Blog round-up, week one

First of all, thanks to everyone who volunteered themselves up for the blog roundup. I'm going to try to group them loosely (translation: don't get too worked up over an outlier or two). For now, blog roundups will happen Wednesday nights. Late-ish.

I'm doing this for two reasons: One, most of these blogs come from friends of mine, and they're cool people and I want to brag on them a little. Indulge me.

Two, I really haven't felt like writing lately. and I don't like that. But I do know that other people's writing usually sparks and inspires mine, and so while I hope you enjoy the blogs here, I also hope it will kickstart me, so to speak.

The theme this week is...

Travel

Travel at home, travel abroad. And so without further ado & in no particular order:

Tales of an Adventure Junkie

My friend Jules is many things. She's beautiful, she's smart, she's shockingly funny, she's a globetrotter and a storyteller. Sometimes her tales make me jealous. Other times, like when she details a bout of airplane sickness, they make me glad to be home. But they always make me laugh. Also, on any given day, I have no idea where on the planet she might be. 

Find the Found

Jenni and Chrissi are sisters. I met them both at a recent weekend-long coastal bachelorette party. They're incredible women, and stunning storytellers. And they have this brilliant blog, which not only gives tips on travel and life in general, but has also been telling the beautiful story of a new family, as Chrissi and her husband are currently in the Philippines with their new daughter, Mary. Read it. 

The Portland Untourist

If you've been following Stumbling into Grace for any time at all (and if you have, thank you for sticking with me through the dry spells), you've heard me talk about my friend Robin. I don't need to tell you she's fun, crazy talented, and beautiful because you know this already. But! Robin has a new project. The Portland Untourist is designed to help people rediscover where they live. Since Robin lives in Portland, the blog is currently Portland-centric, but fascinating no matter where you are (and I have brought her to many of the places she's highlighted, so you're welcome.) 

The Antiscian

Robin's friend (and now mine as well) Jessica is currently living and working in Shanghai. This blog is honestly a must for anyone interested in travel, Chinese culture, good writing or life. Really, that should catch all of us. Oh, and Jessica just happened to snag a gig editing Hops Magazine. No big deal. 

Talented folks, these. Stay tuned for more next Wednesday, and hopefully some posts about other material in between. Happy reading! 

I have/haven't forgotten.

Hey, look at that--I have a blog.

It will eventually be live again, hopefully soon.

Ps. 5-hour energy makes me hot. Apparently this is normal, and is called "niacin flush". How creepy is that?

What I learned from May's Blogathon

Hi, friends.

As you all probably know at this point, I took part in (and narrowly missed successfully completing) the 2010 WordCount Blogathon.

Here's what I've learned:

1. Blogging is serious business. 

I started a blog because I like words, I think I'm funny, and I thought it would be good to make myself write.  When I joined the Blogathon, I thought I would find lots of people like me--people who make fun little observations about life and release them to the universe. And I did find some people like that.

But I heard a lot about branding, a lot about traffic and analytics, and a lot about acronyms that meant nothing to me (like SEO, for example). And I realized, these people are taking this SERIOUSLY.

I also got a lot of blogging advice. If I do decide to get myself a domain name and commit to this blogging thing, I don't know that it will be here. I love this blog, and I love doing it, and I love that you (yes, you, specifically) are reading it, but I don't know that I would ever call it a serious venture. I feel like this is like my think- and play-space, and I am incredibly honored that anyone would come along for the ride.

2. Someone has already written about this, and done a better job. 

I am a good writer. I'll even stick my nose out and say I have talent at it. But there are a lot of good writers in the world, and there were a lot of good writers taking part in the Blogathon. But here's one part of the encouragement of this realization. The fact that what I'm doing may not be 100% original or completely the greatest thing ever committed to language/thought/webspace doesn't mean I shouldn't do it. The fact is, I do have a unique voice, and people enjoy hearing it. Now, many of those people may be friends and family (who, really, unless they're jerks--and they're not--kinda have to like me), but many others were strangers to me on May 1, and are strangers still. And people are reading, and saying hello, and I get to get stuff--the silly stuff, the scary stuff, the serious stuff--out of my head. Everybody wins.

3. People are really nice. 

This one maybe isn't rocket science, but it's nice to be reminded. I have been so impressed by the amount of advice, support and encouragement I have received over the past month. Whether it's support in regards to jobs, like I posted yesterday, or encouragement when my life deflates, or even just direction on what to use for blogging and how to use it, people have been really helpful and kind. And so thank you, gang.

