A Stone Girl Blog first

It was fun and interesting for me to read many introductory blogs from my fellow Holidailies participants on (and around) December 1. One thing that struck me was a common theme that seemed to be running through our first-of-the-month blogs. Many of us are bloggers who aren’t blogging. We started our blogs 10 or more years ago, maintained them for a good while, and then let them lapse. There are varied reasons for this for different people. I think the factors that resulted in my blog’s neglect included moving back to California, having kids, and changing blogging platforms. Many old sites that used to host blogs and blogging communities are defunct, and with them went a sense of community that many of us had, visiting each other’s blogs regularly. I’m glad I was able to transport a lot of my content to WordPress, but it’s not the same around here. Having kids affected a whole host of habits I used to have, for what should be obvious reasons. There are just not enough hours in the day and days in the week to work, maintain a house, and take care of two kiddos. If I’m not out of time by the end of the night, I’m out of coherent brain cells. I suppose I should also blame short-attention span social media distractions for taking up my time (because they don’t really engage my brain cells).

Another theme I saw in a blog I read that I feel I share is somewhat related to the desire to remain under the world’s radar. Maybe not completely anonymous, but at least innocuous enough to not draw negative attention from anyone who would do more than start a flame war. Which, by itself, is something I can barely survive anymore. My flameproof suit shows much wear, enough in spots that I get singed and stung more easily than I like. Sure, I’d love to share stories, ideas, and opinions and learn about what other people think and why. Is it worth it to debate back and forth, either in a civil manner or not? Sure. I can withstand a few flames still. Is it worth it to receive menacing messages or personal insults, or anything more severe? Not right now, it’s not. Not during a time when I’m focused on my work and family. Maybe if I decide to dedicate my life to writing, researching, reaching out to people, or actually trying to influence other people. Possibly then. But not when blogging is supposed to be a good outlet, a good funnel for my scattered thoughts, and a good way to keep in touch with others. So, I think I’m happy to stay under the radar, for now. Which doesn’t mean I won’t continue to post opinions and political thoughts and rants about how hypocrisy sucks. I’ll still do that. But you know what else I’m going to do? Something I’ve never done before. I’m going to post a picture of myself. Most people who read this blog would recognize me. It’s not a big deal if a few “strangers” could someday do so also. I don’t know what I was trying to accomplish by trying to stay out of sight for years. I think it’s a fallacy for any of us with any significant online presence to think we can stay anonymous to everyone. And you know, I’m ok with that. For now. I may delete this blog tomorrow. Ha! But I’ll bust out this little pic my hubby took of me earlier this year when we were hiking around Jack London State Park. Which, by the way, is an awesome little spot in itself to walk and hike and take in some nature. But, if you are a fan of the author, it’s a fantastic place to visit. Learn his history. See his home, the ruins of his dream home, and the beautiful home his widow built after he died. The Park just re-opened The House of Happy Walls home, and I’m looking forward to going back to see it again in its new design. Great little State Historic Park in northern California. Relatively easy for little kids to walk around, and they host some fun events throughout the year.

And with that, I bid you goodnight. Here’s looking at you, kids.

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A Holidailies Hello

Hello, again, Holidailies!

It’s been a while since I participated in Holidailies. Nine years, or thereabouts. I have to admit, I was surprised to see the site still running. Kudos to those who maintain traditions, write all year long, and keep on blogging. My blog has gotten quite stale in the last few years. So, I decided to sign up again this year. I am partly motivated by the desire to blog again. And I’m greatly motivated to get back in touch with others’ blogs, to regain some sort of writing community and to read some funny stories, wise insights, and whatever else my fellow participants come up with. I am happy to see many of the same blogs I read years ago: Thankful Runner Girl (*wave!*); Hat on Top, Coat Below; Tuna News; Red Nose; Funny the World (who may or may not know that I was a Lawsuit fan, back in the day!). And I’m looking forward to making new blog discoveries. And with that, who is this Stone Girl, anyway? It may be time to dust off the old introduction. Here is my old one (complete with two spaces after a period, as we writers used to do, back in the day):

