Just dropping in to post a few quick pictures of Papito enjoying the new place. In the first picture you can see one of the key features of our apartment. :) Hint: We did NOT move to the lofts on Antonio Bellet. Are kidding me?!? Those things are like 600,000 pesos a month to rent plus over 100,000 pesos in gastos comunes, aka for Really. Rich. People. Only. They are gorgeous, though.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Just Pictures
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
No Blogging
I don't have internet (or TV, yes, we are really roughing it) at the new place! Telefonica is supposed to come...ummmm....who knows. As we are all aware, customer service isn't one of the high points for a lot of businesses here so hopefully they'll come set everything up by the end of the week. I'm not holding my breath though.
I just wanted to pop in and say hello so you know I'm still alive. Thanks for the concern, nothing bad happened to us to make us move, although there are very entertaining stories behind it all, which I'll get to soon.
Also, any non-urgent emails will be responded to this weekend so if you've written me and I haven't responded, don't fret!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Group Blogging: Racism/Classism in Chile
My post is only about halfway done, so I won't be posting mine yet or reading these, but for now you can leave a comment below when yours is up and I'll put your link here!
*Update: I really don't know if I'm going to be able to write my post this weekend. Sorry but I'm moving. Right now. We are in desperate need of a truck! If anybody has a camioneta and an hour of time to move a fridge and bed please email me: kylehepp at gmail dot com We're moving a block away from where we live now so it wouldn't take long and you would have my eternal gratitude.
And I have to write 32 stories before Monday. And I have to finish designing a wedding album. And I have to run 3 miles today as part of my training program. To say I'm a little stressed out would be an understatement. Sorry about being a crappy group blogging organizer!
Clare
Cachorrita
Lydia
Kathleen
Abby
Emily
Tyffanie
Renee
Leigh
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
My Blue Dress
I have severe writers block. I can't even think of anything to write about for the group blogging topic and I've known what it was going to be for the past two weeks (racism/classism in Chile, in case you missed that post).
So for now you just get a picture of my new blue dress which I am very excited about! Seriously, I've been telling everyone I know about it. I took pictures to email to my mom because when she saw it not on me, just in the box she didn't think it was cute. When S. came in the bathroom I asked him if he liked it and this was his reaction:
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Quick Update
I have so much going on right now and so much to be excited about at the moment. One, I can't talk about just yet because I don't want to jinx it, and the other is a job opportunity that I want SO BAD. Please keep your fingers crossed for me! I don't want to say what it is unless I actually get this job, but it's related to wedding photography in the U.S. (nope, no relocation, don't worry) and I'm very excited about the possibility.
In general, I don't let myself get my hopes when I apply for jobs. I don't like to count my chickens before they're hatched. But, I can't help but be enthusiastic about this one. I will be ECSTATIC if I get it!!!!! And pretty let down if I don't.
In other news, we have raised a whopping $736.32 dollars for Marcelo! Umm, pardon my French, but holy shit!!!! You guys are absolutely amazing. Basically, the first semester matriculation fee is covered, plus 4.3 months worth of tuition. WOW. I took most of the money out right now since the dollar is high and we are putting it into a deposit so it can earn interest until Feb. when we have to pay the matriculation. I've been absolutely floored by the response of people who have bought postcards and pictures, flat out donated and helped spread the word! It feels really good to know that the people who read this blog care so much about their fellow human being, and are happy to lend a hand.
And, don't forget, the contest isn't over yet! I would love to have more people enter...and right now your odds are really good. :) There are four prizes and only about 25 people entered. So do it, enter the contest! I originally thought that the contest would be the big draw and nobody would buy photos but it's been the other way around! I have prizes and want to give them out to you guys because you all rock my world!
All proceeds of postcard/picture sales continue to go straight to the cause until November 6th. So if you're thinking about purchasing, do it soon!
*Updated: The postcard of the palm tree overlooking the mountains and the "Bridge to Nowhere," (the really blue postcard overlooking a bridge in Pucon) are both currently unavailable if you live in Chile. If you live in the U.S. they're on backorder and should be available to mail to you in hopefully 2-3 weeks. If you're in Chile and you really have your heart set on either of those two I'll be bringing back more stock of those postcards at the end of December. Don't forget, postcards are just 1,250 a piece if you order them individually, or 5,000 for 5. If I have to mail them to you the entire set is 7,500.
And, last but not least, group blogging topic for this Friday is Racism/Classism. As always, feel free to apply the topic to whatever country you live in or have lived in!
Chao, happy Tuesday. :)
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Poor Hubby
Sundays for me are like any other workday. The only real difference is that I sleep in and may or may not take a longer lunch break to go out to eat or go on a walk or do something fun. But 99% of the time I work as many, if not more hours than I do during the week.
