The bride and groom before the ceremony:
Just two married siblings (but not to each other! Just realized that caption is ambiguous, ugh.):
I wonder what my grandpa is thinking. Probaby, "Gee I'm old."
Congratulations Brother and Connie!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Civil ceremonies...
at SF City Hall aren't just for the gays!
The bride and groom before the ceremony:
Just two married siblings (but not to each other! Just realized that caption is ambiguous, ugh.):
I wonder what my grandpa is thinking. Probaby, "Gee I'm old."
Congratulations Brother and Connie!
The bride and groom before the ceremony:
Just two married siblings (but not to each other! Just realized that caption is ambiguous, ugh.):
I wonder what my grandpa is thinking. Probaby, "Gee I'm old."
Congratulations Brother and Connie!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Muck
Where there is no vision,
the people perish.*
the people perish.*
I know that a parent's hopes and dreams for her child is the abundant fodder of therapy sessions, but I can't help having hopes and dreams for my future child.
One of my greatest hopes is that he/she will be a muckraker. Remember that term from your 5th grade US history book?
A muckraker is a special kind of journalist. One that reports on muck (yes, that's a technical term :-P). Future child will write about government corruption, kickbacks, and legitimated criminal rings. Future child will do 3 part segments on pedophilia, sex trafficking and modern day slavery. Future child will produce documentaries on the broken public education system, healthcare, and the oppression of the working poor. Whether in DC, Darfur or Dubai, future child will explore, expose, and bring to light the underbelly of the human condition.
Because where there is no vision, the people perish. We cannot be outraged by what we cannot see. We cannot be moved to action by what we do not acknowledge. And we cannot acknowledge what we do not know.
Future child will be like an anti-evangelist. Blessed are the feet of him who brings bad news, news of utter degeneration and depravity, who shines a light on injustice.
Injustice such as that of the approximately 200,000 political prisoners languishing away in North Korea's Labor Camps. Blaine Harden wrote a heartbreaking and soul-searing article on the miserable creatures who work 12-15 hour days, gums blackened from malnutrition and hunchbacked from weak bones.
Their crimes are purely political, which can be as petty as old wives talk, literally. One person was a former friend of Kim Jong Il’s wife and was imprisoned because she allegedly gossiped about the Dear Leader with the wife.
But not only was she imprisoned, her children and parents were too. North Korea has a strict policy of guilt by association whereby many generations are condemned together.
Rape, beatings, starvation--these are regular occurrences that not even suicide can assuage. The punishment for unilaterally ending your torture is the execution of the rest of your family.
So far, no high-profile person has taken up the plight of the prisoners. As Harden writes (quoting an activist), “Tibetans have the Dalai Lama and Richard Gere, Burmese have Aung San Suu Kyi, Darfurians have Mia Farrow and George Clooney. North Koreans have no one like that.”
I think there is no champion because there is very little awareness that this is happening. North Korea denies that these camps exist and all we have is the bitter testimony of survivors and former guards who are desperate to make a living--cash for testimony.
But the more this issue is brought to light, perhaps the more will be done.
By the way, Oprah (or Gayle!), if you’re reading this…
__________________________________________
*Yes, I know I'm totally abusing this verse. Poetic license!
Friday, July 17, 2009
The Unrepresentative
Meet America's first Chinese-American Congresswoman (finally! I can't believe it took this long!), Judy Chu:
First impressions--looks like your friendly local real estate agent! You can read all about it in this article.
Chu, a San Gabriel Valley Democrat, just won representation of the 32nd District where she first began her political activism as a college freshman in the 70's.
Far from elation as my primary reaction to this news, as a Chinese-American woman myself, I feel upset that Chu is more like the exception to the norm than the vanguard of a breaking wave.
To me, Chu represents (no pun intended) the utter lack of encouragement that Chinese-American families give their kids to pursue careers outside of the fields of medicine, business, science and technology.
Chu herself admits that she entered college intent on a computer science career before she felt the irresistable pull of politics. The article does not mention how her parents reacted to her detour, but I'm pretty sure they weren't too happy. A sure way to trigger disappointment and even disownment is to tell your Chinese parents that you want to have a career in the humanities, creative arts or social activism. "But why don't you want to be a doctor?!"
Call it financial risk aversion, call it mousiness, call it cowardice and conformist. Whatever it is in the psyche of the Chinese-American community it has long stifled and restricted the flow of Chinese-American participation in the avenues of cultural influence that matter most: the arts, media, social commentary and politics.
Chu is not representative of the average Chinese-American experience. Good for her, not so good for the average Chinese-American experience.
First impressions--looks like your friendly local real estate agent! You can read all about it in this article.Chu, a San Gabriel Valley Democrat, just won representation of the 32nd District where she first began her political activism as a college freshman in the 70's.
Far from elation as my primary reaction to this news, as a Chinese-American woman myself, I feel upset that Chu is more like the exception to the norm than the vanguard of a breaking wave.
To me, Chu represents (no pun intended) the utter lack of encouragement that Chinese-American families give their kids to pursue careers outside of the fields of medicine, business, science and technology.
Chu herself admits that she entered college intent on a computer science career before she felt the irresistable pull of politics. The article does not mention how her parents reacted to her detour, but I'm pretty sure they weren't too happy. A sure way to trigger disappointment and even disownment is to tell your Chinese parents that you want to have a career in the humanities, creative arts or social activism. "But why don't you want to be a doctor?!"
Call it financial risk aversion, call it mousiness, call it cowardice and conformist. Whatever it is in the psyche of the Chinese-American community it has long stifled and restricted the flow of Chinese-American participation in the avenues of cultural influence that matter most: the arts, media, social commentary and politics.
Chu is not representative of the average Chinese-American experience. Good for her, not so good for the average Chinese-American experience.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Random thought of the day: Consider Copper
Why don't we use copper for door handles, fixtures, and general surfaces that lots of strange people touch all the time?
Copper has long been known to have anti-microbial properties and it's not that expensive.
If any of you gentle readers have connections to the construction design and materials industry...think about it!
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
**Dispatch from the frontlines of the corporate firm world
1800 hours
Death by a thousand papercuts ensues.
I have become a drafting machine.
I eat, drink, pee and draft. That is all I do for 14 hours a day.
Provisions in the barracks (read: office) have been replenished with almonds and chocolate.
When will this barrage of work cease? It has lasted for a record 3 months now and no real end in sight.
Must take vacation before more work gets piled on.
Alice out.
Death by a thousand papercuts ensues.
I have become a drafting machine.
I eat, drink, pee and draft. That is all I do for 14 hours a day.
Provisions in the barracks (read: office) have been replenished with almonds and chocolate.
When will this barrage of work cease? It has lasted for a record 3 months now and no real end in sight.
Must take vacation before more work gets piled on.
Alice out.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Eureka!--The Obvious
When I read this article in the NYT I could not stop snickering in my head.
Not laughing, mind you, but snickering.
It's the classic example of academics being so caught up in their own little world that they don't realize they've spent their entire lives studying what everyone already KNOWS to be COMMON SENSE. It's the ultimate DUH.
I mean, seriously, academics are sometimes so proud of discovering the obvious. I don't need "experts" to tell me men prefer to marry younger, hotter women and that women prefer rich guys. Whatever evolutionary psychologists--that's not even a real science!
But I digress.
In this instance, what may seem obvious to you and me was apparently quite eye-opening to David Kessler, Harvard-educated pediatrician and head of the FDA under two presidents.
