Desaputra’s Neighborhood

Making a list, checking it twice... How's your holiday shopping going? Who's left on your list?

I've had all of my christmas shopping done for the last couple of weeks. I'm still waiting for one present in the post but that's it. I'm quite pleased with the presents I've bought this year too because they are all things that can be kept and the people they are for will enjoy. I can't wait to see their reactions! I posted out my christmas cards today too so I'm all on track now and don't have anything else to worry about apart from getting the rest of the presents to people. Oooooh, I'm excited! Merry christmas to all!

Five days until Christmas and here I am posting some updates since my last post. I've missed blogging and I really should take time out to do it more often, but I just haven't had the enthusiasm to blog lately at all. Hopefully that will change in the new year. I'm not making it a resolution or anything, but I will try harder to keep on top of things more often.

I've been quite organised this year for once and had all my Christmas shopping finished a couple of weeks ago. I'm impressed because I've got everyone presents that I think they will actually like and it's great because the weather is getting colder and snowier so it means I don't have to worry about trecking out like an eskimo worrying about last minute shopping. I'm surprised that I managed to find something that I want this year too. I'm getting a flat screen TV/DVD combi and have picked out a few DVDs and boxsets that I want, rather than just getting surprises. I'm rather looking forward to Christmas this year! The excitement is yet to kick in, but I'm more excited than I have been in previous years.

My laptop is out of use at the moment as my charger cable has snapped. Absolutely gutted because it means I have to use this piece of crap which is my mums computer. It will do for now. I was gutted when the capital funding bid I put in for Kaboom was rejected due to lack of funds because I was hoping to get a new laptop with that which I would be in charge of. I've managed to find another funding body to apply to so I'll have to get this in before the deadline and will keep my fingers crossed that it won't get rejected for a second time. If all goes to plan, we will have hoodies soon too!

I started working in the Unity Theatre in November, which I absolutely love. It's only a temporary contract until April, but hopefully when the new funding application is done they will write me into it for another year. Fingers crossed! I'm working with Lou, Helen's sister who I adore to pieces, as admin assistant. My role is basically acting as a mini Lou helping her to liaise with schools and practitioners, book workshops, organise events, etc. It's great! I really wish Helen was still here to see how well I'm doing but I know she will be looking down proudly. I'm hoping to get myself to Neston tomorrow to take some flowers for her birthday but it depends how the weather holds out. If not, I'll definitely take time out when it gets a little warmer.

Being single at Christmas is becoming quite a habit for me, but I'm actually looking forward to it this year. The last couple of years were frustrating having people 'not quite on the agenda' to put it simply. This year shouldn't be so hard because I'm not really that interested in anybody anymore. I still have very strong feelings for one person, but I'm accepting the fact that things aren't going to advance any further for us. I'm ready to just relax and enjoy myself this year and see what the new year brings.

What else has happened in the Jozone that is interesting? Well I have developed a couple of new interests that I might write about soon. Scuba diving is probably the biggest of them. I was watching a program about manta rays a few weeks ago and since then have realised just how much I would love to explore the underwater world. It's always been a dream of mine to go scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef, but I also know that it is an achievable dream. I want to save up and take a course to get a PADI certificate, possibly even an advanced if I can afford it, and then save up to go to Oz to live my dream. Sure it might take a few years, but I'm willing to do what it takes.

My post cheered me up endlessly yesterday. I got the first part of the 'What's On' brochure for the Everyman & Playhouse in Liverpool and noticed that The Woman In Black is coming to Liverpool in June! It's my favourite theatre piece ever and I'm hoping to see it as many times as possible in the week that it is on. I told Leanne about it too so hopefully we will get to go with Kaboom again! Six months seems like such a long way away, but I'm already really excited!

I've finally decided that I would like a beagle to be our next dog. They are so cute! My mum is happy to get another dog but my dad isn't convinced that it would be looked after properly. I was only about 6 when we got Ben and didn't really look after him as much as I could because I was too young to take him for walks or train him and as I got older I didn't change that. Now that I'm 22 I realise how much hard work a dog is and I know that if we did get another dog I would get a puppy, look after it properly, take it out, train it and be its mother if you will. A beagle is definitely on the agenda and so is another job so I have money to help pay for it. Until that time comes, a lot of work will be put in to twisting my dads arm.

