i'm published!
last july, LA yoga editor felicia tomasko (whom i had met earlier this year at the SYTAR conference here in LA) contacted me about writing a news blurb for her magazine. she had found out through my blog that i had participated in city yoga's recent 24-hour yogathon; would i be interested in submitting a first-person account for the upcoming issue?
knowing that i would be a fool to let this opportunity pass me by, i immediately took her up on her offer.
a little more than a week later, after struggling to find a way to fit all my thoughts into the 150-word limit she gave me (yes, i know; i tend to be quite verbose), i sent her back the most concise version i could come up with -- all 190 words of it. but at least i turned it in before the deadline :)
well aware that my creation was probably going to be edited down, all i could do was hope that it didn't get a complete facelift. maybe just a botox shot here and there? i had to wait and see...
and now, at last, the waiting's over. i picked up a copy of the september issue at yogaworks westwood earlier this evening and, still foggy-brained after emerging from eka ekong's vinyasa flow class, i quickly flipped through its pages to see how much of my original piece survived.
and i have to say that, except for a rewrite of my opening paragraph (argh!), i'm happy with the result. not only that, but both my name and my nom de plume were spelled correctly! thanks, felicia!
since it'll take me more time to retype the published version than to just copy and paste the piece i turned in, i'm going to take the easier route and give you my original version. besides, i still think this sounds better:
City Yoga hosted its second Yogathon at its West Hollywood studio over the June 30th weekend. Organized by Rebecca Benenati, the Anusara community of students and teachers banded together for the 24-hour Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles fundraiser.
There were over fifty of us who participated in the event. From 8:00am Saturday through 8:00am Sunday, we challenged ourselves with backbends, hip openers, arm balances, and inversions, taking occasional rest breaks through restorative yoga, guided meditation, and Thai massage. Several kirtan artists dropped by to lend their support; we chanted with Govindas and Radha Saturday afternoon and rocked with Wah! and her band late into the night. Relying on humor and sheer will to keep us going past midnight, we finally surrendered to emotion and exhaustion on Sunday morning as we flowed through sun salutations to greet the rising sun and bid goodbye to the setting moon.
To date, the yogathon has raised nearly $50,000 towards the cost of a new house; in September, we will wield hammers and paint brushes to help build that home!
You can still help City Yoga meet its $100,000 goal by donating through www.firstgiving.com/cityyoga.
knowing that i would be a fool to let this opportunity pass me by, i immediately took her up on her offer.
a little more than a week later, after struggling to find a way to fit all my thoughts into the 150-word limit she gave me (yes, i know; i tend to be quite verbose), i sent her back the most concise version i could come up with -- all 190 words of it. but at least i turned it in before the deadline :)
well aware that my creation was probably going to be edited down, all i could do was hope that it didn't get a complete facelift. maybe just a botox shot here and there? i had to wait and see...
and now, at last, the waiting's over. i picked up a copy of the september issue at yogaworks westwood earlier this evening and, still foggy-brained after emerging from eka ekong's vinyasa flow class, i quickly flipped through its pages to see how much of my original piece survived.
and i have to say that, except for a rewrite of my opening paragraph (argh!), i'm happy with the result. not only that, but both my name and my nom de plume were spelled correctly! thanks, felicia!
since it'll take me more time to retype the published version than to just copy and paste the piece i turned in, i'm going to take the easier route and give you my original version. besides, i still think this sounds better:
City Yoga hosted its second Yogathon at its West Hollywood studio over the June 30th weekend. Organized by Rebecca Benenati, the Anusara community of students and teachers banded together for the 24-hour Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles fundraiser.
There were over fifty of us who participated in the event. From 8:00am Saturday through 8:00am Sunday, we challenged ourselves with backbends, hip openers, arm balances, and inversions, taking occasional rest breaks through restorative yoga, guided meditation, and Thai massage. Several kirtan artists dropped by to lend their support; we chanted with Govindas and Radha Saturday afternoon and rocked with Wah! and her band late into the night. Relying on humor and sheer will to keep us going past midnight, we finally surrendered to emotion and exhaustion on Sunday morning as we flowed through sun salutations to greet the rising sun and bid goodbye to the setting moon.
To date, the yogathon has raised nearly $50,000 towards the cost of a new house; in September, we will wield hammers and paint brushes to help build that home!
You can still help City Yoga meet its $100,000 goal by donating through www.firstgiving.com/cityyoga.
posted by joni at 10:35 PM
5 Comments:
congrats!
thanks!
Joni,
Thanks for your contribution to the mag. Editing, well, I understand....enough said.
Felicia
hi felicia --
believe me, i understand how touchy editing someone else's work can be. i have to do it often here at work (although editing technical docs is somewhat easier because content is more important than style). at least i knew that my "baby" was in your good hands :)
It is a nice post
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