And just for fun, here is my favorite text message I received today (the sender shall remain anonymous):

I am drawing a shark in a business suit. Please kill me. 

Yesterday, I failed.

Technically.

I didn't post, for the first time (technically) in 2010 Blogathon history. And you know what? I'm a tiny bit bummed, but I'm mostly ok with it. Because yesterday was nuts, but in a good way.

I had a second-round job interview with a local(ish) company that shall for now go unnamed. This company is amazing--employees have a great energy, the work they're doing is important, and the office has nice views. Different levels of importance, to be sure, but all reasons why I want to work for this company.

I sat down with several people in the course of the interview, and each time, made no small thing of saying, "I want this job, specifically, passionately, this job, I want it."

We'll see if that worked. I felt good about the interview.

I've applied for a LOT of jobs over the past year. I've tried to apply mostly at organizations and companies where I have connected in some way with the work they're doing, but there have also been a fair amount of "Yes, I can run your front desk" kind of applications.

Want to know what the funny thing is? Every single time I have gotten called in for an interview, it has been for a position with an organization I'm passionate about, and usually, in some sense, I'm already invested in the type of work they do or the community they work with. Every time. So much for worrying about taking the wrong job, huh?

So, yes, I need a job. But I really, really want this one. Watch this space for updates.

It's Blogathon Haiku Day!

A cancelled meeting
Means red wine and a noir film,
Pajamas at home.

Happy Monday night. :)

Next time you tell me you're bored...

...I may take a swing at you. It probably won't be a real one, and it will almost certainly be both ineffective and in jest, but be ready.

It is 2010. We may not have flying cars yet, but even if we did, someone would be sleeping through the trip. A couple notes before we launch into tonight's posts:

1) My instructions are aimed at adults. Teenagers will always be bored. That's practically your job description from 12-18: be bored or overreact. One or both, at all times.

2) Sometimes a little boredom can be nice (emphasis on little). When life is crazy, it can serve as a bizarre respite. What I'm talking about here is the people who complain/announce their boredom. Ok? Here's your instruction.

STOP IT.

If you can't stop it, shut up about it.

Really, boredom comes from selfishness. We've done everything we want to do, or the thing we most want to do is unavailable to us, so we announce that we're bored. God forbid we go engage another human being. God forbid we accomplish something that isn't 110% enjoyable.

Am I preaching to myself as much as you? Absolutely.

I'm not sure if it's a local thing, a hipster thing, a modern thing, a 20something thing, an affluence thing or what, but lately I have heard EVERYTHING called boring.

"Music is boring." So go make some. Or shut up.

"God, tv is so boring." Donate your set and go outside.

"The internet is boring." Really? I imagine if all you do is feed crows on FarmVille and click through pictures from your first cousin-twice-removed's baby shower in Omaha, the internet is boring. However (and I'm sure you've all heard this already, but), I doubt the people involved in this story consider the internet boring.

Boring is not an excuse, and it's not a right to complain. Boring is a luxury, and whining about it is a flaunting of that luxury in front of people who work harder (or at least smarter) than the complainers.

If you're bored, invest in something. Invest in someone. I hope it's clear this isn't necessarily economic investment--it's time, it's value, it's connection. It's not always money. Step outside yourself and find out what someone else wants or needs for a change.

You don't have to change the world. You don't have to champion a cause. You don't even have to believe in anything (though I would recommend believing in something), other than the fact that you are not a self-sustaining island.

You can even stay bored, if that's really what you want. Just don't make me read it on your Facebook status.

"Don't text me to say Glee is on."

I was hanging out with a bunch of friends from Emmaus tonight, and eventually, briefly, the topic of my blog came up. I mentioned, half as a joke, that one of my friends could write a guest post for me whenever she wanted.

"Oh, no," she said, "I hate writing."

"What?" I asked.

"I can't stand writing. I avoid it. I'd much rather do math or science."

"Me too," another friend chimed in. "I'd rather do math or science than write."

I looked at the people seated around the table as if they were aliens.

I'm not against math or science, but both are hard for me. And I guess what surprised me most was that I forgot that writing doesn't come easily to everyone. So many of my friends are writers, love writing and talking about writing, that the concept of someone truly hating writing has become utterly foreign to me.

I don't love writing every minute of every day. Anyone who writes will tell you that there are times finding words, and not even the right ones, is like finding a needle in a haystack (to beat the phrase to death). Sometimes it's worse--even when you're searching for that needle in that haystack (and really, who has ever done that?), you know it's there. Writing sometimes feels like digging through the muck of the barn for something that might not even exist.