As the article explains, "In an experiment of one, Dr. Kessler tested his willpower by buying two gooey chocolate chip cookies that he didn’t plan to eat. At home, he found himself staring at the cookies, and even distracted by memories of the chocolate chunks and doughy peaks as he left the room. He left the house, and the cookies remained uneaten. Feeling triumphant, he stopped for coffee, saw cookies on the counter and gobbled one down.
'Why does that chocolate chip cookie have such power over me?' Dr. Kessler asked in an interview. 'Is it the cookie, the representation of the cookie in my brain? I spent seven years trying to figure out the answer.'"
So, let me get this straight buddy. You spent 7 years wondering why a cookie is delicious?! Because it's full of sugar and butter, Idiot!
Kessler has jotted down his oh-so-obvious thoughts and musings in a book called The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite.
The article gives us a hint into why Kessler is not aware that his oh-so-obvious thoughts are oh-so-obvious. Kessler was deeply involved in fighting big tobacco and saw all the sneaky, tricky, deceptive things big tobacco did to make their products addictive and delicious. So then he decided to turn that eagle-eye of his to another great American public health enemy: FOOD!
As the article explains "In The End of Overeating Dr. Kessler finds some similarities in the food industry, which has combined and created foods in a way that taps into our brain circuitry and stimulates our desire for more."
Uh, you mean how the food industry tries to make food delicious? Okay, whatever. That's not exactly earth-shattering news. If Kessler had uncovered that the food industry laced its products with crack, that would be exciting. But unfortunately his thoughts are much more banal. To wit:
"When it comes to stimulating our brains, Dr. Kessler noted, individual ingredients aren’t particularly potent. But by combining fats, sugar and salt in innumerable ways, food makers have essentially tapped into the brain’s reward system, creating a feedback loop that stimulates our desire to eat and leaves us wanting more and more even when we’re full."
Uh, food makers are doing what?! You don't say! They are combining fats, sugar and salt?!!! Sacred bleu! Stop the presses! And they're doing it in a way that makes us want more? You mean they're making the food yummy? Oh. My. Gosh! But it gets better:
"Dr. Kessler isn’t convinced that food makers fully understand the neuroscience of the forces they have unleashed, but food companies certainly understand human behavior, taste preferences and desire. In fact, he offers descriptions of how restaurants and food makers manipulate ingredients to reach the aptly named 'bliss point.' Foods that contain too little or too much sugar, fat or salt are either bland or overwhelming. But food scientists work hard to reach the precise point at which we derive the greatest pleasure from fat, sugar and salt."
Yes, let's give your stupid research a fancy-pants, legit-sounding term like "bliss point"! Did you spend a long time thinking up that word Kessler? Did you go through a list, like Yummy Point? (No...too unsophisticated sounding) Delicious Point? (No, doesn't make my research sound legit) Wow-Can-I-Have-Another-One Point? (No, too Oliver Twist).
"The result is that chain restaurants like Chili’s cook up “hyper-palatable food that requires little chewing and goes down easily,” he notes. And Dr. Kessler reports that the Snickers bar, for instance, is “extraordinarily well engineered.” As we chew it, the sugar dissolves, the fat melts and the caramel traps the peanuts so the entire combination of flavors is blissfully experienced in the mouth at the same time."
Gasp! The food industry is so big and powerful--it's all a huge conspiracy. Bad chain restaurants! They're no better than big tobacco! How dare they try to make our food "hyper-palatable"! We demand moderately palatable food. That's what I want when I go out on the town.
And on and on the article goes about how fascinating Kessler's discoveries are.
What. Ever.
Look, I'm sure Kessler's book and research has something interesting to contribute to society. But this article sure ain't highlighting it. If I wasn't sure I was reading NYT, I'd a thought I was reading The Onion.
RESEARCHER DISCOVERS RESTAURANTS TRY TO MAKE FOOD DELICIOUS (by combining salt, sugar and fat in just the right amounts)!
And in other news of the hour, DOG BITES MAN!
Not laughing, mind you, but snickering.
It's the classic example of academics being so caught up in their own little world that they don't realize they've spent their entire lives studying what everyone already KNOWS to be COMMON SENSE. It's the ultimate DUH.
I mean, seriously, academics are sometimes so proud of discovering the obvious. I don't need "experts" to tell me men prefer to marry younger, hotter women and that women prefer rich guys. Whatever evolutionary psychologists--that's not even a real science!
But I digress.
In this instance, what may seem obvious to you and me was apparently quite eye-opening to David Kessler, Harvard-educated pediatrician and head of the FDA under two presidents.
As the article explains, "In an experiment of one, Dr. Kessler tested his willpower by buying two gooey chocolate chip cookies that he didn’t plan to eat. At home, he found himself staring at the cookies, and even distracted by memories of the chocolate chunks and doughy peaks as he left the room. He left the house, and the cookies remained uneaten. Feeling triumphant, he stopped for coffee, saw cookies on the counter and gobbled one down.
'Why does that chocolate chip cookie have such power over me?' Dr. Kessler asked in an interview. 'Is it the cookie, the representation of the cookie in my brain? I spent seven years trying to figure out the answer.'"
So, let me get this straight buddy. You spent 7 years wondering why a cookie is delicious?! Because it's full of sugar and butter, Idiot!
Kessler has jotted down his oh-so-obvious thoughts and musings in a book called The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite.
The article gives us a hint into why Kessler is not aware that his oh-so-obvious thoughts are oh-so-obvious. Kessler was deeply involved in fighting big tobacco and saw all the sneaky, tricky, deceptive things big tobacco did to make their products addictive and delicious. So then he decided to turn that eagle-eye of his to another great American public health enemy: FOOD!
As the article explains "In The End of Overeating Dr. Kessler finds some similarities in the food industry, which has combined and created foods in a way that taps into our brain circuitry and stimulates our desire for more."
Uh, you mean how the food industry tries to make food delicious? Okay, whatever. That's not exactly earth-shattering news. If Kessler had uncovered that the food industry laced its products with crack, that would be exciting. But unfortunately his thoughts are much more banal. To wit:
"When it comes to stimulating our brains, Dr. Kessler noted, individual ingredients aren’t particularly potent. But by combining fats, sugar and salt in innumerable ways, food makers have essentially tapped into the brain’s reward system, creating a feedback loop that stimulates our desire to eat and leaves us wanting more and more even when we’re full."
Uh, food makers are doing what?! You don't say! They are combining fats, sugar and salt?!!! Sacred bleu! Stop the presses! And they're doing it in a way that makes us want more? You mean they're making the food yummy? Oh. My. Gosh! But it gets better:
"Dr. Kessler isn’t convinced that food makers fully understand the neuroscience of the forces they have unleashed, but food companies certainly understand human behavior, taste preferences and desire. In fact, he offers descriptions of how restaurants and food makers manipulate ingredients to reach the aptly named 'bliss point.' Foods that contain too little or too much sugar, fat or salt are either bland or overwhelming. But food scientists work hard to reach the precise point at which we derive the greatest pleasure from fat, sugar and salt."
Yes, let's give your stupid research a fancy-pants, legit-sounding term like "bliss point"! Did you spend a long time thinking up that word Kessler? Did you go through a list, like Yummy Point? (No...too unsophisticated sounding) Delicious Point? (No, doesn't make my research sound legit) Wow-Can-I-Have-Another-One Point? (No, too Oliver Twist).
