Showing posts with label back to school for grownups. Show all posts
Showing posts with label back to school for grownups. Show all posts

Made out of Awesome

>> Wednesday, August 26, 2009

I'm borrowing Tamara's expression again - I am, today, made out of awesome!

Not only have I lost 62lbs since April of this year - today I rode my bike all the way from my home to our lawyer's office in Midland ON - that is a distance of 10km (or 6.2 miles) - and is WAY beyond the distance I've gone before.

The house is Peterborough is almost ready for occupation - we've cleaned everything, painted the downstairs and most of the attic - there are a couple of bedrooms on the second floor that will be done this week, and other than that, pretty much everything that needs doing is up in my attic, which will be getting all new flooring, and needs a desk and some other furniture.

We have 2 confirmed tenants, 1 unconfirmed, and several more lined up to come and have a look tomorrow and Saturday.

I'm really happy with how it is all going. And still lots of time before school starts back (8 Sept. for me)

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Closing Date and other assorted flitting

>> Sunday, August 16, 2009

There's a reason this blog is called Just Flitting.

So - we finally got the mortgage sorted out - in fact, we ended up with mortgages and $$ coming up the ying yang.

At one point, our lawyer called and asked which we were actually planning to use, as they were getting extras showing up in their office - in one case, even one that we didn't know we had. We had talked to the guy about it, but hadn't heard anything back before the lawyer called. So that was all good.

But then we got hung up by the lawyer representing the seller who decided he didn't like the earlier closing date we had agreed on - and not only that, he couldn't be bothered to respond to any of the letters my lawyer kept sending him because of course, I was calling their office to ask what the hell was going on.

That too got sorted out - and at this point, we're a go for 9:30 a.m. to meet with our lawyer, cough up our $$, and then the house will officially be ours.

The plan is to come home, pick up the mutt and his blankie, and head down there later in the day - got some errands to run and packing to do and ~stuff~ .... but then we should be good to go. I've got everything all organized at that end - hydro, gas, all that fun stuff. Phone & Internet get installed on Tuesday; TV on Thursday. We will need to do something about a bed pretty quickly - there are a few old couches left behind but you couldn't pay me to sleep on those - ick! Most of them are to be tossed - there's one that we might hang on to ...depending on how well it cleans up.

I'm rolling right along with school/work stuff - handed in major research paper last week, and also the archive material I had to get done up for the digitization project (theirs, not mine). Today I've been scanning scads of material for mine - that's due by the end of the month so need to get cracking on it. I also received the book that I've been proofreading back for a final proof - finished that earlier today. Yay me! This was my second time through it - not too many things to catch, but some. Tomorrow I'll drop it in to the author's office and he's going to give it a look, then the files can be annotated and fired back to the copyeditor in India. (I'll do that when he's done; won't take long).

Was asked to take on another research assistant position in addition to the archives one, and am up to date on that one too - need to get more files for both RA positions before I can do any more work on them. It's a good place to be - although it would be even better if we'd got things sorted out so that I was actually getting PAID for my work already. Got to go back in and sign more papers before that can happen. *sigh* I detest hoopjumping - especially when the hoops are set 250km away from where I live and I can't drive myself yet. Even though the doc wrote the letter to give me my licence back, MTO is not inclined to actually DO anything about that yet :(

So the only thing outstanding, really, is the new house - which needs a major cleaning and painting, some outside work, furnishing - oh yeah, and we need four tenants too. And the digital archives project that I'm doing for the EMiC course in editing that I did earlier this summer. That is well underway - really, could have it done today, if it weren't for the fact that I'm so stinking HOT I can't see straight - and for the one section that I have yet to write on my editing theory and practices. It's so much easier to just DO what you think is right - having to actually explain it - and how it fits into various editing theories - that's a whole lot harder! Well worth doing, I'm sure - but I wish I'd written it up while we were still AT the course; I had a lot more theory still in my brain then. I have, as my mom would say, slept since then; it's all gone.

Both my kids are working now. Jess has taken on more responsibility and more hours at the day care she works at, and Tamara finally got a job!!!! It's only temporary at this point - she's working at a college bookstore - but I am hopeful that good things will come of it. And if nothing else, hopefully she'll be liking that pay cheque thing enough to be extra motivated to find another one when she's done.