I like to take advantage of the "day of rest," to work more uninterruptedly. On Monday-Friday I receive floods and floods of emails every day. No, I'm not superpopular. Keep in mind that I write for 5 different blogs, and work for one online business and therefore have 5 different internet bosses who are in constant contact. I subscribe to various newsletters relating to celebrities, fashion, eco-friendly lifestyle and photography, all of which I at least try to keep up with since these are things I need to be able to write about knowledgeably. That's on top of personal blog emails, comments and communication with friends and family back home. I'm, unfortunately, not exaggerating when I say that I get up to go to the bathroom and by the time I'm back there are 10 new emails in my inbox. On Sundays there's a pause in the madness.
S. knows that I work on the weekends, so today he asked me today, "Do you have a lot to do or can you watch Scrubs with me for a little bit?" I was in kind of a bad mood and I responded, "Look at my to-do list for today and tell me if you think I have time."
He scribbled something on my notebook, came back over, handed it to me and said, "Problem solved."
In case you can't read his completely unintelligible handwriting, he wrote, "Scrubs with Papinni and S," at the bottom of my list (Papinni is our nickname for Papito). I stopped what I was doing and watched two episodes while we all cuddled. If only every day were that simple.
These two melt my heart.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Historic Moment
Last night I witnessed something so beautiful, so touching it brought me to tears. This was an event that may never happen again in my lifetime, a historic moment that will live on forever.
Chile beat Argentina mother truckers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1-0, may not sound like much to you, but for people who follow Chilean soccer, the last time we even scored on Argentina was 11 years ago during Salas' reigning years. The last time we won was....never. Ok, well that might not actually be true. I'm not sure, it's what S. told me and I take everything he says with a grain of salt because he has a slight tendency to over exaggerate. Any Chilean futbol fan out there know if that's a real stat or not?
I'm not even joking when I said I was so happy I cried. I LOVE soccer. So naturally it was easy for me to make the transition to becoming a fan of the national team here. The U.S. will always be in my hearts and if they ever match up against Chile we all know who I'd be rooting for -- Go red, white and blue! Wait a second...hahaha, but yes, U.S. is always my #1 team. But, their games aren't shown here. And Chile is my adopted country so they're also my adopted team.
This is a team that was literally a joke last year. They went to one an important, prestigious tournament (Copa Sudamerica) and were accused of damaging hotel property and sexually harassing female hotel workers. The press complained that the players showed up late to practice, and stayed out partying until 4am on the night before gameday.
One year and a new coach makes a whole lot of difference. The kicker -- Bielsa is an Argentine. How funny it must have felt to him that his new team's current biggest accomplishment ever is beating Argentina decisively.
Last night, in a moment of euphoria, I told Emily, "Soccer can give Chileans something to be happy about! This could make this country a better place to live."
Obviously, that's a huge overstatement. But, I really do feel like Chileans need to find something they can feel proud of -- and there are plenty of things like the growing economy and how developed this country is, low levels of corruption, and a country riddled with beautiful scenery from the desert to the Antarctic. But, for some reason all that isn't enough, and I feel like a lot of Chileans are constantly, "mirando pa' afuera," (looking outside) to see if they can find something better, wishing they themselves, or the country was better.
It's not wrong to want to better your country -- there are a million things I would change about the U.S. if I could. But, the thing is, I don't want to change it to be like someplace else. I would make certain things better, but would hope that the country would still retain it's sense of self. And sometimes I get the feeling that Chile just wishes it could be someone else.
Such an important victory in soccer could be one small step in the right direction. I hope that it makes people here realize, you don't have to be like Argentina. You can play like Chile and still beat them at their own game.
And at the very least, that awesome goal by Orellana put a huge grin on a lot of Chilean faces. Hopefully today there will less pushing in the metro, less grouchy folks waiting in line, more smiles on the streets, more optimism in general, people united in a common sense of, "We did it!!!" Chile beat Argentina.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Real Life Me
The other day I met Meredith in person. The encounter got me thinking about how it's always a little weird to meet someone after you've been reading their blog for a while. You know so much of their life story already even though you have never had a real life interaction. Since people sometimes reveal much more in writing you often have been privy to their ups and downs, their dreams, their frustrations and so much more. If you had just met that person on the street and never read their blog it would most likely take you months to get to that level of intimacy, but the internet just skips us ahead through that phase.
So where do you begin the friendship in real life? Do you start at the beginning or just fast forward ahead to behaving like good buddies right away? Obviously this depends on the person, but still, what's the etiquette in these situations now that online has our social boundaries all blurred?
When I see people that I know, I generally greet them with a hug. When I joined a group of friends for lunch and Meredith was unexpectedly there, I felt like I should greet her with a hug too. I mean, c'mon, I've "known" her forever! Or not -- since that was actually the first time meeting in person. Would a hug be awkward or coming on too strong? Sometimes meeting internet friends feels a lot like a blind date!
