Took this with my cell phone while on an escalator in the Canary Wharf tube stop. For some reason this wall REALLY made me happy. I think it's the vibrant colors and the fact the word 'jubilee' is adorable.
I also had a really strange feeling of surrealness settle over me when we were riding down this escalator. Sometimes I don't realize how unusual it is to be experiencing the things I'm going through right now and I take it all for granted without much thought... then there are moments like the one where I took this picture where I am totally overcome by the differencees and I think to myself, "We're not in Kansas anymore Toto" Suddently it hits me how far away I am from Ohio and I feel like an alien in a foreign land. That's how I felt when I took this picture... and it was really fucking neat.
27.12.07
20.11.07
friend-o-matic
I wish there was such a thing as a friend-o-matic machine, where you could put a list of all the BFF traits you want into a slot, press a big red button and wait patiently while your new best friends are slowly spit out one at a time, all for the low, low price of $1. This would make my transition to England a hell of a lot easier since I'm leaving behind such a great group of friends here in Columbus. That's really all I can say about it right now, because I suck at writing when I'm melancholy.
16.11.07
Hints for Internet Stalkers
When you live your life on the internet like many people do nowadays (especially those of us in the Interactive profession), you open yourself up to "googling" and other forms of light-weight internet stalking. That's why it's best not to put anything out in cyberspace that is secret or damning or otherwise inappropriate for your mom, potential employers, coworkers or even enemies to find. At the same time, in order to stay relevant and interesting in the online space, you must put yourself out on a limb at least a little bit, or else why the hell even contribute to the social networking monster that is the "interweb" at all? I mean, seriously, if you're going to do nothing but post pics of your babies or comment on sport team standings, why even bother?
The general rule of thumb is to find the balance between anonymity and exposure that is humorous, interesting, relevant as well as safe all at once. It's a hard balance to find, but once you do, it's easy to withstand a bit of internet stalking and fanatacism now and again. My good friend Amy does this the best of almost anyone I know, both on her flickr and her blog. Amy is a role model for not saying too much or too little while still staying interesting, and that's primarily because she knows first hand how easy it is to find shit on someone if you're skilled enough.
Internet stalking, social networking and online personas have been a topic of conversation for me and my friends/coworkers a lot the past year. We've all worked on projects pertaining to these topics, and admittedly we all spend hours a month googling not only each other, but ourselves, our bosses and anyone who is remotely interesting or incredibly boring. It seems to be human nature these days to stalk on the net, and the people I worked with are some of the best, primarily because they design viral and social network campaigns for a living.
So, my dear friends, what is the key to being a really great internet stalker?
Let me give you a few important hints:
1. Keep your stalking to yourself. If it gets out you do it, it could bite you in the ass. Plus it's kinda of creepy to openly stalk people you barely know online, even if everyone else is doing it too.
2. Be thorough, complete and accurate in your research, especially if you decide to violate rule #1. Else you might end up looking like a complete ass to everyone around you, or worse, get bitch-slapped by an angry victim.
3. Your comments will follow you everywhere. If you hit on someone by commenting on their blog, or say something crass or rude, there is a high chance those comments and your info could be indexed by a web-crawler and the next time someone googles YOU, what you said will be found and reflect poorly on you. Or expose you for the jerk you really are, whichever is the case.
4. Always assume that everyone you stalk is more technically savvy than yourself. There is no such thing as anonymity online anymore, and the data collected about you and your habits online is not within your control.
The good news is that most of us who live our lives partially on the net have a sense of humor about it, and don't really care if our friends, family, coworkers or other sad folk would rather read about us on a computer screen than get to know us in person. Plus, we find it really fucking funny when we get to blog about the creepy stalking behavior of others. :P
Good night everyone.
Julie
The general rule of thumb is to find the balance between anonymity and exposure that is humorous, interesting, relevant as well as safe all at once. It's a hard balance to find, but once you do, it's easy to withstand a bit of internet stalking and fanatacism now and again. My good friend Amy does this the best of almost anyone I know, both on her flickr and her blog. Amy is a role model for not saying too much or too little while still staying interesting, and that's primarily because she knows first hand how easy it is to find shit on someone if you're skilled enough.
