Delurk

Guess what?! It's Delurking Day!

But Missy, I thought that was ages ago, like when you were on the Great Ocean Road Trip, or meeting your future husband while entertaining your family, or when your computer shat itself. You know, you totally missed it.

Nope. Actually, it just seems like that because ... of the time difference! Yeah, it's an upsidedown thing. I'm actually right on schedule here.



This is also a majorly important Delurking Day. In my new clean-slate state, I have deleted a shitload of blogs with the aim of giving the ones that are left some VIP treatment. And you all are totally important, right?

So if you read this blog (when there's actually something new to read, I know) leave me a comment and let me know. Otherwise I may have in a delete-button seizure accidentally deleted your blog. But I will absolutely be adding you back!

If you need a topic to start you off, how about telling me the most essential song ever so I can add it to my now non-existent music collection. Or you can tell me about how it's totally colder where you are.

2008 In Review

I am currently away on the Great Ocean Road Trip. It is awesome, I am sure. However, lots of awesome things happened in 2008, despite it being pretty much universally known as the Year of Suck, and I thought I'd mention just some of them.

In January, I re-named all the childcare centres in Adelaide before starting work at one, and I told a story from my childhood mostly in pictures.

In February, I moved into my new house, and decided to do Honours in 08 and go to BlogHer in July.

In March, we had a ton of events, including the Adelaide Cup.

In April, I found out my boobs were perfect, and realised I was shit at Honours.

In May, I freaked out about BlogHer and then started planning what I wanted to do, made an Australia 101 kit, and witnessed Uni Hall winning Battle of the Bands - again!

In June, I continued planning for BlogHer, and wrote a Letter To My Body.

In July, I flew to San Francisco (via Auckland), and then met a bunch of awesome people at the conference, and then travelled, a lot, while good and bad things happened to my hair.

In August, I discovered Twilight, then arrived home, and lo, it was my birthday. I reflected on my BlogHer trip, continued being crap at uni, and also, the Olympics happened.

In September, I freaked out about my thesis, and distracted myself by sending you mail (which ... did that even get to you?).

In October, I joined the gym, went to the Living End concert, and managed to finish my thesis.

In November, I started planning for our road trip, pondered body image, celebrated the end of the school year, and watched Obama get elected.

In December, I graduated and performed selfishly selfless Christmas deeds.

Wow, this year went quick. And simultaneously it seems like this all happened a long time ago. I hope everyone has an awesome New Years, and an amazingly happy 2009.

What were your highlights of 2008? What are your big plans for 2009?

Merry Christmas

Thanks for reading. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmastime.

The End?

So it would appear I have become really crap at this whole bloggy thing. I have to confess it even crossed my mind that there would be a nice symmetry in starting and finishing something (say, a blog) at the start and finish of my time at Flinders. But no, there will always be topics which make me say "I wonder what the internet would think" and "OMG I MUST COMPLAIN ABOUT THIS TO THE INTERNET."

Today is not one of those times, unless you count the fact that I just had to tell you that I might not be posting so much anymore, but I thought an update would be nice, just to prove that I remember how to type things and hit publish with little regard for content. (Check, check, and hell check.)

I have been working at my sports store job four days a week. Which is nice. We're getting busier as everyone realises that their kids are demanding scooters and those wheely shoe things and whatnot, but we're all pretty much all friends now, and three of us went shopping and movieing yesterday even. (I saw Four Christmases twice in two days, what with having uni friends and work friends, not because it was that awesome. It was funny in parts.) I also got a job at a bookshop, the orientation for which is next week. That is also nice.

Graduation is also next week, and I still haven't found my imaginary shoes, but I think I've found some acceptable ones. Our work Christmas party is on this weekend, and I found a pretty purple dress for that so we're all set for the dress-uppy events.

Turns out I am invited to family Christmas, which means that I have to go Christmas shopping (dammit) for random relatives. What do you get for the boyfriend of a cousin you see once a year? Christmas shopping for the boys did not even necessitate a trip to Marion. I am that good (and lazy).

I'm still going to the gym on the days that I don't work. My treadmill routine isn't particularly hard anymore, and I've added some random balls and weights but I'm too scared to use any of the machines or go to classes because I will for sure look like an idiot.

