Introspection

10 Questions

/ Ally Bean / 4 Comments

I’ve been tagged by the lovely PollyBurns2 of caughtwriting to answer 10 questions, so we all get to know one another a little better.  The idea is to then tag someone else, preferably someone who is taking part in the NaBloPoMo project.  So here goes:  

1. Describe yourself in seven words.

I laugh. I learn. I love. Usually.

2. What keeps you awake at night?

Lower back pain from a goofy gardening accident.  Other than that I sleep quite well.  In fact, I’m rather known for my ability to sleep for long periods of time.

3. If you could be anyone for a day, who would you be and why?

I’d like to be Diane Sawyer.  She’s smart, articulate, interested (and therefore interesting), and pretty.  She anchors a newscast where she is responsible for setting the news agenda for the evening–  and she is married to a successful, creative man.  Yep, that’s who I’d want to be.

4. What are you wearing right now?

Faded jeans, an aqua t-shirt with a teal cardigan sweater, and brown leather clogs.  And eyeglasses, of course.

5. What scares you?

Political dictators.  All of ’em across the world.

6. What are the best and worst things about blogging?

I agree with PollyBurns2’s answer.  “Best thing:  sharing ideas and getting inspiration from the amazing bloggers I’ve discovered so far.  Worst thing:  there are so many blogging events and challenges to get involved in, that there just isn’t enough time to do everything I want to do.”

7. What was the last website you looked at, apart from Twitter and Facebook?

Arts & Letters Daily

8. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I’d be physically stronger.  I can workout every day of the week  and never gain any noticeable muscles.  No definition, no wow factor.  I always remain the same old flabby me.

9. Slankets – yes or no?  (This apparently divides the blogging world.) 

First, I had to find out what a slanket is.  [Click here.]  And now I can tell you that I’m not a fan.

10. Tell us something about the person who tagged you.

PollyBurns2 writes insightful posts about what she’s thinking about;  and is a kind-hearted woman who included me in this meme so that I’d have one more thing to post on my blog during NaBloPoMo.

I’m going to tag the delightful Zazzy at zazamataz.com who is the only other blogger I know who is doing NaBloPoMo.  Take it away, Zazzy!

I Has A Sad

/ Ally Bean / 8 Comments

[Yes, I’m using LOLspeak here.  Your point?]

Viva de la Vega, my longtime desktop computer & faithful sidekick, is retiring today.  The photos on yesterday’s post were the last items that I needed from her to create something for this blog.

For the last eight years she and I have been constant companions.  BFF, if you will.  I adore her… her smaller, cozy screen… her slow way of uploading photos… the clickety-clack of her keyboard… even the crazy, unpredictable way her wired mouse works.

However, now that Coraline is on the scene, Viva de la Vega is headed for a lovely retirement upstairs in the un-bedroom where she can live out her days in a little out-of-the-way niche on top of an old chest of drawers.  We’ll be able to use her to listen to online music– or to play a few hands of solitaire or hearts.

She’ll be at home there, I’m sure.  And I’ll visit her from time to time.  But I still can’t help feeling a touch bittersweet about this change.

So long, my friend.  I’ll miss you.

*sigh*

Autumn, Attitude Adjustment, And Ambush Journalism

/ Ally Bean / 6 Comments

Here’s what I’ve thought about this week.  Brought to you by the letter “A.”

•  Loving.  Now that it’s mid-autumn, the leaves on the trees behind our house are at their best.  In fact, this year, the wettest year ever on record, the trees look stunning.  There are more show-off colors among the leaves–shimmery gold, crimson red;  less dreary colors like rusty orange & dried-up grayish brown.  Amazing, really, how letting go is so pretty.  A lesson for all of us who hold grudges and keep objects long after their usefulness has passed.  Move on, people.  Let it go.

*Amen*

•  Laughing.  I’ve always been one to drink whatever alcoholic beverage is set in front of me [the exception being rum which I hate].  I loathe being perceived as fussy.  Yet, thinking back about our very social summer, I’ve realized that the parties/dinners/events where I had the most fun were the very ones where I did not drink any wine.  At all.

This got me wondering why I even drink the stuff to begin with.  I don’t like the taste of wine all that much and it often makes me itch.  What I decided is that I drink wine because I have this notion that it is good for me.  And I drink wine because I am polite.

My logic– such as it is— goes something like this: in the Bible, Jesus made wine and the party continued.  So, by drinking the stuff without complaint I don’t offend Jesus & I’m not a party pooper.  In theory, this seems like a win-win. But in practice it just sets me up to do something I don’t really want to do– which is drink wine.

Pity Jesus didn’t turn the water into a fifth of bourbon– or a few bottles of beer.  Then I’d have no problem at all.

*Capiche?*

•  Learning.  I was watching CNN the other morning.  The conversation was about “ambush journalism.”  I’d not heard of this term before.  It means that through deception and aggressive behavior a journalist inserts himself or herself into a situation hoping to provoke controversy by launching into a series of challenging questions. Apparently, some guy did this with VP Biden earlier this week, and Biden refused to take it.  Biden fired back with: “Don’t screw with me.  Let’s look at the facts.” 

Politics aside, I’m with the VP on this one.  Hassling people is not a substitute for journalistic inquiry;  it’s just stupid, attention seeking behavior.  In fact, it seems to me that if journalists want to continue to have access to our political leaders, then they need to grow up, use some common sense & not engage is such antics.  Bad dog, no biscuit.

*Meh*

Suitability: An Explanation Of What The Heck Is Going On With My Blog Template

/ Ally Bean / 6 Comments

[… for those who have wondered why things look different around here… and have taken the time to contact me about said… allow me to explain…]

Having the right look for my blog is important to me .  In fact, since I started this sweet little bloggy last January, I’ve had four different [free] templates. 

Let’s review, shall we?

#1  The one with the glowing orange candle up top.  It is called Coraline & described by WordPress key words thusly–  clean, conservative, generic, light, minimal. Yep, it was.  But in the end, it was not me.  So I moved on.

#2  The one with the lonely little pine cone up top.  It is called Pilcrow & described by WordPress key words thusly– clean, conservative, formal, generic, light, minimal, simple.  Again, yep it was.  But it had some features that I didn’t like, so I moved on.  [Also, I accidentally deleted it late one Friday afternoon.  There was drama.  There was swearing.  We’re not going to re-hash that event here.]

#3  The one with the bunch of bananas up top.  It is called Fruit Shake & described by WordPress key words thusly– artistic, colorful, faded, whimsical, yellow.  Again, let me confirm that this was an accurate description.  However, its cheeriness drove me bonkers and the way it scrunched up my words on the page was difficult to read.  So I moved on.

#4  The one with the big black rectangle up top.  It is called Quintus & described by WordPress key words thusly– calligraphic, elegant, formal, nostalgic, retro, textured, traditional.  Yep, it is.  And of all the ones I’ve tried, this one is the easiest to use, the most clear to read and the least annoying for me to look at.  In fact, a further description of it says:

“A theme that has an old-style appeal with semi-academic graciousness and elegant typography. Fitting for displaying either text or images, Quintus offers a fresh look with room for customization….” 

Now this is a look and description I like.  So I’ve stayed here.

Why have I been changing my template so often? 

While my academic background is in words/relationships/communication, my later-in-life inclination is in images/color/design.  The result is that I like to change things around and that I’m never satisfied with how things look… until I am.  All this trial and error here is really just me attempting to find the most suitable look for my sweet little bloggy.  Which I think I have with this gracious, elegant, fresh template.

At least for the moment.  😉