But when I do love writing, I love it in a way unique to everything else. Words slip out, pour out, burst out and the doors and windows are flung wide open, and the oxygen is new, the world is new and so am I.

Sounds overdramatic, and I know it. But then again, I have a tendency to be overdramatic, regardless of what my caustic nonchalance may seem to show at times.

So, it's ok if you don't love writing. If you're a part of the blogathon, or if you spend a fair amount of time reading blogs in general, you probably do love it. But if you don't, that's fine. There are plenty of other misguided, starry-eyed romantics, waiting with pen in hand.

I need a blogging mentor!

I'll tell you all a secret. 

I don't really know what I'm doing. 

I like writing, and I like writing about what I know. 

I like that people seem to enjoy reading what I have to say. 

I like that the internet exists, as it allows me to hear from people I wouldn't otherwise be aware existed, and it allows these same people to hear me. 

I like that the internet allows me to have lots of options and ways of doing things, because it helps me look like I know what I'm doing. 

But I don't.

The WordCount Blogathon has been fun, it's been fascinating, and it's also made me keenly aware of how new I am at this. I see buttons and things on other people's sites, and I think, perhaps that would be helpful. 

And perhaps it is. But I don't really understand what I'm doing still, and so I have only a vague idea of how to do it better. 

What I need, I've decided, is a blogging mentor. Not a writing mentor (though I'll always take the advice), not a social media mentor (I like to think I get it--pompous, I know), but a real nuts and bolts, "here's how to fit this in this box, here's why a move to WordPress would be good for you, here's why having a Digg button is worth it or not" kind of mentor. 

There are thousands of terrible, amateur, lazy bloggers out there. I am tired of being one. 

There are also thousands (yes, I think thousands) of brilliant, talented, savvy bloggers out there. I would like to glean wisdom from one. Or a dozen. And I'm poor, so I can't pay $150.00 for your blogging class. But I can buy you a cup of coffee, probably, or offer general comic relief. 

Send help. :)

"So, basically, you just swap witty text messages all day long."

I'll be honest--I've been scrambling for a topic today. I even popped over to this Netvibes list, created by Blogathoner Dylan, of discordianZen, to see what other people were writing about. Here's a broad sample:

1. their kids
2. their social media-influenced business
3. their garden
4. their cooking projects
5. their crafty projects

Being single, childless and currently unemployed (see the donate button? Ok, I'm done), I don't have some of those things. And being largely useless & woefully untalented at almost anything requiring the use of my hands (not by any real physical malady, just pure awkwardness) those other things are out for me too. And I thought, Heather, what are you good at?

You're looking at what I'm good at. I'm not claiming this is the best work I've ever done, or that the work, in this moment, is even particularly good. But this, this writing thing, and telling people what I think about things, is what I'm good at. Sometimes I even get to be funny in the middle of it.

Another couple things I'm good at are more difficult to translate into this form. I'm good at drinking coffee for long, slow periods of time, and I'm good (I hope) at listening. In the last couple weeks I've had the opportunity to hear several of my friends share their hearts, and while it's an absolutely brilliant way to spend your time (almost the best), I doubt they'd appreciate if I divulged the details here.

So... writing, coffee-drinking and listening. I hope I'm as good at those things as I think I am. When that doesn't work, I can always resort to the snappy text exchange.

What atypical or overly common thing are you surprisingly good at? 

My favorite blogs.

Before we get to the blogging goodness, some housekeeping. Look to your right. See that yellow thing?

That's a donate button. In a sense, it's shameless self-promotion and groveling. But as many of you know, I am currently unemployed, and money is in short supply. If you like this blog (and I hope you do), please consider making a donation to the Heather Has Time to Write Because She's Jobless fund. Of course, I'll never know who all comes by here and DOESN'T click it, so the pressure's off you. :)
__________________________________________________________

As part of the WordCount Blogathon 2010, (most) the participating bloggers are taking today to highlight other blogs they love. So far, I've noticed a lot of people highlighting blogs that help them work, help them write, help them succeed. And those are great. But most of my blogs focus on one or both of my favorite things...

