I think one of the most important things I've learned this week is to not welcome more trouble into your life when you already have enough.
Why open the flood gates? Why invite more storms into your teacup?
Why open the window and allow the negativity to flow in?
Sometimes you have enough to worry about.
Sometimes it's OK to just keep your head down and deal with the usual tasks and bullshit without looking up and around, and seeing what else is going on.
Sometimes, just lifting your eyes up and trying to decipher what's
going on around you is the same as opening your front door and inviting
the Devil in for tea.
Read this post in its entirety over at CupCate.com
Today, the doorbell rang.
I was handed a parcel from a tired looking Royal Mail employee.
I opened a rather large envelope to discover this:
"Is it? Could it be?"
"OH!"
"MY!"
"GOD!"
Yes, yes it was.
It's the Flip MinoHD Chrome.
It's the prettier version of the smallest HD camera in the world.
And I <3 it.
An actual review will be appearing shortly on BitchBuzz Tech. But for now, I'm just going to stare in disbelief that it's mine.
Happy days, I've started blogging properly again. Like I used to. And I'm absolutely loving it.
This week I've written about why crap bloggers are to blame for people "not getting blogging":
I think I'm going to start charging a fee for every person I have to deal with that just doesn't get it.
Whether it's in life, in work, or even sometimes in play... the amount of time I've wasted trying to get people to understand the web, my work, or how I work is mind-blowing.
As a blogger (because, even though I run my own site, I'm still not a journalist, and am technically a blogger) people just assume you don't really know what you're doing. I think I've carved a pretty good reputation for myself as far as work and writing goes - but not everyone I deal with knows that.
But all the print people don't know that. Advertisers don't know that. PR people don't know that.
(I realize that there are print/advertising/and PR folk who really DO get bloggers and the web and are fabulous beyond all belief, but for this post, I'm only talking about the ones that do my fucking head in, OK?)
So when I say, "Oh our readership is like this and like that and will respond to this!" or "People on Google aren't searching for 'periwinkle German flip-flops' so maybe we shouldn't title the post that"..." I tend to find that people just don't believe me.
I'm wrong. I don't know what I'm talking about.
I'm a blogger. I'm a girl. I'm not a journalist, I don't have a BA in Knowing Everything, surely YOU are the advertiser, YOU are the journalist, YOU are the PR and YOU are KEEPER OF THE GATES OF WEB KNOWLEDGE so therefore I should just listen to you.
And why is this?
Oh. Because there are tons of really, really stupid bloggers out there.
And I've also written a bit about trust, and how if you trust people to be and behave exactly how they are, you'll never be disappointed by a dick again:
My old therapist once told me that I expected too much from people.
I expected people to do what I'd do...
Or what I'd think any *normal* person would do...
Which is absolutley ridiculous
You can't take it personally and get upset that people let you down.
You must unclench and sort of accept that said person is doing the best that they know how to do.
You need to trust people to be and do what they do best...
Which is probably TO BE A DICK.
Martha Beck recently wrote a story for Oprah Magazine (oh yes, I'm going there) about trust: trusting yoursand trusting everyone else.
It may sound silly to trust anyone and everyone, but the thing to remember is that you're not trusting them, your trusting their behavior. The philosopher Lao Tzu wrote:
"The Master…trusts people who are trustworthy. She also trusts people who aren't trustworthy. This is true trust."
Beck points out that you may think that this is an incredibly stupid idea and to just trust everyone is naive. Don't take candy from strangers and all that.
But she explains what Tzu actually meant, perfectly...
You can check out both of these posts fully on cupcate.com, but I just wanted to let you knwo what I was up to over here. See? I AM STILL ON VOX.
The fantastic and amazing Charlotta Hedman recently interviewed me, along with two other fabulous women, for a big newspaper in Sweden.
Sophie Cox from Worldeka.com, Zuzanna Pasierbinska from Huddle.net and I are all quoted saying incredibly interesting things about women in technology in the article. Unfortunately, I'm just assuming this is the truth as I cannot read a single word of it.
It is, after all, in Swedish.
However, it sure looks cool, and I had a great time talking with Charlotta and having my photo taken whilst dodging the Killer Pigeons in Soho Square.
(Plus, she bought me tea in one of my favorite cafés in London.)
Be sure to check out Charlotta's personal website with the coolest URL ever - onthetrain.com - follow her on Twitter - @fjoms - and read her fantastic stories on BitchBuzz. Yes, I nabbed her as a writer. Yes, you should be jealous.
Also, if you know Swedish, hit me up! I have a PDF I'd like you to translate.
My lovely little domain, CupCate.com, now points to my delightful new blog on Typepad!
I'm not giving up my Vox blog, and have no intention of deserting you all. I just wanted a bit more control over things, and as much as I love Vox, Typepad fits my blogging needs much better.
All of my posts are on my Typepad blog, because of the rock star skillz of Ginevra and Simon and we've finally spruced up the design a bit and I now feel like I can share it with you guys!
I still have a lot of of organizational work to do as far as categories and photos are concerned, but I'm really excited to have this new place to write in.
Having a new place to write actually makes me want to write again, and although Typepad is still a bit new to me and I'm not a CSS whiz, I'm really liking it.
I'll be cross posting as much as possible, but please do stop by and say hello to the new CupCate.com as she is looking rather lovely, yet lonely. (My posts moved by all my comments did not!)
Cate
x
Today - well, in an hour - I'm 24.
To be honest, it doesn't seem like a full 365 days since I wished myself a happy 23rd birthday and wrote:
I have some incredibly exciting ideas in my head. My brain has turned into a vibrant, colorful road map of ideas and possibilities rather than some depressingly emo haiku. I'm finally starting to feel stoked about stuff. 23, I'm really hoping that you're going to bring it and bring it hard.
I don't really have any wise words for my 23-year-old self. I don't wish I did anything differently. Actually, I'd kind of like to take me at 23 out for a drink, give her a good night sleep, and let her be someone else for a day - just so she could see how others see her, and what she's doing.
I'd like to tell 23 that she's working so, so hard, and not to give up.
That little idea you have, 23? It's a good one. It's a really good one.
You've worked harder than you've ever worked before.
23...you did good. You did exactly what you were meant to. You kept your head down, and your worked. You worked and you worked and you worked some more. You didn't write as much about your personal life. You didn't make that much money. You actually didn't even drink that much. (The horror!)
But you were like the Johnny Fucking Apple Seed of your 20s.
You've planted so many seeds for 24...and hopefully by the time 25 takes over, those seeds will have turned into little a little forest. Not a huge forest..but perhaps a forest that somebody else would like to invest in and give you some money to buy a little log cabin with two bedrooms, two baths and south-facing garden...or something.
It's been a short year. Maybe as you age, the years just get shorter.
But, I feel like I did a lot in the last 365 days. I used my time wisely.
I suppose that's all I can really ask for. Isn't it?
