FIH Projects #1 & #2

I still haven't quite decided how I want to go about writing this blog. Is it better as a living diary of my life? Or how about a daily Top Ten list of my experiences and travels? What if I put excerpts from my novel on the site every so often to see what the feedback is? I mean, if you ask me to write, I'm going to write, it's never been difficult for me, I guess it's because, in my mind, I have alot to say. Or at least, that's what my loving, tall, dirty blond and handsome husband-to-be tells me. Awwwww! "ENOUGH WITH THE CHEESE" you say, so instead of continue to divulge the details of my very happy and exciting quasi-almost-marriage with JT, how about I tell you what's been happening to me lately that has led to the restoration of my faith in both humanity and 'meant to be'ness.

Lately, since we got back from our year-long trip of what we call "the world" but that I have amended and started to call "three continents" since we only saw a quarter of the world...not even, I have been lucky enough to have attended some great events and met some extraordinary people. It's not like I met Jesus or Moses or anything, but the people I did meet, made me realize that being back home is not so bad and that if you say "yes" more than you say "no" you'll find that you have a hell of a good time!

My childhood friend who immigrated from Toronto to Istanbul, Turkey just recently, came back to Toronto for a visit. She was kind enough to invite JT and I to a house party her high school friends organized. JT and I weren't sure we could fit it into our schedule, but with my "yes" hat on and our "let's meet new people" attitude, we made our way to the party. Well, it was a hit. Why? There's a bit of background info I have to give you so that you understand that there is actual substance to this story. During the Christmas holidays, we decided to stay put and take a break in Istanbul. During this time I wrote a book. Sounds like fun right? Well, the implications of this act have helped me make a change in paradigm and in everything I believed and strived for my whole life. It sounds dramatic, but in a sense, I decided to go from being an avid corporate ladder climber to...well, a penniless aspiring writer. For me, this is pretty nuts. Can you really transform from a corporate drone who gets paid like clockwork every other Friday, knowing where the money is coming from and how much it will be, with job security that isn't recession-proof, but pretty damn close, into someone who is convinced that she wants to share her creativity with others in the form of books, magazine articles, even ads and get paid for it even if she doesn't know when and how? YIKES! But I'm doing it, and the next step is to find a publisher. Now, this is where the "dinner party" (I hate that term, it sounds so pretentious) or house party we were invited to plays a role. It took JT and I a few hours to get over the shock of having conversations with people who were actually interested when we comfortably said things like "when I was in Paris" or "When we were riding an elephant in the Thai jungle" and who could also add "yes, Paris was nice" or "Where else did you visit in Vietnam? Hoi An was my favourite." We are usually used to causing friend's eyes to glaze over, or give us the silent treatment or the "business as usual" conversations about their lives instead. Then amidst all this incredible conversation, I found an answer that I had been looking for. I thought I had had my whole process of publishing this book mapped out. I was going to edit it three times, get three people to see it, then send it off to publishers. Well, when I met this guy at the party who said he had just found an agent, and very generously gave me the name of his agent...well, you can't get more "fate" ful then that. I termed him an 'angel', a word I have been using to refer to a variety of people that I have met along the way that have helped me or guided me through life. The 'angels' I have met usually didn't have any motives except to share their knowledge or their help...is that possible? In this society, for anyone to offer anything up for free or as a gesture is unheard of, but there are some people, if you catch them at the right moment, who will offer you the world. And that's all you need to guide you along your way. Well, this guy has been promptly answering all my questions and going as far as to edit my query letter, all out of the goodness of his heart. And what does this cost him? Nothing. What does this cost me? Nothing...I promised him and his wife lunch, because that is the least I can do! So Faith In Humanity project # 1 : Complete.

Project number two is in the works. One thing I spoke to JT about today was the fear of rejection and the fact that if you are working in a cushy, nine-to-five position, quite like the one I used to work in, you don't have much fear of failure. You almost don't know what shape or form it could come in, and you probably wouldn't know what to say to it if came knocking at your door. But today, and for the past month now, I have been rejected in many different forms. I didn't get a job after a stellar interview, the first one I had had in four years. I got turned down by a few magazine editors and just had a few doors shut on me. My quest for world domination...sorry, for superstardom as an aspiring novelist has been tough. But what job isn't? I work from 9 am till 10 pm almost everyday just writing, researching and editing. But I don't get paid for it. It's an investment into...hope? I guess that's what you could call it. Which leads me to the other opportunity and 'angel' I met recently. Yesterday JT and I attended the Stag n' Doe his parents threw in our honour. We felt extremely loved since so many people came out to support us. I may talk about how the party went, what kind of silly games we were put up to and how delicious and pretty the cake was later, but for now, I want to focus on the eleventh hour. After all was said and done, and most of the guests were ushered off with a spectacular thunder storm that came very timely, at exactly 7 pm, which is when the party was set to end, JT and I stuck around with his parents for some more drinks. We were shortly joined by two members of the band that were hired to play at our party. They were fantastic, playing tunes that you don't usually hear from a cover band, we loved them! I especially loved the moment when one of the member's was leaving with the excuse that he had to write a column for the local newspaper. I did a double-take. And out of nowhere, I shouted out, "do you need an extra feature writer?" and my soon-to-be-father-in-law added, "for the travel section?" The guy turned around and said "give me a call tomorrow." Done. It was as easy as that. Long story short, we are emailing back and forth and he's given me the name and # of the Editor-in-chief. Why? Because he is an 'angel.' He can't guarantee anything, but he has volunteered a "free lunch" and I have scooped it up. Who knows what will come of this, whatever it is, be it a failure that I must add to the pile, or a success of epic proportions, I believe in miracles. "Whoa lady, what's all this talk about miracles, are you some born-again freak?" You ask. I feel like I have been born into something different than what I was before. Nothing religious or spiritually wonky, just an understanding and heightened perception of people and their ability to surprise me. Faith In Humanity project # 2 : Work In Progress.