I love God, and I love laughing. These blogs help me in that in some way. In no particular order:

1. Go Fug Yourself

This is the first one...the first blog I ever got addicted to. It's two girls, Heather and Jessica, talking about celebrity fashion. I don't know much about fashion, but I visit this site nearly every weekday, and these girls make me laugh ridiculously hard. Also, last fall, via Twitter, they tried to dissuade me from wearing leg warmers. I told them I would be the poor man's Chloe Sevigny, and they told me to go forth with boldness, or something (see the blog, you'll understand). I'm sure they don't NEED more readers, but...
@fuggirls

2. BizChick Blogs

I love finding blogs this way...a friend of mine from high school saw (via Facebook) that I was blogging, and put me in touch with her friend. This is the only business/work-related blog on my list, but I love her style. It's accessible and practical for newbies like me (or maybe you).
@bizchickblogs

3. Sarah Hoopes (Diary)

Sarah is a Portlander who had a brilliant idea. Since "15 years is a great filter", she posts a page of her diaries from "this day, 15 years and older." The thing I love about Sarah's blog is that I think we can all see some of ourselves in her teenage tales of lust and longing, and the general injustice that is adolescence. Plus, I am almost certain she performed at "Mortified" with my friend Molly a while back, and how can you not love that? She's also been more than generous in regards to this here little blog, and I'm grateful.
@sarahhoopes

4. Blog One Another

The joys of Twitter are, I think, endless, and I happened upon this blog here. Jon Reid is in San Jose, CA, which was the "big city" next to where I grew up. His thoughts on faith and life and what it means to have the two irrevocably intertwined have made me think, and he has been kind and gracious, even when I have disagreed with his perspectives. He's also been very generous toward me and my blog. I love Twitter!
@jonmreid

5. Jesus Needs New PR

This is the blog of Matthew Paul Turner, who used to write exclusively about Contemporary Christian Music for magazines, is a bit of a cynic, now has a few books to his credit, and is very, very funny. He and his wife also blog for World Vision, Be on the lookout for the "Jesus Pictures of the Day".
@jesusneedsnewpr

BONUS BLOG! Hyperbole and a Half

I don't know who this girl is, where she comes from or what she eats for breakfast, but she is FUNNY. This blog is a celebration of all those stupid things you probably think about but would never actually voice, coupled with terrible (sorry), hilarious illustrations. NOTE: This blog is not advised for you if you are strongly anti-foul language, as it tends to be pervasive. But you will laugh, I promise.

Grammar nerds, look back about five posts for her post about the use of the term "alot". It's heaven.
@AllieBrosh

2010 WordCount Blogathon

As you may have seen, I am taking part in the 2010 WordCount Blogathon (a post a day for the month of May), and so are a bunch of other people. They've been generous enough to list everyone on their site, and I figured it was time to do the same. So...Blogathon 2010 (hosted by Portland's own Michelle Rafter)! 


