I’m well rested from two long shifts in a row at the restaurant. Last night after work, my legs and feet were swollen like balloons. So, I elevated them a while to let the blood drain back to my heart so it had something to pump.

Like I said, canning had only a blip effect on my psyche. I am refreshed and ready to finish tapping restaurant reviews for my freelance job. The deadline is tomorrow before noon. My editor e-mailed this morning and the timing couldn’t be perfect-er. I’m thrilled to spend this summer and into the autumn, and hopefully well into next year, and maybe even thereafter, building the trajectory of this opportunity.

A bit of backstory..

When I worked at News.com after college, I learned the fundamentals of working in interactive. That’s where I got my geek chops on. I still talk about it because those were two of the best and most important years of that professional life. And throughout the next eight years as a geek, the lessons served me well.

Relates to..

When I interviewed for the food writing job, something flooded me. I realized this is going to change my life. In the same way News.com changed my life. I am going to learn everything I need to know to be a food writer. Studying with Irene Sax last fall, I first set out on that course. Her class definitely served its moments of epiphany for me. But this job is something else, beyond even the open door. Hope. Faith. Something like that. And like News.com, I will likely remain loyal to it for life.

Okay. I’m sure that last line made at least one of you and you and you snicker. Loyalty in the work world. Phooey. Folks, I know we’re all disposable working widgets. I went through two layoffs in the biggest economic bubble burst of all history. But I also worked through the flourish of the bubble, and I was also likely one of the first women to make more than the male equivalent (by about 5-10k) in my field (that was in 02000). We played by a different set of rules, at least until around April of 02001.

So, here goes the final crunch for my first official batch of restaurant reviews. The last batch was a test, to see if I could do it. And I can. And there’s room for improvement. But I feel it happening as I’ve been tapping them. Where the logistics, the learning, and the ethic of this opportunity are concerned, I’m sticking to the lessons of the flatly-hierarchal and accountable with no fear interactive world. I’ll let you know how it goes. Recently, someone told me my ego is enormous. And maybe saying this falls in line with the comment. But I’m pretty confidant it’s all going to work out. After all,..

I’m in it to win it.

Buen provecho..