Sudden Urge

I had a sudden urge to write a blog post. Now that the window is staring back at me, I've lost the ability to string together more than two sentences and I'm left with a burning desire to redesign my blog... that I never write for... and that nobody reads.

So suddenly I have this brand new list of things to add to my already saturated to-do list:

1. Redesign blog
2. Think of something interesting to write about
3. Cry a little because no one cares about what I just wrote


Maybe I should have just tweeted this instead.

Blogging: Just something else to do

There are many facets to my identity: wife, co-worker, student, roller girl, daughter, friend. I thrive on never having free time. The very fact that I'm entertaining the idea of this blog is a testament to that.

Is my attempt to maintain a blog an effort to help balance home, work, school, roller derby, family, friends, art and everything else? There is no shortage of topics that might be covered, including the irony of a handwritten to-do list junkie trying to maintain an uber-techy to-do list blog.

I am a project coordinator by trade and spend the majority of my day writing, refining and completing tasks. In other words, I spend most of my day organizing. In my home life, however, I'm more of a natural disaster uprooting everything but the kitchen sink.

Why should I even try to compile this information for the vast sea of people who aren't even reading it? A lot of personal blogging is self rewarding. One of the most important rewards, those of discipline and commitment, are needed to maintain a successful personal blog. Let's say someone actually reads your posts and maybe even adds you to their RSS feed. You then become accountable.

The best part of hand written to-do lists is the physical act of scratching through a completed item with as much excitement as it took to complete the task; a sense of accomplishment. I'm not shy when I finish a project and it comes out better than expected (or in some cases when it materializes at all). I am my own cheerleader, grabbing the megaphone and gabbing to anyone who will listen.

Blogging will indirectly help complete another item on my to do list, specifically to write more and to write well. A good blog post includes organization and should be a reminder to yourself about what you have accomplished and what lies ahead.

So let's review:

I don't really have time to blog (due to all of my extra-curricular activities), and someone else has already written anything I might have to write about, and no one is actually reading this. I would benefit in the long run because I can increase organization skills, acquire a sense of accomplishment and self rewarding, consistently be reminded of said accomplishments, develop discipline and commitment in order to be held accountable, and improve my writing skills. Oh yes, and it's fun!

For anyone considering starting their own blog, these sites might be helpful.

Keys to Great Writing by Stephen Wilbers

This versatile guide will improve the skills of virtually every type of writer, from professional copywriters to students. Its interactive lessons entertain as they inform, encouraging writes to test their knowledge, learn new techniques and pay attention to detail.

Dictionary.com

They provide reliable, free online access to millions of English definitions, synonyms, spelling, audio pronunciations, example sentences, and translations from our Web properties at Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com, and Reference.com and through our mobile iPhone, BlackBerry, Android and iPad applications and API data services.

NaBloPoMo

Essentially, it's a group of people who have committed to updating their blogs once a day for an entire month.

References: The School of Life: 7 Benefits of Blogging; Reason 4 Smile: Seven Benefits of blogging to your personal growth; Star Sunflower Studios: The Benefits of Creating a Personal or Business Blog

Concentration lost...

I think I can't think about anything else other than how I would use this machine if I were to win one. Seriously, excited and falling for the marketing.




Oh, the possibilities. Maybe someone can just get me one for my birthday :)

geo-side tracked

Here's my deal: I have a lot of stuff do do between now and next Sunday, one of which is just a general straightening of the entire household. I thought I'd try this speed cleaning exercise, which I had planned down to the minute from room to room, task to task. I usually blow any pre-planning off track as soon as I get home because of the amount of time it takes me to shift from work mode to home mode.

Today was no different. Instead of jumping right into my speed cleaning fun, we jumped right into the car, got a "first to find" and then two others in the lower 9th Ward.

Not the best photos, but I'm still just using my iPhone 3 for some reason.


The Steamboat House

View from the Levee

when the Europeans come to town

I haven't mentioned in this forum before, but I work for a company based and founded in New Orleans, Louisiana, however the workforce and resources span across the globe.

This week is our Global Sales Meeting. There are sales reps in from every part of the US and every part of the world. It's amazing to see our campus buzzing with the influx of visitors.

Well, when the visitors come, so do the treats. I'm a huge fan of the stroopwafles.


I am not a fan of the kiss greeting. Yes, I'm from New Orleans and yes, I went to Catholic school... I still don't care for it. I didn't realize that I might be insulting someone or several someones because I extend a hand to shake instead of a cheek to kiss. Or guess I could just be a stupid American.

Really, I'm just not that affectionate and it kinda freaks me out a little. I've even had a friend call me out on it recently during one of our Southern Goodbyes. He said, "You don't like the hugging thing, do you?" I said no and now we exchange the fist bump and I'm totally ok with that.

Maybe that's why none of those gifts are directly mine.

never ending work day

Today I had my longest work day since 1999 when I worked at the skating rink. I did 10-12p (early morning children's parties), 1-4pm (open skate session and 7 parties), 4:30-6:30pm (more open skate and more parties), 7-11pm (open skate on a Saturday night.. packed) and an unexpected private party showed up at 11pm anxiously awaiting the start of their 80's skate party that started at midnight until 2:30ish in the am.

That's a total of 16+ hours and I loved every minute of it.

Although today only lasted from 7am to 8ish pm (and I still managed to enjoy every minute), I am much older than 17 these days and that kind of time frame takes concentration and dedication. I did actually wind up missing a practice tonight, which I'm a little sad about. I'm almost afraid that I won't make attendance to skate in the next bout.

I guess I'll have to figure out how to make that one up sooner than later.

I'm wiped and even though this blog comes much earlier than usual, I think I'm still going to go straight to bed.

tangent

There's a reason that my house will never be clean. I am incredibly easily distracted.

As I was sorting through the endless number of things that need sorting through, I found some rubber stamps that I had borrowed a while back. Needless to say, they were never used for their original borrowing purposes. I finally out them in the pile of not-my-stuff, which just so happens to currently be the purple chair that landed in the kitchen. Until recently it was my office chair, but my back couldn't take it anymore.

This chair came to be mine at a rummage shop that I bought something else I actually was looking for (a mirror to go in the downstairs bathroom). I even haggled the guy down to five bucks. I had every intention of painting this chair some kind of way, but I still haven't figured out how. I had done this once as a high school art project and have always since then been looking for another chair like it. For the time, I had just spray painted it purple.

While sorting in a completely different part of the house, I came across the gold ink pad. I really like to stamp things with this gold ink pad. I hate gold, except in the form of ink accompanied by rubber stamps.



Anyway, unnecessarily long story short, I stamped the chair with the borrowed stamp and now I can say I actually held on to it for all this time for a reason.



I can't make any promises, but I also will find a better camera than my iphone that I can instantly upload pics. The procrastinator in me needs the instant feature.