What else is new & exciting? Oh yeah... we finally got our new bathroom (almost) done - it looks SO much better now. And now Ross is panelling the entire living room and my office which is kind of a pain - a BIG pain - because he's making me move all of my books out of his way and that is a monster job. I'm sure I'll be thrilled when he gets past the 2 bookshelves on my right and wants to move my desks and stuff too ... and then there are 2 more bookshelves - one which is huge and covers the entire wall which will all have to be cleared off and moved too. Yuck.

The panelling looks great though - except now I don't like the blinds we have any more - they are bamboo and they look dumb with the pine panelling. Seriously!

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Frustration

>> Thursday, July 30, 2009

Everything seemed to be sorted out for the house - but then today the mortgage broker started to be difficult. She's frustrating me no end. She told us that we were approved for the first mortgage (on the house we live in here in the Harbour) and that the second on the new house would be no problem - but now she's making like nothing is approved and she isn't likely to be able to get it all done in time and she "needs 5 full business days" to pull everything together.

But a/ she didn't bother to tell us that and b/ WE had everything in by Monday - not our fault she took Tuesday off and didn't call us until Wednesday (late) to say she needed the realtor to fax her a better copy of the offer).

And now she wants my name off of the offer (and the deed) which no one else - not us, or the realtor - wants, or think is necessary.

Put a call into the lawyer that is handling the whole thing for us supposedly to check with him, but no answer there. Left voicemail.

Left voicemail for 3 insurance agents, 1 insurance adjuster about my accident claim (they screwed it up), the realtor, someone at school that called me and wanted me to call her back, the inspection guy's wife who is supposed to be faxing us with the inspection report, and .... there are probably others as well.

The point, of course, being that NO ONE answers their phone, no one bothers to call back and I do not have the time or the energy to wait patiently. I have work to do but it's not getting done because I can't stinking CONCENTRATE with all this stress and aggravation. I'm trying. But.

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Buying a House

>> Sunday, July 26, 2009

So - it took one more trip .... and we had a bit of drama (isn't there always?) but we just heard that our final offer was accepted and we have ourselves a house.

I'm very happy about it - it is a BIG house ...with an apartment upstairs for me, and 4 rooms downstairs to rent to students. Lots of room - in addition to everything else one might expect, there is a large room adjacent to the kitchen ... used to be the summer kitchen; now it's a pantry/storage room.

We won't be living there full time, of course - we love our house on Georgian Bay in Victoria Harbour - but now I have a place to be when I have to be in Peterborough - and if all goes well, we should come out - if not ahead of the game financially - at least not short 4 years of rent paid to someone else.

This makes house #3 - which is a bit intimidating ... but it's the first one that we are buying together (assuming financing, insurance and inspection go through, but they should) .... and it is the first house ever with my name on the deed.

Me! I am going to own part of a house! And have tenants. And stained glass windows.

I am just a wee bit excited!

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Deadlines

>> Saturday, July 18, 2009

I work better when I have deadlines - but right now, I think I have a few too many of the darn things!

The biggest one that's looming is that I have to have my major research paper done by the end of the month (sooner would be better). It needs to get to my advisor so that she can read/edit it before August 14, by which date I need a letter saying that I have completed all requirements for my MA degree so that I can be admitted into my Phd program.

More immediately, though, I have committed to read at the Leacock Festival reading on Tuesday night and I really wanted to come up with something new to read! Doesn't seem right to go away for a year to do a master's degree and not have anything new to read - although I do have stories I have never done publicly, so if worse comes to worse .... I might end up taking Stephanie's suggestion and reading "Leaving" - but honestly, I don't know if I could DO that one without choking up. If I don't come up with something new, I'll have to though, won't I? The one thing I will NOT do is a total cop out - I won't read anything that I have done at readings before. Anyway ...we'll see.

I also have several more chapters - and appendices (which no one mentioned) to proofread - and those are all due back to the copy-editor by the 27th. That one is not too onerous though - it's a job that I can do while we're driving to Peterborough and back to look for houses.