Planning for our Great Ocean Road Trip is pretty much done, without contributions being made from all members of the travelling party, which is great. It will be awesome.

Summer had not kicked in for real yet, and I am not thrilled about this. Although it does seem to be putting in a little effort to overcome the clouds and rain, I would appreciate the sun's appearance more often and continuously.

I still read your blog, I promise, but I think I've left three comments in the last month. I am terrible, Muriel.

600 / Delurk / Presents!

This is my 600th post! Woohoo!

I want to give you stuff! Yay you! (I annoyingly keep not winning Pay It Forward contests!)

But you have to delurk first! I have no more exclamation marks!

If you are one of my amazing readers (and I don't have any other kind), leave me a comment saying hi. Or something. Because it's my first post's 600th birthday.

If you also want some kind of present (which may be a postcard, or it may be a book or CD, or it may be an iPhone (it won't be an iPhone), or something else I haven't thought of yet), you need to email me meanwhilemissy AT gmail DOT com with an address. And I promise I won't stalk you with it, mostly because you live too far away. Everyone will get something, because I love you, and it will as awesome as I can make it.



So talk to me. Pretty please?

New Header: Opinions Needed

As you may (or may not, depending on how much time you spend in your feed reader, or possibly how keen your powers of observation have been) have noticed, I put up a new header a few days ago. It currently looks like this:



The idea was that I would change the swirly bit each like month or whatever, to reflect other people who should be keeping me informed about the goings-on back at the ranch. Or whatever. That metaphor never worked too well to begin with, but I still like it.

The only problem is, I don't really like it. It's too dark, and boring, and even though I am proud of my curve that I figured out how to make, the whole thing really can't stay. So! Options!

Which of these do you like better? (Yes, they are all basically the same. I know.) (I am sorry you're not in it, but are YOU going to create ANOTHER pattern if I have to add another photo?) (I am sorry you don't like the photo of yourself, but um ... TOO BAD.) Anway! Let me know which one you like best; new header will go up ... sometime. Very soon. After one single person comments. After enough people comment that the one I like has the most votes. You know. In the future. It will definitely go up in the future.



Hmm. They definitely looked better bigger. You should definitely click on one of them before telling me they look like shit. (I don't want to hear they look like shit. Thanks. Or that they look like I squished every Photoshop tool I know how to use into one ugly pink rectangle. The only way you can tell me either of those is if you also say, "And I'm a professional blog header designer who would love to make you the awesomest header ever totally for free and also this instant.")

Wow. That was a lot of talking for a post that essentially only needed pictures and one word: Vote, Bitches. Okay, it definitely needed two.

Blogging About Blogging - How Self-Indulgent

Obviously, BlogHer provided a lot of new and interesting ideas to consider regarding blogging, the why and how of it, the monetary aspect, and the mainstream-ness of it all. I don't think I actually have all my new ideas sorted yet, but we'll just start typing and see what happens.

Why do I blog? 'In the beginning, it was a way of keeping in touch with friends and family back home. Here's what's happening down here; how are things back at the ranch?' I said this a few times while I was away. I'm not sure that it's totally true, and I'm positive that's not why I blog now. The Ranch is a record, a memory, an outlet. My family and friends from home still read it, although I am less aware of them when I'm writing than I was; I certainly use more f-words than some of them would like. I include things which keep them up-to-date, but those same things are a memory for me.

Will I become rich? I do have BlogHer ads on my blog. I don't know how to log in and check how much my huge cheque will equal, but I can tell you it won't be much. Maybe enough for a milkshake once a month. Possibly. I don't know. I'm ok with whatever, really. I would love it if someone wanted to pay me to write, because then I would write so much better and more consistently. But since I'm not doing that to start with, it's unlikely anyone will offer me that. Y'know? Which is fine. As long as I'm happy with what I'm writing, I'm happy with whatever BlogHer ads gives me for it.

What do I want for ...

