Filed under: Bloggy McBloggerson
Hi, I’m not here today. I’m studying for my last final of the semester, which my ridiculously square professor has scheduled for Friday night, 6-8pm. I’ve never even HAD class on Friday! Not that I’m bitter or anything, but, well, I’m bitter. I tell you, this is not the way to start a weekend.
I could fill your heads with promises of regular posting for the next little while, now that the semester is over and I (hypothetically) have time to breathe…but instead I will direct you to Cheeky Monkey, where I have taken over her lovely, European blog with tales of whether or not I prefer to be naked. Yep, I said it.
This is my 700th post on this little ‘ole blog. Seven hundred little pieces of my brain/heart/soul are now flouncing about The Internet. Sometimes it makes me a little queasy to think about. Most of the time it gives me happy butterflies in my stomach. In the last several years I have become a better writer, have honed the ability to think outside the box, and have increased my vocabulary–both legit and acronym-ed and have begun to at least contemplate my skills as a very amateur photographer. I attribute these directly to blogging. That is all lovely and all, but the biggest benefit of this little Blogging Experiment has been the relationships I have developed with so many wonderful people around the world.
I started reading Janet’s blog before I started blogging…mostly because as the Queen of Love Is Blonde she had the URL I wanted. Initially, I was bugged that someone had already stolen my idea, but after reading her for, oh, 3 minutes, I quickly decided she was lovely and absolutely the best owner of that particular site. Over the years we’ve exchanged dozens of emails and comments and I think she knows more about me than many of my “real life” friends. It was absolutely delightful to finally be able to meet her. And who knew, but we could probably pass as sisters most of the time.
We chatted about families, friends, boys, relationships, and how the mountains in The West are far superior to any others. It was just like meeting any girlfriend for lunch. Goodness, she is delightful!
I have also been reading Mel‘s blog–full of book reviews, art, recipe’s and her travel adventures–for a few years now and we have exchanged vents and complaints on boys for ages now. Mel showed me around Georgetown and where one should go for the best cupcakes.
I am well aware that I have been woefully absent from my little corner of the Internet the last several weeks. For heaven’s sake, I’ve been back from Washington DC for a month (with two other trips in the meantime) and I still haven’t finished blogging all my adventures! Here’s the thing, lately I have felt frightfully censored. Some of my “real life” friends have been reading far too much into my writing, and others have passed my blog address to people I’d rather not read my inner thoughts. There is drama all over the place and I feel like I can’t talk about anything important, and I don’t want to talk about fluff.
I made a resolve today. I will not let my audience, or potential audience, have such a say in my writing. I will not be mean-spirited or cruel, but I will be honest. And if you (you know who you are) don’t like it, don’t agree, or are otherwise offended, you can just go ahead and close this window, delete me from your feed and let me be. Alrighty? Alrighty.
That being said, please anticipate a rash of updates, I need to churn out the rest of my Washington DC thoughts, whirl through a lovely weekend in San Francisco, and at least touch on a windy-but-otherwise-relaxing weekend in Utah’s Red Rock Country. You’ve been warned.
Filed under: Bloggy McBloggerson
The following is not written by me. It’s by Anonymous. Today is the First Great Blog Share of 2010; participants have sent the delightful host, Abbersnail, the ranting and venting they cannot publish on their own blogs and she has distributed it to bloggy safe-havens. My rant is somewhere out there under another the (ubiquitous) pseudonym Anonymous. The list of all participating blogs is at the end of this post, go forth and read the honest, the real, the heartbreaking, the awesome. And please leave your resident Anonymous poster a little comment love.
—-
I am quitting my job. For real this time.
I’ve said it many times before. I even had something approaching a plan last summer, but a friend and co-worker talked me out of it. Her reasoning went like this: “You can tell the boss that you’re unhappy, and maybe she’ll fix it. Or you can quit, and you’ll have to tell the boss anyway.”
This was a very good point. I told the boss.
The person in charge of my department is an amazing woman. I adore her and will remain very loyal to her even after I’m gone. I cried when I told her I was unhappy. I couldn’t believe it when she said she would fix the problem.
I went back to the three people who’d offered me jobs, and I told them that I was staying in my current position. I believed then, and I still believe, that if your boss tells you not to go because the problem is fixable, you owe it to your boss to stick around to see if it really can be fixed.
