Monthly Archives: February 2012

leap day!

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i’m so excited it’s leap day. i love love love leap day: that one, amazing, awesome day that’s neither february nor march—not really—that’s suspended in time, as it were. i love it. i wouldn’t go so far as to say things done on this day don’t count (i don’t believe in that), but i do think it’s a fantastical day to do fun and amazingful things. like go to disneyland, work on projects, get dressed all fancy-like, and—if you’re looking at my list—laundry. because, unfortunately, even though the calendar might take a pause, laundry is not so gracious.

frames. totes.

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what? is that a bag designed by anothernicole for threadless? totes! it so is!

and i would love love love it if you clicked the picture and voted for the design for me (5 is the highest). if you like it, feel free to spread the word (RT/Share/Reblog/Pingback/etc)–i’d be so grateful. #somanythanks #xoxo

How to Cut Your Tweets to 140 Characters (or Less)

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It happens to the best of us: you have something to say, and it’s far, far longer than the meager 140 characters that twitter allots you. By now, most of us have developed coping mechanisms for this catastrophe, coping mechanisms that are replete with crimes against grammar (if not humanity). But, a tweeter’s gotta do what a tweeter’s gotta do. Am I right?

How to Cut Your Tweets to 140 Characters (or Less)

  • Remove your final period. It’s useless (+1, easy peasy)
  • Remove any and all apostrophes. Theyve got absolutely no reason to be in a tweet  (+3-5 on average)
  • 1st round of abbrevs: words u can easily abbrev in ways that wont make ppl think ur tweet looks ridiculous (This is NOT where u chg “for” to 4) (+5ish)
  • Remove unnecessary commas. Occasionally theres a comma u need for clarity but mostly theyre just taking up space (+2-5)
  • Use semi-colons when you can; it takes the place of “and” (+3 at least)
  • If ur still in a bind & not sure what to do, chg “and” to “&”
  • NOTE: Personally im against using 2 & 4 for “to” and “for” but I know a lot of people use these so ill nod to it (+1-3, on average)
  • Remove personal pronouns. dont need them. gonna need the extra chars. more
  • if ur tweet still isnt shrt enough, u have to initiate th massacre: cutting vowels. theyre nt all as imp. as u thnk. rly.
  • #usehashtags #youdontneedspacesforthat #superhandywhenyoureinabind

Dnt wrry if ppl cant rd ur twt. #theyllfigureitoutsoonerorlater

love from the (remote) sidelines

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two of my favorite bloggers and good friends are running the Live Strong Austin Half Marathon tomorrow. they are already something of heroes to me; this only adds to their awesomeness.

i can’t be there in person, but if i could, this is what i’d look like—but not as blurry, of course…. except to them as they raced by me. so, uh, yeah, the blurriness was totally intentional!! :p in any case, GOOD LUCK, YOU GUYS!!! YAY YOU!

if you haven’t already, check out hannah’s blog post on how to support them!

five fictional valentines

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If you could have any fictional character for your valentine, who would you pick?

I’d like to say the names below are in no particular order, but the truth is, there are 4 second-places, and 1 first place. So here they are, in almost no particular order: my pick for “five fictional valentines.”

  • Teddy Laurence. Laurie has a special place in my heart; he might have been the first boy I loved. Long before Christian Bale put his face on the character, I had fallen for the March girls’ next door neighbor. (And if you’re wondering whether or not I was devastated when he married Amy instead of Jo, the answer is no. I was always Team Amy when it came to Laurie. Jo and Laurie just didn’t have the right vibe. I was more devastated that the professor was old and creepy. Note that he is not, and will never be, on this list.)
  • Mr. Knightley. I know Mr. Darcy would be most people’s choice, and I don’t have anything against him…but I always found Mr. Knightley so much more likeable. There is something less austere and snobbish about him; something more approachable and forgiving. He believed in the best of Emma, even when she persisted in acting her worst.
  • Clark Kent. Literate, clumsy, and with hipster glasses long before they were cool. Persistently good-natured, trustworthy, and awkward. What’s not to love?
  • Walter Sherman. Walter is on FOX’s new show The Finder. I gotta say, there are some things about the show that I don’t love, but Walter isn’t one of them. Actually, it’s been a while since I’ve encountered a character I liked this much in any show, book, or movie. Maybe I like him because he’s quirky and straight-forward. Maybe because he wears flip-up sunglasses. Or maybe it’s his awesome wordiness (“Frank’s a lying liarface” and “Skullduggery and monkey business”). In any case, I’m just mad about him.

Still, as much as I might choose these four characters to be my valentine, no one could ever replace this last guy. Ladies and—ok, well, it’s probably just ladies on this one—I give you the world champion of my fictional valentines:

  • Gilbert Blythe. I think that’s all I need to say.

the nicole caucus

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I’ve wanted to attend the Iowa caucus for years—last election, I even had the momentary (really :) thought of moving to Iowa in time for the 2012 caucus. This year, some friends and I toyed with the idea of peeking in on the Nevada caucus (since it’s only a few hours’ drive from where I live), but we did some research and found you have to be a registered Nevada voter to attend (makes sense). I was kinda bummed, but then I realized I didn’t need the Nevada caucus…

…if I had The Nicole Caucus!

That’s right. I am having a caucus.

I’ve invited a bunch of friends to come over on Super Tuesday and participate in a bona-fide mock caucus (a “mockus,” if you will). We are going to do the research, find out exactly what happens at the Iowa caucus, and then hold the Nicole Caucus according to that pattern. We’ll also eat cake. Yay! (I personally feel that voter turnout in this country could be vastly improved by offering cake.)

The Nicole Caucus will be an open Republican caucus; we’ll hear speeches from the campaigns, and group ourselves for discussions and votes. Of course, the real idea behind it isn’t the voting or the politics, per se. It’s just to make my lifelong dream—nay, our lifelong dream!—of participating in a caucus come true. While having cake. #democracyasitshouldbe

3.5 words/phrases to use more often

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there’s three words/phrases that i’ve been wishing i heard more often. and so i’ve decided to take ghandi’s words to heart and be the change i wish to see; in other words, i’ll be trying to use these words/phrases more often myself. you have been warned. and here they are…

  • fancy. i think it’s important to get the sounds right with this word; it ought to sound as if it were spelled f-a-i-n-c-y. am i right?
  • woe betide! off the top of my head, i can’t think of any occasion where this might come in handy… but it’s good to be ready.
  • well, i never! i’m still not exactly sure what this refers to, but i think with just the right amount of twang, it’ll be a big hit.

and then the .5 (because half of it depends on someone else):

  • and just once (or lots of times) i’d like someone to tell me, “you’re odd” to my face—so i can reply “what? not even!”

(this post ought to go a long way to helping someone call me odd, i know.)