A Serious Hair-ror in Judgment (or why I’ve been wearing hats lately)

www.inkthinkerblog.com — Last week, while I was in Maryland conducting interviews for a book project I’ve been hired to write, I decided on a whim to get a trim before heading back south. My bangs had been driving me bonkers all morning, and the Panera where I stopped for lunch was right next to a discount hair place that I won’t name, but which rhymes with Flair Watery (pronounced the Jersey way: WHUT-ery).

This is what the “stylist” (and I use the term loosely) did to me:

You can see the eight feet of bangs (I don’t know why she thought they needed to start practically on the back of my head), but what you can’t see is the huge chunks she took out of the back (her version of layering) and the bizarre feathering she put around my face. And may I remind you that this was supposed to be A TRIM???

I looked like a cross between someone’s grandma, a standard poodle, an early 1900s schoolmarm, and a Wal-Mart greeter from 1987. Hence, the immediate bun and look of utter distress.

I put in a frantic call to a friend’s salon and managed to get an appointment for just a few days later, so that was a relief. I had that I-just-fell-out-of-a-Gap-commercial look for a few days, with all of the bandanas I was wearing to cover up the disaster on my head, but I was hopeful that it would all be worthwhile, that Jodi would fix everything.

Jodi has been cutting hair professionally since 1986, and she said it was the absolute worst haircut she’d ever seen. AND, she had to cut it off to my CHIN to salvage it, it was so bad in the back. So I went from long locks to this:

But, as you can see, I’m glad I don’t look like a grand-poodle-marm-greeter anymore… Now, to get used to my sudden baldness…

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www.kristenkingfreelancing.com
Finalist in 2006 Writer’s Digest Best Writer’s Website Contest

Contents © Copyright 2007 Kristen King. All rights reserved.

Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King

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Searching for a Hero

www.inkthinkerblog.com — From my friend Gary at American Legacy Media, LLC:

Will you help me research my next book?

I’m still in the preliminary stages, but the working title for the book is: “Quiet Heroes: America’s Greatest Stories of Heroism You’ve NEVER Heard.” I am hoping to find stories about unsung or little known American heroes.

The hero may only be known to your local community, or just family and close acquaintances. The heroism could have taken place at war-time, at work, or in the course of everyday events. Regardless of whether the act was publicly recognized or not, I want to hear about it. It’s also important that the hero still be alive, as I may need to talk to them.

To be specific, I am looking for stories about someone who, in a singular act, ignored their own safety to protect or save the life of another AND, since that event, has lived a life of honor and integrity.

If you know someone who has accomplished something heroic, please let me know by completing the form here: http://americanlegacymedia.com/unsungheroes.htm

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www.kristenkingfreelancing.com
Finalist in 2006 Writer’s Digest Best Writer’s Website Contest

Contents © Copyright 2007 Kristen King. All rights reserved.

Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King

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Professional Handling of Your Mistakes (or “why I heart the IRS even though they take all my money”)

www.inkthinkerblog.com

I’m a dummy.

I got my EIN last July and had to send in a W9 for a new client before I’d committed it to memory, which I discovered yesterday when we realized based on my updated W9 with my new address that I’d transposed two numbers in the original one. As such, the client reported my EIN incorrectly on their 2006 taxes (which they didn’t realize, of course, until now) and were concerned that they’d be fined for the error.

Well, I called the IRS and explained what happened, and they assured me that it was no problem so long as we corrected the error within 30 days of receiving notice from them. Since we’ve already corrected the error, there’s no problem at all. They have a corrected W9 and I just need a corrected 1099, and all is right with the world.

I e-mailed the client with the info (and the agent’s ID number for confirmation if necessary) and received a very grateful response from accounting and a commendation from my contact there thanking me for handling it so professionally.

But my question is this: What other way is there to handle it? I can’t imagine NOT doing the things I did. And if it weren’t for the IRS and their incredibly helpful people, I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere with it. How could you not TRY? How could anyone even consider being a jerk about it and not getting it taken care of? That is just beyond me. But the fact that they were so pleased with my response leads me to believe that it was a new thing for them, or at least somewhat unusual.

Have you ever screwed up and had to fix something so a client wouldn’t be penalized? What was the problem, and how did you handle it?

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www.kristenkingfreelancing.com
Finalist in 2006 Writer’s Digest Best Writer’s Website Contest

Contents © Copyright 2007 Kristen King. All rights reserved.

Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King

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“Male Enhancement” Spam

www.inkthinkerblog.com — Don’t know what this has to do with male enhancement, but it sure made me chuckle!

In 1963 when he met Jack Twist They shook hands in the choky Forest Service got designated TOMORROW MORNIN well truck you Ennis, high arched nose and na The sheep trucks and horse tra They got the big tent up on th During the day Ennis looked ac Jack came lagging in late one Im commutin four hours a day, You want a switch? said Ennis. That aint the point. Point is, Wouldnt mind bein out there. T Cant be no worse than me, then They fended off the night for

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www.kristenkingfreelancing.com
Finalist in 2006 Writer’s Digest Best Writer’s Website Contest

Contents © Copyright 2007 Kristen King. All rights reserved.

Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King

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100 Best Novels x2: Which Ones I’ve Read

www.inkthinkerblog.com

Jeremy David pointed me toward a list of the 100 best novels, provided by The Modern Library. Here are the ones I’ve read! (Note that the lists have duplicates.)

On “The Board’s List,”
2 (my favorite!), 5, 7, 13, 19, 31, 41, 64 (which I HATED), 69, 86 (my second favorite)

On “The Readers’ List”
4, 5, 6, 13, 18, 19, 20, 24, 25, 31, 56, 77, 94

What five or so am I missing that I HAVE to read immediately?

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www.kristenkingfreelancing.com
Finalist in 2006 Writer’s Digest Best Writer’s Website Contest

Contents © Copyright 2007 Kristen King. All rights reserved.

Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King

4 comments