 

My blog, you will find, runs the gamut from “What I did today” to food to political commentary to food to creative writing to…..uhhh…..did I mention I like food?  There is no great theme for this blog.  If you can handle the randomness, please pull up a comfy chair, stick around, and drop me a comment from time to time because I have an insatiable curiosity about why other people think the way they do.  Maybe I would have been a sociologist if I didn’t hate statistics sooooooo much.  Oh, except for the occasional dislike of human interaction. I am more than three names and less than the legacy of my four grandparents.  I am a world-traveling homebody.  I am an occasional insomniac and often-vivid dreamer.  A wife to my Sweetie, daughter to my mom, Lil Sis to my Big Sibs, Aunty to my nephews, and you-gotta-love-me friend to my pals.  A recovering workaholic who has learned how to slack off while living in Maui.  Raised in small-town California.  Born in small-town Europe.  Technical writer.  Creative writer.  Blogging writer.  Laugher, crier, worker, player.  Hiker, music-lover, piano player, seeker, and student-of-life.   Environmental analyst, which means few people understand exactly what I do for a living.  I am comfortable in my own skin and always trying to grow a little more.   Loyal Aggie.  Lactose intolerant.  An open-minded Christian who counts the Dalai Lama as one of my only heroes.  Comic book collector.  Professional when I need to be, goofy by nature.   I believe in self-reliance for myself and helping others when I can.

 

Hmmmm, that’s all pretty much still true. I started my blog to try and stay in touch with friends and family when I moved to Maui in 2006. I suppose an update should mention that I’m back living in California. And, Sweetie and my family has grown by two since our Maui days, I am happy to say. Which may explain the lack of blogging in the last few years. Maintaining a job and household with two kids is about as much as my aging brain can handle these days. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that my brain doesn’t still run about 200 miles per hour with overflowing opinions, ramblings, and questions. There are many food [Edit: I realize I erred and misspelled “good.” But…..did I mention at some point that I like food??] reasons to get back to blogging. I’m looking forward to reading lots of blog entries this month. Hope you all stop by from time to time. This is who I am. Who are you? Happy Holidailies!

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Notes from an Absent Blogger

1.  There has been (and continues to be) quite an earthquake swarm in Nevada.  According to (one of my favorite I-am-a-nerd-blogs) Eruptions: There is the interesting coincident that the focus of the swarm is near the Auroa Volcanic Field – however, Graham Kent from the director of the Nevada Seismological Lab at the University of Nevada, Reno, doesn’t think a volcanic eruption is likely.  Eruptions blogger notes that Nevada has seen many earthquake swarms over the past few years (true, says I) and none have led to volcanic activity.

2.  Life is generally good.  Sweetie and I are enjoying our house and the endless list of projects (mostly his!) that come with it.  He is currently constructing two raised veggie boxes for me to plant our own crops.  I am very happy about this!  We inherited, in the backyard of this house, a couple of nice artichoke plants.  I have managed to not kill them yet and they are producing a nice little crop of artichokes.  Wonderful!  I picked three the other day, cooked them up, and served them with my mom’s patented (should be) artichoke dipping sauce.  Delicious! 

3.  Work is good and sometimes crazy.  True to form, my work and overlapping deadlines sometimes results in weeks like last week where I have to work 13 to 15 hours for a while.  Not true to my old (younger self) form, I can’t maintain that level of work/brain effort for very long.  I worked so hard for most of last week, I crashed on Friday.  Went to a meeting I couldn’t reschedule and then came home, hugged my Sweetie, wasted time on the computer, and went to see a movie.  We saw Hanna.  It was good, but not as good as I was expecting. Good, but I was expecting more there there.  But fine because, heck, I was NOT working. I won’t link to the movie trailer because I think it shows too much.  But I will link to a short clip featuring some of the brilliant soundtrack from The Chemical Brothers. That particular music piece was probably my favorite in the movie, but others were quite good.  If you like that sort of thing at all, you’d love the soundtrack.  Sweetie and I definitely appreciated the soundtrack. 