"The result is that chain restaurants like Chili’s cook up “hyper-palatable food that requires little chewing and goes down easily,” he notes. And Dr. Kessler reports that the Snickers bar, for instance, is “extraordinarily well engineered.” As we chew it, the sugar dissolves, the fat melts and the caramel traps the peanuts so the entire combination of flavors is blissfully experienced in the mouth at the same time."
Gasp! The food industry is so big and powerful--it's all a huge conspiracy. Bad chain restaurants! They're no better than big tobacco! How dare they try to make our food "hyper-palatable"! We demand moderately palatable food. That's what I want when I go out on the town.
And on and on the article goes about how fascinating Kessler's discoveries are.
What. Ever.
Look, I'm sure Kessler's book and research has something interesting to contribute to society. But this article sure ain't highlighting it. If I wasn't sure I was reading NYT, I'd a thought I was reading The Onion.
RESEARCHER DISCOVERS RESTAURANTS TRY TO MAKE FOOD DELICIOUS (by combining salt, sugar and fat in just the right amounts)!
And in other news of the hour, DOG BITES MAN!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Why I will always find Alaberi endlessly endearing...
[Setting: Alaberi is about to sleep over at my place having flown in from the opposite coast.]
Alaberi: I wanted to travel light so could I borrow some pajamas?
Me: Sure, no prob.
Alaberi: And can I use your toothpaste?
Me: Yep.
Alaberi: And moisturizer?
Me: Sure.
Alaberi: And...and...<in a small sheepish voice>...do you have a stuffed animal I could cuddle with?
Me: WHAT?! WAIT, WHAT DID YOU WANT?! ALABERI, YOU ARE A GROWN WOMAN!!!!!!!!
Alaberi:But I know you have a bunch imprisoned in your closet... <Alaberi calls out in the direction of my closet> I'm here to free you! You're free! You're free!
Alaberi: I wanted to travel light so could I borrow some pajamas?
Me: Sure, no prob.
Alaberi: And can I use your toothpaste?
Me: Yep.
Alaberi: And moisturizer?
Me: Sure.
Alaberi: And...and...<in a small sheepish voice>...do you have a stuffed animal I could cuddle with?
Me: WHAT?! WAIT, WHAT DID YOU WANT?! ALABERI, YOU ARE A GROWN WOMAN!!!!!!!!
Alaberi:
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
If I could just hold you in my arms forever...
Rarely do I lust over a bag, but clearly, this is no ordinary bag.
There's something so sensually sumptuous about this smooth oiled leather that is just begging to be touched and caressed and worn over time into an even more beautiful color depth and patina.
And the shape is just so alluringly pot-bellied. At once boho and preppy, American and Italian, a bag for the ages!
The Campo, JCrew $298.
There's something so sensually sumptuous about this smooth oiled leather that is just begging to be touched and caressed and worn over time into an even more beautiful color depth and patina.
And the shape is just so alluringly pot-bellied. At once boho and preppy, American and Italian, a bag for the ages!
Monday, June 22, 2009
From Homeless to Harvard
I'm not sure what to make of this incredible story about Khadijah Williams, a homeless 18 year old girl who grew up on skid row and was raised by a single mother who had her at age 14. Williams overcame seemingly insurmountable odds (she has "attended" 12 schools in 12 years--and that's "attended" in the loosest sense of the word) to end up accepted at Harvard College in the Fall.
Obviously it's great and amazing.
But I'm worred about a couple things.
First, I'm worried about bootstrap-pulling ideologues who may point to Khadijah to prove their delusion that poor people are poor because they just don't work hard enough. Look at Khadijah--if you just try hard like her, you too can succeed.
That's poppycock. Khadijah is an incredible individual with exceptional talent and the good fortune to have counselors and teachers who supported and believed in her potential. Khadijah was also lucky in that her mother, however homeless and indigent, never smoked, drank or did drugs. Hopefully this exception will not be abused as the rule.
Second, I'm worried about Khadijah. Among all the cultural differences she will have to adjust to, there is a greater shock that she's in for--her pride. Khadijah has always been proud of the fact that she is, in her own words, in the 99th percentile. She has found esteem in her academic abilities and significance in her scores.
But what happens when she's surrounded by people just as smart, or smarter, than her? How will her ego survive being in the 50th percentile of the ivory tower? I hope that she will learn how to find worth, significance and esteem in something more abiding and less relative than achievement.
After all she's been through, I hope she does not go from the oppression of poverty to the oppression of a culture of overachievement. For that would truly be jumping out of the pot and into the fire.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Deep Cleansing Breath
I feel like I've just done the blog equivalent of yoga.
Took a deep breath in and...
Exhaled all the old blogs that weren't posting much:
Not So Angry Asian Woman
The Seoul Diaries
Infinity8Ball
My Friend since 2nd Grade
Photographer Deviant
And inhaled more blogs (and sites) that were posting plenty:
Wade's World
Following the Light
Las Recessionistas
We Need to Be Friends in Real Life
Eye Candy
Not Paid to Look Good
Gawker
Brain Rot
ATL
Kristof
NY
LA
DC
SF
SJ
May the joy of blogging abound in guilty and not-so-guilty pleasures for the harmonious entertainment of all mankind.
Namaste.
Took a deep breath in and...
Exhaled all the old blogs that weren't posting much:
And inhaled more blogs (and sites) that were posting plenty:
May the joy of blogging abound in guilty and not-so-guilty pleasures for the harmonious entertainment of all mankind.
Namaste.
Friday, June 19, 2009
The Killing Fields
I'm on a murder spree and it feels too good to stop.
The words of an old granny talking about disinheriting her thankless relatives in John Grisham's The Rainmaker comes to mind: "Cut, cut, cut!"
I'm purging the fat, cutting the grease, bleeding the bulge...
I'm taking more blogs off my blogroll.
Next up: bloggers that have not posted more than 2 entries per month, on average, for the last six months (Dec-May).
The words of an old granny talking about disinheriting her thankless relatives in John Grisham's The Rainmaker comes to mind: "Cut, cut, cut!"
I'm purging the fat, cutting the grease, bleeding the bulge...
I'm taking more blogs off my blogroll.
Next up: bloggers that have not posted more than 2 entries per month, on average, for the last six months (Dec-May).
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Fare thee well
Pursuant to my previous entry...
R.I.P.
My Brother
My Friend since 8th Grade
My Thought Twin
The Combustible Crayon
The Cafe Muse
Friend from Escondido
Friend from Berkeley
R.I.P.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The Sound of Blogs Dying
A few weeks back I was thinking about how personal blogs were a dying breed and then came accross this article a few days later in the NYTimes which confirmed my suspicions.
Blogs are dead and dying.
And it's time to purge my blogroll. In the next few days I'm going to remove all blogs from my sidebar that haven't posted in the last 6 months. (Post now! It's not too late to save yourself!)
And despite the odds, I'm gonna try my darndest to find new ones. (Cuz I need entertainment at work!)
Blogs Falling in an Empty Forest
By DOUGLAS QUENQUA
“HI, I’m Judy Nichols. Welcome to my rant.”
Thus was born Rantings of a Crazed Soccer Mom, the blog of a stay-at-home mother and murder-mystery writer from Wilmington, N.C. Mrs. Nichols, 52, put up her first post in late 2004, serving up a litany of gripes about the Bush administration and people who thought they had “a monopoly on morality.” After urging her readers to vote for John Kerry, she closed with a flourish: “Practice compassionate regime change.”
The post generated no comments.
Today, Mrs. Nichols speaks about her blog as if it were a diet or half-finished novel. “I’m going to get back to it,” she swears. Her last entry, in December of last year, was curt and none too profound. “Books make great gifts,” she began, breaking a silence of nearly a month.
