Cords and Fleece

  Well, not really. More like brown on brown . But somehow, changing my blog -- even if it’s just the title/address -- makes me feel a little like I’ve dyed my hair chartreuse. I’m excited for the change, but what will people think? Suddenly I feel like it’s 9am and I’m standing outside the door to my office, staring at my neon reflection in the window, and I’m nervous . I open the door, hoping the receptionist is in the bathroom and won’t notice as I slip into my cubicle. Deep breath... “Good morning,” she says as I enter. “You died your hair.” “Yes! Yes I did!” I say with extreme enthusiasm, as if my enthusiasm for green hair will rub off on everyone around me. When she says nothing, I start to sweat. I don’t want to have to justify what I’ve done, but suddenly the explanations pour from my mouth, unbidden. “Uh.... well. You see I thought it would be... fun! ... to do something a little different. You know? To start fresh ,” I say, nodding, because if I nod, perhaps she will nod. Yes...

Apparently, November is "blog until you puke" month. Someone, somewhere, issued a challenge to blog once a day in November. Clearly this person is not interested in the quality of blogs, only the shear unfathomable quantity, and therefore I should refuse to participate on principle. However, I have a closet competitive streak that's rather macho in nature and just as stupid. It's what caused me to make sure I had less beer in my Heineken bottle than my husband's on our first date, even though I wasn't much of a drinker. (For example, when he took a swig, I would take two, and so on.) Despite this (or perhaps in some odd way because of it) my boyfriend eventually became my husband and we've lived happily ever after (well, most of the time). I was lucky. It's no surprise then that halfway through my day, without having yet compiled my Halloween Blog and thinking I'll just post it tomorrow (November second !), I find myself twitching in my seat. I...

  Spank Girls, Ukraine Wives, and Sugar Daddies. I’m so proud to be a member of Google AdSense. If you’ve explored the Internet for more than five minutes, you’ve seen them. If you’re reading this on my blog (and not through a reader), then scroll down a little and you’ll see them on the right-hand side. Google ads are everywhere. But don’t be fooled. They didn’t appear magically on their own -- I put them there. That’s because I thought, silly newbie that I am, that placing Google ads on my blog would make me rich -- or at least enable me to eat at a nice sushi restaurant once in a while. And now, after 5 months and 6,000 page views I’ve made a whopping (drum roll): $2.09. Wahoo! I can get the extra large pack of chewing gum! But it’s OK. Really. It was kind of silly of me to expect a huge paycheck for doing so little -- kind of like expecting to win a million dollars just because I bought a Pepsi and lottery ticket at the 7-11. It’s kind of comforting to know that lives are chang...