This may be the last....well at least for a while

Hmmm August? Has it been that long?....I guess I have not written here in a while. I probably won't write here much either maybe every once in a while as I have very little time, and there is too much important things going on in the world to be stuck to this computer. On the other hand because there is so much going on in the world, I will probably not give up blogging all together. Just occasionally. No promises though. Until next time...........

mobility is a wonderful thing

Wow this is my first time mobile blogging, and i will must say i can see how this can come in handy and maybe even become a little more addictive lol. Luckily for me that wont happen at least not right now because this is my sister's new toy, and I am just testing its capabilities. I am still involved in making some big decisions including a really big important event coming up that i will disclose later, until then the journey continues...

"Footprints"

I leave a trail on the net (like many) and sometimes I would like to keep up with the comments I leave for others so I have decided to preserve the ones I like on my own blog (well at least for now). Today's footprints include, but not limited to a stop at Print and Pattern , [ As usual wonderful pictures! Could you suggest a good website in the UK or anywhere else abroad that sells fabrics similar to some of the designs you have showcased here before? I would really love to get my hands on something fun and unique! ] Geek Interrupted ,[ Bacon Ice Cream??!! Ok that is just soo wrong sounds disgusting! Ever try it? ] and finally over at HNK's blog , [ I know it doesn't seem like it now, but after hardship, will come ease. You are in a situation that many people have never experienced, and just the very fact that you are able to keep this blog up is a testament to your strength. So please just keep striving and don't be too hard on yourself :) ]. This footprint is from the other day over at Ranting Monkey's post entitled, "Crossroads" , [ I have found myself in this delema before. At my old crappy job I think I stayed so long and didn't actively pursue trying to find something better, because I was too use to my environment, and always felt bad about leaving my manager, as she relied heavily on me. Then at some point I knew I had to move; the company was changing for the worst, and I foresaw a life 5 to 10 years later when I was in my 30's and unhappy because I had never really pursued my ambitions, besides that I was losing my social life because I was working so much and for crumbs. The ironic thing is that even though I remained loyal to her, when I told her I was leaving at the time, she was not too happy about it. I asked her if she could keep me on the payroll just in case I had decided to come back (which she had done for a few previous workers when they had left)and she agreed. I figured they owed me that much since I had grown up with that company and had contributed much. But about a month later I had called, and I found out she had taken me off of payroll and had resigned me. I lost the 100 hours of vacation time I was due in about 2 months, and had only a couple of weeks to roll my 401K over, and I would not have found out if I hadn't called there; So much for 8 years of service and loyalty! Now I have a another job that is crappy but I am making more money than I was making at the other crappy job, and with a lesser position; more importantly I am not satisfied with just staying there, it is just a stepping stone to something better God-willing. ] Of course no net session would be complete without a visit to Bent Objects and Basic Instructions (today's strip is especially funny) for a dose of laughter. If you have never visited these sites, you should definitely check them out! Too hilarious!

Blogging--you don't just write them; you read them

One thing about blogging is I like to read other people's blogs as well, which I had the opportunity to do a little of yesterday and today. I try to read most on my list often. Some of my more favorite reads from my list are Thoughts Reflections and More Ramblings , Adventures in Motherhood , Print and Pattern , Bent Objects , (for a good laugh:) and Lens of Lufias . However I must say my absolute favorite to read is Rickshaw Diaries , she always has very well written, and insightful posts. I especially love one of her recent posts, "The Geography of Bliss" which you can read here . It kind of corresponds to my previous post (which is worth checking out too ;). If you have the chance, check out her blog.

It has been 9 days since I have blogged

Wow it has seemed like an eternity since I last blogged. I have very limited access to the Internet right now....heck to a computer right now. I feel like I could write so much, but I will do that when I have regular access again (I am sneaking this opportunity). I am blogging this early in the morning because I am on an extra long break from Wally World. We were called to a meeting at 11:30pm only to be told that they forgot to let us know that they would be doing some electrical work and that they wanted us to clock out at midnight, and return at 3:00am :O Some people said they did not plan on coming back, of course this was not within earshot of management. I will go back as I would rather come back for an additional four to five hours, then come in on a day off and make up the time. That is one reason I decided to blog; to stay awake ;)

One final post for the road

If you come to this blog today or before I post a new topic on top of this, make sure you read the last 3 posts underneath this one, a few days worth of blogging sensation that I had to suppress. Also if you happen to click on any of the links to other sites, and you leave them a commment, let them know how you found out about their site. Linkage and all that jazz. I know I hate it when someone says, "I found your blog through another site or blogger, and I have no idea who that is, it would be nice to know a little more about how peolple are finding your blog. The feedburner and technorati helps some, but it is not 100%. Well for me anyway. Signing off until next time.....

