Friday, December 19, 2008

Confessions and Frustrations

1. You all know Sundry's awesome new site, Bodies in Motivation? Well, now I have a blog over there, too! It's called Not a Diet and the first post is up! So go check it out and leave a comment and add it to your reader. I am very excited about the site as a whole and especially about being a regular contributor.

2. I am a planner. I want so many things that I feel like I'm pushing my luck. And also, I'm becoming very domestic. I want a dog and a house and a baby. But I also want a career and have a lot of plans and thoughts about where I'm going to go from here and how our lives can accommodate two careers and two kids without killing us. I think it's feasible. But I want it to start happening now.

I'm working on living in the moment. I do want to spend the next year or so just being married and enjoying being together. And I DO enjoy that, and I AM happy the way things are. But I'm also sick of people making fun of me for having plans and dreams and thinking about stuff that isn't going to happen yet. I KNOW I'm not going to have a baby right now, and I KNOW we're not ready to buy a house yet. I am aware of those things and fully satisfied with our choice to wait on that stuff. That doesn't mean that I don't enjoy thinking about and planning that stuff, and yes, sometimes looking at real estate listings or adorable baby clothes online. I can't be alone in this. Can I?

3. Writing about Senegal, putting it all down in one place, has made me realize that there are a lot of things that I haven't told anybody. Not that I've exactly kept it all to myself, but that there are all these bits and pieces of things and I'm the only one who has the whole picture, and a lot of things inform other things so without the full picture there's really a lot of crucial information missing. It's good to get it all down in one place. It's also kind of nice to know that this is an experience that exists only with me as one whole thing, and that parts of it are stored with various other people as well. I have to figure out what, if any, of what I'm writing can be shared coherently here on the blog. I think a lot of it is valuable in one way or another. But maybe only to me? I don't know.

4. The New York Times seems to think that their newspaper is priceless. Or really, the opposite of priceless, because if you want to subscribe and you don't live in New York, you're looking at paying $700 a year. Compare that to the Washington Post, which costs about $150 a year. But the thing that pisses me off the most is that the NYT is so confusing. When we subscribed, it listed a price and then said that you got a promotional 50% discount for the first 12 weeks. So I assumed that the discount was half off the listed price. But after subscribing, I discovered that the listed price WAS half off. So it costs twice as much as I thought. When the promotion runs out, I'll be calling to cancel unless they're willing to extend the discount. The NYT is better than the Post, but more than four times better? I think not.

Also, their subscriber website sucks. It said I was enrolled in automatic payments, but then yesterday we didn't get a paper and when I went on the website it looked like my bill might be due, but it was impossible to tell, so I tried to check in my emails but all the emails I have from them just say that they're confirming a change to my account without saying WHAT THE CHANGE IS, so I have no idea what's happened. I set up the automatic payments again, I think, but then things looked different so I have no idea if I was already enrolled in them or not. AND, when I reported that we didn't get a paper it said it would credit my account. Would it have said that if the reason we didn't get the paper is that we hadn't paid our bill? And if that was the case, wouldn't they have sent some sort of email? Or would the stupid email just have said that there's been a change in our account? ARGH.

All I'm saying is, this is the most popular newspaper in the country, and they charge solid gold nuggets to deliver it, so you'd think they could invest a few of their pennies in an online subscriber system that doesn't seem like it was developed while I was in the crib. Just a thought.

5. I'm having trouble keeping up with the blogs of my more recent readers. I love the comments everyone leaves, and I love the amazing community we have, but I've been so crazy with the wedding and work and all that I haven't been as good about clicking through to your blogs, and now I can't tell which of you I've added to my reader and which I haven't, in part because a lot of you have the same name. But I finally got my reader down to zero yesterday, WITHOUT marking all is read, and I even managed to leave a lot of comments in the process. Which means, I think I'm ready to start catching up on readers. So would you please do me a favor? If you read my blog regularly but as far as you can tell, I don't read your blog regularly, please say so in the comments, and I will try to make sure that I have everyone on my Google Reader so that I can stop by, at least occasionally.

52 comments:

  1. I have been reading your blog for a while now, and I love it! But honestly, I'm almost embarrassed for you to read mine. ;-) I do not update it as often as I should. *Note to self.*

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  2. I, too, am a planner. Even though Mr. C and I just started saving money for a house, I've already been looking at house (and land!) prices to predict what we'll be looking at.