4.  I was thinking of writing a separate blog called “Why I don’t blog about Sarah Palin.”  But then I thought “Well, really.  I don’t blog much at all these days so that seems like a silly title.”  But there actually is a reason I don’t blog about her.  Not that I don’t read about her.  I do.  And there has been plenty to read about lately.  I could say all sorts of things.  The ridiculousness of her posing as some sort of political analyst for Fox News.  How much her reality show (and all the rest of her goings-on) does nothing to really promote the great state of Alaska since she resigned as Governor.  The hypocrisy of her daughter prancing around lecturing about abstinence while supported by a group that advertises abstinence with a close-to-pornographic picture of a young girl wrapped around a guy.  ?  Yeah, that makes sense.  We have to be hip for the young kids and then expect them to absorb a message completely opposite from the visual.  How I don’t really believe most of the conspiracy theories about Trig’s birth.  Mostly because I subscribe to the same belief for almost ALL conspiracy theories: If there were more than 3 people involved, it’s not very likely that a much-talked about conspiracy theory wouldn’t be able to provide proof by now.  I could throw in my two cents about her actions surrounding her son’s birth (was she trying to self-abort for 8 months, including the last few days? maybe).  All of these things (and much more) could have been separate blogs.  But I don’t bother.  Why?  Because when I wrote this, my main interest was that this dear country that I live in not make the horrendous mistake of electing this woman to any high office in this country.  Not in 2012.  Not ever.  I said I didn’t want her on the national stage.  There is nothing I can do about the fact she is all over the national airwaves.  There is nothing I can do about the fact that educated people I know seem to love and support her, blinded by her messages of Faith Faith Faith God God God, without realizing (or acknowledging) what a wicked truly twisted person lies beneath.  But as for high office, I don’t worry about it anymore.   She is a non-entity.  If she runs, it will be for the publicity and her own narcissistic satisfaction.  She is not a viable candidate.  Not for her potential scandals.  Not for her prostituting herself and her family for any amount of cash that can come her way.  And not because she can’t seem to form a coherent sentence on the fly.  But because of this:  She quit.  She quit, ladies and gentlemen.  She was elected to an executive office to serve a term for the voters who cast their ballot for her, and WHAT DID SHE DO?  She quit.  Game over.  Buh bye.  No excuses (should every potential lame duck executive quit??). What more do I, a mere blogger who talks about food as much as I talk about politics, need to say?  Pretty much nothing.  Why do I mention it now?  Because potential candidates are starting to proclaim their intentions right now and there may be another buildup of support for her.  And I may note it as it happens.  But do I honestly believe she has a snowball’s chance in a Texas wildfire to be elected President?  No.  And I trust that a large majority of people of this good country know this too.

5.  If I can’t get my act together and blog more, I resolve to at least be better at reading, and hopefully chiming in at, other folks’ blogs. 

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Sunday Stealing, The 35 Questions x2, Part 2

Never mind the fact that I didn’t do Part 1.  Here is Part 2.

You can participate in this week’s Sunday Stealing over HERE.

36. If you suddenly became single or are single, do you think you could last in a relationship for 12 months or more?

Of course.

37. Do you forgive or forget?

 

I forgive, I sometimes forget, and – when necessary – I just get over it.

38. Do you trust people?

Do I know people I can trust?  Yes. 

39. What are you not looking forward to?
The next body part breaking down.
40. Do you get mad easily?

It seems only around my husband and sister.  We know how to push each other’s buttons.  Other than that, I usually have a very long fuse.

41. Tell us about the last time you were told you that you have pretty eyes.
A little while ago. By Sweetie.  We were in bed.  That’s all you need to know.

 
42. Do you have strange dreams?

hahaha.  Are there cows in Switzerland?  Could I fill a whole blog just with strange dreams?  Yes.

43. Ever licked someone’s cheek or forehead?

ummm….what?

