So, as day becomes night and night becomes day tomorrow, I'll be on a train from New Haven barreling towards Grand Central Station. Why? For the desi bloggers meetup in Manhattan of course. I am calling it Manhattan Masala, but I am sure we'll come up with something more elegant over the course of a meal and few drinks.

The venue is Bay Leaf. The time, 1.30 p.m. So far 26 of you have RSVP'd on time (deadline was March 31). Those who are emailing me today – sorry, we would love to accommodate you next year (or sooner). Space at the restaurant is really tight and we have only till 3 p.m. to meet, greet and eat.

The weather is set to be wet, so wear a poncho, carry an umbrella, do a rain dance or whatever catches your fancy. Rain or shine, we are going to be there.

As I said, the first two bloggers to get there receive a copy of Pooja Makhijani's book, Under Her Skin.

To see who is coming, you will have to surf to my site – Tiffinbox – and look in the right column under Manhattan Masala for the names of bloggers and the number of guests they are bringing. I am looking forward to putting faces to URLs. [Thanks JD!]

Via Sean Hintz – Photo Editor, ESPN.com

Do you love sports? Do you work well under tight deadlines and pressure packed situations? As Associate Photo editor, you’ll work with the Photo Imaging Group and the editorial staff to publish the most compelling images onto the internet’s most trafficked sports website. We’ll need you to have an eye for color, and photo layout, as well as have thorough knowledge of photo editing and production software. You’ll need to be able to take direction while adding your own flavor. You’ll be expected to work nights, weekends, and some holidays. The Assistant Photo Editor must be willing and able to communicate clearly with outside sources of photos, including freelancers, wire services, as well as public and private institutions.
 
Job Requirements: BA or BFA in Digital Art, newsroom experience, expert sports knowledge (current and historical)

Specific Skills – Expert knowledge of PhotoShop, Illustrator or Freehand and other related imaging software
?- Thorough grasp of digital imagery, and it’s preparation for web publishing.
– Strong Communication skills.
– Working understanding of FTP?- Ability to multi-task and work on several projects at once

Title: Assistant Photo Editor, ESPN.com?Department: ESPN.com?Location: Bristol, Connecticut
Hours: 30/week
Shift: Nights/Weekends

Please understand that there are no relocation expenses nor health benefits attached to this position. However, for those who are recent graduates, this is a great foot-in-the-door opportunity to get into an exciting world of sports news broadcasting, though there are no guarantees it will convert into a full-time position.

Interested? Please contact Sean Hintz at:
sean.m.hintz[at]espn3[dot]com with your resume/CV and your questions.

Good luck!

Kiruba Shankar is a blogger based in Chennai. He has quite a following. I check his site about once a month. More recently he was to have hosted the Bharateeya Blog Mela. That's what brought me to his site a couple of days back. Well, there I saw his announcement that he would be suspending his blog. I called it a sick April-fool's joke and so it was. Just about everyone commenting on this “last” post seemed to get a whiff of bull$&)*wafting from his site. But even people like the conservative blogger Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit.com bid him adieu – “I'm not in this place, but I understand. When it's not fun anymore, it's time to quit.”

There is a lot of burn-out in the blogging world. Some start with a few posts and the site lays dormant until it just goes away one day. What motivates me about blogging is that I am able to share with you what I have found or seen or what I have been thinking about. The blogging world is truly a marketplace of ideas (yes, gross plagiarism on my part there). As Paul Graham commands: “publish stuff online, because an audience makes you write more, and thus generate more ideas.” How true!

So, what motivates you to blog and do you feel pressured to do it every day? How close are you to burning out and what do you do to bring back some sanity to your life? Do tell. And while it may still be April Fool's Day, do be honest with your responses.