Internet stalking, social networking and online personas have been a topic of conversation for me and my friends/coworkers a lot the past year. We've all worked on projects pertaining to these topics, and admittedly we all spend hours a month googling not only each other, but ourselves, our bosses and anyone who is remotely interesting or incredibly boring. It seems to be human nature these days to stalk on the net, and the people I worked with are some of the best, primarily because they design viral and social network campaigns for a living.
So, my dear friends, what is the key to being a really great internet stalker?
Let me give you a few important hints:
1. Keep your stalking to yourself. If it gets out you do it, it could bite you in the ass. Plus it's kinda of creepy to openly stalk people you barely know online, even if everyone else is doing it too.
2. Be thorough, complete and accurate in your research, especially if you decide to violate rule #1. Else you might end up looking like a complete ass to everyone around you, or worse, get bitch-slapped by an angry victim.
3. Your comments will follow you everywhere. If you hit on someone by commenting on their blog, or say something crass or rude, there is a high chance those comments and your info could be indexed by a web-crawler and the next time someone googles YOU, what you said will be found and reflect poorly on you. Or expose you for the jerk you really are, whichever is the case.
4. Always assume that everyone you stalk is more technically savvy than yourself. There is no such thing as anonymity online anymore, and the data collected about you and your habits online is not within your control.
The good news is that most of us who live our lives partially on the net have a sense of humor about it, and don't really care if our friends, family, coworkers or other sad folk would rather read about us on a computer screen than get to know us in person. Plus, we find it really fucking funny when we get to blog about the creepy stalking behavior of others. :P
Good night everyone.
Julie
8.11.07
Autumn is awesome.
My street in the fall
Originally uploaded by juliehicks75
I guess I'm really enjoying and savoring Autumn this year because it is the last one I'll spend for awhile in Columbus or even the US. I'm going to miss it here I think - except in the winter. I'll never miss Ohio winters. Never. Seriously. That part I can do without.
7.11.07
Cultural Difference #1: Fancy Dress Parties
My darling Will and I are going to a Christmas/Holiday party in London on December 5th that is a movie-themed fancy dress party. And no, fancy dress does NOT mean ball gowns and tuxes in the UK. Fancy dress parties in Britain are all about costumes... and they are thrown for absolutely no reason at all. Unlike the US, the Brits seem hell bent on costume parties year round, not just at Halloween. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fancy_dress#Fancy_Dress_parties_in_Britain
This custom of having themed costume parties any time besides October is foreign to me. Not only do the Brits throw them for holiday parties, but apparently dressing up in themed costumes is popular for Hen Nights (bachelorette parties) and big birthday bashes. For example, Will was out recently with friends and came across a group of women out celebrating their friend's big 4-0. The entire group was dressed up in Medieval-themed fancy dress. Yes, I said Medieval... When I questioned this, he agreed it was incredibly bizarre. Good, I thought, he thinks dressing up in the middle of the year is weird too, I feel safe now. But no.... apparently it was not the fact they were dressed up that Will found bizarre, but instead it was strange because normally women dress up as naughty nurses, slags or something like that for a birthday event! Seriously? I mean, why?! What gets me about this response is that, to my lovely British boy, wearing a costume in public outside of Halloween is perfectly normal , but apparently going the medieval route is a little too much.
I just am not sure if I will get used to this penchant for fancy dress that the Brits seem to have. Maybe I'm just too cheap or easily embarrassed? Not quite sure... but if this is hard for me to swallow, how in the hell am I going to be able to handle Christmas crackers?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fancy_dress#Fancy_Dress_parties_in_Britain
This custom of having themed costume parties any time besides October is foreign to me. Not only do the Brits throw them for holiday parties, but apparently dressing up in themed costumes is popular for Hen Nights (bachelorette parties) and big birthday bashes. For example, Will was out recently with friends and came across a group of women out celebrating their friend's big 4-0. The entire group was dressed up in Medieval-themed fancy dress. Yes, I said Medieval... When I questioned this, he agreed it was incredibly bizarre. Good, I thought, he thinks dressing up in the middle of the year is weird too, I feel safe now. But no.... apparently it was not the fact they were dressed up that Will found bizarre, but instead it was strange because normally women dress up as naughty nurses, slags or something like that for a birthday event! Seriously? I mean, why?! What gets me about this response is that, to my lovely British boy, wearing a costume in public outside of Halloween is perfectly normal , but apparently going the medieval route is a little too much.