She came off in person very much like she does in her blog -- friendly, open and happy. The only part of her real life personality that differed much from her written personality is that she seems less serious in person. I got the serious impression because her blog posts are always well thought out, well written and rarely have typos. In person she's more lighthearted.
Only on a few occasions have fellow bloggers really surprised me with how different they were from their online persona -- I think Rachel from A Chile Tale was the perfect example of that. She's way nicer in person than you would ever expect her to be! I don't say that because I thought her blog was bitchy like some people did. I just say that because she has a very British sense of humor which can sometimes translate as sharp when written and not spoken.
I always wonder what people who read this blog and have never met me would think if they knew me in real life. I feel like I'll probably let people down because of three main reasons -- Number one is that I'm not as funny or smart in person. I'm just not quick witted on my feet! I've already admitted that it takes me hours if not weeks thinking of blog posts and what I'm going to write, so if they're funny, it's because I worked hard to try and make them that way!
And then, the second reason is obvious as a former fatty. I'm always worried that people will be shocked by how I look in real life since I only post flattering pictures of myself on the blog -- of course I'm not going to post photos in which I look like a whale, but in person I'm definitely not as svelte and good looking as I try to make myself look on camera. :)
The third and final reason that I get nervous to meet blog readers in person is because that in my blog I make a conscious effort to be positive, as I do in real life. However, this does not mean that my real life is perfect. I remember meeting one girl who had been reading my blog for a few months before we finally got together and she was shocked that S. and I fight. Of course we do, no marriage is perfect! Just because I don't blog about it doesn't mean it doesn't happen. In trying to stay positive I worry that I paint too rosy a picture sometimes and that if I don't live up to the inhuman expectations I fear people might have of me, I will be a let down when they discover I don't have a perfect life! Of course, this is an insecurity that I've always had. I don't like anyone to see me weak or unhappy. I can pinpoint the feeling of having to fake happiness back to my parents seperation. I was in third or fourth grade when they divorced and all I could see was how miserable it was making my brother. So even though I was upset too I would try as hard as I could to put on a happy front in hopes that he would feel better. I try not to burden people with my problems because I don't want them to feel they have to take care of me. Very few people have actually seen my soft underbelly.
Anyways, this whole post turned into more of a cry for psychiatrict help than anything else, but the real life person versus the blog image is an interesting topic that I've been thinking about for a long time now. What do you think -- if you have a blog do you think you come across the same in real life as you do online?
P.S. Don't forget to enter my contest to win MAC makeup or a t-shirt!!! It's easy and you'll be helping spread the word about a good cause. Just link back to the original post in your blog and leave a comment letting me know you did so (or if you don't have a blog email ten people with a link to the original post and copy me on the email: kylehepp at gmail dot com)
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Lingerie in Chile
CONTEST. DO NOT FORGET TO ENTER. It's easy, just link back to the original post in your blog and then leave a comment on the original post so I know you did it, or send an email out to 10 friends with the link and copy me on it! Win makeup and t-shirts and help me out for a good cause!
I threw a bachelorette party for the lovely Tamsin a few weeks ago and of course, as gifts, we needed lingerie. The only problem was that sexy "ropa interior," or "lenceria," as it's called in Spanish is hard to come by in Chile.
Emily, while a little bit harsh in her style judgments, did make a really good point the other day when she wrote about fashion in Chile -- do women here really own the way they dress? How many Chilean women do you notice that look like they wake up in the morning, and put on an outfit because it makes them feel hot?!?
In this country the Catholic church still wields it's power with an iron fist (i.e. the fact that divorce was only recently legalized. I don't remember when, but I know it was sometime while I was here, meaning in the past 4 years or so. Or the fact that the day after pill sales have basically been cut off). Women are supposed to be sex objects for men on the street but virginal and pure for their boyfriends (even though judging by the stats that the amount of teen pregnancies has actually gone up in the past year, nobody is waiting to have sex).
Basically, what I'm trying to say is that, Chile, by appearances, wants you to think that they're a conservative society -- even though they're really not.
So searching for sexy lingerie in Chile isn't an easy task. Like most shopping experiences in Santiago what you find is way overpriced and very poor quality. Then add to that the stigma upon women openly reveling in their sexuality and you are just asking for disaster to strike.
I first trolled the streets of Providencia hoping to stumble upon a cute boutique or two which would give me some good options. There are a few underwear stores, but they were all selling mostly boring, bland bathrobes and full coverage nightgowns -- nothing that screamed, "Wedding night!" to me.
Then I passed by a sex shop. Since it couldn't hurt to look I stopped in. While I did pick up some penis straws, a penis candle and a penis chocolate for our night out, I decided that any lingerie made out of plastic and feathers wasn't exactly the look I was hoping to find for Tamsin.
