Technology is not my friend

Yesterday I tried to reformat my blog.  I feel like I've outgrown my current template, and I was seeing so many other lovely blogs out there.  I just wanted to try something new.  Three hours; many dysfunctional incarnations of the blog including over-sized headers, overlapping text, and random "flickr" images across the screen; and one vanished blog roll later, I'm back to my same template.  I did figure out how to stretch it a little, but before I threw my computer out the window, the babe suggested that I step away for a bit.  I did.  I came very close to stopping the blog altogether, so I think it's a sign of good things that I was able to open the page and look at it today.

I should be creating a new blog roll soon, so if you would like to be added, please let me know.

Also, if you know something brilliant about changing blog templates, you could let me know about that too.  I was trying to use a cool 3-column template from Our Blog Templates.  I've seen other blogs with it, so I know that someone knows how to make it work, but it caused me problems, including the random "flickr" image across the back - like behind the posting area.

Anyway, I figure at this point, I should just let it rest for a bit - the cutesy flowers will remain for the meantime.

Getting it wrong

Perfectionism is killing my blog.

I can't seem to write anything because I'm too busy planning what I'm going to write and what pictures I'm going to post along with it and how it's going to be the most brilliant/funniest/most profound/most awe-inspiring thing I've ever written.

Lame.

Or I can't write because I'm berating myself for not having kept up with other people's blogs.

Or I can't write because I'm trying to finish the reading for my next class. That doesn't involve cold-calling. And I'm a 3L. And I already have a job.

What the hell is going on here?!


In other news:

I was at a wedding in Vermont this weekend. Vermont calls to me so loudly my heart breaks a little bit every time I leave. Of course, it's frickin' cold there.

I'm trying to stop online shopping - and by "shopping," I mean online window shopping. It doesn't make me happy; it just makes me want things.

There was an older lesbian couple at this wedding we went to, and they were totally into each other and danced almost the whole night. The babe thinks they've recently gotten together, and that's why they're all hot for each other. I think they've been together for a long time, but they love weddings because it makes them feel young and in love again. Evidence for my position = they were wearing matching outfits. Not like matching-matching but the same colors. We're going to check with the bride later and find out who was right.

If that's not a not-perfect blog, I don't know what is.

Remember me?

In college I had a pretty close friendship with another girl - R. We hung out a lot, talked about feelings - we were close. After graduation, we kept up with each other for a while. But then a couple of weeks went by, and I didn't have a chance to call. I thought about calling once while I was walking home, but it didn't seem like enough time to cover all of the things that had happened since we'd last talked. And then I got busy and another couple weeks went by. And then a month went by. And I had it on my to-do list for months - Call R. And then it had been a year, and I had missed her birthday and she had missed mine and I'd met someone and hadn't told her yet about it. And it seemed overwhelming to call - how would we cover everything? Would we have anything to talk about anymore? And I just didn't ever call. And it's been 5 years now. I don't really know anything about her anymore. This good friend I had. Now it feels weird to try to get in touch with her.

You might have a similar story. Or you might be better at keeping up with people.

But here's the thing - that's happening right now with you guys. I've had Blog on my to-do list for weeks now. I think of blog posts while I'm walking, running, taking a shower. But so much has happened, there's so much I want to tell you, and I get overwhelmed. I don't know where to start. I've got a thousand posts about traveling, tons about school starting, and then just general random stuff.

And...I haven't been reading about you guys either. I've just been absent. I've been letting this relationship drift away.

Since things are easier sometimes when you write them down, I'm going to practice building it back up. I'm apologizing here for drifting away. And I'm telling you that I'm going to come back. And maybe I won't be able to tell you everything, but I'll start off from here.

And maybe I'll get better about this. Maybe I'll finally call R.

For all you bloggers out there.

"Words, of all sorts, have never seemed so now."

Andrew Sullivan's take on the blogging world is definitely worth a read.

I don't pretend to be anywhere close to the realm of Andrew Sullivan, but I do claim a connection just by virtue of my being a blogger. And I guess that's one of the nice things about blogging.

til next year....just kidding

IT'S THE LAST DAY OF NABLOPOMO!!!! DONE! FINISHED! I SHALL BREATHE AGAIN!!!!

lalalalalalalllalalalalaalalaalaaaaalalaalala

That's the sound of me singing and dancing around my apartment.

