Month: April 2011

Do You Still Buy and Send Travel Postcards?

Posted on by Marcia Mayne
Some of my postcards

My blogging buddy, Ozias Sanchez who blogs as First Year of Freedom has me thinking about travel postcards. Ozias, or Mozes as he’s also known, collects them – new.

I’m old enough to remember a time before digital cameras and Facebook, when travel postcards were the primary way people who went on vacation shared their memories of what they saw with their family and friends (though the vacationer typically returned home before the postcards were received!).

I’ve kept most of the postcards I’ve received over the years – from Jamaica, the Ivory Coast, the UK, France, Spain, Gabon and several other countries – in a special album that allows me to see the message on the reverse. Each describes a particular moment in time. Sometimes the sender was pensive, boastful or curt (she was on vacation after all!). But more than anything else, when I look at them now, I remember the exact moment that I received each one and what was happening in my life.

It’s been quite sometime since I received or sent a postcard but whenever I go on vacation, I still buy a few. I tell myself I’m going to send them but I never do. I’m so busy squeezing every minute out of my vacation, I never allow myself time to write or find the post office to send them.

A few days ago, I asked my sister whether she still buys postcards. I was surprised to hear her say she did – but not for the reason I anticipated. She buys postcards that capture a particular scene she wasn’t able to do justice to with her photography skills.

My guess is that most people do.

Based on the number and variety of postcards on sale at souvenir shops, it’s difficult to estimate what effect technology (in particular, digital cameras and email) has had on postcard sales.

Why do you still buy or send travel postcards?

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What do you want to accomplish with your blog?

Posted on by Marcia Mayne
Treasure Beach boats

What do I want to accomplish with my blog?

This is a pretty simple and straightforward question but one to which I’m finding the answer to be a bit more difficult to pin down than I thought.

When I first started, the idea was to write about Jamaica, the place where I was born, the place I’m discovering with adult eyes and after several years of not living there.

I wanted to share the Jamaica I yearn for when I’m homesick, the Jamaica beyond the well-known stereotypes – reggae, jerk, ganja (marijuana). I wanted to show readers who have never been (and even some who have) that Jamaica, the one that’s rarely seen by those who don’t venture beyond the carefully circumscribed environment of the all-inclusive resorts.

While that is the main purpose of this blog, my travel interests are much broader. And I realized quickly that I couldn’t write about Jamaica and not include all the other fabulous places I visit.

But the thrust is the same: to go beyond the usual tourist traps and get an appreciation for what a country is about.

If I’m able to do that, then I’ll consider that a major accomplishment of this blog.

Let me know what you think.

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Soulful Sundays: Sade

Posted on by Marcia Mayne
Sade - Hang On To Your Love US
Image via Wikipedia

I’ve never seen Sade in concert but a good friend of mine has. From what I hear, she never disappoints.

More than her music, I like Sade as a woman and as a performer. Her smoky voice oozes romance. If you’re in love, you want to be more in love and if you’re not, you sure want to be.

She’s on tour this year. Hopefully, I’ll be able to catch her in concert in the New York area.

Sade has so many songs I like, it was difficult to pick one.

Take a listen to The Sweetest Taboo.

 

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Enjoy!

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Four Days Without a Phone

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

For the last four days, I’ve been without my cell phone.

Phone

I had envisioned a different week. One where I’d be able to contact friends, remain in touch with family and friends at home and check my email on the fly. I haven’t been able to do any of it.

The first day, Tuesday, was the most challenging. I’ve been so ‘connected’ and always ‘on’ that being without my phone felt like I had lost a vital body part.

At first, I did everything in my power to get re-connected. But nothing I tried worked. Plus, I couldn’t focus on fixing my phone when I had other more important matters to deal with.

So I realized that I had to chill. Being stressed about something I couldn’t change wasn’t doing me much good so I shifted my focus to what I could control.

Once I did that, I began to relax and remember now what life was like way back when I didn’t have a cell phone or a laptop. I survived then and I will now. Besides, it’s only temporary.

I hope to get my phone sorted out tomorrow but if I don’t, I know I will be fine.

Travel’s Downside, II

Posted on by Marcia Mayne
A drawing of a suitcase with the word "TR...
Image via Wikipedia

I’ve been thinking almost all day of travel’s downsides and I think I’ve hit on a solution.

(Things like missing my own bed or dealing with unfamiliar surroundings I really can’t do much about, I’ll just have to live with them.)

