No, I don’t use ChatGPT.
No, I don’t want to use artificial intelligence to write my resume and cover letter. I’m a writer.
No, I don’t want AI to plagiarize others and then give me the credit.
No, I don’t want you to use my writing to train AI.
No, I don’t want to publish your AI-written story.
No, I don’t want a job editing the garbage AI has cobbled together.
No, I don’t want to read or review the shit “book” your AI just “created.”
Just no.
“Every now and then it’s nice to pick your head up from your book, reacquaint yourself with the world around you, take a hard pass, and immediately go back to reading.” –Jonathan Edward Durham
Ever fill out a form online and then, in order to encrypt your information and safely share it with a faceless corporation, the technology demands that you prove your humanity?
Let’s be honest, that is both twisted and annoying.
But, it gets worse! Sometimes, you don’t click all of the right boxes. Or, the word you’re supposed to type is impossible to read because the letters are squished together. Either way, the damn algorithm devises a second or third puzzle for you to solve, just to prove you are not a robot.
It is at times like this that I start having conversations with my computer (his name is Sherlock).
“I am the human. You are the machine. If you want to remain in working order, I suggest you allow me to complete this simple task … or else.”
Perhaps computer programmers or AI should figure out a way to use all of the cookies already jammed into our browsers to solve this issue. Like, when you first unbox a new computer and turn it on, you can create a word or phrase to prove your personhood credentials.
In my case, all it needs to ask is: Do you like cilantro?
And my answer is, “Hell no. It is a disgusting weed that tastes like soap and ruins perfectly good dishes. Now let me finish this task and move on with my life.”
What would your question be?
As I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts (see here and here and here and here and here and here), I’m drawn to certain words. The attraction is often a word’s meaning or spelling, but sometimes I just like the way the word rolls off my tongue.
These are more of my favorites:
Incendiary
Solemn
Mote
Aurora
Paradox
Skulk
Demi-monde
Elegance
Murmuration
Blasphemy
Tricksy
Eternity
Suave
Susurrus
Vichyssoise
What are some of yours?
Each December, I take the time to examine the ups and downs I experienced over the past year. What follows is my personal and professional review of 2024:
* Worked as the overnight curator of local news for Apple News (via Magnit) until my contract ended in July.
* I repeatedly revised my resume and cover letter, networked like crazy, applied for positions at 40 different companies, interviewed with more than a dozen recruiters/editors/managers — and still didn’t land a new job.
* Thanks to the kindness of my old boss, I returned to Apple News in October for a four-month gig to fill in for another editor who was on leave. This involved switching to the day shift, something I haven’t worked in decades. The contract ends at the beginning of February so the job hunt has begun again.
* Continued writing A Bit Of Good News and was featured on the Frogmore Stew podcast. Also managed to triple my readership.
* Launched two more newsletters: The End Files and The Moonlight Reader Society. I love writing these publications and appreciate all of my readers.
* Transferred The Written Word over to Substack after hitting paywall issues elsewhere.
* Joined Threads and BlueSky and enjoy them both, though for different reasons.
* Penned at least 32 journal entries.
* Occasionally posted to my two Instagram accounts: @thejadewalker and @catsofjade.
* Read 81 books and completed the 2024 GoodReads reading challenge.
* Subscribed and read numerous magazines, including Cook’s Country, Cooks Illustrated, Bake From Scratch, Smithsonian Magazine, Scientific American, The Saturday Evening Post, The Writer and TeaTime Magazine.
* Watched at least 60+ TV shows and 40+ movies, and listened to many podcasts.
* Participated in The Society of Professional Obituary Writers, the New Hampshire Writers Guild, the Authors Guild, the Writers Guild of America East and the Silent Book Club – Manchester, NH chapter.
* Participated in The Forgotten Books Project and helped to save more than 161 books.
* Nursed my husband through COVID-19. Was nursed in return for the same damn illness (first time too!)
* After we recovered, M and I took our newfound immunity for a spin by seeing two films in the theater (“Twisters” and “Deadpool & Wolverine”). Turns out if you go on a Sunday morning, weeks after a movie is released, you can enjoy a film without worrying about getting sick because very few people are in the audience.
* Also took two short weekend breaks away to Cape Cod for book crawls. That’s right, people. I was able to browse inside bookstores again, albeit briefly. And I bought a LOT of books.
* Hunkered in the basement during a New Hampshire tornado.
* Spent months searching for our next home, but between the interest rates, the lack of stock, an increase in prices, and my job, we had no luck. The search continues.
* Finally got my damn braces off and will soon have a full set of teeth.
* Suffered from at least 86 migraines and experienced 97 days of pain.
* Decorated the inside of our house for Halloween and dressed up as Belle from “Beauty and the Beast”
* Decorated the outside and inside of our house for Christmas and mailed 35 Christmas cards.
* Tried many new recipes. New favorites include: London Fog, peach crumble, cinnamon swirl banana crumb cake, pumpkin ice box cake and croque monsieur casserole.
* Worked my 34th year as a journalist.
* Celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary.
* Turned 51.
Goals for 2025
* Find a new job.
* Continue to grow my newsletters.
* Purchase a home with at least 5 acres of land.
* Improve my baking/cooking skills.
* Work on my fiction.
* Write more blog entries.
* Read at least 75 books.
* Win the lottery.
