RateItAll added as sponser for Rent an Expert

Lawrence over at RateItAll has offered up drink and snack money for the BrainJams Rent an Expert event being held at CNET's offices on Wednesday, July 19th. So thanks to Lawrence's generosity, everyone attending will not only have a little Stormhoek to sip on, but beer, sodas, and some goodies to munch on as well. Thank you Lawrence!


P.S. Have been to the RateItAll recently? They have added in some cool features and members can now share in the advertising revenue associated with publishing Weblists, referring friends, adding new listings to existing ratings lists, creating profiles, and soon, submitting reviews. Get over there now!


Technorati tags: rateitall brainjams brainjams:rentanexpert1 rentanexpert

BrainJams Presents: Rent an Expert (take II)

With the help and support of Joel Sacks from CNET, the Rent an Expert event is back in full swing and will be taking place on Wednesday, July 19th at the CNET headquarters at 235 Second Street in San Francisco.

The format will follow the laws of open space as the 'how to classes*' offered will be determined by the participants. We ask that a small fee (average is $5) be given for each 'how to class' you sign up for, and all the money collected during the evening will be donated to a charity that will be decided by those in the room (majority rules folks).

So, if you have something you would like to share or if there is something you are dying to learn, please sign up on the wiki so we can try to match people before the event which should minimize the time needed for setup.

We hope to see you there!


Technorati tags: brainjams brainjams:rentanexpert1 rentanexpert rentanexpert1 sharingknowledge buildingcommunity showdoteach

Eight months and five events later...

Chris and I have found ourselves at a crossroads and in need of making a decision about where we wanted to take the BrainJams organization. Our main focus has always been on finding new ways to bring people together from diverse backgrounds to connect and share stories and/or experiences in an open, free flowing environment - but as time went on, we have discovered more organizations doing the same thing (in slightly different formats) and realized there was no need to duplicate efforts. We have decided to tweak our future projects to focus on more group to group activities with folks such as the NCDD and The Berkana group.

I am keeping this intentionally short as Chris has written a brilliant post about the history of BrainJams and our go forward strategy that I would encourage you to read.

We will also continue to support the efforts of the BrainJams NOLA team as well as other BrainJams like events as these are projects near and dear to my heart, and those I believe that will make a positive impact on society.


With this announcement we are also launching the Social Media Club ('SMC') which will be the parent of BrainJams, Inc. and is a vehicle to share best practices around media and communciations, promote media literacy and work those passionate about this subject to establish industry standards. We have started a SMC Google Group (nothing added to the page yet, so bear with me) as well as group for our first project - the New Media Release (more on this in another post).

I am so jazzed about the SMC and look forward to putting the verbal conversations we have had with others into action. If you are interested in social media and communications, I would encourage you to sign up and provide your insights.


Technorati tags: brainjams brainjams:planning grouptogroup socialmediaclub smc newmediarelease

Damn. Chris outs himself and takes my power away.

There is an ongoing joke in our house that if I ask Chris to do something, and then have to ask him several times again - still to no avail - I tell him he needs to do what I ask, or I am going to blog about it. While I know it seems crude in nature, it is usually the kicker that gets him moving. And moving fast.

And the funny thing is - it is always some 'silly' item up for discussion when I threaten to pull the 'blogging it' card out of my pocket...cleaning the litter box, putting his clothes in the hamper, changing the empty roll of toilet paper.

Yes, I know the world will continue to spin if the items stay as they are, but these things bug me. Seems so simple to do - yet they aren't always done. I know these items are not as important to him as they are to me, so sometimes they get
overlooked. Fine.

I love this man of mine, so I can deal with pet peeves. But it doesn't stop me from pulling out the 'blogging it' card when I can, as I keep hoping I can train him like Pavlov's dog.

Well, so I thought until this past Friday.