I don't think there's anything else worth mentioning for now so I'd like to wish everyone a very merry, safe and enjoyable Christmas and all the best for the new year!

First, we're happy to announce that the team has identified and fixed the issue with the YouTube conduit; you can now find and add videos from YouTube to your library and posts. As always, thanks for your patience!

The other news we have today is about a new addition to the Six Apart family: TypePad Micro, a new free level of TypePad that is streamlined for microblogging. We see a new form of blogging emerging that lives between the quick status updates of Twitter and Facebook and the long-form posts of "classic" blogging; TypePad Micro is designed to meet that need. You can read more about TypePad Micro in Chris Alden's post on the Everything TypePad blog.

TypePad Micro

8 comments

A lot of the new capabilities we've added to TypePad this year were actually inspired by some of the best things about Vox: favoriting, member profiles, a dashboard to follow other bloggers, and easy ways to post content from other social media sites. But the things that make Vox different from TypePad are still there: Vox has always been -- and still is -- the best place for "friends and family" blogging, where you're in control over who sees what. TypePad, on the other hand, is built for the blogger who wants, no, craves, attention.

Do you have a passion or interest you want to share with people beyond your Vox neighborhood? If so, we'd love it if you tried out TypePad Micro. Maybe you've always wanted to start that obsessive blog that's just about waffle restaurants. Or want a place to share videos of your favorite band (Jonas Brothers, anyone? Anyone? ...). TypePad Micro's great for those topic-specific blogs. Take it for a spin and let us know what you think.

On the Vox front, our designers are working on some cool new themes (coming soon!). We'd also love to hear your thoughts about where we should take Vox in the coming year. What are the key things you'd like to see for Vox? If you've had a chance to use TypePad this year, what are the features there that we should bring over to Vox? And, if you're thinking big thoughts, how could we connect the Vox and TypePad communities in order to bring together bloggers and their shared passions? Your feedback is really important to us, so please leave a comment here, or shoot me a message.

And again, thanks for your patience as we found and fixed the YouTube bug!

~ daisy

As many of you have noticed, the YouTube Conduit is not working. I am so sorry about this; I know how frustrating it is.

The team is looking into how to get this fixed and I will update you as soon as I hear something. In the meantime, not all is lost... There is a work-around for posting videos.

When you're in the Compose Screen, just click on "embed." Ignore the fact that it says "Widget" before everything because you can definitely use this to embed videos as well. You'll just need to input the embed code from the video, enter a title (if you want) and hit OK.

It might not show up perfectly in your compose screen, but when you hit "Save," your video should appear just the way you wanted it to.

Hopefully this will allow you to keep posting videos while we figure out what's happening on our end.

As always, thanks for your patience.

~daisy

Go forth and fill your libraries with media.

Seriously, thanks to everyone for being so amazing and patient. You are the reason I love Vox.

~daisy

I was just told that the Amazon Conduit will be fixed by tomorrow. I will post here as soon as I get word that it's back up and running.

I know this has been frustrating and I am sorry there wasn't more I could do to make it less so. I really appreciate your patience though.

Cheers,

daisy

Bad news. As many of you have probably noticed, the Amazon Conduit was not fixed in the last week's release. Unfortunately, there was an undetected bug that is preventing the conduit from working.

We are working on this bug fix and hope to have the Conduit back up and running this week.

I will keep you posted.

Thank you for being so patient.

~daisy

Blog Action Day

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Blog Action Day is every October 15th, when blogger are asked to post something about a single issue to show our strength and conviction as an online community. It's a great way to feel connected to the greater good, and the participation of so many bloggers to support the world's leading non-profit organizations is something you can do to help, right now. By blogging today, you're supporting some of the world's leading non-profits and sharing your voice for change.

This year's topic is climate change, and we'd love to read your thoughts on the topic. If you participate, leave us a link to your post in the comments, so we know to check out your post!

