Is Anybody Home?

Perhaps my absence here needs a little explanation: you see, a year ago I signed up for this really great Master's program in publishing. I had four months off before it all began, during which I diligently blogged and ate food with my friends and helped to launch a magazine (have you heard of Sad Mag?). Oh, we had such a good time!

And then September came and the program started. There were eighteen of us out to navigate the very confusing landscape of publishing in 2010. We became MPubbers--a special breed of grad student that's able to copy edit passages about the salmon life cycle, design a marketing plan for a national magazine, and parse the cultural impact of Facebook on biography and the archive. It was hard, and there were just a lot of emotions. And too many days spent in the windowless offices, which spun into psychotic, oxygen-deprived nights.

Eight months later, we've finished our coursework and are in reasonably good mental health. I learned so much. My brain exploded at many points (and was expertly put back together by the incredibly patient Andy, and the very necessary support system of more-than-understanding friends and colleagues).

I barely made out alive, while other MPubbers thrived. Not surprising as some of these gals are bona fide superwomen (Shout out to Hur Publishing, Shan's Ride to Conquer Cancer, aaaaand you're all amazing--but maybe not Internet linkable). Some of us managed to blog the whole time; Kristen, you are a machine.

Meanwhile, I've been less than diligent about keeping my Internet home in good condition. Spending your day reading, writing, and creating in front of a screen is not exactly conducive to coming home and seeking out more work on one's computer. There hasn't exactly been time to bathe and sleep, so blogging hasn't been my first priority.

But I'll make it up to you with a summer of regular posts, which begins today.

Oh, and I'm moving to Montreal temporarily. So it will be the QC version of Nutty, Dry and a Hint of Vanilla for the summer from May to September. You can look forward to my social follies as I navigate a new city without adequate language skills. Also, I might be launching a new blog with the multi-talented Tracy Hurren. So, Tracy, if you're reading this, this is me publicly pressuring you to start a blog with me.

Anyway, thank you for staying on and asking me to blog again.

Love you. Miss you already.

M


Postscript //some other MPub blogs:
New additions on my blog roll as of 26.04.2010