So, I continued on to Almacenes Paris. This is one of the two biggest department stores in Chile. While the shopping there isn't totally horrendous, if you do find something cute, every other woman in the country is bound to have made the same find, so you'll cross paths on a regular basis with women dressed identitical to you if you buy clothes there. But with lingerie, individuality wasn't as big of a factor so I thought I'd give it a try.
Rather than wander around aimlessly I went straight to a sales woman and asked her, "What options do you have that I could buy as a bachelorette party gift for the bride, or is there anything you have that would be good for the wedding night? I'm looking for the sexiest lingerie you have."
She was an older woman and she looked at me with bewilderment on her face. "Let me ask someone else, I'm not a spring chicken anymore (ya no soy tan jovencita) and a girl your age might have a better idea," she said. Her coworker walked up at this point, a woman no more than 35 years old and the older woman explained what I was looking for. The younger girl's face lit up and she said, "Ah! I know, you want something really fun right?!?" I said, "Yes!" excitedly, because she seemed like she actually understood what I was hoping to find. In my mind, "fun," lingerie means corsets and stockings and other more extravagently sexy underwear.
This woman led me over to a rack filled with Mickey Mouse nightgowns, bras with the ears on them and full coverage underwear that even my own grandma would consider to be conservative.
I didn't have the heart to tell her that she's off her effing rocker so I put on my most enthusiastic fake smile and told her, "You're so right, this is exactly what I'm looking for. What bride wouldn't want the adorable Mickey Mouse accompanying her on her wedding night?"
This whole experience to me really seemed to sum up women and sexuality in Chile to me. Women might be freaks behind closed doors (or not, I don't know, I've never slept with a Chilena) but in public their image is childlike, dependent upon men and innocent among other things. Forget openly expressing sexuality in public!
What do you think about the subject of sexuality and women and self expression through fashion in Chile?
Again, enter my contest and help out a good cause and you'll have my undying love for the rest of your life. :)
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Group Blog: Hardest Custom To Adjust to in Chile
I realize I have been a huge slacker this week on blogging. Believe it or not that's because I've been swamped, blogging for people who pay me. :) I should have announced the topic yesterday but I had a little bit of a crisis. For the past year I've had all my to-do lists in a neat little notebook that goes with me everywhere. I check things off as I go and if it weren't for that notebook my head would probably explode. Then it ran out of paper. And I didn't have time to go pick up a new one. I wrote my to-do list on a scrap piece of paper and then promptly lost it. I don't do well with individual sheets. I blame lack of to-do list for not blogging, because updating JMCS is usually one of the first things I write down.
Moving on to much more important things -- there was a tie for our group blogging topic this week so I'll just announce the one that comes first alphabetically for today and then we'll do the other topic in two more weeks. So for today, feel free to join us in writing about -- The Hardest Custom to Adjust to in Chile (or abroad, or anywhere if you want to make this work for your non-Chile related blog). My post will be coming at some moment during the weekend, but I'll start posting your links today! *Updated, it's down below.
Sara
Heather
Abby
Rita (Colombia)
Lydia
Clare
Amanda
Kathleen (Ecuador)
Lori (Brazil)
Renee
Shannon
Carlos
Katina
Emily
Tyffanie
Jessica
Hardest Custom to Adjust to in Chile -- Extreme Family Involvement
I haven’t really written about my husband’s family too much on this blog. I try to keep them off JMCS because I would never want them to accidentally google me or S. and be surprised to find out that they’re actually internet superstars (not that either of his parents really knows how to use the internet, but who knows, maybe the day they decide to buy a vacuum cleaner that’s not from the early 1800’s they’ll also decide to learn how to use their computer).
But, in keeping with tradition, I have to be honest here, or else what’s the point of having a blog? Adjusting to the custom of how involved Chilean parents are, or want to be, in their children’s lives has been hands down the hardest adjustment for me in
I lived with S. in his bedroom in his family’s house for a 1.5 years. Then we moved next door, although our houses were still connected by a secret passageway so we were never really in our own space. As anyone who has been a long time reader knows, I've struggled with a lot of customs in Chile -- piropos (catcalls), lack of independence because of safety issues, bureaucracy, distrust of fellow human beings, etc. But, family involvement takes the cake as the most difficult thing I've dealt with while trying to adjust to life here.
I should probably clarify first -- I love my husband's family very much. I'm grateful to them for being generous enough to open their home to me when I was on study abroad. I'm happy that they love their son so much. Moving back in with a family after having lived on my own for so many years would have been hard for me even if it was my own. I don't blame them in any way, shape or form for the negative feelings I felt.