I just am not sure if I will get used to this penchant for fancy dress that the Brits seem to have. Maybe I'm just too cheap or easily embarrassed? Not quite sure... but if this is hard for me to swallow, how in the hell am I going to be able to handle Christmas crackers?
31.10.07
finally coming out of the haze
The last two weeks have been incredibly stressful for me. I have been in a holding pattern related to many major changes in my life. I've been completely dependent upon the workings of of a corporate lawyer in Arkansas, hoping furiously that he really does know how to do his job. Tomorrow, the wait will finally be over. Tomorrow my work permit and entry clearance visa will arrive from the British Consulate in Chicago. Tomorrow I can start to work on the rest of my life. I'm so ready to charge forward and get my shit in order and get my ass to the UK and settle down with my partner Will.
The last couple years have been very challenging for me on a personal and professional basis. Mostly due to my own choices, both good and bad. I don't regret any of it. I've really come very far and grown insanely the last twelve months. For the first time in my adult life, I feel in balance without someone telling me how to live my life like a mother, sister, a therapist or coworker. I am completely confident in the decisions I have made and the future that lies in front of me. I don't feel clouded by romance or cinicism or boredom or mania or anything else that causes so many people to live in a state of suspension between the real and unreal.
Do I think EVERYTHING in my life is going to work out just fine? Nope, I'm pretty sure that's not possible, for anyone anywhere. Do I think that every decision I have made recently, every person I hold close to me, every direction I am facing are true, honest and right for where and who I am now? Yes, I do. And it feels great to be this clear. It feels amazing not be reacting out of emotional knee-jerking for once, but instead to really truly have confidence and contentment over who I am.
Now I just need that little piece of paper inside my passport to arrive tomorrow so that all the plans I've made can be confirmed and I can get started on the next phase of my life. For real this time.
23.10.07
H20 is my friend
In July I started following a pretty strict dietary plan (ala Weight Watchers) in order to lose the 14 pounds I have gained since I moved to the grand old CMH. Another goal for me is to be as healthy and thrifty as possible for the first time in my life, reducing my dining out and alcohol consumption greatly (hence reducing my waistline AND increasing my bank balance!).
One of the mainstays of eating healthy is drinking a shitload of water every day. I have been hearing this for years and just never bought into it, then in July I started this high-fiber nutritional plan. After a few days, the thirst hit and bam! next thing you know, I'm drinking 60+ ounces of water a day minimum. Water is my life now. I have multiple water bottles that I carry around with me (reusable, of course!). Usually I have at least one at home, one at work and sometimes one in the car.
Step One: I admit it, I am an addict. If I don't get enough, I feel ick. If I miss ounces in the double digits, the thirst drives me crazy and next thing I know, I'm drinking it out of the tap, (unflavored even!) in my desperation. I need it, I want it, I gotsta gotsta have it.
Side note: I can't stand plain unflavored water, so I'm also addicted to zero-cal flavorings now, such as Crystal Light or 4C. My favorite flavors are pink lemonade and cranberry ice. The most disgusting I've tried is peach tea... avoid at all costs !!
My addiction knows no ends. I drink it the minute I wake up, even before my shower quite often. And yes, I admit it... I put a freshly-filled bottle next to my bed before I go to sleep just in case I need some during the night. Of course I usually have a glass right before bed as well, usually with a benadryl to help with my allergies.
The result of all this drinking is that I pee at least three times more a day than I did before. My skin is much less dry than ever before, and often I pass up beer and wine for a huge glass of water...not out of guilt, but out of actual desire. How did this transition occur? I have no idea.... but whatever it is, it sure does feel good to be doing something healthy for once. Not saying I don't have the occasional binge drinking night... of course I do, as my neuroses and love for liquor are still strong... but even hangovers are much easier to weather these days, and I'm pretty sure it's because of my new BFF H20.
One of the mainstays of eating healthy is drinking a shitload of water every day. I have been hearing this for years and just never bought into it, then in July I started this high-fiber nutritional plan. After a few days, the thirst hit and bam! next thing you know, I'm drinking 60+ ounces of water a day minimum. Water is my life now. I have multiple water bottles that I carry around with me (reusable, of course!). Usually I have at least one at home, one at work and sometimes one in the car.
Step One: I admit it, I am an addict. If I don't get enough, I feel ick. If I miss ounces in the double digits, the thirst drives me crazy and next thing I know, I'm drinking it out of the tap, (unflavored even!) in my desperation. I need it, I want it, I gotsta gotsta have it.