... the way I read blogs? I read blogs through Bloglines. I have been making an effort to Blog The Recession and click through. As far as I'm concerned, if I can't visualise the author/blog in my reader, why bother reading at all? I have a bajillion new blogs to read since BlogHer, and I'm trying to be okay with deleting some of them. It's nothing personal; not every blog is for me. Or you. Categorising my Bloglines has helped me to prioritise my blog-reading, as well. Basically, I most enjoy blogs when I feel like I recognise/know the blog/blogger.

... my blog? Right now, I've been making some small changes to my blog. Older buttons are all in one place and not cluttering up my sidebar, I'm going to start work on my About Me page, I've started using spell-check, little things like that. I'm thinking of changing the colour scheme / design - nothing too drastic, but just to make it a little cleaner or something.

... my writing? I wish The Ranch was more consistent. I developed a huge wordiness during most of my BlogHer posts, and then suddenly posted three big pictures with hardly any words. I want my style to show clearly on everything I post. I want every post to say what I wanted it to say. I want to be proud of every post I write; I want to be proud to submit them to things like the Community Keynote (no, we're not too ambitious AT ALL). You know those posts where people point out the awesome posts they've read that week? I want mine to be among them. I don't imagine that these things happen without effort - who even knows if effort and planning are blogging aspects that will make me happy to publish things here, but it's worth finding out.

Where are you at with your blog at the moment?
What direction would you like to see The Ranch take?
What are the essential aspects required for an About Page?

What I Want To Do Weekends, Part 7: The Ranch

Welcome to the last ever What I Want To Do Weekends weekend. (This does not ensure I will not change my mind between now and next weekend.) In case you missed the first few rounds of torture incredibly helpful comments, here's what happened:

Part 1: USA
Part 2: San Francisco
Part 3: Bloggers
Part 4: Los Angeles
Part 5: Las Vegas
Part 6: BlogHer Sessions - Day One and Day Two.

Since it kind of degenerated into more feedback from you than me telling you what I want to do, we're just going to embrace that and carry on letting you do all the work.

So, Part 7, The Finale: Questions For You.

Q1 Describe this blog to someone who has never read it, in one or two or maybe three sentences.

Q2 (a) Aussies: What should I take to America that best represents Australia?
Q2 (b) Non-Aussies: What should I bring you that will make you think of Australia?

Q3 Any other random ideas of things I have to do/see/buy/photograph while I am in any of the above-mentioned cities?

If you answer me these, I promise I will try so hard to not get suckered into any of these weekly things, or things that demand you answer so many questions so frequently. I love you for doing it though, you've been truly awesome.

And one last thing:
COUNTDOWN TO BLOGHER: 16 DAYS. HELL YEAH!

Saving and Spending

As I was cycling today, I was composing a post in my head. It went something like this:

"I've always been fairly good about not spending money. Every now and I'll splash out, and buy a laptop or a trip to England, but usually, I'm pretty good.

Lately, I've been trying to save up for a certain trip, but it's very inconsistent, resulting in days like the one with me deciding I didn't need the second hand on my watch to actually tell time (cost: $10) and then going and blowing half a paycheck on three pairs of shoes.

Or today, when I bought two 50c stamps instead of ten, and then spent $45 in the uni bookshop."

I didn't really finish it, but I feel it was building up to a pithy conclusion that would generate a ton of hilarious comments.

But then I actually went to buy some books, took my three Conan Doyles to the counter, and the chick showed me this one...



...that I could get instead for the low low price of FIFTEEN DOLLARS.

I hate when real life interferes with a blog post.

Times it sucks that the internet is the person you tell things to

I have ordered my business cards for BlogHer. They are pretty, at least I think so. I would love to show them to you, but since you are getting one, that would completely ruin the surprise aspect of it.

I have also ordered a bunch of awesome Australia presents for you, but again. PRESENTS. SURPRISE. CAN'T SHARE.

It sucks.

Also, I just wrote a post basically recapping the Vegas comments, but hello? You don't want to read them. YOU JUST WROTE THEM. And I thank you for that. Best suggestions: hire a scooter, get a hooker, get married.

I'm currently working on the Vegas hotel issue, because Holly basically just said "Dude, you're insane. Here, I've done all the work for you, now PICK ONE."

