Guest Post: Michael Kraiger

Currently, Marie is super-busy and despairs over not having enough time to dedicate to writing her blog and worries that her loyal readers and the random cyber-stalker or two may grow bored with the occasional photo of a giant hot dog on a chair rather than an actual post.

So, here it is, Marie's blog written by one of the supporting cast. I'm the guy who turns up when she mentions baking pie, watercraft in the meadowlands, hiking small mountains or lifting heavy objects.

I'm not sure about this whole blogging thing, so I decided to give a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse at the gal-on-the-go, Marie.

Mornings are a sacred thing to Marie, so her whole morning routine is shrouded in secrecy. I have sussed out that it involves an individually brewed cup of coffee (she buys the good stuff) and some very important ‘me’ time. House guests take note: When staying with Marie, it's best to pull the covers up over your head and pretend you're sleeping until she leaves for work, or I'll never hear the end of it.

Marie arrives at the office and immediately dives right into the day—Facebook, Sitemeter and whatever yelling at freelancers or "Can you believe it?" about the incredible nonsense work that needs to be done. Once work is underway, there's room for a little office banter, and the topic usually falls into one of two categories: how incredibly stupid the general population is (this based on comments on news stories or random snippets overheard on the elevator) or what incredibly cool things she's done since I last saw her. This is my favorite topic because I rarely have cool things that I've done since I last saw Marie.

Marie doesn't get nearly enough recognition for the work she does. As an editor in chief she's dealing with the home office in Kuwait, freelance creative types in England, Brooklyn, Des Moines, Salt Lake City, Arizona and a few scattered about California too. She’s juggling the schedule of a weekly comic strip (4-5 freelancers involved) and a comic book (5-8 freelancers involved) while providing answers to the aforementioned home office, various international magazines, an errant consultant, a couple of lawyers and whatever other weirdness slips in the door. She also knows the production end of things, and frequently corrects the goofs that occur, whether incorrectly drawn uniforms or misspelled word balloons.

And then one o'clock rolls around and I hear... "What am I going to eat today?"

After her panini is consumed with chips and a pickle—once in a great while it's pasta or a salad but mostly panini—it's right back to Facebook...I mean work.

Around three o'clock, I hear the familiar, "I'm sleepy, I think I'm allergic to dill."

That's when I jump in with the offer to fetch some coffee, and Marie says, "Good coffee or the crappy stuff they have in the kitchen?"

Back to work for another couple of hours and we're dealing with the answers to all the problems of the world (in the comic book) and the mental breakdowns of our close personal friends.

Then it's quitting time and Marie is off to who-knows-where, a concert or play in the park, or the class she teaches at SVA or perhaps it's a robot-building class she's taking in Brooklyn, or a reading by an admired travel writer. Sometimes it’s dinner or coffee with a friend, but often enough it's a short jaunt to an out-of-the-way corner of our great metropolis for an examination of something odd.

Two other things you should know about our gal-on-the-go, she reads an awful lot and her calendar is chock-full. I've seen it on her desk and the next few weeks are all scribbled in. So no complaints about this fill-in blog. She's busy.

      —Michael Kraiger