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November 18, 2009

For years I'd wanted to stop eating meat, but my stomach always found a way to convince my brain that I couldn't live without barbecue or turkey sandwiches. Despite going through a period where I didn't eat beef, I just kept coming up with excuses not to go vegetarian.

Until one week this August when I realized that, without even trying, I hadn't eaten any meat for three days. I figured then was as good a time as any, and I've been a lacto-ovo vegetarian ever since (lacto-ovo meaning I consume egg and dairy products).

But I've come to realize that despite not eating meat products, I'm still not doing the planet any favors by buying my vegetables at the grocery store, where they travel hundreds of diesel-burning miles to get there. So today I signed up for my very first CSA (community supported agriculture) program! Not only will I be getting organically grown vegetables with no genetic modification (and minimal pesticides), I'll be supporting local farmers, too.

I've got a couple of weeks before my first shipment comes, which I'm going to use to scour the Internet for good winter vegetable recipes and make plenty of room in my kitchen for the canned tomatoes, green beans and fresh pasta that I can't wait to get my hands on.

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September 1, 2009

Several members of the Hammock crew dusted off our cameras in August to have some fun with a photo scavenger hunt. The rules were simple: Interpret the nine items on the list in any creative or literal way that we wanted, and have fun!

What Megan found:

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April 15, 2009

Around 1 p.m. on Friday, April 10, 2009, my town of Murfreesboro, Tenn., was slammed by an F-4 tornado that killed two people, injured 50, completely destroyed 59 homes and damaged 291 more. Numerous businesses were damaged or ruined completely. The National Weather Service reports the path of the tornado extended 23 miles.

I was overwhelmed with relief when my husband told me our house, located in the southeastern part of the city, was not affected by the tornadoes. (There was also another smaller tornado reported, an F-1, that hit closer to my house, but luckily all we saw was hail, rain and green skies.) All of my friends and family members are safe, though a few have some damage to their homes.

I wanted to blog about this earlier in the week, but I'll be honest: I have been pretty freaked out. Ever since my apartment building was damaged by a small tornado (or perhaps straight-line winds; the jury is still out on that one) back in 2003, I have had a great (and admittedly irrational at times) fear of tornadoes. My husband was at home on Friday, which, while I was concerned for his safety, also brought me comfort in that I had a direct line to what was going on at my house while I was stuck in Nashville waiting out the storm until I could drive home.

This was a huge tornado that has affected so many people in my community. There is so much damage and devastation, and my heart breaks for my fellow Murfreesboro residents. I can't imagine what I would do if the tornado had come through my neighborhood as well—and at the advice of others, I'm trying to stop thinking about that. Tornadoes are just random acts of nature's vengeance, and in Tennessee you have to expect them and deal with them.

So in an attempt to stop focusing on what could have happened, I've been concentrating on what I can control: Buying a fireproof safe (in case my home ever does get blown apart, my valuables will be sturdily contained). Knowing where our safe spot is should we be home if one comes through our area (the downstairs bathroom, the most interior room in the house). Making sure our homeowner's insurance is up-to-date. Loving on my (four!) cats a little more each night when I get home.

And I'm also ready to help with the recovery. I've got clothing and household items to donate, and I am ready and willing to help with any clean-up or rebuilding projects. Murfreesboro is a great city and has been good to me. I know it will rebound, but I also know it will take time.

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April 9, 2009

You can always find Digital Media Manager Megan Morris logged on to something on the Internet. With a mouse in one hand and some other gadget in the other, you can bet she's jumping into something new for work -- and for fun. I interrupted her candy-chomping and code-busting this afternoon to see how a day in the office typically goes for her.

What's your favorite non-tech tool you use for work?
I don't really have a lot of non-tech tools in my life, but I guess I would have to say my coffee cup. I cannot even begin to function without a cup of green tea when I first get in to the office, and it has to be out of a coffee cup (I've used a styrofoam one before and it's just not good).

If you could only keep one kind of candy at your desk for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Oh Summer, this is like asking a mother which of her children she loves the most. But if I had to pick just one, I probably would go with Tootsie Rolls. I would have said peppermints, but I know that Natalie always has those up front. So HA!

What communications medium helps you the most during the day?
IM, hands down. I am a multi-tasker and hate to be interrupted by the phone (email is OK, but I can't stand a messy inbox), and IM lets me answer someone or ask a question without having to completely stop what else I'm doing and get off track. Plus, being a nerd, I just prefer to converse in text rather than in person. I would probably IM my family instead of calling if they would let me get away with it.

