8 years a-blogging

Eight years is a long time. A lot can happen in eight years. In cyberspace, it can be a lifetime or two. Eight years ago, I had no idea what would happen or where things would end up when I hesitantly started my blog. Two years ago, I evolved into Caffeinated Weka, a better fit for who I am and where I'm at these days.

The phrase "eight is enough" has been rolling around my head this weekend, but that's probably because the 1970s TV programme of the same name has a certain ring to it. Eight may be enough for a number of things - but not just yet for me and my little blog.

It's hard to tell who visits these days. My Clustr map has gone awol and often spits out completely random data. StatCounter has its ups and downs, although Blogger stats for individual posts are still strong. But do stats even matter? Perhaps. They hold a vanity value, acting like an extrinsic motivator at times when the words struggle to come.

The real value for me is in the online interactions, relationships and support networks that have formed as a result of starting this blog and online persona eight years ago. Most of this happens on Twitter now. I've learned to not get disheartened by dwindling numbers (practically non-existent) of blog comments and accept that resulting interaction can happen elsewhere - and I'm good with that. I can never predict which posts will become the most viewed when I write, no matter which hashtags I use or how I publicise them. In fact, this is sometimes the most random part of blogging: wondering if anyone is out there, and then bam! the hits start coming.

So join me today for a very quiet celebration of eight years in the blogosphere. It looks like eight isn't enough and that I'm here to stay for a while longer yet. Thank you for being part of my blogging journey. :-)

Now we are seven

Seven years ago today I began blogging about everything and nothing. Seven years after that slightly impulsive idea, I've amassed nearly 1000 posts about the things I like: food, recipes, music, books, events, places I've been, a few tales and some random thoughts.

It's a quiet blog birthday this year but a milestone none-the-less. At the start of this year, Café Chick transformed into a slightly more demure Caffeinated Weka. While my online persona has evolved a bit, I'm pretty much the same character underneath, albeit a little more sedate these days.

My job involves a lot of writing lately. A LOT. Although I have a reasonably good capacity to write, I've wondered aloud that I seem to have a word writing limit each week and sometimes I reach it by Thursday afternoon. Sometimes, even before then. That doesn't bode well for the 17 posts I have sitting in my draft folder. (It will be 16 once I eventually post this.) The reality is, though, that after a full day of words, there aren't as many left for blogging during evenings and weekends.

I have come to enjoy writing more and more over the years and have explored writing in various styles for different purposes. This blog is unashamedly self-indulgent but elements of how I write professionally have inevitably shaped my personal writing style. I realised I must be overdoing it at work when reading a classic novel this week and mentally trying to rewrite it in plain English!

So, back to the blogging birthday rituals. I always take a screen shot of my pretty red dotted Clustr map and this year is no exception. The dots represent nearly 160,000 visitors from 193 countries during the past seven years. That's a lot of coffee and cake! The map will be archived around 3 December and all the little red dots will disappear. I look forward to seeing them pop up again in the coming months.

I wonder whether there's as much place for blogs and blogging in the world of social media world as it stands today. I've asked myself this same question before, too. Where this blog used to be my shop window, Twitter has become my dashboard, my go-to for news and information. It's also where most of my online interaction takes place. My own blogroll, which used to be teeming with posts to read, only just ticks along these days. Views are down and comments on this platform are few. I guess it's a sign of the times, even if I'm not exactly sure what it is signalling.

Thank you to everyone who has stopped by and, even better, stuck around for another year on this blog. Let's see what the next year brings. Cheers!

6th birthday bash

You say it's your birthday

It's my birthday, too, yeah

They say it's your birthday

We're gonna have a good time

It's time for a virtual party because Café Chick is 6 years old today! It seems like a veeeerrryyy long time since this first hesitant post six years ago, but at the same time it almost feels like just the other day. How does time play tricks like that? Join me in a song.



