Archive for the ‘me me me’ Category
All About Alltop and Why You Should Be On It
Have you heard about Alltop?
Through the magic of Twitter, I have been seeing the term floated around for several months, but now I have a very good reason to tell you more about it:
I’m now listed on Alltop Expats!
OK, so what is Alltop?
Alltop’s homepage says it’s “an ‘online magazine rack’ of popular topics”–439 popular topics to be exact. Founder Guy Kawasaki describes it as “aggregation without the aggravation” with a “goal is to satisfy the information needs of the 99% of Internet users who will never use an RSS feed reader or create a custom page.”
Basically you browse Alltop by category or alphabetically if you have extra time on your hands, find what you like, click, and end up with all the top stories on a given subject via the RSS feeds from selected sites.
So, for example, if you were interested in, say, expatriate life, you’d go to
for “All the Top Expatriate News” and there you would find a collection of expat-related information, including the latest posts from Bleeding Espresso.
Easy peasy!
So go have a look around Alltop; I guarantee you’ll find lots of great new places to visit no matter what your interests are. As if you needed more blogs and websites to read, right? Yes, but this *focuses* your time, and that’s always a good thing.
Have you heard of or used Alltop? What do you think?
finding inspiration from charlotte’s web
Everyone have a nice weekend? I spent a lot of mine working, which is fine as I enjoyed the work, but come time to blog and, well, I was in desperate need of inspiration.
Growing up, one of my favorite books was Charlotte’s Web. It is the first full-length book I remember reading, and from that point on, I would scribble stories that happened in my head into my notebook. Not only did E.B. White turn me on to reading, he also turned me on to writing.
And now what a coincidence! One of my favorite blogs is Charlotte’s Web, written by Charlotte, a self-described “transplanted South African living in Germany, land of rules, orange tans and cheesecake.”
Charlotte is a freelance writer and editor and visiting her is always a treat, even when she does memes like this one that I’m borrowing:
1. My uncle once: let me have most of his old photos from his European tour of duty in World War II.
2. Never in my life: have I smoked a cigarette nor would I.
3. When I was five: I was probably being told off for being too sassy.
4. High school was: best experienced in memories.
5. I will never forget: the day I got my acceptance letter to Duke.
6. Once I met: Brian Williams (really we just exchanged smiles).
7. There’s this girl I know: who loves to talk on the phone and say random Italian words to me.
8. Once, at a bar: P and I had our first unofficial date, playing cards and talking.
9. By noon, I’m usually: wondering what happened to the morning.
10. Last night: I slept very well, thank you.
11. If only I had: a free round-trip ticket to the US to see family and friends.
12. Next time I go to church: it will probably be struck down by lightning.
13. What worries me most: is losing people I love.
14. When I turn my head left I see: a blazing fireplace.
15. When I turn my head right I see: P, asking me what I’m looking at.
16. You know I’m lying when: my voice gets a higher pitch.
17. What I miss most about the Eighties is: my innocence about the world and the players in it.
18. If I were a character in Shakespeare I’d be: Viola in The Twelfth Night.
19. By this time next year: I’ll be 33 years old. Thanks for bringing that up.
20. A better name for me would be: Michela since people here would know how to spell it.
21. I have a hard time understanding: war, especially “holy” ones.
22. If I ever go back to school, I’ll: study Italian literature.
23. You know I like you if: I respond promptly to your emails and phone calls.
24. If I ever won an award, the first person I would thank would be: Mom and Dad.
25. Take my advice, never: touch the inside of your oven door after it’s been on for an hour; third-degree burns are likely to ensue.
26. My ideal breakfast is: pancakes, bacon, two eggs over-easy, toast, apple juice, and coffee at Perkins Restaurant.
27. A song I love but do not have is: Just the Way You Are by Billy Joel.
28. If you visit my hometown, I suggest you: plan something else to do with the rest of the day–there are only two streets.
29. Why won’t people: live and let live?
30. If you spend a night at my house: you may have to share your bed with Stella; she’s a cuddler.
31. I’d stop my wedding for: a natural disaster.
32. The world could do without: celebrities.
33. I’d rather lick the belly of a cockroach than: eat the belly of a cockroach.
34. My favourite blonde(s) is/are: my niece and nephew, although he’s less blond by the day.
35. Paper clips are more useful than: safety pins if your goal is to bind papers together.
36. If I do anything well it’s: procrastinate.
37. And by the way: if you do this meme, let me know so I can read your answers!
And be sure to check out Charlotte’s Web !
How to Make an American Expat in Italy Happy
Nothing like comfort foods from home from the German supermarket in Italy.
Read on...easing into the new year with a 5 things meme
Hello friends! I hope you got to have a nice break over the holidays. I sure did, and it was fabulous. The past two weeks have been spent hanging out with P and the girls, reading, organizing the house, catching up with online friends, and best of all, next to no work.
I had a couple deadlines today so I had to get back to the old grind before the rest of Italy, but that’s OK; I’ll have off again tomorrow for the Epiphany, which I’ve written about at Happy Befana! if you need to refresh your memory on La Befana, the Epiphany witch.
Now to ease us all back into the blog, here’s a quick 5 things meme to get the wheels turning. This comes from Yankee in a New World:
1. What are 5 things you were doing ten years ago?
- Starting my second semester of law school.
- Living in a high-rise apartment on the Ben Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia.
- Finishing up the first holiday season without my grandfather.
- Thinking about summer employment.
- Already dreading how boring and awful Civil Procedure would be (and I was right).
2. What are 5 things on your to do list for today?
- Walk the dogs a few times.
- An Italian grammar lesson.
- Search the freelance writing job boards for anything that looks interesting.
- Spend an hour working on my NaNo novel.
- Do research for a query.
3. What are your 5 favorite snacks?
- Pretzels (and ice cream, especially).
- Chocolate.
- Apples or bananas and peanut butter.
- Yogurt (pineapple and coffee are my two current favorites).
- Cheese.
4. What would you do if you were a millionaire?
- Visit my family much more often and fly them here too.
- Get a huge chunk of land in the Calabrian countryside for P to grow and raise things.
- Pay off student loans.
- Travel more, especially to meet blogging buddies.
- Donate money and time (assuming I wouldn’t have to work as often) to charitable organizations.
5. Where are 5 places you have lived?
- A cute, boxy white house built by my family in rural Pennsylvania.
- A dorm room with a gorgeous bay window in Durham, North Carolina.
- The aforementioned high-rise apartment with enormous windows lining one side in Philadelphia.
- An adorable rowhome with a fabulous inside staircase, loft, and huge brick wall in Philly.
- A 500-year-old three-room stone house in southern Italy.
I won’t tag anyone, but if you’re in the mood for a meme, please feel free to play along in the comments or on your own blog and let me know where to find your answers!
So are you ready for 2009 or what?
the tradition of little boy & tiger wishes
Grab your favorite warm beverage (I suggest hot chocolate with marshmallows), cuddle up to your favorite snuggler, and enjoy the Bleeding Espresso tradition of Christmas Eve by Bill Watterson:
If you’re having trouble reading the text, go here.
It’s almost time!
What do you have planned for Christmas Eve?
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
Calabria Guidebook
Recipes
