I feel like I just sent myself to my room: GROUNDED due to blog neglect. And don’t come out until you are ready to apologize!

So here I emerge, tail between my legs, with a bit of an apology. See, even if you didn’t really notice or didn’t really care, I know that I’ve been neglecting you these last few weeks. I haven’t been living up to the high standards and twice-weekly publishing schedule I try to uphold on this blog. Because I don’t want to waste your time with sub-par content, I end up not publishing anything at all, even though I have so much I want to say and share.

The truth is that I’ve been overwhelmed (AGAIN). Contrary to popular belief (at least based on a handful of humbling and incredibly nice emails I have received recently), I do NOT have it all figured out. “It” being this magical place where accomplishment AND inner peace co-exist, where I seamlessly balance life’s demands while walking a tightrope of my own expectations, and where I pay-close-enough-attention-to-but-somehow-don’t-over-feed my crazy emotions that seem to run amok every day.

So I have been prioritizing the book, my day job, my sleep and my sanity over just about everything else. I haven’t been writing as much as I would like, responding to emails in a very timely way, commenting on other blogs, tweeting or really upholding my end of the social media bargain. But we all need a break sometimes (or a turtle shell to hide under), and this has been mine.

That is not to say I haven’t been thinking about you. Drumroll, please! Enter THE MOST RANDOM POST OF ALL TIME.

Things I’ve been wanting to ask/say/share these last few weeks:

1. I would love your support for my SXSW Panel - I’m pretty much scared shitless to even tell you about this panel (let alone lead it), which is why I know it’s important that I do. I submitted a proposal to speak at SXSWi (tech-geek heaven) called “Got 99 Problems But a Blog Ain’t One” to help bloggers understand what it takes to get a book deal even without a gigantic platform (much like my inside scoop book newsletters). In order to have a shot at presenting, I need your help — will you vote for my idea if you think it’s a good one (even if you’re not attending)?
2. If I Had Known Just One Thing E-Book – I’m a contributor in the free career-related e-book compiled by Shane Mac called “If I had known just one thing.” You can either download the book as a PDF, or navigate through the fancy HTML pages (using your arrow keys). My submission is called “Don’t Wait.”
3. Book Photo Voting & Contest Winner - Thank you SO much for the comments and votes. I’m sorry I haven’t had a chance to reply to your comments, but I read every single one and appreciated them so much — you have no idea. I still haven’t decided which picture I’m going with; the popular vote seems to be for photo #2, but I might just be leaning toward #1 (both need a closer crop). And (drumroll again) the winner of the first-ever-giveaway of my own book is Sneha — congrats! The book is in the mail (and by mail, I mean off to the copy-editor for the final round of edits. Eek!)
4. Career Moxie BlogTalk Radio Guest Spot – I speak with hosts Tiffany and Allison about why you don’t need an official mentor (and share what inspired me to write my book). The show is about 30 minutes long, and covers how to create informal mentoring relationships and how to find mentors in unexpected places.
5. Psychology Today article mention - Speaking of mentors, one of my favorite people, Susan Biali, recently wrote an article for Psychology Today based on conversations we’ve had recently about time management, saying no, and taking care of ourselves. The article is called, “Shackles or soul-stirring? Decide before you commit.” The part where she quotes my email response as “Eeeeeeeeeee!!!” cracked me up. Guilty as charged
6. Hosted Pam Slim for an Authors@Google Talk – I was very excited to host Pam (another role model who blogs at Escape From Cubicle Nation and has a book of the same name), for an Authors@Google event earlier this month. She makes a case for building a “side hustle” (either within your company or outside if it) as a critical part of being successful in the workforce. Check-out the 45 minute video (with a short intro from yours truly).
7. Coaching update – after 2.5 years, 115 training hours, 100+ 1:1 coaching hours, 9 supervised calls, a written exam, an oral exam, and 2 major 3-month long “I’m not cut out for this” dips, I am now a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC)!

