Days of the New

The Great April Experiment continues, with me living in Upside-Down Land, doing new things every day, feeling absolutely exhausted yet being occasionally surprised that my brain is capable of functioning in ways I knew not.

Today, for instance, I rose at 6 to drive to Newport and judge entries for the AMA Marketer of the Year. At first, I was worried I would get it "wrong." Would I know what I was doing? Then it hit me: I'm a consumer. So if someone's marketing isn't working on me, then, well, it probably isn't working at all.

This afternoon I attended a workshop on the tools Enquirer Media sales reps use to sell ads and track their customers. It was equal parts intriguing and terrifying -- there's a bit of a "1984" element to the oversight involved -- but I absolutely came away with new respect for how hard those reps are working every day.

And right before signing on here, I was chatting up a photographer about possibilities for addressing Cincinnati's proliferation of gun violence. I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that I never before had participated in such a conversation.

Last night at Boardway Bound, I learned about financial procedures and policies for non-profit arts organizations and got a primer on how The Carnegie in Covington was turned around in the past 16 months. In all honesty, I don't think I was aware of The Carnegie 16 months ago.

So, the good news is, my brain still works. Perhaps selectively, at times, but its capacity for learning is still there -- and yearning to be free.

The question now is: What do I do with it? And how does one know when newness is better, and not just different?

While you ponder that, I'm going to solve all of Cincinnati's gun problems. Or die trying.