    And decorating the lake house is taking me FOREVER b/c I want everything to flow. So I've been scouring and mentally picking out colors and accents and whatnots. It's exhausting!

    You've commented pretty recently on my blogs, so I may already be in your reader!

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  3. Newspapers are a dying breed. Every aspect of them is stuck in another decade. The thing about the NY Times? It's website is excellent for those who pay nothing. I usually go there first before ever checking Chicago news.

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  5. holy cow, i didn't even know you COULD get a physical NYT delivered around here. i'm with nilsa - online subscription is totally free and i LOVE IT. and they send me emails with important headlines as they happen, so i totally sound like i know what's going on in the world.

    i am, uh, not a planner. aside from "i plan to eat meals today" sort of planning. i should work on that.

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  6. I love sites like Bodies in Motivation! I added it to my reader.

    (Just what I need though, more blogs to get through! Hee hee. I feel so busy lately!)

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  7. totally understand the frustration with the papers...i have been reading your blog for a long while now, but cannot remember if i ever commented or not...just call me a lurker i guess!

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  8. Also a fan of the NYTimes web site, though -- as a journalist -- I hope our ad departments can figure out a way to make money off the internet. They are, as Nilsa points out, behind the times. Sigh.

    Anyway, there's nothing wrong with planning. Both my husband and I are planners and it makes life much smoother.

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  9. Um, that is expensive for a paper. Wow.

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  10. Heya!
    I am the planner round here as well... Well not the best executor of the plans but the planner allright! Hehehe...
    I don't think I'm in your reader am I?
    Come and make me a visit :)
    Anyways. Zya!

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  11. I think I've become stupider since I stopped subscribing to the NYT. It's not because I don't read it anymore--I think I read more articles online than I did when I got the paper edition--but paying that much so I could indulge my crossword puzzle habit became a problem. :-)

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  12. Wow with the NYT subscription!! I had no idea it was that expensive, jeez...

    I'm with you on the planning, I think it's great to daydream and leaf through real estate ads and cuddle other people's babies in the mean time. I'm not planning to have babies in the next 4 - 5 years but I do the same thing.

    I don't think that it's an different than me marking off things I want in the ikea cataloge.

    Okay, maybe it is, because it's - you know - a human child and not a dresser.

    Either way, I'm with you lol

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  13. No. 5 is a huge issue for me right now too!

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  14. My sister-in-law asked for a weekend subscription to NYT last year for Christmas, and we were all, "Oh that's a great idea!" until we looked up the price. It was almost twice as much as our paper costs for the entire year and WAY more than we spend on holiday gifts for our siblings. I think she didn't know how expensive it was.

    I have read you regularly ever since the big wedding shower surprise, but if you aren't reading my blog that's all on me, because I don't comment very often - sorry! You're welcome to stop by anytime. If you're interested in a VERY suburban life in Ohio (we do have two kids and a dog though, maybe a glimpse into your future?).

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  15. I only read about two dozen blogs and I have trouble keeping up with them! Ive been reading you for about six months or so and I dont think Ive ever seen you around my neck of the woods. I only have a couple of regular readers anyway, but come on by if you'd like!

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  16. I enjoy reading your blog all the time, but I don't always comment.

    That sucks about the NYT... I had no idea that it was so expensive!

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  17. I think I might be one of your new readers! :) Have really enjoyed getting to know you!

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  18. Would you consider getting the NYT delivered to your Kindle? I guess it might be tough if Torsten likes to read it too... Hmmm, well, just a suggestion =)

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  19. I've been a bad commenter lately, so HI! That's awesome that you are now a blogger on Bodies in Motivation. Congrats!

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  20. It's good to plan. Even if these dreams are years off. We used to look at houses before we bought. I've thought about babies since I was a teenager. I just always wanted them, so it's natural to dream, wonder....

    I had no idea the NYT is so much! OMG! I personally think that's a rip off especially for devoted out of state readers. The post is better than most, but I understand that the NYT is better.

    I don't read paper copies of the paper anymore. The post online and cnn.com keep me updated. I am going through a streamlining of getting rid of subscriptions and papers so I don't have to go to the recycling center 2 times a week. I read Real Simple for pleasure, but think I am going to cancel my subscription since I can read it online now.

    Ok, I don't have a blog-- but read yours and Swistle's regularly. I find it refreshing and entertaining. :)

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  21. I stop by here daily, but I know you've been dropping in to my house too. :) Can't wait to follow your progress over at Sundry's new site!