The buying a house thing is huge, of course .... especially given that the city we're supposed to be buying a house in is 2.5 hours from home - it does get complicated! We're doing our second round of showings this afternoon, and there is one house that Ross is really, really enthusiastic about - so hopefully it will be perfect and we can just go ahead and make an offer on it while we're there today. Wouldn't that be nice! Won't likely happen that way, but I can dream.

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Working Outside

>> Saturday, July 11, 2009


I've pretty much made my deck my new office this week.... got everything set up just right - my laptop is on its stand on a chair in front of my chair; a table to the right for the mouse and my ashtray and drink (I'm drinking a lot of flavoured water these days) and another chair to the left has my stack of books and so on...

Scrooge spends most of the day out here with me, either lying on the deck, or wandering out to the other deck to sunbathe. There are hummingbirds too, that come to the feeder on and off all day, often sitting on the clothesline between dips into the feeder.

It would be nice to have the summer off and not have so many papers to write and so much work to do - but since THAT isn't happening, this is about the next best thing.

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Happy to be Home!

>> Saturday, June 27, 2009

Summer school is done - well, not really - but the coursework part is.

So now I'm home again and sitting at my own desk and trying to sort out where to start - I do have a few ~minor~ projects on my to do list right now.

First up is to write a proposal for the editing project for the EMiC course - I know that I want to DO an editing project rather than just writing a research paper - and that I want to include a digital component - but haven't yet decided on which of PK Page's works to tackle. I'm going with PK Page mostly because I happen to have photocopies of the first half of box 1 of the National Archives holdings for her work - that would be because of the next thing on my To Do list, which is to pull together the information I have from multiple sources into the 2 forms I need to fill out for their digitization.

It simplifies things somewhat if I work with materials I have rather than a project that requires a visit to an archive that I can't get to easily given my lack of transportation.

I do, however, have one archive trip planned for this coming week, so I could potentially choose one of their authors to work with - but Page makes sense to me, and since I do have the Research Assistantship for that project, learning as much as I can about her work makes sense.

My trip to the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library next week is to look at the materials related to one particular author and write a short case study for the Historical Perspectives on Canadian Publishing project, which is due by mid-July.

So - are you keeping track?

So far I have:

  • 4 page proposal; June 28
  • 800 word case study; July 15
  • 20 page editing project; July 31
  • digitization project, stage 1; ASAP (today would be good)

That would probably be enough to keep me busy, but I also have a ~few~ other things on my list including:

I'm probably forgetting something.... but that will do for now!

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Sulking

>> Sunday, June 21, 2009

Ross was here for the weekend ....we spent Friday night at the house I'm staying at (single bed; not so comfortable when it's hot & muggy out but oh well) and then yesterday we went to visit a friend of his' cottage about an hour from here. It was very nice - even though we have our own waterfront, one tends to take that for granted ....I very much enjoyed just sitting out by the lake watching the chipmunks and loons and other assorted critters.

We came home today and after unloading my groceries and so on, went for a walk downtown - looking at student housing, mostly. Or at streets that would do if we could find a place on 'em. Me, I'd really rather buy - I hate to think of paying so much money to rent (for up to 4 years) and having to put up with other people's dumb rules. But Ross is leaning toward renting, at least so far.

Anyway .... we were going to sit outside on a restaurant patio and have something to eat, although neither of us was all that hungry, but shortly after we sat down the sky opened and that was the end of that plan. Decided to forego food and just head back. When we got here, Ross treated the house and tree for carpenter ants - they have a LOT of carpenter ants here - and then he left.

Which is, of course, why I'm sulking - I really hate that he left without me. I WANT TO GO HOME TOO!

Will still have tons of stuff to do once I get there ...but I will definitely be thrilled to get back to my own stuff. Only 5 more sleeps. *sigh*

And then I will get to stay home for 2 months and then I will have to come back to Peterborough.

And THAT, of course, is why I'm really sulking. As much as I want to do the phd thing...and as excited as I am about doing it here in Canadian Studies @ Trent - this whole moving/residency requirement thing is not working for me at all.