Six years of blogging about everything and nothing has been tremendous fun. There have been busy times and quiet times, ups and downs, excitement and everyday goings on. Undoubtedly the biggest bonus for me has been what I've learned from the online community over the years: recipes to try, music to listen to, books to read, movies and tv programmes to watch, places and events to go to ... and a million and one practical tips about almost every topic imaginable, as well as those I would never have otherwise dreamed about. Gosh, what a ride!

Thinking about things, I wonder how old I can become and still credibly tote a name like Café Chick; she is definitely a lot younger and far more fun than I am in real life. I have been ruminating on a new name for a while now but am not sure about making the transition to a new persona, or whether it's even worth bothering. The spelling could be a little confusing. I'd need new themes and art work and it would take a while to update all my social media accounts, but a change of name may better see me through more years online - or not. Time will tell.

Of course, it wouldn't be a blog birthday without an obligatory screen shot of my pretty red Clustr map. This is two years worth of dots, as it didn't reset last year. The map represents more than 46,000 coffee breaks from all around the world - 192 countries, in fact. Wow! Blogging activity feels quieter during the last couple of years but I realise that my online community has merely shifted into other spaces and Twitter is where most of my interaction and relationship building takes place now. I'm fine with that. :-)

Thanks for dropping by!

So join me with coffee and a cheese scone (it is Cheese Scone Friday, after all) and help me celebrate six years in the blogosphere. Thank you to each and every one of you for visiting, commenting, posting links, chatting and coming along for the ride. Cin cin!

Happy 5th birthday to Café Chick

Happy birthday to me

Happy birthday to me

Happy birthday dear Café Chick

Happy birthday to me

Five years old today! On 29 November 2007, Café Chick joined cyberspace and hesitantly started blogging with a few self-indulgent posts. Things grew gradually and before I knew it, blogging regularly became something I really enjoyed, especially as I got to 'virtually' know others in the blogosphere. Twitter followed a year or so later and then things really took off ... and here we are, five years on. Woo hoo!

No birthday would be complete without birthday cake, and a chocolate cake makes it even better. As you will have worked out, I love baking and have really stepped up with my baking and decorating this year. I still love coffee, reading, music and taking time out to enjoy the little things in life. Sure, I had to apologise to my poor, neglected blog a while back and promise that all is not forgotten. To steal a thought from John Lennon, "Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans." I try to live by the philosophy that life is for living and life is good. Thank you to everyone who regularly reminds me of this when I get sidetracked, either virtually or in real life. :-)

My trusty Clustr map has once again let me know where people have been visiting from during the year - more than 33,000 from 188 countries! Numbers dropped off quite a bit after Blogger changed my domain to a .co.nz suffix, but that just means there is more coffee and cake to go around so everyone is welcome to have a second or third helping. I am still thrilled to see little red and yellow dots build up every day and absolutely looooooove it when people leave comments, either here or on Twitter.

So what's in store for the next year? Probably more of the same, or maybe something different ... that's what I love about blogging (and tweeting). I never know where it will take me but enjoy going along for the ride. Thank you all so much for joining me. Please help yourself to more cake.

Cafe Chick's 4th birthday

It seemed like a good idea at the time. Don't they all? Things started quietly on 29 November 2007, grew a bit, built up a lot ... and now it's Cafe Chick's 4th birthday! Along the way, I've joined Twitter, participated in the 101 in 1001 project, had a go at Project 365 and most recently launched Café Chick's Jukebox, sharing tiny snippets from the soundtrack of my life. Whew!

Enjoy a slice of Café Chick's 4th birthday cake

So, what's up with Café Chick four years on? Well, I still love Wellington. I still love cafés. I still love coffee. (It goes without saying that I will always love chocolate.) Sunshine makes me happy, as does my sweetie and the occasional good book. I bake every chance I get and still am thrilled with my little corner of the blogosphere. Tiny red dots and comments (or tweets) from blog visitors always make my day, even four years after this blog began. :-)

As with every blogging birthday, my Clustr map will archive in a few days and my world map will be devoid of pretty little red (and yellow) dots until my coffee buddies start visiting again. I somehow managed to avoid my map being archived last year, so it is looking beautifully red today. 81,000+ visits during the past two years - gosh, that's a lot of coffee and cake!