Chris and I were at BloggerConIV and for some reason I chose to contribute little tidbits of my blogging life during Lisa Williams' session called 'Emotional Life' (Day 1, Session 6). I focused on why I started blogging (liberating my thoughts) and shared a specific experience that happened early on that actually made me question whether or not I should keep blogging or if I needed to change the way I blog (too personal). It was interesting to tell the story to the group in the room (most of them well-seasoned bloggers) as it is now eight months later and I realized how far I have come in such a short amount of time. Of course, I think I have made huge leaps and bounds as I never kept a journal (ever) before doing this thingy with Blogger online - and now I am sure some of you are there wishing I would keep quiet at times. But I like it. I like the freedom I have to express some of my thoughts. I like the 'power' it makes me feel I have. I have a voice. And, I like that I don't have to put everything out there if I don't want to. I can keep a little for me as well. (If you would like to hear my story, you can download the MP3 at the BloggerCon site and I start to chirp in at 33:04)

So anyway, I say I am done and they start to move the microphone to the other side of the room when Chris raises his hand and said he had something to contribute as well. Lisa, realizing we belong together asks the microphone to be given to Chris as we all thought he was going to share something related to my story (he starts at 36:30).

Well, he did. A little bit I guess. And I will say it was sweet, as he spoke about how fun it was to watch me grow during this little blogging adventure of mine and how proud of me he was to put it out there. What a nice guy. Have I said lately how lucky I am?

And just then, as he starts to hand the microphone back - smiles at me, looks to the crowd, and says 'oh, and sometimes I don't replace the toilet paper roll'. Of course everyone laughed, and Chris smiles even bigger, feeling rather proud of himself.

Damn. How did I let my consort catch me offguard like that? How can he, in the blink of an eye, take my 'blogging it' card away so easily?

Oh well. Guess it was good while it lasted. :)

Photo credit for Pavlovs Dog

Technorati tags: emotionallife bloggercon bloggerconiv blogging pavlovsdog trainyourmate
petpeeves

So Kristie, how have you been spending your free time lately?

Organizing man. Organizing closets. Organizing the office. 'Organizing' the backyard. Basically, if there was something out of place, I have been spending my free time correcting it. And I am tired man. Dead tired.

It all started with the lack of storage (or closet space as some call it). Chris and I have lived in our flat for two years now, and honestly, we knew we had this problem when we first moved in. It wasn't a deal breaker, but we knew we couldn't keep buying clothes like we were used to as there was no where to put them. Of course, that didn't actually stop us once the original boxes were unpacked. Oh no. You can't tell sdhopaholics they can't shop. That's just crazy talk. No, we will always find workarounds so we don't have to curb our 'hobbies'. Our first one was to simply move some of our rags into the extra bedroom. When that area was maxed out, I moved things into the small hallway closet, our spending continued, and we quickly ran out of space again.

To try and ease the storage issue, Chris and I both do a major 'Spring' cleaning every year to make room for the new items. But after going through my closet for the second time in six months, I knew we had a problem. No, not a shopping problem silly. A storage problem. ;)

So what do we need to do? More furniture I say! Actually, let me clarify, not just more furniture - more efficient use of space furniture. Originally we didn't want to drop the big bucks on the bedroom set I really wanted, so we chose to build our own platform bed and bought second hand pieces (dressers and such) to try and do things inexpensively. Needless to say that system failed us as we could never find an inexpensive dresser for Chris that was large enough to hold all his folded items. So we now have several small dressers for sale (call me if you are interested). Ha!

Anyway, we figured the best way to maximize the area we have for Chris' clothes while being somewhat budget conscious was to go to IKEA and buy their PAX wardrobe pieces. This way he would have more room for hanging items and we can put in as many shelves and drawers as needed to handle the folded pieces.

I don't know why I didn't take a before photo of the 'before', but it was bad, and clothes were everywhere (including on the floor). Now, everything is organized and in its proper place which makes me very happy - and, the best part is he still has room to expand his collection if he gets a hankering to do so. Yes I know, putting IKEA furniture together sucks, but for a small $500 investment, it sure beats dropping $6,000 on the Pottery Barn set I really want, and once the doors went on, it really is a good looking unit.

So now that the clothes piece was done...time to tackle the office. This was the project I have been dreading as I am not a paper pusher and hate filing and all that goes with it. But, with me working from home now - we needed to do it as the office was out of control and I was losing my mind trying to find the documents I needed.