Like Mrs. Nichols, many people start blogs with lofty aspirations — to build an audience and leave their day job, to land a book deal, or simply to share their genius with the world. Getting started is easy, since all it takes to maintain a blog is a little time and inspiration. So why do blogs have a higher failure rate than restaurants?
According to a 2008 survey by Technorati, which runs a search engine for blogs, only 7.4 million out of the 133 million blogs the company tracks had been updated in the past 120 days. That translates to 95 percent of blogs being essentially abandoned, left to lie fallow on the Web, where they become public remnants of a dream — or at least an ambition — unfulfilled.
Judging from conversations with retired bloggers, many of the orphans were cast aside by people who had assumed that once they started blogging, the world would beat a path to their digital door.
“I was always hoping more people would read it, and it would get a lot of comments,” Mrs. Nichols said recently by telephone, sounding a little betrayed. “Every once in a while I would see this thing on TV about some mommy blogger making $4,000 a month, and thought, ‘I would like that.’ ”
Not all fallow blogs die from lack of reader interest. Some bloggers find themselves too busy — what with, say, homework and swim practice, or perhaps even housework and parenting. Others graduate to more immediate formats, like Twitter and Facebook. And a few — gasp — actually decide to reclaim some smidgen of personal privacy.
“Before you could be anonymous, and now you can’t,” said Nancy Sun, a 26-year-old New Yorker who abandoned her first blog after experiencing the dark side of minor Internet notoriety. She had started it in 1999, back when blogging was in its infancy and she did not have to worry too hard about posting her raw feelings for a guy she barely knew.
Ms. Sun’s posts to her blog — www.cromulent.org, named for a fake word from “The Simpsons” — were long and artful. She quickly attracted a large audience and, in 2001, was nominated for the “best online diary” award at the South by Southwest media powwow.
But then she began getting e-mail messages from strangers who had seen her at parties. A journalist from Philadelphia wanted to profile her. Her friends began reading her blog and drawing conclusions — wrong ones — about her feelings toward them. Ms. Sun found it all very unnerving, and by 2004 she stopped blogging altogether.
“The Internet is different now,” she said over a cup of tea in Midtown. “I was too Web 1.0. You want to be anonymous, you want to write, like, long entries, and no one wants to read that stuff.”
Richard Jalichandra, chief executive of Technorati, said that at any given time there are 7 million to 10 million active blogs on the Internet, but “it’s probably between 50,000 and 100,000 blogs that are generating most of the page views.” He added, “There’s a joke within the blogging community that most blogs have an audience of one.”
That’s a serious letdown from the hype that greeted blogs when they first became popular. No longer would writers toil in anonymity or suffer the indignities of the publishing industry, we were told. Finally the world of ideas would be democratized! This was the catnip that intoxicated Mrs. Nichols. “That was when people were starting to talk about blogs and how anyone could, if not get famous, get their opinions out there and get them read,” she recalled. “I just wanted to post something interesting and get people talking, but mostly it was just my sister commenting.”
Many people who think blogging is a fast path to financial independence also find themselves discouraged. Matt Goodman, an advertising executive in Atlanta, had no trouble attracting an audience to his self-explanatory site, Things My Dog Ate, which included tales of his foxhound, Watson, eating remote controls, a wig and a $400 pair of Prada shoes.
“I did some Craigslist postings to advertise it, and I very quickly got an audience of about 50,000 viewers a month,” he said. That led to some small advertising deals, including one with PetSmart and another with a company that made dog-proof cellphone chargers. Mr. Goodman posted a video of his dog failing to destroy one.
“I guess the charger wasn’t very popular,” he said. “I think I made about $20” from readers clicking on the ads. He last updated the site in November.
Mr. Jalichandra of Technorati — a blogger himself — also points out that some retired bloggers have merely found new platforms. “Some of that activity has gone to Facebook and MySpace, and obviously Twitter is a new phenomenon,” he said.
Others simply tire of telling their stories. “Stephanie,” a semi-anonymous 17-year-old with a precocious knowledge of designers and a sharp sense of humor, abandoned her blog, Fashion Robot, about a week before it got a shoutout in the “blog watch” column of The Wall Street Journal last December. Her final post, simply titled “The End,” said she just didn’t feel like blogging any more. She declined an e-mail request for an interview, saying she was no longer interested in publicity.
As for Ms. Sun of Cromulent.org, she has made peace with being public. She has a new blog, SaladDays.org, where she keeps her posts short and jaunty, not personally revealing; mostly, she offers up health and diet tips, with the occasional quote from Simone de Beauvoir.
What is she after this time around? In person, she was noncommittal, but that night she sent a follow-up e-mail message.
“To be honest, I would love a book deal to come out of my blog,” she wrote. “Or I would love for Salad Days to give me a means to be financially independent to continue pursuing and sharing what I love with the world.”
Blogs are dead and dying.
And it's time to purge my blogroll. In the next few days I'm going to remove all blogs from my sidebar that haven't posted in the last 6 months. (Post now! It's not too late to save yourself!)
And despite the odds, I'm gonna try my darndest to find new ones. (Cuz I need entertainment at work!)
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Blogs Falling in an Empty Forest
By DOUGLAS QUENQUA
“HI, I’m Judy Nichols. Welcome to my rant.”
Thus was born Rantings of a Crazed Soccer Mom, the blog of a stay-at-home mother and murder-mystery writer from Wilmington, N.C. Mrs. Nichols, 52, put up her first post in late 2004, serving up a litany of gripes about the Bush administration and people who thought they had “a monopoly on morality.” After urging her readers to vote for John Kerry, she closed with a flourish: “Practice compassionate regime change.”
The post generated no comments.
Today, Mrs. Nichols speaks about her blog as if it were a diet or half-finished novel. “I’m going to get back to it,” she swears. Her last entry, in December of last year, was curt and none too profound. “Books make great gifts,” she began, breaking a silence of nearly a month.
Like Mrs. Nichols, many people start blogs with lofty aspirations — to build an audience and leave their day job, to land a book deal, or simply to share their genius with the world. Getting started is easy, since all it takes to maintain a blog is a little time and inspiration. So why do blogs have a higher failure rate than restaurants?
According to a 2008 survey by Technorati, which runs a search engine for blogs, only 7.4 million out of the 133 million blogs the company tracks had been updated in the past 120 days. That translates to 95 percent of blogs being essentially abandoned, left to lie fallow on the Web, where they become public remnants of a dream — or at least an ambition — unfulfilled.
Judging from conversations with retired bloggers, many of the orphans were cast aside by people who had assumed that once they started blogging, the world would beat a path to their digital door.
“I was always hoping more people would read it, and it would get a lot of comments,” Mrs. Nichols said recently by telephone, sounding a little betrayed. “Every once in a while I would see this thing on TV about some mommy blogger making $4,000 a month, and thought, ‘I would like that.’ ”
Not all fallow blogs die from lack of reader interest. Some bloggers find themselves too busy — what with, say, homework and swim practice, or perhaps even housework and parenting. Others graduate to more immediate formats, like Twitter and Facebook. And a few — gasp — actually decide to reclaim some smidgen of personal privacy.
“Before you could be anonymous, and now you can’t,” said Nancy Sun, a 26-year-old New Yorker who abandoned her first blog after experiencing the dark side of minor Internet notoriety. She had started it in 1999, back when blogging was in its infancy and she did not have to worry too hard about posting her raw feelings for a guy she barely knew.
