After a few days at my parents' house in Louisville, Ky., I'll be back in Nashville and available if you need me starting Monday, Dec. 28.

If you need something, please email me at lanthony@hammock.com--I'll be checking my email every day.

I'll officially be back in the office bright and early Jan. 4!

Happy Holidays!

Today, I opened up a FedEx envelope labeled "Extremely Urgent" and out jumped a bag of chocolate-covered grasshoppers. Since I'm a pretty picky eater, I didn't even waste time pondering whether I would eat one. Instead, I walked down the hall and asked everyone I passed if they'd like to try one.

One by one, I got turned down—until I entered Bill Hudgins' office, who jumped at the chance. After we picked out a sufficiently chocolaty one for him, he popped it in his mouth, declared it tasty and started jumping towards me (like a grasshopper). John Lavey walked by and saw the commotion and I offered him one, too.

As John opened his grasshopper wrapper, he told the story of how he once ate six cicadas as a bet. The prospect of eating a grasshopper — especially one covered in chocolate — did not faze him, and he ate it as though he had just popped an after-dinner mint.

Counting only Bill and John among the brave but determined to find more, I went back to the art department to challenge Ben Stewart. A few minutes of peer pressure was all it took—he was digesting grasshopper in no time.

I have two left! Any takers?

Oh, and it's a commendable marketing campaign. The second I opened that FedEx envelope, Grasshopper (a phone service company for small businesses) had my attention.

This week, I cleaned off my desk, read all the mail I've gotten recently and started responding to all the query e-mails I've received from freelancers and publicists over the past six weeks. I'm not proud to say that these things don't happen on a regular basis, but that's the reality of my job.

It's so fast-paced sometimes around here that I can't seem to make time for the little things like this—and so when I do, it genuinely feels like a new beginning.

And I love new beginnings, so this is probably the way it's going to stay!

What do you reach for when you need an afternoon pick-me-up?
I always pack a Clif Z-Bar for the afternoon. The packaging says it's made for kids, but I'm pretty sure they meant kids and Lena. I'd seriously jump off a cliff if Clif stopped making them. Get it?

Do you doodle while on the phone or in meetings?
I don't doodle on the phone but I often find myself jazzing up the letters at the top of a meeting agenda. In a weird way, I think it keeps me focused.

What communications medium helps you the most during the day?
E-mail, e-mail, e-mail, did I mention e-mail? It also creates an organized paper trail for those times when I'm drawing a complete blank on something, which leads me to the next question...

How do you refocus if you're having trouble concentrating or getting the creativity flowing?
Knocking out a mindless task helps me refocus. So does refilling my water glass. Or telling Jamie a knock-knock joke. I've also figured out that some days just aren't meant for creativity, and that's OK. And then some days it's like, "Whoa, brain, where are these awesome headlines coming from?!"

What is the last thing you do before leaving the office each evening?
I don't have an end-of-day ritual, although I guess it should be "turn off my computer." I read somewhere that would save gobs of money and energy. It would probably also give my computer fan a rest.

I'm really bad at keeping New Year's Resolutions, but I'm really going to give this one a five-star try in 2009. (I don't know what a five-star try is, but it sure sounds good, doesn't it?)

Anyway, drum roll....

In 2009, I am going to come into work earlier.

For those who work with me, you're probably thinking, "How could Lena be any earlier than she already is?"

I know, but I want to start coming in even earlier because I am determined to get that spot in the parking garage on P2 right where it curves before you get to the elevator. It's a huge parking spot. There's usually a Dodge Caravan luxuriously sprawled in the spacious spot that facilitates easy entry and exit. But no matter how early I've come in, it's never been available. 2009 is my year!!!

Coming in early has other benefits, too, of course. Fewer distractions before the phones start ringing and less traffic on the Interstate. Maximum productivity here I come.

Happy Holidays, everybody!

After a few days at my parents' house in Louisville, Ky., I'll be back in Nashville and available if you need me starting Monday, Dec. 29.

Please e-mail me at lanthony@hammock.com or call me on my cell phone (615-585-5908).

I'll officially be back in the office bright and early Jan. 5!

Happy Holidays!