I've been a bit quiet lately but am still here and plan to celebrate at least another birthday or two. Thank you to each and every one of you who has dropped by for a cup of coffee, a recipe or a song. It really has been a blast!

Stylish blogger award

The awesome Sandra at Kiwi Cakes has nominated me for the Stylish blogger award. Aw, shucks!

Naturally, the glory of being a nominated stylish blogger comes with a set of responsibilities. I started writing this post a couple of days ago and have finally managed to finish the 'tasks' involved - well, there are still a few bloggers to notify. Here's what I had to do:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers.
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award.

Thank you

Thank you Sandra from Kiwi Cakes - I really appreciate the award. Here's a link to the Kiwi Cakes blog. :-D

Seven things about me

These are scattered all around my blog (I did something similar a couple of years ago, so I'll see if I can think of some different things).

1. Baking is my preferred mode of procrastination. If I have a deadline looming, you can guarantee there will be yummy things in the house. I also love having baking binges, where I will attempt to bake several new recipes within an unrealistic time frame and get frustrated when they don't all magically work out perfectly.
2. Last year, I indulged my addiction of all things ukulele. It continues in 2011.
3. I have an ever-growing TBR list of books I want to read. For every title I finish, I have no doubt added another three to the list. I find it hard to walk into libraries and not leave with an unrealistic stash of books under my arm. Thankfully, I'm not a 'book buyer' so I'm safe to let loose in bookshops.
4. My ongoing affair with cupcakes continues. I have baked lemon cupcakes to decorate for my nephew's birthday party tomorrow night. I love planning what to bake next and how to decorate my creations.
5. I am not a cat person but our little fur baby is adorable beyond belief! In less than three short weeks she has got her human mummy and daddy firmly wrapped around her elegant white-gloved paws.
6. I love winning stuff - I am a true competition junkie. I'll enter anything (with free entry) and am pretty good at picking up prizes. In the last few weeks, I have won a book, kahlua-filled chocolates, movie tickets and a night at the zoo.
7. I hate shopping, especially for clothes, shoes and stuff I really need. I have a mortal fear of gift vouchers. However, I'm surprisingly good at buying baking supplies. A couple of weeks ago, I went out to get shoes and came home with a cupcake stand and a fruit bowl. Go figure.

Awarding 15 recently discovered bloggers

I have gone through my RSS feeds and, although I've been following some of these blogs for a long time, I thought they each merited an award.

1. The Well Read Kitty. If you're a book fan, this blog is for you. I have furnished much of my TBR list with recommendations by Kelly.
2. Cupcakes Take The Cake. Endless ideas and inspiration for decorating cupcakes - an opportunity to dream (and drool) several times a day.
3. The Culinary Explorations of Mrs Cake. Don't read this blog on an empty stomach - you'll be hungry before you finish the first post. Mrs Cake shares recipes, restaurant reviews, cooking tips and a multitude of culinary treats. I have learned so much from her!
4. Reaching For Pink. Donna is on a life journey and is bringing us all along for the ride. Blatantly honest, warm and thoughtful, Donna is someone I really admire.
5. A Little On The Side. Kelle's photography constantly wows me. Her progress on her 101 in 1001 list also keeps me in check with my own 101 project, due to wrap up in a few weeks.
6. Gusty Gourmey - Wellington Food Life. Millie hunts out and reports back on some of the best food haunts in Wellington - lots of great tips if you're a local.
7. Reasons To Smile. Alli has also recently started a 101 in 1001 project. I like the title of her blog; sometimes we need reminding that we have more reasons to smile than we realise!
8. Apparently Jessy. Jessy is a really funky chick with an eye for all things creative and chic. She also shares some pretty yummy recipes.
9. Wellington Road. Reflections of an expat transplanted to just north of Wellington. Painfully honest at times, frequently tongue in cheek and always with a dry wit that only Juli can manage to pull off.
10. 40s - Reasons to Live, Love and Laugh Out Loud. I love reading this blog. La Tonya tells stories about her life and family that will have you in stitches with laughing out loud.
11. Kiwi Cakes. I have learned so much about baking and cake decorating from this blog and made a big list of all the goodies I'd like to buy.
12. PostSecret. I don't know how I'm going to let the author of this blog know that he's won a Stylish blogger award, or that he'll even be interested, but I really look forward to the postcard secrets revealed each Sunday.
13. Seeds of the Heart. Life with two young children has to be challenging at the best of the times, let alone when you're a creative superwoman like Sab. I enjoy reading about what she gets up to and confess to having stolen a few of her craft ideas to try myself.
14. 1001 Book Reviews. Not that I need any excuses to read more books ... I am following this  collaborative book review blog with interest. I have only read a few books on the list but am also looking forward to reading reviews for those books and seeing if we share the same views.
15. Wellington Daily Photo. Scenes from in and around Wellington - great for locals and expats alike.
    