Ms. Sun’s posts to her blog — www.cromulent.org, named for a fake word from “The Simpsons” — were long and artful. She quickly attracted a large audience and, in 2001, was nominated for the “best online diary” award at the South by Southwest media powwow.
But then she began getting e-mail messages from strangers who had seen her at parties. A journalist from Philadelphia wanted to profile her. Her friends began reading her blog and drawing conclusions — wrong ones — about her feelings toward them. Ms. Sun found it all very unnerving, and by 2004 she stopped blogging altogether.
“The Internet is different now,” she said over a cup of tea in Midtown. “I was too Web 1.0. You want to be anonymous, you want to write, like, long entries, and no one wants to read that stuff.”
Richard Jalichandra, chief executive of Technorati, said that at any given time there are 7 million to 10 million active blogs on the Internet, but “it’s probably between 50,000 and 100,000 blogs that are generating most of the page views.” He added, “There’s a joke within the blogging community that most blogs have an audience of one.”
That’s a serious letdown from the hype that greeted blogs when they first became popular. No longer would writers toil in anonymity or suffer the indignities of the publishing industry, we were told. Finally the world of ideas would be democratized! This was the catnip that intoxicated Mrs. Nichols. “That was when people were starting to talk about blogs and how anyone could, if not get famous, get their opinions out there and get them read,” she recalled. “I just wanted to post something interesting and get people talking, but mostly it was just my sister commenting.”
Many people who think blogging is a fast path to financial independence also find themselves discouraged. Matt Goodman, an advertising executive in Atlanta, had no trouble attracting an audience to his self-explanatory site, Things My Dog Ate, which included tales of his foxhound, Watson, eating remote controls, a wig and a $400 pair of Prada shoes.
“I did some Craigslist postings to advertise it, and I very quickly got an audience of about 50,000 viewers a month,” he said. That led to some small advertising deals, including one with PetSmart and another with a company that made dog-proof cellphone chargers. Mr. Goodman posted a video of his dog failing to destroy one.
“I guess the charger wasn’t very popular,” he said. “I think I made about $20” from readers clicking on the ads. He last updated the site in November.
Mr. Jalichandra of Technorati — a blogger himself — also points out that some retired bloggers have merely found new platforms. “Some of that activity has gone to Facebook and MySpace, and obviously Twitter is a new phenomenon,” he said.
Others simply tire of telling their stories. “Stephanie,” a semi-anonymous 17-year-old with a precocious knowledge of designers and a sharp sense of humor, abandoned her blog, Fashion Robot, about a week before it got a shoutout in the “blog watch” column of The Wall Street Journal last December. Her final post, simply titled “The End,” said she just didn’t feel like blogging any more. She declined an e-mail request for an interview, saying she was no longer interested in publicity.
As for Ms. Sun of Cromulent.org, she has made peace with being public. She has a new blog, SaladDays.org, where she keeps her posts short and jaunty, not personally revealing; mostly, she offers up health and diet tips, with the occasional quote from Simone de Beauvoir.
What is she after this time around? In person, she was noncommittal, but that night she sent a follow-up e-mail message.
“To be honest, I would love a book deal to come out of my blog,” she wrote. “Or I would love for Salad Days to give me a means to be financially independent to continue pursuing and sharing what I love with the world.”
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
I Left My Lens in San Francisco
The more time that goes by, the more I don't believe this actually happened to me two Fridays ago, but it did.
The most bizarre thing.
I was stopping by my local Walgreens after work to pick up some prescriptions and right as I passed by the face creams and hot wax aisle, I was fiddling with my left contact lens and--poof--I lost contact with my contact.
It just fell, into seeming nothingness. I didn't even hear it hit the ground.
And then ensued the humiliating and frantic search in which I crawled on the ground, groping like a blindman, patted myself down and felt myself up repeatedly, and ran into some coworkers who were buying Nair.
And finally, thirty minutes older, defeated and perplexed, I left Walgreens with a heavy heart and one contact lens lighter. I give up!!! (And I really mean it this time!)
I rode the BART home and bemoaned the seemingly arbitrary meaninglessness of God's ways to my longsuffering spouse.
While I was still moping around, licking my existential wounds, said spouse came bounding up the stairs with a small transparent object perched on his index finger. "Is this your contact lens?" he asked with innocence.
"WHAT? WHERE DID YOU FIND IT?! WHAT?!"
He said he found it on the staircase, right in the spotlight created by the overhead track light.
As I tried on the long lost contact lens, the one I had given up for dead, I blubbered about the impossibility of it all...but I rode BART...but I patted and frisked myself silly in the store...but I turned all my pockets upside down and shook out my loafers...but, but, but...that's impossible!
How did my little lens survive all that jostling, the walk to the underground train, the car ride home, and finally, to land in that most perfect of places (despite all the foot traffic)--right. under. the spotlight.
When I was younger I read an account by Elizabeth Elliot about an even more fantastic contact lens redemption. Some woman had gone rock climbing and at the top of a sheer cliff she lost a contact lens. But when she had made her descent, she saw the most amazing thing at the foot of the mountain:
An ant was carrying her contact lens towards her.
All these years I dismissed Ms. Elliot's account as hyperbole...but now...maybe I see things more clearly...?
The most bizarre thing.
I was stopping by my local Walgreens after work to pick up some prescriptions and right as I passed by the face creams and hot wax aisle, I was fiddling with my left contact lens and--poof--I lost contact with my contact.
It just fell, into seeming nothingness. I didn't even hear it hit the ground.
And then ensued the humiliating and frantic search in which I crawled on the ground, groping like a blindman, patted myself down and felt myself up repeatedly, and ran into some coworkers who were buying Nair.
And finally, thirty minutes older, defeated and perplexed, I left Walgreens with a heavy heart and one contact lens lighter. I give up!!! (And I really mean it this time!)
I rode the BART home and bemoaned the seemingly arbitrary meaninglessness of God's ways to my longsuffering spouse.
While I was still moping around, licking my existential wounds, said spouse came bounding up the stairs with a small transparent object perched on his index finger. "Is this your contact lens?" he asked with innocence.
"WHAT? WHERE DID YOU FIND IT?! WHAT?!"
He said he found it on the staircase, right in the spotlight created by the overhead track light.
As I tried on the long lost contact lens, the one I had given up for dead, I blubbered about the impossibility of it all...but I rode BART...but I patted and frisked myself silly in the store...but I turned all my pockets upside down and shook out my loafers...but, but, but...that's impossible!
How did my little lens survive all that jostling, the walk to the underground train, the car ride home, and finally, to land in that most perfect of places (despite all the foot traffic)--right. under. the spotlight.
When I was younger I read an account by Elizabeth Elliot about an even more fantastic contact lens redemption. Some woman had gone rock climbing and at the top of a sheer cliff she lost a contact lens. But when she had made her descent, she saw the most amazing thing at the foot of the mountain:
An ant was carrying her contact lens towards her.
All these years I dismissed Ms. Elliot's account as hyperbole...but now...maybe I see things more clearly...?
Monday, June 15, 2009
The Highest Hottie in the Land
Say what you will about Governor Palin...
But it is pretty darn uncontested that she is the hottest highest-ranking female politician in the US (and maybe even the G20! Angela Merkel, I'm looking at you).
Who even comes close on a federal or state level? Sorry Hillary.
Of course politician wives are commonly very hot (hello Carla Bruni), but when it comes to the woman wearing the pants (or sitting in the seat) the pickings are slim.
So congrats to Palin. You may never be president, but you are some serious political eye-candy.
