• My Secret Santa gave me the best gift… and a lovely mug

    December 29, 2013 / 1 Comment

    npr mugSo this was my first year participating in Reddit’s Secret Santa exchange. I signed up on a lark, and had a great time finding a fun gift for my person. I honestly didn’t give much thought to the man or woman who would receive my name because, frankly, it’s more fun to give than receive.

    Well, my Secret Santa turned out to be really good at his job.

    To research my gift, Santa searched my profile and my website. Then he sent me a gorgeous mug from NPR. Buying this mug not only brought me much happiness — who doesn’t love a big mug of coffee/tea/cocoa/soup? — it also helped NPR, which is one of my favorite institutions.

    He didn’t stop there, though. No, Santa went above and beyond this year. While researching me, he stumbled upon a blog post I wrote in November. In it, I mentioned that anyone querying about what birthday/Xmas presents to buy should visit my Amazon wish list; it contained about 90 items, half of which were under $20. In that same post, I also mentioned that if buying stuff wasn’t appealing, I would love love love for people to do one thing for me: Sign up to become an organ donor.

    amys-mugNow what I didn’t mention in that blog post was that my best friend in the whole world died in 1999. Kind, pretty and funny as hell, Amy spent years dealing with a bum kidney. Despite being on meds and dialysis, her previously donated kidney slowly deteriorated. And before she could receive a new one, Ames had a stroke and died. Alone. On the floor of her living room.

    She was 29 years old.

    I have missed her every day since then. Every single day. And if I could have one wish, it would be to turn back time and figure out a way to get her a new, healthy kidney. Since that is (currently) impossible, I have made it my mission in life to get others to help. Please help. Sign up to donate your organs after you die.

    And that is exactly what my Secret Santa did.

    Thank you, Santa. The mug is lovely and I will certainly put it to good use. But your decision to check that little box and agree to donate your organs was the best gift of all.

    Someday, it’s a gift that could save another person’s life. How cool is that?

  • 2013: The Year In Review

    December 18, 2013 / 2 Comments

    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.

  • Habitually Odd

    August 28, 2013 / No Comments

    Krispy Kreme Doughnut Do you have any odd or quirky habits?

    I think we all do things that seem normal in our everyday lives, but would be viewed as strange if anyone else — say on the Internet — saw us do them. For example, I cut my doughnuts into 12 equal pieces. And I eat each piece with a fork. I also rip the tabs off of pop cans, toss salt over my shoulder when the shaker falls and come to a complete stop at stop signs, even when there’s no other car for miles.

    Speaking of the Internet and all its oddness…

    About a week ago, my friend David posted a story on his Facebook feed that was titled “Facebook Makes Us Sadder And Less Satisfied, Study Finds.” David and I have known each other for about 10 years. However, we’ve never actually met in person. Our entire relationship has taken place online, first on Livejournal, then in email and now on Facebook.

    The very fact that I know David, and his lovely wife Michelle (who I believe David met online), and the fact that he knows me and my husband M (whom I met online) shows that the Internet is a wonderful place for social interaction. Yet according to this article, which is based on a new University of Michigan study, using Facebook leads to declines in “moment-to-moment happiness and overall life satisfaction.”

    After reading the story, I sparked a conversation with David online, and we engaged in a back and forth discussion about the study’s various merits and deficiencies. This text-based chat was quite enjoyable because it gave me the opportunity to talk with someone I’ve always liked (even though we’ve never met).

    David and I could not have had that chat in person; we live 1,415 miles apart. Phone calls are even more difficult, due to the differences in our schedules. So without Facebook, or some other social network, we would not have been able to engage each other in this manner. That would have made me very unhappy.

    Or perhaps the study is right, and I’m just odd.

    Photo by Scott Ableman. Used with permission.

  • A ‘Typical’ Night

    February 18, 2013 / No Comments

    Laptop and notepadPeople occasionally ask me what it is that I do for a living. They know I’m a journalist. They know I write for The Huffington Post. They know I work the graveyard shift from my home in New Hampshire. Still they wonder, “What’s a typical night like?”

    Here’s one of the greatest things about my job: There is no typical night.

    Working as a journalist on the graveyard shift is very similar to being a firefighter. Some nights you’re busy putting out fires and other nights you’re just sitting at the fire house, honing your skills, waiting for a fire to happen. The key thing is, you’re on duty when the fire breaks out. Or in my case, when news occurs.

    During a typical week, I’ll cover one or two big breaking news stories. The rest of the time, I’m updating the homepage, checking wires, filing news stories/features, copyediting other people’s work, posting items to Twitter and Facebook, sending out breaking news alerts, scanning social media and competitor’s sites for interesting content, searching other sections of our site for stories that deserve more play, reading through more than 1,000 emails, coordinating content with other editors, handling any corrections that come in overnight and waiting for news to occur somewhere in the world.

    Last week, however, was utterly insane.

    Every single evening, a major news story broke on my shift. On Sunday, I handled the North Korean nuclear test and the United Nations’ response. Monday night saw the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. Between the manhunt for Christopher Dorner, the former LAPD police officer accused of committing a series of shooting attacks on police officers and their families, and the State of the Union speech, Tuesday was beyond busy. On Wednesday, Paralympian Oscar Pistorius was arrested and charged with killing his girlfriend. In between all of these stories, I also penned a brief about the president doing an “exploding fist bump” with Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), and an obituary for a man who appeared on several episodes of “Storage Wars.”

    I would have covered the meteor that exploded above Siberia on Thursday, except I took the night off to spend Valentine’s Day with my awesome husband. Had I been on duty, however, my entire shift would have been dedicated to covering the 1,200+ people who were injured and the massive amount of damage caused by the space rock.

    Light only knows what’ll happen this week.

  • The Shorty Awards: Now Accepting Nominations

    January 28, 2013 /

    Nominate Jade Walker for a social media award in the Shorty Awards!Nominate Jade Walker for a social media award in the Shorty Awards

     

    The Shorty Interview with Jade Walker

    Why should we vote for you?

    I aim to inform, entertain and enlighten those who stay up in the wee hours of the night.

    What inspires you to tweet?

    News. The night. And my muse, Isabelle. If I don’t tweet, she starts threatening me with death by sunlight. THE LIGHT. IT HURTS!

    Who do you admire most for his or her use of Twitter?

    @ericspitznagel, @scalzi and @litsadremousis

    Can you name some one-of-a-kind Twitter accounts that you follow?

    @TheTweetOfGod, @FakeAPStylebook, @WriteRCastle, @OHnewsroom, @onebigphoto and @god_damn_batman

    What do you wish people would do more of on Twitter?

    Talk about books. That way I’d know people were still reading texts greater than 140 characters.

    Take the Shorty Interview at Shorty Awards, the awards honoring the best of social media.