Third birthday

Whose third birthday? Mine! Well, Café Chick's. Three years ago today, I set up this blog and started the journey of Café Chick. She and I have had a lot of fun both blogging and on Twitter. At the start, I had no idea where  either of us would end up. I still don't know where we're going but am loving the ride.

My 101 in 1001 project is in its final few months and I'm trying to wrap up as many activities as practical before 29 March 2011. I have completed 19 activities in 2010 and made progress with several ongoing goals. I did a bit of a roundup of progress when I reached the one year to go mark back in March and am pleased to report that it's still ticking along nicely.

Look at the state of my Clustr map! That's over 21,000 visits during the past twelve months from 145 different countries. It's been lovely to have your company. Alas, as with each birthday/anniversary, the map will archive tomorrow and all my lovely red dots will disappear. Hopefully they will be repopulated in a different combination during the upcoming year - I'll need your help with that.

Café Chick's visitors

Once again, a huge thank you to everyone in the blogosphere for joining me on my journey. I'll be around for a long time to come so hope you'll continue to pop in regularly for good coffee and fresh baking.

Blogger or Wordpress?

I have been blogging in Blogger for several years now, with this blog, my Project 365 blog, and another early professional blog which I stopped updating a few years ago. I've decided to kick-start professional blogging once again, as it complements my new job perfectly and is something I've been itching to get back into. Given my history with Blogger, I'm tempted to just start another one here and get going within the hour. However, I thought I'd explore Wordpress and experience blogging on another platform.

It hasn't been easy. I'm fairly web 2.0 savvy but am almost at the stage of giving up and going back to what I'm familiar with. I have spent far too long trying to upload a new template (apparently you could do this on Wordpress.com in the past, but this option seems to be disabled now, unless you upgrade and pay for the service). I've become incredibly frustrated just trying to do basic stuff, even with a lot of planning and preparation done beforehand.

Bear in mind that I am talking about WordPress.com here - not WordPress.org, which involves private hosting. I want to use the free service but be able to upload and personalise a different template, as well as host some third party widgets.

So, blogosphere, I need your help. Have you blogged with Wordpress.com? How doees it compare with Blogger (if you've blogged with both)? What are the biggest advantages and drawbacks? I still need convincing ...

In the mood

It's a strange phenomenon, being a blogger. Some weeks, my blog is on fire. I can't get enough of posting, updating links, writing progress reports on my 101 in 1001 project, clearing my RSS feed reader, and generally blogging. Other weeks, like this one, I'm just not in the mood for writing. I have a list of topics and ideas I'd like to blog about, but as soon as I start to write, I just as quickly stop.

I don't tend to let it get me down. I love blogging. Through it, I have come to enjoy the process of non-academic writing and become part of an international online community. It's not like I've made a commitment to anyone to blog. I'm not paid for it. Heck, I don't even know how many people read my ramblings. (To those of you who do, and even come back for more - thank you, thank you!)

I look at some of the Stuff blogs and wonder how they manage to keep up with their daily obligations to the blogosphere. True, many of them are journalists and probably used to churning out large quantities of words each day. But most of them have a central focus around a specialist topic, rather than being a random mish-mash of topics and events like this blog. Surely there must be more "I really don't know what to write tomorrow" moments than we're led to believe.