Just for Fun:

• Check out these AWESOME retro aprons from Cupcake Provocateur (sent by my fabulous friend Jenny Ferry)
• Want a song with so much bass it will make your butt vibrate when you listen in the car? Download Bassnectar’s Bass Head
• Need some inspiration? Check out 10,000 Ideas and Resources for Writers
• I was honored to be a guest speaker with Merlin Mann at an ASAE event this week. Check out an awesome talk he recently gave at Rutgers on Time & Attention.

Blog Posts I’ve Loved Recently:

• Andrew Weitsman’s “Time Enough for a Life“
• Danielle LaPorte’s “Your Permission Slip from the Universe“
• Elisa Doucette’s “There is a Time for Everything“
• Derek Shanahan’s “A Day in the Life“
• David’s transcription of an awesome “How to be Alone” video on YouTube by Tanya Davis
• Ben’s “Energy Bankrupt“
• Doniree’s “Input-Output and a Calm Presence“
• Chelsea’s “Wrestling My Muse into Submission is like fighting a RABID. DOG.“
• And finally, congrats to Ryan who just landed an awesome new gig in Kansas City and Grace on her 2-year blogiversary!

Words of Wisdom from a Recent TUT’s Notes from the Universe:

You’re the only person who knows what’s right for you. The only one.
And if you already know what this is, commit to it. If you don’t, commit to nothing.

Only you know,
The Universe

That’s it for now…I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your week! I’m off to continue my search for a life filled with rainbows and unicorns. Or just watch some so-bad-it’s-GOOOOD reality TV.

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While at Sprinkles Cupcakes today I couldn’t resist but film a little video for you. In this video, I give thanks to my lovely readers (that’s you, hot stuff), share my cupcakes-as-metaphor-for-life-and-side-projects wisdom, and disclose my amazing method for eating a cupcake so that you maximize the bliss in every bite.

The video (click here if you don’t see it below) is just under 3 minutes:

Want an extra laugh? Watch the (embarrassing) outtakes of me and my dad actually eating the cupcake (per my ingenious method).

While you’ve got your volume up…

I’ve had the great honor of being featured in several other places this month:

Blog Talk Radio – Lindsey Pollak interviews me for a segment called “Modern Day Moonlighting: Why Two Jobs May Be Better Than One” (~20 minutes)

• Podcast Description: Today we’re talking about the popular phenomenon among young professionals of working a full-time job and pursuing other projects on the side. Why are people doing this and how do you make it work? I’ll be talking with Jenny Blake, who works full-time at Google and runs a coaching and blogging business, LifeAfterCollege.org, on the side.

Blogcast FM – Interview by Srinivas Rao (~45 minutes)

• In this podcast, Srini and I talk about the following:
  • How I turned my post-college confusion into a successful blog
  • The intrinsic value of being a blogger
  • How to grow an audience without focusing on the typical marketing tactics
  • The no-pressure approach to starting a blog
  • The step by step process I used to find a literary agent
  • The numerous fringe benefits of sticking out in the blogosphere

Have a fantastic week everyone!

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Well, folks! A small family of pigs somewhere just got their wings and learned to fly. I – Jenny Blake – blogged about the BIG SCARY L-WORD over at Ophelia’s Webb.

I am honored to be a part of Elisa Doucette’s February All You Need is Love series, in which a different blogger will pontificate on this warm fuzzy topic every day for the entire month o’ loooooove. (On that note, will one of you be my valentine? I get lonely this time of year with the Superbowl and Valentine’s Day and all…)

Here’s a sneak peek at the beginning of my post, titled Love Happens – If You Let It:

When Elisa emailed asking me to contribute a guest post for her “All You Need is Love” series, it struck a little (okay a lot of) terror in my heart. “What the HELL do I know about love?” I said out loud to the friend I was with. We both chuckled. I’m 26 and it’s no secret that my dating life often leaves – well – much to be desired in the way of passionate romance. Which is funny, because I’m like a walking feeling machine with an inner romantic so sappy it puts most RomComs to shame.

So I sat with the following questions for a few weeks before I was ready to write: What do I know about love? What do I want to say about love? Can I “add value” to this series without being sure that I’ve ever experienced true passionate, romantic, soul-connected love?

To read the rest, jump on over to Ophelia’s Webb and check it out!