What is your favorite on-the-job responsibility?
Lately I've been getting into some more involved (well, more involved for me) coding, so any time I get to work with php, javascript or CSS I get excited. I still love writing, but I'm really starting to appreciate the art of building Web sites—even the nerdy back-end part. The more I learn, the more I realize the creativity involved in it, and I love being able to see the graphical elements and the coded elements come together as a nice-looking, functional Web page. It makes me feel very productive.

How do you refocus if you're having trouble concentrating or getting the creativity flowing?
If I'm getting frustrated and just can't get back in the groove, I will usually get up from my desk and walk around a bit, or I might read a quick news piece online. Just something to take my mind off the task at hand long enough to refresh my brain. Then I will usually queue up some different music on iTunes (which artist depends on what I'm working on, but I can't really pinpoint how I decide... I just kind of feel it) and try to get back to it.

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February 18, 2009

Over the last few years, my life has become almost entirely wired—I pay all my bills online and haven't bought a stamp in ages, I blog instead of writing in a journal, I take digital photos and publish them to Flickr instead of printing them out, and I get all of my news online. (Is it obvious that I work in digital media yet?)

But despite my gravitation toward all things digital, one hard-copy habit I haven't been able to totally kick is magazines. No matter how obsessed with my computer I am (and believe me I am—friends tease me for having an emotional attachment to my Macbook), sometimes I just need to curl up on the couch with a cat and a magazine. (Also, it's a lot less hazardous when eating a ham sandwich and drinking a Coke.)

Some of my subscriptions have changed over the years, but one I have loved as long as I can remember is Rolling Stone. The writing is edgy and witty, the layouts cram a ton of information in but stop right before I feel overwhelmed (Wired, which I used to love, could learn a thing or two here), and the photography often makes me feel as though I'm standing right in front of my favorite artists.

I'll admit I was a bit disappointed in Rolling Stone's decision to abandon the large format they had used since 1981 for a traditional size, perfect-bound (no staples) style. I loved how the cover photos were larger than life almost. I loved the crinkly sound the cover made as I cracked it open.

But more importantly, I still love the content (everything music + acerbic, unforgiving take on politics + cussing = perfection, for me at least), so I'm letting this one slide. Just no more Britney Spears covers, ok?!

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December 24, 2008

I usually don't make resolutions because I subscribe to the superstition that making them only leads to breaking them. But my good friend and co-worker Summer asked me to make—and share—some this year, so I am breaking tradition for her. You're welcome, Summer.

So here we go—my 2009 New Year's resolutions for my work here at Hammock:

Learn more about CSS, PHP and Javascript so that I am better able to edit it. I would love to be able to write my own code from scratch, but I think that's a little lofty. I'll save that for 2010.

Write more stories out of my comfort zone. I tend to gravitate toward business-, government- or tech-related stories, and while I love writing them, I want to branch out even more than I have this past year and feel more confident in my ability to tackle any subject put before me.

Eat lunch every day. No, seriously. We all have been crazy-busy here at Hammock lately, and it's been easy to "forget" to eat lunch. Unfortunately, I forgot roughly eight times out of 10 the last two weeks, and that's just not good for anybody. So I resolve to buy healthy, easy-to-make items at the grocery store that I can bring to the office with me so I have no excuse not to stop for 10 minutes and refuel.

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While Hammock offices are officially closed this afternoon until Monday, Jan. 5, I'll be checking e-mail frequently, thanks to a relentless iPhone addiction. If you need to reach me, please send an e-mail to mmorris at hammock.com. Thanks, and happy holidays!

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October 21, 2008

A couple of weeks ago (Oct. 4), my longtime boyfriend, Ian, and I snuck off to the mountains of Asheville, N.C., where we got married (barefoot) in a creek. In a really private ceremony: Besides us and the woman who married us, the only two other people in attendance were the photographer and the officiant's husband (North Carolina requires two witnesses.) On our drive back, we called our family and friends to surprise them with the news. They were excited for us—even more so when we assured them we'd be throwing a huge party a few months from now.

A few people have asked me if I would change my name, since Goodchild was so, um, "unique," to which I replied with a resounding "YES!!!" My entire life I have been called "bad child," "devil child" (I have no idea where these nicknames came from, I swear), been asked incredulously if that was really my name, and have had to craft polite responses to "And are you a good child?" as though it was the first time I had ever been asked such a hilarious and witty question.

