<just like i pictured it>

How I Spent My First Day Back in New York:

1. Bought Theraflu™ for Joan.
2. Discussed book scheduling issues with my editors by email and by telephone.
3. Unplugged a stuck drain.
4. Responded to the book cover design created by two friends in London.
5. Fed Bat Head and 'Tippi.'
6. Discussed with WaSP steering committee members how we should respond to a reporter's query.
7. Heated Theraflu for Joan.
8. Evaluated three articles submitted to ALA, chose one for this week's issue, edited it, and began corresponding with the author. It's a strong article — one that commercial zines would be reluctant to publish, for fear of offending an advertiser. I'm grateful not to have to worry about things like that.
9. Fed Bat Head and 'Tippi.'
10. More WaSP internal debate.
11. Observed the beauty of the Empire State Building while walking home from the corner store. Southern California gets all the light, but New York got the architecture.
12. Designed a header graphic for this week's ALA article, wrote the META and TITLE tags, and sent the whole package to Nick, who coproduces ALA while somehow maintaining his own fine zine.
13. More discussion with my book's editors.
14. Answered about a fifth of my email. I am turning into one of those jerks who is "too busy" to answer his email. The tragic truth is that I am too busy.
15. Created variations on the cover design and sent two of them to London to see if they spark any ideas. Initially I was going to design the cover myself, but after two attempts I ran out of time and inspiration. It was a relief to hand the project to my talented friends.
16. Picked up 10 days worth of mail accumulated while we were away. Ninety percent of it consisted of unsolicited junk; the rest was bills.
17. Heated Theraflu for Joan.
18. Heated soup for Joan.
19. Fed Bat Head and 'Tippi.'
20. Told myself I would stop when I hit 20.