So the first step - hire an office organizing expert. Yep. I didn't even screw around with it, I brokered the job out to Val. She is not what one considers a 'professional organizational expert', but I didn't need that as I am pretty darn good with that kind of stuff. What Val did was to help me re-design the office space, move the furniture around, organize our supplies, clean out junk drawers and (non-financial) files, and help me shred two bags worth of old paperwork. Yes, Val is the major reason I didn't have to spend three weeks locked in a room trying to put things in order, so I am indebted to her - and she was reasonable. One woman I had called wanted to charge me $200 an hour to 'assist me'. Val? $25 an hour. I know, can you believe it? So if you would like Val to come and get you cleaned up - let me know and I will shoot you her email.

NOTE: I have before and after photos of the office, but Blogger is being pissy and not importing them in right now. Will post once I get this frigging system to work!

I have also spent some time in the backyard which has been great. It is a huge space and is really a full time job to keep up, but I am making headway throwing a couple hours a week into it. Most of the weeds have been terminated and the automatic sprinkler system has been installed. I still need to fix the drip system, but I feel good about my progress and where it currently stands.

Once I repair the drip system, I am headed to the garage. But I am pushing that project back as far as possible as I dread it almost (if not more) than the office. Hmmm...wonder what Val is doing next Sunday?

Technorati tags: organize organization springcleaning storage ikea hireanexpert rentanexpert

Aloha.

So three months, four continents, several gray hairs, and 10 cases of beer later (don't question my emotional support crutch please) - Chris and I finally agreed on a place to get married...Hawaii. Well, Maui to be more specific. Don't have the exact place yet, but I am close. So very close. At least I can now focus my energies to just one island - a very small island. Before I was trying to find places in Italy, Florida, Mexico, Belize, Hawaii, California, Greece, and the Caribbean all at the same time and that was driving me insane - so I feel good about Maui and can hopefully start doing some of the fun things associated with wedding planning.

Why Maui you ask? Here are just a few reasons:

• They have lovely beaches and a steady climate. This means I can stand outside in a tank dress and not freeze my ass off like I would here at Baker beach. (In case you don't know - San Francisco is not known for its balmy days in July).
• Makes for a nice vacation spot. You can hike, bike, swim, scuba, snorkel, or simply plant your butt on the beach - it has a little of everything for everyone. This was a really important factor to me as I wanted our guests to have options.
• Easy to get to from California. 80% of our guests are coming from the West Coast and though Hawaii is still a five hour flight for them, it is much easier to get to than the Caribbean. It also helped that our buddies on the East Coast said they would travel anywhere and were all happy with the Maui location. Now all we need to do is figure out how we are going to get Chris' grandpa there...
• Reasonably priced for us. Chris and I wanted the look of Figi but had a Mexico budget. Maui is a good compromise.
• Reasonably priced for our guests. I was trying to be conscious of the room rates and there are lots of options for accomodations here.

So there you have it. We will be sealing the deal on the lovely beaches of South Maui (leaning towards Makena or Wailea) and am happy to know those close to us will be able to join us on this very special day.

Technorati tags: wedding gettingmarried hawaii destinationwedding maui wailea makena

Diet check. Week three. Technically.

We all know I suffer from lack of will power and have been battling with the diet world for the last five months. But I think I am finally on the right track. Losing weight. Feeling good.

Of course, neither Chris or I have been 100% strict on our Nutrisystem diet as eating dehydrated food every day can wear on a person, so a little break now and then keeps me feeling 'normal'.

We have had the Nutrisystem food in our house for 5-1/2 weeks and we have consumed about two and a half weeks worth (each) as we will go out for sushi when the mood hits, and I will have a glass of beer when my body says I need (well, wants) one. No harm, no foul. As long as we stick to the basics and watch the size of our portions, we should not stray too far from the road to building healthier bodies. And, interestingly enough - I have realized my body does not want/need a beer or a glass of wine every night. Surprise, surprise.

As for the scale...it says I am down a total of four pounds, though my clothes don't fit any different. I do think I need to drink more water as I am feeling a tad bit bloated (TMI?), so maybe I am holding onto some water weight? I also have not been in the gym as much as I would have liked recently as my projects seemed to have multiplied, and my days seem to be shorter, but I am currently correcting that (i.e. I am learning to say 'no' to others requesting my time) and am headed to the pool tomorrow. Baby steps they say.

