As the editorial director of Southwest's inflight magazine, Spirit , I  like to whine to the mucketymucks at Pace Communications, the magazine's publisher, about all the hard work we mag folk do. But between you and me, we have way more fun than anyone has a right to. Here's some of the drudgery we went through to put out the current issue:

- Design Director Kevin de Miranda had to fly to L.A. to direct an exclusive photo shoot with Magic Johnson, who's now a wildly successful entrepreneur. Kevin asked Magic to throw paper into a wastebasket while sitting at his desk. He gamely threw shot after shot until we got the right photo. Most of his attempts, I'm sorry to report, missed.

- Assistant Editor Jessica Bridges spent many hours researching weird holidays you've never heard of, from Hairstyle Appreciation Day (we ran a photo of Donald Trump's hair) to Eat Your Vegetables Day. We were stumped on how to illustrate Inconvenience Yourself Day. Finally, I said, “Just run the type upside down.” Thus I can take credit for inconveniencing several million Southwest Customers.

-Another Assistant Editor, Kim Garza, flew to Jackson, Mississippi, to do a story for our “Adventure In” series. She came back raving about what a great “eating town” it is. Her favorite meal? The shrimp Po'boy at the Good Time Deli.

The editors rigorously tested a great many office toys, putting them through real-world experiences in our cubicles. We loved playing with the Dynaflex Center Force TourGrip Gyro Trainer available at Amazon, which improves your golf swing while annoying your coworkers (the thing vibrates, making an audible buzz), but the coolest toy of all is virtual: Etch-a-Sketch online works just like the real thing. Except you don't shake your laptop to clear the picture. You just hit a button.

Exhausted by our journalistic efforts, we tested the Cranberry Shrub, a mocktail that's amazingly refreshing. You'll find the recipe, and the stories mentioned above, on the Spirit web site.