My kitchen, which I am actually starting to use as more than a room to store wine and cottage cheese, is dark. I’ve been ignoring how dark it is by turning on the light above the stove and the one above the sink every time I go in there, for, I don’t know, THREE MONTHS NOW!

I decided on Sunday I would break down and buy light bulbs. Only problem was, they are the long skinny florescent ones. Waaaay more complicated than the regular (cork screw CFL) bulbs I buy for lamps.

So I did what any girl would do. I called for reinforcement from my BFF Karina the Russian.

We decided the “smart” thing to do would be to have the measurements with us, but since neither of us had a pen and paper handy–and by handy I mean in our hands at that very moment–I grabbed my POS phone and snapped this lovely pic.

I don't know why there are lines. I do know that I freaking miss my freaking iPhone!

We left the house in search of the land of orange, also known as Home Depot, where we quickly spotted the isle with light bulbs that look like they belong in a Star Wars movie. We stood there staring blankly at the bulbs until a helpful orange-caped superhero walked up, ready to save us.

Little did he know, we came prepared. I whipped out my phone and, careful not to show him the kissyface photo I sent to ED earlier in the day, showed him exactly what we needed.

He tried really hard not to laugh at us.

Then he asked us if we knew what the length was.

“Length? You mean that wasn’t in the picture?” I asked, completely dumbfounded. Apparently our plan was not so fool proof after all.  “Umm… about this long?”  I say, now holding out my hands to motion what I later found out was two feet and no, not in the picture.

Feeling slightly retarded, we got our receipt and left our minimum wage superhero with a smirk of amusement from the two bimbos trying to buy a light bulb. Karina looked at me and said, “you know, either this would be the greatest phone commercial ever or the greatest blond joke ever.”

I tell her, “I know! Right? How many blonds does it take to buy a light bulb? Only I’m not blond…”

“Now watch, we will get home and it will be the wrong size!”

And, of course…

We get home, stand on our tippie toes, unscrew the old bulbs (what? We are both super tall. We don’t need no stinkin stools!) and replace them with the new ones.

And… they don’t work.

They were the right size, but for some ridiculous reason that has eluded me, my kitchen is still freaking dark!

So how many blonds does it take to change Summer’s light bulbs? You fill in the blank.

Blogfully yours,

Summer

K to the R stories, Nerdom, Story Time

ED was offered FREE tickets to the first University of Utah home game and we had to pass them up. “WHY?” you might scream ask. The answer was, sadly, that I had an online assignment due and ED had massive amounts of anatomy studying to do too. And no it wasn’t MY anatomy he was studying either.

So what does the nerd couple do instead?

FOOTYING!

In case you can’t tell, I have my laptop on my lap and ED has his. The TV is showing the U of U (on low volume) kicking Utah State’s butt. The TV is, of course, directly in front of ED.

Football + Studying = FOOTYING

A way to watch the game and still pass Mass Comm 1500.

Blogfully yours,

Summer

PS – in case you are wondering, U of U won 35 to 17! GO UTES!

Back to School, ED is not Emotionally Disturbed, Nerdom

Excitement. Anxiety. Panic. That is what I am feeling right now.

I leave Thursday morning to go to Chicago for a blogging convention. Yes, I am completely serious, a BLOGGING CONVENTION! Oh, and did I mention that this is a convention almost completely dedicated to female bloggers? Yeah, nothing intimidating about a gathering of 1,200 + females… females who write on the Internet and take lots of pictures.

Since I am always so on top of my game, I sent my traveling companion and fellow procrastinator, Sarah, a list of what I do and do not know/have prepared for the BlogHer 2009 Conference.

I do know/have:

- What luggage I’ll be taking/sharing.

- What cocktail dresses I’ll most likely be packing.

- My tickets (airline and BlogHer)  are printed.

- Who’s bringing what medication.

What I don’t know:

- Transportation to the airport.

- Transportation from the airport.

- How to get to the hotel from the airport.

- What lectures I’ll attend.

- Whether or not food comes with the conference.

- What to take notes in/on.

- What to wear.

- What shoes to pack.

- What jewelry to pack.

- How much the hotel is going to cost.

- If I have enough money… at all.

- Which parties I’ll attend.

- If I’ll have any free time to study.

- If I’ll have any free time to sight see.

- Where the best place to pick up a cheap flask is.

While I know the clock is ticking and I need to figure these things out, I don’t have the mental capacity to freak out over each and every one of them. I’m sure that as long as I over pack, everything else will just kind of work itself out.

Blogfully yours,

Summer

Nerdom, blogging

I’m not huge on change.

If you are familiar with The Color Code personality tests, I’m a blue. Most people are a mixture of several colors, but not me. I’m a blue-blue. One of the traits of a blue-blue is that they are very resistant to change at first, but once they have embraced it they are the strongest supporters of said change.

My mother introduced the The Color Code to my sisters and me when we were in our teens. Growing up she used to make whoever we dated take the test so she could psychoanalyze them. She would guess what color (or color combo) they were before they took the test and most of the time she was right. I remember being a young teen sitting in our family room reading the quiz questions to a guy I liked.

“What word best describes you? a. Relentless b. Indifferent c. Suspicious or d. Naive”

“Um… what does relentless mean?”

“DAAAAD! What does relentless mean?”

