For a fuller view of my writing beyond my recent posts, dive in below and peruse as much or as little as you’d like. I write about a wide range of topics from WordPress to Surrogacy to Photography to Mental Health. Don’t follow me if you want to only hear about a certain topic as I write based on what comes up for me in that moment of time. As always, thanks for reading.
-
A Love Song to all my friends
It’s that John Mayer song In Your Atmosphere… “Wherever you go. Wherever you are. I’ll watch your life play out in pictures from afar.” This is a love songpost to all my friends because I feel like I’m doing that with everyone I love. I’m watching so many wonderful lives play out in pictures from afar. Now that I’m so disconnected from social media, the pain of not seeing people and truly knowing how they are has been shoved in my face. I feel it for what it really is without social media as a buffer. I won’t lie, it…
-
Presentism
I can barely contain my excitement and the speed with which my mind is churning. Months ago I snagged a book out of impulse and curiosity called “Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now” by Douglas Rushkoff. Recently, I disengaged from Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram in a desperate attempt to regain control of my time spent on technology and of my thoughts. Rather than being in the present, I was distracted from it constantly jumping to look at the next, most updated feed. “But it has not actually brought us into greater awareness of what is going on around us. We…
-
Oh the sites you’ll see
Working for Automattic allows you to get to check out some incredible sites made by those in the WordPress community. I never realized that this would become a part of my job that I would love when I started. Being on the VaultPress team means I am looking at WordPress.org sites most of the day. Whether it’s a business site for a yoga facility or a promotion site for an upcoming concert, I find myself losing track of time noting the set up and design. In turn, this has led me to discovering new plugins, themes, and just generally tricks of…
-
How Minipans Create Happiness
I have an obsession with mini things and small spaces. This works to my advantage living in San Francisco with rent being so high. I used to collect mini sharpies and even once convinced my mom to make a bed in my closet. By bed, I mean I put pillows down on a shelf in a four foot wide closet (pays to be 5ft 2in). This lasted a couple of days before my mom put an end to it. The next mini obsession came when I was allowed to drive my Uncle’s Mini Cooper. Talk about a fun car to…
-
A Day in the Life of a Happiness Engineer: Thursday
This post is a day late but only because I was traveling to Denver yesterday afternoon and almost missed my flight. 7:30AM I woke up and immediately was craving bagels and coffee. Barely awake, I drove and got both all while wearing what could be described nicely as pajamas. Back home, I opened my computer and began the morning routine of reading and planning. 8AM to 4PM Somehow the team started discussing stuck locks and ways in which Happiness Engineers could better handle them. As a result, here is my quick run through of things I learned working on the VaultPress…
-
A Day in the Life of a Happiness Engineer: Wednesday
Today was one of the days where I was particularly thankful I worked remotely and with a company that trusts me to manage my time. 6AM – 8AM I woke up at a hotel where I stayed the night with a friend of mine who was in town. No, this is not The Hangover Part 3. Just another perk of being able to work wherever my computer is. I rolled out of bed and opened my computer. I spent this time period prepping for the day (made a Workflowy list), reading p2s/02s, and closing out easy support tickets. I try to…
-
A Day in the Life of a Happiness Engineer: Tuesday
Another day at VaultPress has come to a close! Today was full of learning and great conversations with other automatticians. 9AM I woke up and actually put on what I call “real people clothes”. This consisted of a nice pair of shorts and my Automattic t-shirt. I made coffee and grabbed my classic breakfast of two hard boiled eggs. Before I jumped into work, I read over a couple of articles that had been “tabbed” (opened in a new tab and left waiting for me to read). I then got carried away picking out positive articles for my Uplift Trove.…
-
A Day in the Life of a Happiness Engineer: Monday
My colleague, Andrea Badgley, says it best, “When I applied for my job as a Happiness Engineer, I wasn’t entirely sure what the job would entail.” Having previously held titles like Webmaster, Instructional Technologist, and Web Support Specialist, I was used to dry and boring job titles that left someone with a yawn rather than an impression. Typically, the second I say my job title I am met with an intrigued response of “Wait, really?”. Defining what a Happiness Engineer does is only complicated by the fact that there are thousands of ways to define happiness. At Automattic, that’s embraced…
-
The things you miss
I have returned home to Winter Park, FL for a couple of calming weeks after a long four months after graduating. It is odd knowing that I should be in the midst of studying, writing a paper, and meeting friends in the pit. Instead, I am working at my dream job and back home to spend time with family. Do I sound old yet? The best part is that I can work from anywhere. I can be in Winter Park one week and Denver next (as I soon will be). It’s incredible how freeing this is. It also brings to the…
-
My Automattic Story: Trial to Hire
“The size of your dreams must always exceed your current capacity to achieve them. If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.” ― Ellen Johnson Sirleaf My background As a freshman at UNC Chapel Hill, I had the opportunity to have a workstudy job. After looking through the typical jobs working at the Planetarium and at a couple of day care centers, I stumbled on a job working for web.unc.edu. With no knowledge of websites and with a long history of writing on blogger.com (since 2005 or so), I decided to send an email to apply for…
-
Accidental hike
After a morning of yoga and my first ever Crossfit session, a fellow happiness engineer and I decided to take a gondola ride and go on short 15 min walk before heading back down. From there, we walked to a beautiful lake with an amazing view. We decided to head back down but couldn’t find the right trail. We eventually stumbled upon one and just went for it. We fell into a rhythm talking and lost track of time looking at the beautiful views. An hour and 45 min later, we finally got back to the Canyon resort. Needless to…
-
Creativity meets a soccer ball
I was meandering through the city with a friend and a soccer ball. We were determined to go out and relive our glory days through some passing when the urge for a true soccer field overcame our complacency with the section of grass we found. After trekking around only to find we were locked out of the two soccer fields we stumbled upon, we found ourselves back at this open quad area again at the same section of grass. This quad area happened to be a part of the University of San Francisco’s campus. With a beautiful church just to…
-
Meaning in Suffering
My grandfather passed almost a month ago. Tomorrow would have been my grandparents 64th anniversary. How incredible is that? I still remember their 63rd anniversary. He was already going downhill at that point. We brought a pizza over and just talked and enjoyed each other’s company. I was on the bus on Thursday when I happened to sit down next to an older woman. The bus was packed as work had just ended for what seemed like all of San Francisco. The daily struggle to find a spot on the bus somehow was easier that day as I managed to find…
-
Robert C. McCarthy Sr.