It turns out that the problem is not fixable, because I am part of the problem. I’m not going to get into the details, because that’s all you really need to know. If I did not react the way I do, there would be no problem at all. A stronger person than I would not be looking for work.
So here I am, looking for work and considering how to tell the boss, the truly lovely woman I am very loyal to. I have the beginnings of a plan. It involves taking a vacation this summer that is timed perfectly so that I can leave my job, have a real holiday, and come back to the new job. Somehow I doubt it will all work out quite so well. But it’s nice to imagine.
I made the decision to leave in a heartbeat on Thursday, April 29. I left a meeting, and I was angry. Even a few days later, I did not remember what I was angry about. I suppose that’s very telling. Anyway, I was angry, and ranting to myself, and by chance, inside my head, I said seven little words: “I thought things would be better when — “.
And I stopped.
And I realized that I have said those words to myself before. Time after time, I have reassured myself that things would be better at some point in the future. I always had a date in mind. And when that date came, and things were not better, I would adjust the timeline and tell myself that things would be better on another date in the future. But things don’t change, even when the calendar does, because I am part of the problem.
It takes much longer to explain it than it actually took to happen. Inside my head, it went like this: “I thought things would be better when — oh.” And it was done. I made up my mind in that moment that I was leaving. And, just like that, the problem no longer bothered me. It is over.
I am very sad to think about leaving all of the wonderful people who have made my working experience so great over the past few years. But it is a huge relief to know that I am leaving.
—-
For the rest of the blog share entries, please see the list below:
A Little Coffee
With My Cream and Sugar
And You Know
What Else
Another Bloody Mary
Bright Yellow World
Cake or Death
Dispatches from
the Failed Mommies Club
Feel Me Don’t You
Heidikins
Hot
Chicks Dig Smart Men
Kirida
Malfeasance
My 33 People
Nothing Is Easier Than Self-Deceit
Postcards from Inania
Rediscovering Me
Snow
Covered Hills
Tales of a
tree-hugging 2L
The Gay
White North
The Little Goat
The Opposite
of Classy
Filed under: Bloggy McBloggerson
The following post was not written by me, it is part of the lovely Blog Share organized by -R- from And You Know What Else. I have an anonymous post published elsewhere on The Internets (but I’m not telling you where, it’s a secret) and the post below is from an anonymous BlogFriend. From the sounds of things, it looks like she could use a little support, please leave some comment love. For a complete list of participating Blog Sharers (is that even a word?) check the bottom of this post.
———————–
I hate my job. I know I am supposed to be grateful that I have a job. I would rather have my job than no job, but I don’t think that means I have to like it or that I can’t complain.
My friend’s wife is pregnant with their third kid. My friend’s boss told him not to tell anyone at work that his wife is pregnant because management won’t think my friend is dedicated to his job if he has “too many” kids.
The men at my job are supposed to have kids because it makes them look well-rounded, but I guess they aren’t supposed to have more than two kids, and they definitely aren’t supposed to actually spend time with their kids.
My friend who worked during her “maternity leave” and traveled to speak at a conference on behalf of our company during her “maternity leave” was told when she came back from leave that she didn’t seem dedicated to her job and will not be promoted.
Our pay was cut, but we have to work more hours.
I know three senior men who are currently have affairs with junior women who work for them. The official policy is that these kind of affairs are not allowed. One of the men having an affair was recently promoted.
I had an interview at a different company two weeks ago. Today I got a call that the company wants me to come back and meet with a few more people. If I don’t get this new job, I am going to be devastated.
———————–
Check these out for more Blog Share posts:
Not the Daddy
O is for Olson
Red Red Whine
Rediscovering Me
Reflections in the Snow-covered Hills
The Reluctant Grownup
Sauntering Soul
Serendipity Now
Snarke
So, This Is a Treadmill
Thinking Some More
Time for Change
Together They Come
Wondering and Pondering
And You Know What Else
Andrea Unplugged
Arctic-ulate
Bright Yellow World
Bwildered
Catheroominations
Did I Say That Outloud?