The custom of extreme family involvement in the childrens' lives stems, in part, from the fact that most Chileans live at home with their parents until they're much older. This naturally means that the parents will be able to exert much more influence over their 25-35 year old, "children." If mom and dad are paying the bills and putting your food on the table you can't not answer when you're on your way out the door and mom insists on knowing where you're going and what time you're coming back. And insist she will. Insisting seems to be a Chilean specialty. In Spanish slang, young people call it, "hinchando." A person who insists too much is an "hincha-pelotas."
As long as the kids are still under their parents roof, no matter what age, I see no problem with the whole hinchando thing. The problem comes when the child moves out, yet the parents have a hard time cutting the apron string, so to speak. I know that my husband's family isn't unique in this -- I have friends whose husband's family would probably disown them both if they didn't go over to their home every Sunday for for an eternal family lunch. Once, at a party, another friend's husband's mom showed up unannounced with all his clothes washed and pressed because she has her nana continue to make sure his wardrobe looks proper for work. My MIL called incessantly when we first moved out just checking up on us.
This is simply what Chilean mothers do. It's not right or wrong, it's just a different custom than what I've been used to in the past (and what my husband quickly became used to while living with me in the U.S. -- unadulterated freedom). With my own mom if she calls I can tell her that I don't feel like talking and she won't be offended. She can do the same for me and neither of us ever gets our feelings hurt. If I'm upset she will wait for me to come to her to tell her what's wrong, rather than insisting I let her know right away. That's the kind of family I grew up with and how I was used to interacting with people. We go to each other on our own terms, and that method has really worked for us. I get along with my family wonderfully, I adore them all. I honestly can't remember the last time in my adult life that we fought -- aside from talking politics with my brother -- that always gets sticky. He's a *gasp* Republican. But, we always end up agreeing to disagree.
S.'s family dynamics don't really work like that. Telling someone how you actually feel is cause for not speaking for weeks on end and nobody hesitates to snap at each other and lose patience with one another. This isn't because they don't love each other as much as my family loves each other. It's just because they're all so on top of each other all the time that it's bound to happen. With a little space I think everyone would get along better.
I don't want to cut off all contact with my in-laws, or anything like that. But, my husband and I needed them to give us breathing room in order to start our own family life. This concept was difficult for them to understand. But, things have improved significantly over the past six months as they've recognized our need for space and therefore we've began to appreciate them much more now that we've put some distance between ourselves.
And of course, don't forget about the contest! Just link to my post in your blog or send out an email to 10 people with a link! But, this is very important, after you've posted, please don't forget to leave a comment on the original post because otherwise I might miss your entry.
Last but not least, today is Emma's birthday!!! Head on over to her blog and leave her some looooooove.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Being Annoying
Sorry, multiple posts in one day is annoying, I realize that. But, just wanted to say, debates, tonight at Publicity. Be there or be square. If you're going and you see me come say hi!
Odds and Ends
First of all, thank you so much to people who have spread the word about the contest/cause. Don't forget, if you haven't already entered, you can win MAC makeup or a really sweet t-shirt. All you have to do is link to the original contest post in your own blog OR send an email about it to ten people! Enter now and help us spread the word about funding Marcelo's education!!!
Second of all, I can't find any sort of financial progress tracker to put in the sidebar except for things that count paypal donations, but I just wanted to update you guys that with what people have pledged so far we have enough to cover the first semester's matricula plus almost for the first month! You all ROCK for helping me get the word out!
Thirdly, believe it or not, on our last group blogging posts, in the past two days I've added a couple new people's links, as people are just now finishing up on blogging about What Chileans Think About Gringos....and one of the people who was just added is a Chilean which really adds a lot to our discussion -- getting the opinion straight from the horse's mouth. So check it out!
And last but not least, the topics for our next group blog have been narrowed down to the top five out of our last big vote so please vote again! I'll leave voting up through Wednesday night, announce the topic on Thursday and then whoever wants can write about it on Friday.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Art for Good
You can win cool stuff, just read on first.
For those of you who don’t know, S. works in construction. Last year he began working with Marcelo, an ayudante de trasador. Please, forgive me, my Spanish construction vocab sucks so I don't know exactly what that title would be in English (*updated: Isabel says surveyor, YAY for people who are way better at Spanish than I am!), but my husband has given me a general description of the job:
The trasador takes the plans and then he uses the actual measurements to make the real life markings. For example, if he’s “trasando,” for the electric plans, he looks at where the wires are supposed to go and then measures and draws on the ground (or wall, or whatever) so that when the electrician comes he knows where he’s supposed to wire. The trasador also does other basic general tasks on the construction site like use a level to go behind the people pouring the cement and making sure that it’s flat.
