Notesgirl Libby (aka Notesgirl) talks about the Lotus community and other technology, literature, running, cooking, yoga, and other varied interests. Tune in and take note. http://www.notesgirl.coml/notesgirl/notesgirl.nsf/ en-us Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:00:00 -0500 One of the best gifts I’ve ever given myself... Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:00:00 -0500 Jonvon asked so nicely), I thought I'd blog about my http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/one-of-the-best-gifts-ive-ever-given-myself....htm Jonvon asked so nicely), I thought I'd blog about my Kindle. Right before ILUG this year, I thought I might be doing more travel in 2008 and beyond than I'd been doing for a few years, and I decided to give myself a lovely graduation gift, so I started looking at electronic books. Warren has a Sony e-Reader that he'd let me paw at Lotusphere, and I liked it, but he was already having to jump through some hoops to get books, so that seemed like a bit of a negative to me. The Kindle had been out for a while, but I was leary of spending almost $400 without touching it for myself.

Still. I figured if I bought it and hated it, I could return it, so I went for it.

Wow. I have been overjoyed with this purchase. As my poor long-suffering fiance comments - he's a Kindle-widow. I try to tell him he's a book-widow, but... Well, those of you who know me at all, know that I LOVE to read. When doing almost anything else for fun, I always have to ask myself, "But, would I rather be reading?" (Hence, my picking up and putting down all knitting and stitching type projects, stamping, jewelry-making, and other other cool hobbies that many of my friends do!). The Kindle, therefore, has made my travel life much easier - I no longer have to put 3, 4, or more books in my carry-on and my suitcase just to see me through a couple of plane flights. Instead, I pack one paperback or magazine for take-offs and landings... and my Kindle, with its over 120 books on it currently.

But let's get to the nitty gritty of this review - details!

Kindle is available exclusively from Amazon.com and the current price is US$359. It comes with USB capability, so you can upload books, text files, MP3 files, PDFs, and etc. to your Kindle from your computer. I've never used my USB cable. Instead, I take advantage of the proprietarily named Whispernet. When I turn on the wireless access, I can connect to the Web (very minimalist surfing capabilities - I'd rather use my phone's browser most of the time)... and to the Amazon Kindle Store. The Kindle store (neither via browser nor via Kindle)is not great for browsing, although you can search by genre, and the Amazon recommendation engine is at work. On the other hand, if you know what you want to buy -- in under 3 minutes, you can find, purchase, and have downloaded the next book in that series you're reading, the new book by that author, or whatever you're looking for. Your Kindle is tied to your Amazon account, so your credit card on file is automatically charged (which can be dangerous if you're not paying attention to how many books you're buying), but the speed and ease of delivery made me a chain reader for a while when I first got my device!

Kindle books are less expensive than most of what you'll buy for a paper book, although just in the last few weeks, the prices have gone way up. For the longest time, I didn't find any books - including those brand-new hardcover bestsellers - that were selling for more than $9.99. Most paperbacks were more like $5.99 or around there. The last hardcover I bought, however, was more. Still, a quick glance through the front page of the Kindle store at Amazon shows that only three or four books on the first few pages were more than that $9.99 standard -- new hardcovers for $11.99 and $14.99. Searching from high-to-low on price shows that there are some multi-thousand dollar text and reference books available, but if you're talking your every day fiction and non-fiction that you might pick up in the airport bookstore -- you'll pay between $5-$10.

One of the things that most concerned me when I considered picking up the Kindle was book availability. I do read many of those airport books, but I also like literature, science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction... You get the idea. I didn't want to invest in this and realize I couldn't get the books I wanted! There are currently around 200,000 books available for the Kindle from the Amazon store, about 85,000 of which are fiction. I have been a little disappointed at not finding some books I truly wanted to read on the Kindle, but the selection of books they do have is pretty good. I'm not going to kid you - it's one of my wish-list items that more books in the genres I like most would be available, but I've also found many new authors through trying what I found on my Kindle. I've liked being able to download a sample. It's about a chapter or two of the book (from the beginning) that lets you get a pretty decent page test in before you buy. Once you buy, you do have one quick chance to return (oops, I clicked the wrong one type of thing), but after that, the book is yours. No sharing (or so the rules say - I haven't tried it). It's easy to store books on the Kindle - I think I had almost 80 or 90 before I started wondering what my space was like. I bought an SD card and slid it in the back and feel like I can go on forever now. You can also delete books and redownload from your Amazon account or computer.

Battery life is great. Right up until you spend a lot of time with the wireless turned on. Wireless use really whacks the battery life, but since I'm mostly using it to buy and download a book, it doesn't impact me too much. I've gone for a long weekend with fairly heavy book reading with no need to recharge. If I don't turn on the wireless, I've gone almost a week, in fact. The joys of the electronic paper, where the battery power is only being used to turn the pages. Related to this is the backlighting and readability. There is no backlight. This keeps the battery life long and the readability high. Have you noticed that when you try to read on a computer, your eyes get tired? A lot of this is the backlighting. Kindle has none, which means that you can read just fine in bright sunlight (out by the pool, where you can't read a laptop mostly) and in any other normal lighting. I did buy an LED booklight to take for night-time flights, when the overhead light doesn't always do enough, but that's more about me getting old than it is about the Kindle, I think. I find the Kindle very easy to read. Easier in fact than some paper books, as I can up the font size at any time when I'm feeling tired or have been reading too long. Maybe that's a bad thing, but the ability to choose from about 6 font sizes on the fly makes readability pretty good. Screen is clear and electronic ink is so much like reading a printed book that almost everyone I show it to does a double take just on that aspect.

