Deadline! Deadline!

FTonight I'm working on some short pieces about (top! secret!) winners of this year's Phoenix "Best of" issue. While I do that... you can read this.

Music Seen: Mandolin Fest at Space Gallery, 3/27/10

The concert was great - although festivals tend to run a little long for my short attention span. Luckily there's nothing like handsome men in cowboy hats to hold my interest.

It is also worth mentioning that I started my Saturday night out with a really amazing dinner at Portland's own Back Bay Grill, where my lovely bartender may or may not have fed me a line that may or may not have ended up in the final review.

I'll never tell.

But... go there! And try the latkes. They're delish.

Another week, another story.

It's Kennebunkport in the winter and I have found the best group of friends. And they plan the best nights. Including pot luck dinners and poker games set to Mariah Carey remixes.

Never underestimate the power that Mariah Carey has over Seasonal Affective Disorder.

So much power in fact, that I pumped out another three articles this past week. And you! You should read them! (!!!)

Port's Scottish Country Dancers practice fancy footwork, 3/25/10

Kites fly high at annual event, 3/25/10

Musicians in Training, 3/25/10

Enjoy!

Five!

It's been a big week over here at Bridget M. Burns incorporated. Which I guess is my really cheesy way of saying that it's been so exciting over here at the BARN, that I danced circles around my living room screaming VERY late Wednesday night when I discovered that I would have four front page stories in Thursday's edition of the Coast Star. Two on the front page of the paper, and two on the front page of the living section. Plus one additional story buried deep inside.

Oh, community journalism. How I love you so!

Legislation intended to help regulate motorcycle noise moving forward - 3/18/10

Kite Fly memorializes husband, father, marks start of spring - 3/18/10

Dunroven Drive residents fight church access ride in Kennebunk - 3/18/10

Kennebunk engineer changes gears, devotes time to pottery studio - 3/18/10

Mixin' it up - 3/18/10

Read up! And also, you know... buy an actual paper copy if you have a chance. I could use the job security.

Rainy Day Reading

Remember when I went down to York and was mistaken for a high school girl?

The resulting article appears in this week's edition of the York Weekly.

Book group gives girls a safe place to speak out - 3/10/10

Re-reading the article just now made me want to abandon today's deadline and pick up a book. I am currently reading Eat, Pray, Love and, despite the fact that Funny or Die recommends the book to any young man hoping to catch a "cougar", I like it!

"That's because you're actually a 45 year old woman inside, Bridget," Adam assured me.

A 45 year old woman who is continually mistaken for 18.

Milestone.

I kind of have some incredibly exciting news.

I wrote the front page story in this week's edition of the Coast Star.

AwwwwwwwYEEEEAHHHHHH!

I remember the excitement that came with seeing my first Coast Star byline like it was yesterday. Which is probably because it was only four months ago.

The excitement grew the first time my name appeared on the front page of the Living Section.

The first time my byline appeared "above the fold" I nearly lost it.

And then this week, after a lot of hard work and rewrites, I made the front page.

The FRONT PAGE, y'all!

Here's a (classy macbook mirror-image) close-up of my byline to prove it:

So go pick up a copy already!

Not only could this be worth money some day (ha! ...haha!), but the story is definitely worth reading. It's all about how the Kennebunkport Historical Society may have to sell off some of their artifacts due to increasing operational costs and dwindling membership. As a girl who lives in a historical building in Kennebunkport, I found this totally unsettling, and will be joining the society myself, asap. You should, too! I say that here, because I could not say that in my story. You know, because I finally managed to write an unbiased news piece.

Which is exactly how I made the FRONT PAGE.

Who wants to take me out to celebrate?

Voltaire... or Hair?

The other day I drove down to York to cover an event at the local library. Basically it was a reading group for middle school girls, lead by four high school girls, sponsored by Mainely Girls. So you know. Reading, girl power, etc.

I walked in to the library and approached the front desk as instructed by my editor.

"Hi, I'm looking for the after-school reading group?" I asked.

"Oh! Are you one of the high school girls?" the librarian asked.

"Oh, um... no," I stuttered. "I'm a reporter."

The librarian was clearly embarrassed and assured me that I would appreciate comments like that in a few years. To be truthful, I appreciate comments like that right now. But I had to wonder if it was my post-deli work appearance that lead her to believe I had come from the high school, and not my oh-so-youthful glow.

Turns out it was my hair.

When I got down to where the group was meeting I realized that like me, all of the high school girls had their hair pulled into messy side ponytails.

Good thing I just worked out a deal where I babysit in exchange for haircuts. It seems it may be time for a trim.

Localvores Unite!

Back when I lived in Vermont, the term localvore was common vernacular. Little did I know, here on the coast, it is not.

It wasn't until I wrote a piece about the New School's new dinner series, did I learn that local food is still a new movement in Maine.

Read all about it!

Food, Local Food - 3/4/10

And... eat up!

Can I git yo' DiGItS!?

Now that I'm "Bridget Burns, the writer" I figured I should get some business cards. You know, to promote myself, maybe get some new assignments, and encourage people to send me story ideas.

Plus, they're a really easy way to noncommittally give my phone number to cute boys.

The front is the same as the heading on this blog. Which by the way, is a photo of the barn I live in. And the house that was once attached to it, before it burned down.

The back lists my mad writing skills. Articles, Short Stories, Blog Entries, Novels, E-Mails, Speeches, Press Releases, Twitter Updates, and Love Letters.

And then there's my phone number and email address.

Pretty cute, right?

Please excuse the bloody band-aid included in the photograph. My other line of work involves knives, sharp corners, and other hazards, not good for people like me who can't even walk through a doorway without crashing into the frame.

I'm fine, by the way. Just a little lightheaded from blood loss.

Call me! *wink*