For a while Marcelo was the helper of the trasador doing these main jobs. Then last summer he was promoted to the position of actual trasador. He was thrilled. Like S., he loves construction and actually enjoys going to work everyday. And since S. has known him he’s been talking about trying to save up money to go to school. Unfortunately, life has interfered. He wasn’t born wealthy, meaning, to put it nicely, he went to a shitty high school. In
Marcelo lives at home and helps support his family with the money that he makes working as a trasador. His girlfriend lives with them as well, in Marcelo’s room. To try and give them a little bit of freedom and comfort he bought a small refrigerator for their bedroom. Right after he bought, after saving up extra cash for months, his mom and dad’s fridge broke so Marcelo gave them his brand new one. One day Marcelo hopes to ask his girlfriend to marry him and wants them to be able to move out and live on their own – so much so that he applied for housing through the government. Unfortunately, his minimal salary is too much for him to actually be considered poor, and the fact that he and his girlfriend still don’t have kids counts against him since priority is given to those who have little ones to look after. His only chance of a better life is through a better education.
All my life people have helped me, from the little things to the big –For cheerleading when the team voted on buying not only t-shirts with our logo, but a hooded sweatshirt and sweatpants on top of the two pairs of shoes we already had to pay for out of pocket, I was devastated. We were all supposed to buy those things so we looked unified in our warm-ups but I didn’t have that kind of money. Really embarrassed and feeling humiliated, I waited until everyone had left practice to talk to my coach. I told her I couldn’t buy those things and that I would have to wear clothes I already owned. She said, “Kyle, I’ll take care of it.” She was a woman of few words we never spoke of it again but when the sweatshirts, sweatpants, t-shirts and tennis shoes were delivered there was one of each with my name on it. I never knew if she paid for my stuff out of her own pocket or if she just charged everybody a dollar or two more to cover my costs. And then there was my aunt who loaned my mom money to buy a house when she was newly divorced and broke so we could have a backyard to play in, in a good neighborhood to grow up. That same aunt made sure that in penny pinching times for our family, the Christmas tree always had more gifts under it than any kid could ever need. Literally, I could list hundreds of good deeds people have done that have affected my life in so many ways. I’m tearing up just remembering…
When people ask for donations to various causes, I’ve always tried my hardest to say yes, even if I just had five bucks to give.
Finally, after all these years of working my ass off, while I don't have time to spend working for a charity, I’m in a position to make a difference. Unfortunately, I haven’t found a charity that I really believe in with all my heart and soul because A. there’s too much corruption and I don’t trust that my money actually helps those who need it, and B. a lot of times charities are just Band-Aids on a bigger problem, i.e. giving food to the needy. Of course the needy have to eat and I’m glad people are feeding them, but at the same time, I wish there was more that could be done to help those folks so they’d never need food donations again. Does that make sense?
Marcelo is hardworking, ambitious and a good person. All he needs is someone to give him a chance. That’s why we’ve decided to pay for him to get the degree he wants – Tecnico en Construccion. He wants to get it from the DUOC, which is the most respected of all technical universities because it’s directly associated with La Universidad Catolica de Chile, in the top two of prestigious colleges in Chile, and also one of the highest ranking in all of Latin America. If he’s able to get this degree his earning power will quadruple from what he’s currently making.
Tuition is 97,000 Chilean pesos a month ($170.82 U.S. dollars at today’s exchange rate), plus 50,000 ($88.05) matriculation fee once a semester. S. and I have committed to paying this for him. The only stipulation is that he remains one hundred percent committed to his education. He’ll be attending night school Mon-Fri after work starting March of ’09.
From today, October 6th through November 6th, all proceeds of my photography print sales will go towards Marcelo’s education. So head on over to my photography page and start shopping J If you’re in Chile and you want to order a print, please feel order now but be advised: all print orders here will ship out on November 6th regardless of the date you order so that they’ll all go under one shipment. If I submit individual orders, shipping costs to
And now, for the fun stuff: to promote the cause I’m doing a giveaway.
For the ladies – I’m giving away 3 MAC Viva Glam lipsticks (or lipglasses), for people in
For the guys – I’m giving away one TONIC t-shirt of your choice, worth $45.
100% of proceeds from MAC’s Viva Glam products go towards supporting the fight against AIDS/HIV, and about 40% of the proceeds from TONIC’s t-shirts go towards either providing dental care for kids in Colombia, soccer balls for kids in Africa, protecting endangered coral reefs, providing shoes for kids in Haiti, safety, nutrition, and education for street kids in India, mosquito nets for people in Africa, drinking water for people in Bangladesh, or fund the planting of trees in North America to combat deforestation, depending on which t-shirt you choose. The other 60% of proceeds for the TONIC tees go towards running the TONIC website and manufacturing the t-shirt itself.
Sorry guys, that you only get one chance but over 80% of people reading this blog are female, so you’re outnumbered!
How do you enter?
The contest is simple. Link to this post in a blog post of your own. Once you leave me a comment with a link to your post, linking to mine you’ll be entered in a random drawing.
If you don’t have a blog email a link to this post to ten people and copy or blind copy me on the email. I solemnly swear that I will not use their emails for anything under any circumstances. Once you have done so, leave a comment on this post and you will be entered in the drawing.