So, I'm not in the mood for blogging, but a couple of semi-related songs are going through my head right now. Enjoy!



In the Mood, sung by The Puppini Sisters
(I have no idea why there's a Wizard of Id cartoon in the background.)



I'm in the Mood for Dancing, by the Nolans
(I couldn't embed the original video. It's priceless!)

1000 Awesome Things

Amazing things happen every day and there are multitudes of wonderful things around us for us to appreciate and enjoy. Life's simple pleasures. Many of them are free. But how do you find them in a world full of impending doom and gloom? Where are they hiding? And, once found, how do you partake?

It's easy. Or so says Neil Pasricha, author of the Webby award-winning 1000 Awesome Things blog. Depressed by reading bad news daily and with his marriage failing, Pasricha decided to try to focus on the positive and come up with 1000 simple, free, awesome things, posting one each day on a blog. The blog counts down backwards from 1000 and includes things like finding money you didn't even know you lost, wearing underwear just out of the dryer, sleeping with one leg under the covers and one leg out, and celebrating your pet's birthday even though they have no idea what's going on. These are tiny, inconsequential events in the bigger scheme of life, but aren't they wonderful? I think so!

Parischa has also collated 200 of his awesome things into a recently published book, The Book of Awesome (2010). If visits to his blog is anything to go by (around 12 million so far), this book is sure to be a runaway hit. I'm happy to stick with the digital version for now and have added the 1000 Awesome Things blog to my RSS feed reader. Apart from giving me a daily delivery of positive vibes, it'll also help me with goal #48 from my 101 in 1001 project: find something to be happy and thankful for each day. Done!

Café Chick's 2nd birthday

Today is Café Chick's second birthday. Gosh, time flies when you're having fun! It doesn't seem like two years since I first said hi to the blogosphere back in 2007, and my first birthday might have only been a month or so ago! Help yourself to a virtual birthday cupcake.

Here are the locations of everyone who has joined me for a cup of coffee this past year - 116 countries in total. Some have popped in briefly; a few have stayed longer for another cup, and others are 'regular' coffee buddies. Thank you for visiting, all 10,000+ of you! I have loved getting to know you all virtually. I still get excited by every tiny red dot that appears on my Clustr map and, of course, the comments you leave.

My 101 in 1001 project is still plodding along nicely. I have completed 24 goals this year and have several more in progress. I am still really enjoying working towards the activities and goals on my list, which have largely remained unchanged this year. I'd like to say the same about my Project 365, which limps along sporadically, but I'm trying to not let it bother me too much.

So, once again, my Clustr map will soon be blank and a fresh new canvas laid. I look forward to you helping repopulate my map with those little red dots. Who knows that the next year will bring? Thank you for being part of Café Chick's journey.

Driving the donkey

Let me tell you about a friend and former colleague of mine; we'll call him Tom. Tom is a 'big picture' person, an idea-generator, and someone who is so excited about possibilities that he often fails to see the finer details that will make them work. A few years ago, he bought a 3-bedroom house in need of renovation, quickly converted it into a 4-bedroom home (being a builder in a former life was very helpful here), then decided six months later that he wanted to move some of the kitchen cabinets 30cm across because the family needed a bit more room around the dishwasher. Oh, and he would eventually add glass to the doors of the display cabinet, and skirting boards under each of the cupboards, but in the meantime there were so many other possible projects around the house that he could move on to before then. I have the utmost admiration for his incredibly patient and understanding wife.

Tom is fond of using idioms, but his penchant for ideas over accuracy means that they often come out of his mouth in a slightly different form. For example:

"How are you doing today, Tom?"
"Oh, I'm a box of budgies!" (when he was probably, in fact, looking for fluffy ducks).