Side note: I can't stand plain unflavored water, so I'm also addicted to zero-cal flavorings now, such as Crystal Light or 4C. My favorite flavors are pink lemonade and cranberry ice. The most disgusting I've tried is peach tea... avoid at all costs !!
My addiction knows no ends. I drink it the minute I wake up, even before my shower quite often. And yes, I admit it... I put a freshly-filled bottle next to my bed before I go to sleep just in case I need some during the night. Of course I usually have a glass right before bed as well, usually with a benadryl to help with my allergies.
The result of all this drinking is that I pee at least three times more a day than I did before. My skin is much less dry than ever before, and often I pass up beer and wine for a huge glass of water...not out of guilt, but out of actual desire. How did this transition occur? I have no idea.... but whatever it is, it sure does feel good to be doing something healthy for once. Not saying I don't have the occasional binge drinking night... of course I do, as my neuroses and love for liquor are still strong... but even hangovers are much easier to weather these days, and I'm pretty sure it's because of my new BFF H20.
22.10.07
i feel censored
The things I want to write about I cannot in such a public forum at this time, and everything else seems boring or unnecessary. Hence I'm writing to write about nothing. One day all will be clear and I can be more transparent about my feelings, but for now it's all about waiting. And for fuck's sake, waiting sure does suck.
Til later.
Til later.
13.10.07
Quick thought on adjective usage...
As I was trying to nap today, I started thinking about how the British use the same words a bit differently than Americans sometimes. A really great example is the word "horny". In America, this adjective is used almost exclusively to describe one's state of mind from a sexual-desire perspective:
"I am feeling horny tonight baby. " --> Translated: I want to get laid.
"Jeff is a real horny bastard sometimes." --> Translated: Jeff always wants to get laid.
"It sucks becaus he's NEVER horny and I ALWAYS am ready to go" --> Translated: She wants to get laid, he doesn't.
In the UK they use this rough little adjective in those same sentences as well, but they've apparently derived another usage where they use "horny" to describe objects directly rather than just a person's state of mind. For example:
"That movie is horny." --> Usually used to describe porn, or sometimes ellicitly sexual scenes within a non-pornographic movie.
"I like that dress. It's horny." --> Basically means that observer thinks the the dress looks really sexy.
"That was a really horny conversation." --> Basically states that a conversation was deemed to be a turn-on.
And so forth...
I'm sure "horny" is not the only word that's switched from single-purpose to multi between our two great countries; however given the fact I'm feeling a bit horny today, it's the first one that came to my mind.
"I am feeling horny tonight baby. " --> Translated: I want to get laid.
"Jeff is a real horny bastard sometimes." --> Translated: Jeff always wants to get laid.
"It sucks becaus he's NEVER horny and I ALWAYS am ready to go" --> Translated: She wants to get laid, he doesn't.
In the UK they use this rough little adjective in those same sentences as well, but they've apparently derived another usage where they use "horny" to describe objects directly rather than just a person's state of mind. For example:
"That movie is horny." --> Usually used to describe porn, or sometimes ellicitly sexual scenes within a non-pornographic movie.
"I like that dress. It's horny." --> Basically means that observer thinks the the dress looks really sexy.
"That was a really horny conversation." --> Basically states that a conversation was deemed to be a turn-on.
And so forth...
I'm sure "horny" is not the only word that's switched from single-purpose to multi between our two great countries; however given the fact I'm feeling a bit horny today, it's the first one that came to my mind.
14 month old babies = good birth control
Seriously, Hannah was a bit of a handful last night when I babysat her and her brother Elijah. A "bit" might even be an understatement, actually. At one point when we went on a walk, she was screaming so loud that some of my UA neighbors turned on their porchlights to see who was beating the baby outside, yet the only thing she was yelling about was a general dislike for her stroller. When I took her out of it, she kept trying to run into the street. When I stopped her from doing that, she'd start moaning like a dog getting beating by a stick and flailing around so I couldn't keep hold of her. Poor Eli was mortified, and poor Auntie Julie was at the end of her rope after awhile. Yet somehow everytime I got to the point where I thought I could just lock her up in a cage to get some peace, she'd throw me one of these looks and I just melted inside. Flipping kids, they are such manipulators. :P
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