But it is pretty darn uncontested that she is the hottest highest-ranking female politician in the US (and maybe even the G20! Angela Merkel, I'm looking at you).Who even comes close on a federal or state level? Sorry Hillary.
Of course politician wives are commonly very hot (hello Carla Bruni), but when it comes to the woman wearing the pants (or sitting in the seat) the pickings are slim.
So congrats to Palin. You may never be president, but you are some serious political eye-candy.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Woman v. Nature
I'll give you a hint...Nature won, hands down.
I spent Memorial Day weekend doing something I haven't done since high school--going on a church retreat in the woods.
Although the accomodations were really very viable, I was not prepared for the havoc that general camp environs would wreak on my poor, frail, old body.
The last day of camp saw me riddled with all kinds of immunodeficiences--I had a giant zit between my eyes, a cankersore on the inside of my mouth, a cold sore on the outside of my mouth and, the piece de resistance, the most wicked sore throat that ever erupted from the bowels of hell.
Oh yeah, and I was slightly constipated and totally bloated from the preservative-laden camp food. And perhaps legitimately fatter...probably wasn't all "water weight."
Next time I go I'm taking super-bionic-old people vitamins!
I spent Memorial Day weekend doing something I haven't done since high school--going on a church retreat in the woods.
Although the accomodations were really very viable, I was not prepared for the havoc that general camp environs would wreak on my poor, frail, old body.
The last day of camp saw me riddled with all kinds of immunodeficiences--I had a giant zit between my eyes, a cankersore on the inside of my mouth, a cold sore on the outside of my mouth and, the piece de resistance, the most wicked sore throat that ever erupted from the bowels of hell.
Oh yeah, and I was slightly constipated and totally bloated from the preservative-laden camp food. And perhaps legitimately fatter...probably wasn't all "water weight."
Next time I go I'm taking super-bionic-old people vitamins!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
It Really Works!
During this time of horrible economic downturn, I thought I would look for a silver lining through rent reduction. Surely, I reasoned, with property values dropping like flies, I could get a humble rent decrease?
So I did some research and read this article in the WSJ, which came complete with a form letter the author used to reduce her rent.
Inspired, I decided to write my own letter loosely based on hers:
To Whom It May Concern:
We are writing in regards to the impending expiration of our lease at [REDACTED, Oakland, CA].
On June 18, 2008, we, M. and C. moved into the aforementioned property. Our one year lease term expires on June 30, 2009, at which point we would like to extend the lease under a month-to-month tenancy as provided in the terms of the lease.
However, given the ongoing decline in property values in the Bay Area, instead of continuing our tenancy at the current rent of $1750 per month, we request that our rent be reduced to $1700 per month, effective July 1, 2009.
We have confirmed that several units nearly identical to ours are being offered for rent in the Oakland area below $1700 per month and thus feel it is reasonable for our rent to be lowered to $1700 per month, especially given our flawless rental history. [Of course I didn't mention that identical units in our complex were asking for $1850 a month on Craigslist!]
We look forward to hearing from you shortly.
Sincerely,
M. and C.
After a week of waiting, the property manager called to say, "Yes." Yes! Sweet sweet victory--yes! I've been renting my whole life since moving out of the freshman dorms and for once, for just this ONCE, the rent is going DOWNward.
Nevermind that the actual amount I saved is not that much...it's about the simple joy of getting a break (must be the cheap Asian in me).
Try it out for yourself...let me know if it works for you too!
So I did some research and read this article in the WSJ, which came complete with a form letter the author used to reduce her rent.
Inspired, I decided to write my own letter loosely based on hers:
To Whom It May Concern:
We are writing in regards to the impending expiration of our lease at [REDACTED, Oakland, CA].
On June 18, 2008, we, M. and C. moved into the aforementioned property. Our one year lease term expires on June 30, 2009, at which point we would like to extend the lease under a month-to-month tenancy as provided in the terms of the lease.
However, given the ongoing decline in property values in the Bay Area, instead of continuing our tenancy at the current rent of $1750 per month, we request that our rent be reduced to $1700 per month, effective July 1, 2009.
We have confirmed that several units nearly identical to ours are being offered for rent in the Oakland area below $1700 per month and thus feel it is reasonable for our rent to be lowered to $1700 per month, especially given our flawless rental history. [Of course I didn't mention that identical units in our complex were asking for $1850 a month on Craigslist!]
We look forward to hearing from you shortly.
Sincerely,
M. and C.
After a week of waiting, the property manager called to say, "Yes." Yes! Sweet sweet victory--yes! I've been renting my whole life since moving out of the freshman dorms and for once, for just this ONCE, the rent is going DOWNward.
Nevermind that the actual amount I saved is not that much...it's about the simple joy of getting a break (must be the cheap Asian in me).
Try it out for yourself...let me know if it works for you too!
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Say hello to my little friends...
It seems like everyone has a blog these days--celebrities, publications, professors...
But ironically it also seems that the era of the personal blog--the little, unknown Joe Schmoe blogger--is coming to its demise.
I remember the heyday of the Joe Schmoe blogs--Blogger was all the rage and people were jumping ship from LiveJournal like it was going out of style (cuz it was!). Ah 2003--when my list of blog links was long and yielded many hours of voyeuristic pleasure.
Now most of those links have been taken down and the ones that are still there reveal cobwebbed sites that haven't been updated for months (even years!)
What happened? Why have people become so disenchanted with blogging after being seemingly enthralled by it just a few years ago? Is personal expression not all it was cracked up to be? Did they just run out of things to talk about?
Or did they get a real life?
For whatever reason, it's a rare thing for me to find new personal blogs to follow. But here's a few I've stumbled across recently (and added to my right-side menu):
Enjoy 'em before they go the way of all personal blogs...
Writer, Dieter, Friend
Cool single gal pal from Boston talks about life in general and exercise and nutrition in particular.
Angry Asian Man
Don't know this guy personally, but love that he tries to break Asian stereotypes. But really, can we ever break away from science, math and the pursuit of higher degrees?
Not So Angry Asian Woman
Thoughtful commentary on the modern Asian-American female experience and contributing author of a book on the same.
The Seoul Diaries
A friend in search of his soul(mate?) in Seoul.
But ironically it also seems that the era of the personal blog--the little, unknown Joe Schmoe blogger--is coming to its demise.
I remember the heyday of the Joe Schmoe blogs--Blogger was all the rage and people were jumping ship from LiveJournal like it was going out of style (cuz it was!). Ah 2003--when my list of blog links was long and yielded many hours of voyeuristic pleasure.
Now most of those links have been taken down and the ones that are still there reveal cobwebbed sites that haven't been updated for months (even years!)
What happened? Why have people become so disenchanted with blogging after being seemingly enthralled by it just a few years ago? Is personal expression not all it was cracked up to be? Did they just run out of things to talk about?
Or did they get a real life?
For whatever reason, it's a rare thing for me to find new personal blogs to follow. But here's a few I've stumbled across recently (and added to my right-side menu):
Enjoy 'em before they go the way of all personal blogs...
Writer, Dieter, FriendCool single gal pal from Boston talks about life in general and exercise and nutrition in particular.
Angry Asian ManDon't know this guy personally, but love that he tries to break Asian stereotypes. But really, can we ever break away from science, math and the pursuit of higher degrees?
Not So Angry Asian WomanThoughtful commentary on the modern Asian-American female experience and contributing author of a book on the same.
The Seoul DiariesA friend in search of his soul(mate?) in Seoul.
Spot those Sandals--The Answers
Gladiatorial Glory (66% got it wrong!)