Go to www.blogactionday.org to learn more, get a badge for your blog showing your participation, and see some ideas for your post on climate change.

Can't wait to read your posts!

~ daisy

I was very proud of myself on Monday. Jon came to Prescot Museum with me to print off my CV, of which I made 40 copies, and we went around Prescot and Huyton handing them out. I must have given about 15 out that day and then when I got home I emailed my CV and cover letter to over 25 theatres and ars centres in the North West. I also went to Connexions with Jon and had a word with the lady on the desk. She was really helpful and I found 3 jobs in a folder she let me look through. I'm really hoping that I hear back from one of them which I applied for. It was a business adminsupport role based in Manchester, 18 month contract @ £16,000pa. It looked fantastic, working in an office helping to organise events and general admin duties which I pretty much did when I was working for the Arts & Events Service. Fingers crossed with that one.

I had a call yesterday from a guy from GameStation in Huyton asking if I am available for an interview on Friday (tomorrow) or whether it was too short notice, and what hours I am available for work. I told him Friday would be great and that I can work any time except for Thursday nights. My interview is tomorrow at 9.30am and I'm hoping that it goes well and I'll get some full time work from it, or at least 20+ hours. I also had an email back from JMS Marketing Ltd who provide coaching in sales/marketing, customer service and promotions. I don't know if that's what I want to do so I'm not sure about ringing them back to arrange an interview. I'll have a think about it today and see what I feel.

As well as looking for a job, I've also been contemplating whether I should go back to university next year. I've been looking at courses at Liverpool Hope and have found a few that look interestng: Philosophy & Ethics, Media and Tourism. I don't know how beneficial they would be for me if I had a degree in them, because I still haven't got a clue what I want to do in future. Philosophy & Ethics would allow me to express a lot of my thoughts and opinions on the world and gain further insight into life. Media would cover a lot of my extra-curricular hobbies such as writing, photography and possibly theatre to some extent. Tourism would benefit my management skills by looking at arts/heritage management and how tourism can benefit local and international communities. The open day for Hope is this Saturday 7th, which I'm hoping to attend. I've got nothing to lose and I don't want to wait until June for the next one as it will be too late by then.

I could possibly look at studying in London if there are any better courses down there, but I would have to think about living expenses down there as well. I'm not too rushed for time to decide what I want to do so I'll just play it by ear for now and see what comes up in the next couple of months. Watch this space.

I can't pretend anymore
that I am not affected, I'm not moved
I can't lie to myself
that I'm not always thinking of you
You made me strong
to show me I'm not weak to fall in love
well I thought I'd never need
now I can't get enough
I always made it on my own
I always thought that I would keep control
You changed everything I believe in
And now I just can't fight this feeling, baby

I raise my hands and I surrender
'Cause your love is too strong
and I can't go on
Without your tender arms around me
I raise my hands and I surrender
I don't wanna resist
'Cause your touch and your kiss
have shattered my defenses
I surrender

I have to admit that I
I never thought I'd need someone this way
'Cause you've opened my eyes so that I
I can see so much more
I always made it on my own
I always thought that I would keep control
You changed everything I believed in
And now I just can't fight this feeling, baby

I raise my hands and I surrender (Oh, I surrender baby)
'Cause your love is too strong
and I can't go on
Without your tender arms around me
I raise my hands and I surrender
I don't wanna resist
'Cause your touch and your kiss
have shattered my defenses
I surrender

I surrender to this feeling in my heart, uhuhu
I surrender to the safety of your arms
to the touch of your lips
to the taste of your kisses

I raise my hands and I surrender (oh, baby, baby)
'Cause your love is too strong and I can't go on
without your tender arms around me, hey
I raise my hands (oh baby) and I surrender (surrender)
'Cause your love is too strong and I can't go on (without you)
without your tender arms around me, hey

I raise my hands and I surrender
'Cause your love is too strong
and I can't go on
Without your tender arms around me
And I surrender

Surrender, surrender

I can't pretend anymore
I can't lie to myself
that I'm not always thinking of you