We Did It!

Just wanted to give a little update on the "90 by '09" Campaign. As of last weekend, I surpassed 90 profile views! Thanks for your help in bolstering my self e-steem (Internet self esteem).

As a little reward, please enjoy this Jackson Pollock widget. Run your mouse across to splatter paint, and click to change paint colors.



Thank you for your help and your clicks! :-)

Simple Joys

I have a bit of a paranoia about my Google News page. There’s that nifty little section of articles “Recommended for” me, which should be a convenient assortment of news stories that may interest me based on articles I’ve recently clicked on.

However, much of the time I find it’s filled with mindless entertainment news that, since it’s “recommended for” me, makes me feel like a total ditz. I emailed Brad a screen shot in March of this year after a particularly bad selection turned up:

But today, JOY! My Google-chosen selection of articles represented sentient, relevant news:

Is it sad that my Google News page can have such a profound effect on my self-esteem?

In other news, Brad and I have started going on a weekly date – Wednesdays or Sundays – since he’s getting busier with school and work. This way we are sure to spend some quality time together, even if it’s just a trip to White Rock Lake for a walk.

Sushi is a favorite date of ours. I was thrilled with the presentation of our BOAT-load of sushi!

And we made friends with the sushi chef, who carved some sort of animal out of oranges for each of us. He carved it right in front of us! So cool… awesome knife skills. Although I can’t really tell what this is supposed to be. Maybe a frog with an open mouth? And the orange segments are in his mouth?

What do you think?

And last, but CERTAINLY not least – I have some exciting family news. I'm going to have a sister! No, my mom is not pregnant. My older brother Matt proposed to his girlfriend of over two years in New York last week! They are planning an April wedding, and I couldn't be happier for both of them. Brittney fits in so well with the Thorne clan, and that's not easy! Here's a photo of the happy couple:

Even though Ike caused some tragic devastation, it allowed me and Brad an opportunity to spend some time with the lovebirds. They were supposed to fly back from New York to Houston, where they both live and work, but that wasn't happening! So we spent a few days together and it was cool to be the first to see the ring, the video, etc.

Praise God for simple joys!

Ode to a Profile View Counter

When I was a junior in college, I went through a bad break-up.

Well, ok. It wasn’t so much “bad” as it was a blow to my pride… and it wasn’t so much a “break-up” as it was that a boy who liked me -- and I liked back -- stopped liking me. Ouch.

Anyway, being the punk rock rebel I am, my broken heart found comfort in the music of Conor Oberst, also known as Bright Eyes. I played the anti-love anthem “Lover I Don’t Have to Love” over 200 times on my iTunes that Christmas holiday.

But then something really terrible happened. I upgraded to the new version of iTunes, and somehow all of my play counts reset themselves! I had worked hard to earn that 200+ number. And it just slipped through my fingers, like sand through the hourglass…

This blog resurrection has given me a case of déjà vu. I changed the email that my blog is hosted under and deleted the old one, and now all of my profile views have disappeared. Thanks to some really avid followers of my France trip, I had amassed a fairly impressive total of over 600 profile views. Now we stand at… looks like 24. And I’m willing to bet a third of those originated with my very own computer.

So this blog posting is an ode to the 600 fallen page counts. You served my ego well, and you will never be forgotten.

It’s also a plea. Click on my profile? There’s not much there, but it would do my heart good to see that number spike. I hereby announce a campaign: 90 views by ’09!