My biggest issues with the Kindle have been around how to hold the darn thing. Where the hands in the image are holding it always seems awkward to me and doesn't really work for the lying in bed reading. I often hold it where the left thumb is, but I use my my index and middle fingers (one on each side of the device), with my thumb supporting the bottom. Sometimes I use the top area to hold it. If you try to hold on the left or right wide areas, you'll see that you'd be hitting the buttons that you use to turn the pages. Which means that sometimes, you accidentally turn a page when you don't mean to do so. Not that big a deal, but...
Image:One of the best gifts I’ve ever given myself...Image:One of the best gifts I’ve ever given myself...
Okay, a few more complaints and then we'll wrap it up.
  • The "Back" button (NOT to be confused with the previous page button) does not act in a predictable way. Now, this is coming from someone who prides herself on knowing how to figure out technology and how things work. Sometimes the back button takes you to your book list, sometimes to a previous pages, sometimes to someplace totally unexpected. Either make it predictable or kill it.
  • The book list... hmm, it works well enough when you have only a few books or magazines, but not so well after that. I've got about 27 JD Robb books on the Kindle. If I try to sort by author to find them all, well, some are catalogued with periods between the initials, some with spaces, some with no spaces, some with last name first... So they don't all show up in the same place. If I try to sort by Most Recent, well, it means the most recently touched book - either what you've just been reading, what you downloaded, or what your friend opened while you were showing off your Kindle. While the search works wonderfully, the organization should be improved so the books I've got are easier to sort. They should also have a folder or categorization system so that I can put all my JD Robb books, all my Michael Moorcock books, etc, in their own folders.
  • Now, that issue with the cataloging - where the names aren't standardized. I suspect part of the problem there is the electronic production process. I've noticed that there are a lot of errors (small ones, to be sure) in the electronic books that don't seem to be as prevalent in the paper books. Things like "skirt" for "shirt" or homonyms or other small typo/transcription errors sneak in. They bug me because of my editorial eye and my persnickety nature, and throw me out of the story.
  • Charging for blogs? Okay, so they're delivered more like a magazine or newspaper and it's only the "A Listers" but not worth it for me.

Bottom line, if you are a ready who travels, this is absolutely a must-have. If you need to cut down on the number of paper books you're trying to to store in your house - again, awesome. It will never completely replace paper books for me, even though I believe in trying to live a greener life - I just love books. However, I've bought more Kindle books than paper books in the almost 6 months I've had my Kindle and look forward to the improvements that will invariably come in selection and technology to improve it. If you want to ask anything about a Kindle, just drop me a note or a comment. If you want to try before you buy, I know Amazon has a way to do that, but I'm also happy to show you mine whenever you like. ]]> http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dxcomments/one-of-the-best-gifts-ive-ever-given-myself....htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/one-of-the-best-gifts-ive-ever-given-myself....htm?opendocument&comments Lotus Collaboration Summit in SA/DFW Next Week Fri, 31 Oct 2008 09:56:14 -0500 WorkFlow Studios, is hosting two Lotus Collaboration Summit events in San Antonio and Dallas next week. The event offers an opportun ... ]]> http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/trackback?open&id=lotus-collaboration-summit-in-sadfw-next-week.htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/lotus-collaboration-summit-in-sadfw-next-week.htm Conferences Libby Ingrassia http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/lotus-collaboration-summit-in-sadfw-next-week.htm?opendocument&comments http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/lotus-collaboration-summit-in-sadfw-next-week.htm WorkFlow Studios, is hosting two Lotus Collaboration Summit events in San Antonio and Dallas next week. The event offers an opportunity to learn about the Lotus collaboration strategy and technology, network with customers, partners, and IBMers, and have a lovely catered meal. Please join us if you're in San Antonio (November 4) or the Dallas-Fort Worth area (November 6).  Full event details, including session abstracts are available at the WorkFlow Studios' Lotus Collaboration Summit page. ]]> http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dxcomments/lotus-collaboration-summit-in-sadfw-next-week.htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/lotus-collaboration-summit-in-sadfw-next-week.htm?opendocument&comments Eunoia and Elections Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:22:50 -0500
Eunoia is apparently the shortest word in English that uses all 5 vowels; it is also the tit ... ]]> http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/trackback?open&id=eunoia-and-elections.htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/eunoia-and-elections.htm Humor Libby Ingrassia http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/eunoia-and-elections.htm?opendocument&comments http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/eunoia-and-elections.htm
Eunoia is apparently the shortest word in English that uses all 5 vowels; it is also the title of a book that the BBC mentioned today (thanks for the link, Richard). In the book, the author writes fiction wherein he uses only one vowel per chapter. Funky, crazy... but also kind of interesting for those language or poetry geeks among us. While the writing is fiction, because of the only one vowel at a time limitation, the excerpts come out feeling much more like poetry to me. I found A and U painful, E and I lyrical, and O, well, sort of... rotund. :-) And while I've found it on Amazon (published in 2001?!), I much prefer the cover shown in the BBC page... Maybe one of my UK pals can help me out with that.

Next up, a moment of politics. Election day is, after all, next Tuesday, although Philip and I have already voted. This comes to me via my friend Allison who says she shamelessly stole it from Bill in Portland, Maine (Daily Kos):

   Closing Appeals

        Dear America,

        Mine.

        Mine mine mine.

        Me Me Me Me Me Me Me!

        Mine mine mine mine mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine!

        In conclusion: Fear fear fear fear. Very scary fear!

        Sincerely,

        The Republican Party

        P.S. If you liked Joseph McCarthy, you’ll love us!

    -

        Dear America,

        We.

        Us. We. Together. Americans. United States.

        Hope compassion equality inclusiveness competence.

        Brains common sense community respect hard work accountability.

        Action change responsibility. More viewpoints, smarter solutions.

        In conclusion: Yes we can.

        Sincerely,

        The Democratic Party.

        P.S. Vote.