There will be two separate drawings – in the first 3 winners will be chosen to receive the MAC lipstick or lipglass and in the second one winner will be chosen to receive the t-shirt. If you’re a guy, but you’d rather be entered in the MAC drawing to try and win a present for your mom or girlfriend just make note of it in the comment and vice versa if you’re a girl and would rather have a t-shirt (they also come in women’s versions).
The contest runs from today, October 6th, through November 6th. I'll announce the winners of the drawing on November 7th.
I’ll be keeping track of how much money we make for Marcelo on this blog. Once we get going I’ll install one of those counter thingys. I’ll be closely tracking every single cent that comes in so if there are any questions about where the money is going, feel free to email me. I’m all about transparency here at JMCS.
And if we don’t raise a cent through print sales, don’t worry, Marcelo is still going to college. S. and I are 100% committed to paying for his first semester, and as long as he does well, we’ll continue to pay until he graduates from the two and a half year program. We aren't doing this because he's some kind of charity case or because we feel bad for him. We're doing this because we believe in him.
So here's the link for prints if you're interested! Thanks so much! *Edited to add, postcard sale proceeds count too.
By entering in this contest or donating to the cause by buying prints you are agreeing not to sue me for any reason. I don’t know how legal online stuff works so I just thought I’d throw that in there to cover my ass just in case one of you happens to be crazy.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Group Blogging Topic
It's that time again! We need to vote for the next group blogging topic. The poll thingy that I used is different so this time it wouldn't let me add more than 20 topics. I had to put two polls up to get in all the options we have to choose from so please only vote for one topic. After we narrow it down then we'll do another vote on Tuesday to choose the final topic.
Ok, hopefully that worked!
Also, stayed tuned because tomorrow I have some exciting news and a giveaway!!!! I'm so excited!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Blogging/Writing for a Living
Weirdly enough, I haven't gotten any emails from people about moving to Chile in the past month. I have, however, received numerous requests for information on how to blog for a living. So, as usual, I just decided it would be easier to put up a post instead of rewriting the same information to everyone who emails.
First of all, let me say this -- you're not going to like what I have to tell you.
I got all my blogging jobs by luck. There really isn't much of a secret. The first one I stumbled into and really worked my butt off until I got promoted to editor. After that every other blog I now work for came through a recommendation of a coworker. I touched a little bit on how I got started here.
So I know that's not what most people wanted to hear. Everyone keeps asking me, what website do I need to go to, where do I find jobs? I don't know, because I've never used a blogging website to apply for one. This: http://www.weblogsinc.com/ is Weblogs' website where you can apply for blogs in the AOL network. I work for 3 AOL blogs (Yes, aside from Stylelist and Greendaily, I just got hired for another one that hasn't yet launched!). Another website that was recommended to me by another coworker is: http://jobs.problogger.net/
I definitely recommend having a personal blog. None of the blogging jobs that I've applied for have ever asked for a resume. Everybody just wants samples. Of course, if you're applying for a specific blog you should tailor your sample to the style of that blog. But, it's also helpful to have a personal blog (that you actually update) to pass along so that the person hiring you can get a better idea of your own writing style. I think, especially if you have a personal blog that you update regularly, it also shows that you enjoy writing, that you're able to commit to do it consistently.
Also, think about what you want to write about. Then read blogs on that subject A. to figure out what options are out there for you, and B. e-mail the blog owners of sites that you like with samples if you think you fit their writing style and just ask if they're hiring. You never know.
Along the same lines, what has really worked for me is to position myself as an expert on one subject. I wrote about celeb gossip for about 7 months before I applied to a fashion blog. But rather than try to write about straight up fashion, in my samples I submitted I wrote about celebrity fashion and then did a cover letter type email explaining why my experience covering celebrities would help the fashion blog get more traffic. I now also cover celebrities living green and will soon be covering celeb related holiday stories. It may sound shallow, but I've always read celeb gossip -- I know the life stories and dramas of every A through D-lister out there. Following them was a hobby for me and then when I figured out that I could make that work for me, it became a career of sorts (if you can actually call blogging a career). Also, I know a lot of people think they want to do this just to make a little extra money, but if you want to actually earn good money -- trust me, you need to be a good writer and you need to love writing. People think this is an easy cushy job, but when you really get into doing this and you spend 12 hours a day on the computer writing, loving it is the only thing that keeps you going!
As far as figuring out which positions are legit and which are not, I don't have a lot of good advice, but I would say definitely look for a blog that pays per story and not based on your traffic. That's always a little shady and shows that they probably aren't expecting enough traffic to be able to give you a regular salary.