Rebecca I. Allen - 356 No More, A journey from couch to fit
Christa Avampato - Christa in New York, Curating a Creative Life
Anjuli - bhulbhulaiyan, a complicated entanglement of zigzag pathways
Joan Lambert Bailey - PopcornHomestead, Gardening, place and my life in Tokyo
Karen Bannan - Natural as Possible Mom, Because natural isn't always possible — or easy
t.a. barnhart - Left Coast Foodie, Damn, that's good: a foodie blog by someone who knows what he's doing
June Bell - Enough is enough! Advice and support
Athena l. Borozon - The Desert Rat Dialogues
Jane Boursaw* - Film Gecko, Cool movie news and reviews 
Alisa Bowman - Project Happily Ever After, Marriage advice from a recovering divorce daydreamer
Carson Brackney - Carson Brackney, Consultant, Copywriter, Content Provider, Factotum
Ben Bradley, Ben’s (Not Quite) First Ever Presence on the Interweb, Blog of an aspiring human being
Sheena Brockington – Greenhouse Advertising, Cultivating ideas for small businesses
Danielle Buffardi* - Horrible Sanity, Going into the mind of a mother and freelancer
Beverly Burmeier - Going on Adventures, Travel stories from near and far
Diane Calhoun – Violet is My Color, Life just happens, deal with it
Danielle Carter – Live and Love Life VA, Helping you do more of what you love, and less of what you don't!
Fiona Chan - Candy Prison, A typical teenager
Joy Choquette - One Year. 156 Fears. Life Changing. One woman tackles her fears
Bernard Chung - Green Tea World, It's more than just a cup of green tea here
Caroline Clemmons - A Writer's Life, Writing tips, interviews and miscellaneous ramblings
Shelley Clunie  - ShelCluzo’s Blog, Healthy, wealthy and wise at 62
Cocotte - Leaping into Life, Uncommon stories to nurture body, mind & soul
Christianne Cook – A Day in My Mind, The world through my eyes
Sue Dickman – Life Divided, Food, garden, books . . . and India
Jackie Dishner – Bike with Jackie, Using my special brand of BIKE to teach you how to turn obstacles into opportunities
Tracy Doerr – Tracy Doerr, A chronicle of ideas and things that inspire me
Ron S. Doyle* – Blog Salad, All the blog that's fit to eat
Dana DuGan – Chick with a View, It's good to live on the edge. The view is better.
Dan Eldridge – Labor Party, A Young Pioneers Media blog for Creative and Alternative Entrepreneurs
Cindy Elsberry - Doodle9, Paddling down the stream…of consciousness
Heather Faesy – Blame it on the Full Moon, My kids, writing and reading
R. Jill Fink – My Opera, Musings about writing, food, weight loss and other hilarious things
Jennifer Fink – Blogging Bout Boys, All about boys -- raising them, educating them, learning with them
Damaris Fish – Damaris Fish on Genealogy, Researching my family history and helping others with theirs
Dylan Fogle – Discordianzen, The map is not the territory
Katie Foote – Littlefoote’s Lab, A chronicle of what the unemployed girl in NoPo is up to.
Heather Frendo - Thrifty Knee Socks
AndreaGenevieve – Andrea Genevieve, Where social medium, technology and higher education meet
Alexandra Grabbe – Chezsven's Blog, Life as a green innkeeper on Outer Cape Cod
Elyse Grau – My Garden to Table, Growing what you eat, eating what you grow
Wendy Korn Heppt – Budget Style on a Shoestring, Budget savvy fashion, beauty and related news and ideas
Katie Hinderer – Write Beyond the Cubicle, A freelance writer’s thoughts on the industry
Amanda Hirsch – Tastee Pudding, In the search for creative life, the proof is in the Pudding
Lisa Jaffe Hubbell – Eat, Read and Be Harried, Making it through life one book at a time
Nancy Mann Jackson – Growing Food and Kids, Gardening, harvesting, cooking and preserving with kids in tow
Robert Janelle – Without an Apostrophe, Ottawa freelance tech journalist
Elizabeth King Humphrey – The Write Elizabeth, Writing. Creativity. Play. Life.
Walter L. Johnson II – Georgia News Beat, An inside look at what’s happening in the state of Georgia
B.J. Keeton – Professor Beej, Pop culture commentary with an academic slant
Amy Kocur – AmyLizK, Maryland/ DC Metro area arts and analysis
Courtney Koschel – Finding My Muse: A New Writer’s Journey, 
Sara Lancaster – No.2PenBlog, Resource for my clients and others interested in marketing communications
Bill Lascher – Lascher at Large, A contemplative, pondered and unrushed thought banquet.
Mary Dixon Lebeau – In the Boom Boom Room, Remember staying out until the street lights came on?
Pooja Lohana – Brown-eyed Mystic, On writing and more!
Sarah E. Ludwig – Parenting by Trial and Error, The learning curve in raising kids
