Undisclosed Location

This is Julie Signing Off...

Yep, I'm out! Izzy keeps asking gently if my new blog means that I will stop posting on Undisclosed Location. Don't worry, he's not kicking me out... of our apartment (or our marriage for that matter). But I do get the impression he wants his man cave, I mean his blog, back. 

I think to give him that sacred space to write about Mac vs. PC and Third Day Lyrics once every six months or so, I will indeed move my musings over to my new business blog. And if the musings don't quite work for the business audience, they'll pop up on my old wallowing blog Looking at the Stars.

So, if you miss me please come visit at the new blog or follow me on twitter.

Thanks for some great times! Farewell Undisclosed Location...

No Hablo

Working from home with my new business has created all sorts of wonderful new experiences for me. Working in pajamas can be great some days, and it's also been interesting to see what goes on around here when I'm usually away. For instance, I have no idea what that man across the street is creating, but he spends all day working on something noisily in his garage behind his beater car. Interesting.

Anyway, today, someone rang our doorbell. Last week, it was the UPS man, so I got up and threw on something more presentable than a night gown (not much) and answered the door. As soon as I saw these people, I knew that they were not the UPS man, but for a moment I still thought they might be someone else I wanted to talk to - until I heard "Buenos Dias Senora."

Buenos Dias? So I said "um, hello?" The woman was like, "oh you don't speak spanish! I'm sorry." I foolishly responded, "si, pues, no mucho." She said "Oh, well, we thought that there were multiple spanish speaking individuals living here." (as in illegal immigrants?) I said, "nope, just me and my husband." Then I made the mistake of saying, "well, my husband is hispanic." She brightened up and tried to hand me a Jehova's Witness packet in spanish. I smiled and explained that while he is hispanic, English is his first language. I also threw in that he was a local physician.

When who you are becomes who you were...

..and who you know becomes who you knew, you begin to realize what "living" really is - what it means to be a human, on the planet Earth. When you're young, you might have held the notion that you would always know the people you knew and always be who you thought you were. Then one day you lost someone, and then someone else. The relationships you considered to be the center of your existence become little more than memories. And you change, from the inside out - new people become part of your story. Then one day, you realize that life is all about ebb and flow. Everything is in flux.

You'll see the people you loved fall in love with others, get married, grow up and you never see them again. On the other hand, you'll meet the person you love and make a life with them. And one day, you'll wake up and marvel at where you are. Things could have turned out so differently, there could have been endless variations - but there aren't. They turned out just the way it was meant to. But don't get too comfortable because life is never done changing, twisting and turning.

Knowing the way life works changes a few things. It ruins the movies, keeps you desperate for happy endings and makes you just a little too cynical. It also makes you feel alive and helps you remember to savor the sweetness of each moment.

It also sets you up for a mouthful of bittersweet when thinking back, but that's another beautiful part of life - remembering who, what, where, when and why you were.

Where's Andrae?

So, lately I have come under fire for diluting the "Undisclosed Location" postings with my random musings. Izzy has pointed out that "since I joined the blog," subscriptions have dropped. In fact, about 20 of you have clicked delete in your feed readers. He attributes this to my occasional post about walking in the woods or about a friend's last day at work. "They look in their reader, see some random dude that they don't know from Adam, and click delete," he ranted earlier.

Well, I'm sorry. And I suppose I'm willing to accept that, instead of people leaving because Izzy's posts happen once every three months around here, they might be leaving because they just don't find my posts all that interesting. I, therefore, vow to be more interesting in my posts from now on. For those of you who haven't left, I'd like to reward you with a photo of Izzy brandishing a small, red, Red Lobster Pirate Knife (the little red drink garnish). For those of you who have moved on, but happen to be peeking in - come back - if for no other reason than the promise of the occasional "Where's Andrae?" Pirate Knife Photo.

Web 2.0: Terra Incognita - To Conquer We Must Proceed With Caution

There is a lot of discussion buzzing around the Public Relations profession about Web 2.0. In many ways, Web 2.0 seems like the holy grail of PR and Marketing. You have a captive, connected audience, capable of becoming part of a viral network instantly, all cataloged on websites that often give free access to profiles organized by demographic or keyword search terms. On facebook, you can look up entire groups that might be a natural fit for your product or service and become a part of their community. On myspace, you can view profiles of everyone from pre-teens to baby boomers and on twitter you can find an audience worldwide when you consistently write creative and clever posts. But Web 2.0 is a far cry from the traditional media outlets we are all used to using to deliver our messages, and not taking the time to learn this new world of communication can alienate that audience and cost you many opportunities.

The first thing about Web 2.0 that sets it apart from traditional media is that here, the audience is in control. Of course the audience for traditional media outlets can influence content decisions, but here, the audience is in complete control of the content. This is exciting because it creates an opportunity for Public Relations to initiate a two-way conversation about the clients they are promoting and gives end-users the opportunity to respond directly and pass along the information to their network of friends. This is great because Web 2.0 users become more loyal and involved with the brands they purchase when they feel involved in the brand. Inviting them to the discussion can be a great way to develop that brand loyalty. Even as the audience's control over the message can be an exciting and wonderful feature of this new media as far as we are concerned, our interaction with that audience can also backfire for marketing and public relations professionals who don't understand Web 2.0 - thus begins the cautionary part of my post.

Ah Spring

I'm out for a stroll, and after a vigorous walk yesterday (that may have caused a few blisters), I'm taking it easy. In the midst of my walk a stranger stopped me to tell me that there was a beautiful blue heron a few minutes walk down the path.

Up for an adventure, I strode down the path to see if she was still there. Along the way, I turned down my iPod in case there was any sound leaking from my headphones. To my surprise I heard a menagarie of birds including the distinctive pecking of a woodpecker. Near dusk, I also heard some frog songs.

I saw the heron moments later. It was a majestic bird, and at the sound of my creeping footsteps in the grass, it spread its graceful wings and flew downstream near another footbridge.

On my walk back to the main trail I saw a ruby red cardinal and his mousey brown mate sitting on a branch. I also began to notice rustlings that sounded, at first, like a snake or other scary critter moving through the brush. Then, I thought, could it be raindrops? The little rustles were so frequent. Finally I spied the culprits. A whole family of robins were hopping in the brush, looking for a snack.

I saw these little violets and snapped a shot in the dimming dusk light with my camera phone. They are yet another sign that the cold winter has passed. I am looking forward to more walks like this as the park fills with families and couples out for a walk on a lovely spring afternoon.

Izzy's Birthday Part I

Happy Birthday Chubkins! Here we are on our way to an evening of fun at Red Lobster and bowling.

Izzy is a ripe old 28 this wednesday. He's already got a head start on being a crotchety old man, but we love him - me especially! I'll try to post some photos of the party later tonight.

Waiting For My Voice Lesson

Here I am waiting for my voice lesson. It has definitely been "one of those days." They've all been days like that lately. When it rains it pours and all that.

Lucky for me, I have the respite of our tiny apartment and my new husband. I hear the music in the hallway here and it takes me back to another lifetime when my primary concerns dealt with style, note length, breath control and musicality - instead of my current preoccupation with bills, work and scheisty car dealerships. Oh for the simpler days when music was work and play and life, days nevermore to return.

In many ways I envy my younger self, and in just as many ways, I'm sure she envies me.

Well, no teacher yet. Hopefully she will arrive shortly. In the meantime - happy disillusionment and true love and life to all of you.

Chubkins Post

Photo of me taken on my new "treo." Sorry I am incapable of spelling technology.

Chub Post

Took a photo of chubkins with the new phone. Isn't he a cutey?