I know that not everyone who reads my blog has my political leanings or is even from the States, and I know also that this is biased, and simplified, and generalized, and satirized. But it made me laugh and Philip channel his inner goblin bringing it to life, so... Vote!
]]> http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dxcomments/eunoia-and-elections.htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/eunoia-and-elections.htm?opendocument&comments SF, Half Marathon, and more Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:31:45 -0500 http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/trackback?open&id=sf-half-marathon-and-more.htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/sf-half-marathon-and-more.htm General life tidbits Libby Ingrassia http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/sf-half-marathon-and-more.htm?opendocument&comments http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/sf-half-marathon-and-more.htm
Now I'm getting ready to head out on another trip - to California! I'm visiting my college friends in San Francisco and running a half marathon. Okay, let's be honest. I'm not going to actually run this one, as my training has been crap. Instead, this one will be a run/walk with the emphasis on walk. I can do that for this event, as they're pretty generous about the time limits. I can't, however, do that for the next half marathon I've got scheduled - in Houston, in January, right before I head out to Lotusphere, as they're much more strict (training in Houston is much easier in the winter, though!).

Still, even when I haven't gotten fully trained, I'm glad to be doing half marathons. I started running during a very sad, painful time in my life, and it was the one healthy thing I was doing for myself at the time. It continues to be a time when I can either have a nice talk with a friend or with Philip, or it can also be a great time for some silent meditation - time NOT to think - just to be. My yoga studio has been closed for the past 2 months, and meditating at home hasn't been working extremely successfully for me, but when I run or walk, I get it. So, I'll run/walk/meditate through my half marathon on Sunday and come back to Houston ready to train much more actively for the next one.

Then I'll head down to southern California to visit my Oma for her birthday. I hope to be as full of life...well, even now, as she is in her 90s. I won't be taking off from work completely, as I've got plenty to do to get ready for the Lotus Collaboration Summit that we're hosting in San Antonio and Dallas (if you're in town, sign up and spread the word!). Still, a short trip with Philip will be relaxing, giving us some time to talk and plan for the future, and will be a chance to see some of the folks I care about. ]]> http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dxcomments/sf-half-marathon-and-more.htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/sf-half-marathon-and-more.htm?opendocument&comments Teaching End User Notes Class: Lessons Learned Thu, 2 Oct 2008 08:30:56 -0500 http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/trackback?open&id=teaching-end-user-notes-class.htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/teaching-end-user-notes-class.htm IBM/Lotus Libby Ingrassia http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/teaching-end-user-notes-class.htm?opendocument&comments http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/teaching-end-user-notes-class.htm
  • My students were, for the most part, existing Notes users who were preparing for a move to 8. There were so many things that I taught in this class that are NOT new to 8, but they didn't know them. This isn't a new realization on my part (Ed and I used to talk about this in our Selling Notes Internally session), but it became clear once again how vital end user training (of some sort - it doesn't have to be instructor-led) gives users the ability to get value from a company's software investment. We got behind on our courseware because the students had so many questions - business processes that weren't working for them because they didn't understand how they worked in the software. So, once again, let's remember that Notes investments can be protected by ensuring that our users know how to do what they want to do... and know what features Notes offers that let them do things they might not even have thought of doing! Here are some specific examples of questions they needed an answer to...
    • Is there a time limit on recalling messages? Yes, there is a time limit on recalling messages. This is a server setting, so the administrator has control over it. The default is 14 days.
    • Where are preferences like spelling stored, especially in cases of a shared mail file? Preferences that you'd find under User Preferences...Spell Check are stored in the user's notes.ini file, so they would be individual to each user. Preferences found under User Preferences...Mail  are stored in the mail file and are the same across all users and replicas of the mail file. You can find out even more details at this link: http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=475&uid=swg21283416
    • How does hyperlinking on Notes documents work? By default anything with a URL (including protocol) should work fine. If not, check two things. First, make sure the user preference is set to Make URLs into Hotspots (File...User Preferences...Basic Notes Client Config...Additional Options). Second, check the Web Browser preference to be sure you know what browser is supposed to launch when you click a URL link.
        * Default trash interval is also a user preference. The default is 48 hours.
  • I really still like to teach. When I left high school teaching to come back to the technology world, I was clearly burned out on teaching (well, burned out, period, thanks to two years of working and grad school and etc), but what I realized as I helped students in this class is that I'm not done with the vocation. I also realized how different classroom teaching in a public school is from teaching technology - different hours (a one hour course, repeated 6-8 times per day) versus an 8-hour course. My voice was gone by the time I was done Tuesday. Teaching different aspects of a single topic - deeper focus, rather than the across the board focus high school teaching required. Not sure what that means for me going forward other than I plan to get my CLI active again so I can do some teaching when it fits in to my other duties. ;-)
You probably already knew the little tidbits of technical tips that I added to this, but to me the more important truth is that education is a superb sales and marketing tool - teaching can be, and often is, evangelism. So think about who you're learning from, and who you want your clients, customers, and managers learning from. ]]> http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dxcomments/teaching-end-user-notes-class.htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/teaching-end-user-notes-class.htm?opendocument&comments Word of the Day Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:22:41 -0500
edify: to instruct and improve.


Seems particularly appropriate as so many folks (including me and mine) are ... ]]> http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/trackback?open&id=word-of-the-day.htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/word-of-the-day.htm General life tidbits Libby Ingrassia http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/word-of-the-day.htm?opendocument&comments http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/word-of-the-day.htm
edify: to instruct and improve.


Seems particularly appropriate as so many folks (including me and mine) are rushing to get Lotusphere abstracts submitted before tomorrow's deadline. It's also one of those words I use in my personal story: it's what I (flatter myself that I) do. Whether I'm writing, speaking, or leading an actual class, I want to edify.