10:30 am on Sunday morning June 22nd, 2014, my granddad died. On a typical Sunday, he would have been at church at that time. For some reason, that gives me comfort to know that he died around the same time he would have been doing something he loved and believed in. I wasn’t there when he died. I was in San Francisco in bed sleeping. I remember my dad’s call to tell me. I remember the numb feeling that passed over me as the news reached my ears and my heart. He is gone. Death is a hard concept to grasp.…
-
Uplift Trove
“Uplift” Themed Trove Curator Beta tested their app and provided feedback for development Have 800+ followers Pick articles every day that I consider uplifting Picked to be on the Trove Advisory Panel Contacted to be featured on their blog as a Trove They Love after quickly gaining followers and engaging in their platform. Check out the article here. Positive Mindset There is a gap in the content posted online with way more negative articles than positive. Through my focus on the positive, I try to uplift those positive articles the way they should be in the first place and fill the gap…
-
How to Add a New Post Using the WordPress App: iOS
Note: This Support Document uses screenshots from an iPhone 5 Introduction If you are on the go looking to publish a post, this guide will show you how to do so using the WordPress app for iOS devices. With the ability to snag pictures directly from your phone and a handy preview button, the app is built so you can publish post quickly and easily wherever you are. What this article is about This article is about the how to publish a post from the WordPress app for mobile devices. Who might find this useful Anyone who uses the WordPress app…
-
I’m coming for ya, San Francisco
Today was my last day working for web.unc.edu. I told my co-workers there that my time working there felt more like college to me than anything else I experienced. By college, I mean that I learned so much and grew into a mature and knowledgable person that felt confident training people, taking the lead, writing documentation, etc. I believe in myself thanks to the millions of mistakes I made and learned from. I jump at the chance to help and truly value the relationships I have built with users of web.unc.edu. It is hard to say that this will be my…
-
Caffeine Free and webdotunc
I am now on my third day without caffeine and am finally starting to pull out of the fog that is caffeine withdrawal. It has been a whirlwind this past week as I received two jobs offers last Wednesday after interviewing last Tuesday! After accepting a job offer from a start up called Earnest Inc, I packed up all my stuff and headed home to Florida on Sunday. Saying goodbye to friends was tougher than I expected and more than a few tears were shed. My last meals in Chapel Hill included the classic Cosmic Cantina and YOPO combo and for…
-
Thinking beyond college.
Moving forward past college, I am going to use this change in language to (hopefully) help me decide how to use my time…“Instead of saying “I don’t have time” try saying “it’s not a priority,” and see how that feels. Often, that’s a perfectly adequate explanation. I have time to iron my sheets, I just don’t want to. But other things are harder. Try it: “I’m not going to edit your résumé, sweetie, because it’s not a priority.” “I don’t go to the doctor because my health is not a priority.” If these phrases don’t sit well, that’s the point.…
-
Last LDOC & Last Lecture
Yesterday was my last day of class at UNC Chapel Hill. I have been more than lucky and honored to go to such an amazing school filled with even more amazing people. I am graduating in three years and am gathering the strength and courage needed to jump into the real world. Any advice?! My last day was spent in good fashion. A cappuccino in the morning before my 8am class. A great discussion about mental health in that class before moving onto my sociology class. After talking about the flaws in our school system, we broke into our…
-
Uplift & WordPress Beginners Trove
Uplift & WordPress Beginners Trove Trove is my one stop source for news items! I actually helped beta test them back in the day when they were just a weeee little new app looking for people to give feedback (sounding like a proud mom here). My troves Uplift and WordPress Beginners are my main Troves that I focus on. I am a lover of positive news and spend way too much time around WordPress so check them out if you are looking for a way to weave through the news and find what you want to see.
-
I don’t believe in the 1st Cor 13 love
I don’t believe in the 1st Cor 13 love or the love that we see in Disney movies. Pretty sure I have given and received love that has been incredibly impatient, rude, and has definitely kept a record of right and wrong (and vice versa).. But the end goal was the same: love. Question love and i think youll find it to be all the more fascinating and dynamic. But, love is hard at any level. It has the power to build up and destroy. It’s a worthwhile risk that we so rarely take on but should. Loving deeply helps…
agm 