Life is a series of questions and, hopefully, answers

I’ll warn you: I’m rambling here. Thinking out loud, if you will. So I understand if anyone gets bored in the middle of reading this thing. But there’s some important info at the bottom regarding YOU (yes, you), and I could really use some feedback. So if you want to skip ahead and at least do me that favor, I’d be quite grateful.

In recent months, I’ve discovered countless blogs that have in one way or another inspired me. Many are photography blogs. Some are style or decor blogs. Others are personal accounts similar to mine– sometimes more humorous, sometimes downright heart-wrenching. A select few manage to combine all of these things into one beautifully packaged website with thousands of devoted readers and sponsors to boot.

While I don’t necessarily expect to reach the status of the latter sort– not that I’m crossing out that lovely possibility– I would like to be diverse. And I think I am to an extent. But it can be tricky to maintain a site that not only gains new and diverse readers, but one that also doesn’t alienate the established readers, as well. Not that I have tons, but I have a few regulars, and they are the ones who keep me motivated to write.

Let’s start with the title of the blog: Witty Title Here. I love it, and I don’t plan on ever changing it. It was initially a placeholder that I thought was kind of funny, because I had no other prospects for a blog name. I decided it was catchy, and it stuck. For awhile (and I started this blog a long time ago), I was focused on producing mostly funny content. I think I’m rather hilarious, and there are a few old gems in my archives. But several posts did come across as forced in retrospect, and I decided I wanted to be more honest and not just anecdotal or snarky all the time.

As a result, I started putting more of myself out there, and the quality of my writing improved. Not to mention I had a lot more to write about by not limiting myself to one style of writing. My humor comes across more naturally now, though I’m not always “witty” as the title suggests. But even if I’m not making someone poop their pants with laughter, at least it still appeals to the writer side of me without compromising anything.

Which brings me to my next point. As a writer (and as an aspiring, one-day-maybe-sooner-maybe-later novelist), should I be focusing solely on producing top-quality content all the time? When I send out a query for freelancing, my blog link is right there in my email signature. If I want someone to hire me, they’re going to click that link, and the post that’s at the top of the page will be their first impression of me. If it’s a “fluff” post, will that reduce my chances of getting picked for the job?

Maybe, maybe not– but I don’t want to feel constantly pressured to produce original, stunning content for something that’s meant to be fun each week. Often, that just doesn’t happen. I yam who I yam, and in addition to being an excellent proofreader and avid grammar geek, I’m also a Karaoke Blog Ring of Death participant. Don’t judge me too harshly on my singing skills– or the fact that I’m willing to put videos of myself up on YouTube in the first place.

And what about photography? I am a complete amateur when it comes to taking photos, but I have a good eye and an even better vintage, manual camera. Film is expensive, though, and a nice DSLR is (sadly) way more expensive. So I won’t always have new content in that regard.

Style? I love it. You’ve seen my blue suede boots, and I have a jam-packed closet filled with perhaps too many things I love. I’d like to share that side of myself here, but I don’t know if I want to go down the route of, “Look at today’s outfit!”-type posts. I’m worried it would deter the three whole males who actually read my blog, and again, there’s the whole photography thing. I also suck at posing. (Did you SEE the above picture?) I think my uncomfortable expression is easy to read any time I pose for pictures. Like, I want to document how cute I am today, but I can’t wipe this goofy grin off my face, and how’s my posture?

**If you’ve skipped ahead to the bottom, this is where you should start reading again. Thanks much.

So my question is this: Is there anything you’d like to see more of from me in this corner of the interwebz? Do you want more humor? More insight? More fluff? Are there any recent posts that really resonated with you, or any posts that left you feeling “eh”?

And this might be self-indulgent (as if this post isn’t already), but is there anything you’d like to know more about me? Or are you interested in knowing my opinion on something? I can’t say I’d answer any question that’s thrown my way (in case there are weirdos lurking… y’know), but I’d love it if people would submit questions here in the comments. It doesn’t have to pertain to me personally– in fact, if anyone would like a second opinion on something going on in their lives, I’d be willing to write a post in response that could potentially be relevant to anyone who happens to read it.