• P.S. Raghav left a comment on my Lines Overheard post, and that was a bit of inspiration for my sketch

What I learned online today: The challenge

So many cool and different things I have learned online recently, you know how I really prefer facebook over myspace, well I have just found even more reason to love it, I have found 2 very good blogging groups there. Also thanks to one of my blogging/facebook contacts-thanks shaz , I have realized the benefits of the Mashable blog site. It is the#1 blog about the most popular social networking sites. I signed up for it sort of by accident before, and really didn't give it much of a second thought, but they actually have very valuable info for utilizing the social network sites to the fullest, as well as keep you informed of all the new applications, and on top of all that gives some good info for bloggers often as well. Facebook has become such a popular social networking site, that Stanford University has designed a course about it . Gotta love the Ivy league schools, "Oh the things you can think, if only you try." Next item- Blog Rush , oh yes people it does work, I find myself scrolling down to the bottom of my page and checking the post titles, I have found 2 really good blogs through Blog Rush already. One of those blogs you can view here and the other is a Piece of Shirt , no that wasn't a typo. A piece of shirt is a blog about...you guessed it shirts, well t-shirts to be precise. The reason I like the blog is because it has links to really cool t-shirt sites. Two of them in particular are Johnny Cupcakes his story about how he started is another inspirational entrepreneur story, for those who have ideas, but are too fearful to give them a try. After you read his story though, be sure and check out the t-shirts! The other really cool T-shirt store is Threadless Chicago they have a really unique approach in that some of their fans are able to design some of the shirts. It goes like this, you have an idea for a cool t-shirt you submit it to them, and they post the ideas for everyone to vote on, if your design is made into a shirt, you get $2000 dollars + a $500 dollar gift certificate, and membership into the alumni club. In addition if your design is reprinted, you get an additional $500 everytime they reprint. If you are not artistically inclined, you can enter an original slogan and possibly win $200 dollars. Some bloggers who I think have the creative aptitude either though their ramblings, or their artistic display are Bent Objects , Kartoen , and The Ranting Monkey , I would mention Basic Instructions , but they already sell their own line of t-shirts. So if any of you happen to read this there is a challenge for you I would be interested to see what you could come up with. Moving on-I was considering moving my blog to another blog format, but I may change my mind after I check out some of the blog layouts that have been graciously formatted for blogger by Blog and Web . I may try to change the layout soon, and this time I hope I do not lose my links, I will take some different precautions this time so hopefully... Finally my new fav. online tool is Sketchcast.com. It is this really interesting widget that you can embed in your blog posts, or send your visitors to your channel, to view you sketches. You can record your voice into it, if you have a microphone, while you draw. Click here to see what I mean. I tried to embed mine in a post, but it did not work for me.

I am blogging today

Ha ha so much so much. Well I am blogging today... first thing:

• I have a new store ( cick here to visit it), well it does not actually sell my stuff, it is more of a consignment deal, I suggest and sell products for other websites. So we will see how that goes trying out new things. etc. There are some really good books on blogging in the books & manga category.
• Next I have found a host for my site, but I am in the process of tweeking it and of course I need to hurry along and finish some bags so that I can list them.
• I have been trying to check out all the blogs in my link list. I have deleted a few that I don't read enough, and have added a few. arrggh many good blogs out there.

There is so much going online I will have to write about it in another post, new topic and all.

Gain More Traffic to Your Site for Free

Yet another blog community, and hopefully the last for me- Blog Rush Seems that it can be pretty helpful for anyone who is looking for more traffic to their site. So if you are interested and don't already have it, check it out, it's free so you don't have anything to lose.

Online Learning; the good, the bad and the severely disturbing

I think if I were to retake the blogging test now I would not score as low as before :S I really will try to take a few days off. On another I.VAC. I have much work to catch up on with the production process of the bags. But before I go....

• Things I learned today are: 1. I Really Love Widgetbox.com! Not only can you get some really cool widgets, and make widgets, but you actually find alot of cool websites through them as well. The site is so User-Friendly as well. I have listed them in my flash box (flash box to the right side of page) of my favorite things because I really, really, like their site.

