Get it? Like listing to the side the way one might if she is very tired? And a list post? (The pun is the lowest form of humor.)

1. Another comment on my guest post: Pennie told me later that one of the things she said to Madison on the phone call is that she understood how sharing is hard because sometimes she has a hard time sharing Madison with me. Madison told me that this made her feel better. It’s very important for her to know that Pennie misses her as much as she misses Pennie. Back in the day, Madison would occasionally goad Pennie by flaunting her (Madison’s) relationship with me. I don’t think Pennie knew that she was doing this but I did. It was hard for me to figure out how to handle it (this was when she was two-ish?) but my gut told me to encourage their relationship more overtly to both of them and you know what? That’s what needed to happen. Maybe tomorrow I’ll try to post a little overview of Madison’s development around her relationship with Pennie. Or I might forget and end up writing a post about breakfast cereals. I don’t know.
2. Noah is at Kalahari for the unschoolers conference this week. We couldn’t go because of work and stuff. I strongly considered driving up there yesterday to see John Taylor Gatto speak but couldn’t for a million and one bureaucratic reasons. Am I bitter? Yes, a touch.
3. We miss Noah. At least Brett and I do. Madison says she does but she’s already decided that she will sit at his place at the dinner table and last night she slept in his bed saying, “I think I’ll be Noah tonight.” Lately she won’t sleep in her OWN bed so we let her even though Noah will kill us when he gets back. She snuggled in and said, “It smells like Noah.” “What does Noah smell like?” I asked her. “Fried chicken,” she replied. I think she’s lying because to me Noah’s room smells like the dog since Peanut pretty much lives in there with him.
4. I finally subscribed to Poets & Writer’s magazine after looking at the web site longingly for months. It’s only ten bucks a year and it’s not very practical (unlike the ASJA newsletter, which is so practical that it’s nearly depressing although incredibly useful so I highly recommend it without irony). Sometimes I need to remember that I am also a Writer and not just a communications expert with a business card.
5. Speaking of business cards, I just ordered some new ones. I’m attaching one below. They are very plain but that’s what I was going for. By the way in case my orange banner up there has not made it clear, I would like everyone to hire me.

There are a lot of good things about having a blog but the best thing about having a blog is the archives because then I don’t have to remember anything since my blog will remember it for me. I was reading through some of my working archives and remembering where I’ve been with work. I’ve been thinking about what I’ve learned in the last year work-wise and really what I’ve learned in the past three years and it’s a lot, people. Just a ton. So I thought I’d share some of it and then next year I can look back and shake my head and think, “Just wait until you learn what you’re gonna learn THIS year!” and kinda chuckle at my naive little self.

On to what I’ve learned:

1. I really really really need my work to matter to me. Not just to other people but to ME. I have to get something out of it and I’m not just talking about a paycheck.
2. If I can’t get something out of it,I need room to do some other stuff to feed that hungry part of myself who wants to do Good Work and Write.
3. I am not much motivated by money (unfortunately) or praise but I do appreciate acknowledgment. I’m a sucker for respectful acknowledgment.
4. Great co-workers go a long, long way to make a not great fit more comfortable.
5. If I don’t write, I will get depressed. And angry. And insomniac. And maybe a little bit Golem-like with the fear and jealousy.
6. If I don’t get unfettered time with my family, I will get depressed. And angry. etc. etc.
7. I’m a workaholic. I have to force limits on myself or I will never turn off that part of my brain much to my detriment.
8. Also? People will, through no fault of their own, take advantage of my workaholism. I can’t get mad of them if they do. That goes to that whole forcing limits on myself thing.
9. I really like new challenges. I really like to learn new stuff.
10. I’m no longer afraid of phone calls, interviews or meetings. They’re still not my most favorite. Not like, say, reading a good book under our new down comforter but they’re better than a stick in the eye.
11. I know my own worth much better than I did this time last year and I’m willing to stand up for it.
12. I’m not as afraid of failure as I used to be and I believe absolutely that every failure is a learning experience.
13. Because I’m not as afraid of failure, I’m more willing to take a leap, which means I’ve tried a lot of new things and some of them have even been awesome.
14. I have a tendency to dive into things a little too fast. Now that I know that about myself I am better about waiting even when I really really really don’t want to.
15. I need very simple systems to keep stuff organized — the more simple the better. And I need them to be off-line because it helps to be able to write things down (not type) and sort them out physically.

It’s been a long week. Actually a long two weeks. I still haven’t written about Noah’s bar mitzvah but now I’m not sure if I will. It’s hard to write about events like that without making them maudlin and it’s too dear to my heart to risk it. I can’t believe that Noah is 13 though. Right before the ceremony we were talking about how he’ll be 20 when Madison has her bat mitzvah and the rabbi said, “Don’t go there! Don’t let your mind picture that right now!” Yeah, it was a little much to contemplate.

But it was lovely. And I can’t believe it was just last weekend.