It’d be helpful to know who’s writing, but you can identify yourself as “anonymous” with a fake email in the email field, for all I care. It’s your thoughts– if any come to mind– that I’m really interested in. So please, compliment, criticize, or question away! The more you say, the more I write and respond. I’ve had some good momentum here lately, and I really want to keep that up.

Ten-Minute Tuesdays: The Boots

It’s been a few weeks since my last Ten-Minute Tuesdays post, and I’d like to bring back the theme. So today, I’m going to tell you about something very near and dear to me: my new boots.

These are not just any boots. They’re blue suede boots. And they’re my favorite pair I’ve ever owned, which is saying something.

I could easily go on a tirade about how, like most females, I love shoes and pretty things and rainbows. And yes, it would all be true. But I would first like to thank Steve Madden and Piperlime for giving these beauties at $100 off, for final sale. (I will gladly accept gifts in exchange for product reviews. Just sayin’.) Ordering online was risky (no returns, even if they didn’t fit), and waiting for the giant box in the mail was torture. But when these four and-a-half inch heels arrived, I knew I’d made a worthy investment. Are they practical? No. Should material possessions make me this happy? According to a lot of stupid inspirational quotes, no. Are they badass, bitchin’ boots? Hellz to the yes.

And here was my reasoning for buying a pair of shoes that aren’t exactly business casual or suited for daily wearing– two weeks after I first saw them, I still had to have them. I waited to see if I would fall out of love, and I didn’t. The fact that Google advertisements with the shoes in them followed me to every website I visited didn’t help. BUT THEY WERE A HUNDRED DOLLARS OFF. And they were BLUE! We were solemates. Get it? I have an excellent sense of style and humor.

I do think it’s okay to treat yourself every now and then to a complete indulgence, especially when you work hard and are smart with your money. The key is not to indulge constantly. I went to the mall the other day– a place you might find surprising to learn that I hate and avoid at all costs considering my love for clothes– and I used some gift cards I’ve had since Christmas. I also stopped in Anthropologie, which is enough to make any girly girl cry with joy and despair between the beautiful clothes and shocking price tags. But there was a dress. A gorgeous dress. Originally $178, but now just $50. I tried it on. I carried it around for 20 minutes while I made several circles around the store. But ultimately, I put it back. I just bought these boots! One indulgence for the month was plenty, and I didn’t experience that awful feeling of buyer’s remorse.

Instead, I wore my boots out that night to the most low-key barbeque place with the best baby back ribs I’ve had in awhile. Paired with a simple long-sleeve tee and blue jeans, I towered at a little over 5’10”. (John doesn’t even mind my height in them– he can appreciate a badass pair of boots, too.) And though I’ve almost broken my ankle three times walking in them– with strangers as witnesses, I might add– I’m as content as a material girl should be. These boots were made for walking. Granted, slowly.

Revisiting

As much as I dream about going to California, and as dead-set as I am about making that dream a reality, it’s nice to get out and be a tourist in my own town every now and then. It’s easy to look at the seemingly endless strip malls that flank some of the most major roads in the suburbs and let them define a whole region, and it’s almost unfair to denounce the city (of Baltimore) for its obvious flaws when it has too many for any one generation to fix. Not that I’m always so negative about where I live, but when you’ve been driving on the same stretches of roads and highways your whole life, you’re likely to get critical every now and then.

But spending time with people you just don’t see as often as you’d like makes you realize what you’ll be missing when you leave, no matter how exciting the next adventure is. And renting a hotel in one of the coolest neighborhoods of the city can almost make it easier to visualize yourself living there, though you have no intention of actually doing so.

Getting together with good friends last week– twice!– was a really, really healthy thing. Up until then, I’d never met up with one of my best friends (since sixth grade) at a bar. (Except for her 21st birthday. Which she still owes me for. She knows why.) And it had been ages since our trio had gotten together for a night in, so knowing that all of our man-lovers were genuinely getting along allowed for a really awesome and long bathroom session. Ladies, you know what I’m talking about. Sometimes, we just have to giggle and pee.

