Friday, March 4, 2011

Odds and Ends, the March Edition

  • It feels like anytime I write a post on how sometimes I need to step away from blogging to focus on other things, life always calms down enough for me to connect back with my blog. That's what happened this week. While I talked about needing to step away, I managed to find time this week to post six times since Saturday. Funny how that works.


  • On my Ten on Tuesday post, I talked about how sucky my Blackberry's battery is. Here's the proof: yesterday, I took my phone off the charger at 6:10am (fully charged). I locked the screen and did not touch it until 10:15am to find that two and a half of my bars were gone. I had Twitter updates and e-mails from both my personal and school accounts but how do I lose that much power if I'm not even using it? I turned it off at 11am until 12:15pm and by 1:30pm, my battery was completely drained. That is how bad this battery life is. I wasn't even using it fully during the time it was turned on, just every now and then. I have turned off all LED notifications and wifi, since I use the Sprint network. I close out of my programs the right way, not just clicking off them. I just got this phone in August and had to get a new battery because the one I had before was bad. I want to get my battery checked out again, but I'm learning that it might just be this type of phone. And if so, I really wish they would let me get something new. What do you think? Is it worth it going up to a Sprint store to get the battery checked out?


  • I tried going for a walk yesterday with my dog, but my heart really wasn't into it. It put me in an awful mood for the rest of the night. I'm the type of person who doesn't like to workout unless I know I'm going to feel it. There's a saying that you never regret waking up early to go to the gym, but you always regret not going. For me, it's such a false statement. I regret a lot of workouts because I don't put my full heart and soul into them. Going for a walk around my neighborhood isn't a workout. A part of me wanted to take off on a full run, but a bigger part knew what a terrible idea that would have been. And I know I do need to still take it easy. Even though I'm feeling much better, I'm still not completely healed. I still have the blisters and they still sting from time to time. I have to stop putting so much pressure on myself, which I think is the biggest thing I've learned from this virus.


  • I am completely enraptured with American Idol again. I tried to boycott, but I love this show. I wasn't happy with the hiring of Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler, but they are actually pretty good! I still miss Simon, especially when they try to be too nice. Sometimes, I just want raw truth. Favorites so far? Casey, Scotty, Paul, and Jacob. No girls really stick out for me. The boys are so much better this year.


  • I'm making some big, huge changes to my blog in the next few months. I've cleaned up my sidebar a little, leaving it pretty minimalist. I'm still playing around with it, which I think is one of the most fun things about having a blog. Another big change is that I'm having a custom design! One of the girls I have a huge blog crush on is working with me to create a brand-new design. I'm really excited about it, because I have no doubt she's going to do an amazing job.


  • Oh, and the biggest news? I bought my own domain name! I bought it through Blogger because it was the easiest way to go. Earlier on, I had thoughts of switching to Wordpress and buying a domain through them, but Blogger makes is so user-friendly. And since I love Blogger (my only complaint is I wish they had password-protected posts), sticking with them was an easy decision. I am a little confused on if you need to resubscribe to my feed, although my .blogspot will redirect to my domain name. Anybody know?


  • This week has seemed the longest in the history of ever. I am so glad it's finally Friday. I can't wait to catch up on sleep, finish my short story (any takers to look it over and give me feedback?), and do some shopping. 

What are your plans for the weekend?

21 comments:

  1. Yay for blog changes! I always wanted to go with Wordpress, but I realized how much easier Blogger is (and cheaper). WP is probably more sophisticated, but I probably don't really need that. And as far as I can tell, the URL should carry over—I'm not sure yet because this post hasn't even shown up in my reader yet. Anyway, can't wait to see your new design! I'm wondering if I should have someone make mine—right now I'm just playing around with the images and designs by Blogger.

    I'm glad it's Friday too—looking forward to a couple of book purchases and getting some neglected homework done. Happy Friday!!!

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  2. I'm glad you bought your own domain! But ever since i switched to WP, i loveeeee it so much! It's so much easier and much more friendly to use! Yes, it takes time getting use to it, but u can do so much more things with Wordpress! One thing with WP, you can reply DIRECTLY to the person's comment! I loveeeeee that!

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  3. - I need a redesign too. Just blanking on the layout.
    - Alan LOVES AI. His favorite is Casey and when I come over he makes me listen to him and I do admit, his signing is SEXY. I find Steve Tyler creepily adorable. A qualifier I've never used before.

    Plans for the weekend:
    basketball game tonight out of town, wake up early to fix my car, crazy wild eating adventure, and a kite festival. sadly I think i'm getting sick but if I have to do all these things sick, I'll do it! What are your plans?

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  4. This post showed up in my reader fine and dandy, and when I clicked on it, it brought me to your new domain. I use Google Reader, if that helps.

