Street Meat: Meet Suki, the protagonist.

“You don’t strike me as the kind of person who can sit at a desk all day, editing books. It requires a lot of patience, and you have way too much energy to pursue this as a career.” An academic advisor said to me four years ago. It was -15 degrees outside, and one of those days when irrational behavior was completely expected. I wanted to take on professional writing as a minor and couldn’t stand the fact that I wasn’t actively devoting my time to writing. Even though I wrote 15 page research papers almost every week. So I took her advice, and dropped the idea. But it still lurked somewhere inside my head, since the 6^th grade, I wasn’t over it yet. I wanted to tell stories.Whether it was through dance, theatre or writing. How do you get inspired to tell stories? Well, you live everyday as though it were a story to be told. You observe, you take in, you reflect, you connect, recollect, and decorate the final image you have in your head. Everybody has a story to tell, you just have to convince yourself that who you are, where you are and what you are doing at the moment, is all part of that story. Hence, nothing is bad nor good. It just is.  

Take me for example. At the moment, my character plays a high end magazine editor in the city of Dubai. No she doesn’t work for the Anna Wintour type, like in the Devil wears Prada, she actually has a strong yet acknowledging and compassionate editor-in-chief whom she looks up to very, very much. Her boss only met her once, and the union wasn’t planned nor expected. 

Photos from "The Devil wears Prada"...kind of what I look like at the moment.

Suki, (my character) had spent almost two years, doing this and doing that, feeding her indecisive mind with nonsense. Or so she thought. She later would discover that nothing is nonsense, and in fact, everything she did was part of a larger ball of energy that would bring her closer to what she’s always imagined for herself. Until then, she had to master “the art of uncertainty.” Suki arrived at the airport, an all too familiar place that had witnessed the beginning and ends of many chapters in her life, but this time there were no tears. She found herself in the same spot she stood in, 6 years before, comforting a loving mother who was about to send her 18 year old daughter into the world. A lot had happened in the past 6 years, and while it may not seem like a long time to you, it represented a lifetime to her. A brief flashback and a deep breath later, she was in the boarding section waiting for her plane to arrive.

She waited, and waited. But her plane wouldn’t arrive. 5 hours after her initial boarding time, she was still there, waiting. A sandstorm in the City of Life, had caused a delay to her flight. I repeat. Only her flight. During the 8 hour wait, however, she met some very interesting people. One of them was an Australian consultant who ended up reassuring her that if she were to miss her flight and fail to make it to her interview, he would contact all the people he knew at that company, to tell them her case. He proceeded to give her a mock interview, and train her in corporate pr. 8 hours is a long time… That whole week she went to her interviews, dressed up in her corporate attire, pretending to be someone she’s not. It didn’t speak to her heart. Perhaps, their meeting was not a coincidence? A couple of days later, she would be revisited by someone in her past.

That someone had met her only once and was impressed by her enthusiasm, attitude and ambition. As it would turn out, the “nonsense” she had been up to, would open the doors to her future. But Suki had been looking through the window and was hesitant about the sudden U-turn her mind would have to take if she were to change the direction of her eyesight. She trusts her strong instincts, after all she is a cancer, and sits in a café after her interview. She looks down at the stack of magazines laid out in front of her, and glides her hands over the glossy papers. 

My first day at work, flipping through the magazines..

She flips the pages, breathes in the fresh odor of newly printed paper and her 12 year old self appears in her mind. She is reminded of the joy she felt as she organized her Goosebumps collection on her shelf. The sight of her novels lined up according to size which then developed into bulky academic books she refused to get rid of. She was attached to her books, they were her prized possessions. The reason behind her current technophobic habits. *The sound of construction outside obstructs her nostalgic thoughts* Without thinking any further, without planning or calculating she decides to take the job. Discrediting her initial thoughts of irrationality, a newfound belief in herself gives her a rush of confidence.

***

It’s hard to believe that it’s already been three months, and I just closed my second issue. When I first moved to Lebanon last year, I wanted to meet people. Through CaféBeirut, I met Rana and through Rana
 I met my current boss. I put myself out there, and took initiative. I interviewed designers, did photoshoots for fun and promoted artists whose work I appreciated. I got invited to fashion shows and launches, and after leaving Lebanon I was asked to review St.Elmo’s restaurant. Sure, it was fun. But it all felt too small. Never did I think that I would end up doing all those things on a higher more professional level.  Was it possible for me to get paid to write about food, well-being, fashion, society and health? I guess the energy that I put into this blog is what led me to the life I’m leading now….

1 month later..my first issue 

The life of an editor is quite interesting actually. It all starts with laying out an issue and brainstorming on what will go in there. Other than working on the issue itself however, there’s a lot of networking involved. My calendar fills up with events, media presentations and launches for high end brands that I have to attend. This is where the pr comes in. Some events stand out more than others. Many of them take place in malls, and others occur in luxury hotels and special venues. Some of them manage to stand out, others fail to do so.

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Suki arrived at the media breakfast for a high end jewelry brand. It was in her nature to socialize over a meal, and breakfast was her favorite one. But on this morning she was nervous. Afterall, people were starting to notice the new face and were becoming more and more interested in putting a name to it. Walking into the venue was like walking into a high school cafeteria as a teenager, on your first day of school. Standing at the entrance, glancing around for a spot to sit in, fully aware of all the eyes that are measuring your every move. Trying your best to look nonchalant while hiding your braces and the fact that you’re actually a nervous wreck. You wait for that one smile, one wave, one sign of friendliness that can instantly bring back your confidence. Suki was surrounded by successful people, not 15 year old high school students. Editors and sales managers of some of the biggest magazines in the city, and around the world. But it felt the same. The popular kids sat together, laughing and chit-chatting. And even though some of them recognized her, no one invited her to come sit with them. Holding her dignity very high, she proceeded to the back of the room where she would find a comforting seating with her colleague. Then it comes, the first sign of friendliness. Two people she briefly met before, join her table and express their fondness of her. They go on to introduce her to other people. Although she may seem like a social butterfly, she actually gets very nervous on these occasions. When she senses a positive vibe, she doesn’t shy away from talking to people, introducing herself and making a connection. But it seems as though, that positive vibe doesn’t come around that often in this field. Why can’t everyone just be…nice?  

the media breakfast...just so you have a visual :)