Do you have a word that you use in your personal story to describe yourself?
]]> http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dxcomments/word-of-the-day.htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/word-of-the-day.htm?opendocument&comments Hurricanes, Writing LS Abstracts, and Closing Tabs Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:10:30 -0500 http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/trackback?open&id=writing-ls-abstracts-and-closing-tabs.htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/writing-ls-abstracts-and-closing-tabs.htm Conferences Libby Ingrassia http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/writing-ls-abstracts-and-closing-tabs.htm?opendocument&comments http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/writing-ls-abstracts-and-closing-tabs.htm
Thanks to many of you who checked in on me during Hurricane Ike. (And to Rocky, who also posted to let you know I was ok...) The hurricane itself didn't damage my house or hurt me. In fact, once the power went off, I slept through most of the worst of the wind and rain. When I got up the next morning, the streets were flooded and the wind was still pushing the trees over, but it felt like the storm was winding down. What has been scary and sobering, on the other hand, has been the aftermath. People tend to pay attention to the destructive force and the moment when the storm is hitting, worried about friends and family who might be hurt while nature does its worst. What has hurt Houston, and those of us who live here, even more, however, is the strange half-city we're living in now. When I drive to the post office or the grocery store, it takes more than twice as long as normal, because most of the street lights still have no power or are no longer standing. Of course, there's always the chance that I won't actually be able to conduct whatever business I had in mind, as many stores and restaurants are still without power and are closed. Gas stations are mostly open, but gas is more expensive and at least two stations near me were mostly destroyed by the wind. They won't be open for a while. Grocery stores are scary places - busy (still with people buying ice and other non-perishables), but not quite normal. Driving down the streets in most neighborhoods shows stop and street signs down, street and stop lights dangling from their wires, and a hedge of browning branching and leaves all along the sidewalks where people have piled them in preparation for the debris haulers. Houses and offices still have boarded up windows. Trees are uprooted. Rooftoops are covered with the blue plastic the city distributed to those who lost roofs or had roof damage. The world goes on, but this city is still limping as kids start to go back to school and folks start back to work. I spent last week in Dallas, because my power was out until Friday. I have both power and internet back now, but I'm still one of the lucky ones. Many of my friends are still without. Many of you have been willing to donate in the past - the Red Cross is still operating shelters all over south Texas and can still use donations to help those folks who were not as lucky as I've been.

In any case, I've been working hard. Most of you know that I came back to the Lotus biz - I've been to ILUG and CU, as well as a few one-day local conferences, with my new company WorkFlow Studios. I'm going to be working on their marketing and communications, as well as some training, strategy, and consulting when appropriate. I can't promise never to leave again, but it's nice to be back. One of my current big jobs is working on Lotusphere session abstracts for my colleagues, so I've been writing those for the past week or so. I've read Rocky and Ed's advice and am excited to once again be part of it all. Hope Mac remembers his old editor when selecting sessions (wink). Of course, I've got some beliefs of my own on what makes a good abstract - good writing, concrete descriptions of what the attendees get from the session, limited jargon...

I've got some Firefox tabs to close, but that will hav to wait. I got a little carried away with my comments about Ike and now I need to get a quick bite to eat before moving on to another set of abstracts and some other meetings. ]]> http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dxcomments/writing-ls-abstracts-and-closing-tabs.htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/writing-ls-abstracts-and-closing-tabs.htm?opendocument&comments Some Giggly Media Bits Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:42:34 -0500
First up, via the ... ]]> http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/trackback?open&id=some-giggly-media-bits.htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/some-giggly-media-bits.htm Libby Ingrassia http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/some-giggly-media-bits.htm?opendocument&comments http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/some-giggly-media-bits.htm
First up, via the LJ of a friend, we have a Fred Rogers-inspired ad for the Sci-Fi Channel's Eureka. If you like science fiction and you aren't watching Eureka, well, I don't get it. It's cute and funny and witty. Eureka is returning to Sci-Fi for its third season on July 29. [I'm trying to embed the link but if doesn't work correctly, the video-ad is on the main Eureka page on the right.]

Next we have Joss Whedon's Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. The first two acts of this musical are up, starring Nathan Fillion and Neil Patrick Harris. Each act is about 13 minutes long and well worth it, but be careful - you may find yourself rewatching and humming. After Act III goes up on the 19th, the whole thing stays up until the 20th... after which it goes away. It's also available to download from iTunes and there's a promised DVD.

Turning to a slightly more technical angle on the geekiness, Binary Tree has filmed a comedy short explaining the value of migrating with their tools. It is pretty funny, even if a bit over the top. And finally, fans of Mary Beth Raven or Symphony might want to see this short from Lotus: stop feeding the machine! I have to say, I was just getting used to using Symphony on my ThinkPad when I got the new MacBookPro... I wish I could be using Symphony there, too. :-( ]]> http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dxcomments/some-giggly-media-bits.htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/some-giggly-media-bits.htm?opendocument&comments Did You Know... Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:07:01 -0500 Twitter or http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/did-you-know....htm Twitter or LinkedIn or elsewhere and you probably heard the news there, but for those of you who hadn't yet heard.... When I finished my master's at Rice, I decided it was time to come back to the fold. So, I've left high school teaching and I'm working for WorkFlow Studios as their VP of Marketing and Communications -- doing marketing, PR, probably some training and consulting thrown in for good measure. I'll be working on events, the website, some whitepapers and case studies, and more.

In some ways, it was a tough decision - leaving KIPP was not without its sadness and I had lots of good opportunities on the table when I decided to leave KIPP, both in teaching and elsewhere. In other ways, I've known Lance and the WFS folks for a long time and they're Good FolksTM, so working with them as my way to come back to the IBM Software world made sense.

I've been a little quiet here while I worked out my job changing situations, but now the hope is that I'll be back to blogging - and, I hope, saying interesting things, more regularly. I'll also be making the rounds of the events, and offering my writing and speaking services as I find appropriate times, ways, and places to do so. I've already had one or two requests for a new certification something - not sure if a book is in the cards, but we'll see. I need to update my certifications (I have been completely away from the business for 2 years, after all), so it may make a lot of sense for me to do some certification writing. You can also expect to see me doing some gadget reviews and commentary as I continue my unexpectedly passionate love affair with my new Kindle and attempt to fall in love with my new MacBookPro. The blog will, of course, continue to share yoga, dancing, running, and other commentary as well. I feel as though I've been dead or asleep for at least the past two years (that's what grad school and a full time teaching job will do to you), and I'm trying to figure out all the things I need and want to do now that I'm alive again. ]]> http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dxcomments/did-you-know....htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/did-you-know....htm?opendocument&comments Web of Deception, Chapter 5: Grimalkin Sun, 23 Mar 2008 18:50:34 -0500 NOTE: This is a continuation of the "Web Of Deception" round-robin story. If you're late to the party, please start with http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/web-of-deception-chapter-5-grimalkin.htm NOTE: This is a continuation of the "Web Of Deception" round-robin story. If you're late to the party, please start with Chapter 1 on Ben's site and go from there. You can also follow the RSS feed hosted at http://www.andthentheboilerburst.com/WebOfDeception.rss.