I can't blame you guys. Although Sandal A looks kind of low-rent, it's actually a very pricey $675 at Saks!!! Sandal B, on the other hand wins in both beauty and budget, a mere $40 from American Eagle Outfitters.
Python Perfection (50% got it wrong)
This comparison is just ridiculous-if you didn't think pricing could be totally arbitrary before, then this has got to be a mind-blowing eye-opener. The pricey sandals--A are $800 from Saks, while the cheapie sandals--B are just $16 at Forever21! That's right, we are talking about an exponential difference that people won't even notice! Talk about getting your money's worth!
Grecian Goodness (50% got it wrong)
This is the entry that started it all. I just happened to see these two exact sandals in one day and thought--ha ha, there's got to be some kind of copyright infringement here...they are exactly the same style!
But Sandal A is $50 from Nordstrom's and Sandal B is a more friendly $20 from good ol' Old Navy.
And now you are officially ready for Summer--go forth and shop wisely.
I can't blame you guys. Although Sandal A looks kind of low-rent, it's actually a very pricey $675 at Saks!!! Sandal B, on the other hand wins in both beauty and budget, a mere $40 from American Eagle Outfitters.
Python Perfection (50% got it wrong)
This comparison is just ridiculous-if you didn't think pricing could be totally arbitrary before, then this has got to be a mind-blowing eye-opener. The pricey sandals--A are $800 from Saks, while the cheapie sandals--B are just $16 at Forever21! That's right, we are talking about an exponential difference that people won't even notice! Talk about getting your money's worth!
Grecian Goodness (50% got it wrong)
This is the entry that started it all. I just happened to see these two exact sandals in one day and thought--ha ha, there's got to be some kind of copyright infringement here...they are exactly the same style!
But Sandal A is $50 from Nordstrom's and Sandal B is a more friendly $20 from good ol' Old Navy.
And now you are officially ready for Summer--go forth and shop wisely.
Friday, May 08, 2009
The Self-Sufficiency of Mom
This week we learned about the self-sufficiency of God in Sunday school, among other things, and I couldn't help but shout, "Eureka!"
In some small way, I think I know exactly how God feels.
As I rapidly approach my thirties and my anniversary celebrating six wonderful years of wedded bliss (no sarcasm, really), my mind drifts to the B-question more and more.
When should I have a baby?
Many of my peers already have kids or are actively trying but I'm still floating in a pool of indifference. I just don't feel it--the drive, the maternal instinct, the biological alarm clock, the whatever it is that is supposed to make you get out there and procreate!
I feel very 'meh'. I could take it, leave it, either way. It's not a big deal for me to have kids, now, next year, or ever. Why? I'm not sure, but when I heard of this interesting attribute of God, I thought, maybe that has something to do with it...
In a nutshell, God's self-sufficiency is such that he doesn't need anything. He didn't create man because he was lonely, or needed praise, or love or adoration. He was perfectly happy living in the blessed community of his triune persons. He was complete already.
That's how I feel--complete. I don't need a child to love, care for, give to, get from, teach, learn, grow, etc. I mean, objectively, I probably do need a child to shake me out of my consummate self-absorption. But subjectively, I really feel no need.
I'm so happy with the way things are, just the two of us. I love my life, my extended family, my friends--my days are filled with meaningful and joyous hopes and plans. Who needs a kid?
But don't get me wrong. I love kids. I think kids are great! But I just don't need one.
It's like a Lexus, a Louis V purse, a trip to Prague or, perhaps more appropriately, a puppy...all nice and wonderful things that I just don't feel the urge to have.
But maybe I should feel the urge...is something wrong with me?
In some small way, I think I know exactly how God feels.
As I rapidly approach my thirties and my anniversary celebrating six wonderful years of wedded bliss (no sarcasm, really), my mind drifts to the B-question more and more.
When should I have a baby?
Many of my peers already have kids or are actively trying but I'm still floating in a pool of indifference. I just don't feel it--the drive, the maternal instinct, the biological alarm clock, the whatever it is that is supposed to make you get out there and procreate!
I feel very 'meh'. I could take it, leave it, either way. It's not a big deal for me to have kids, now, next year, or ever. Why? I'm not sure, but when I heard of this interesting attribute of God, I thought, maybe that has something to do with it...
In a nutshell, God's self-sufficiency is such that he doesn't need anything. He didn't create man because he was lonely, or needed praise, or love or adoration. He was perfectly happy living in the blessed community of his triune persons. He was complete already.
That's how I feel--complete. I don't need a child to love, care for, give to, get from, teach, learn, grow, etc. I mean, objectively, I probably do need a child to shake me out of my consummate self-absorption. But subjectively, I really feel no need.
I'm so happy with the way things are, just the two of us. I love my life, my extended family, my friends--my days are filled with meaningful and joyous hopes and plans. Who needs a kid?
But don't get me wrong. I love kids. I think kids are great! But I just don't need one.
It's like a Lexus, a Louis V purse, a trip to Prague or, perhaps more appropriately, a puppy...all nice and wonderful things that I just don't feel the urge to have.
But maybe I should feel the urge...is something wrong with me?
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Spot those Sandals
Now that summer is upon us, it's time for some fierce summer sandals. Can you spot the cheapie next to its pricey twin?
Gladiatorial Glory
Python Perfection
Grecian Goodness
Gladiatorial Glory
Sandal A
Sandal B
Python Perfection
Sandal A
Sandal B
Grecian Goodness
Sandal A
Sandal B
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Life in the Whatever Lane
For the last four weeks I was about to go out of my mind with fear, anxiety, boredom, and stress because I had no billable projects to work on.
Each day I felt redundant, useless, and completely expendable and, not to mention ignored and unwanted by my employer.
I felt so awful I even started to work 10 hour days, trying to fill my time with "value-adding" activities in a haberdash attempt to shield my neck from the chopping block.
And sometime mid-last-week the tide turned completely. A project, like manna from heaven, dropped on my desk (or rather, my email inbox) and I was up to my eye-ball in work, work, work. I got to work early (well, early for me) and I stayed well after the cleaning lady emptied my office trash bucket.
And as soon as this project is done, I will be on another one, already scheduled and ready to take over my life for the next 2-3 weeks. I'm sad I may have to "miss" Mother's Day.
What kind of a life is it where you're either worried out of your mind about being fired or stressed out of your mind about getting your work done?
What kind of existence do you have when you feel incompetent and inadequate all the time--either because you have no work or because you don't know how to do the work you have?
How can you live day to day not knowing whether tomorrow will bring rain or shine, drought or flood, feast or famine? How can you ever make plans that you care about?!
I feel like an automoton, a half-life, a zombie undead with no control over the where, what, how and whens of my life.
Each day I felt redundant, useless, and completely expendable and, not to mention ignored and unwanted by my employer.
I felt so awful I even started to work 10 hour days, trying to fill my time with "value-adding" activities in a haberdash attempt to shield my neck from the chopping block.
And sometime mid-last-week the tide turned completely. A project, like manna from heaven, dropped on my desk (or rather, my email inbox) and I was up to my eye-ball in work, work, work. I got to work early (well, early for me) and I stayed well after the cleaning lady emptied my office trash bucket.
And as soon as this project is done, I will be on another one, already scheduled and ready to take over my life for the next 2-3 weeks. I'm sad I may have to "miss" Mother's Day.
What kind of a life is it where you're either worried out of your mind about being fired or stressed out of your mind about getting your work done?
