Fifteen Minutes: Editor's Note: Work In Progress

For anxiety relief beyond breathing into a lunch bag or picturing your interviewers in their skivvies, look no further. This week FM chronicles a voyage to New York City, where three FM bloodhounds did the deed with some young, hotshot I-bankers and consultants. Their question: What exactly do these guys do all day?

Last week, FM was doing the hiring. In the week before Thanksgiving, we interviewed next year's crop of editors. In their interviews and position papers, they let us know what we've been doing wrong.

Some warned against the evils of "it" pens and reckless em-dashing; others spoke more generally about replacing fluff with humor and analysis. The best part came when we asked our candidates to describe FM in three adjectives. We got some eyebrow-raising responses: "blase," "slick," "sexy," "caffeinated," "unpredictable," "hip," "light," "fast-paced," "revealing," "witty," "lighthearted," "authoritative," "entertaining," "original" and "flashy," they supplied. Last year around this time, my application proposed "sharp," "ironic" and "disenchanted." FM has changed, and I don't know what to do.

Many editors-elect called for an overhaul. The New Yorker (slummed down)? Something like Newsweek? Or The New York Times Magazine? Had we ever read Fluff at Night?

All this talk about FM's identity got us thinking. Mid-pow-wow in Aaron's room, we broke out three-and-a-half years worth of vintage FMs. We were humbled. Each year has its own identity and from year-to-year, the magazine has not always been consistent. Nothing even looked the same--so where was our FM?

Realizing that the magazine will change makes it hard to hand it over, even to a crew of extremely talented and energetic people. What will they do with our FM?

Identity is a work in progress. When I meet an old friend from camp and tell them that today I highlight my hair, drink Coke and gave up rhythmic gymnastics years ago, they are shocked. Anna never did these things. Whether these changes are for the best is another question.

So when it is hard to square your life with I-banking or consulting, think again. What you become, becomes you--you will always be yourself. And FM will be FM.