After chatting about it a bit, both Chris and I have agreed we will not buy another bucket of Nutrisystem food. Neither of us enjoyed it, but we respect that it brought our attention to portion control and taught us the value of eating smaller meals more often. Not rocket science, but sometimes it just takes that little thing to snap you back into reality.

Technorati tags: diet dieting nutrisystem losingweight gettinghealthy

Move over Gisele - Kristie is hitting the runway

You Are Most Like Gisele Bundchen

Slightly exotic and perfectly gorgeous

Which Victoria's Secret Angel Are You?

Thanks Kris. I always knew this, but it was nice to have it confirmed.

And I wonder why I can't finish my other blogs. These silly sites will be the death of me.


Technorati tags: victoriassecret giselebundchen sillygame

I have 14 blog posts sitting as a DRAFT.

I think the title says it all. Crickey. I need more hours in my day.

Diet Coke & Mentos experiment

Creativity at its best.

UPDATE: Rent an Expert has been postponed

Unfortunately we were not able to secure a venue in San Francisco in time to pull this event off tomorrow night, so we have decided to postpone the Rent an Expert until July 19th. We are working with the folks over at CNET in the hopes of securing their meeting space, and will keep everyone up to date on the developments there.

I do wish to send thanks Seth Mazow who had graciously offered up the Interplast office space in Mountain View, and also to Raines Cohen who had a spot for us in Oakland. Both are viable options for future events, we just felt this time around it was better to postpone in lieu of moving to another city as many of the experts and registered participants could not make it either East or South. But I will be calling both of you soon for other get togethers we would like to plan! :)

So mark your calendars for July 19th and keep a watch on the BrainJams blog as more information will follow shortly - and shoot me an email if you have a line on folks that might eb interested in throwing a handful of dollars our way to help cover drinks and snacks.


Technorati tags: rentanexpert brainjams brainjams:expert1 brainjams19july2006

I don't want to sell insurance again...

Do you know how many recruiters have called in the last two weeks to offer me insurance related jobs? No exxageration -- 11. Yes, that's right. 11.

Now mind you I have not been in that industry for over eight years and please know I am not trying to sell myself short (as I AM a hot comodity - HA!), but can insurance agents be that hard to come by these days that they would call someone who has been out of the market for so long? Crikey.

Well, for the record - I do not wish to be an insurance broker again. I spent 12 years in that industry and I left for a reason. Primarily as I had hit the salary cap and commisions levels and I am girl with a purse and shoe habit that needs to be satisfied. I also thrive in chaos and fast paced environments and those are not words I would ever use to describe the average insurance agency.

So thank you for thinking of me, but the role of insurance broker is not the opportunity I am looking for.

P.S. If you are thinking of contacting me with a MLM business proposal - don't. I have had plenty of those calls too and that is absolutely not my cup of tea.

Photo credit: Gaping Void

Technorati tags: recruit recruiting insurance insurancebroker 

BrainJams New Orleans 'Adopts' Sclafani Cooking School

So our collective plan has been put into action, and the team making up BrainJams New Orleans* has agreed to 'adopt' the Sclafani Cooking School as our first victim - oops, I mean 'client' to receive a shot of Web 2.0 goodness.


The Sclafani's were a perfect first choice as they embrace all that we love about New Orleans. First, they are a cooking school in a town that produces some of the most amazing food I have ever eaten. Secondly, they have been a staple in the New Orleans community for over 19 years and are quick to give back when needed. But I guess most importantly, they were open. By this I mean they were open to taking the time to educate a bunch of relatively unknowns on their business model and their short and long-term needs, while at the same time allowing us to hijack their website and marketing collateral. All of this in the hopes our efforts will help them boost the enrollment of new students to above pre-Katrina numbers.

Can it be done? Yes people, I think it can. We have the power of good intention on our side - how can we go wrong?