• 2. I usually don't see all the Internet-hype videos until the last minute because....usually I'm just not that interested, I don't watch alot on TV and I really do not like watching the majority of the trash that people post at Youtube. One of my contacts suggested that I see this particular video on Youtube and I relented today. The video I saw today was the Brittney Spear's Plea video. (I had seen the buzz about it online, but really was not interested in watching it) I must say it is completely annoying and yet funny. I agree that we are a society in which we are too engrossed in "celebrity" life and that many magazines viciously attack and invade the personal lives of individuals in the limelight. At the same time a "celebrity" should also expect that that type of thing comes with the territory. Personally I could care less what most celebrities do, I have my own life to deal with. But that is not why the guy made the video, he made it for his own personal agenda. What makes the video so annoying is the fact that the guy is clearly either crazy and obsessed, or an attention seeking overreactive person himself. Which after watching it once more, I came to the conclusion that it was both. This guy is clearly out for attention, and he is getting it, because many people are viewing his video and making parody videos in response thereby giving him increased ratings on Ytube. Which is giving him the attention he so strongly craves. Proof of this is the follow-up interview he did with Jimmy Kimmel--- pretty disturbing . I think after seeing the video, I may have nightmares now :(

• Finally the last thing I learned today (relating to online that is) was that there are alot of blogs out there that are pretty interesting, but I think I have enough in my link list, I don't want too many more as I will not have time to keep up with reading all of them all the time. So I will try to only add a few if I come across any more good ones. I may post a link to another blogger's site from time to time, but I can't add too many more to my link list, as it will take up more space. So when appropriate I will still give linkage, just not a permanent place in my links list.

Clarification 2

Just some further thoughts on a previous post ....I know alot of people may think that I am implying that bloggers who blog on a variety of random topics, are "sell-out bloggers" however that is not what I mean. One of the many blogs I read is Seth's Blog . His posts are on a variety of topics, but he gives his opinions on them. You can tell he either has a personal interest in them , or he has done his research. The blogs I was referring to are ones where the post seems to exist solely as an ad (and not a very good one either). We all know we are being pitched with an idea or product all the time, we just want to be ignorant to the fact that is happening. Would I make money off my blog if I could? Sure! Absolutely. Places like http://www.payperpost.com/ pay you to post on certain topics, and I would take advantage if I could, but I would try to pick the topics that interest me. If I did decide on a new topic that I had no knowledge of, I would at least research the subject and then formulate an opinion, so that my posts would have some clarity and direction. You may see me post about different topics and current events sometimes, but I will try to make sure I have invested some time in understanding the topic, and therefore relay it as I understand it.

Blogging Is Taking Over!-But Like the Starving Artist You May Have To Work Extra Hard Until You See That Big Break.

I can't believe how much of a phenomenon blogging has become! It is estimated that there is at least 71 million blogs out there! Now I must say that a good percentage of these are also said to be inactive as well, but that is still alot of people blogging. Which brings me to the few reasons people are blogging. Some people are blogging purely for self-expression and status updates for a small private fan-base such as family and friends, while others want to introduce their literary talents to the world. Still others are blogging solely with the purpose of profiting from their blogs. I think I along with many other bloggers, I fit into an evolved category of people which begin blogging to express themselves, and possibly gain a small following along the way, but then we are introduced to the possibilities of earning revenue from our blogs. You get caught up in the excitement of people who claim they have become rich and they will tell you all the secrets to being successful, "just like them!" While there are some bloggers whose tips actually work, many of them are just gaining more publicity-therefore more revenue- for their blog. I also happen to notice that many of the popular blogs that get top listings at places such as Technorati and Bloglog , are related to "Making Money With Your Blog" and/or technical blogs. Coming in a close second are the blogs that are about celebrity gossip, or just racy in nature. A few of the blogs that tell you they will show you how to make money, tell you to write about what's hot! While it may very well be true that alot of readers are into that type of content, I think it is watering down the essence of blogging, by writing just to keep up with the trends. If that is truly your style i.e you are a gossip queen or king who just loves keeping up with the latest news, then by all means that is what your blog should be about. However if you are randomly posting topics that you don't know about, feel any connection too, or like, why write it? This is not to say you can't blog about current events around the world, if your blog is about "dogs." If you are moved about a particular topic whatever it is write it down. Blog It. In my opinion a blog that is totally random, with the author all over the place babbling about topics that clearly you can see that have no real interest, expertise, or personal interest in, is a waste.... So blog about what drives and inspires you to write, and earn your fans and audience. Maybe it may take you awhile to earn revenue, but if you have a blog that shows some quality, you will have longevity, and a fan base that will follow you will all the others have died out......

Time For Another I.VAC.

Well I made it through my blogging marathon and now I think I will take some well deserved rest...hopefully..........................

Priorities in order...I suppose

37%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Mingle² - Dating Site

I found this link to take this blogging addiction test @ "Life Is Not A Game To Lose" http://raghavsubramanian.blogspot.com I have noticed that a few bloggers have taken this quiz so I was a little curious too. I am happy to know that I am not obsessed with blogging. I blog enough, but I have not taken it to the extreme. It is a good thing too because if I spent too much time blogging or on the Internet, I would not have time to pursue my goals. However I also understand what importance the Internet can have in accomplishing some of those goals. So thanks to all those people who are more obsessed with the Internet than me :P ;)