My boyfriend left town for a month and it's fascinating to me to see how my behaviour changes when he's not around. I'm more devious. Secretive. Slovenly. There are bursts of feeling totally liberated and on motivated beyond comprehension, and other times when I feel as if I ought to batten down the internal hatches, as it were.
I've got plenty of work to keep me busy. And no doubt lots of thought wandering for procrastination.
How are you? How much does your routine change when your mate is absent.
I'm teaching a travel blogging class at Book Passage in Corte Madera, CA right now and the students are very excited about Vox. There are three instructors here that are familiar with blogging and programming websites for writers. I'm joined by Gil Zeimer and Bradley Charbonneau. While we were introducing the different types of blog software for them to choose from, I mentioned the friends vs family feature on Vox. When it was time for our workshop "build a blog" section of the program, they all asked us to do it on Vox. Depsite hearing about TypePad, Blogger, and Word Press - the demand of the four students was all about the Voxy.
You should've seen their enthusiasm. Within a half and hour, two of our students had bought their domains on GoDaddy.com and whipped up their own new personal blog on Vox. They are so excited.
Thanks, Vox!
This is just pretty much a shameless plug for a couple web sites I have built:
If someone here is looking for real estate for sale or rent in Belize, check it out here: Belize Real Estate For Sale
Want to buy a Rally Car? Go to the #1 place where to find one in the USA - we're also gaining some momentum in UK and Europe. Gander on over at Rally Cars For Sale
This is really wild! All you have to do is install software on any portable storage device, and you can have a copy of your own home computer anywhere using another Windows XP computer as a "host" - works with iPods, Flash Drives, USB sticks, etc.
Check it out here: Turn Your iPod Into a Computer
And if you like it, please submit it to digg here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzGYO447fU8
Things a' changing over in the land of Mika. First, I'm christening this, my new blog at mlepisto.vox.com with my inaugural post. Tadaa! My old blog (which wasn't getting much updates lately anyway) at EastSideCrew.com is being pretty much laid to rest.
New Job: (New Blog - part 2)
To further the theme of change, I've got a new gig over at BootsnAll Travel Network, working on Travel Gear Blog and BootsnAll's Travel Gear Store.
I get to enjoy writing about all sorts of things like Travel Gear, Outdoor Gear, Adventure Gear, Deals On Gear, and my favorite, Tech Gear (aka, Gadgets) on the Gear Blog, and get to find cool and new products for the Gear Store. I've already gotten a few demo items to test out and review, which is really slick, and there will hopefully be more to come.
If you're looking for gear in any of the categories I mentioned above, please contact me (email works best: mika at travelgearblog dot com) and I'd be happy to find you a deal if I can. Tell your friends too, and help support me, the starving writer living his dream.
So you're jealous and want a writing job too? I've got good news for you! We're looking for a couple writers for Travel Gear Blog and some other BootsnAll Logues, which are just like blogs but with a cooler name. If you've got energy and passion about outdoor gear, travel gear, adventure travel gear and winter sports and would love a part time job writing for Travel Gear Blog (or something else) surf on over to www.logueit.com and fill in the application on what you'd like to write about.
Here are examples of a few new Logue sites that were just launched:
- Travel Gear & Gadets Guide - TravelGearBlog.com (that's mine, yay!)
- TEFL Logue - TEFLLogue.com (TEFL means Teach English as a Foreign Language)
- Adventure Logue - AdventureLogue.com (aka Adventure Travel Logue)
- Business Travel Logue - BusinessTravelLogue.com
- Soccer News (Football News to you non-yanks) - TheOffside.com (Bob is one funny guy, you need to read his stuff!)
What's the strongest association you have between a scent and a memory?
In 2001 I spent six months in Australia. I lived in a suburb of Brisbane with a familiy that had dinner out on their back deck at least 4x a week. The dad would grill (not shrimp) but steaks, and snags, pork chops, and lamb chops out on the grill. We'd sit, often with their friends, eating and drinking, talking and laughing about life. Cockatoos would occassionally fly overhead, and if we were out there early enough we could hear the lorikeets chirping in the trees, or eating fallen mangoes out front.My friends knew how to enjoy living. And I learned to appreciate the finer points of <strike>Australian shiraz with good lamb</strike> spending time with family, and friends.
Every once in a while, here in California, i'll smell a plant fragrance that is the exact and unique smell of their tropical back yard. I think it's only happened once. And another time, i could smell it, maybe I manufactured it between my heart and my senses, just thinking about that lovely time in my life.
Last night I dreamt I had a baby. I didn't dream of the actualy deliver, but that it was brand new and I was with my family. I didn't have anything for the baby. Nothing. No, crib, no clothes, etc. The father in the dream, not my current boyfriend, was no where to be found, my family hated him, but I called him anyway thinking he'd want to see her.
She was a little girl. A little pink thing who liked music.
I swaddled her in one of my shirts, and carried her around in a little box or something, always checking to see if she was still breathing. She was so tiny. Tinier than other babies first out.
It was a weird dream.
I don't think I've been thinking about having kids, just in the I'm not ready to have them yet but I'm 35 so I better start thinking about it sense.
A producer with the CBC called me yesterday after hearing about the travel humor series on World Hum. I have a feeling this is going to be a really fun show. I blogged about the upcoming interview on the new site for What Color Is Your Jockstrap?
The show is called CBC Freestyle and I think you can hear it online.
I'll be talking about the women's humor series, why we added the male of the species, some crazy travel misadventures of my own (as well as those in the book), and anything those crazy Canucks (said affectionately) throw at me.