44. Tell us about the last time you fell asleep in someones arms.
Sweetie is a good cure for my insomnia.  Course, it’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve seen him.  *sigh*

 
45. When did you last play a game?

Few days ago.  With my nephews.  Killer Bunnies we played. 

46. What do you have on you at all times?
My aura of awesomeness. 

47. Do you go out in public without getting all dressed up?
Define “getting all dressed up.”  Do I wear clothes?  Yes.  Do I think I look fine?  Yes.  Am I anywhere close to being “in fashion” or “dressed up?”  Hell no.

48. Do you like fruity or minty gum?
Cinnamon

49. Favourite musician or group?

Click on the “Music” tab for an idea on that.

50. Do you like anyone?
I like many people.

51. Favourite computer game?
Civilization (although – I really only play it on the PlayStation)

52. First album you ever went and bought with your own money?
hhhmm….it was a compilation album of some sort.  Song Bird of something and…….man, I can’t remember the other one.  Loved those. And by the way – they were ALBUMS.  Not cassettes or CDs.  ALBUMS.  Anyone remember those?

53. Think back five months ago, were you single?
Is it that hard for people to think back 5 months ago?  I’ve been married for 2.5 years.  You figure it out.

54. Do you believe in celebrating anniversaries?
I believe in recognizing anniversaries.  I’m not heavy into celebrating because I think they should be noted for their importance without the extraneous burden of celebrating.   

55. Do you think someone is thinking about you right now?
Right this second, probably not.  Sweetie is working, the rest of the family is busy and…….oh, I don’t know. 

56. Last thing you bought?

Food.

57. Are you a jealous person?

Not really.  But I do tend to get insecure which is probably worse.

58. Does it take a lot to make you cry?
It used to.  Not anymore.  Happiness. Sadness.  A good episode of Buffy.  Is that a lot?

  
59. Do you have a friend of the opposite sex you can talk to?
Of course.  Especially since I consider my husband to be my friend.
60. Have you ever had your heart-broken?
Take out the dash there and I’ll answer – yes.
61. Have you ever done something while drunk that you still cannot believe you did?

No.  I don’t believe getting drunk is a good excuse to behave in a manner inconsistent with my own good judgement.  That being said, I’ve been rowdy, been loud, been happy, been sad, made out with an almost-stranger, danced in public, and even *gasp!* sung out loud while drunk.  None of that surprises me into disbelief at my own behavior. 

62. Is there anyone you secretly wish you could be spending your time with right now?
Yeah.  It’s a huge secret that I miss Sweetie.  Shhhhhhhh. Don’t tell anyone!
63. Do you text?

Within the limits of my not-unlimited-text plan, yes.

64. Do you wish someone would call or text you right now?
Not really.
65. Is your life anything like it was a year ago?
A lot like it, yes.  Except for the part about me being freezing cold in California and looking for a new job.
66. Go back one year on your blog. Leave us a link to your favorite post.

Here’s one from a little over a year ago:  Mating Behavior.

67. You can only drink ONE liquid for the rest of your life, what is it?

Well, all other things being the same, I need water to survive.  So -water.

68. Tell us about someone that you have lost contact with someone you wish you didn’t.

hmmm…can’t think of someone.  I try and at least stay in infrequent contact with many people. 
69. What is the last thing you said out loud?
“What’s the last thing I just said?”
70. Will this year be better than last?
Could be.  But maybe not.  Oh wait……I said this year was going to be EPIC.  Epic.  So, it must be better

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The Life of a Blog Entry Stuck in Draft…

….hello.  I am a lonely Blog Entry.

I am trapped in Draft phase and this crazy lady won’t let me out.  I am usually alone all day and night.  Sometimes she pops in to change a word, rearrange some punctuation, or delete half of me.!  But mostly I am alone.  Sometimes she cheats on me and starts a completely different Draft.  I don’t hate the Other draft.  I know it will get the same treatment as me. 

But wait!  Arghhh!  No!  She posted something!  She posted something meaningless and yet, here I still sit.  I am not meaningless!  I am interesting.  And I have information you might want to read!