So our game plan is to focus on revamping the Sclafani Cooking School website, adding in a lead generation program, and educating them on the tools that will help them build a community around their school and their students. The project will be launching this July and I will post a followup once I know we didn't end up putting them out of business. :)

*Several folks have asked who is involved in BrainJams New Orleans. The current team is made up of: Chris Heuer, Kristie Wells, Jeff Harris, Chris Schultz, Blake Killian, Gerard Ramos, Dave Coustan, Brian Oberkirch, Jerry Cashman, and Scott Fredrickson. If you would like to donate your services on future BrainJams projects, please shoot me an email. The more the merrier as far as we are concerned.


Photo Credit: Chris Schultz

Technorati tags: brainjams brainjams:neworleans sclafanicookingschool web2.0web20 collaboration teamwork

I need a calendar to keep up with my calendar.

I am on event overload. There is so much going on lately that keeping one calendar does not seem like enough to ensure we get in everything we need to.

I think it all started with the Net Squared conference and my three trips over the last two weeks (Palm Springs, New York and Monterrey). There are two more tech events this week and VloggerCon over the weekend. Actually, I think we should be able to get through this in one piece - it is really next week I am worried about...

• Omidyar on Monday
• SV Supper Club dinner on Tuesday, in addition to the VOCE Communications party and the Microformats One year Anniversary party
• BrainJams NOLA meeting on Wednesday (SuperNova is also happening, but I don't plan on attending)
  
• BloggerCon on Friday and Saturday
• BarCamp KickOff Party on Friday night
  
• Steve and Petrina's wedding on Saturday
• BarCamp on Sunday

Luckily, the following week won't be as bad for me. Chris will be heading to Seattle for Gnomedex, so this should give me some time to unwind and get my calendar set up for July, as there seems to be a bit of activity going on there too, with the BrainJams Rent and Expert and the BlogHer conference high on my list.

So I guess I need to start eating more Wheaties and drinking a little more Red Bull. It probably wouldn't hurt to hire an assistant to keep our calendars up to date for us as that seems to be turning into a full time job lately. :/


Technorati tags: calendar schedules eventoverload events fullcalendar

Part II on my new email pen pal...

So it looks like my new email buddy also has alzheimers because two hours after cussing me out, I get this email:

vpuzar: do u have ann im

Do I have IM? Do I have IM? Are you kidding me? Shall I give you my cell phone number and my home address too while we are at it?

This is just too much. I can't stop laughing.

---------------------

Fast forward to Monday afternoon and now it seems I am on vpuzar's master mailing list for jokes and what nots. In looking at the email recipient list, I see the name of my friend's daughter (we'll call her Sally) and realize this guy is one of her friends and I have been communicating with a boy who most likely hasn't even hit puberty yet. Lovely. His parents should be so proud. I also realize vpuzar must have gotten my email address from one of the emails Sally sent me, so it is all coming together now.

So I sent Sally an email asking about this vpuzar and this is what I receive:

sally: Vince is mean so just block him and don't talk to him. love ya

Sorry sweetie. I just can't block him and forget it. I need to DO something about this little brat. I want to track down his parents and share his emails. I mean come on - once a bully always a bully and if you don't cut him off at his knees now - he is going to be a real wretch later on in life. Of course maybe his parents won't care, but I will feel better if I at least try to get him in trouble, especially if I know he is being a meanie to someone I love dearly.

Technorati tags: bully emailpenpal penpal pottymouth

Get well Sawyer!

Please join me in sending 'get well' wishes for a speedy and full recovery to Howard's nephew, Sawyer, who recently suffered a spinal 'incident' (as Howard calls it). The family doesn't know what happened - Sawyer went to bed feeling great one night, and woke up the next morning unable to move from his waist down.

The chances of recovery are 50/50, so keeping Sawyer's spirits high will go a long way in getting him up and moving again. With this in mind, Howard is asking folks from all around the world to take pictures with a "Get Well Sawyer" sign and then post them to the GetWellSawyer Flickr group. They will be printing them out and taping them in Sawyer's hospital room which is sure to bring a smile to his young face.

You can read more on Sawyer's story at http://getwellsawyer.googlepages.com/home.

Get Well Sawyer!!