Jenny Lynes – Welcome to the Good Life, A student environmentalist exploring responsible, cheap, and fun living
Su-sieee! Mac – This and That. Here and There. Now, Sometimes Then., Rambling about anything and everything that interests me
Harry Marks – Curious Rat, Chewing at the tech industry's wires...nom nom nom...
Joanne Mason – English Idioms, What they mean, how we use them, where they came from
Kim McNeill – Kim’s Play Place, An active parent trying to make sure my kids are educated
Teresa Mears – MiamiOntheCheap, Discounts, deals and free events in Miami
Rose Medlock – RFM, Rose Flores Medlock
Heather Minton – Stumbling into Grace, The adventure of following God and figuring it out in Portland
Kathy Murray – Out and Employed, News, career advice and job resources for ex-offenders
Alexis Neely – Life, Business and the Pursuit of Truth, A blog about the intersection
Charles Newbery – Pine Tree Paradise, The life of a work-at-home writer and father of three
Eric Novinson – Costing a Green Future, A green business blog
Tracy O'Connor – I Hate My Message Board, Humor, crankiness, a museum of snack foods and the odd motivational piece
Andrea Parker – Autism Fundraising Guide, For parents of children with autism
Lilac Penafiel – What Have You Learned Today, Life lessons learned everyday...
Tara Phillips – Two Hands and a Road Map
Jennie Phipps – WalletPop, AOL's personal finance blog
Ed Pilolla – Ed Pilolla, What the f*** is love?
Sue Poremba – I Breathe, Therefore I Write
Michelle Rafter, WordCount, Freelancing in the digital age
Kate Reilly – Polka Dot Suitcase, Family fun through creative living
Meredith Resnick – The Writer’s [Inner] Journey, Bestselling authors, professional creatives and emerging voices in quirky dialogue about how they write and why it works
Vanessa Richardson – Way Out West Texas, City girl from California moves to Way Out West Texas, what will happen?
Rebecca Robinson – Rebecca Robinson, Updates on freelance projects, reflections on journalism innovation in Portland and beyond, and brainstorms from the wee hours
Carey Rossi – Thank You Everything, Appreciate the little things
Natasha Rogue – The Writing Blues, Little tips on how I find motivation to get past the difficulties of writing life and the road to publication
Andrea M. Rotondo – Luxury Cruise Bible, Your source for unbiased luxury cruise reviews
Melissa Sais – Digital Mom, Raising kids in a digital world
Lisa Samalonis – Single Parent Savings
Sami – Stonerpreneur, Stoner antics as they relate to my business and personal growth
Dina Santorelli – Making Baby Grand, And I thought giving birth to real babies was hard...
Lacey Savage – Tips and WIPS, Talking about writing fiction
Lilian Schaer – Food and Farming Canada, A blog about the farming side of food
Kristie Sloan – mkBeautyZone, Skin care and makeup information training and products
Matthew Smith – Smidgen PC, Big news about tiny PCs
Michelle Smith - Law Office of Michelle R. Smith, Because it’s your life, your family and your choice
Stephanie Suesan Smith – Stephanie Suesan Smith PhD, Information Central
Claire Splan – Alameda Garden, Gardening issues in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond
Margarita Tartakovsky – Self-ish, {Sorta} Sage Advice on Being a Better You
Thinkingtoohard – Thinking too hard, This is where I empty my head
Blake Thompson – Black Thompson daht Net, “I'm just saying..."
This is my first year!
Jodi Torpey – Western Gardeners, Your online guide to gardening in the West
Paul Tullis – Grim Tidings- True/Slant, My rants about politics & policy
Jan Udlock - Imperfect Mom
Brandi-Ann Uyemura – Brandi-Ann Uyemura, Rather be freelancing: tips for the beginning writer
Beth VanHoose – Writing in Sand, My adventures in freelance writing, and other stuff
Rachel Vidoni – East Coast Musings, A humorous look at kids, family and life
Jen Walker – My Morning Chocolate, Writing, experiments, culture and adventure in food
Katie Jett Walls – One per Week, 52 posts on things that matter to me
Sarah Webb – Webb of Science, Connecting science and life
Rebecca Weber – Newstilt SAfrica
Susan Weiner – Investment Writing, For investment and wealth managers who want to communicate more effectively with clients and prospects
Rashida Williams – Really Rashida, Urban lit author blogging about my life and times
Jennifer Willis – Jennifer Willis, Thoughts on religion, sustainability, media and culture
* These awesome participants are also WordCount Blogathon 2010 sponsors.