After dinner that night, Callie examined Mike’s leg again. He had calmed down from the afternoon's excitement, and didn't seem to think much of Callie's story about the strange little man in the garden. She wasn't sure whether to be pleased or upset that he dismissed even Dufay's sneaking down the driveway. On the one hand, it meant Mike wouldn't get in her way – he was just as enamored and blind as he'd been from the start. On the other hand, it might've been nice to have some help for a change.

Still, he'd been getting progressively cranky all afternoon and when she put her hand on his leg she understood why – his leg was burning with fever. What had seemed like mere scratches that afternoon were deeper than they had looked at first and the wounds had not closed at all, but were still oozing slightly. She shook her head, worried and wondering, fingering the piece of black wool that she still had in her pocket.

"Callie, it really hurts," Mike muttered. "Do you think we should go to a doctor after all?"

"Well, if we can find one who can help, maybe we should," Callie replied, washing his leg with witch hazel. She was thinking quickly now and wondering how to try something without completely freaking Mike out. "Why don't you let me finish bandaging this and I'll go to the pharmacy to see if that strange Mr. Dufay can recommend a clinic nearby. You just rest here, drink your beer, and read your book, er, Schmoops." As she spoke, she turned slightly away from Mike's gaze and pulled the wool scrap from her pocket. Reaching down to pat him reassuringly on the leg with one hand, she let the wool fall onto his leg with the other, leaning forward to kiss him and block it from his view.

"Well, that sounds ok – although maybe you should ask him what he was doing in the yard and running off like that. You're no just trying to get me drunk to take advantage of me, are you?" he teased in reply, pulling her down to deepen the kiss. "You're sure you can find the way on your own?"

"There's not enough beer in the house get you inebriated, my wee laddie," Callie laughed back at him, lapsing in the soft burr she spoke with when she wasn't paying attention. She frowned at the piece of wool, which had looked fragile and had now shriveled even smaller, and lightened in color, turning grey while she watched. Smiling grimly at the one, tiny healed spot on his leg, she nonchalantly scooped the wool up with one hand, kissed Mike again, and promised to bring him another pint before she left. "I just have to find a few things from one of my boxes, first, and I'll make sure you're doing alright before I go."

She pulled her black sweater out of a box in the back bedroom, and, looking furtively around, although she knew Mike was still on the sofa, she also pulled out a blue velvet pouch, and sniffed to make sure its contents were still fresh enough. "They'll do, if they must," she grumbled to herself, "but I really have to get a garden started here soon. I got out of that city just in time."

Pocketing the pouch and slipping the sweater into her knitted bag, she picked up her keys and dropped a fresh pint off next to her sleeping husband. "Oh, aye, you'll sleep for a wee while, then, won't you? The healing will do that, and just as well; you won't worry if I'm gone for a while."

Quietly, Callie slipped out of the house and, grateful that the recent equinox meant that the days were long enough that it was still light out, walked down the path toward town. Slipping her sweater on and keeping one hand in her pocket, she whistled a peculiar tune and, although she appeared to be paying no attention to her surroundings, listened intently for noise in the brush. "I know you're out there, grimalkin," Callie whispered to herself.

"Of course I'm out here." The cat was riding the woman's shoulders, looking for all the world like a very old, very filthy, witches' familiar. "But knowing how to call me doesn't change anything. For you or that bloody fool fence post you live with."

"Are you sure of that, then?"

Startled, JC thought fiercely to himself, "Damn certain I'm sure. You smell like them, you sound like them, you look like them. I don't trust you. You can't be her and you can't help. You'll only be in the way." What he said was: "He won't heal." Then he started to jump off her shoulder. He found his claws stuck in the webbing of the coarse black sweater she wore and started hissing and cursing. "Damn you, you...fae, witch, whatever the hell you are... I..."

"Not so fast, grimalkin." Callie almost purred at the snarling cat who was hissing and spitting, back raised with the instinctive anger of a cat, although she guessed he'd prefer to be yelling at her in his own form. "I won't hurt you now, grimalkin, unless you make me."

"What do you mean 'now'? And stop calling me grimalkin. You called me, I'm here. My name's JC; not grimalkin. I'm warning you, stop arseing around with me before I get really mad."

"Well, now that you've told me your name, why don't you tell me why you attacked Mike, and why you're here – with all those others." Silence, and then more hissing came from her shoulder. She fingered the now fragile piece of wool. "Perhaps you'll also tell me why that fool Dufay is providing Web to that little... what is he anyway? And why in Mab's name are you going around as a cat?"

"Hrmph. Say 'in Loki's name' instead and you'll be closer to the mark. Bastard was trying to help Freya – she needed a new cat to pull her coach after one had an accident. I suspect Loki caused the accident and was trying to cover it up, but either way, I'd been a bleeding idiot and trusted him after...well, never mind. So, here I am. Stuck working for them. Of course, you could tell me how you managed to even smell different." The cat grumped a bit, hissed, and tried again to either claw her or retract his claws. Sniffing, JC said, "I know you've got some."

"I do. Can you handle it?" Suddenly standing straighter, she said quietly, "Someone else is out there, but I can't tell who. Can you?" There was no noise from woods – not even birdsong or the sound of the brook – as she sniffed the air, continuing to walk toward town.

"Hm. If you'd let me free I could go check, you know. I guess it is a bit too silent, but it's not Dufay; he said he was going to –." The cat broke off, moaning and growling low in its throat. "It's her..."