Cheers – to love, light and laughter in 2010

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Just as babies born near Christmas forever have their birthdays lumped in to holiday celebrations, my blog’s two year anniversary happens to fall squarely into the annual “best-of blog” posts and year-end reflection round-ups. But such is life! It gives me a great opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. Or should I use a cupcake?

I started this website in March of 2006 as a resource for college grads (and as an excuse to practice my new-at-the-time HTML/CSS skills). After letting it sit painfully unfinished for two years, I added the blog in 2007, revamped the look and feel in January of 2008, stumbled around a bit and now FINALLY feel like I’ve gotten some traction (and beloved readers!) in the last year of blogging in 2009. (Check-out last year’s round-up here).

Personal Milestones:

I’m proud to report that in the last year, I successfully completed the following:

• Transferred into my dream role doing Coaching and Career Development at Google (after 3.5 years on the AdWords Training team)
• Finished a triathlon and half-marathon (full marathon was last year)
• Bought my dream car (the 2010 red Prius affectionately named Red Velvet)
• Wrote the draft of my book and started sending my proposal to agents and publishers (more on this in 2010)
• Led two People-On-the-Go Lunch and Learn webinars with Pierre Khawand, each with ~100 attendees (Gen Y in the Workplace and Twitter 101)
• Co-created and co-emceed the day-long iThrive Weekend Experience workshop with Jenny Ferry; delivered (live and via webinar) the portion on “How to Rock Your Personal Finances“
• Found out this week that I was selected for a three-year term on the International Association of Coaching‘s Board of Governors
• Hosted several extraordinarily fun cupcake tweet-ups with my amazing blogger friends (IRL fo’ Life!) and dressed up as a cupcake for Halloween.
• Had the awesome experience of watching my Bruins play Tennessee from the sidelines at the Rose Bowl for my dad’s 60th birthday (thanks T-Bone for the sideline pass!)

Blog Stats:

• In the last month, I received 7,000+ visits (13,500 page views) from 97 countries – that’s double last year’s visitor stats.
• The top two referring keywords are “life after college” (~600 visits this month, not including the hundreds of variations on that query) and – surprisingly – life checklist template (147 visits).
• My favorite quirky searches that led to my blog are “I don’t date,” “dating sometimes you just have to go through the bad ones” and “are Harvard graduates really the smartest people in the world?” No – UCLA grads are, obviously!

Blog Features and Accolades:

• Featured in Jun Loayza‘s Awesome Blogger Video Interview Series
• Landed on Ryan Stephen‘s Top 10 Gen Y Blogs List: #1 in December (thank you!), #4 in August, #6 in June
• Featured as a Blog Crush in Elisa Doucette‘s Blog Crush Series (almost made me cry!)
• Winner of Grace Boyle‘s Crush It! Contest (with my Skills are Cheap, Passion is Priceless post)
• Featured in Matt Cheuvront‘s Inconvenience of Change series (with my Complexity of Change post); also part of Matt’s 13 Gen Y Rockstars and 10 Blogs to Follow in 2010 lists (YTB Chevy!)
• Participated in Samantha Karol‘s Appreciation Revolution (with my Making the Shift: From Resistance to Gratitude post)
• Featured in the always amazing Jamie Varon‘s Girl Crush post
• Featured in Carol Phillip‘s Millennial Women Disproportionally Influential post
• Nominated for Brazen Careerist’s Best Blog Posts of 2009

My Favorite Life After College Posts of 2009:

• Life: Temperature Check: What’s Your Quality of Life?, Motivated by Achievement: A Blessing and a Curse, On Confidence & Unconditional Love, Stop Auditioning for Other People’s Lives
  