Startup of another crazy month

Hi, friends.

For some reason, I signed up to do the 2010 WordCount blogathon... considering my track record with National Novel Writing Month and the like, you might wonder why. But there are all these things waiting to be written, and I am hoping needing a blog a day will cause me to stop procrastinating and write them.

There's the blog about Haiti, the blog about David Bazan, the blog about Good Friday (welcome at any time, I hope), the blog about the crazy amounts of grace I see being spent on one another daily by my friends.

And yes, technically I didn't post May 1. But I really like my list of 20 things more worth your time than Avatar, so I am claiming that one for yesterday.

Lastly. what's a launch of a blogathon without a little narcissism? I loved my hair so much just now I had to take a picture.

...and to all a good night. 

This is probably sacrilege.

When I signed into Blogger tonight, it told me I had 12 followers.

Being the seminary grad that I am, my first thought was, "Ooh, just like Jesus!"

No lightning bolts as of yet. Will keep you posted.

Sorry, today's been quiet.

Here are the big discoveries of today:

I learned that I can STILL access my old Yahoo email account, and when I did that, it gave me access to this: http://inwalksgrace.livejournal.com/

I started using LiveJournal when I was in Ireland the first time, and used it off and on. As of today, I had not signed in for 95 weeks, though, so...

I've read through the oldest couple months of entries, and it's funny. Some things are different, and others... you just realize you are how you are.

For years, Robin has told me that the day we first met one another, we went to Shari's, and for years, I have claimed no memory of this. And then, I found this:

"Friday i went out with raina, mandee and robin to shari's. robin is a complete spaz--we're so alike, i don't know why we're not twins. we had fun, she spilled ice cream on herself, it was good times all around"

I love that girl. And I was her maid of honor. Amazing.

Tomorrow, Christina and I are watching this: http://www.hiddensecrets-themovie.com/ Netflix billed it as "A Christian version of 'The Big Chill'. I think there will be giggling.

Also, I stopped writing at midnight last night to get my NaNoWriMo count for the day, and then I wrote a little more. I have not touched it since. The count at this moment is 2,058, and yes, I will write tonight, and take another count at midnight. Only 47, 842 words to go!

"

"You took the toilet paper out of your hair."

Oh my, my friends. Another weekend very nearly done, and here is what I did:

*Watched "Medicine for Melancholy", which was neither as excellent as I hoped it would be, nor as disastrous as it certainly could have been. It may or may not come up again in the future.

*Remembered terribly late that November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), decided to take the "Why the heck not" approach and do it, or more aptly, attempt it.

*Watched "District 9" on the big screen. Didn't throw up or pass out, though I thought about doing both. Comments are likely to appear in a future blog.

* "Built" my own Halloween costume. Being neither crafty nor particularly handy, the "Basket Case" costume took a lot more effort and elbow grease than I had originally imagined.

*Attended a Halloween party with friends old and new, and at one point glanced around the room and thought, "These are some good people right here." It was nice.

*Began NaNoWriMo right around the time of the DST switch. Just over 600 words in half an hour. Mostly dialogue, like the rest of my life.

*Discovered an extensive NaNoWriMo community via Twitter and the official site, both in Portland proper and worldwide. It's an engaging crowd.

*Attended Emmaus after a one-week absence, and rediscovered my unreasonable love for the family there. Cole also rocked it, in a message that will be shared here soon.

*Discovered that November is also National Blog Posting Month, one post a day for 30 days. May attempt it, may not. Blogs may begin to look like this.

Life's alright. How are you?

"Maybe you should have a beer beforehand."

Here's a two-part confession: I am terrible at doing a whole lot of stuff. This probably doesn't surprise anyone. Everybody's terrible at something. I know people who are terrible at being musical, people who are terrible at performing household repairs, people who are terrible at being even slightly normal around other humans.

I'm really terrible at lots of things, but one thing I'm especially bad at is self-promotion. It might seem counterintuitive, being that I have this blog and all. A friend told me the other day that blogs are largely narcissistic, which sort of made the compliments on my talents as a blogger from others sting in retrospect. And while I see my friend's point, I am choosing to disagree, for my own sake. I don't think he was talking about this blog specifically, but more the ugly view of blogger culture, the idea that simple people sitting at home can decide that people are expectantly for the next morsel of brilliance that will fall from their table.

One of the things that I'm discovering in new ways consistently is that (confession part two) I'm really very good at a lot of things. It doesn't even have to do with talent--there are just some things I can do very well. This is hard for me to admit, because I am used to downplaying things so much. It's hardly as if I am positioning myself as a wallflower, seldom seen and never heard. But I don't talk about my skills or abilities as anything unique.

This came into sharp focus last night, when a friend offered to go over my resume (two friends, actually). Having read my resume, my friend then asked me to talk about each position listed. And in each case, what I spoke was more detailed and more impactful than what I had listed and sent out to who even knows how many employers.

Obviously, you can't ramble on aimlessly on a resume, and so I am in the process of trying to rework our discussion last night into some kind of appropriate and proactive language. But here's the ridiculous part: sitting in this coffeeshop, when I retype lines on the resume with this new, stronger language, I can actually feel myself blushing as I type. That's pretty bad, right? I mean, wow.

I don't really know how to break out of this. I'm a pretty bold and confident woman in person, and even in my writing. But this whole idea of trying to tell someone, "Your organization needs me, and here's why," makes me feel like I have been dropped into a foreign country without so much as a name.

On the other hand, writing rarely makes me blush. It has at times, but not often. That might mean, as some have said, that I'm not being honest enough. But I don't feel that this blog is narcissistic, and I hope it never becomes anything close. I hope that it's clear that I'm just trying to figure things out the best I know how, and the best way I know how is by writing. I hope it's clear that writing make me feel more awake and somehow lighter, even when the topic is heavy. And I know that I'm no good in isolation. Too much time on my own just makes me smaller and more confused.