A few notes: A grimalkin is a cat - but not a completely normal feline: it's usually old and evil-looking, grey, and associated with demons, witches, or fae. Freya is a Norse goddess, associated with fertility, sensuality, and love, who is often also connected with elves and faeries. She is reputed to drive a carriage that is pulled by two large cats. Loki is a Norse god - most often a shape-shifter who likes to play pranks of varying degrees of cruelty.

I now pass the torch or baton or whatever it is, somewhat the worse for use, to the extremely talentedJohn Vaughan, aka Jonvon, with the somewhat evil request that he include the word epigamic in his installment, despite the fact that the Notes dictionary doesn't recognize it as a word.
]]> http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dxcomments/web-of-deception-chapter-5-grimalkin.htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/web-of-deception-chapter-5-grimalkin.htm?opendocument&comments Speaking of Writing... Web of Deception Tue, 18 Mar 2008 09:15:00 -0500 http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/trackback?open&id=speaking-of-writing....htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/speaking-of-writing....htm Writing or blogging Libby Ingrassia http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/speaking-of-writing....htm?opendocument&comments http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/speaking-of-writing....htm Ben L.'s awesome idea for writing a shared story - round-robin style - with a bunch of friends, well, it sounded like just what I needed to fill all that copious spare time I was going to have after I finish the thesis-y writing. Actually, it's more something to clean my writing palate, if you will -- too much thesis, not enough fun.

So, I'm on board with the Web of Deception crew -- illustrious folks (so far, the list includes: Duffbert, Julian, jonvon, Francie, Gabriella, Wild Bill, Andre Guirard, Steve McDonagh and Rob McDonagh, and Jess, and Nathan, and Miller)! The story will be written chapter-by-chapter, one per author, and you can keep up with the story through the feed Julian set up.

Ben wrote the first chapter and tagged Julian for the second - let's see what Julian makes of the somewhat spooky first chapter and the need to include the word "equinox" in the second. Fun! ]]> http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dxcomments/speaking-of-writing....htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/speaking-of-writing....htm?opendocument&comments Capstone Presentation Mon, 17 Mar 2008 10:34:29 -0500 http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/trackback?open&id=capstone-presentation.htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/capstone-presentation.htm General life tidbits Libby Ingrassia http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/capstone-presentation.htm?opendocument&comments http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/capstone-presentation.htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dxcomments/capstone-presentation.htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/capstone-presentation.htm?opendocument&comments Re. Rob’s Perfect Employer Post: My take Fri, 7 Mar 2008 11:43:08 -0500 Rob had a great post the other day about his perfect employer and job. It's been on my mind a lot of late, as I try ... ]]> http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/trackback?open&id=perfect-employer.htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/perfect-employer.htm General life tidbits Libby Ingrassia http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/perfect-employer.htm?opendocument&comments http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/perfect-employer.htm Rob had a great post the other day about his perfect employer and job. It's been on my mind a lot of late, as I try to decide what's next for me. I remember one time, oh about 12 years ago, I had a long talk with my then-roommate Julie about perfect job, working conditions, etc. It's amazing how different my thoughts are now. I suspect this is a work in progress. I know enough to know that I don't have a perfect job. There are many jobs and career paths that could work for me and at which I think I could be successful. But I know some of the things I need and some of the things i can't accept.

Let's see... in no particular order...
  • An employer who successfully walks the line between trusting me to get the job done and one who seems disinterested. I don't want to work all by myself, otherwise I'd go back to being self-employed. I want to work as part of a team. That means, you know, collaboration (I know, shock there), and teamwork, and discussing what ought to happen. I find that the coolest ideas come from discussing my cool ideas with someone who might also have cool ideas - suddenly the cool ideas get together and become amazing. On the other hand, I'm not saying that I want to be in meetings constantly or on call 24-7 so that I can't get some work done and get my life lived as well. I've been there and done that and grown out of it.
  • An employer who shares. I want to know what's going on with the company and the business as much as I can. I hate surprises and I hate feeling left out. I've got enough experience and expertise (15 years, more or less, in all kinds of industries and companies) and intelligence that I can usually be helpful. Or, if it's something that's not appropriate to be shared, at least tell me that much. I'm not nosy, I just don't like to be left out when I may be affected or be able to help or take advantage of something.
  • An employer who has a mission and values. People and companies change and that's ok; necessary in fact, but they have to have a plan and know what they're willing to do to achieve that plan... and what they're not willing to do. And I have to be able to know and agree with that. I'm a great evangelist...as long as I believe in what I'm evangelizing. And when I don't, it doesn't work at all.
  • An employer who knows that a company's greatest assets are its people. I'm going to work extremely hard at whatever I'm doing. Appreciate that and don't turn around and screw me over. Plus... take advantage of my skills and knowledge. Take time to figure out what I'm good at doing and connect that with what you need, even if it's not what seems obvious.
  • An employer who believes me when I tell them what I need - personally and professionally - to be successful. I know myself a little bit, and I know what kind of help I need and where I need coaching/mentoring and if I'm willing to ASK for a specific kind of management, it might make sense to listen and at least consider whether you can make that happen.
  • An employer who treats me like an adult and communicates with me. All the time. If I make a mistake, tell me. If we need to do something differently, tell me. If I'm doing a great job, tell me.
  • I don't like working for myself completely. It's not that I don't have entrepreneurial ideas, but I'm pretty risk averse and need to know where that next mortgage payment is coming from.
  • I work hard. But I can't work 70 hours a week every week for very long without being unhappy. If a project with a deadline crops up, I'm there. But I expect that projects will be scoped appropriately and planned so that this isn't the case all the time. I have a life and am better at what I do when I'm living it.
  • I'm not made to do exactly the same thing day after day. I'm better at variety, troubleshooting, projects, making things happen on a schedule.
  • Money's not everything, but it's not nothing either. Know what you can afford to pay and have a plan for bonuses, raises, benefits, etc. Communicate it. I'll tell you if my needs change for some reason. Regular performance and salary/benefits reviews are important. I should never be surprised by what we talk about in a performance review, but it's a good idea to have the regular discussions so that we stay on the same page and we can make career and salary updates as appropriate. This is also a good time to check in about larger career issues - are we happy with each other? do we need changes? do I have ideas or hopes that I've been waiting to talk about? Where to next - for both of us. Stagnant isn't healthy for people or companies.
  • Blogging, conferences, writing articles - depending on the industry and etc, these should be seen as the great marketing they can be, and discussed openly, and encouraged when appropriate.
  • Don't lie to a client about what I know how to do. I won't lie to you about what I can do. I can learn - fast - and am happy to do so, even on the fly. But don't tell someone I know something that I don't. In fact, don't lie to a client or me about anything.
  • Don't yell at me or other employees. Yes, i worked for someone who did this. In public. Never again. Mistakes or bad decisions do happen. You can be upset, but please try to be in control.