Photo by: Chris Heuer

Technorati tags: getwellsawyer getwell wellwishes spinalinjury

Wordpress here I come...

My consort is awesome. He picked up on the subtle hints I was throwing around (ok, it was a bunch of expletives each time Blogger went down) and not only set me up with a new Wordpress blog, but also registered my own personal domain too! All of this late Thursday night / Friday morning as I sawed some logs and enjoyed the sugarplums dancing away in my head.

What a love.

Chris moved all of my posts over already, but I don't like the way they formatted (I am picky like that), so I need to configure the blog and make it a little more pretty before I start posting directly there. :)

So stay tuned...sticking with Blogger just a little bit longer...then on to my new lovely site!


Technorati tags: blogger blogger.com wordpress movetowordpress newdomain

My new email pen pal

I just had the wierdest email exchange with a stranger (vpuzar@comcast.net) and I had to write about it as it made me laugh so friggin hard. I have made assumptions this 'vpuzar' is a youngster, but for all I know s/he could be 40 years old.

NOTE: I do not know this person. I do not know his/her friend 'evan'. I also do not know 'Shannan Wells'. This is the actual exchange we had. The only modification I made was to condense the text to remove all the extra spaces and email headers:

vpuzar: do u know Shannan Wells

me: No I do not

vpuzar: Fucken basturd yes u do my fuken friend evan said u r a fucken loser

me: Nice.

Piece of advice - if you are going to cuss someone out - you might learn how to to spell first, i.e. 'basturd' is actually spelled 'bastard'. 'Fucken', should be spelled 'fucking'.

And I do not know Shannan Wells. Have a nice day.

vpuzar: i do know how to spell them but i like to make words smaller so i take out letters and put less in and u r a fucking bastard cause u r lieing to me . r u a boy or a bitch

I received the last little 'nugget' about 1/2 hour ago and have not responded to him/her yet. Frankly, 'r u a boy or a bitch' seems like such a nice way to end it. Keeps this prick guessing as s/he is obviously too stupid to figure out 'Kristie' is a girls name and s/he really doesn't know who I am. I also feel since I have done my good deed for the day (s/he now knows how to spell 'bastard' correctly), my work is done here and I do not need to respond. I mean, how much sillyness can one have in one day?

Does make me wonder how s/he got my Hotmail address though...

Technorati tags: crazyemail youthofamerica cussedout

Get the best seat next time you fly

My buddy Jenn turned me onto a great little website that highlights the best and worst seats on any airline, based on type of plane you will be travelling on.

Using SeatGuru you can make sure the seat you are picking reclines, allows you to see the movie screen easily, has an electrical outlet, provides extra legroom, is near the lavatory, etc.

Check them out before you buy your next ticket - you will be happy you did.


Technorati tags: seatguru airline travel seatpicker traveltip

Adventures by the Sea - not for me.

I had high hopes. I knew it was not the Italian Riviera, but something in me thought it might be a good runner up. The fact that it was in California was truly a bonus. Then we pulled up to the building and I knew I would not be happy doing 'it' there.

The 'it' of course is our wedding, and the location of said wedding has truly become my nemesis as I continue to struggle to find us the perfect spot.

Adventures by the Sea is in the Fisherman's Wharf area of Monterrey. It seemed to provide all the amenties for the beach ceremony we were looking for, but the concern I had was on the venue itself, as the photos on their website showed a lot more casual environment then we wanted for our reception. However, after chatting with the event manager Rob (who is totally fabulous by the way), I thought there might be a possibility of spending more moolah and making it look a little more upscale. So Chris and I drove down to Monterey yesterday to check it out personally.

I was wrong. Trying to make this place 'prettier' would not only cost us an arm and a leg, but I think it would look downright silly. It is meant to be left as it is.

Of course, as I am standing there hemming and hawing and trying to figure out if I really can make it work, Chris immediately reminds me of my post where I compare our wedding wish list and mine clearly stated a 'beach party with a pig roast'. I try to explain my wish list had not changed, but that I always imagined the Four Seasons (or something similar) behind us - not a sea foam green rectangle. And I never imagined there would be surfboards on the walls or a pool table a couple feet from the head table. Yes I want a party environment, but I want a little more glam in my party.