What? My father is a human dictionary, encyclopedia and thesaurus all rolled into one! If I was on Who Wants to be a Millionaire and had to pick one life line, it would be him. Growing up it was a normal thing to hear one of my sister, my mother or of course me, yelling out questions to him while we did our homework.

“Dad! How do you spell conscience?”

“Dad! What’s the capitol of South Carolina?”

“James! Do you say afterwards with an s or afterward with no s?”

“Dad! Can I borrow ten bucks?”

Wait, what was I talking about? Oh yeah, the Color Code… or rather my resistance to change.

I’m changing my blog and it scares the shit out of me! I am not an expert and I’m learning this whole technology/programming/hosting/domains/bribe people with booze thing as I go. I am completely dependent on friends helping me in their free time, which means it’s taking a little while. WHICH IS FINE (please don’t stop helping me)! I’d rather it takes a little while, you know, so I can ease into the transition and embrace the change. I’m telling you all this so that if you are a blue-blue like me, you can anticipate the change and prep your embracing skills. It will be great! GREAT I tell you!

<–Insert nervous yet hopeful laugh here.

Blogfully yours,

Summer

Nerdom

It’s silly I know, but my little blog really means a lot to me. What started out as a hobby and fun way to keep friends and family updated on my life, has become an accomplishment of sorts that I am actually proud of.

I started blogging just over a year ago. My very first post was called “The world is your oyster”, a brutally honest raw exposure of myself. I didn’t have a name or an identity to my blog then, and truthfully I had no idea what I was doing, I just knew I wanted to write.

A large part of my inspiration for going back to college was this blog. I knew I had ideas and stories I wanted to share, but I also knew from a technical standpoint my writing left a lot to be desired. So last summer, I walked into the Salt Lake Community College, 2 weeks before classes were scheduled to start, and enrolled. Again, I had no idea what I was doing. No game plan. I just knew it was where I needed to be.

Sitting here reflecting, feet propped up on a chair – laptop warm in my lap, it’s fun to think of some of the highlights my silly little blog has brought me.

- I remember the first time I got a comment from a blogger I, for lack of a better work, idolized. People like Caveat Emptor, Black Hockey Jesus and the amazing Jenny the Bloggess. It may seem silly, but it totally made my day to think that something, however small and trivial, in my blog sparked their interest enough to visit AND leave a comment.

- I remember coming up with the name for my blog and asking my friend and blogging mentor Sarah what she thought of it. “Honestly I think it’s fucking brilliant and wish I would have come up with it.” A better compliment has never existed. She helped me register the domain name and set things up.

- I remember getting approved to have ads on my blog through the BlogHer network. It only took 6 months of having them, but I got my first check too. I celebrated by going to coffee with Sarah just this last weekend.

- As it turns out the whole being a student and a blogger really worked out in my favor recently too. I am headed to the BlogHer convention in Chicago in a little over 3 weeks. Truthfully there is no way I could have afforded it without the discounted student rate and I am so happy they offer one. I’ll try not to cuss when I pay next months tuition now.

- Last but certainly not least (cliche much?), the highlight of my evening. Getting mentioned on the “Here is the good news happening around our GiST network” email for finally getting the balls to get the tattoo I have been talking about for over 2 years. Seriously, how cool is that?

I know I am rambling on a bit and a lot of these things may not seem like a big deal, but I am a firm believer it’s the little things in life that count and you should celebrate ALL victories.

Thanks lovely Internet for giving me more reasons to celebrate! Oh, and the local wine store says thanks too.

Blogfully yours,

Summer

Emotions get the best of me, Grace in Small Things, Nerdom

“LOL! OMG ur so funny! ROFL! When am I gonna c u nxt? WTF? Its been like 4ever! I miss my BFF! ” For those of you who are not fluent in Netspeak, the literal translation would be: “Laughing out loud! Oh my gosh, you are so funny! I’m rolling on the floor laughing. When am I going to see you next? What the fuc0k? It’s been like forever! I miss my best friend forever! (smiley face)”

Essays, Nerdom

I’m a little late to get this post up, but better late than never (story of my life!), right?

Last Thursday I went to my first Social Media Club of Salt Lake City (SMCSLC) meeting. I had a great time. Actually… I had social anxiety until I recognized some happy familiar faces, Erin (Finding SLC/Poor Penmanship) followed by Susan (Off The Chest).

Most of the time (surprisingly) I understood what everyone was talking about, although I still always end up with a worried look on my face in pictures. Good news was that I sat next to the lovely Roby Storms who kept me laughing and tried to answer my questions on the “harder” stuff like where to pick up the latest Social Marketing fashion trends or why mommy bloggers tend to dismiss other bloggers as unimportant.

Luckily my transition to nerdom has been underway for a little while now. I had my iPhone with me, which turns out is a good thing because it serves as a pass to get into the “cool kids club”.

All kidding aside, I had a great time. I am truly fascinated by the new revolution that is Social Marketing. For my industry, it is one of those ships that comes sailing through and you either need to jump on board or get left behind. I’ve obviously chosen to jump on board and I am looking forward to attending future events and to growing my knowledge which will (hopefully) make me a more marketable/sought after employee.

Cheers! Hope to see you at the next one!

Blogfully yours,

Summer

Nerdom, Out and About

Just me, Nerdom