July Journal Challenge

Day 30 -- How today felt

Crappy. 

My boss literally has not looked at or spoken to me this week. I've heard through the grapevine that he had a terrible family vacation last week, so maybe it doesn't have anything to do with me. Except ....

There's a big client presentation on the horizon and no one is talking to me (or, to be fair, my immediate team) about it. A well-connected kid, the son of one of our client's, was in Chicago today to learn about working as a writer at an agency. My boss had him speak to one of our creative directors and a market researcher but not me. Both of these things leave me feeling very uncomfortable -- even though it's like not being invited to a party you didn't want to go to.

So I've gone from hoping for a raise last week to hoping not to be fired this week.

WWW.WEDNESDAY

To play along, just answer the following three questions ...

• What are you currently reading? At Risk by Patricia Cornwell. It's the first Cornwell I've read in ages that didn't revolve around Kay Scarpetta. I haven't even cracked it open yet, so to provide an overview of what it's about, I turn to B&N:

 

A Massachusetts state investigator is called home from Knoxville, Tennessee, where he is completing a course at the National Forensic Academy. His boss, the district attorney, attractive but hard-charging, is planning to run for governor, and as a showcase she’s planning to use a new crime initiative called At Risk -- its motto: “Any crime, any time.” In particular, she’s been looking for a way to employ cutting-edge DNA technology, and she thinks she’s found the perfect subject in an unsolved twenty-year-old murder -- in Tennessee. If her office solves the case, it ought to make them all look pretty good, right? Her investigator is not so sure -- not sure about anything to do with this woman, really -- but before he can open his mouth, a shocking piece of violence intervenes, an act that shakes up not only both their lives but the lives of everyone around them. It’s not a random event. Is it personal? Is it professional? Whatever it is, the implications are very, very bad indeed . . . and they’re about to get much worse.

 

• What did you recently finish reading?  Keep Your Friends Close by Paula Daly. Our heroine, Natty, has a perfect if hectic life -- running a successful bed-and-breakfast with her husband Sean and raising her two teenage daughters. Then two unexpected events take place: Natty's closest college buddy, Eve, turns up on her doorstep and one of her daughters gets sick on an out-of-town field trip. Natty rushes to her daughter's side, leaving her friend alone with her family. Mis-take! Eve seduces Sean and moves in ... Eve is a fascinating villain who could be conductor of The Crazy Train and Natty is a far-from-perfect heroine, so the book is interesting. As lurid, trashy thrillers go, it was fun.

• What do you think you’ll read next? I don't know. Our village's annual book sale is Friday, so I'm sure I'll find some treasures there.

To see how others responded, click here.

July Journal Challenge

Day 29 -- I wish …

For serenity.