Another instance of the internet-tell-suck phenomenon? When you just used a totally good line in an email, and now can't repeat it here because THEY'LL KNOW. You didn't just make this blog post up. You wrote a couple of emails and copy/pasted them all together and called it a post.

Anyway - and this is a direct quote - "i've got it down to TI and the stratosphere, through a complicated and technical process known as 'hey, that looks cool!' i dont know. flip a coin?" So which should I pick? Rock scissors paper? Vegas experts, I need you again!

Dude, find another topic

Ok, new rule: I can't have two BlogHer posts in a row.

Since there's guaranteed to be one every weekend, this means that you at least get one normal post every single week! And if I can't go from one weekend to the next without mentioning San Francisco, you get two! Woohoo, right?

This week, it seems I can't, because I have a) no self control, b) nothing else interesting to talk/think about, and c) a craving to win a contest.

Dude, everyone in the whole world is currently running a contest on their blogs. I'm thinking I should join in, but that's not this post. Be patient.

This post is to tell about an awesome prize being given away (to me, hopefully) by Psychicgeek. Go check it out. How much fun could I have with that if I won? My question to you: if you had a free flight to anywhere in the world, where would you go? (Let's assume you've already been to visit me.)

Numbers

I have two important numbers for you today.

500.

This is my five hundredth post. That is a lot of posts.

I recently deleted all my tags because they were annoying me and I was supposed to be writing an essay and so needed something to do instead. Then I re-tagged everything because I was still supposed to be writing an essay. This came a really good time and I got a great look back at everything I'd written.

I almost deleted some, but they were all ones where I'd posted a video clip, or one line about a new template. I would write some of them differently if I wrote them again, but I didn't change them. I am happy with the voice I have now, but first and foremost this blog is a memory, and the voice I had then is a memory as well.

85.

I got my first Honours High Distinction today. (It may well be my last so savour the moment.)

This was an excellent presentation which met all of the criteria. You delivered a sophisticated, confident and yet concise presentation which clearly explained your project.

Your project has an admirable depth and complexity for an Honours project, and you demonstrate a real mastery of the material. You made excellent use of question time, which served to illuminate your project even further.

Yes, I have a real mastery of watching House. It's a talent.

Buttons, Parties, and Labels

I have new pretty buttons.

First of all,



and



and I also plan on this one



although shoes do make a suitcase a bit heavy.

There is also that countdown happening over there. If you're looking at the one at the actual BlogHer site and then getting confused, that would be because this one is counting down til I leave. Which is many many hours before I get to San Francisco, which is several days before BlogHer begins. (Now it's not confusing at all.)

Then there is



which is happening on the Thursday before BlogHer.

At the same time, I am supposed to be at the BlogHer Newbie Mixer, but apparently we're allowed to do both? (Why not just have one?)

And the next day, I will be at Ruby Skye, for BlogHer's Friday cocktail party.

Yo, girls: we need to plan some clothes shopping in between the Golden Gate Bridge and the really hilly streets. Seriously.

Moving on, there are now only five blogs at a time over there on the sidebar, and the archives are by year now. It's all so clean and tidy.

And in case you were wondering where all the tags went, I deleted them all. They were annoying me. And, as I'm supposed to be preparing my thesis proposal, deleting labels from 500+ posts seemed like a good idea. They'll be back. (Obviously. I'm still "supposed to be" preparing.)

Comment / Question

Holly said...
Ok, I've never even heard of that before...enlighten me?

Now here is the thing. I never know how to reply to people who ask things in the comments. Firstly because I can never tell if you (not you personally Holly, just you the world) actually want an answer. But mainly because I don't know if you want an email, or a reply in the comments, or a whole post.

I know some of the "big" bloggers make a practice of replying to every comment by email, which ... dude, that's a waste of energy. And I know some who reply to every comment in a comment. And I know some who ignore comments like "Oh wow" or "That's so funny!" or "Me too!" which is exactly the response that is required.

So that is part one of this topic: if you ask a question in the comments, do you expect a reply from another commenter? Or would you like a comment / email / post from me? What is it that you want?!

(Holly, we'll get to your question in the next post. Now I have to go and do another third of my assignment.)