Price per story varies. For short stories, say, less than 100 words (like the sort of thing I do for celebrity gossip blogging), $5-8 dollars is typical because these stories should take you no longer than 10 minutes to write. For longer posts like 100-300 words, it varies highly depending on who you're working for, but I'd say normal pay is anywhere from $10-25 per post. And for over 300 words, personally, I wouldn't do anything for less than $50. All my blogs pay to my U.S. bank account, one via check, one via Paypal and three via direct deposit. The big blogs usually have international options too, like wire transfers.
Also, don't forget that since you'll be subcontracted (you still fill out a W-9, but that's it) YOU are responsible for withholding your own taxes. As a self employed person you WILL get screwed. There's pretty much no way around it. What a normal person would pay if they're actually an employee of a company...you will pay double. So depending on how much you're making you'd have to set aside 20-40% for taxes alone. If you make under 79k, I think is the cutoff, then you'd be eligible for the foreign exclusion tax -- which would then make you liable for paying taxes under the Chilean tax rules. So there's no escaping it!
Cons of blogging: No insurance, no benefits, no paid vacation, no coworkers, lots of solitary days, when the dollar drops your salary drops (assuming you'll be blogging for U.S. companies), no stability (blogs come and go and you're not under any contract that obligates them to give you compensation for being fired), everybody wants parttime blogging jobs so there's a lot of competition, I work 7 days a week, every week without fail or I won't make the money I need to make.
Pros of blogging: Make your own hours, make as much money or as little money as you want depending on how much you feel like writing, take a vacation whenever you want, a U.S. salary goes pretty far in a third world country (assuming you're living in Chile), work from your house and be comfy all the time, writing is way more fun than a lot of jobs I can think of.
Leave any questions you have below and I'll respond in the comments! I hope this helps those of you who are curious or are hoping to get started in a similar career path. Also, Lori and Kristen (my coworker at 3 of the 5 blogs where I work), I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject since you two both work in this area too!
Also, for those of you who asked how to make money on your personal blog -- I have no idea. If you find out the secret let me know, but I put so much time and effort into this blog but I can honestly say that I don't do it for the money -- I make all of $30-50 bucks a month, hahaha! So I'm definitely not the one to ask in regards to that topic.
Where Style Goes to Die
"Chile is where style goes to die."
-a direct quote from a newly arrived Gringa to Santiago.
While, for the most part I would agree that style is horrendous in Chile, I think it's just as terrible in the U.S. outside most major cities. Here mullets and fannypacks horrify me on a daily basis while living in Tampa nasty fake boobs jobs*, ugly fake tans and even worse fake blond hair were the usual suspects. It's all bad fashion, but depending on where you live, sometime it just turns into bad fashion with money.
But, I'd like to talk about another topic...blogger fashion. A reader sent me this article from Jezebel and I almost died laughing because it's all so true. The best quote says,
It's a cliche that those fortunate enough to work from home (and believe you us, there are trade-offs) do so in pajamas, and like many cliches it's rooted in truth: your fashion standards atrophy as quickly as your social skills.Lack of bra + muumuu (or in my case sweats and a t-shirt) = standard blogger outfit. When I first started blogging for a living I thought that I was just lazy. Then, as I began making friends with my coworkers I realized that I wasn't alone. Most of us are lazy mothertruckers when it comes to getting dressed every morning. I often think, "Why bother?" I mean, the most human contact I have on some days is with my concierge saying, "Hola," as I pass on the way to take Papito out in the morning. I'm pretty sure he's not judging me for not wearing heels and a cute little dress to go watch my dog take a crap. Or maybe he is, but in that case, I still don't give a shit.
After about a year of wearing pajamas every single day of my life, I decided that enough was enough. Now I make more of an effort and if I'm going anywhere at all with friends I don't hesitate to get overdressed for the ocassion. I like dressing up and I don't have many chances to do so, so it can be really fun.
But, I no longer judge Chileans for their fashion choices. Finding jeans that fit here is a nightmare. I'm pretty sure that the brands purposely design their pants to give women cameltoe. Falabella and Paris have slim pickings, often overpriced for poor quality clothing, and since they're the two biggies, everyone in Chile shops there. I bought the tunic below at Paris, and I love it (that's actually a huge understatement. This weekend I wore it Friday, Saturday and Sunday), but every day I wear it I'll probably see some woman dressed in the same outfit as me!
That dress, my cutout wedge sandals and my new cute, vintage designer sunglasses are my attempt at being fashionable. I am a fashion blogger and I do know what I like and what looks good, but A. I just don't have money to afford the things I like and sock away cash. Buying $500 dollar shoes probably isn't the best way to save up money for a trip around the world. And B. In Chile, they don't sell a lot of what I like.
So for now this is it. I have to keep reminding myself that a trip around the world will be way better than being in style. I'm not good at delayed gratification but I am trying my hardest to learn.
*I have nothing against good boob jobs. I actually want one after I have kids in ten years.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