What kind of existence do you have when you feel incompetent and inadequate all the time--either because you have no work or because you don't know how to do the work you have?
How can you live day to day not knowing whether tomorrow will bring rain or shine, drought or flood, feast or famine? How can you ever make plans that you care about?!
I feel like an automoton, a half-life, a zombie undead with no control over the where, what, how and whens of my life.
Spot That Skirt--Out with the Answers Dangit!
I know you've all been waiting with breath that is bated to find out which skirts were the cheapies and which the rich imposters. Well, wait no more--your burning questions are answered here and now.
The Van Gogh Skirts (4 got it right, 4 got it wrong)
For the first set of skirts (I call the Van Gogh skirts--being all impressionistic and such) I admit is a real toughy. Collectively, no one could tell which was the cheapie because great design will always look expensive.
The Van Gogh cheapie was designed by none other than the legendary, Dana Buchman, of great high fashion fame and fortune. She, joining the likes of Vera Wang, has designed an affordable line of women's apparal for none other than that staple of soccer moms everywhere--Kohl's.
Which one is Dana's skirt? Skirt B!
The Ikat Skirts (5 got it right, 2 got it wrong)
The second set of skirts were not as hard as the first. Great design is still great though and does stand its ground, even when discounted. The great Mark Eisen designed this cheapie (better known by his line's brandname--George) for the low price mecca--Walmart.
For a mere $12, (twelve bucks people! you can't even eat out on twelve bucks!) you can be the proud owner of Mark's very pretty skirt (it comes in navy too)--Skirt A!
The Van Gogh Skirts (4 got it right, 4 got it wrong)
For the first set of skirts (I call the Van Gogh skirts--being all impressionistic and such) I admit is a real toughy. Collectively, no one could tell which was the cheapie because great design will always look expensive.
The Van Gogh cheapie was designed by none other than the legendary, Dana Buchman, of great high fashion fame and fortune. She, joining the likes of Vera Wang, has designed an affordable line of women's apparal for none other than that staple of soccer moms everywhere--Kohl's.
Which one is Dana's skirt? Skirt B!
The Ikat Skirts (5 got it right, 2 got it wrong)
The second set of skirts were not as hard as the first. Great design is still great though and does stand its ground, even when discounted. The great Mark Eisen designed this cheapie (better known by his line's brandname--George) for the low price mecca--Walmart.
For a mere $12, (twelve bucks people! you can't even eat out on twelve bucks!) you can be the proud owner of Mark's very pretty skirt (it comes in navy too)--Skirt A!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Spot That Skirt
Can you spot the Cheapie next to its more expensive cousin just in time for some warm-weather Spring fashion?
Skirt A:
Skirt B:
How about this duo? Both cotton, both great for work or the weekend, but only one is good for the 401k. (One skirt is 5x more than the other!)
Skirt A:
Skirt B:
Skirt A:
Skirt B:
How about this duo? Both cotton, both great for work or the weekend, but only one is good for the 401k. (One skirt is 5x more than the other!)
Skirt A:
Skirt B:
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
College Trips
Visiting Davis with Pegpie.
Revisiting Cal with the best college roomate ever--Jenny!
The guy at Kingpin donuts in Durant Square is still there!
Over the last month I've had the chance to visit two UC campuses--i.e., my youth.
And it made me feel old.
And it made me wish I could go back and do it all over again.
Differently.
I wish my circumstances had been different so I could be more carpe diem and less oh crap how the hell am I going to get through this month.
And it made me realize that life is like a series of deaths.
At the end of each era there stands an angel with a flaming sword guarding the past to which you may never go back again.
Goodbye youth. Goodbye twenties. Goodbye forever to the girl that could have been...
Revisiting Cal with the best college roomate ever--Jenny!
The guy at Kingpin donuts in Durant Square is still there!
Over the last month I've had the chance to visit two UC campuses--i.e., my youth.
And it made me feel old.
And it made me wish I could go back and do it all over again.
Differently.
I wish my circumstances had been different so I could be more carpe diem and less oh crap how the hell am I going to get through this month.
And it made me realize that life is like a series of deaths.
At the end of each era there stands an angel with a flaming sword guarding the past to which you may never go back again.
Goodbye youth. Goodbye twenties. Goodbye forever to the girl that could have been...
Saturday, April 11, 2009
In Summary...
[Click to enlarge.]Cali's Central Coast
An unparalleled playground
Wish we were there still
This entry is dedicated to M who loves making collages and would like me to announce that his life's work in collage can be viewed by clicking on the "collage" label link below.
Saturday, April 04, 2009
Unda' da' Sea
Nothing makes me feel more like a mermaid than ogling the ginormous tanks of sea creatures at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Since M has never been to this vaunted Northern California institution, we decided it was worth the exorbitant price of admission--$30--and I got to relive my childhood (every kid in the Fremont Union School District gets a field trip here by 3rd grade).
The jelly fish tank was probably my favorite. I was hyptonized by their diaphanous bodies swaying and pulsing in the electric blue deep.
I couldn't stop staring at the schools of sardines, moving as if one body, controlled by a single mind.
This little guy remains, to this day, my favorite animal at the Aquarium. I heard there is a youtube video of two of these guys holding hands while floating around. I'm too lazy to check it out but just thinking about it makes me melt in a puddle of too-cute goop.
Since M has never been to this vaunted Northern California institution, we decided it was worth the exorbitant price of admission--$30--and I got to relive my childhood (every kid in the Fremont Union School District gets a field trip here by 3rd grade).
The jelly fish tank was probably my favorite. I was hyptonized by their diaphanous bodies swaying and pulsing in the electric blue deep.
I couldn't stop staring at the schools of sardines, moving as if one body, controlled by a single mind.
This little guy remains, to this day, my favorite animal at the Aquarium. I heard there is a youtube video of two of these guys holding hands while floating around. I'm too lazy to check it out but just thinking about it makes me melt in a puddle of too-cute goop.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
The Mossy Magic of Garland Ranch
Just 10 minutes from our lodge was the Garland Ranch Regional Park, 4400 acres of mossy sprawling greens.
All along the trails gnarled trees arched accross our path, a shady canopy of green.
Moss was everywhere--crawling on the tree trunks and hanging from the branches.
This shot makes me think of meeting loved ones who've already crossed over. I'll see you in my dreams...
All along the trails gnarled trees arched accross our path, a shady canopy of green.
Moss was everywhere--crawling on the tree trunks and hanging from the branches.
This shot makes me think of meeting loved ones who've already crossed over. I'll see you in my dreams...
Pebble Beachy Keen
Glorious Pebble Beach along the 17 Mile Drive offered breathtaking scenes of soft sand and pastel surf.
This is one of my favorite shots--very abstract. I'm thinking about blowing it up to hang in the living room, bare canvas-style.
Another contender for living-room-main-artpiece.
Glad I got this shot where the sun burst through the haze suddenly.
M is all about the action shot. He made me stand closer and closer until I finally couldn't outrun the waves and my jeans were soaked!
I loved the soft smoothness eroded into every object.
Who can resist leaving the quintessential ephemeral testament in fleeting sands?
This is one of my favorite shots--very abstract. I'm thinking about blowing it up to hang in the living room, bare canvas-style.
Another contender for living-room-main-artpiece.
Glad I got this shot where the sun burst through the haze suddenly.
M is all about the action shot. He made me stand closer and closer until I finally couldn't outrun the waves and my jeans were soaked!
I loved the soft smoothness eroded into every object.
Who can resist leaving the quintessential ephemeral testament in fleeting sands?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)