Ann Benjamin's Blog, page 282
January 5, 2015
One last post about Tokyo…
We walked. ��A lot. ��On the 26th and 27th we walked over 20,000 steps each day (more room for champagne!). ��Bring comfy shoes! ��(I have no idea how the local ladies walk in heels most of the time!)
Travel Report: Tokyo!
I’ve recently returned from Tokyo��and had an amazing time. ��I can’t wait to go back again and explore more of the country!�� With everything still fresh in my head, I thought I would share a few memories/words of advice.
Grand Hyatt Tokyo (Roppongi Hills)
I went back and forth about whether or not to stay here or at the Park Hyatt.�� In the end, I’m very glad I chose the Grand Hyatt.�� Given we were staying in a less pricey property (er, less than the Park Hyatt, at least), I decided to upgrade for a Club Room.�� Best decision ever! ��The view, fantastic staff, and complimentary breakfast and hors d’oeuvres��hours every night really made our stay a treat.�� Honestly, who is going to turn down two hours of free champagne every night?
After visiting the Park Hyatt for drinks (big fan of Lost in Translation, doncha know?), I would say I’m very glad we stayed where we did.�� Roppongi offered a different style of neighborhood and was close to quite a bit of shopping and restaurants. ��I would absolutely stay at this property again.
Jet Lag
Wow – it’s usually not too much of an issue for me.�� I’ll have a bad day or two, but nothing like the hours I kept waking up every night (even after sleeping a good six hours on the flight over, thanks Etihad biz class!).�� I think next time I will��bring melatonin and not fall asleep before 10PM on the first night! ��And also not accidentally disconnect��the alarm and wake up 5 minutes after the time set to meet the guide in the lobby, then proceed to run around the room yelling expletives whilst getting ready in less than ten minutes.
Hakone
Er…�� It’s a lovely day trip outside of Tokyo. ��In all honesty, it was easily the one thing I could’ve done without. ��While it was wonderful to have a train ride outside the city and to see Mount Fuji (from a distance), the trip took up most of our day and we accomplished very little. ��With a little more time (at least one day) and traveling not during one of the peak times (near New Year’s), the trains and buses were far too crowded for my liking (shout out to the annoying Americans Skyping in front of us!). ��In the end, we got some cute souvenirs and a quick snap of Mount Fuji. ��I don’t think I would recommend the trip to anyone, unless there was more time involved.
We booked most of the details of the trip with this company and I’m very glad we did. ��Our guide was nothing short of fantastic. ��A retired man with excellent English, Mr. Masa was polite, informative and full of energy. ��The company also made arrangements to provide us with an IC Card and tickets to all our events were ready on arrival at the hotel. ��While Hubs and I usually do not do anything like this upon visiting a new city, I think all of the arrangements and especially the guide made the best use of our time on the trip. ��I actually would like to go back to Moscow and visit with a guide!
A little gem tucked away in Roppongi. ��Although we could barely communicate with the (very cool) bar staff – the selection of whiskey was insane, the drinks were poured with professional flair and the intimate location made me sad we only discovered this bar at the end of our trip. ��(Bonus: there was a dog present – it’s a special nerd out of mine to see animals where they are not supposed to be).
Go.
Don’t think. ��Just book. ��It is an event without equal.
(But don’t eat the Bento box).
Can you tell we watch Anthony Bourdain? ��As with above, this was another special evening. ��On the recommendation of friends, we made our reservations well in advance. ��We opted for the ‘we’ll eat whatever you put in front of us’ menu and I’m very glad we did. ��Hubs and I are both big fans of sushi and were not disappointed. ��We easily consumed 15 pieces each (and I think we were closer to 20). ��Chef Yasuda is a great personality and quite gifted!
A department store without equal – hit up the big location near Shinjuku station and collect various and sundry gifts for friends back home. ��The stationery level is out of this world.
Final Thoughts
Given my own weirdness, I thought I might be put off by the crowds – but everything is so…organized. ��Public transportation is a breeze. ��People are polite and things make sense. ��Perhaps it’s that I live in a country/region where lines and queues aren’t respected, but I loved the order of it all. ��I can’t wait to go back.
January 4, 2015
My Tumblr stats.
I may not be a best selling author, nor have a solid grip on all things social media, but dammit if I don’t have my own little corner��of the internet. ��I found this app, which tracks your ‘best of’ Tumblr posts from the year (as well as total ‘notes’ – notes being likes and reblogs). ��Honestly, I’m pretty impressed with myself – 260K+ impressions from my blog in one year is quite a feat (much of my success is due to this post, but I’ll take the year as a victory). ��Of course, I know I could be doing a much better job of monetizing my Tumblr account as well as translating traffic into book sales, but you know, goals and whatever…
2014 ��948 POSTS, 260407 NOTES
2013 ��830 POSTS, 66954 NOTES
2012 ��1694 POSTS, 112195 NOTES
2011 ��1231 POSTS, 53796 NOTES
I am also happy to see that I am posting less, but have captured more traffic. ��Here’s looking forward to what 2015 will bring!
