• 2016: The Year In Review

    At the end of each year, I always take a moment to examine the ups and downs I experienced. What follows is my personal and professional review of 2016. I:

    * Produced hundreds of breaking news stories about the worldwide refugee crisis, the slaughter in Syria, the 2016 Rio Olympics, the Brexit referendum, the Black Lives Matter movement, the Orlando nightclub massacre, the spread of the Zika virus, the Panama Papers leak, the North Korea nuclear tests, dozens of terror attacks, the Juno probe’s arrival in Jupiter’s orbit, the impeachment of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, the 2016 election and countless celebrity deaths.

    * Passed the 45,000th tweet mark on my personal Twitter account (@jadewalker).

    * Entered an essay contest to win a house in Maine.

    * Penned 68 journal entries.

    * Wrote 2 poems.

    * Worked on my novel.

    * Interviewed by Vanessa Lowe for the Nocturne podcast.

    * Walked over 1.06 million steps (more than 445 miles) and climbed over 1,060 floors.

    * Read 50 books and numerous magazines.

    * Watched 39 films and dozens of TV programs.

    * Updated The Written Word and The 10th Muse mailing lists.

    * Participated in the The Society of Professional Obituary Writers, the New York City Writers Group, the South Florida Freelancers Group, the Journalism & Women Symposium and the Author’s Guild.

    * Launched the New Hampshire Writers Guild.

    * Traveled to Maine.

    * Twice hosted vacationing friends.

    * Completed three escape room adventures (and died twice).

    * Crossed off an item from my bucket list (was locked inside a bookstore late at night).

    * Participated in National Readathon Day.

    * Saw Henry Rollins in concert.

    * Attended two plays: “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “The Stone Witch.”

    * Shot off a large cache of fireworks.

    * Completed the Zombies, Run! 5K Virtual Race.

    * Suffered from at least 23 migraines.

    * Spent nine months caring for my youngest cat Sera, who had terminal cancer, then mourned when she died.

    * Celebrated my 7th wedding anniversary.

    * Helped my husband find a new job after he was laid off.

    * Lived separately from M for months once he landed a great position at a university in Massachusetts.

    * Revealed my entire financial background to various firms to qualify for a mortgage.

    * Viewed dozens of houses in three states, trying to find one we could afford.

    * Bought our first home.

    * Turned 43.


    End of the year

    Goals for 2017

    * Finish unpacking.

    * Work on my fiction.

    * Write more obits.

    * Read at least 50 books.

    * Win the lottery.

  • skull and crossbones stamp

    We’re all victims of our own hubris at times.

    It’s with some sadness that I report my own demise. Cause of death was poisoning due to an inability to think fast.

    If you’re interested, my last words were: “I just needed 10 more minutes, damn it!” These were exclaimed rather than uttered once the location of the much-needed antidote was revealed.

    Ironically, I died while celebrating a friend’s birthday. In honor of attaining the grand old age of 40-(mumble), Mark decided he wanted to fete the occasion with a death-defying visit to an Adventure Room. Foolishly, M and I agreed to join him.

    This proved to be a fatal decision for all of us.

    On Saturday night, we drove to an office building in Connecticut. Our appointment was for 10:30 p.m. and the parking lot was both dark and sufficiently creepy. We rode the slow OTIS elevator to the correct floor, not knowing that we were heading toward our doom.

    After signing in, the three of us were escorted to a room and told of our fate. The three of us had just been poisoned and while the antidote was hidden nearby, we had only one hour to locate it. The door shut with a solid and ominous thud and immediately we began searching for clues.

    Prior to our arrival, I discovered that only 30 percent of participants actually survive the Remedy Room. But I was cocky and unconcerned; surely we could solve all of the room’s mysterious obstacles before time ran out.

    Alas, we were 10 minutes too late. But dying turned out to be pretty fun. In fact, I may have to try it again… someday.

  • Lightbulb moment

    Daring myself to experiment

    Earlier this evening, I finished reading Lu Ann Cahn’s lifestyle experiment book “I Dare Me: How I Rebooted And Recharged My Life By Doing Something New Every Day.” If you’re unfamiliar with Cahn, she’s an Emmy Award-winning TV journalist, mother and cancer survivor who, back in 2009, decided to try a new thing every day for a year and blog about it.

    As noted in her blog’s intro:

    When we are children, our lives are full of firsts: first steps, first grade, first wish, first kiss, first love. There seems to be an endless stream of “firsts”.

     

    At some point, though, there are fewer “firsts”. We forget what it’s like to discover something new.

     

    After a while we tend to lose our childlike curiosity, leaning more toward what we know and what we’re comfortable with. We order food that we know we like. We wear clothes that are the same style we’ve worn for years. We see the same people every day. Work is “Groundhog Day”. We vacation in the same place every year. We wrap ourselves in the familiar to avoid the discomfort of change. We attach ourselves to our habits, (good and bad), and our usual ways of doing things.

     

    And then we stop growing.

    “I Dare Me” is a compilation of Cahn’s many fun and daring “firsts.” Before I finished the first chapter, I knew I’d have to give it a try. And so today, I shall embark on a “first” quest. Who wants to try it with me?

    My “first” goal: Create a list of “firsts” to try. So far, I’m up to about 100 items. Here’s a small sampling:

    * Stand up for a cause I believe in (see this entry).
    * Publicly reveal my Oscar picks.
    * Take a class in astrobiology.
    * Walk 15,000 steps in a single day.
    * Pay for a stranger’s coffee.
    * Get a massage.
    * Get a mammogram.
    * Go letterboxing.
    * Take piano lessons.
    * Buy a house.

    Have any suggestions for interesting “firsts”? Feel free to share ’em in comments.