At the ASBPE (American Society of Business Publication Editors) Conference, I attended two breakout sessions to help me understand a little more about the sorts of things we're starting to do for some of our clients—creating, editing and sharing video and audio custom content on the web. The sessions—one on video and one on podcasting—were pretty basic; but they were thorough enough that if given a camera, a microphone and a cord to connect both devices to my computer, I could have a video and audio file posted in 20 minutes. Seriously, that's how easy it is. And no, the end result would not win a Grammy or an Oscar, but it'd be good enough for the Web.

And that was the lesson (besides "Always use a tripod" and "Don't upload wav files to your Web site"): It's so easy—and inexpensive—so why not give it a try? In both sessions, someone raised their hand and asked for data on how popular the videos or podcasts were and how they measure their effectiveness. I don't recall the answer (there's a breakout session tomorrow on being a better reporter) because I was too busy thinking: If it's so cheap and easy, why not give it a try. If it doesn't stick, no big deal. If it does (and it will, according to what I've been hearing today), all the better.

Live from Kansas City, Mo., it's Lena!

I'm halfway through Day 1 of the ASBPE (American Society of Business Publication Editors) conference, and thought I'd check in and share what I've learned.

This morning, I heard from Paul Conley, a media consultant who is probably most famous for his blog. He talked about how people working in print publications need to wake up and realize that online is the future in media.

It felt good sitting there thinking to myself that the things he was saying I already knew—entirely from working here at Hammock.

Conley was a little too "if you don't change the way you think about the Web you will be out of a job" for my taste, but the underlying message was clear and compelling.

Later we heard from Katy Tomasulo, the editor of two construction magazines, about how to prioritize the Web when you already have a full plate on the print side. I came away with some great ideas, including asking experts or interviewees (right after you wrap up the interview) to provide a guest column or related content for your magazine's Web site. What a great idea! And there were so many more!

Anyway, better run. This afternoon, I'm going to learn how to shoot video and do a podcast. And tonight? I have the honor of collecting the probably very heavy awards (yes, plural) that MyBusiness won in the annual Azbee Awards of Excellence.

Most of the interviews I conduct are by phone, sometimes by e-mail, depending on how busy the person I'm trying to interview is, and, on three occasions since working at Hammock, in person. But after today's interview with my colleague Summer Huggins for a Hammorati post I'm working up, I can add another medium to that: Instant Messenger.

And I'd have to say, I wish I could do every interview by IM. The reasoning?

• During the interview, as I was waiting for Summer to craft her superbly thought-out quotes, I got up from my desk twice and was back by the time she was ready for her next question.
• IM cuts down on noise distractions. This past year, I scheduled a phone interview for 8:30 a.m. the morning of the Hammock Halloween Costume Contest. Yes, very bad idea. Had I been interviewing via IM, I could have joined in the fun of asking, "Barbara, what's that on your head?"
• With IM, there's no cutting people off and having to apologize awkwardly while simultaneously asking them if they could repeat what they said because you were talking over them and not listening. Just wait for their response and type your next question.
• You don't have to transcribe everything they say and worry about whether you're getting all the details right. With IM, it's all right there in front of you.

Of course, using IM is a great idea only if you don't accidentally "X" the box before you save it. Is there anything worse than having to tell someone, "Umm, I just lost your interview. Could you repeat everything you said? No, from the top. Like, let's start with your name and how long you've been in business."?

My hands just got sweaty thinking about that...

Click over here to read about the other ways we use IM at Hammock.

On Tuesday morning, I rode the elevator with my head raised high—and this awesome trophy in my arms. For those who don't know, in addition to making killer magazines, we at Hammock also have a knack for spelling.

In fact, we're the 2007 champions of the Nashville Adult Literacy Council Corporate Spelling Bee. Oh yeah, and the 2005 champions of the Nashville Adult Literacy Council Corporate Spelling Bee. (Don't ask about 2006.)

I used to regularly participate in the spelling bee, but now that I'm a board member for the NALC, I spend my time doing things like helping draft a three-year strategic plan for the organization so we can win more grants.

No, definitely not as exciting as being a spelling bee champion, but so much more important, don't you think?