Anyone? Bueller?

Hey, guys. So, um, I know I haven't posted here in a year and a half, but I'm curious: Am I still in any of your RSS feeds? Is anyone — anyone at all, even those without RSS feeds — reading this right now? If so, I would absolutely love it if you commented below, even with a "Yeah" or a "Me!" or an "Unfortunately, yes." Or if you'd rather not comment, would you mind shooting me an e-mail at newbietonyc@hotmail.com just to say hey?

As for what prompted this, I'm trying to research this personal essay I'm supposed to write this week for a women's website (I've grown to loathe personal essays, especially mine, believe it or not), so I thought I'd take a spin through my abandoned blog. In doing so, I saw today that Forksplit, one of my favorite blogs, recently had a posting renaissance, and it brought me back to '08. Good times! Good emotionally unstable times!

Must-Read Book for Writers

I'm reading an awesome book right now called Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. I first heard about it years ago, as a footnote in some syllabus for some college class I've since forgotten about, but I bought it for the first time last year because the jacket promised some insight into this hairy world of writing that so many people are clamoring to enter.

I like the book because she speaks in metaphors, with stories as parables for the day-to-day experiences and struggles of a writer's life. It's also funny and high-energy, and if anything I write after I get off my desk chair/couch/elliptical trainer/excuses/ass is half as good as what she's put forth in this manual, I'll consider myself accomplished.