And they say print is dead...
Erica (Glamour): Married to Fuzzy, a guy I knew from the live-lit/internet/comedy scene in Chicago, she and I really got to know each other when I used to string for Glamour magazine and ended up emailing her about her willingness to give a quote for a story. I liked the way she emailed, and we started up a penpalship (and also, she gave me a quote.) We are now good friends: she's one of my favorite people to eat and drink and exercise with (she introduced me to Dance Dance Party Party) and has performed in Funny Ha-Ha.
Courtney (Washingtonian): I used to live in Washington DC and became interested in Courtney's work after reading a story she did about weight loss and running a marathon. I continued to follow her weight loss column in Shape magazine and now I listen, starstruck, to her stories about her travels and experiences writing for fancy places like the Times Style section and People (she has some delightful celebrity tales.) We had brunch together in Chicago last spring and she frequently listens to me patiently when I complain about writing and super-generously supplies advice.
Imani (Shape): Around 2004, after Courtney's tenure was up, I auditioned for the role of weight loss columnist for Shape and got so far along in the process that the editors flew me out for an interview at the Carlyle hotel in Manhattan (after getting picked up by a black car at the airport and put up for a night at a boutique hotel). It was all very exciting. I did not get the job (but did eventually lose the weight!) I'm a "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" type and reached out to the lady who did get the job, a writer and lovely woman named Imani. I've seen her a few times when I've been in New York and am love with her beautiful smile. I keep up with her writing and her adorable baby boy on Facebook.
E. Jean (Elle): Funny, witty, charming advice columnist for Elle, she was my favorite part of basically all women's magazines and graciously allowed me to interview her for Zulkey.com some years ago. We chatted on the phone (which I don't usually do, because I am too lazy to transcribe an interview a week) and I had so much fun speaking with her. We haven't actually technically met in real life but I don't think she would mind if I included her here, because we do have fun keeping up on Facebook and Twitter.
Kelly (ElleGirl): Awhile ago a friend of mine I originally knew through mediabistro (the list of friends I have because of the Internet would be more like a novella than a blog post), Melissa Walker, hooked me up with a sweet gig at ElleGirl. My job was to write a monthly column about Kelly as she went through her four years in high school. I accompanied her to her first day of school, spoke with her about her parents, breakups, hairstyles and and nose piercing. She let me go on a few group dates with her and to shadow her at the mall (which all sounds incredibly creepy now.) Sadly, ElleGirl folded sometime during Kelly's sophomore year of high school but we still keep up on Facebook and I still have a Christmas present she once gave me (a block of glass with some palm trees etched inside it that sits upon a little glowing platform.)