New Directions

After an unlikely beginning to my blog, I finally settled on writing about what permeated my thoughts most: life. Though "life" is certainly a broad topic, I channeled my angst and fears of as an early 20's gal - ambitious, confident yet anxious to realize my dreams - into a series of blogs where I reflected and shared my views on life in a new city and endeavoring to reach my goals.

As seasons changed, so did my life. 18 months have elapsed since I kicked off No Left Turn. In the ensuring months, I finally broke into public relations - an industry that marries together my love of research, writing, business, creativity and design (it's a bit polygamous) - I read a lot of books, drank a lot of wine and fell in love (obviously the most crucial game-changer). In any case, despite my meticulous planning for both my personal and professional life, life has taken me down an unpredictable, ever-vacillating path. (Case and point: I'm moving back to San Francisco after just six months in America's Finest City.)

And though the subject of my blog is "life," life itself has kept me captive, and filled in the time I used to find to let my fingers dance over the laptop keys and blog. (It's pretty apparent that I have not been as diligent as I was through 2010.)

Beyond a more hectic schedule and a job that finally allows me to delve into my passion for writing and creativity, I've also felt the urge to branch out and alter my blogging repertoire. In fact, I'm currently in the midst of plotting a collaborative, bi-coastal blog with a pal, Leslie. (Precise theme and focus... TBD.) Like me, Leslie is a fellow PR pro and Penn State alumna who tempers her nomadic spirit through her own blog. Our project will take some time to get off the ground, plan and execute... but the drive and passion is certainly there.

For now, No Left Turn remains in limbo. It's not a question of whether or not to write, but rather in what direction, and if I continue with this blog or start fresh and begin a new chapter elsewhere.

Father Knows Best

I always blast new blog posts (though recently they have been admittedly infrequent) to my parents. Normally, I'll get a thin comment posted by my mom, but last night's post even provoked my dad to lace up and jump into the literary game. I loved it and had to share:

"There is a down fall to all the print that is going to be lost................ Magazines will not be left in the bathroom or stuffed under the mattress. Old books in the future will be hard to discover in someone's attic. What are we going to put on our book shelves.. Kindles? What are we going to take to Antique Road Show... printouts? I think not! The upside is if you are in possession of print from a publisher twenty years from now you will be look upon as if you are in possession of the Hope Diamond because they will be priceless."

I tremble at the thought that soon the books that adorn my shelves will no longer showcase my favorite reads but rather slip to serve only as decorative clutter. Is the attack of technology going to replace books as efficiently as it consumed snail mail?!

An Ode to 944

Today 944 magazine, a free, monthly purveyor of trendy food, wine, night life and entertainment announced its official closing. The magazine failed to regain its balance after a 2010 Super Bowl scandal that forced the publication to declare bankruptcy.

Though its demise was result of some poor budgeting and financial forecasting, I mourn the loss of any print publication. Every day, more print publications shrink or fold (pun intended) to financial shortcomings as subscriptions and patrons fade away. Nonetheless, the art of writing perseveres, and where one print publication disappears, a new Internet outlet emerges.

Like a stream forging through the earth, writing will always find a path, regardless of how difficult the terrain.

Even though electronic content supplements and replaces the loss of a magazine, the satisfaction of grasping a tangible booklet can never be eclipsed by any blog or website.

There is a commercial for one of the reader tablets - Nook, iPad or Kindle - that juxtaposes a girl defending the therapy of reading with a book against a guy supporting the convenience of a tablet. Each argument the girl suggest to protect books (and thereby print publications as a whole) is trumped by the advantages of a tablet. Her final case is that no electronic copy grants readers with the satisfaction of folding a page to mark his or her place; immediately she acknowledge the triviality in her argument and reaches for his tablet.

... but I find that to be a valid point.

Am I the only one that finds half the pleasure in reading to be the act of running my fingers through the pages? I mourn the loss of any print publication because it marks yet another fallen kingdom within the printing empire.

R.I.P. 944

[If anyone can please share with me the YouTube video for the ad, I'd be very appreciative!]