During a staff meeting, where we were being informed about a requirement to follow some new bureaucratic process, the details of which I forget, in order to do something we'd always done anyway (or possibly even had done better before), Tom became increasingly jittery. He could see what we saw: this "new" process was simply going to add to our workload and not actually achieve what we needed or wanted. However, in order to demonstrate compliance, we could blindly follow it and then eventually get down to the business we'd set out to do. Tom couldn't see the point. Many others agreed, but Tom put it in a way no-one else could: "That's just the tail driving the donkey!", he announced in frustration. Ok, so he was supposed to say "tail wagging the dog", but there was no mistaking what he meant.

From then on, donkeys became a bit of a theme in our team and the butt of many jokes. However, the message was always clear: whatever we did, we wanted it to be for the right reasons and not simply because the tail was driving the donkey. This is not easy in most workplaces.

Another colleague views blogging in very much the same way. She maintains that "a blog should be a tool or a vehicle for expression - you drive it and not the other way around". I agree; I maintain this blog because I enjoy writing and blogging and not because I feel compelled to post a certain number of times each week. However, I realised this morning that the situation is not the same for my Project 365 blog; I feel it is that tail that is indeed driving this donkey.

I was a little hesitant to start Project 365, which involves taking a photo each and every day and posting it to a blog. I was drawn to the idea of visually representing a year of my life, but not necessarily to the photography aspect. The photos I have taken have either been significant or interesting to me, but were never intended to be technically good examples of photography; they are personal, rather than taken for an audience. At times, the pressure of finding a subject to photograph every day has got me down and, as I don't tend to upload photos daily, I've been uploading 'back posts' of photos every few days. I suppose it doesn't really matter when I post, but having a photo-less week last week has now put me a week 'behind' with this project.

I've decided to stop letting the tail drive the donkey. I will still endeavour to take a photo a day, but if I don't make it on a particular day (or days), I'm not going to let it worry me. I will continue to post photos in numerical order and see where I end up on 1 June 2010, one year after beginning the project. Strange though it may seem, some days I simply have nothing much to say. Surely I don't need a picture to prove that?

One sentence

Being somewhat loquacious by nature, I have come to enjoy writing. With the bulk of my writing at work mostly consisting of 'academic speak', I enjoy the contrasting informality and conversational style that a blog such as this allows. I guess that leads to my posts often being rather verbose; oh well!

When I first compiled my 101 in 1001 list, I had recently discovered the One Sentence micro-blogging site. I hastily added a goal to my list to submit a sentence to onesentence.org. From time to time, I review my 101 list and on several occasions this goal has come close to being cut; telling a true story in just one sentence is almost an impossible task. Tweeting is no measure for this challenge! I revisited the site once again this morning and, after reading through the latest contributions and listening to the interview with Radio New Zealand from earlier in the year, I decided to give it a go. Today.

Bearing in mind that the site receives 700-1000 sentences per day, and that 5-10% are accepted, I'm not expecting it to be published. However, if it does make the grade, you'll hear it here first, lol. It certainly has been a challenge, and I returned to my draft sentences all during the morning. As site creator, Michael Ryan, is adamant, he doesn't want One Sentence to "turn into a lazy man's PostSecret". This is harder than it sounds, and many of my sentences started out this way before promptly hitting the cutting room floor. However, I finally settled on a sentence and hit 'submit'. *Gulp*

And my sentence? I'm almost embarrassed to post it, but here goes:

When asked how he could be certain the speaker had blown, Dad dramatically explained (with grandiose arm gestures) that, "I plugged it in and all I heard was nothing".

Project 365: To be, or not to be?

I am contemplating starting Project 365, taking a photo a day of something which I have learned, something I found interesting, or something which simply sums up my day in some way. I have set up a new blog, Café Chick's Project 365, and will continue to develop the site during the next week or so. I like the idea of looking back at a collection of images as a kind of visual library after one year; I just wonder about my level of commitment to get there. However, looking back to the time when I contemplated starting 101 goals in 1001 days, I see my mind was going through the same sorts of questions, and I definitely went ahead with that project.

I won't elaborate on Project 365 here, but instead point you to my blog post about it on my new blog. I'm about 80% convinced that I will start the project on 1 June. That leaves me 9 more days to either talk myself into or out of it!

So, who wants to come along for the ride?