But here I sit. 

And wait.

Guess you’ll never read about the ups and downs of trying to plan for the future.

You may not even know that my author flew the coop last week.  Took off.  Of course, I still see her because I am in some “cloud” that manages to follow her around wherever she goes.  Even if she flies to California on a moment’s notice.

Why would she do that?  Well, it’s not really my place as a simple DRAFT to pry, but between the e-mails flying around the cloud and the clicking on corporate websites, I’m hearing consistent chatter about things like “job openings”, “resumes”, “interviews”, and things of that nature.  There were phone calls.  I think there was even a Skype session.  Whatever that is.  And then I thought “Well! We got that over with, didn’t we?  Silly interviews are over.  Surely she will finish ME now!”

But no.  Of course not. 

Instead of calming down and going back to life as usual, she seemed to flutter around in even more of a frenzy and before you know it, I have to track her down in California.  Seems technology can only go so far with these interviewer types.  Personally I think that meeting in person is a little old fashioned.  But what do I know? I’m just an electronic Draft! 

So, here we are.  I’m ignored again in favor of things like “second interviews” and “quotes from moving companies” and……don’t even get me started on how verbose she can be in her e-mails to some dude about such mundane things like “our future.”  *yawn*  Your future will be fine lady.  But Blog Entries are NOT like fine wine.  We don’t age well on the shelf.  We get outdated.  We go stale.  We don’t like to be ignored!! 

Maybe somebody should start a letter-writing campaign.  “Free the Trapped Blog Entry!”  Release the stale words full of yesterday’s news, ambiguous rhyming words, and ranty venom.

Or not.  I can stay up here in the unread Draft clouds in the sky.  It’s certainly well-populated.  In fact, I think that “Script of the Century” just winked at me. 

I gotta go.

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Thanks Holidailies!

Whew!

Holidailies is at an end and once again I say to myself:  Why do I choose December as the month to participate in the blog-every-day challenge??? 

Don’t know.  Maybe because I’ve found some great blogs from the Holidailies crew and appreciate having the portal into their worlds.  For that, and the challenge itself, I say – Big thanks to Jette and Chip for hosting Holidailies.  Big Mahalo!

Thanks also to the many bloggers who spent so much time and thought on their entries this year.  It was fun to revisit some old favs like Bozoette’s Red Nose Green Tuna’s Tuna News and Bev’s Funny the World.   Nice to hear from fellow bloggers like Hannah over at IAmNotBroken, John at Where’s My Plan? and  Erik at the electronic replicant.  I’ve added a few more blogs to my favorites list, such as Ginny’s Praying to Darwin, Lisa’s Notes from Zone 4 and Zannim,.    And, as always, all challenges are more fun when I get to participate with one of my all-time favorite writers, Saturncat.

Thanks everyone and keep up the good blogging so I have more reasons to distract myself in 2010!

Not too shabby this year.  With this entry, I have posted 28 times since December 7.  Who knows what 2010 blogging will bring for me.  I hope folks will stick around to find out.  Maybe a move.  Maybe lots of visitors to our home in Maui.  Maybe an addition to the family. ??  Certainly a few weddings, as Sweetie and I already have four we know about.  Something about food, I am sure.  Perhaps a cure for insomnia!?  And you can always count on me for plenty of rants, political ramblings and some fawning words about this guy:

Aloha all and Hau’oli Makahiki Hou!!  Happy Blogging!

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Attachments and blogging

Remember how I wrote a blog about forming attachments to things? And how bad you feel when you lose or break those things?

One thing you can get too attached to is your own blog. Why am I thinking about this? Because Harmaceutical wrote a blog today about the many rumors that have been swirling about the possible demise of 360 blogging. I heard these rumors months and months ago. I was visiting one of Yahoo 360’s “support” pages/blogs back when I was complaining endlessly about the fact that spammers had taken over a Yahoo Group I belong to (absolutely no help was ever received by the way). Back then, I would check the comments on those blogs and people kept asking Yahoo “What’s the story with Yahoo 360 still being Beta?”, “Are you shutting down the blogs?”, “Will you tell people before you shut down the blogs?”, and “Are you going to start charging for this service?”

