ByGD
Photo Gratisography.com
Well, I’m back at the government work, editing construction project management plans. But I have found time amidst all that excitement to write a few things that I hope you’ll enjoy or find useful.
Here’s what I’ve written lately:
ByGD
courtesy Gratisography.com
In November I took three generations of my family on a vacation to a remote island and I truly hope to share the details of that magical place here on the blog soon. But vacations don’t get me off the hook from the hustle, and I did manage to get a few pieces published in the past few weeks.
ByGD
I didn’t have any government work in October, so it felt like a slow month. But when it comes to content marketing and features writing, I’ve been working like a beast.
Here are my published stories from the last month. I hope you find something you enjoy.
I spilled my cheap travel secrets in How I became an airfare ninja for ParentMap. If I missed any tricks, I’d love for you to let me know so I can afford to travel more.
I blog about opera fairly often, so I was thrilled when ParentMap let me review Hansel and Gretel this fall and make the case for Why you should take your kids to the opera.
And of course, I used my obsessive love of research to bone up on a bunch of everyday legal issues for AvvoStories (formerly more colorfully known as NakedLaw).
How to help a teen get emancipated
The right to protest our national anthem
What police need to learn about mental illness
Do immigrants really have an easy time getting into the U.S.?
What’s so bad about a starter marriage?
I don’t look at my page stats much anymore. I’m just too busy with paying work and can barely justify the little amount of time I still spend blogging, without noticing how much traffic has dropped since I wrote long, wordy posts on the regular. But I took a peek and thought I’d share what activity I did find.
In October, besides my home page and the About Me page, the most popular posts were:
Graveyards Well, of course if you post about graveyards on Halloween weekend, someone is going to look.
Opportunity How positive. I will try not to imagine that people were actually looking for inspirational office posters.
Desiree’s Dolls One of the first posts I ever wrote on the blog. When I first started, I thought that I might make an I Heart Reykjavik sort of blog about Seattle. I know I don’t have the time to do it right, but the perennial popularity of this post about a local artisan who makes rag dolls by hand is proof that it’s a good idea.
Referrals to the blog have shifted. Once it was mostly Facebook and Google searches. Now it’s Twitter and AvvoStories. Perhaps that is evidence that I should start focusing more on my professional side?
Finally, the search terms that led people here. I might not be writing much on this blog, but I think searches like these prove I’m doing something interesting.
eistnaflug nearest airport
Skalmold Airwaves
brakarsund iceland
himalayan yogi cave
ByGD
Photo from Gratisography.com
It’s not the most professional image to accompany a list of recent publications, but it beautifully illustrates the haphazard nature of late summer freelance work. You’ve got the tools, you’re getting the work done, but there’s a certain … something … that’s missing. After an intense spring, I backed way off this summer. I did a lot of camping, made it to a couple music festivals, caught up with some friends (and my kids!) who wondered where I’d been all spring. I made deadlines and maintained connections with key clients, but I didn’t pursue new work.”Taking it easy” doesn’t mean “taking time off,” though. Here’s what I published in late summer.
ByGD
Photo from http://gratisography.com/
In English we say “busy as a bee,” but in Japanese the industrious insect is the dragonfly. Whatever simile you want to use, I’ve been a working bug – as evidenced by the fact that I haven’t posted to published work since April! As the list that follows will demonstrate, that’s not because I haven’t been writing, it’s because I’ve been too busy writing to write about it. There’s a lot of work here that I’m proud of – and I’m proud of how much work there is here. I hope you find something you like.