• 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.

  • 5 true confessions of a jaded mind

    * There’s a Calvin-esque part of me that emerges after rain storms. I see a big puddle and I just feel the need to jump.

    * There’s another part of me that hopes for some sort of time or place travel to occur when I splash into dark puddles.

    * I can’t kill bugs that crunch. Doing so just creeps me out.

    * I like hot tea and iced tea, but I don’t like when hot tea goes cold.

    * Two years ago, my eye doctor said I needed bifocals. Despite my reservations (which foolishly involved me feeling old), I took her advice and bought a pair. When it was time to renew my prescription, I explained that my eyes had never really adapted to the bifocals and that I wanted straight specs instead. Turns out, she was right and I was wrong, and that’s why I’ve spent the past year squinting and removing my glasses to read anything.

  • 2013: The Year In Review

    At the end of the year, I always take a moment to examine the ups and downs I experienced, both personally and professionally. What follows is my accounting of 2013:

    * Produced hundreds of breaking news stories, including the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, the intensive manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombers and countless mass shootings.

    * Blogged for The Obituary Forum, The Blog of Death, Hooked From The First Page and Afterthoughts.

    * Passed the 29,000th tweet mark on my personal Twitter account (@jadewalker) and received the “I’m real” checkmark of verification.

    * Penned 60 journal entries.

    * Worked on my novel.

    * Purchased a Fitbit, increased my daily steps/stairs and cut back on my sleep debt. Also started using FitBolt to decrease time spent sitting.

    * Subscribed to the HelloFresh and Plated food services, then cooked a ton of delicious dishes.

    * Read 38 books and countless magazines.

    * Watched more than 30 films.

    * Took classes in archaeology, disaster preparedness, health/nutrition, literature and photography.

    * Launched The 10th Muse, a mailing list of writing prompts.

    * Updated The Written Word.

    * Participated in the New York City Writers Group, the South Florida Freelancers Group and the Journalism & Women Symposium.

    * Attended The Society of Professional Obituary Writers (SPOW) conference in Canada and launched the group’s private Facebook page.

    * Created a YouTube video about the future of obituaries.

    * Featured in a CNN article about obituaries.

    * Profiled on JobShadow.

    * Built websites for my husband and grandfather.

    * Redesigned The SPOW website as well as my own.

    * Went house-hunting in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.

    * Dyed my hair red.

    * Traveled to Burlington Vt., New York City, Toronto and Scotland.

    * Visited the monument to Phineas Gage.

    * Tended a garden of basil, oregano, catnip, romaine lettuce, mint, thyme and flowers.

    * Dealt with the libelous rantings of a couple of cyber-trolls (yes, lawyers were involved).

    * Saw Stephen King, Sting and Stuart McLean in person.

    * Leased a new car.

    * Perfected my versions of fudge, chocolate drop cookies, carrot cake, chicken pilaf and lasagna.

    * Celebrated my 4th wedding anniversary.

    * Turned 40.

    * * *

    End of the yearPlans/goals for 2014

    * Save up enough money for a down payment on a house.

    * Write more snail mail letters.

    * Work on my books.

    * Write more obits.

    * Write more poetry/short stories.

    * Experience fewer migraines.

    * Eat more fruits and vegetables.

    * Exercise.

    * Win the lottery.

  • The Curious Case of Phineas Gage

    If you don’t know the fascinating story of Phineas Gage, watch this video. It’ll explain everything. Don’t worry. I’ll wait.

     

     

    Done? Good.

    Needless to say, I’ve always been fascinated by this strange tale. So when M and I had the opportunity to visit Cavendish, Vt., over the weekend, we took it.

    Cavendish is a quiet, nondescript New England town, population 1,470. Other than being the former home of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, a Russian writer and Nobel Prize winner, Cavendish doesn’t have much to boast. Except for one thing: It is the site of The Gage Accident.

    In honor of this curious piece of history, the people of Cavendish have erected a monument to Phineas, which we, of course, visited:

     

    Phineas Gage monument skull

     

    And if you look at the bottom right corner of said monument, there is an image of Phineas’ skull with an arrow showing exactly how the rod flew through it.

     

    Phineas Gage monument skull

     

    A footnote to this story: The rod and Phineas’ skull are currently part of a permanent exhibition at Harvard Medical School’s Warren Anatomical Museum in Boston. In 1998, at the 150th commemoration of the accident, Phineas’ rod was brought — by armed guard — from Harvard to Cavendish for the ceremony.

     

    Portrait of Phineas Gage

    (Credits: Top two photos taken by Jade Walker. Portrait of Phineas Gage is from the Wikimedia Commons. Footnote info comes from the wonderful book “Vermont Curiosities” by Robert F. Wilson.)

  • Sting v.4

    This is what I’ll be doing on June 20th:

     

     

    Now Bangor, Maine, is a five-hour drive each way from my home, but getting the opportunity to see one of my favorite artists in an outdoor venue is just too good to pass up.

    The first time I saw Sting perform was at Jones Beach on Long Island, a beautiful amphitheater right on the water. While most of the audience sat contently in their seats, I spent the entire concert dancing in the aisle.

    The second time I had the chance to see Sting was during the “Today” show’s summer concert series. As soon as I got off work on Friday morning, I raced over to Rockefeller Center and arrived just in time to hear him sing two songs before the show ended. Although incredibly brief, the performance put me in a fantastic mood all weekend.

    The third time I saw Sting in concert was on a hot summer night in Central Park. I managed to arrive early enough to find a decent spot near the stage, and when he sang “Moon Over Bourbon Street,” I was entranced by the both the song and the stunning full moon that rose up behind the stage. I was in the heart of Manhattan, but the combination of the music, the moon, the heat, the humidity, the crowd and the hours of dancing made me feel as though I had been magically transported to New Orleans. It was wonderful.

    So even though I generally dread the arrival of summer, I have at least two things to look forward to this year: attending the next Society of Professional Obituary Writers conference in Toronto and seeing the amazing Sting again.