Tag Archives: blogging

Updating My Position

27 Apr

I love Malcolm Gladwell’s work. The first book I ever read by him was The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference which led me to read Outliers which led me to read David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants. He is a brilliant thinker and writer, and if you’re looking for something in the social psychology realm, you should definitely check him out.

I was listening to excerpts from an interview he gave, and one of the things he said really stood out to me:

“I feel I change my mind all the time. And I sort of feel that’s your responsibility as a person, as a human being — to constantly be updating your positions on as many things as possible. And if you don’t contradict yourself on a regular basis, then you’re not thinking.”

This is the story of my life. I’ve changed my political party. I’ve changed my views on marriage. I’ve changed my style. I’ve changed the state in which I lived. I even changed my stance on David Hasselhoff (he’s dead to me now). Continue reading →

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Crossing the Finish Line

30 Nov

Well, I did it. I survived NaBloPoMo 2013. I honestly can’t believe that this is the last post because it seems like yesterday I was only a week in, and telling my roommate that I couldn’t imagine lasting three more weeks.

This is how I feel on the inside right now:

winner, trophy

Winner winner chicken dinner

Would I do it again? To answer that I’ll need to do a recap.

Stats

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The Truth About Jen

21 Nov

Yesterday I played “5 Truths and a Lie” to test you, my readers, on your knowledge of the real Jen. As a recap, your options were:

  • I’m an emergency preparedness nut
  • I know a martial arts technique which focuses on pressure points
  • I placed in a state free throw competition
  • I worked at a collection agency
  • I was dropped on my head as a kid
  • I have ear problems that cause church bells to go off in them every once in awhile

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the majority of you guessed correctly. I am not, in fact, a martial arts badass who could take you out with the touch of a finger. A girl can dream.

I suppose the plethora of correct answers means that you are learning more about me from reading this blog. This shows how far I’ve come.

When I first began Sips of Jen and Tonic, I only wanted to post humor here. I like writers who have strong writing voices, and whose work is consistent. I recently told Le Clown that my goal has always been to write one way so well that you could identify my work even if my name wasn’t attached to it. Continue reading →

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My WordPress Family

17 Nov

Yesterday I wrote a post that seemed to touch a nerve with quite a few people. Exes always drudge up mixed feelings, and a lot of you showed genuine concern for me. I’m here to tell you that I have not lost my damn mind.

Let’s clear a few things up…

I’m not going to be rekindling a romance with my ex. I’m not going to develop a deep bond with my ex. I’m not going to go down an emotional rabbit hole with my ex.

There are approximately 3.5 billion men on Earth. I assure you that I’m focusing my energy on the 3,499,996 men I haven’t already dated. I don’t even watch movies twice.

dating an ex, breakup, relationships, willy wonka meme

The whole situation got me thinking about blogging, and what it means to share yourself with the world. You’ll have readers from different parts of the world with different backgrounds, and different experiences. Sometimes this means that people won’t always agree with you. Continue reading →

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Why You Should Attend Blogger Interactive 2014

29 Oct

BeccaLogoTX_largeThe very first installment of Blogger Interactive has come and gone. What started as a casual comment in a Facebook thread turned into something of which I am very proud. I’m glad I was a part of the planning process because if I hadn’t been, I wouldn’t have gone.

It isn’t that I don’t have the resources (vacation time, money, a child-free weekend) to do something like this. On the contrary, I live a very “no strings attached” lifestyle. The only thing that would have gotten in my way would have been myself.

I spent so much of my life invisible that being visible is a very hard thing for me to do. I don’t like meeting new people. I don’t like being in social situations without at least one friend there with me. I don’t like people knowing enough about me to have expectations because that could mean I disappoint them when we do meet.

Blogger Interactive forced me to go outside of my comfort zone, and I’m really glad it did. I learned that all of my fears were irrational, and would have caused me to miss out on a great time. If you could have gone, but didn’t, here’s why you should reconsider for next year. Continue reading →

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Event Itinerary Now Available

22 Jul

Okay Hooked On Tonics, the schedule of events for Blogger Interactive is now up on the BI website! We’ve also listed some tips to help the trip planning process under Event Details > Plan your trip. Don’t forget to RSVP! If you know anyone who would be interested in attending, please feel free to forward this info along to them. Hope to see all of you sexy beasts there!

Blogger Interactive

We’re amazed how far we’ve come in the few months we’ve been planning Blogger Interactive. What started out as a small group of people hanging out has since turned into an event that will be both fun and educational.

While we had many of the major details figured out early on, there were still a few lingering items we needed to check off our list. The question we’ve been asked most as of recently is, “We know it’s in Austin, but where?” We’re happy to announce that we finally have a schedule of events for you.

Drumroll please…

Meet and Greet

Location: 508 Tequila Bar

Address: 508 East 8th Street, Austin, TX 78701

Date: October 25th

Time: 8pm-10pm

Featured Guest Speaker Sessions

Meet the speakers

Location: Faulk Central Library

Address: 800 Guadalupe Street, Austin, TX 78701

Date: October 26th

Time: 11am-1pm

Send Off Party

Location: HANGAR Lounge

Address: 318…

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The Measure of Success

24 May

I’ve given a lot of thought to whether or not I’m running a successful blog, especially in the last few months. I kind of abandoned it, and felt guilty for letting my readers down. I wasn’t gaining any new followers, my page views were abysmal, and my social networks had become stagnant. Fail whale.

When I first started this, I was purely driven by fame and wealth. I wanted to earn Scrooge McDuck status, making so much money I could swim in it. Eminem would write derogatory things about me in his songs, and I’d become the target of a Republican Tea Party attack. My aptly titled “Tonic” perfume would sell in Sephora stores around the world.

scroogemcduck

Okay, so that’s a bit of a stretch. Well, except the perfume part because I really do think it’d be cool if people smelled like I do. That mix of desperation, underboob sweat, and awkward sexual tension took me years to perfect, and I just want to share it with the world. Continue reading →

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