Happy New Year: What You Missed and Have To Look Forward To

Everyone in the world is getting all retrospective and comtemplative. Or hungover. Since I am not the latter, we'll give the former a try.

So. What I did in 2007.

I was home when it started, and I got an MP3 player. It broke. I got a new camera. It's fine. (Fingers crossed.)

I made a list of New Year's Goals that I promptly forgot about. How does two-and-a-half out of four take you?

I got back to the Hall. There was a lot of O-Week related madness.

My scooter came back with me. Then I had to drive in Adelaide. Luckily, I got good at it. Then I got worse.

I went back to uni. People annoyed me. A lot. And I totally called this one.

Good thing I had permission to write about all the AssHats I wanted to.

I obsessed over my clothes and my hair. And the weather. I also went shopping. A lot.

We had four Formal Dinners. And lots and lots of events. I even participated in some of them. Plus lots of SAAUCC (and other) sports, like tennis, swimming, debating, basketball, and soccer (which we won!), I became a true Hallie. We hated St Marks, stole some bathtubs and won Battle of the Bands!

Unfortunately, I didn't really like the Tutor Dictatorship here. I also bitched about the food.

I had some awesome friends. And some of them came to visit me! And posted Guest Posts. I even went to Melbourne with some of them.

I read a book called Harry Potter. You may have heard of it. I also watched a lot of TV and DVDs, in addition to being a TV star.

I came back to uni for my last semester. I learned stuff. People were still annoying.

I had my 22nd birthday, which was pretty awesome.

I had a breast lump 'scare'.

I clearly thought about BlogHer way too much.

I participated in The Great Mofo Delurk and I finished NaBloPoMo.

I met one of my best friends. She lost one of her best friends. I realised the power of a well-written post.

I got a job.

There was this little event called Hall Ball.

I had my last class ever. I handed in my last thing. And finally, I shut up about uni.

I got a new phone. It was psychic. (Incidentally, it had balls on the tree at Christmas, and fireworks last night. Freaking fireworks! How awesome is that?!)

We started cooking things.

And then we had Christmas Day. And Boxing Day. And New Year's Eve.

And now here we are. Jeez I am a bit repetitive really when you put it all like that.

(I do not imagine that anyone is going to be bored enough to click on all those links. It was a fun exercise for me, however.)

400+ posts, a year and a half, tons of photos, and some not particularly well-written sentences. The Ranch would like to wish you a happy 2008, with good friends (blog or otherwise), humourous and heartfelt posts, and lots of hot sunny weather!

New Years Eve

I've never been a big one for making New Year's Resolutions. Maybe because it seems like a bit of a cliche.

But if I was to expend as much energy as to think about the year that's been and the one that's about to start, I might even come up with a blog post, so here we go.

I will ...

- Start playing basketball again. Or do some exercise. Or get fit somehow.

This is right up there with the cliche thing, but this isn't about losing weight. At least not completely. I haven't put on much weight at all - which is to say that I don't weigh any more than I did when I got here - but I definitely look and feel less fit.

Do something, lazy-arse.

- Get a job.

"So, how's the study coming?"
"Yeah, good. I've finished my degree."
"So what now?"
"Um... just bumming around."

Given that I've had this conversation with a bajillion random family members over the past week, you may now be able to understand my motivation for this one. For the moment, I would be perfectly happy working part-time at ASS and picking up some relief work from some childcare centers that I haven't yet applied to. I still think I would like to work in publishing but I am not really in a hurry. That said, I still need some kind of work, and childcare seems like the easiest one to pick up that I would also enjoy.

Hand in a resume or two (lazy-arse).

- Go to San Francisco.

Despite there being a few minor obstacles that I've already discussed, I want to go to BlogHer08. I've already signed up for the conference - on the day registration opened, in fact. My motives are split pretty evenly between meeting people, drinking, travel, and learning stuff, which I think is perfectly fine. People will be going for all different reasons, but I'm pretty sure this is the right time for me.

Get on a plane.

- Something about blogging.

