This Year So Far: Working Hard...Meeting Cool People...Wearing New Threads...Seeing the Big Game...and Exploring Paradise

Lots of exciting stuff has been happening around here lately, so I figured I owed you all a post.

As many of you know, I’ve mostly been posting behind-the-scenes shots on Instagram the past two years, and saving the whole story for the book I’m writing. So if you want to follow along on my adventures, Instagram will give you the best look—for now.

As for the book.

I finally signed with an agent this year. How this happened is a long story…but, well here’s how I felt.

Around the same time that happened, I started doing a few interviews (and when I say around the same time, I mean in the same week!). Those will appear on here soon. But two involved photo shoots and the photo shoot for one is still pending. Here’s some behind-the-scenes shots of those.

(One’s for a magazine, one a newspaper and one an artist’s photo series…that one took a few months to finish and was so much fun! I love it when the List helps me make a new friend. Or reconnect with an old one—this is Adrian Bacolo, whom I worked with at my college newspaper. He’ll have his story up soon. These shots are just teasers…)

From the magazine shoot (I might be on the cover!)

That’s me—checking off “own a black tux”! And Adrian. Helping me own it.

I love this one—it’s me holding the list.

I’ve tried and failed to put into words what owning a tuxedo felt like for me. There’s going to be a lot in the book about this.

In the meantime, I’ll just let Adrian tell his version of the events. Will post more here when he’s done.

Otherwise, I’ve been alternately traveling the globe and copyediting like usual. Here’s what I checked off in February.

“Go to a Super Bowl game.”

The ticket was so expensive that I had to go alone. I might have met some strange men (who now are friends).

“Visit St. Thomas.”

We flew to St. Thomas directly from Miami, the morning after the Super Bowl—like we were jet-setters or something. But man, that was fun.

So this is going to be hard to believe, but my friend Mary Latham was there—the creator of the More Good project. In St. Thomas. Well, St. John, technically. But still. We’d only met twice—her project took her all over the country for three years (hers is also a grief project, to honor her mom). We’d mostly texted when I needed her encouragement (rarely the other way around). As I put it when I saw her that day, “You’re the only person who makes me feel normal.” What a cool thing to find her in her haven after her project ended…and as the last year of mine had just started.

As I’m sure you can surmise by now, with all these fancy things going on, my finances have been severely depleted. And yet I’m now off to check off “make money on the stock market.” I’ll probably invest a dollar. But it’s sure to do something, right? With the current downturn?

When I haven’t been doing all this or working, I’ve been sick as a dog the past two months—I got a terrible virus twice. I’m only just now bouncing back—in time for more interviews and a photo shoot—and maybe video. I’ll post them here when they run!

In the meantime, you’ll find me finishing my book proposal (!), learning my dad’s top five hits on piano (I’m recording with my cousin this weekend!) and training for a 21-mile race in Big Sur with this guy. See you all soon!

Come check me out on Instagram, @myfatherslist, for daily updates.

Please visit my fund-raising page to help me raise money for distracted driving awareness. I’m raising funds for Pam O’Donnell, who lost half her family because of a drugged, distracted driver.

writer’s retreat

Steven’s office is gradually becoming a music studio

future marathoner