Joining the Gapers Block Staff
Last week, after sending off a note to Gapers Block about Matt serving drinks at Intelligentsia, GB Editor Andrew Huff and I exchanged a few emails.
I’ve kept things under wraps a bit, but… long and short of it? I got offered a spot with the GB Staff and accepted (a few hours ago, no less). Woot!
Truth be told, I’m a little nervous. Even after all this time in Chicago, I don’t feel like I know the city all that well. I feel that maybe I know a small sliver of it at best. But I think, ultimately, that’s what I’m being asked to talk about.
As a contributor, I’m called to make a total of 12 posts a month, roughly 3 a week. It seems a very reasonable workload, and I look forward to discovering all manner of new events and tidbits about Chicago. Partly, I’ll have my eyes and ears open for stuff to post about… and partly, I suspect I’ll learn a ton from all the other staffers (who seem to have a pretty good handle on the pulse of the city).
Since I’m a newbie, for the first month folks at GB will be looking over my posts, checking out what I contribute (to Merge and Slowdown). At the end of 30 days, my status gets re-evaluated. So we’ll see how it goes.
It’s still a little bewildering right now, imagining myself as a contributor to a website that is part of my daily routine. It’s like I somehow slipped through the computer screen, and got access to all the gears and pulleys behind the scenes.
With the blog, I’ve gotten used to rambling at any old leisurely pace I want. In writing for GB, I’m finding myself working harder to pare down my descriptions: to be less verbose and more engagingly succinct.
While it’s not poetry, it’s similar – trying to compress a good deal of information into a very small number of words. Thankfully, I’m not writing lengthy columns or articles, as most of what I’m responsible for comes in small, stanza-sized bites. It’s nice to stretch these writing muscles again, after all this time.
Today marks my first post on GB. I’ve been giddy about it ever since.
That’s awesome Felix! Congrats man!
Dustin (June 27, 2007 at 10:53 am)