Dispatches from the Failed Mommy Club
Full of Snark
Hot Chicks Dig Smart Men
Just Below 63
The Little Goat
While I was hanging out in Denver–obsessing about the train–I had the chance to meet up with Jess for brunch. I have been reading her blog for a year or two and I felt like I knew her already…however I was still nervous about it. Like the first-day-of-school kind of nervous, a bit jittery. I had absolutely no reason to worry. Jess is just as fantastic in Real Life as I would have imagined, we sat and talked for ages about relationships, blogging, life, and even a bit of politics thrown in and it was absolutely lovely. We chatted like we’d known each other for ages and I can hardly explain how fantastic it felt to go to a new city and instantly have a friend. Thank you Jess for a fabulous morning, you are gorgeous!
On Monday morning I got laid off again. Wait, what? Nope, it’s true. Laid. Off. This is the second time in under a month…by THE SAME COMPANY! Part of me wants to publicly blast them here for having absolutely no business sense, for treating their employees like garbage, and for repeatedly lying to my face about my position, the financial state of their business, and my future with them. A few weeks ago when I was laid off I was upset and spent the day changing up the decor in my dining room. This time I was angry. Really, really angry. I actually don’t remember ever being that upset; I wanted to punch someone in the face (specifically, my former boss), I wanted to throw things just to see them break, I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs. Instead, I tied on my running shoes and headed up the mountain, I ran until I threw up, and it was only then that I felt a little better. As I walked/limped home I tried to think about what, exactly, I was going to do. No answer came. So, I did what any normal person would do, I took out any remaining aggression on my dining room, which is turning out quite nicely and I promise to post pics when it is done.
Now, thankfully, this story has a happy ending. I have another job, a better job, a fantastic job. I start on Monday. I’m hesitant to share any kind of real details, but I will be going back to my advertising roots and I will be working with some absolutely fantastic people. Also, it is entirely possible that my stories of chatting with the likes of Tea Leoni will be far more frequent. Can I please get a Woot! Woot!
*I know it seems like I am the kind of person who never works anywhere for more than a month or two…I promise I am not that person. It’s true that I have had a lot of jobs, particularly recently, and quite a bit of bad luck. I am hoping that this will FINALLY be the turning point for me. I kind of feel like I need to defend my “good employee” status, but I am hoping that you, dear Internet, are wise enough to look past my habitual bad luck and bad situations. And if not? Well, then just delete me from your feed reader and spend your online time solely on those who have Extremely Good Luck. I’m sure when they win the lottery they’ll share it with you.
….it’s okay, I’ll wait…
Are you still here? Ok, good, then I guess we’re still friends. Actually, I know we’re still friends. In the last week or two as I’ve been trying to adjust to my newly single life I have been surprised and amazed at the outpouring of support from this little corner of the Internet. You have left comments, sent emails and voicemails and twits and chats and text messages…is anyone else, at times, baffled by the amount of communication-based technology? Goodness! I’ve received a half dozen laugh-inducing links to cheer me up, my favorite being this one. A very kind soul even sent me a little treat from Barnes and Noble, which actually made me tear up a little. I am a bit hesitant to call her out on it here–but if you’re reading, I hope you realize that your thoughtful gesture was the kindest I have received in months; thank you from the bottom of my book-loving heart.
Yesterday Erin invited me to lunch for some dim sum and listened to my “I’m a failure” whining, and proceeded to cheer me up immensly with stories and new ideas and–that most elusively intangible–hope. If you don’t read her, I highly suggest you add her to your f’reader; she is a fantastic writer, she’s real, she’s raw, and she the most fascinating stories and perspective.
What am I trying to say? I’m not really sure, actually. But I am quite positive that you are one of the most amazing group of people I have ever had the priviledge to meet. You are my Internet Ladies–except for Sov, who is super manly–and you sure know how to make a girl down on her luck feel like a million bucks. A mere “thank you” hardly seems to cover it, but I stopped tap dancing ages ago and am too rusty to give you a appreciative tap dance.