I will say this is a great spot for a super duper low key beach party and/or team building event (one of their specialities) - so I will keep them on my radar.

Needless to say, we are going back to the drawing board. What I need is to win the lottery. And win big. That way we can have the Italian wedding we long for and could afford flying all of our friends to Italy - even during high season.

Technorati tags: wedding weddinglocation scoutinglocations adventuresbythesea monterrey monterreyca

My 'baby' graduated today.

Hard to believe this day has finally arrived, but my Godson, Anthony, graduated high school today. 17 years old and ready to set the world on fire...

Anthony is one of those kids I hope to have one day. Smart. Funny. Good. Respectful. Of course, I would like to think he turned out to be such an amazing young man from all of my influence, but I guess I have throw some props to his amazing mom as I am sure she might have had a hand in this as well.

And now I will watch him tackle the next phase of life – college.He takes with him a desire to do good through journalism. To change the world, one story at a time. To help others find their voice. And maybe make enough money so he can take care of his aunt Kristie in her old age. Well, if that wasn't on his list of things we do, it will be. Once I call him. Now where did I put his cell phone number?

Congrats honey, I am so very proud of you!

Technorati tags: graduation collegebound classof2006

#%$*_#%&#)&%_!#&% Blogger.com

Blogger has been down for me most of the morning and it is driving me crazy! Of course I picked today to focus on completing the 20 posts I have still in draft form and the system keeps crapping out on me. ARGH!!!!

I know the service is free and I should be thankful I have use of their software. But come on. If it was two guys in a back room running this still, I would cut them some slack, but they are owned by Google. The company that has a bazillion dollars in the bank. Eric, give the kids permission to buy another server or two. Please. Or at least ask that I pay a monthly fee to help cover your server costs - I would gladly do so if it meant you never (or hardly ever) went down.

This has been happening quite regularly for me recently, so I am wondernig if it is time to switch to WordPress?


Technorati tags: blogger google serverdown

If I didn't live in SF, I would be in NYC

There is something about New York City that totally makes me giddy. I don't know if it is the fact that I can get a cheesburger at 2am, dance until 6am, or have a hundred shows to choose from any day of the week - but that place moves me. So much so that in late 2003 I had one foot in the moving truck until someone talked me out of it. We had just been dating one week so it was funny that I even listened to him, but I guess I knew even then he was a keeper and I needed to stay in SF to be close to him.

Needless to say, I try to get back East as much as possible. And when I do get there, I try to cram as much as possible into the trip so it will hold me over for a couple of months. this past trip was no exception. Even though we were going to attend a friend's wedding, we managed to go wine tasting in Connecticut (honestly can't say I would recommend this to anyone - especially when we have Napa in our backyard), checked out the art at MOMA, held two business meetings, caught a comedy show, and saw Avenue Q (highly recommend) -- all this in a mere four days.

I wanted to stay longer, but several commitments in the Bay Area demanded we get home, so the other things on my list will have to wait until our trip this Fall.

Also, two restaurant recommendations - if you like burgers, get yourself to Jackson Hole. They have this 7oz burger with bacon and blue cheese that is to die for. On the other end of the spectrum, check out Geisha which was an amazing Asian inspired place over on East 61st. Though word to the wise - the plates are small, but truly mouth watering and worth every penny.


Technorati tags: newyork newyorkcity travel

Vloggers get to the Swedish American Hall!

What is VLOGGERCON you ask? Well, since I am getting lazy in my old age, I chose to steal this from their website, it 'is the intersection between media-makers and technology. A space for dialog and interaction. Of creation and collaboration. A media village born on the internet...'

Bascially, if you like making videos and posting said videos onto the internet for all to see - you should grab your ticket so you can play with other like minded people. They have also set up some extracurricular activities as well which should make for a great weekend in San Francisco.


UPDATE on 6/8/06: Looks like VLOGGERCON has sold out. You can always join via the IRC at http://wiki.vloggercon.com/index.php?title=IRC.


Technorati tags: vloggercon vloggercon2006 vlogging vlog vloggers swedishamericanhall conference