AliThinks

We're OK

We are among the lucky in Kentucky. (Excuse me while I giggle for a minute because of the whole "gettin' lucky in Kentucky" thing.)

We haven't lost power, or any tree branches, or anything like that. Yesterday we walked around the neighborhood and took some photos. You can see my photos here; Allan's are here.

Today the street behind us lost power when the crews were clearing trees.

Yes, we're fortunate.

My New Job

In my last post, I wrote about having interviewed for a job I didn't get. Yeah, that was a drag, because it seemed like a perfect fit for me. But what I didn't mention is that I have been hired elsewhere.

The old adage "It's not what you know, it's who you know" does ring true. My friends Dan and Christine have asked me to help them market a new vodka they are distributing. I'm honored and proud to get behind such an outstanding product; this is simply the best vodka I have ever tasted. (No, I didn't use it in my pie crust.) I sipped it well-chilled and straight out of a shot glass.

Qino One is the first vodka made from organic, free trade quinoa, a South American grain. You can find out more by visiting the website. So far it is available in California (north and south), Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania (I know!) at restaurants and retailers by request.

My job — besides trying to get the stuff sold here in Kentucky — will be to use social networking sites to spread the word about Qino One. As of now, Qino One has its own Facebook account, and as time goes on, I'll be using more sites and blog ads to promote the product.

I know this is quite a departure from my usual blog posts, but I'm excited about Qino One. Also, my boss approved the subject matter, which is rare in the blogosphere. Stay tuned.

It's Been A Long Time Coming

For weeks now I've been trying to wrap my brain around a way to keep my feed reader and my blogroll on the same wavelength. I'd subscribe to a feed, thinking I would add it to the blogroll, but then I'd forget because I never read from my blogroll anymore. There was a pretty big discrepancy between my roll and what I was actually reading.

Then Neil came to the rescue by eliminating his blogroll and making his Bloglines feed public. And that, my friends, is what I have just done. If you check the side bar, you'll see a section called "Things I Read Online." That's where my "blogroll" is now.

And here's the part where I announce the creation of a site called Indie Bloggers, which I have joined. I quote:

Indie Bloggers is about giving exposure to bloggers who need to be read. Indie Bloggers is a showcase of written talent - stories, almost - that you may not see otherwise. Anyone can submit. Everyone may not be published right away or at all, but there are few restrictions (i.e., I don’t want to hear about your sex life). Please don’t be intimidated. We want your best!

So far I have submitted one post, Ancient History. But I have read a number of other interesting posts from great bloggers whom I might not have discovered otherwise. The link to Indie Bloggers is also in the sidebar now. Consider it another link resource, a complement to my Bloglines subscriptions.

Because I Am Obviously Obsessed With Poking Holes In My Body...

   

     Bigger is better. Click to enlarge.

...I got my tragus pierced today. Allan and Mike's sister Jo Ann did, too. She drove. She went first (so I saw her grimace), and I still worked up the nerve to do it. I was afraid it would hurt as bad as the nose piercing did. (It didn't.)

10 Days, 7 States, 3000 Miles

We had two great weekends away, but we're staying put for the time being. We'll need to be here to help our new kitty to adjust.

Details and pictures to follow, after we pick him up.

What Is Up

Like Ally Bean, I don't have anything to say.

Well, that's not exactly true. I do have things to say, but it's more like Announcements To The Internet. I'll spare you another bulleted list, and just tell you what's going on.

Tomorrow evening I'm leaving for France. I'm spending the weekend with friends, and on Tuesday (while all you Amurrican readers are preparing your holiday barbecues), I'll pick up my kids after their last day of school (yes, you read that right: July 4th = last day of school in France this year; please, shoot me now).

The three of us will fly back to the States the next day, and we'll have a month together. My expectations are high. I don't know how else to put it.

Suffice it to say that my arms ache for my children. I won't even mention my heart.

A Couple Of Things

Well, the disappearing comment notification e-mail mystery has been solved. For some reason, the messages were going straight to the spam box. I have added Typepad as a contact on Gmail, so this shouldn't happen again. However, there were thirty comments that awaited answers. I'm taking the low road on this one, and marked them all as read. In a sense, they have been read, because I saw them here. I'm just not going to give my usual personal response this time. Just moving on, just moving on. Do know that I lurve to get comments, and I appreciate each one.

In other news, I am still participating in Neilochka's Bloggers With Biceps program. This means that I aim to exercise two hours per week. If I fail to do this, I have to donate money to charity and humiliate myself on my blog or in Neil's comments. I told you that I joined Curves; Allan and I also got bikes. It's all good.

Today was Wacky Wednesday at Curves. Every Wednesday there is some goofy thing that lets you put your name into a drawing to win a Curves t-shirt. Today it was secret color day -- you were supposed to wear your wildest colors, and if you had the secret color on, you could add your name to the pot.

Well, I wore every color of the damn rainbow, from my head to my toes. Yes, I looked like an idiot. I even wore two t-shirts, just in case. But boy, am I glad I did. The secret color was green, and guess what? One of my t-shirts was green! In fact, I was wearing this.

Well, except for the beads. And the tiara. I don't work out in my tiara.

Here We Go

Here we go.

OK. I'm launching my blog. This morning I noticed that AOL had this service now, and since I'm paying 35€ a month to them, I figure I may as well get my money's worth.

Besides, I just finished that damn dissertation, so now it's time for a little fun.

Tomorrow I'll figure out how all this works and add some links and stuff.