Archive for the ‘Administrivia’ Category
Friday, July 6th, 2007
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You know I don’t typically do these things, but it came from Di, who apparently thinks I’m a Rockin’ Girl Blogger, so thanks for that! I’m kind of a nerd so I don’t even really know what it means to be Rockin’ but maybe I would if I was, like, 20 and not so in to twang and more in to, well, I don’t even know. Help me out here, someone, you kids and your crazy music.
Anyhow, in an uncharacteristic moment, I’m going to pick this one up and post links to five swell girl bloggers. And supposedly, in that chain letter sort of way, if I’ve listed you, you should do the same. Grab the button, pick five, etc. amen.
This isn’t my way, you know, and I feel a little sheepish about it coz I don’t divide the world by girls and boys. But I’m going to BlogHer and should try to at least pretend to be a girl power community minded person. No, I am, really, just not in ways you expect.
Here we go, it’s world tour time, kids.
- Melinda June: You’re number one! We used to go to Mindy’s house in practically our pajamas and she’d make these righteous breakfasts and we all watch The Tick on Saturday morning cartoons as though we were 8, but we weren’t we were all in our 30s, pretty much. When I visited Mindy in Milton Keynes, the feeling was exactly the same, as though you could lie around in your jammies watching silly TV and snacking and life did not get better. Her blog sounds just like she does.
- Wild Soda: I don’t even know Alli in 3-D but she got me a job. Alli’s a travel writer, the real deal. Asked about it, she didn’t sugar coat it or say stuff like, “So, you wanna be a travel writer?” She just passed a lead my way and said, “Someone’s gotta do it, it’s in your part of the planet, might as well be you, right?” Alli lives in Australia, sort of, though I think right now she’s stuck in LA.
- Mausi: Another imaginary friend, Christina is from beautiful Vancouver, Canada and lives somewhere in Germany with, oh, some German guy and their two kids. Christina shows a remarkable amount of fortitude for expat life and you don’t hear her complaining about it, no siree, except when you do and then she’s spot on and funny and real. I kinda wanna give Christina some kind of medal for expat life perseverance. Instead, Christina, you get this Rockin’ Girl Blogger button.
- Tuckova: Because honestly, can anyone else write like Anne in the Czech Republic does? I don’t think so. I think I’m pretty handy with the written word (I’m not fishing for compliments, no need) and then I’ll go read some post that Anne has written and I’ll think, well, well, Miss Fancy I Can Write Nerd’s Eye View, back to the keyboard with you. A-hem.Not that that’s the only reaction I have. Sometimes, I just sit there, sort of stunned.
- Sassy Glasses Girl: Susan is right here in Seattle and she has a brand new blog. There’s not much there yet, but Susan is One Funny Girl, I tell you what. I heard Susan read an essay from a book she’s in and okay, it wasn’t a competition, but she was by far the funniest and what’s better than a funny girl? Not much. I’m hoping to see lots of the snappy humor on her blog as it gains speed. No pressure.
If you want to know what else I’m reading, you can check out my blogroll,that’s here. Some of them are girls, if that matters to you. And if you can’t get enough girl bloggers, now’s a good time for me to point you to BlogHer because that’s a real festival of girl bloggers right there.
Posted in Administrivia | 4 Comments »
Wednesday, June 20th, 2007
Item: Apparently I’ve won an MP3 player from Conde Nast Traveler. I’d totally forgotten that I entered the contest and today I got an email saying, hey, guess what, you get an MP3 player. Here’s a funny thing. I’ve never purchased an MP3 player though I am a big fan. I loved my Rio, I got that when I wrote an article about MP3 players - it was part of the project. I worship my iPod, which I won in a drawing from a browser company. And now, on it’s way to me, apparently, a Sony Noise Canceling Walkman MP3 NW-S705F. Go figure! Word is that the player is swell but the Sony software bites. Stand by, I’ll let you know.
Item: PRX likes me! They like me! No, for real. This might not be a big deal to you because it translates to, well, nothing, but my piece, Ocean Elegy, which I submitted to the public radio independent producers site got a favorable rating from one of the producers there. It’s not a glowing rating, she suggested that the essay was a bit too long and that I needed better recording facilities (insert hysterical laughter here) but, oh here, I’ll just quote the reviewer:
High marks to narrator Pam Mandel for her perfect pitch read. Good cadence, inflection and emotion. Pacing a tad fast at times. Audio postcards like these are fun to listen to especially when they include ambient sound.
I’m trying to decide what piece to convert to audio next. High on the list, To Venice for Lunch. Related: On the agenda for my visit to Chicago? A visit to the PRX studios. I have a crush on RE:Sound and when I told them via email a while back, they said yes, yes you can come visit. What am I gonna wear?!
Item: I’m still in negotiations with the guidebook company because for some reason, my mail to the editor keeps ending up in the spam bucket. The good news is the editor doesn’t leave me there. The project? An update to the BC/Vancouver guide for which I’ll be researcher, writer, and photographer. I’d sure like to land this one. Cross those fingers for me.
Item: It’s the solstice and here in West Seattle, it’s a beautiful thing to watch your shadow get really long as the breeze comes off the Sound behind you.
Further updates as events warrant.
Posted in Administrivia | 2 Comments »
Monday, June 4th, 2007
After a lot of hemming and hawing and machinations and general malaise and unsubstantiated criticism, it looks like I’m going to BlogHer, the women’s blogging conference. It’s not a done deal yet, I’m still working out getting my ticket and oh, yeah, I need a place to stay. That said, odds are increasingly likely that this oddly antisocial, scared of crowds blogger is heading into the fray to spend a weekend in Chicago with a bunch of women whose common denominator is that they blog.