Blog about blogging

I'd been thinking about blogging for a while and had started putting together a post in my head about why I blog: what is it that makes Café Chick who she is, and why does she bother? And then, along came Donna with a meme about blogging from Sunday Stealing. A perfect place to begin!

1. How did you come up with your blog title OR what does it mean?
I like the nature of story telling, so I wanted my blog to reflect this in some way. Whether the stories were long or short, I felt that the word tales captured this well. As for Café Chick, I played around with a few names and thought that this one sounded funky, yet multi-faceted enough to blog about whatever I wanted.

2. What are your general goals for blogging?
I originally started blogging about places I'd been to and stories I'd encountered along the way. Some of my early posts are almost reviews of cafés or restaurants; I now use Dineout and Menumania to review food and dining experiences, but often relate the stories on my blog. In July 2008 I started the Day Zero 101 goals in 1001 days project and use my blog as a way of documenting this. I generally aim to have one main subject per post, and to try and cover a range of topics. My purposes are multi-fold and incredibly self-indulgent; I blog partly to document/diarise events in my life, partly to explore things I find interesting, but most just because I can. ;-)

3. Do people “in your real life” know that you blog and do they comment on your blog OR is it largely anonymous?
As far as I'm aware, there are two 'real life' people who know my identity. One is my sweetie, who reads almost every word I post, probably to check what I write about him. :-P The other is a former work colleague, whose blog I enjoy following. I enjoy the anonymity that being Café Chick allows; she is a small, but fun, part of who I am as a person. She probably also gets away with sometimes saying things that the real me wouldn't be bold enough to come out with in real life. (See notes re self-indulgent, lol.)

4. How often do you post (x per week)?
I aim to post every day or two, depending on what I've been up to. I think I average about five posts per week.

5. How often do you read other blogs (x per week)?
Heaps. In addition to the many blogger blogs I follow, my RSS feed is full of blogs related to work (education), blogs written by my colleagues, blogs about blogging, blogs maintained by a couple of my real life friends, and Post Secret. I try to read through them daily.

6. How do you select blogs to read (do you prefer blogs that focus on certain topics or do you choose by tone or…?)
See above. I believe that many people blog for different purposes, and some bloggers maintain more than one blog or may cover a range of subjects. For the most part, I choose the one that's most relevant to me to follow, or one that has simply caught my interest.

7. Do you have any plans to copy your blog entries in any other format, 0r do you think that one day, you’ll just delete it all?
I don't think I'll just delete it all but, having said that, I did end up deleting most of my professional blog from a few years ago. I suppose I didn't need to; I just didn't feel that it was relevant any more. I also don't think I'll use my blog entries for any other purpose, although I sometimes enjoy browsing back at earlier posts and thinking, "wow, is that what I was doing around that time?" etc.

8. What are the things you like best about blogging?
I like to write. I like to read. I am also interested in people. Blogging, for me, brings together all three of these aspects, and I have got to know some amazing people from all around the world via their blogs. I find this to be one of the most valuable benefits of blogging.

9. What are the things you don’t like about blogging?
Nothing, really. The day I find blogging to be a chore is the day that I'll stop.

10. How do you handle comments?
I enjoy them, but I don't necessarily write for the purpose of eliciting comments, even though I am mindful of my potential audience. I don't see a comment-less post as being less successful than one which has sparked a whole screed of comments; as an educator, I know that so-called lurkers are still a valued part of any online community. Heck, I'm Lurker #1 in many instances, as I certainly don't comment on every blog or post that I read. I don't necessarily respond to comments I receive, even though I read every single one; I see comments as a valuable part of the blogging experience, but one which helps develop a wider blogging community, and not just a 1-1 relationship between me and the commenter. I love tracking visitors to my blog via my Clustr map (those little red dots are so exciting!) and my Flagcounter (ditto for each new country that pops up). It's amazing to think that people who don't know me and who live in more than 70 different countries have visited my blog!