    I don't know if you'll be sharing about your experiences in Senegal, but I'd love to hear about them - international travel is one of the big items on my Life To Do List and I love hearing about what others have done!

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  22. I, like you am a planner. I like to have a plan for the day, for the weekend so why not more. My husband and I have been married for almost a year and have a plan for when we want to start trying to have babies. I think it's weird not to think about those things...
    I have been reading your blog for a few months and have probably only commented once or twice, but I'd love if you stopped by my page to take a look too!

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  23. I am a planner but I tend not to write it all down because I know it will all change. Right now we are planning our wedding and it is starting to burn me out.

    I read your blog often, I am trying to blog more regularly. Feel free to stop by

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  24. I totally get looking at cute baby clothes online. That's why I have a box of little girl clothes in my closet even though I have a boy :)

    In my experience with the NYT, if you call to cancel, they will do whatever they have to do to keep you as a customer - extending your deal or reducing it to a much cheaper price. We got rid of it because we weren't reading it at all and the deals they offered me before letting me just cancel it were really good.

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  25. $700? Seriously? WOW.

    I read your post on Bodies in Motivation and you are such an inspiration!!

    And I don't think there's anything wrong with living in the moment, while at the same time dreaming of your future. I totally looked at realtor.com for years before we bought our house, and I can't remember a time in my life when I wasn't looking at sweet little baby clothes!

    I don't comment as regularly as I should, but I'm always reading! I'd love to have you stop by at my place, if you'd like! :)

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  26. Well done for actually READING everything in your reader. I must confess, I have occasional fits of "mark all as read" and then feel really guilty for days...

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  27. I have trouble getting to everyone's blog. I try to at least comment once a week. Some weeks I just can't. I have to have a life or else what the hell will I blog about? ;-)

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  28. I love your Not a Diet! So perfectly true. Also, I totally get what you mean about thinking ahead but trying to enjoy where you are right now. When you get that balance down, let me know the secret ;)

    I would love it if you stopped by my place!
    It is a new site for me and I used to comment under a different name...so, maybe there's some confusion right there.

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  29. I've been looking at real estate since 2006 (hoping to buy in 2010).We've been talking baby names since 2003 (hoping to conceive in ?????). I am totally with you. That being said, I am trying to balance this wishful thinking with living in the moment. I can't just spend my life waiting for the next big thing that is supposed to be ticked off. This blog is awesome ps.

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  30. I'm a regular reader and I'd love it if you stopped by sometime!

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  31. I read the NYT every day online.

    Good for you for getting thru reader without clicking mark all as read!

    Have a great weekend and thanks for the links to the recipes you left for me the other day! I cannot wait to make the Andes mint cookies!!

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  32. Love you darling, and I love that you are writing about Senegal. I have a simliar "life experience" that I am slowly chronicling and it is amazing how much clarity and Big Picture stuff I am coming across.

    xox

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  33. I've been reading/lurking for a while--feel free to stop by any time! I got married in March, so I was having tons of fun reading all of your wedding plans. Also, it's not strange at all for you dream about real estate listings--before we bought our house I was totally fixated on the market.

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  34. I'm a faithful Du Wax Loolu reader but I am so not offended if you don't read mine. I know life is crazy busy!

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  35. Well, I know you read my blog *sometimes*, but I don't know if you read it *regularly*. It's up to you! I know I read yours regularly, but I don't comment every day, and if you do the same to me, more power to you!

    I don't think there's a thing wrong with dream-surfing. On one really bad day while unemployed, I spent an hour looking for jobs and apartments near my parents in Florida. I don't want to live there, but for that hour, I tried it on in my head.

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  36. I looked into getting the NYT up here in CT, but the price was so exorbitant that I've settled for an online subscription - which actually helps in finding the news I'm most interested in.

    The tease of Senegal stories has piqued my interest. I do hope your post one soon. :)

    Previous to today, I have read/commented from Melanie Mentioned. It has now become Drawing on Dandelions. :) Had to be a bit more covert!

    -Melly
    http://drawingondandelions.blogspot.com

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  37. I'm a planner too! Although I pretty much never follow through on my plans. In real life I fly by the seat of my pants....

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  38. I read your blog regularly, and you're in my reader. If you want, we can compare Senegal stories. Most of the time I feel like I can't even talk to people about what it was like because it was so different from Austin, TX. The comments require enormous background that really isn't interesting, so I mostly just don't say anything. Anyway, just a thought. :)

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  39. you are a superstar, not hitting mark all as read! i'm always happy to see a comment from you!