Last year, about this time, I could count the times I had cooked a “real” meal on approximately seven fingers. I hated cooking and felt I was terrible at it. And then came Whip It Up–a recipe challenge that I absolutely fell in love with. I tried several new recipies, learned a ton about cooking, baking, and grocery shopping and now feel completely confident in the kitchen. I even busted out my KitchenAid Mixer, which, I’m sorry to say, had been sitting in it’s box for over five years. I know. You may shun me. Last year’s Whip It Up recipe’s included:
- Salsa Padre
- Lemon Madeleines
- Apple Pie
- Tin Foil Dinners (over a camp fire, no less)
- Roasted Potatoes with Artichoke Hearts
- Lemon Bars
- Garlic-Lime Chicken with Cafe Rio’s Cilantro Rice
- Aloha Sweet-n-Sour Chicken with Coconut Rice
- Key Lime Pie-Cakes (one of my all-time favorite desserts)
- Cafe Rio’s Pork Barbacoa Salad with Tomatillo Dressing
I feel like I have moved up in the cooking world. I have a cooking blog that I *try* to update on a semi-regular basis. I take pictures of every recipe I try–even the bad ones. (I am made fun of this all the time, I got over it.) I am currently reading Julia Child’s book, “My Life in France“, and absolutely loving how she talks about cooking and food. And over the weekend I saw a preview for the upcoming movie “Julie & Julia” which is about, Julie, a regular non-cook who decides to cook her way through Julia Child’s recipe book. Oh my goodness, I am so incredibly excited for this! I might have peed a little during the preview. Seriously. (Shhh, don’t tell anyone.)
At any rate, blogs and books and new movies aside, Whip It Up is back this summer and I for one can’t WAIT to get started! If you want to participate–and I highly recommend that you do–simply email your URL and your intent to whip to whippingitup[at]gmail[dot]com and you’ll be all set!
Millions of thank-you’s in advance to Erin and Julie, this year’s fearless Whip It Up hosts!
Filed under: Bloggy McBloggerson
There are some kinds of news, old or not, that should be shared regardless. Quite a while ago I entered a contest over at Nancy Pearl Wannabe’s place and not quite as long ago I received my prize; a pile of Japanese candy and goodies that I have been drooling over and devouring one at a time to savor them. The ginger candies are my absolute favorite!
(Isn’t this just fantastic?! I absolutely love all these little pieces of Japanese candy, celebratory fans and coins and other deliciousness!)
Also included, but not pictured here because I was probably wearing it, was the most delicious scarf in dark purple and a beautiful teal color. Oh my laws, I love it! (Don’t worry, there are pics so you can drool over it as well.) NPW really did a number on her prize package and it absolutely made my day! Thanks chica!
My several-weeks-ago meet-up with Isabel, Marci, Britt, Becky, Monica and Christar is one of those “must be shared” bits. I have loved The Pie restaurant publicly for ages and privately for even longer than that. And when the idea of meeting up with these lovely ladies started to evolve into pizza, I knew The Pie was it.
Christar & I got there a bit early and started on a fantastic project. You see, the Pie has this fantastic tradition of allowing their customers to autograph or graffiti the walls however they see fit. I bought one of those mini sample size Gimmel paints that you are supposed to use to try out a paint color in your home, or bricks at underground restaurants. Christar and I quickly painted a few bricks “Sexy Pink” and tried to ignore all the crazy looks we got from various other patrons, waiters and the owner himself. Hey, if they allow wall graffiti, they can’t be picky when we paint the thing pink.
(See that bright pink patch? It’s now famous all over the Internet.)
They also can’t be upset that we graffitied our URL’s all over their wall. It’s considerably more refined than “heidi was here” or “for a good time call….” Whatever, it was awesome.
Sitting and chatting for hours with a handful of bloggy friends was even more awesome.
(Monica, Marci, Heidi, Isabel, Becky, Britt, Christar)
Laws, we had a fantastic time! The pizza was incredible, the cookie-dough dessert thingy that I have been fantasizing about ever since. It always amazes me how a group of almost strangers can chat about everything and nothing for hours and hours like old friends–it’s fabulous; and perhaps the thing I love the most about The Internet. Let’s do it again ladies, ok? (photos from Isabel)
Because I’m on the topic of bloggy friends, I thought I’d post this tidbit about Janssen, who just graduated with her Masters in Library Science. She was here in Salt Lake a couple of months ago and we met up at the library for an hour or two–and I never actually posted the pics–so congrats Janssen, you are amazing!
Ok, I think I’m all caught up on bloggy things. The moral of this story is bloggers are lovely people and I hope you all meet a handful of your favorites sometime soon! (Those of you going to BlogHer, I’m terribly jealous. We’ll leave it at that.)
Filed under: Bloggy McBloggerson
Only one will be declared a winner.