Celebrating John’s birthday by renting a hotel room downtown was also much-needed, and it felt strangely like an actual getaway. We walked around the historic Mount Vernon district, grabbed incredible food from a popular Afghani restaurant, and took a cab downtown for a show, stopping for late-night drinks on our way back to the room. I sound so much cooler than I actually am, which never happens! Say what you will about Baltimore, but I’m always impressed by the architecture. Walking the streets on an unseasonably warm spring night was a lot of fun, and the only negative thing I can recall was the pile of crap we just barely missed on the way to dinner.

Though I’ve talked about being an introvert and how my friends and I don’t get enough boob time together, I feel like I’m a little bit more balanced now. All is right in the world of girldom, and Baltimore’s pretty cool.

 

Why don't you stick around?

Tweet This

Ten-Minute Tuesdays: what introverts say

So I’m back with another Ten-Minute Tuesday post, and I’m realizing that this blog could easily turn into nothing BUT Ten-Minute Tuesday posts if I only ever post on Tuesdays. I can’t decide if that’s good or bad, but just in case, I’ll try and post something again between now and next Tuesday.

For now, this week’s topic was inspired by a book Baltimore City Paper reviewed called Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain. As an introvert myself, the title immediately jumped out at me, and I read on to see what all it was about.


Reviewer Raymond Cummings paints a quick portrait of the kind of experiences an introvert might have on any given day:

To be an introvert is to forever be at war with a larger, louder world. Battle fronts are legion: bus shelters, restaurants, grocery stores, board rooms, bathrooms, the living rooms of strangers, even libraries. The armor introversion demands—headphones, paperbacks, concentration, sunken, nearly uterine postures—often isn’t enough to keep the joviality, backslapping, and small talk of full-bore extroverts at bay. And a shy, retiring, or subdued persona is kryptonite in any milieu where success or status means possessing an engaging or outgoing personality. Conventional wisdom doesn’t help matters. Concerned, well-meaning co-workers will ask why you sit alone in the lunchroom or skip team happy hours and holiday parties. Why are you always lost in a book? Why don’t you talk about your day? Why don’t you even aspire to be the life of the party? It’s a condition author Susan Cain, an avowed introvert, describes thus: “Introversion—along with its cousins sensitivity, seriousness, and shyness—is now a second-class personality trait, somewhere between a disappointment and a pathology.

 

So I have to throw a question or four out there to my fellow introverts– Do you believe this paints an accurate portrait of your life? Do you feel like you’re viewed as less-than-capable as your more outgoing counterparts, whether in the workplace or in your personal life? Are you constantly overlooked or disregarded because you’re not as quick to voice your thoughts about something? If so, does this ever have a negative effect on you?

Personally, I’ve felt a number of ways about my natural tendency to keep to myself. I’ve certainly been self-conscious in situations where everyone else is just having more fun than I am. I’ve wondered, What am I doing wrong? Do I have bitchface on and not even know it?

Most of the time, though, I’m perfectly comfortable not being a social butterfly. It doesn’t mean I’m incapable of meeting new people and enjoying their company. It doesn’t mean I don’t do a damn good job at my work. There are a lot of strengths in introversion, just as there are in extroversion, and I don’t think one quality is better than the other. Introversion doesn’t equal a lack of confidence, and I think that’s what Susan Cain is going for with her book, though I’ll have to read it for myself to know for sure.

One City Paper commenter wrote on the post that shyness and quietness don’t equal introversion, as the review/book seemed to imply, and that she knew plenty of loud, opinionated introverts. I guess I can see how that’s possible, though I in no way fall into that category. Another commenter wrote, “Oh boy, yet another group of victims that the rest of us have to accommodate.” For the record: we introverts are not “victims.” How is that implied? I don’t pity myself, nor would I ever want anyone else to pity me. And for what– preferring to stay in on a Friday night? Introversion isn’t a handicap. Shut up, listen, and you’ll see.

More than ten minutes again. Gonna have to work on that.

