Blog? What blog?

I haven't been writing much in this space, but it doesn't mean I haven't been writing! I guess one of the things I'm cutting down on, in my effort to simplify things this month, is blogging.

First, the weight update. I'm holding steady this week -- no gain, no loss. And I'm fine with that. If I can stay at this weight through New Year's, I can blast through the few remaining pounds in January.

The big story is writing. Things keep happening that lead me to believe I'm on the right path with this. I'm getting assignments, pieces are being published, and I have pretty steady work (from a part-time freelancer perspective.) This thing that started out as a creative outlet, and as a means to get to Houston to visit Kathleen (paying for the trip with my earnings), seems to be really taking off as a (gasp!) career. And I'm almost afraid to write that, for fear that I'll jinx it.

I'm having so much fun. I was working on a story yesterday morning, and editing what I had written the night before. I figured out a way to say something succinctly, and as I was making the change, this joy bubbled up inside me, with the thought: "I love the English language." Seriously.

I've described the writing situation like heading down a busy road and hitting all green lights. Or like God opening a door and saying, "Come on in, this is all yours. Have fun with it." It is a little strange, and wonderful, how quickly things are happening, and how much I'm enjoying it.

And although I generally don't blog about upcoming assignments, I am so tremendously excited about something I'm covering this week that I have to share. The Ledger asked if I were interested in going to a talk tomorrow night, given by a Jesuit priest. It's a busy week, and it took some juggling, but it sounded interesting, so I said yes.

Well. I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't know who he was, but the priest giving the talk is the Rev. James Martin, author of the book My Life with the Saints, a Publishers Weekly best book of 2006. He's a well-known writer, speaker, retreat leader, and the associate editor of America magazine, the Catholic weekly. And I have an interview with him today.

I'm feeling a little star-struck, like when I met my college friend Stephanie Blythe backstage at Symphony Hall last year after she sang with the BSO. But I knew Stephanie from years ago, and I've never met Fr. Martin. He was very nice on the phone yesterday, and willingly accommodated my request for a little more time to get my thoughts together before we talked. I'm sure the interview will be fine, and I've got a decent list of questions ready to go, but still.

So I'll be on the phone with Mr. America at 10:00 today, and meeting him tomorrow. Gosh, I love my job.