To my knowledge, no one ever answered these questions.

I read Harm’s blog today and thought “Yup, I’ve heard that too.” Then, I read how he took the big giant step of purchasing a domain name for himself and I thought “Hey! I did that too!” Because that’s exactly what a did a little while ago. Then, I called up a good buddy of mine who is way more savvy with programming, and graphics, and whatnot, and things of that nature. And I asked him to do a couple of things for me. And I bookmarked this excellent blog about putting together your own website. The theme of this blog entry was “How to Leave Blogger”, but I think the tips can apply to anyone interested in starting their own site. It relies on tools such as WordPress to help you through the process. Some folks may want to start their own site from scratch, but there is no way I could do something like that unless I commissioned someone to create the whole site for me, and I don’t know if I want to spring for that much quite yet. Maybe, but maybe not.

Anyway, as a warning, I suppose – I find it interesting that these rumors of Yahoo 360 switching to another platform, or totally shutting down are still simmering. I sometimes start my blog entries in Word first – mostly because I have to leave the blog, come back and finish it, and Yahoo doesn’t have a good way to “save” your blog entry. So, I know some of my longer blogs are saved. And, I’ve thought about the possibility that the rest of them could go “Poof!” at the whim of the Yahoo string-pullers. I’ve taken steps. Don’t know if it will ever go anywhere past Yahoo, but yes, I’ve thought about it.

p.s. – I think all these preparations mean I’m too attached to my blog, but I’ll deal with that later.

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To blog or not to blog

It’s a hard thing, sometimes, when you’re a person not used to sharing tons of emotions. And hard when you know people who know you read your blog. Writing can be a great catharsis. And sharing and gaining information is, I think, one of the great advantages of this digital age. And I imagine I’m one of the more boring blogs because, hey I’m just me and this is often just day-to-day stuff. But that’s the reason why I started this blog. I was moving away from my family and friends and thought this would be a fun way to update multiple people at one time. And a good way to jump-start any form of writing, which I had been sadly neglecting for a long time. And don’t get me wrong. I love to write. And I strive to try and understand other people. And myself. It’s a goal worth a lifetime of work.

But when it comes to negative stuff, I think “How much can I write?” I tend to write non-specifically. I don’t want to worry people. And I don’t want to give off impressions that are overly negative. A lot of the woes around here are everyday run-of-the-mill stuff. But once I start writing, there’s no stopping me. And I think that’s ok. Because, you know what? This is who I am. A person who can stop and smell the flowers and laugh. And a person who can overreact, or over analyze, or worry too much. That’s just who I am. To pretend that I’m not, or worry about giving off a bad impression…..well, that’s probably ok in blogland because no one will call us on it. But I figure I can be open sometimes. And I hope I don’t overstep, or hurt anyone, or cause confusion. If I do, call me on it, ok?

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I did it!

That’s it folks!

December is almost over, and I have managed to post every day this month and, Whew!. That was harder than I thought it would be. Little did I know it would be so hard for a blabber mouth like me to blab every day. Sorry for the snore-inducing posts. Speaking of which, this is really another non-entry because I’m about to leave the house again and won’t be back before January 1, 2007.

January 1, 2007. How did that happen?

Before I leave, let me just wish everyone and safe and happy New Year. If you had a great year, may it carry on to 2007. If you had a bad year, then the turning and ticking of the clock may not matter much to you. And January may look to hold nothing better than today. And I know that nothing magical can clean a bad slate at the stroke of midnight tonight. But I hope that you can remember that the good things about 2006 will also continue on, and even if your sorrows and troubles will not go away after tonight, you are not alone in facing a new year. None of us know what may happen in 2007 and, in that, we share a bond. I can only hope the best for the people I know and care about. Heck, even for the people I don’t know.

Good luck in 2007!

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