 

Introducing Ten-Minute Tuesdays and the mutts

I make a lot of excuses for not blogging: I’m too busy, I’m too tired, I have nothing to say, I hate everything. But they’re all lame excuses. We all have at least ten idle minutes in our day that could be spent doing something productive. Which is why I’m introducing “Ten-Minute Tuesdays,” in which I take exactly ten minutes to blog about whatever inspires me. On Tuesdays, hence the name. What you’re reading is largely unedited (by the way, my writing skills turn to crap when I write linearly and unedited-ly… see?), and I’ve got about 7 1/2 minutes to go.

Without wasting anymore precious time (now I have five minutes because I’ve been staring into space for the past 90 seconds), I’d like to introduce you to the dogs in my life. I also like to refer to my dogs as my home skillets, because that’s just how I roll.

This is Iris– also known as Fatty. She’s fat, and I love her.

My sisters attached the wings and little tail.

I love experimenting with my 1975-ish manual camera, the Minolta, and the dogs are my favorite subjects. They’re photogenic.

That’s Maddie, the old lady, lounging in my chair. She’s not as enthusiastic about the camera, but it loves her anyway.

And these aren’t my dogs– rather John’s family’s– but I love this picture.

So. Much. Happiness.

It’s been longer than ten minutes (more like 20, so I clearly suck at this whole concept), but  I should also add that my dogs are the smelliest in all the land. When Maddie opens her mouth, neurotically licking the air, you can smell her breath from across the room. But they’re some of my favorite living beings. And as much as they drive me crazy with their incessant barking and constant need to go in and out, I can’t imagine ever not having a dog. It’s healthy to live with someone who has such a pure soul.

I love cats, too, despite my allergies. But that’s for another day.

Why don't you stick around?

Tweet This

Full-time in no time

Last week, I started an editorial internship with Urbanite magazine— a popular, Baltimore-specific magazine which, amazingly, is free. I didn’t even think twice when I saw on Facebook that they were looking for someone, and I immediately sent them my resumé and clips. On a Friday, I got a call. By the following Monday, I was interviewed and hired on the spot. Resumé updated.

In case you’re wondering, yes, I’m still at my current job in publishing/advertising. But I’m also still part-time, and I uncharacteristically decided I didn’t have enough to keep me busy. So now you’re looking at a girl who’s working full-time on a part-time salary.

Before you get jealous at the thought of that, I’ll have you know it’s been totally worth it so far. Though it all happened so fast– it wasn’t until later that I realized I’d be commuting to and from the city five days a week AFTER work– I dived right in at Urbanite and am already feeling comfortable there doing what I do best: writing, editing, and researching. Ahhhh.

The atmosphere there doesn’t hurt, either. I love that it’s in an old, converted mill. I love that it’s small and intimate, with nice people. I love that there are several dogs walking around the office, occasionally sniffing at my feet. You mean this is how I get to spend a couple of hours every day? I can deal with the extra time spent on I-83.

Now I’m getting to see all sides of the publishing world, which is something I’m pretty passionate about. The job I’ve had as a Traffic Coordinator closer to home in the county is more on the administrative side, and it’s more closely related to advertising and that whole collecting and organizing aspect. I work with the sales team, I work with the marketing team, and I also occasionally get to work with the design team, too. I’m an Honorary Arty, in fact. They even gave me a sparkly crown.

Urbanite complements all that quite nicely. I feel like I’m honing in on what it is I want to be doing and what I will be doing in years to come. Sometimes I worry about the decline of print publications. Probably not as much as other people worry about it, but I do consider it. But the fact is, there will always be a market for magazines in one form or another. I will be a part of that ever-changing world. I’m also looking at graduate programs for nonfiction and journalism, many of them in California. (Shhh.) I have a copy of the offical GRE study guide. I’ve looked at it. The math upsets me.

But I can do this. I continue to surprise myself with the ambition I have given my tendency of being lazy, of which we are all aware by now. So hopefully I’ll keep on this surprising trend. For now, me and my not-so-fuel-efficient Bertha will do a little extra trekking and await the rewards that will hopefully come on the back-end of this extra effort. It’s my damn future, after all.