My solution is to create a ‘travel bag’ so I can use on my next trip. It’ll be the bag that will contain the essentials: moisturizer, lotion, deodorant, etc., phone and laptop chargers, adapters, batteries, memory card for my camera, cable and whatever else I tend to need when I travel. So next time, all I’ll have to do is pick up my travel bag and put it in my suitcase. Kind of like those little portable inner bags they’ve been promoting to women who change their bags, so they don’t forget anything.

What do you think?

Besides forgetting your essentials, what are some of your travel downsides?

I’m curious to know.

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Tasty Thursdays: Fish and Chips

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

I love fish and every now and then, I’ll make fish and chips. But on my third trip to London, I realized I’d never had fish and chips there. I decided to remedy that.

After browsing books and talking with authors and sellers at the London Book Fair at Earls Court, I decided to head upstairs for lunch. I was pleased to see fish and chips on the menu and placed my order.

Fish and Chips for lunch in London
Fish and chips

How to Make Fish and Chips

Here’s what you’ll need:

2 Cod fillets

1 3/4 cup All-Purpose flour

1 cup Guinness

1 egg, beaten

1/3 tbsp. salt

2 tbsp. milk

1 large russet potato

Vinegar or Tartar sauce

6 cups vegetable oil

The Chips

Rinse and peel potato. Cut up thickly, like steak fries.

Heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat in large skillet or a deep fryer.

Season potato with salt and pepper to your liking.

Cook potatoes in skillet 4-5 minutes or until crispy and golden brown, turning over to ensure that they cook evenly.

Remove potatoes from oil and allow them to drain on a paper towel to remove excess oil. Place potatoes in baking dish and keep warm in the oven.

The Fish

Combine 1 cup of flour, egg, milk, seasoning, baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and Guiness in a large mixing bowl.

Whisk ingredients together until the mixture is creamy and without lumps.  You can add more Guinness to thin out the batter, if necessary.

Place remaining flour and salt in a shallow.

Season cod fillets with salt and pepper.

Dip cod into shallow flour dish, making sure to fully coat each fillet.

Dredge cod through batter mixture and back through shallow flour dish.

Fry fish in the same oil you used for the chips for 4-5 minutes or until crispy and brown.

Remove fish from oil and drain on paper towels.

Serve immediately with chips and tartar sauce or vinegar.

Enjoy!

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Travel’s Downside

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

Sometimes, one of travel’s biggest downsides for me is having to be someplace else besides my own surroundings. It makes me feel quite discombobulated.

Whether it’s a trip I’m looking forward to or one of necessity, when I get to my destination, initially, I long for things I left at home.

Home is where I can walk around (almost) blindfolded because I know where everything is.

It’s where I don’t have to unpack.

It’s where I know how everything works and if I can’t find what I need, like the tea or a towel, it’s because I’ve put it someplace else (or I need to do the laundry!).

Home is also where I know how to get around, almost without thinking about it.

No matter how well I plan, how many lists I make, there’s alway something I forget – and it’s usually something I really need. Like the time I forgot my toothbrush. Now, that might not sound like much, but it really caused me stress until I could locate a drug store and buy one.

What did I forget this time? My moisturizer. And I know exactly where I left it too! So I’ll be in the drug store first thing in the morning trying to find one, preferably one small enough to fit TSA guidelines.

Please don’t read this and think I hate to travel or I’m letting little things spoil my trip. I don’t and I won’t. I love it! Each trip, no matter how short – whether in distance or time – teaches me something about myself, the world and people, relaxes and re-energizes me. It’s just the first few hours of adjustment to a new place when I don’t have the trappings of my life to support me.

As long as there’s a store, I’ll find what I need.

Sometimes though, it’s not as simple. Like tonight when I tried to log in, the wifi connection wouldn’t work. Thankfully, I was able to get hooked up with a dial-up modem or I would have had to miss my post for Wednesday.

So what downsides do you face when you travel and how do you handle them?

Let me know.

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Interview with Blogger, Ozias Sanchez, First Year of Freedom – Part 2

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

Interview with Ozias Sanchez, who’s also called “Mozes,” First Year of Freedom, Part 2

Tell me about some of the people you’ve met while working on your blog?

Well, I don’t spend too much time going around from blog to blog, so the only blog I look at regularly is Marcia’s blog: Inside Journeys. And I have to say, although I really don’t have a particular interest in traveling, her blog is a lot of fun to read.

Name some of the bloggers whom you look up to and why?

Well, like I said, I don’t actually read other people’s blogs, so I don’t know anybody in specific I look up to, but I’d have to say anybody who gets more than 1000 views a day.