But I know people manage this every day. They present themselves as the talented, useful, amazing people that they are, they stay honest, and no one looks at them and thinks that they live on some kind of pedestal. So how do you all do it? What works for you? Psyching yourself out in the mirror? Pretending that you're Rocky going into a fight? Managing somehow, without blushing or cracking a smile, to tell someone their house is on fire and you're the only one with water? Please share, really. I'm interested.

"I'm a woman, so I love puzzles in the shape of men."

I had a conversation yesterday with my friend Julia, and although she called under dark circumstances, I laughed harder than I have in a very long time. I've known Julia since I was 14 or 15, and we've managed to stay in excellent contact. That having been said, I have completely given up on knowing where in the world she is at any given time. She works for a missions organization and is hopping from one place to another all the time. So now I just ask, and it's usually something like:

H: "So where are you now? Copenhagen?"

J: "Copenhagen was literal days ago. I'm in Albuquerque. But I'll be in Johannesburg Thursday."

H: "I'm in northeast!" (insert clown horn noise here)

Julia is one of those people who really does need to write a book at about her life. I know we all tell one another that we are so fascinating we should each be penning volumes about ourselves all the time (every waking minute!), but with Julia it's actually true. She's a talented writer already, with some great poetry and short stories to her name. But her life is better than any fiction she could come up with, mostly due to the fact that it's usually completely insane.

Julia's not the insane one, to be clear, but things around her tend to go really crazy all at the same time. If it were happening to me, I'd probably be drowning in vodka and Xanax, but she manages to keep it together. Selfishly I would like to credit that partially to our phone conversations, but i doubt that's actually the case.

Couple other things I would like to give you a heads up on:

• KATU-TV (ABC 2) has just launched a bunch of hyperlocal neighborhood-focused sites, and they said they were looking for neighborhood-centric bloggers. So i got in touch with them, and will eventually (when I post something) be seen here. I have access to some of the other neighborhood sites as well, so if something's going on, feel free to give trume a heads up. :)

• I've gotten some feedback recently about the blog on Twitter, which I think is crazy and makes me feel weirdly excited. So, if you're on Twitter, feel free to say hi to me, ohmylands. If you hate Twitter, I'm sorry, but I love it.

• Last thing is something I want to put out there and see what people think. Someone on Twitter posted a link about a new Conservative Bible being worked on, with the aim of ridding the scriptures of their current "liberal bias". According to one source I found (conservapedia.com; apparently Wikipedia is too liberal to be trusted), one example of this bias is found in Luke 23:34:

"Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Is this a liberal corruption of the original? This does not appear in any other Gospel, and the simple fact is that some of the persecutors of Jesus did know what they were doing. This quotation is a favorite of liberals but should not appear in a conservative Bible." (www.conservapedia.com)

Does this bother anyone else? I'm going to wait a day or two before I comment further, but I would like to hear your thoughts. Remember, you can find me all over the place. :)

Unfashionably late

So, as usual, I am hopping onto a train long after everyone else has boarded, and half the travelers have disembarked. But the idea of starting a proper blog gripped me the other night, somewhere around 2 a.m., and it has been dancing around the back of my brain ever since.

On one hand, there's no reason for me to start a blog. My life is in a place of utter uncertainty right now. I am broke, I don't have a job, don't have a significant other to wax lyrical about, and am living in a house with several other women who I barely know. This may not be grounds for the most captivating of stories.

On the other hand, there's nothing keeping me from starting a blog, either. Eventually, yes, a job will be found, I will not be quite as broke, and I may even bond with my housemates and discover some amazing man worth rambling giddily about. And those things may change the nature of my time and my availability. But I figure that leaves me with two options. I can wait for those things all to happen, for my life to finally fall into place, or I can write about them as they happen, choosing to see the day-to-day as my current adventure rather than my present misfortune.

I might even hide this--I tend to claim to want to write and claim to be full of things to say, but when push comes to shove, I hide my work away. More often than not, I run away from the work itself.

So maybe this is an attempt to stop running. That might be too lofty... the truth may be that job hunting is demoralizing and exhausting and I would like something that makes me look busy instead. Both things are probably true.

I don't know who will read this other than me, but that's not important yet. Still, if you did read it, hi and welcome. I can't promise what kind of adventure this will be. I can only promise that it will be one.