I thought that in order to tackle the um, um, well, let me just leave that blank for now, I’d make my attendance at this conference a NEV community project. Who would YOU want to meet if you went to BlogHer? What sessions would you attend? What do you want to know about BlogHer or blogging that you’d ask if you were sitting next to me in Chicago in July? (Besides the obvious, “Where can I get a drink around here?” and “Yo, just because you blog and I blog doesn’t mean we have any reason to hang out together. I mean, I think Anne Coulter has a blog, right? So what the hell?”)
Also, I’m trying to find out if it’s possible to host a travelbloggers round table, so if you’re going to be there and you have any interest in such a thing, would you let me know?
In the meantime, take a look at the schedule [Day 1][Day 2] and tell me what sessions you think I should attend. Send me your BlogHerWTF questions, too. I figure a tight itinerary and an audience to whom I’m accountable will keep me too busy to fear the masses in cute shoes and witty t-shirts.
And, yes, I totally have an attitude problem and no, I am not getting a pedicure for the conference. Get away from me with that camera…
[tags]BlogHer[/tags]
Posted in Administrivia | 4 Comments »
Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007
Yes, we’re messing with the layout again. Stuff broke. It happens.
Now, this post is about blogging stuff. Boring if you’re not interested in the tech details around what makes Nerd’s Eye View run. Instead, here’s a random post from August, 2005.
If you are interested, carry on… (more…)
Posted in Administrivia | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 21st, 2007
If you were on 15th at mid-day yesterday, you might have caught a little live comedy. On the corner outside Lladro, an earnest young man stood by a folding table with a picture of Al Gore sporting a Pinocchio nose. The fresh-faced lad was from the Larouche campaign and hoping to find sympathetic ears - and maybe dollars - for his cause. The issue - straight from his mouth as I walked by - “Human beings are essentially good! Global warming is not our fault!”
Another neighbor apparently had engaged the young Larouche booster in conversation. I could only hear the end of what he was saying as he stomped away in the crosswalk towards the Hopvine. “Are you saying it’s the sun’s fault? You’re out of your fucking mind! It’s SCIENCE, MAN! SCIENCE!”
Yes, I am going to miss my neighborhood. More than I can say.
A couple of adminstrivia/linky notes:
- Home Turf is running a new carnival of cities. It’s a selection of bloggers writing about, well, um, cities. There’s some fun stuff in there.
- Timen has proposed a “Trusted Travelblog Network” over at In All My Stars. It’s an interesting idea, but I wonder what will make a blog “trusted.” Got an opinion? Go comment.
- Finally, a shout out to the English students of Graz who are reading Nerd’s Eye View as homework! Hello! I’m quite fond of Graz, in spite of the crazy city guides. Next time I’m there, let’s meet in person. And you are welcome to tag along for dinner on Jackson Street when you visit Seattle.
[tags]global warming, Capitol Hill[/tags]
Posted in Administrivia, Seattle | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, February 14th, 2007
Yesterday, I spent all day trying to buy a house. I failed.
When I say all day, I mean all day. First thing in the morning, I called the east coast brokerage house to find out how quickly I could dump some funds in order to have cash for the offer. Then I called the mortgage broker to get my preapproval documentation updated. I let them know at work that not only would I not be in, I would be bunkered and unreachable for the better part of the day, sorry for the short notice. (Thanks, guys. I really appreciate the understanding.)
Calls made, I hurled myself into some clothes - okay, sweats, really - and headed over to the real estate office where we spent many hours going through paperwork. We took a coffee break around 1130, grabbed some lunch at about 1230, and then, at 2 met the inspector at the house. I followed him around like a puppy for several hours, making a short break to meet the next door neighbor to find out about a niggling property line issue. “Let’s just go ASK HER!” I said, and we wandered over to ring her bell. She did most of the talking for the following 45 minutes and told me how she hoped I’d get the house. “Me too,” I said. “Me too.”
At about 430, we went back to the office to fill out the last bits of paper and at 6, I went home, exhausted. I lay on the couch watching Gilmore Girls (Man, it’s gone downhill! Why am I still watching??) and eating toast to settle my churning stomach. I kept doing math in my head. New tile. New roof. Electrician plumber appliances not to mention landscaping at some point and what about those windows…
At seven, my agent called to say the offer was in and at 815 he called to tell me the whole thing was over. I was outbid - at asking price - by more than 20k. That’s right, Twenty THOUSAND dollars. I put down the phone, took a deep breath, and went to bed. I was worn out and more than a little disappointed.
I guess I wasn’t totally surprised and this morning, I’m sad but not devastated. That little house needed some costly lovin’. But it was nice to know that there’s a house out there that could make my heart race. It was sweet to imagine the place all dressed up for me, a lasagna in the oven and wine glasses on the table, clean sheets and candlelight in the bedroom. The immediate attraction made me over look the fact that the house was high maintenance at best. In a day or two, after the sting of shelling out 425 for the inspection has worn off, I’m sure I’ll think it was for the best. It wasn’t THAT cute, I’ll try to convince myself. It wouldn’t have worked out.
For 24 hours, I lost my head. For 24 hours I lost my heart. And, well, I lost. Valentine’s Day is for lovers, isn’t it? What better way to acknowledge it than to spend it recovering from a brief and dramatic romance? Cash blown and heart broken, am I not today an icon of the holiday? Tis better to have loved and lost than…ah, f*ck it.
[tags]Seattle real estate, Valentine’s Day[/tags]
Posted in Administrivia | 6 Comments »