F*ck

That's the sound of me banging my knee into a piece of furniture and then remembering that I'm supposed to be studying not frolicking.




Don't call me. I'll call you.

Is it seriously still November?

more animals

Okay, lesson learned. NaBloPoMo not a good idea for me.

Advance Apology to All the NaBloPoMo-Haters

I've been cursing NaBloPoMo in my head.

Which led me to come up with other things that it could stand for:


Naughty Blond Porn Month


Okay, so I couldn't come up with anything else. But that one's funny.

The Post in Which She Admits to Everyone That She's Lost It

Yep, I spent time drawing that on the paint application. I blame NaBloPoMo.

Shop-o-Rific

One of my favorite things about flying is the SkyMall catalog. I'm constantly delighted by the crazy things that people are selling, and I wonder who buys this stuff. So, because I seem to have lost the ability to actually blog, and NaBloPoMo is breathing down my neck, I'm going to give you some of my SkyMall favorites.

The Most Up to Date Talking Globe



Because you certainly wouldn't want the previous Behind the Times Talking Globe. For just $179.95 you can get "the world's most current talking globe because it connects to a PC and allows you to download weekly updates about nation states, governments, political boundaries, culture, and more." Because if a globe doesn't talk, what good is it? Seriously.

The Beverage Buggy


That's right my friends. Con your spouse, child, neighbor, sibling into placing two cans of thirst-quenching goodness into this remote-controlled buggy and zoom it right over. The important thing to note here, I think, is that if it's remote-controlled, then once it's out of the "driver's" sight, it's useless. So you have to be pretty freakin' lazy to force someone to use this. I mean, you can see where they're sending it from.

The Nano Wand Scanner



For the germophobes out there, just wave it over any area and it "kills 99.9% of bacteria in 10 seconds." Or you could use it to stage your own home episode of CSI.

Poop Freeze


I'm not sure I can say anything about this better than what they've already told us: "Poop Freeze is an easy, earth-friendly way to do your "dooty" and clean up after your dog. It chills animal waste to -62°F, creating an outer "crust" that enables you to quickly place in a bag and dispose. Makes picking up loose stool and diarrhea easier. Effective for all kinds of pets, including dogs, cats, birds, etc. Indoor or outdoor use. Safe for humans and pets when used as directed."
Key point here: You don't have to use the toilet anymore. You can just poop on the floor, freeze it, and clean it up later.

Brightfeet Lighted Slippers



"It's like having nightlights on your feet." And who doesn't want that? However: "Note: It may take 4 to 5 steps for the LEDs to activate the first time slippers are worn. Remember, Bright Feet Lighted Slippers light up only in the dark." So if you run into the door in your first 4 steps, don't blame SkyMall. And if you need the lights in the daytime, well, I don't know what to tell you.

Makes you want to take a trip, doesn't it?

The pressure's on.

NaBloPoMo starts today. It's 8:19 pm, and I haven't posted anything. In fact, I've spent all day pretending that I'm jewish and have been relishing in shabbos with the babe. There's not a whole lot to say when all you've been doing is lazing around. My brain is flying frantically from one thought to the next trying to think of something interesting. There's nothing interesting in there, and my government contracts reading is calling me in an angry voice - "Young lady, get your butt into this chair and start this reading, or so help me, I will give you something to write about!" Yes, sir. He's giving me til the count of 3.

Some things that are worth saying this evening before he gets to 2 and 3/4:

1. I will vote in 3 days. Fingers crossed.
   
2. My rent is due on the 6th of every month. That's basically a 6-day grace period. It's a good thing.
3. I am glad to be alive this evening, and that's a good thing too (actually, it doesn't even belong in the same list as being glad about a 6-day grace period, but that's the nature of the post this evening). Sometimes it's good to be reminded of that.
4. I met four other people - FOUR - who love How I Met Your Mother. This makes me happy.
5. In one month and 9 days, I will be finished with this semester. Hallelujah.
   

Wetting your pants for celebrity status

Because I desperately - desperately - needed another thing to distract me from my brilliant legal studies, tomorrow I begin participating in National Blog Posting Month.

That's right. Starting tomorrow I will post EVERY SINGLE DAY for the month of November.

I know. It's exciting. Try not to pee in your pants.

That would be embarrassing.

But it would give me something interesting to blog about. So...let me know if you do.