According to Random Number Generator, that winner is…
……
Number 35! Julie from Moments of Perfect Clarity!!! Julie will be receiving a care package including a Ruthie Pearl bag of her choice as well as a bunch of other goodies I’ve been stashing into the “Roxy Birthday Present” pile.
I hope you all had a great weekend, thank you for stopping by!
I can hardly believe it has been an entire year since I purchased (and Janet named) the sass-tastic Miss Red Roxy. And I think that alone is reason to celebrate, don’t you?
I have decided to host a little “Happy Birthday Roxy!” contest, complete with presents! One lucky winner will receive a fabulous Ruthie Pearl bag from the new, spring line. There are adorable new fabrics and delectable color combo’s, check them out here. I will be stuffing the bag of your choice (whether it is the Heidi print or otherwise) with goodies and sending it along next week.
Roxy’s official birthday is Sunday, and the winner will be announced next Monday. To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment on this post before Saturday, April 25 at midnight (one entry per blogger, please).
I think I’m getting old, or something. Lately there are some things about The Internets that I just can’t handle. I realize that part of my problem is due to my subscribing to, and then actually reading an enormous list of blogs. With that many Internet-users I am bound to come up against some who just drive me crazy. I also realize that the other part of my problem is that I am currently locked out from most of my online reading material due to evil Internet Monitoring Bots at my Company. And, I’m craving chocolate, which means I’m a bit cranky. And, for the first time, I had my feelings hurt via Facebook. So I’m perhaps a bit more hostile towards The Internet than I would be on say, a normal, uneventful Friday. That being said, I believe this next little rant is completely valid.
- I hate (some) Mommy Blogs”, please don’t throw rotten fruit at me. I have a separate file for Mommy blog feeds that I skim–very quickly–once a week or so, and barring anything interesting, mark the whole thing as “read.” I care about your children, and your experience, and your hard days…I do. But I don’t really care to look at 57 pictures of your child every single week. I’m sorry. Please don’t hate me. For what it’s worth, when you take the time to write something, even if it is about Mommyhood, I will generally read and usually respond. The only reason I have subscribed to your feed in the first place is because I care about you, about what you think, you do, you want. I understand kiddos play into that in a major way, but I’m still more interested in you.
- I hate people who post pictures of their naked children and I think they should be voted off the Internet. I will agree that the pic of your little tyke looking over his/her shoulder while holding onto the side of the bathtub is cute–but do not, I repeat DO NOT! post a picture of your son’s little-boy parts, or your daughter’s little-girl parts. Hello, there are pedophiles all over the Internet (some who may have wandered here inadvertently looking for kiddie-porn…move it along, Sicko’s, nothing to see here). Technically that kind of photographic oversharing could land you a citation for child-porn. Don’t do it. Ever. I don’t care if “the rest of the picture was just too cute”. Put it in an album for grandma, or use it as blackmail for when your precious bebe turns into a hellacious teenager, but please don’t post it on the Internet. Mmmmkay?
- I hate bloggers who post six or seven posts every single day. I love you, I do. But if you average 8+ posts per week I will delete you. I just don’t have the time, energy, or literary focus to concentrate on your uncondensed thought stream. I’m sorry.
- I hate people who link first and last names to blogs that are trying to be anonymous-ish. I don’t want someone from my Real Life–like my boss, or a future employer, or the creepy guy from church who is just a little too interested in what block I live–to be able to Google me and instantly discover this little corner of the Internet. Yes, I put my blog up, it’s not private, and I post personal information here. But I don’t post my last name. Ever. And I don’t think it’s fair that you do either. I think the general rule is that if they have a Wikipedia page, they are fair game. If they use their full, real name online, they are fair game. Otherwise, ask permission. K?
- I hate people who post shyte. Literally. A was reading a post the other day about spring and the flowers and new beginnings and there were some gorgeous springy-photos of said flowers and new beginnings…and then there was a photo of their dog’s shit. Seriously. A close-up. What. The. Hell. Why would you do that? Dog shit? Really? Come on!
Are you still here? Are you mad? Please don’t be mad. Just don’t post pictures of your naked child’s naked-parts, and don’t ruin a lovely post about spring flowers with a big pile of steamy dog shit. Please? Ok, truce? Deal.