I would like to write better.
I would like to connect to other people's blog better. This means going to their actual blogs instead of reading their feeds, and leaving more comments.
I would like to make The Ranch prettier. This may or may not mean learning more about coding, or doing things in Photoshop, or some other type of design learny stuff.

Be better.

So there you have it. I think we've well and truly established that I'm a slacker, but apart from that, this is a good list, if somewhat cliched and/or predictable.

What are your New Year's Resolutions, and what do you think I need to add to this list?

No-one actually believed me anyway

"Every day." Pfft, yeah right.

New Buttons, New Leaf

I have two new buttons in my sidebar.

The first one (that I'm talking about it, because it was neither the first one put there, nor the first one as you look at it, unless you are scrolling upwards) is for NaBloPoMo, wherein participants post a blog post every day during November. I was all set to start yesterday, but it turns out it's still October, and will be for about a month. So go join, the more posts you post, the more I can be not doing my essays!

The second one is for The Great Mofo Delurk, which is being held on October 3rd (which, as it turns out, is this month) which may be tomorrow or possibly the day after, depending on where you live.

Apparently, there is some interwebs-wide decrease in commenting lately. As it was pointed out, a decrease is a decrease, whether it's 500 to 250, or 2 down to 1, and I do think that commenters are an important part of a blog.

Unfortunately, I am shite at commenting, while still expecting comments from everyone who passes by this way. So there's that.

I think that feed readers may have a part to play - I know that I don't feel the post is as personal unless I actually go to the site. People put effort into their designs, and they are a reflection of their personality in a way, so although I am kind of in love with the immediacy of Bloglines, I do think it detracts from the enjoyment. Also, obviously, it's another click to actually post a comment. Oh, the effort!

What to do? If you only allow partial feeds, then I'm forced to visit your site. In this case:
- You have visitors actually visiting, not just readers reading.
- I am already there means I might be more likely to comment?
- You forced me to do something which means I'm not going to oblige you by commenting?

Personally, I don't like commenting for the sake of commenting, because I feel stupid saying 'good post' or 'haha'.* However, I personally would prefer that, someone saying hi! I've been here! I did read it!, to no comment at all. I think the feed thing contributes to this, in that I am reading every post as it happens (uni student with nothing but time on my hands here) whereas before I wouldn't be going to every blog every day. If there's a couple of new posts to read, then I am more likely to comment on one of them.

*The same goes for super-mega-popular blogs: how many times can commenters say OMFG Noah is the cutest baby EVER before it gets repetitive? And redundant. Not that he's not, but I agree with what everyone else said - what is the point in me saying it too?

HOWEVER. (God I babbled a lot of shit there, didn't I?) NO LONGER.

I will be a changed commenter. If I read, I will comment. I promise. Most especially on the 3rd of October, but for ever after as well.

More commenting, less mindless clicking on the next post in the feed.

What is your stance on comments/ing/ers? Am I just babbling shit? Will I keep up the more-commenting resolution? Am I only asking these questions to avoid essays? Only time (and comments) will tell.

Geeking Out Just A Little Bit

1. There's a new header.



1a. I just got Photoshop on my computer.

But obviously I'm not briliant at using it. I'm not totally completely happy with it, but I am slightly in love.

2. There's a new thingy in the sidebar.



2a. See 1a.

I wish I could put all the other things on my sidebar into their own little boxes, but uh, I have no idea how to do that. Anyone? Bueller?

3. I handed in my Invisible Flinders website last week.



3a. I just now figured out how to use the Print Screen button.

But I don't have my final copy saved at home so this is still a draft. Also, it's not actually on the server yet I don't think, but I'll give you the link when it is so you can see all the others. Marcus did one one on the bath tub which was pretty great.

4. I got 22/25 on a History test.

So I'm not quite as mad at her for suggesting that I put an apostrophe in the wrong place. Although she runs over time every single week. She's got some PR work to do I think.

Template Changes

As you may have noticed (and if you didn't, I'm a little worried), there is now a header image. Cool hey. And I changed some of the colours around again.

Hey, do you think I could hand the ranch in instead of an essay on Australian publishing? It's publishing, it's Australian, it'll be great! Right?

Okay, okay, I'm going. Jeez.