Maybe Ross was right and I should have applied further afield so that we would HAVE to just move - splitting our time between places just sucks - especially when one is home and one really isn't. And of course the WORST is when he doesn't come with me. I HATE it when we are apart. I like lots of time to myself - but not THIS much!

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HMPH!

>> Wednesday, June 17, 2009

I don't know how or why, but it seems like the wireless router here (house where I'm renting a room) has gone kaput - that does not make me very happy.

Fortunately, I have my Rogers stick - which uses the cell phone network to bring me Internet (it looks just like a flash drive and I pay about $40 a month for it) - but I don't like to use that TOO much as it has more limits to how much you can use in a month before you get hit for more money...but it's a far sight better than nothing.

What is aggravating is that I could more than likely fix the router - but since it's not my house...

Oh well...I'm using the stick for now.

And I'm supposed to be a friend's house in 20 minutes or so anyway - we are having a class BBQ. It looks & feels as though the skies are going to open any minute...but it has for several hours now, so hopefully it will continue to hold off. I'm taking my very pretty hummingbird umbrella (thanks mom) with me just in case though.

Oh, you should go see my mom's new blog! Lady Java did a makeover for her and it looks GREAT.... Stephanie is sure to love the colours, too, I think! Mom had to get a new blog because Today.com kicked her off for the crime of being related to me ... nice huh? Picking on lil' ol' ladies! Bullies! That is not the word I would actually use there, but since this is a family friendly site .... Anyway, Today.com bites - but mom's new blog looks great and you should go see.

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Not flitting....flying

>> Friday, June 5, 2009

So ...tomorrow will be my first flight in a very long time.... >10 years I think.

And during several of those years I have been teaching Aviation Management students - many of whom have ~underwhelmed~ me with their problem solving ability and ~committment~ to doing things RIGHT.

I SO hope that none of those students wound up at WestJet!

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Home Again ... for a bit

>> Saturday, May 30, 2009

Well, I'm home again ...actually ended up at home a day earlier than I expected - which, while a tad stressful at the time, was very nice.

Not that I got much WORK on my papers done in that extra day .... I didn't... but I got some work done on our new pest control business which presumably means that now I shall be better able to focus and get down to work on my stuff. At least that's the plan.

Tamara is here to help Ross with all things pest-related (how appropriate) and I'm going to spend today catching up on some blogs and getting Chapter One of my Major Research Paper written. And then tomorrow will be Chapter Two and the next day Chapter Three.... ha! Not likely to actually get all that done in only three days ...but I can try :)

I actually feel like I have pretty much everything I need. I've done my interviews, read scads and scads of resources, and written several essays related to my topic... it's all in there... it's now just a matter of spitting it out and making it sound academic enough ... to be a major research paper. Funny how once you DO all that research and spend a year talking and thinking about one topic, when you sit down to write it, it just doesn't SEEM new & interesting enough to bother.

But that's just me. The rest of the world, presumably, has not spent the entire last year focused on this one topic... so now is my opportunity to pull it all together and tell them all about it. Of course, on the other hand, I could decide that they haven't spent the last year focused on it because they didn't really shive a git...but that seems counter productive :)

Alrighty... time to quit thinking about writing it and actually get to work.

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Congress 2009 Day 1

>> Saturday, May 23, 2009

Well, not day 1 for Congress, actually ...they started without me...can you imagine the nerve?

Anyway...drive here wasn't too bad except that for about 2 hours, through a whole lotta rock up in the Muskokas and so on, I was entirely without cell phone service - and no cell phone also equals no Roger's Internet, also. No big deal though.

We stopped at a place called Moose Inn outside Bancroft for lunch; it was good enough... nothing fancy - not in the decor or the menu ...but the food was good and reasonably priced. Some things were actually way cheap compared to most places.... adding extra bacon or an egg to a breakfast would only cost an extra .50 for example... wouldn't find that anywhere in Barrie or Midland.

We got to Ottawa at about 4 p.m....stopped at a Home Depot that we happened to see on the way in. We had actually spent altogether WAY too much time in the Midland store last night and walked out empty handed after we couldn't find anything we needed - or anyone with a clue who might have been able to help us sort through the millions of possible pipe fittings to get the right ones for what R. wanted to do.