• Money: 3 Little White Lies we Tell Ourselves when Spending Money, Budgets ARE Sexy When Simple, A Day in the Life of My Paycheck, Are you Clogging your Financial Arteries?
• Work: You don’t ALWAYS have to pursue your passion full-time, Create a Professional Development Strategy: Part 1 and Part 2, Learn to Love Feedback: It’s Your Career Currency
• Happiness: Expanding Happiness: On Fear and Bliss (with notes from Dad!)
• Dating: Do you go for Quality or Quantity? (my most commented-on post with 50+!), Dating is a Roller Coaster, A Note of Compassion for those Pesky Things Called FEELINGS
• Organization: On Big Rocks, Frogs and Productivity, How I Stay Organized, Something is Better than Nothing
• Book Notes: Living with Joy, The War of Art, Zen and the Art of Happiness
• Misc: In Defense of Twitter, Video: Happy New Year! No, I’m not crazy*, Lots of good quotes (too hard to choose)
• Templates: All of them!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. Your energy, enthusiasm, support and presence here on Life After College mean the absolute world to me. This blog has changed my life, and you are an enormous part of that. Hugs, kisses and cupcakes all around!

***

Want to stay connected? There are lots of great ways to get in touch with me on social networks:
Delicious |  Google Reader | GoodReads | Twitter | 20 Something Bloggers | Brazen Careerist | Facebook | LinkedIn

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Courtesy of ObsessedWithCupcakes (Flickr)

…to thank you with!

Ryan Stephens just posted his Top 10 Gen Y Blogs list for December, and I am thrilled to say that Life After College is in the number one spot! When my friend Elisa emailed to tell me the news, my heart started pounding. I looked over both shoulders, like “me? really?” and then started jumping up and down like a school girl.

I just wanted to write a quick post to say thank you SO much to all of you for sticking around, reading my blog, and for inspiring me to keep going. Special thanks to everyone who voted too.

I am humbled to be in great company.  If you haven’t already, do yourself a favor and check-out the rest of the blogs on the list – they are all worthy of the top spot. I am lucky to call many of these fellow Top 10 bloggers close friends: OwlSparks, Life Without Pants, Sydney: Unfiltered, Life’s Like a Box of Chocolates, Small Hands, Big Ideas, Ophelia’s Webb, Location 180, The Rest is Still Unwritten & Thrilling Heroics.

Finally, here is the great blurb Ryan put together for Life After College (and yes – he really did call to congratulate me “IRL“):

1.) Life After College – Jenny’s mission is to provide simple, practical tips that help you focus on the BIG picture of your life…not just the details. Find tips and resources for life, work, money, happiness, productivity, personal growth and more.

Admittedly, I’ve been anticipating Jenny’s ascension to the top for few months now. I suspect it was only a matter of time. Quickly becoming famous (in our insular world) for her nifty templates/guides, Jenny does so much more. For one, though I haven’t met her I can assure you she’s real (just read the post).

I don’t know if it’s because she gets to hang around smart people at Google all day, but sometimes it just feels like Jenny knows something I don’t (aside from what a red velvet cupcake tastes like). For about 3 seconds it makes me want to live vicariously through her until I read that I should “Stop Audition for Other People’s Lives.” Told you she was smart. Like Sydney, she manages to mix in a few dating posts. But most importantly, she takes great pride in convincing the most charismatic bloggers in the world to guest post for her. (What? My fingers are tired. I deserved that plug!)

Congrats Jenny! And to everyone who made the final Top 10 Gen Y Blog List of the Year (and in this format)! I’m off to call Jenny and congratulate her, seriously.

Virtual hugs and cupcakes to all of you! Thanks again

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Image Courtesy of Betty Crocker (Flickr)

Thank you for being here.

Thank you for:
reading.
thinking.
commenting.
challenging.
inspiring.
engaging.
sharing.
laughing &
encouraging.

Thank you for being awesome and brilliant readers and friends.

I leave you with two things on this beautiful Thanksgiving day: my favorite gratitude poem, Be Thankful, and a delicious-looking Thanksgiving cupcake.

Now I’m off to go eat, watch football and spend time with my dog, Patches, who I am very thankful is still with us at 14 years old!

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Don’t know what IRL means? Don’t worry. I’ll explain.

There’s been a lot of buzz in the blogosphere about Mindcrushes and Blogcrushes and whether what you see is what you get with either one. Is the infatuation with bloggers who speak to our soul just a passing fancy based on projected images of perfection? Are the recipients of our affection real and worthy? Or as many of our less tech-savvy friends and family may wonder, are they just mysterious constructed “others” swirling around a crazy Wild Wild West Internet vortex?