11. Do you have any burning thoughts to share on blog etiquette?
Not really, although I get incredibly annoyed when people attempt to bypass my word verification and make a generic comment like "I like it" for the purpose of posting advertising links to dodgy websites on my blog. Grrr. I sometimes find it hard/annoying to read a pale font on a dark background, but mostly read posts via my RSS feed, which removes all the formatting. Oh, and writing all in CAPS or with Random capital Letters annoys me. (Yes, I was a teacher. Don't get me started on apostrophes.)

12. Any desired blog features?
I quite like the Blogger format, but occasionally would like a bit more flexibility re layout etc but don't feel motivated enough to develop my own template from scratch. I may do this eventually. I experimented with a new background this week; I'm not sure it will be permanent.

13. Have you suffered blog addiction?
Maybe ...

And how about you? What burns your blogging fires?

Café Chick turns 1!

It's been a year since Café Chick started blogging. On 28 November 2007, in a moment of weakness, I set up a blank canvas and wondered what I could write about, and whether I'd be able to maintain anything I started. Still slightly hungover from the pressures of blogging in my professional life, I decided this blog would be different: totally self-indulgent, and simply about things I like, dislike, or just felt like blogging about. And so, Tales from a Café Chick was born and Café Chick said hi.

During this past year, coffee buddies have come and gone; some pop in for the occasional sip, while others regularly join me for virtual coffee dates. I started my 101 in 1001 project and have enjoyed connecting with others also working towards achieving their lists of goals. Tales from a Café Chick has found an international audience, and I have never failed to get excited by the buzz from finding another little red dot appear on my Clustr map. Here's how my map looked at the end of last week:


The map was archived over the weekend; my lovely little red dots have all disappeared and now I have a blank slate once again. It's the start of a new blogging year. I hope you will continue to join me on my blogging journey and help repopulate my Clustr map. It's been great to have your company, and to also get to know so many others all around the world via glimpses into your own blogging lives. Here's to the blogosphere - long may it continue to connect people around the globe!

Blogs away!

For all you fellow bloggers out there, here is some humour to brighten your day. :-)

Have you ever felt like this? I certainly have ...



Sometimes you can't help wondering if anyone reads your blog, and maybe pointless, incessant barking would have the same effect ...

For those of you feeling a bit overwhelmed (or overzealous) within the blogosphere ...

And for those of you who are parents (or teachers), this may depict your frustration ...

All images used without permission. If any of these are yours, let me know and I'll credit you or remove it.

To blog or not to blog?

I maintained a 'serious' blog in a former life. I had grandiose ideas about how it would help my personal reflective practice and that I would have philosophical debates with others about important issues in my career field, and this would ultimately help my own professional development and learning blah blah blah.

Geez, it was hard work.

Don't underestimate the time it takes to blog regularly on 'serious' topics. I think they are a great idea and enjoyed my time as a 'serious' blogger. The benefits are many, but I'm also realistic about the time I have to spare on a regular basis to undertake this process. I guess I'll eventually try and get back into the routine of blogging 'seriously'. It just might not be soon.

So now I'm happy to be self-indulgent, blogging when and if I feel like it about whatever topic takes my fancy ... and I love it! Occasionally I am tempted to blog 'seriously' again, and I'm hiding the shadows at work and hoping they won't notice that I haven't yet activated my blog account, but I'm sure I'll get over it. It's much more fun being a Café Chick.

Café Chick says hi

After ages slogging over a 'serious' blog, and even longer recovering from blogging overload, I'm now tempted to dip my toe in the water and try again. BUT, no more of this serious stuff for me. Oh no, this blog is going to be occasional, totally self-indulgent, and simply a collection of stuff I like, don't like, have seen/done recently, have not seen/done ... get the picture?

I live in Wellington, New Zealand, and enjoy this city's vibrant café culture, hence my name (Café Chick). Other than that, I'm into reading, music, dance, family, good coffee (I'm an unashamed coffee snob), eating out with friends, travel, and sunshine, so that's what you'll hear about, along with whatever else takes my fancy.

So, I'll get posting and see where we end up. I have no idea who might read this (or if anyone will - oh well!). Drop me a line and let me know what you think ...