December 29, 2014
2014 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 7,500 times in 2014. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 6 trips to carry that many people.
Click here to see the complete report.
December 24, 2014
December Reflections: 15 Years Ago (aka Second Hand Embarrassment)
Oh no.
19 year old Ann was not in a good place this time 15 years ago. ��Booted from my job as a��Resident Assistant through a series of misunderstandings involving the exact whereabouts of my person while ‘on duty’, I was in a seriously weird state. ��In retrospect, sophomore years have never been points of strength in my life. ��I liked a boy who didn’t like me back but sort of did, but was really just dealing with a lot of his own shit. ��I was in a formative place with my future college besties. ��I was doing a very bad job of letting things go with my high school boyfriend. ��New Year’s Eve (Y2K!) was an even more bizarre occasion.
If I had the chance to go back and talk to my sophomore self, I would tell her to spend of her hard earned money and audition for Spirit of Atlanta or Carolina Crown. ��Or travel. ��Or don’t worry about those stupid boys.
Let’s just say that thank God December’s have only progressively gotten better since then!
December 23, 2014
Evidence my facebook present worked!
As mentioned earlier, my yearly gift to myself, I opt in for some facebook advertising. ��This year’s results were pretty fantastic! ��(And to you the below��numbers might be small, but to me they mean a lot!). ��This experiment (and ensuing clickthroughs) has given me some additional consideration next time I want to announce something with my next book (or any of my current works). ��Given the low number (you can opt for $1 a day, if you choose), it seems a fun experiment to raise awareness.
Have you had any luck advertising with social media?
December 21, 2014
From rough draft to first draft…by the numbers.
A little peak behind the curtain here. ��I just finished the first draft of my 2014 book, Life After Joe. ��As an exercise I wanted to see the difference between the two drafts (I tend to follow this schedule: rough draft, edit, first draft, notes, professional edit, final draft). ��The biggest changes will usually occur between the rough and first drafts…
1. ��Picked a title! ��Going into the first draft, I was working with the titles Have You Met Joe?, 213 Days of Joe or the super generic Road Trip. ��In the back of my head, ‘Have You Met Joe?’ sounded too much like a catch phrase from HIMYM’s ‘Have you met Ted?’ ��The days thing seemed too similar to Room 702, and I didn’t want two titles with numbers in them (that makes sense in my mind). ��I’m not sure when ‘Life After Joe’ popped on the scene, but I’ve grown to really like it and can’t see it changing.
2. ��Added a bunch of words. ��I finished the rough draft, knowing and specifically leaving room to add additional chapters. ��I went from 84,582 to 99,123 words for a net gain of 14,541. ��The final version will most likely hold steady, but I’m prepared to cut an additional 5K if needed.
3. ��Went crazy with names. ��The supporting romantic interest went from one to another to a final. ��About half way through editing, I realized that ALMOST ALL MY CHARACTERS HAD FOUR LETTER NAMES. ��Even worse, one family was set upon by the letter J. ��Obviously, changes were necessary.
4. ��Removing a plot device that went nowhere (mostly because I was lazy). ��I had started out each chapter with the date, location and how many miles traveled. ��The reality is that 1) that’s incredibly difficult to maintain (especially for a character traveling all over the United States) and 2) I read a book that was written in a more stream of conscious style and decided it was a better fit.
As the book goes out to friends and other readers, I’m excited to hear their feedback! ��Now, if only I could decided on a cover image.
December 19, 2014
Yup.
Maybe not hundreds, but certainly a few.�� The below secret (originally found here) is pretty much a constant worry of mine.�� I love my current manuscript (the premise of it, at least) and can’t wait to write next year’s book, but I always wonder, ‘Wow, what would someone who could really write do with my ideas?’
December 18, 2014
December Reflections: Favorite Picture of 2014
I think this reflection could go any number of ways, I’m going to take the intention that it’s a picture I’m in or have taken. ��In this instance, it’s a picture with my two favorite people – my sister and my husband.
July 11, 2014.
More cover image hilarity (and one with potential).
Honestly, as I near cleaning up the first draft (insha’llah this weekend!) of Life After Joe, the search for a cover image still haunts me. ��Still, I can find humor in the situation.
Perfect. I need not look further.
As the hope of finding any image with a normal human woman standing or existing near a road seems to be beyond my grasp, I may turn to something like below and find some sort of cool font instead. ��Sigh.
Potential.
