Mad @ Hootsuite 06/24/2010
 Today has been a devastating social media day for me. One of my FAVORITE third party Twitter apps, Hootsuite, added some really cool geo-features, but decided to run a dirty rag over their user interface, letting the font and white space shrink like a pair of prepubescent balls stuck in a cold front. If you know me, you know that I'd rather get my wisdom teeth yanked out in Tijuana (true story) than have to look at bad UI. Hell, I'd rather have NO Internets than look at shitty Internets. And so, when my dear beloved Hootsuite decided that they would suck the life out of the style that made them who they are, I heaved a great sigh and re-downloaded Tweetdeck. I even tried changing all the colors to try and match Hootsuite's. But it's just not the same. HEAR MY SIGH. HUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. That owl used to be cute and encouraging. But now, it's just mocking me.     10,000 steps 05/24/2010
 I'm taking 10,000 steps a day. And I'm using a pedometer to count them. Pedometer strapped to my hip = unsexy. But achieving 10,000 steps a day = very very sexy. I'm doing it to cure the acute sense of agoraphobia that builds up when I've spent too much time working. To cure the fact that I've been in NYC for almost eight months now, and still haven't seen as much of the city as I'd like. To cure the extra poundage as a result of sitting on top of a computer every day, with my fingers jammed on the keys as if this little piggy had no roast beef and went wah-wah-wah, all the way home. To cure any fears of not being able to achieve something when all you have to do is get off your ass and take a few steps forward. There will be more to follow, I hope. Because it's Monday. Because it's time to move those happy feet. Because there are no more excuses left to not do it. Unless I find an iPad app that closes business deals for me, and takes me on tours of the city while putting chocolate in my mouth. Because then, I wouldn't really need 10,000 steps, would I. Tweet Peeve 03/01/2010
   Under Construction 05/12/2009
   p.s. sneak peek at the booth I designed for TWOC at the expatshowbeijing.com. Time for this crazy, hidden rag to make a splash! Phrase on my mind 04/22/2009
What's in my head right now? Post-flight pacing 04/20/2009
It's 5:40am, and I've been up for exactly 2 hours and 21 minutes now, thanks to jet lag from a glorious, almost-masochistic, trip to NYC. I've been vacillating between bouts of lying in my bed, wide-eyed, and fervently researching online and making phone calls to the States. In these wee hours of the morning, I've turned my office into a veritable war room, with giant sheets of paper stuck to the walls, filled with ideas and ventures, and way too many extra-sticky notes. What has become tangibly urgent in the past 24 hours, influenced by two blissful weeks in the States with B, is that there is not enough time to do everything that needs to be done. But I already knew that. And so, I am sitting here, at the crack ass of dawn, pacing and writing, and googling and tweeting, and twitching, trying to find my way through this chaotic web of "charging forward" I have so manically woven for myself. New Obsession 03/31/2009
www.shakeyourface.com Benjamin Says Hi 02/26/2009
 I've recently been feeling a little off-balance. Work and workouts are great - other stuff is not. By the time I get home, I just want to zone out on the couch until the morning - hardly apropos for getting anything productive done on the off hours. And I have SO much I WANT and NEED to do in those few precious off hours I do actually have. Like send out that artist release for the children's book. And call the people who have left me messages on my mom's voicemail box in Texas (how did they get that number). And pay my TRC website bill. And work on TIP (new, ultra secret project). And meet with British Ed to crank out our freaking songs so we can perform already. And shower. And cook. And do laundry. And READ. And update you on ALL the things I am itching to write about. And. And. And. And yet, the only things I can manage to do are check my e-mails (but not respond to them), get my daily dose of NG and be a sack of shit for the rest of the evening. So, my mind has been exploding on the inside - because it has somehow shut off in the process of all this working and working out. But lucky for me, I have alter-ego Jenny, who knows just what to do, most of the time. Knowing me best, as only me can know me, alter-ego Jenny (let's call her Benjamin) understands that I can't just go from couch lauder to productive Nancy. So, the other night, smart little Benjamin was like: Why don't you plan a party? And I was like: Say whaat? (Yes, I talk to myself. Debate is the only way my better half will win) Yeah, get your mind off your big couch potato ass. Um, excuse you? I've been working out. You know - give yourself something fun to think about, and the work you need to get done will just fly by. Ohhh. Hm. You know I'm right. Yeah, well, maybe I'll try that concept. Thanks, Benjamin. No prob, Blob. Haha. Very funny. * Great. Get the guest list together. Buy the alcohol. Make a cupcake or two. And ta-da! Extensive Game Night at Benjamin and Jenny's! Followed by dancing and guzzling at whatever bars are lucky enough to house us. So far, the guest list is 15 and counting. I think my Beijing apartment can comfortably hold 10. Oops. And all of a sudden, my mind is breathing again, and ready to be productive. Oh, Benjamin. You are so smart. Nothing cures flat-lining better than the prospect of some good ol' ridiculous, liver-blowing, FUN. Snow Glow 02/18/2009
 Though it happened about a month and a half later than the rest of the world, thanks to the Mongolian skies, we were bestowed a deliciously crisp gust of soft flakes all yesterday and today. Last night, as I was shuffling back from the gym, the legs of my pants caked in muddy ice I would later rinse out in the sink, rather than fight my way through the slush, I stopped and stared. Because it was 9pm, the snow fell like millions of icy, miniscule feathers, brushing against my nose and prancing on the tips of my eyelashes. I looked up, deeply breathing in dusts of cold. The dark night sky had a pink glow, and for a very long time, I stood there, mouth wide open, catching melting crystal shards on my tongue and listening to the calm that only snow can bring. The loud traffic, my toes wriggling inside my wet socks, the taxis splashing by, the neon lights - everything fell away, and it was just me and those dots of white gently floating down, down, down, into nothingness. Then I realized that these gorgeous ice flakes were probably just polluted Beijing rain drops in disguise, and that I had better close my mouth. So I did. And even though my ears were numb and my sneakers soaked through on the walk home, it was still a glorious night. |
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