    As for your battery probs, I've had this beaucoup with my iPhone. A few things they said caused this was having the backlight up all the way, not having it go to "sleep" early enough (so the screen stays lit for a long time), having my emails pushed through, and having my "location" detectable by my apps, because I guess even if you're not actively using them, they are still kind of running. I don't know if any of those will apply to your Blackberry, but I would definitely go in and ask them for any tips on either how to prevent it from draining or if you need a new battery. Once we made those modifications, I can go from 4 hours of functionality to over 24 hours. It was amazing!

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  5. My sister-in-law has had crazy issues with her Blackberry batteries, too. It might just be the phone! I'd see about getting something different, unless you love your phone enough to buy a few extra batteries and just blow through them until they crap out on you. :-P

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  6. I had a BlackBerry years ago and the battery was fine. iPhone batteries are fine .. but my Evo battery? It's almost dead by noon. So. Annoying.

    I'd love to read your story and give you feedback! You've got my email. Send away.

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  7. I SO don't want to walk/run today but its so NICE out and I'm working 12 hours tomorrow. I figured, I'd take the Em Dog for a nice, leisurely walk...no pressure, just enjoying the nice weather. That's my goal for today.

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  8. I know that will cell phone batteries if a constant refresh of an application is required (like twitter/email) it can cause the phone to search for signal more often and it can cause a ton of battery drainage. Totally stupid but true.

    Can't wait to see what the redesign looks like! I'm thinking of one for myself. have a great weekend :)

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  9. Can't wait to see your new blog design!!

    My blackberry battery sucks too, but not that bad! You should see about getting a new one maybe?

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  10. My Blackberry battery went through a weird phase and now it's normal again. It doesn't like my work though because it goes in and out of services.

    I love the new judges on Idol- it seems like such a more fun and positive show now and Steven Tyler is hilarious!

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  11. Yay @ your own domain! Fun times. Not sure how that works though. Also about your blackberry, I had the same problems, among others. I hated my blackberry for the 2 and a half years I had it. I switched between 4 different ones and was never happy. Now I've got an iphone and have never had a single problem with it except a dropped call here and there. Seriously hate Blackberry, they were never any good to me!

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  12. Wow - your bb battery is horrible. I think I'd have it checked again. That seems ridiculous. I don't do twitter, but I get emails all day on my phone and I do not ever lose battery strength that quickly!

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  13. I have to get a new phone too - first it stopped making sounds, then started displaying everything backwards, now won't charge :(

    I'm so excited to see your redesign! I just went on a whim and finalised mine too :)

    I will have to send you last season of X Factor if you like AI. You would LOVE it!!

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  14. I have so much to say about this post so get excited for an ultra long comment! :)

    First off, you should definitely go to Sprint to get the battery checked out and if they give you another battery tell them that's fine for now but if it happens again you want a new (different) phone, because that means the problem is the phone, not the battery. However if you've already gotten a new battery once with this new phone you may be able to talk them into one now. Don't let them give you a "refurbished" one either, because that'll be the same phone, with the same problems, but it'll just be a used version as well. (I've been a sprint customer for awhile - can you tell?!)

    Super excited for your new blog design - can't wait to see what Ashley comes up with! And congrats on buying your own domain - it's a big step! (And I agree, blogger does make it easier!) Everyone should be re-directed by blogger but it doesn't hurt to update your site in their Google Reader.

    Go easy on yourself with the exercise - you are still healing - ease back into it!

    Now that I've written a novel I think I'm done! :) Great post!

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  15. I can't wait to see your new blog design! Also, did you see you won my giveaway?! I emailed you but haven't heard back. Congrats! =)

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  16. No one should have to resubscribe to your feed once you change over. How exciting!

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  17. Tried to comment last night but my Palm was totally acting up. Anywho. Congrats on the new blog domain! I literally just got mine all set up. I used Blogger a looong time ago and switched to WordPress. I still use them through my domain, and I love it. But if you're comfortable with something there's no point in changing it up. I started completely over on this new blog, so nothing old is there. My old blog was TMI for family members, unfortunately. Again, keep up the writing. I try to post every single day, even if there's nothing much to write about. I love reading your blog, and I would love to read your short story if you still need some help. My problem with short stories is that I never seem to know how to end them. Maybe you'll help me as well.

    Happy blogging!
    -Sarah

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  18. I love that I responded to another post earlier today and didn't even realize that you'd gotten a domain name. Hooray! That's so exciting. I've been meaning to do it, too, but I'm still contemplating switching to Wordpress. So many decisions!

    Also, I can't wait to see the new design!

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  19. For what it's worth, I'm certain your pup LOVED the walk! Your feed seems just fine--I clicked through from Reader not knowing you changed the URL.

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  20. Awesome, can't wait to see your new blog design! :)

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  21. Yay for new blog designs! Sometimes they are just the thing to inspire new writings. I've been a bit MIA but I have been thinking of you and reading!

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Comments make me all giddy with excitement.

 
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