Bad blogger...

No, not the blogging service -- me.

I came home exhausted yesterday evening after my long work day Wednesday and a fairly busy day Thursday, and just couldn't think of anything to post or write. So I blew it off.

In other words, I failed at NaBloPoMo on day 10.

But not to give up. Despite the very modest nature of my posts this month, I have enjoyed going back to this space, and catching up with a few friends from the past, like this other Betty, who have dropped in to comment.

So I will peck away at it. And maybe inspiration will come.

On the road again

Talk about a big day tomorrow!

Rendez-vous in front of my school at 6:45 am to pick up three students and drive off to the Infosup educational fair in Toulouse...a full day of communicating about our business school...however, I must leave by 4pm because at 6pm my 3rd year students are doing their video/buffet evening about their foreign internships...

I congratulate myself for getting a post in this evening! Now off to bed...

Fiddling around with Blogger

My ambitions for this NaBloPoMo are modest; I'm not planning many major manifestos.

In fact, one of my goals is to fiddle around a little every day with my blog layout and color scheme.

I haven't touched any of Blogger's design features in ages.

Today my plan is to change my "hover color."

As I said: modest ambitions.

Going for NaBloPoMo

Has it only been 2 months and 10 days since I last posted?

This is not a joke. If you are a Facebook friend -- and if you read this, you probably are -- you will know that the last few months have been, as the French put it (at least around here) "un peu rock 'n' roll."

Speaking of rock music, in this first post of what I hope will be a NaBloPoMo month, I can only quote my beloved Elvis Costello:

"Oh I just don't know where to begin..."

Dropping out...

I'm sorry tut-tut.

This month's NaBloPoMo was always a "maybe" kind of thing, and now I'm thinking "maybe not."

Signs of Aveyron in Paris

Whenever I go to Paris for work, I go to at least one café or restaurant.

And not always, but often, I see a sign of Aveyron there.

People say that there are more Aveyronnais living in Paris than in Aveyron, and I suspect that this is true.

Many of them work in the catering industry now, and some are major players.

Poverty forced their ancestors to leave their homeland, al pais.

They started as bougnats and worked their way up through the ranks of deliverymen for drink companies, then café workers, then managers, then owners...

I always feel a little at home when I see posters like this on the wall of a restaurant in la capitale.

Wordless Wednesday, one day late due to technical difficulties

Internet, teaching and guilt

(A random image that I have projected for discussion in English class)

In my dream blogging world, I not only keep up this personal space, but also blog about education in general, and teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in particular.

Wait! That's not only a dream! I actually do have a teaching blog.

But as you can see, I haven't been there for a long, long time.

Early this year, in fact, I got somewhat involved in the Twitterverse of English Language Teachers.

The talents, creativity, devotion, and sheer online output of this community are astounding...and inspiring.

But as the school year moved on and intensified, the inspiration I was getting from these teaching gods (who must be online 24/7) started to weigh me down more than pump me up.

I've distanced myself from that scene for the time being, but I may get back into it...maybe...

A quick appearance

I've been hanging in here for NaBloPoMo.

But, after writing a corporate blog post this evening, I don't have the energy to say much more here.

Oh well. A post is a post is a post...

Somewhere in time...

A new blogging concept

(Photo courtesy of Thierry Jouanneteau)

A concept. To get through NaBloPoMo, and possibly even to continue this blog, I need a concept.

As I randomly posted one of the few photos floating around on my new laptop yesterday, a new blogging concept started to take form.

I have a huge backlog of photos, and a huge backlog of things to say. But where to begin?

I decided to start here.

Generating numbers randomly, I whittled my 60-odd photo folders down to this shot from Capital Playhouse's Kids at Play performance of...?

This is going to be fun. Very fun. And that's what blogging should be about.

Wordless Wednesday

Actually, not so wordless, because with this post, I think I have fallen upon a whole new blogging concept...

To be continued!

Before Wordless Wednesday...

...how about Tired Tuesday?

Back to Barcelona

View from inside the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya

April was such a fun and exciting month for me that I thought I would be blogging constantly.

So many little trips! So many photos! So much to write about!

But also -- so much to do.

I'll have to spend May catching up.

My busy month of April all started with a one-night school trip to Barcelona with my second-year business school students.

Even though the trip was short, I (finally) actually got a feel for this city that so many of my friends love, as I mentioned in a previous post.

So many little trips...so many photos...so much to write about...it's a good thing I'm doing NaBloPoMo for May.

I may be blogging more this month

I haven't been too inspired to blog lately, and just a few days ago realized the end of the month was near, and that a new NaBloPoMo theme would be coming up soon.

What a better theme than "maybe" for a blogger who is sitting on a fence?

Maybe I'll be able to keep up, maybe I won't!

Maybe this was happening when I took this picture, but maybe not!

I'm in.

NaBloPoMoSho

I have decided to cut short on NaBloPoMo.

27 posts in a row is pretty darn good, and January is starting to look pretty darn long.

I know "I'm almost there," but I don't like to post just to post, and that is what I have been doing some days...

Keep checking in! I am not dropping this blog by any means!

This is not really a post...

...it is simply an obligation to NaBloPoMo.

NaBloPoMo, or the triumph of quantity over quality

Today, after scraping the ice off my car, I will be leaving for Rodez at 7:10 am. I won't be back until quite late in the evening because we're having an open house at work.

So basically I'm just checking in here to fulfill my NaBloPoMo duties.

It's definitely an example of quantity winning out over quality, but I will be proud (and relieved) when the month is over and I can say I have posted 31 days in a row.

Night out...

...night off.

Zzzzzzzz...

Another year, another NaBloPoMo

I've been cruising along pretty well with getting this new blog started, I must say.

NaBloPoMo (a platform for those who want to blog every day for a month) has been a big help.

The theme for January is "friends," but when I do a one-post-a-day month, I don't always stick to the official NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) theme.

It's interesting to see how NBPM, to make it really short, has developed over the years.

If my memory serves me right, it used to take place only in the month of November, and the base site was, well, pretty much just another blog.

I don't think there were themes at the beginning, either.

Now NaBloPoMo has become a full-blown social media site, with friends, profiles, an email function, and all the other accoutrements of our online era.

The possibilities the site now offers make my head spin.

Do you have any memories about what NaBloPoMo used to be? And have you ever participated in it?