This week has been incredibly busy with figuring out how to close out FertilityAuthority. They have been very understanding and kind about my leaving. I may continue to freelance for them depending on where they are at the end of my tenure. Things are moving very quickly there and I am excited for them even though I won’t be the one implementing their plans.

Meanwhile, I have an interview for grad school not this weekend but next. It’s a day long interview with one-on-one and group activities. I’m nervous but excited because I think it’ll be interesting. I’m certainly hopeful about ending up at OSU but am still working on my Plan B. It’s nice to get this far though. I guess my GRE scores weren’t total suck.

Julia and I are working on another project that has us both excited but as you like know, she’s been a little busy these past couple of weeks. Happily Gage is doing GREAT and we hope to get cracking very soon (like yesterday). She has a lot going on business-wise, too, and I’m trying to lend a hand with some of it.

And of course I’m doing major networking to line up freelance work. I redid my professional site (to match this one — branding) since it was way out of date. I also have some freelance jobs that I was already juggling, one of which I finished up last night just under deadline. I’m also working on an article about disrupted adoptions but need a new family to focus on since the one I was working with doesn’t seem to be panning out. If you have a lead please let me know. I’m happy (of course) to use pseudonyms for anyone I interview.

I have a Bar Mitzvah post brewing but wanted to post a quick update here. After careful deliberation I decided to put in my notice on my job. Actually Brett and I made this decision LAST weekend but then we thought the bar mitzvah prep was perhaps making us crazy and that perhaps one should not make enormous decisions while under the influence of event stress. So we decided to table it until we got through the Big Day but we talked about it off and on all week. You all know how excited I was to get the job but it became clear that this was not a great fit for me and would likely be a short-term thing. I will need to close out some of what I have ongoing for them but I am also stepping up my freelance efforts.

If you or anyone you know needs a freelancer with skills in: writing, editing, SEO, social media marketing, traditional print marketing (brochures, press releases, white papers, etc.), social media strategy (twitter campaigns, Facebook and of course blogs most especially WordPress installation, customization and strategizing) then I am your gal.

I’ve worked for big clients (Express, Lane Bryant, Barnes & Noble, Disney.com) and small ones (local non-profits, small entrepreneurs). I do minor jobs like quick proofreading and major ones like orchestrating entire campaigns. I specialize in quick turn-around and don’t mind working with clients who don’t quite get the tech (ask Kristen – I am patient).

I am also interested in subcontracting with other writers who have overflow work (you know — you get a job you can’t get done so you pay me part of what they’re paying you). I am especially interested in on-going gigs but am happy to take one-off jobs, too.

I am excited about this. I’ve been missing freelancing and circumstances made it clear that this was the way to go again.

Hit me up if you have any questions and please spread the word! My google voice number is 614-547-9786 (it’s not an actual phone number — it’s a voice mail catch-all that goes to my email) and my email is, of course, dawnfriedman AT gmail DOT com.

I’m taking a breather while I wait for a work call to come in. I’ve tidied up my to-do list and decided to just stop for a minute and drink a cup of coffee. I’m fighting an evil dead headache, which has been haunting me for the past couple of days. It’s bar mitzvah stress, I’m sure and I’m sure that’s also what’s waking me up at 4am these last three mornings.

I’m looking forward to the bar mitzvah celebration because it will be a blast but I’m also looking forward to after when we can just be bored in gray February for awhile. Not that there isn’t lots going on (such is life) but lots going on AND a bar mitzvah is just a little much, in my opinion. Also we keep forgetting that Noah is having a birthday, too (tomorrow!) and the poor kid is terrified that we’re going to completely space it.

Let’s see — what was I doing thirteen years ago? Oh yeah, I was in labor. And had been for 24 hours. Man, transitions have never been easy for that kid!

Work is busy. I’ve been taking notes like crazy and mostly enjoying the learning curve. I’m getting insight to some aspects of the business that I hadn’t had before and I’m liking that. It’s filling in some of the pieces that I’ve missed at other jobs where I was really only about editorial and/or marketing. I had a long talk with my co-editor yesterday that started to be about work stuff but then was getting to know you type stuff. I’ve met her before but it was all work in NYC so it was nice to hear a little bit about her and her background and how she got to where she is now. Even though she’s not technically my supervisor, she’s been there longer and knows the lay of the land more so I’m grateful to her willingness to help me see the bigger editorial picture. Whenever she’s briefing me on a new part of my job she makes tremendous effort to make sure that I feel supported and have all the info I need. She hasn’t done a lot of telecommuting and I think this makes her more diligent in her communication because she’s always very very clear and if she’s not, is quick to clarify.

I also really like my immediate supervisor who is the person I deal with the most. She’s got this great funky Melanie Mayron vibe and I wish I knew her in real life and that she wasn’t my boss sometimes because I think I’d just like her. And goodness knows you can like your boss but you have to like them more cautiously because you need to be careful and not bitch about work too much. I mean a little, sure, but not too much. That’s just tacky.

Ok, enough. Still waiting on the call (or the response from PR guy about the call) but the coffee is all drunk up and I’ve got things to do.