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  40. I've been reading your blog for a while now - I can't even remember how I found it, but I'm devoted!

    Of course I'd love it if you stopped by my blog, but to be honest, with the amount of comments that you are getting, you'll suck up half your day just reading!!! So don't get too sucked into your Reader!

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  41. I love reading your blog but I'm not offended if you don't get to mine. Like some of your other posters I'm a bit embarrassed as mine is much less of a good read and I'm way less consistent in the up keep!

    You're a fantastic writer btw AND I have to agree that there's no problem at all in planning. Don't do what everyone else does unless you want what everyone else has:)
    Merry Christmas! Thanks for stopping by the other day:)

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  42. I'm a planner too! I'm not even MARRIED yet, and I'm always planning my little family of LOTS OF BABIES (to my boyfriend's chagrin, LOL... I want FOUR). I too look at the cutie outfits and toys and gadgets too. I'm also always looking up houses... and I look up my future furnishings online too. LOL. You are definitely not alone on this one.

    I love reading you, but I won't be offended if my blog is too dull for you. But if you do want to check in, feel free to add me to your reader. I'd be honoured, LOL.

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  43. I love planning myself, but over and over I've been killed by how life actually ends up going and how it blows my plans out of the water, especially when it comes to Big Life Events(tm) such as marriage, baby, career, etc.

    I've essentially given up planning anything more than a month or two in advance because as soon as I do, I get stomped on.

    I'm a fairly loyal reader but I don't know if you stop by my place or not...you're always welcome if you're bored! PhilosYphia

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  44. I love planning, too! And I hate it when people act as if I'm being stupid for doing it. When I was just married and thinking about babies, my aunt and uncle gave me one of those electronic pet things, saying, "Hey, take care of THIS instead of a baby!"---because they had run out of other ways to tease me for thinking happy thoughts about the future. Still makes me mad!

    You know what I like---LIKE---thinking about now? What it'll be like to send our children care packages in college, and what it'll be like to attend their weddings, and what we might do when we retire. Those are HAPPY THOUGHTS and I'm going to THINK THEM dammit!

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  45. You're not alone, Jess. I'm not even IN a relationship, nevermind married, and I occasionally find myself trolling the baby clothes/maternity section of websites 'just to look'.

    I think it's healthier to plan, and to know exactly what you want and when you want it, than to fly through life all willy-nilly.

    Also? I hate to bother YOU with this, but I noticed Messing with Texas is now a private blog, and I know you read it too, so I'm wondering how you would suggest begging Tessie to let me continue reading? I'd appreciate it!

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  46. I read, I don't often comment and I am don't update my new blog as often as I should [that is to say, at all]. Being newly unemployed should change that, though.

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  47. Ah, there is nothing wrong with planning and dreaming. I wish more people would do things that way, rather than get caught in a situation that causes more grief than gladness.

    I'm in some planning stages of my own, and even though it's hard to wait, I know I must. *sigh*

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  48. I agreed passionately with lots of points you made in this post. In my experiences abroad, I honestly feel a lot like no one has my whole picture. I think that's always going to be true, but it is really highlighted about living abroad.

    Also, I'm both a planner and a dreamer. It's hard to balance, but I'm working on it right along with you.

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  49. You are definitely not alone when it comes to future planning. There's nothing wrong with looking ahead and seeing what's out there and dreaming about what you want. Sometimes, it can even help you get through the day!

    Our local newspaper isn't worth the paper on which it's printed. I do most of my "what's going on in the world" reading on-line.

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  50. Do you know that you can read the Times on line for free? Think of it as saving a few trees.

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  51. One of my best friends is obsessed with planning. She's had I don't know how many 'Life Plans' in the last five years and very few of them have panned out yet she's happy and thriving in South Korea. I think it's okay to make plans. Personally, if I knew a woman who DIDN'T like ogling cute baby clothes (regardless of parental status), I'd be confused.
    I have no idea if I'm on your reader, but you did drop by a couple posts ago. Thanks, by the way, I appreciate it. :)

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  52. I know the feeling! I'm working on getting through my Reader as well. I wonder if there's a way to download posts to your computer so you can read them when you don't have 'net access. If not, there *should* be...

    I am rambling in your comments. Sorry 'bout that!

    Happy holidays!

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