A day in the life…February 20, 2006

I think my friends and relatives sometimes wonder what I do here in my basement all day. In fact, one of them actually said to me, “I bet you just sit around drinking wine …” What?! Who the hell does he think I am, Ernest Hemingway!?

To dispel any of those notions, I kept track of my day yesterday – pretty typical. Here’s how it went.

Morning

7:45 – 8:30: Brainstorm on headlines/ideas for recruitment ad series for TQ.

8:35 – 9:00: Go through e-mails; write to K. re: photo to go with Jr. NBA basketball story; write to TDs to ask (beg) for approval on their story, which was due back to me last Friday.

9:00 – 10:15: Call four or five weight loss people and interview them for next week’s update.*

10:15 – 10:35: Deal with photo shoot crisis: Michelle in Iowa (featured person in magazine spread) sent me a slightly panicky e-mail saying she hasn’t heard from anyone about the shoot and needs to confirm that it’s happening or else reschedule; she has 3 kids and babysitting issues. I know rescheduling is not an option, so I track down Andy (photographer) who thought the art director had contacted her re: time, details, etc. He’s planning on the shoot for sure – wants me to ask her if she can arrange to have some photos taken at Y, where she works out. I e-mail her back, apologizing for mix-up, tell her the shoot is on, and I’ll call her later with details.

10:35 – 10:45: Deal with more e-mails – send Lindsey copy of Jr. NBA story for another story she’s working on about it. Get reply from Troy (designer) to my earlier e-mail to him about working on a new project. He says thanks, but he can’t take on anything else right now. E-mail Mark to see if he’s interested.

10:45 – noon: Work on AC’s newsletter. Thank God, things are going MUCH more smoothly on this one versus the hellish situation we had last time. (See Proofreading.)

Afternoon

Noon – 1:00: Listen to Terry Gross, eat, go cross country skiing.

1:05 - 1:15: Get organized for afternoon; call Michelle back and leave her a message based on more info received from Andy re arrival time, etc.…

1:15 - 2:30: Edit heads/write sample copy for sample recruitment ad for TQ; send to client. Clean up/send in copy on Jr. NBA basketball story.

2:30: Call 96-year old mother (who still lives at home) to make sure all is well with her. Praise Jesus, it is, though for some reason, she thinks today is Saturday.

2:35: Go upstairs and do laundry. Give living room wall another coat of paint. (The 4th sample I’ve tried in an attempt to find a color I like.)

2:45 – 3:15: Start calls on new weight loss testimonials. Talk to a woman who lost 85 pounds on the TLS program – turns out she has an amazing story. (She was about to have stomach reduction surgery and thought she’d give the program a try first. It worked, and she’s kept the weight off for more than a year.)

3:15 – 3:30: Go upstairs to check paint and try to decide if I can live in a room that looks more blue than the Silver Sage it’s supposed to be. Realize I hate blue.

3:35: Come back down and check e-mails; e-mail Brenna and ask if her Silver Sage walls look green or blue.

3:40: Receive e-mail from TDs saying they “definitely have changes to the story…” damn…and that they will get back to me “in the next couple days.” Right…

4:00: Finish up loose ends, answer outstanding e-mails, etc.

4:15: Go upstairs for good. Get and go through mail, figure out what to have for dinner, plop down to read the newspaper.

5:15: Receive call from Michelle asking what she can expect during shoot – how long it will last, whether kids will be in it, etc. I fill her in, call Andy and ask him to please give her a call the next day to reassure her. He says he will.

The End.

*I do a lot of weight loss testimonials for magazines, newsletters, etc. One of my current jobs is making calls to 10 people who are in a 12-week program, talk to them about how they’re doing, and post their weekly comments on a website. Weight loss: It’s what America is all about these days.