In return, I will be where you need me to be, when you need me to be there. I will be a team player and as much of a leader as you give me the chance to be. I will be diligent and meticulous. I will use all that great brain power I've got to do what you ask me to do or what I see needs to be done. I will ask questions and be thoughtful and work as though all the profits were going in my pocket. I will be the best representative of your company that I know how to be. if the door is open, I will come to you if something upsets me. I will try to resolve it. I will learn. I will think.

I'm sure there are more, but if I keep writing this, I'm not writing my thesis. Off I go. ]]> http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dxcomments/perfect-employer.htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/perfect-employer.htm?opendocument&comments Airplane Peeves, and more... Thu, 6 Mar 2008 18:32:41 -0500
I'm sitting in the kitchen, with the ... ]]> http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/trackback?open&id=airplane-peeves-and-more....htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/airplane-peeves-and-more....htm Rants Libby Ingrassia http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/airplane-peeves-and-more....htm?opendocument&comments http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/airplane-peeves-and-more....htm
I'm sitting in the kitchen, with the window barely cracked open behind me, but I can feel the temperature dropping as it's been doing since mid-afternoon. It's probably 45 degrees at most now, and it was probably 70 this afternoon. In a bit, I'll likely move into the living room to curl up by the fire to keep writing.

There's a lot going on right now. Personal stuff, career stuff, school stuff, health stuff. Trying to do my best to keep my focus on the paper for a few more weeks and really get it done and off my plate so I can pay attention to all that other stuff.

One thing did catch my attention in today's email, however. There's a AAA article entitled "Midair manners" about how to behave on planes. It mentions, among other things:
Easy Does It
Before you recline your seat, check behind you. Don't recline it all the way if it looks as though it's going to make the person behind you uncomfortable. And put the seat back gradually; you want to avoid spills and broken computer screens on the tray table on the back of your seat.


I can't tell you how many times my laptop screen has been endangered or my bottle of water knocked off the table by a person reclining too far, too fast, with no consideration for the fact that someone was sitting behind them. Other pet peeves of mine include the people who fall asleep and end up sleeping on your shoulder, people who don't know the current rules of the security lines, and so don't have their tickets or IDs ready, or who leave their shoes on and slow the process to glacial speeds, and people who don't pay attention - to where they're walking or standing, to their kids, to their purses and bags that are slamming into the people near them, or to the basic rules of common courtesy. I know we have to spend a lot of time when we travel and I know that airports are full of indignities, but we aren't in your house or your bedroom and don't want to see, hear, or smell any of those things that should be kept behind closed doors.

Hm. Guess I've got a few opinions. What are yours? Have any airplane/airport pet peeves? ]]> http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dxcomments/airplane-peeves-and-more....htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/airplane-peeves-and-more....htm?opendocument&comments Is this spring? Sat, 1 Mar 2008 09:49:05 -0500 http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/trackback?open&id=is-this-spring.htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/is-this-spring.htm Houston Libby Ingrassia http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/is-this-spring.htm?opendocument&comments http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/is-this-spring.htm felt like spring.

Once it feels like spring, though, that reminds me that spring always seems to mean changes. New growth, getting rid of the things that don't work. Looking for things to be hopeful and excited and enthusiastic about. I'll say that I expect all of this to be on my horizon, although at the moment I have to turn back to the thesis and focus - I'll put all my enthusiasm there for the moment. Enthusiasm used grows instead of dissipates, right?

We voted early this week and were pleased to see the long lines, even as the polls were getting ready to close. A teacher at my school even organized a bus ride for all the juniors and seniors who were old enough, wanted to vote, and had no other way to get to the polling place. The election process offers another change about which to be hopeful. ]]> http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dxcomments/is-this-spring.htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/is-this-spring.htm?opendocument&comments Have you heard... Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:41:25 -0500 http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/trackback?open&id=have-you-heard....htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/have-you-heard....htm Links You Might Like Libby Ingrassia http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/have-you-heard....htm?opendocument&comments http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/have-you-heard....htm might describe this as indiscriminate. Either way...

Today is the first day since I've been home sick that I could bear to listen to much, either television or music (the headache has been too painful), so I watched a movie called Once. The movie was okay, but the song, Falling Slowly, is now permanently embedded in my brain. It reminds me very much of Split Enz (maybe think about "Charlie" or "Stuff and Nonsense") in the melody, and even a little in the words.

Anyway, combine my search for the song with a couple of timely Neil Gaiman posts (one of the few blogs I read all the time - I feel like I know the guy, I read about him so often), and I'm now a member of Last.FM, social music networking. It's got no business value to me, that I can see, and I may be the last one of you on board here (although a quick search through my Google contact list implies not), but it's COOL. Want to hear a song before you go buy it? Want to hear songs in the same genre or tag cloud? Want to hear similar artists to a favorite artist? Want to make (or listen to a friend's) radio station of favorite songs? As Gaiman describes it:
"I'm playing with Last FM whenever I'm in front of the computer. I love having Radio Me -- the idea of a radio station that magically plays only stuff I like when I'm away from home or away from the iPod. And I was surprised to discover there are people out there with musical tastes so scarily close to mine (which is, in my head, so all-over-the-place as to be uncategorisable) that I've started checking out things they like too. Gave in on the friending people thing, because, as someone pointed out, it made it easier for people than just bookmarking my page".