The Ottawa store is bigger - AND they have staff that actually have a clue! We got all the WMD R. needs for his new business... at least all the stuff he's going to start with. He'd got a really good deal on a sprayer elsewhere, but the hose that came with it was way too short... now he's got 100ft to play with. And his own extension pole and so on. He headed home after I was all registered and checked in so that he'll have tomorrow to ~play~ with his new stuff.

Me, I'm looking forward to attending several sessions tomorrow ...some of them are going to be pretty tight...they are in separate buildings and one ends at the time the next one starts, but still... hope to be able to duck out just a few minutes early and get to the next one on time. Usually there is time for questions at the end .... and those, I often dont mind missing. In my experience, those questions often turn out to be more than a little self-serving... people ask questions not because they want to know something but because they want to show off what THEY know.... and if they can claim to know more than the presenter in some way, they are often all over that.

I have little patience for those sorts of games anyway ... so ducking out and heading off to the next session might work.

Sure wish whoever is in the shower would hurry the hell up. I want to go to bed...but now with all that running water.... someone was in the second washroom too when I checked.

Residence living is SUCH fun. Not.

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food flitting

>> Tuesday, April 28, 2009


Three weeks into my diet, I'm 23lbs lighter and still doing very well with it. I thought it would be a lot harder than it has been, actually.

Even the things that I really missed at first - like bread! and pasta! aren't calling to me all the time any more. I gave up coffee without a whimper - not allowed the caffeine and just doesn't seem to be much point to decaf to me. I would probably still be missing chocolate, but I found a low-fat, no-sugar brand of chocolate ice cream that I can have. I'm sure technically it's not on the diet, but since it has less calories than the same amount of cottage cheese, I have decided it is an allowable option for my 1 cup of milk a day.

I am eating a lot of baked zucchini these days... and have a container of baby carrots, celery and radishes on the counter, and cut & ready to eat melon in the fridge, that I snack from whenever I want something.

my-calorie-counter.com is probably the biggest key to my success - I use their online food diary to keep track of everything I eat and find it really useful. Not only does it keep track of calories, it also shows fat, protein, sodium, cholesterol and so on ... the default daily allowances are for 2000 calories a day, but I'm only on a 1000 calorie a day diet so I just cut them all in half.

When I first started using it, I was putting things in after I ate them - now I put them in before... that way I can see what the food is going to do in each of those areas, and if it throws any of them over, I just don't eat that. It has been particularly helpful when it comes to my salt intake. Who knew there was SO much salt in SO many things?!

Since I have cut my sodium intake down drastically, I am noticing that some foods that I used to enjoy - like processed cheese for example - are just loaded with it. My cheese slices don't even taste like cheese any more - I had one yesterday and it was disgustingly salty! Even the low-sodium tomato juice that I thought was bland when I first started this whole diet thing tastes salty to me now.

One major plus to this whole diet thing is that it gives me an excuse to buy veggies that I like but hubby doesn't... he likes his corn ... but my diet sheet clearly says NO corn. So I make corn or whatever other boring veggies he wants for him, but I have asparagus or brussel sprouts or broccoli or spinach or zucchini or... well, you get the idea.

Eating out is still a pain - but even at restaurants I have been able to keep my calorie intake below my daily allowance. So far, anyway. This weekend we're going to a reception on Saturday and dinner at hubby's daughter's on Sunday ... so we'll see.

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Time Off

>> Monday, April 27, 2009

Okay... so I have a week or so off before I need to get going on my Major Research Project... papers are done, marks are submitted, ~stuff~ is done.

I SO do not do this off thing well.... I find it more exhausting than being constantly busy, I think.

Think I'm going to haul out my YA novel and try to get back to work on that tomorrow... and will keep working on trying to organize my mess of books.

Or maybe I'll start in on the MRP after all. But then if I get THAT all done, what AM I going to do with the rest of my summer?

Time to get writing I think!

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A long day ....

>> Friday, April 24, 2009

bat hanging on curtain
And it is far from over... didn't do so well at working en route today - I have a lovely little Aspire netbook and I did get SOME work done while hubby drove me to Peterborough and back ... but not really work on the essay I need to write (by tomorrow) itself - mostly I just futzed around copying & pasting bits from various resources that I expect I will use in one way or another.