Do you think Pagerank plays a vital role in a blog’s life?

Any blog that wants a steady access of new viewers, yes.

What would you prioritize? Content? SEO? Traffic? Readers?

In all honesty, content. I don’t really care if tons of people read my blog or not. I mean, yes, it’s nice to have people stop by every once and a while and leave a comment, but I’m more concerned with practicing my writing than actually getting people to come see it.

What’s the best thing a blogger can give to his/her readers?

Something that they can read to get away from the world, or relate to. Nothing beats the feeling like somebody who feels the same way you do.

A lot of people are interested in blogging for the money earning potential. What are some tips for people interested in making money from blogging? What are some realistic expectations in regards to what can be made?

Money from blogging? If this is your goal, don’t get your hopes up, this is definitely a hard goal to reach. All I have to say is, if you want to make money from blogging, you better have an interesting opinion on controversial subjects, or be an expert at something used every day. Unless you’re somewhere along those lines, don’t expect much.

What was the most challenging moment in your blog content development process and why?

Probably the theme of the blog, because it’s the biggest part about your blog that you have to keep consistent, so I was having trouble deciding something like that.

Everyone has a favorite/least favorite post. Name yours and why?

My favorite post is my Lady Gaga one, because it got tons of views, and I’m really proud of it, and my least favorite one is probably the one about the aliens. I had nothing to write about, so I had to pull something straight out of my… well, never mind. I mean, the post is still truthful.

What’s your take on sponsored reviews?

Don’t pay to do something that can be easily done on your own for free.

If someone was interested in blogging, what would be a few things you would suggest?

Don’t blog about what you had for lunch, unless it was still alive.

Any final thoughts?

Nope, just thanks to Marcia for the interview!

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Interview with Ozias Sanchez, First Year of Freedom – Part 1

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

Ozias Sanchez aka “Mozes,” who blogs as First Year of Freedom is one of my blog buddies. Mozes and my other buddies have been very supportive in helping me stay on track on this Postaday2011 blogging challenge.

A few weeks ago, I did an interview with Mozes. Here’s what he had to say about blogging, writing and Lady Gaga. Since the interview is a little long, I’ll post it in two parts.

Here’s the first part of the interview:

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I was born in Kansas City, MO, but I’ve been living in Colorado since I was 8. While I don’t meet the technical definition, I like to consider myself a Colorado native. I’m also very mature and pretty soft spoken.

Are you a full time blogger?

Well, I’m part of post a day, but I do what I can. While I see blogging as a chore, it’s also fun at the same time. Just one of those things, I guess.

What do you do when you aren’t working on your blog?

Actually, a really big hobby of mine is collecting postcards. But since the post office has very inconvenient hours, and I don’t own a car, I’ve not been able to trade as many as I’d like. So, I just play Xbox or something.

How did you first get involved in blogging?

If I remember correctly, the real reason I got involved into blogging was through myspace. Myspace lets you have a blog as well as a profile. I always looked at it, but I never knew what a blog was. One day, I finally looked it up and got really interested in the idea of keeping an online journal.

How do you keep coming up with material/content for your blog?

Oh, let me tell ya, it isn’t easy. Actually I’m constantly paranoid about running out of ideas for my blog. But to keep on track, I’m always writing questions and interesting things that pop in my head throughout the day; one idea could be extremely different from the next, but both are interesting.

What do you find most challenging about blogging about your topic?

Well, until my “official” topic of blogging about college actually comes around in August, I think the hardest part is actually sticking to one topic. I’m the kind of person that finds something interesting in everything, and I don’t know if I could not write about something for the sake of sticking to a specific topic. Well, as long as I don’t have to write every day that is. As for college, I think the hardest thing will be finding the time to blog, and having something interesting about college everyday that’s more than just college drama.

How do you describe your blogging style?

I write exactly how I talk, so I’d consider my blogging style (just like my topics) very relatable.

Do you find it more difficult (or easy) to write about personal topics as opposed to what’s in the news?

That’s a good question. I’ll have to go with personal topics, because though the news can have a lot of interesting things to write about, I commonly find some topics, like a state election, or the revolution in Egypt, boring (but still important).

What’s your strategy with your blog in general?

Would I find my own entry interesting if I came across it? And I usually try to make it more than 400 words.

What has been your strategy for creating visibility to yourself and your blog?

Commenting random people’s blogs can get me quite a bit of views, but I usually just advertise of Facebook.

Read Part 2 of the interview with Ozias Sanchez here.

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