, and I'm the one they chose to let go. That's baseball.

It's funny how losing a job is like a breakup. I'm in Rhode Island for the holiday, and I went out to get some last-minute Thanksgiving fixings by myself. I must have heard that Leona Lewis song that says "It'll all get better with time" about four times. And it will.

I also heard the song "Amy." You know, the one with the chorus that says "Amy, what you wanna do?" That one, I'm not so sure about. I'm thinking about it, obviously. I'd love to keep writing and snarking for my pay, for sure.

But I can't freak out over how that will happen this weekend. I'm going to drown my unemployment sorrows in turkey and wine, enjoy the one holiday I'll have with my paternal grandparents this season, and start making some calls on Monday.

But, since this is Thanksgiving, let's run down the list of things I'm thankful for. Obviously, the first item from last year's list will be a little different.

• I'm thankful that Boston gave me the opportunity to work for them.
• I'm thankful for the nice blogging on the part of Adams Gaffin and Reilly, and Paul Flannery.
  
• I'm thankful for all the great people I met while I worked at BoMag.
• I'm thankful for my excellent friends and family who have offered me their couches, their booze, and their efforts to get me a new gig ASAP.
• I'm thankful for the family I babysit for, who've already offered me my a room if I need it. And it's a bigger room than the last time they housed my broke ass!
  
• I'm thankful that I'm healthy.
• I'm thankful the election worked out the way I wanted it to.
• I'm thankful as always to my vices of coffee and alcohol.
• I'm thankful that Tina Fey is working.
• I'm thankful that I finally found a pair of skinny jeans that doesn't make my butt look weird. Now I can wear boots AND pants at the same time!
• I'm thankful for Facebook. Seriously, I have a problem.
• I'm thankful in advance for the person who gives me my next job.
  

Until I get a new gig, you'll find me back here, at long-neglected pasquinade. It's all the snark you loved (or hated) at Boston Daily, but with more first-person profanity and interaction in the comments. Hopefully I'll spruce this place up a little bit in the coming days. And if you'd like to feed me, buy me some booze, or give me a job (hey, it's either shameless self-promotion or the bread lines), hit me up at the email in the sidebar.

More NewsQuiz Goodness

I need a haircut. But they still let me on the TV!



Round two:



And the final question:

A Weekend of Autumnal Fun

As much as I hate what fall means (the precious few hours of daylight; six months of trudging through snow), I do love fall weekends. Yesterday, I took the kids I babysit to Salem for the day. It's a much different experience when you have the under-12 set with you. There are many trips back to the car for supplies. Making sure everyone has used the bathroom that needs to. And walking the fine line between boring and terrifying.

After taking in the pumpkin festival on Salem Common, I took my charges to see Cry Innocent, a neat mock witch trial. I figured it would give the kids some history, but wouldn't scare the crap out of the baby like the Witch Museum would have.

The actors presented their testimony, and then asked the audience if they had any questions. Eldest raised her hand, squirming she was so eager to be heard. After a guy in a Darth Vader costume had questioned the witch, Eldest got to say her piece.

"How come everybody believes these people? All the things they're talking about happened at night while they were asleep. Maybe they were just dreaming." She said it in a tone that screamed What the hell is wrong with you people? which caused the room erupted in applause, and eldest sat back in her seat, face bright red, but smiling.

At the end of the play, she said to me, "These people are crazy." Ah, history.

Today I spent the day cooking and cleaning. At long last, I trudged to the laundromat and washed my comforter cover. I swear that when I wash this thing, the colors become way more vibrant. I need to be more diligent in this regard.

I finally made some pumpkin bread, and also some roasted butternut squash with blue cheese and pecans. It's been weeks since I last ate a vegetable, so I shoveled the bright orange goodness down at a fast pace. Now I'm working on the chicken and rosemary I made. Healthy!

And on Friday night, I was on NECN again for the ever-popular NewsQuiz. Jim Braude wasn't there, but Chet Curtis made a fine substitute. Here are the clips. (And if you haven't seen me in a while, yes, my hair is very short. I love it, because I am too lazy to style it when it's long.)





So that's what's up with me. How are things with you? Oh, and Go Sox!

What's My News IQ?

Yeah, yeah, I suck. I haven't blogged here in approximately eight years. I do hope that you guys are checking out Boston Daily. Writing all day long has forced me to "hone my craft" (barf, but true) and it's probably funnier than what I wrote here. Also, I am tired after writing all day and don't have much energy or material left for here. I'm not as dedicated as Gov. Patrick and won't write much on nights and weekends.

Another bonus of working for a "real" publication is that the PR people occasionally parade the writers around like show ponies. Last night I took my first spin around the ring on Jim Braude's NewsNight News Quiz. Every Friday, three media-type people answer questions about the week's news for nothing more than bragging rights and free publicity.

I went up against Joe Joyce and Bill Fallon. Both had been and felt pretty confident heading in since I was a newbie and a blogger. Unfortunately for them, they neglected to realize that my job is to obsessively read the news.



Enjoy. Hopefully they invite me back soon.

Daily

If you've seen the latest issue of Boston magazine (which you all did, right?!), you may have wondered why I was so intermittently posting to this blog since I wrote all of 500 words in the August issue. At last, you can see why.

As you can see on the sidebar (points to the right) or at Universal Hub, there's a new link to a site called Boston Daily. Boston just relaunched its website yesterday, and the blog to go with it, which will be my primary writing territory. Cool, huh?

So if you need me, I'll be over there for the most part (though I'll still be posting here). Add BD to your blogroll, if you'd be so kind. It will help you live a better life. Or, at least you'll get reliably updated content there.

Shameless

Whoo!

Hey kids. I'm still recuperating from my birthday festivities, but if you're jonesing for a fix, pick up the latest issue of Boston magazine. It's the Best of Boston issue, and I've got a couple non-Best items in the front of the issue. And my name's on the masthead!

. . . Nope. Still not old.

Read Me!

Check out my first full-time piece for Boston magazine, a write-up of the iPhone craziness and its impact on Apple store employees. Boston's July issue is out now and though you won't see any of my writing in print until August, you should read the new issue anyway. John Gonzalez gets in a fight with a Wahlberg brother and Joe Keohane imagines a 4th without Keith Lockhart, among other items of interest. And no, nobody's got a gun to the back of my head forcing me to say that.