Picked up my students' exams and marked some of them while we drove to visit friends of hubby's who live up that-a-way ... really hadn't thought about going there seeing as how I have this essay to get done - but the last time he wanted to go I also had an essay due and we ended up not going because of it.... so this time I said it was fine, let's go - even though it really wasn't fine and I have no idea how I'm going to manage to get it all done now *sigh*

It was a very nice visit - just really aware the entire time that I had SO much work yet to do. Left there shortly after 5 pm, got home just after 8.

Anyway, I'm home now, and the bat visitor we found in the house when we got home has been ejected, so it's time I was knuckling down to get some work done!

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yay for me

>> Monday, April 20, 2009

I think I can train
Another essay done and handed in - not until about 6:30 this morning, but it is done. It SUCKS...but it's done.

Now onward - first finishing up my proposal re: my Major Research Paper so that I can get that sent off to my advisor and then there will be just one more to do (and about 20 essays to mark) before Thursday.

Still bunches - but I'm into the home stretch.

I think I can I think I can I think I can....

Well no, I always think that I can't possibly ... but I do it anyway.

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This post is a figment of your imagination

>> Sunday, April 19, 2009

I could not possibly be here, seeing as how I am only on page 10 of a 20 page essay that needs to be done before I go to bed tonight...

I would NEVER be so irresponsible as to write a blog when I have such a nasty deadline approaching; I am, of course, far too responsible for that.

So anyway, while I am not here, can I just tell you how very FRUSTRATED I am with my database students right now?

WHO gets all the way to the end of a 14 week course and then just decides not to hand in their final assignment or show up for the last test? How ******* stOOpid do you have to be?

And worse yet, WHO sends in a database without making sure that the forms and stuff work? Or, if a week after the deadline sees that they STILL don't have a mark and that there is a big ol' announcement posted there saying that if you don't have a mark there is a problem; email me! - doesn't bother to follow that up?

I have a 9 students that fit into either of these 2 categories!!! I have sent out emails, posted announcements, etc... and apparently none of them can be bothered to check their email or respond and I am, I may have mentioned, FRUSTRATED AS HELL with all of them!

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My Blogs

>> Saturday, March 7, 2009

I already have a number of them... and didn't really want another...but in order to use the gmail address I use in Firefox (which I don't want to change because it is connected to my Adsense and other various tools) to comment on other people's blogs without having to sign in all the time....

So .... if you've landed here through a comment I happened to make on your blog, welcome... but I'm not really here :)

I am over here, or here, or here ....

My most popular blog is Back to School for Grownups. It is intended for non-traditional or mature students, and includes support, resources, and me babbling on about my own experiences as a non-traditional student. I've got 2 college diplomas and a university degree, am working on my Masters in English (Public Texts) ...and in the fall will be continuing on to do a doctorate in Canadian Studies at Trent University, which I am very excited about.


My research interests centre around the function of fiction, especially for adolescents and emerging adults, and that is the focus of my second blog, flitting on fiction. It includes ~stuff~ about my own research, as well as book reviews and chat about specific topics I'm studying...right now, that means Canadian Literature, publics, and issues of viral contagion.


Both of those are today.com blogs - which means that I am paid for my blogging. You can be too. The deal right now is that new bloggers start out being paid $2 for every 1000 unique visitors to your blog... but there are bonuses to earn, affiliate products to sell (for which you receive payment), and regular reviews which can result in bloggers being promoted to the pay per post plan, which pays $1 (or more) for the first 100+ word post you submit each day. I don't earn enough to live on through Today.com ...but I make a heck of a lot more there than I do with adsense on my own blog.

And last - well okay ... not really last - but last among my active blogs - is flitting.org, which is where I blog about whatever happens to be on my mind after I finish posting on my more theme oriented blogs. Most recently, that seems to include a lot of ranting about the incredibly poor interactions I've had with the thieves at Nor-Don Collections and the incompetent people at TD CanadaTrust.



Or you might find me on Twitter, or Technorati, Orkut, Facebook, or StumbleUpon.

Or, if you happen to be on Gather, here.

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