new year
Happy New Year’s to everyone.
In case you were wondering, the magazine did not come out before Christmas. Last I heard the printers were having trouble with the colour press. I gave up worrying about it, though. This is not a world problem and there isn’t anything I can do at this point. All I can do is keep trying to move around deadlines and express myself better to my wonderful designers to make things easier for future issues. After talking to some other editors, though, I’m finding out that 12-24 hour days and lots of stress during production for each issue is fairly normal. Only difference is other publications still manage to get their magazines and newspapers out by the deadline (and they have an office and paid staff!).
I took off for my well-deserved camping Christmas break on Thursday, 23 December, without having heard from the printers. Hopefully, I’ll know on Tuesday what’s going on with the mag.
My camping break in Bournda National Park (near Merimbula) was wonderful, even though coldish and rainy. My friends and I still went swimming in the sea and a lagoon as well. I spent four nights camping and then Allan and I spent one night in a motel in Merimbula before heading off home by way of Bermagui and Tilba. I wanted to stay at the Coast longer, but Allan used the weather as an excuse to come back home. Since being back home I’ve been on a frenzy of trying to get non-lip stuff accomplished: cleaning, gardening, finishing my travel zine, writing, letters, cleaning up old emails and computer files, cross-stitching, sewing old clothes, hanging pictures, etc. I got a lot done, but not nearly enough. Tomorrow and Monday will have to be back to lip work, as I’ve got to finish doing all the mailing envelopes and try to get my computer and paper files cleaned up and organised to make my life easier for the next year.
I’ve got lots of resolutions this year, many aiming to make my life less full of full-on bursts of stress, anxiety and work. I want the future of the magazine determined: to end or continue on with some sort of revenue-making; I want to be able to move to Sydney by 2006; I want to try and be more organised so I’ve not always got so much to do hanging over my head; I want to learn how to drive in this country finally (this is a big, HUGE resolution, and I think a big freeing step for me to take as driving here scares me a lot but would make my life SO much easier); and ultimately I’d like to feel more confident about my abilities and decisions and have a clearer idea of what the fuck I want by the time I hit 30. So, it may be a big year -it could be great or it could suck. But I know that I have the love and support of all my wonderful friends here to pull me through, so I’m not too worried.
I hope everyone is able to achieve some major goals in 2005. Enjoy the summer and lip should be here very soon, I promise!
Rachel