But now, according to the U.S. Social Security Administration at least, I am Megan Morris. So bring on the quips. After nearly 30 years with Goodchild, I can handle anything.

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September 23, 2008

The other day when I got home from work, I noticed a box from Amazon.com next to my front door. Because I had just received my recently placed order earlier in the day at the office, my first assumption was that they had made a mistake and sent a duplicate package to my home.

But when I got inside and opened the box, I realized it contained Eeeee Eee Eeee, a book by Tao Lin that I had placed on my Amazon wish list months ago. Still confused, I logged in to my Amazon account to see if by mistake I had been charged for an item I had not yet ordered. I had not been charged, but I noticed that the book had been marked as "purchased" on my wish list.

And while I was relieved that the book was not sent to me by mistake, I had a bigger mystery to solve now: Who sent me this book? And why? It wasn't my birthday, and no gift-giving holiday was near. I am not the kind of girl who random people shower with gifts, and so, after asking my boyfriend and mom if they had sent it to me, I was thoroughly perplexed. And a bit creeped out.

So I did what anyone would do to solve a modern-day mystery: I turned to the Internet. I noticed that the return address label on the box had the author's name, so I logged in to Twitter and started asking people what they knew about Amazon wish list protocol. I knew Amazon wouldn't tell me who sent the package, but I wondered if they put the return address of the sender or if they use the address of the product company (or in my case, the author) as a default.

When no one on Twitter knew the answer (Amazon guru Laura Creekmore was sadly absent from Twitter that night), I turned to Google. I put the return address into Google Maps to see if I could determine if it was a publishing company or a residence. Using Street View, I found the address to be of a building in Brooklyn that looked to be a mix of apartments and businesses. That didn’t really help me much, and I was starting to feel like a stalker.

So I went back to Google and started using search terms like, "Tao Lin + free book," "Tao Lin + Eeeee Eee Eeee" and "Tao Lin + Amazon Wish List." Finally, just ask I was about to give up, I came across Tao Lin's blog, Reader Of Depressing Books. The title bar only displayed "*" which probably explains why it took a while for me to find it in a search engine (tip: If you want people to find you easily, use descriptive title bar information).

But then I saw this:

*i did something* i ordered 20 tao lin books on amazon for people's wish lists on amazon, i believe this to be an effective promotional and artistic plan in terms of 'steady cash flow without a real job' and 'decreased existential despair' based on my timing, the effect on sales rank, foreign sales, possible reaction from media and those receiving the books unexpectedly…

It all made sense! I was part of some guerilla marketing campaign, one of the lucky 20 who were chosen to receive one of Tao Lin's books.

I'm now about halfway through the book, and it's as strange as I was hoping it would be. I also plan to order another one of Tao Lin's books, partly because I like his writing but partly because of the experience of receiving this one by surprise. It was an odd marketing tactic, but hey, I'm a bit odd myself.

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April 22, 2008

One day last week, as I rounded a corner on the second of the two interstates that I take to work, I noticed a familiar site: Traffic was at a standstill. For miles. Stuck in the left lane with no exit for at least a mile, I pulled out my cell phone. But instead of calling the office to let them know I'd be a few minutes late, I pulled up twitter.com on my mobile browser and "tweeted" that I was stuck in traffic about two miles from the office.

Twitter is a social networking service that allows users to post text updates of 140 characters or fewer visible to anyone who's chosen to follow them. Because of the simplicity of Twitter, everyone arguably uses it differently. But since fellow Hammockites Laura, Rex, Summer, Patrick, Ben and Barbara M. choose to follow my Twitter updates, they were able to see I wasn't at work because I was stuck in traffic. From the updates of other Nashville Twitterers I follow I soon learned the hold up was an overturned truck, and that I'd be better off exiting the interstate instead of trying to make my way through the last couple miles to my exit.

While we mainly use IM for quick conversations in the office, we can often be found tweeting at each other in response to questions we've posed on Twitter, varying from lunch plans to story ideas. I have often complained to the Twitter universe about how cold it is at my desk, only to be met with a retort from down the hall about the blazing inferno that is a colleague's office. I personally find Twitter especially useful as a sounding board for story ideas, as I can get diverse feedback from the people around the world who've chosen to follow my updates.

But as long as I continue to have a long commute (75.2 miles round trip each day, but who's counting?), Twitter will most likely serve as my No. 1 resource for real-time traffic updates. That is, until I learn to harness the power of wormholes and can teleport myself to work.

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Megan Morris

Digital Media Manager

o: 615.690.3404

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