Need a challenge? Participate in National Novel Writing Month

Have you ever thought about writing a novel? Stop procrastinating and join National Novel Writing Month.

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.

Here are the ten easy steps on how to participate as provided by NaNoWriMo's website:

1) Sign up for the event by clicking the "Sign Up Now" link at the top of the site. It's right there above "National."

2) Check your email and read the ginormous email our noveling robots send you. It will have "Love" in the subject line, and may be hiding in your Junk folder.

3) Log into your account and use the links on the My NaNoWriMo page to set your timezone, affiliate with a region, and tell us a little bit about yourself.

4) Begin procrastinating by reading through all the great advice and funny stories in the forums. Post some stories and questions of your own. Get excited. Get nervous. Try to rope someone else into doing this with you. Eat lots of chocolate and stockpile noveling rewards.

5) On November 1, begin writing your novel. Your goal is to write a 50,000-word novel by midnight, local time, on November 30th. You write on your own computer, using whatever software you prefer.

6) This is not as scary as it sounds.

7) Starting November 1, you can update your word count in that box at the top of the site, and post excerpts of your work for others to read. Watch your word-count accumulate and story take shape. Feel a little giddy.

8) Write with other NaNoWriMo participants in your area. Write by yourself. Write. Write. Write.

9) If you write 50,000 words of fiction by midnight, local time, November 30th, you can upload your novel for official verification, and be added to our hallowed Winner’s Page and receive a handsome winner’s certificate and web badge. We'll post step-by-step instructions on how to scramble and upload your novel starting in mid-November.

10) Win or lose, you rock for even trying.

Remember the Goethe quote: "Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it."

Do it.

What will you do with the extra hour this weekend?

Every year on the first Sunday of November we adjust our clocks and "fall back" to Standard Time at 2 a.m. Oh happy day! An extra hour of freedom this weekend! I will spend my extra hour doing one of following:

1. Cuddling with my husband
2. Blogging
3. Watching Xtina run the NYC marathon
4. Drinking hot beverages and day dreaming
5. Having a long brain storming session with my darling Anu

Maybe I'll do each of these for 12 minutes so I won't have to choose. Let's face it, when you are a distressed diva every minute of the weekend counts!

Here are some fun ways to use your extra hour this weekend:

1. Have a jump roping contest (Fun and it burns calories)
2. Go to the MOMA and see this
3. Try to recall quotes from your favorite teenage drama (e.g. my so called life, 90210, etc.) with one of your besties and laugh hysterically
4. Join a national novel writing month forum and get started on that novel. You are only 4 days behind!

Who are the people in your neighborhood?

I've always been intrigued by the characters in my office. You know the type of people I'm talking about, people like: the tchotchke lady, the 15-smoke-breaks-a-day lady, the prints-his-resume-on-the-shared-printer guy, the overly-bubbly intern, the jargon guy (let's regroup and circle back on the deployment of the preassessment project), and my favorite the high-powered-business chic (HPBC). An HPBC can be identified by her always perfect business casual/formal business wear (her clothes are never wrinkled), her fast-paced walk through the office corridors, and the authoritative way she talks to everyone ( I mean everyone). An encounter with HPBC will result in her delegating something to you.

I've thought about writing a murder-mystery novel with my office as the backdrop, featuring some of my favorite office characters. I would trick my readers into suspecting HPBC (she is the obvious suspect) only to have the actual killer be Tchotchke lady or charms-us-all-with-his-posh-british-accent guy. I'm undecided. I it would become a best seller, because everyone wants to read about spreadsheets, office politics, and the woes of shops-on-gilt-all-day lady.

In the book, I would star as the cries-at-her-desk-frequently chic. Yup that's me! It's time I introduce the real reason for writing this blog. I hate my career and it is causing me distress. Don't get me wrong, I don't shovel mud everyday or anything like that. I have a relatively high-paying job with great benefits and total autonomy, but I can't find satisfaction or perspective. I know what you are thinking: suck it up - we all hate our jobs! Well, I won't do that. I firmly believe that I can find a career that fits my goals and interests - and I am willing to take risks and make sacrifices while I figure it out.

Perhaps I am idealistic. If that's the case, so what. I am going to find something that makes me extremely happy, every single day.

Maybe someday I can be the always-has-candy-at-her-desk executive or the enjoys-her-job-immensely lady. Both sound like a big improvement from cries-at-her-desk-frequently chic.

Ultimately, I'd like to be the always-smiling-at-work lady.

A new phenonmenon: Girl crushes via the blogosphere

Back in 2005, the New York Times published an article on girl crushes. A girl crush occurs when one heterosexual female adores/is infatuated with another heterosexual female. Sometimes the feelings are mutual, sometimes they are not.

I love making new girlfriends, especially the smart and sophisticated types I meet in New York. Therefore, I have had several girl crushes over the years (you know who you are)! Now thanks to cyberspace, I have been experiencing a new type of girl crush - the blogosphere girl crush.

A girl crush on a blogger is very similar to your average girl crush, but better! You can stalk and obsess over your crush without fear of exposure or rejection. In fact, bloggers want you to obsess and revisit their blogs! Talk about a win-win situation. My recent girl crushes from blogland include:

Jordan Reid at Ramshackle Glam. She's smart, feminine, and clever.

Emily at cupcakes and cashmere. She's stylish, fresh, and fun.

Heidi Swanson at 101 Cookbooks. She's daring, romantic, and innovative.

Rachel Jones at Black Eiffel. She's creative, passionate, and curious.

Ladies, thank you for all of your hard work and for letting me snoop.

A flood of emotions

Have you ever seen a photo montage of yourself and experienced the different emotions you had all over again?

I have! Take a look at my reactions during the speeches at our rehearsal dinner. My expressions are priceless.

Caption: Oh my god did he/she really just say that?



Caption: Did you all hear that? Reactions from the crowd?



Caption: Hysterical!



Caption: What's next?



Caption: You said it.



Caption: I know, I know, love is beautiful.

Sneak peek: Our wedding photos

We had so much fun at our wedding and I plan to recount it all here. In the meantime, our fabulous photographer, Christina Craft (self-appointed photography nerd!), has created this sneak peak for us.

The online slideshow will allow you to see a highlight of the wedding extravaganza.

The sneak peek can be found at: http://www.funkytownphotography.com/victoriaeric/

We tied the knot!

I don't know where to begin.

He asked me to marry him and I said, "obviously yes!"

We planned our dream wedding in Antigua, Guatemala with help from Saguzo Eventos.

We tied the knot and celebrated in true diva fashion.

We created countless memories with help from our amazing guests. Everyone laughed, cried, and SANG karaoke!

And now I'm back in NYC with my new husband and I couldn't be happier.

P.S. Can somebody please pinch me?

(Photo by Christina Craft at FunkyTown Photography)