I propose that the Blogger IS real

Just not the way you picture him or her. First, the caveat stated so eloquently by Derek Shanahan in his post, The Blogger is Not Real. Derek describes the fallacy of thinking you know someone from reading their blog. He says, “We, as authors, bloggers…we are not who our blogs say we are. We are not what the reader sees.” I agree wholeheartedly. No matter how much I reveal here, how many pictures and videos I post, how often I tweet – you won’t really know me until you meet me in person.

But here’s what I do want you to know: despite the fact that you can’t truly “know me” without meeting me in person, I am real! I sit here typing and darting my fingers around my keyboard just like all of you. I have feelings, insecurities, and identity crisis’ with the best of ‘em. And who is to say that people we interact with everyday truly “know us” anyway? I feel more seen and understood by people – especially other bloggers and tweeters – than I have in my whole life. There are many times I actually feel more ME on the Internet than I do at social events in real life (abbreviated as IRL for those of you still wondering).

Take a Leap! Talk live or meet in person when the opportunity strikes

I feel incredibly blessed when I meet or talk to people I’ve met online in real life – whether in person or on the phone. During my recent trip to New York City, I had the great fortune of meeting up with six (count them, six!) blogging friends. We had cupcakes at Magnolia bakery, breakfast at Google, coffee at Starbucks and danced on a bar in the Meatpacking District (videos are NSFW and thus will not be posted here). My co-workers looked at me a little sideways when I told them I was meeting up with “strangers” after work (their word, not mine). I loved every minute of it.

Is the blogger as you know him or her real?

Not the version you’ve constructed. But are your connections real? Hell yes. And when you get the awesome opportunity to meet one in person, will they be different from how you pictured? Always. But hopefully in that fun, exciting 2D-comes-to-life kind of way. You’re probably sick of me saying this, but meeting in real life (over a red velvet cupcake) is how I met the hilariously fabulous Jamie Varon (look At, I didn’t describe you as lovely!) – who is now one of my closest friends…wait for it…IRL!

The message I tweeted earlier sums up my feelings well: all these amazing connections give me the sudden urge to run around the internet hugging people I’ve never met in real life. So to those of you still reading: come in for the real thing!

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Now that's what I call FROSTING! (Photo courtesy of Flickr)

Last week Ryan Stephens published his list of Top 10 Gen Y blogs. You – readers, friends, fellow bloggers – voted me #6. Number Six!!! I was jumping up and down like a school girl when I saw that. I would have been excited about an honorable mention. Heck, I was excited to be on the ballot in the first place. I called my parents and friends as if I had one the lottery.

More than ever and long overdue, I am compelled to express out loud the gratitude I feel every day.

Thank you.

Thank you to those of you who subscribe via email. Every time I see your name on my subscriber list, I smile and send you lots of happy thoughts.

Thank you to those who read in a feed reader - even though I do not know exactly who you are, I know you are out there! I’m honored to be among your (ever-expanding, I’m sure) list of blogs worth reading.

To those reading this blog for the first time – today, right now – welcome, and I look forward to getting to know you better!

Thanks for your insightful comments and your emails. Every one is like a little present in my inbox.

A special note to everyone on Twitter - you make every day exciting. You never cease to fill it with connection, humor, intelligence and resources. I hope I am able to do the same for you. I am always so thankful for all of the @replies, conversations, re-tweets and the #followfridays. Non-Twitter folk, have I lost you yet? If so, read why I think you should join the fun!

Thank you to those who have joined me and Jamie on one of our crazy cupcake tweet-ups, and to those who haven’t – either head out to SF or hopefully we will soon be at a city near you! (Read a great write-up of our most recent cupcake tweet-up by BrokeGradStudent.com)

Even before the Top 10 Gen Y Blogs nod, this post was inspired by a similar one at David Cain’s blog Raptitude. Thanks David, for your compelling writing and for such a sincere note to your readers. After reading it, I really felt I couldn’t have said it better myself.

This blog is my playground. A fun, energizing place that is helping me “live the dream” of creating value, sharing it, and (hopefully) making people’s lives better one little step at a time. Thank you for being great readers and great friends.

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