She’s Alive!

Holy 60 Hour Work Weeks Batman!

Seriously, it’s been ages. I’ve been feeling the lack!

I started a new job as a paralegal at the NYC office of an international law firm in May, after months and months of disheartening unemployment. Being a paralegal (or legal assistant. Take your pick of job titles.) seems like one of the choice post-college jobs for people, like me, who have a general sense of the kind of work they want to do, but have no idea as yet how to get there. It’s the kind of job that teaches you what it means to have a job, and the kinds of general skills and habits that go along with it.

It’s also an Oh My God Where Did My Life Go? kind of job.

They day starts at 9:30 in the morning, and frequently goes much longer than the typical 8 hours. I stayed until 2:30 am on my very first day (to be fair, the attorney was horrified when he realized that). Last Wednesday I was there until midnight. I frequently work until 8:00 or 9:00 or 10:00 at night. The commute from home is between an hour and a half (in the mornings) and an hour (late at night). This means I have very little time to be a person—the hour or so I have each day to read my blogs and try to write letters has become incredibly precious.

I am still writing letters even though No Post on Sunday has suffered, but more slowly. I have a bit of a back-log that I am trying to catch up on. Angie’s from mid-May still hasn’t been sent, nor has Limner’s or Lamar’s from last week. Although I think I’ve already accomplished some of the primary goals of the project—to get back into the habit of writing daily, exploring new people and new areas, exchanging ideas and creativity—I’m going to push on as long as I can since it’s important to me to finish what I start. I’m six months into the Year of Correspondence. It’s as unlikely I’ll make it from June to December as it was that I’d make it from January to June, which is to say that anything is possible.

I have some other exciting news too: I’ve been featured on a great website!

PostMuse, postcard guru, has a great site at The Orphaned Postcard Project. Check out her database of orphaned postcards, select one or three, and sit back until they arrive, blank except for her return address in Pittsburgh, PA. Write whatever you want on the card and pop it in the mail back to her, knowing that your postcard and your story will eventually be featured on her blog. She even has a How Do I Participate page to clarify any questions.

I love reading The Orphaned Postcard Project, the genesis of which you can read about here. I typically find postcards of most sites pretty boring, but PostMuse does a great job of soliciting stories so that the generic picture of a tourist destination takes on personal significance. She also posts pictures of stamps from all over the world, which is super cool. Catching up on this blog every week or so is really fun because the cards come back from all over the world. The blog talks about what people notice on their travels, and is doubly enjoyable because PostMuse has a great writing voice.

That’s it for tonight, other than the incredibly long list of letters I’ve been meaning to post for three weeks. Hopefully I’ll be back before another three have gone by!

134. John R. (@Postcrossing) -Mont Clare

AND Shannon (@Send Something) -Bellevue

135. Alex C. -Chicago

136. Linsey (@Send Something) -Tulsa

137. Paula (@Postcrossing) -OShawa Ontario, Canada

138. Megin F. -Seattle

139. Chris F (@Send Something) -Swindon, UK

140. Angie (@Send Something) -Bridgeport

141. Ramya S. -San Carlos

142. A Year of Letters -Morton

143. Ganga – Spring Lake

144. Becky Snailmailer -Bethlehem

145. John R. (@Postcrossing) -Mont Clare

146. Olive O. -Monroe Township

AND Jasmine (@Send Something) -Las Cruces

147. Willow (@Postcrossing) -New Westminster, Canada

148. Jessica K. -Park Ridge

149. Karina (Postcrossing) -Moscow, Russia

150. Limer -Cady

151. Elizabeth C.  -Chicago —> HALF WAY THROUGH THE YEAR!

152. Alex K. -Seattle

153. Lamar M. -Chicago

154. Malwinka (@Postcrossing) -Poznan, Poland

155. Evelyn B. (@Send Something) -Lyman

AND

Nick G. -Ann Arbor