So, I'm not suddenly an expert at amazing music, but I'd love to hear what you're listening to and get to know some more cool music, and you, through your music. Looks like some features are free - joining, listening, etc., but if you want to have your own personal radio station, made of songs you've "loved," you have to shell out US$3 for a month. Haven't yet decided if I'm up for that, but we'll see... (By the way, if you know Cindy, ask her nicely to share her playlist for Radio Free Cinzia - I've got the songs on my iTunes now and on a CD and they're some of my favorites.)

Right. Off now for more cough syrup and couch snuggling. I'm so tired of this damn fever! ]]> http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dxcomments/have-you-heard....htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/have-you-heard....htm?opendocument&comments Home sick today... Fri, 8 Feb 2008 12:06:57 -0500
While curled up on the couch watching trashy TiVo'd shows, I noticed a familiar song -- from < ... ]]> http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/trackback?open&id=home-sick-today....htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/home-sick-today....htm Libby Ingrassia http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/home-sick-today....htm?opendocument&comments http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/home-sick-today....htm
While curled up on the couch watching trashy TiVo'd shows, I noticed a familiar song -- from R5 Launch to Toyota Sequoia ad.

My friend Cindy was in NJ recently and brought back some Tastykakes in honor of Stephanie Plum. Janet Evanovich's Plum books are one of my guilty pleasures. I giggle constantly reading her, have a tiny hankering to be a wimpy, lucky bounty hunter, and after all, recognize the curly crazy hair and the Miata. :-) As for the Tastykakes, I tried a peanut-butter and chocolate. Not bad. A good Entenmann's chocolate donut is better.

I'm not sure why, but In Bruges, opening soon, has tickled my fancy - looks like a movie I want to see. Other recent movies for me include 27 Dresses and P.S. I Love You, both of which I liked in spite of myself. Actually, I really liked P.S. I Love You - Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler (300) were engaging and funny. I think lately when I've gone to a movie, all I've really wanted was to relax and not have to work too hard.

Thanks for the cheering comments, leads on jobs, and emails after the last message. We'll see what happens. I'm still keeping my option open - couple of things I'd truly love to do, some things I think I'd be good at and enjoy.

For now, I'll leave you with a cute kitty picture. The kitten is Freya, adopted as a sort of Christmasy present. The puppy is a stuffed dog I won playing boardwalk games on the Boardwalk at Lotusphere.
kitty and puppy small.JPG ]]> http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dxcomments/home-sick-today....htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/home-sick-today....htm?opendocument&comments You can’t go home again... Sat, 26 Jan 2008 13:21:39 -0500 http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/trackback?open&id=you-cant-go-home-again....htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/you-cant-go-home-again....htm Libby Ingrassia http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/you-cant-go-home-again....htm?opendocument&comments http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/you-cant-go-home-again....htm
This isn't necessarily a bad thing. I feel that success in the world is somewhat predicated on forward motion. However, that doesn't change the fact that, somehow, it can be disappointing if you make the mistake of expecting things and people to be as you left them. It's made me a bit melancholy this week, as I tried to figure out what could possibly be making me sad -- I spent time with some people I truly care for, I saw lots of friends and acquaintances, I talked to lots of people about career/job opportunities, I had good food and drink... What's to be unhappy about?

As usual, only your own attitude can truly make you unhappy. If I don't try to fit this year into the patterns and templates of years' past, and look at it as a new door to walk through inquisitively and positively rather  than a scuttling back to the safety and happiness of an old door that may still be open, I feel much better about the week, my life, and my possibilities. That nostalgia is an impossible challenge to live up to, so it's best to leave it in the scrapbook and make new expectations, memories, adventures. Perhaps this time, the lesson will stick. ]]> http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dxcomments/you-cant-go-home-again....htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/you-cant-go-home-again....htm?opendocument&comments Notesgirl mail and Lotusphere 08 Thu, 24 Jan 2008 20:51:19 -0500
Number one: Notesgirl mail was down for a day or so, so if you've sent me mail in th ... ]]> http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/trackback?open&id=notesgirl-mail-and-lotusphere-08.htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/notesgirl-mail-and-lotusphere-08.htm Libby Ingrassia http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/notesgirl-mail-and-lotusphere-08.htm?opendocument&comments http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/notesgirl-mail-and-lotusphere-08.htm
Number one: Notesgirl mail was down for a day or so, so if you've sent me mail in the last 24-48 hours and not received a response, please drop me another note. Sorry!

Lotusphere was so fun, even though I was only there for the long weekend. Lots of great visiting time with Kitty and Warren and Liz and Rob and Bill and Richard and Michael and Terri and Dec and Susan and Duff and brief fly-by visits with others....and, and, and. Not enough time, not enough visiting, but definitely better than last year when I missed the trip completely. Spoke to lots of folks about finding my way back into the Lotus business... Nothing concrete yet, but we'll see what works out. Hated that I missed so many folks I'd hoped to see - Rocky and Glen and Luisa and Philippe, and, and, and. Still, thanks for so many who gave me a warm welcome (back) and all those who had positive, supportive things to say for the future. ]]> http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dxcomments/notesgirl-mail-and-lotusphere-08.htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/notesgirl-mail-and-lotusphere-08.htm?opendocument&comments I believe the term is "sqeeeee"! Wed, 16 Jan 2008 23:20:38 -0500 http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/trackback?open&id=i-believe-the-term-is-sqeeeee.htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/i-believe-the-term-is-sqeeeee.htm Libby Ingrassia http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/i-believe-the-term-is-sqeeeee.htm?opendocument&comments http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/i-believe-the-term-is-sqeeeee.htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dxcomments/i-believe-the-term-is-sqeeeee.htm http://www.notesgirl.com/NotesGirl/notesgirl.nsf/dx/i-believe-the-term-is-sqeeeee.htm?opendocument&comments