Summer Mini-Bloggiesta

Rainy summer weekends are perfect for reading and writing, so it's the ideal time to participate in a mini-Bloggiesta. What is a mini-Bloggiesta? Well, it's the same as the regular event, just shorter and with fewer mini-challenges.

Here's what's on my to-do list this weekend:

1. Write two planned posts for this blog.
• One done. Postponing the other until #2 is done.
2. Write at least one new post for my business blog.
• Done Monday night. Whew! 
• While I was there, I updated my featured posts on the front page.
3. Send the Knowledge Event themes to the volunteers for the for the PMI Community of Practice blog I edit. 
• Done!
4. Find a blog post to republish on the above blog. 
• Done! Just waiting for permission...
5. Participate in the Twitter chat at 10pm today.
• Done!
6. Promote my Sockets and Lightbulbs Facebook page (including this link doesn't count).
7. Do the following Bloggiesta mini-challenges:
• Comment, Comment, Comment by Mom's Small Victories
• Done!
• Easy SEO Tweaks by On A Book Bender
• Done!
• alt motives by Spamantha
• Done!
8. Break apart an old post into three separate posts so I can share them separately.
9. Write custom Blog Follow Email and Comment Follow Email texts.
10. Start an article for an online magazine that had approached me for a contribution.
11. Reconnect with another blogger for a potential guest post.

If I think of anything else to add over the weekend, I'll just update this list.  At the end of the weekend, I'll also update this post with what I accomplished.

Time to get some tea and start writing!

Making The Best Of Business Travel

I didn't blog much in May and June because I was away a fair amount - twice on business.  Like everyone early in their career, I thought business travel would be so sexy.  Then I got a job where I had to travel every month.  That's when I learned that it can take a lot of energy, so I learned a few things about how to make the best of business travel.

Downtown Frankfurt after a day of rain

In May, I spent a week in Frankfurt for work.  Fortunately, D and I spent about 24 hours in Frankfurt about 20 months earlier.  We saw more then than I did in my week in May - I was working that much.  How can you make the best of a situation like that?

1. Bring your camera
• I was lucky to get a room with a great view and was able to go for a short walk around the hotel.  By having my travel camera with me, I was able to get a great shot of downtown Frankfurt on a moody night (above) and feel a little like a tourist during my walk.  During my last visit, D and I saw a life-sized Batman statue on a street I knew wasn't far from the hotel.  So, I was on a mission to get a picture.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find it again - but the quest was fun!
2. Practice your German
• I got to practice - just a little bit. Still, it was fun to practice the language... and help a colleague buy his dinner.
3. Eat like a local
• In Germany, the main meal is traditionally at lunch with sandwiches and cold cuts in the evening.  The company I was working with always made sure we had a decent lunch, often with food Germans typically eat. For dinner, I raided a grocery store near the hotel, buying bread, cheese, wine, chocolate and an antipasti plate.  Yeah, antipasti is Italian, but cultures are crossing borders in Europe, just like in North America.  

Zombies at E3

In June, I was honoured to be sent to E3 - the biggest trade show in the video game industry.  It was a working trip.  I spent a good part of the three days working in the booth, providing support to press VIPs as they played a demo of our game.  I also spent a good part of my time in the hotel room, answering emails and providing support to the team back at the office.  Still, I managed to walk around the exhibition floor and have some fun outside of the show. Best tips from this trip are:

1. Bring your spouse
• This was the first time D came along with me on a business trip.  I am SO glad he came.  We got him a free affiliate pass (he is affiliated with the video game industry), so he got to take in the show floor and do some networking on his own. Still, checking out the show floor and trying out some games with him was fun.  When a show event didn't work out one evening, we decided to try a delicious urban farm restaurant. I love my colleagues, but I have been seeing them a lot lately, so it was needed change to spend some time with my husband in a work context.
2. Finally meet some people... in person
•  In our uber-connected world, we often do business over email, telephone and web meetings. While it can work well for the day-to-day, it still makes a big difference to meet the people you are working with face-to-face. Since my time was limited, I only met with the people I currently work with and past partners I particularly enjoyed working with.  That is a lot more useful and enjoyable way to spend precious time.
3. Take care of some (long overdue) personal business
• Nothing feels better than being able to take care of some long overdue personal business - no matter where you are! It only took an hour and it's DONE.
4. Bad flight schedule? No problem! Visit a favorite place.
• I was booked on the red-eye flight back to Montreal and I couldn't get D on the same flight. Ugh. Well, LA is only about two hours away from San Diego, so I decided to rent a car and spend the afternoon at the San Diego Zoo.  Last time I visited was 2001, so I was looking forward to taking my DSLR and adding to a collection of photos originally shot in film.  In addition, due to an accident on the highway, it took me twice as long as expected to drive to San Diego, but I was treated to a drive through Cleveland National Forest, west of Temecula.  So, the next time you are booked on a less-than-ideal flight, take the opportunity to visit a favorite place or a new place. 

Turtle photo bomber!

Related articles

• Infographic: Business Travel
• Making the Most Out of Business Travel

Exploring The New Planetarium

More than a year after the old Dow Planetarium closed it's doors, the new Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium opened this month. Having been an astronomy fan all my life, I couldn't wait to explore it.  I posted it as a MEETin event and a number of people were interested in attending.  Several dropped out due for a variety of reasons, one of which was because the Planetarium was BUSY.  The website advises visitors to buy tickets online and they are not kidding.  The 2:30pm show was sold out well in advance and one member hadn't bought her ticket so she bid her farewell and enjoyed the beautiful spring afternoon outdoors.

Planetarium with the Biodome (left) and Olympic Stadium (background)

A friend and I had bought our tickets in advance, so we explored the interactive exhibits on meteorites and life in the universe before getting in line for the first show. Before entering Continuum, the staff give you a bag so you can take off your shoes for a really immersive experience. While it's not mandatory, I recommend giving it a try.  If you are near the front of the line, you also have the option of watching the show from really comfortable bean bag chairs.  The graphics and music are amazing as you are taken on a journey from your back yard, through the universe and to the beginning of life.  It is hard to describe - you will just have to see it.

The next show, From The Earth To The Stars, is a more traditional Planetarium show where a charming narrator acquaints you with the stars currently in the sky above Montreal and then takes you through the solar system, galaxy and universe.  The graphics from the new projector were fantastic.

As great as the shows and exhibits were, the highlight of the visit for me was looking through a solar telescope set up outside the entrance.  

One of those rare moments where I'm in front of the camera

I was even allowed to put my camera up to the telescope and take a picture of the sun.  You can see the solar flares on the edge of the sun.  If you look closely, you can also see a sun spot (a slightly dark spot)  in the lower half near the middle.  That sun spot is about the size of the Earth.

Our sun through a solar telescope

I definitely recommend checking out the new Planetarium.  Just remember to get your tickets in advance.  You can get regular and Quebec resident tickets online.  Student and Access Montreal discounts are only available at the Planetarium, so arrive early.  The early morning shows were not sold out.

Related articles

• Newly built Montreal Planetarium ready to open after 18-month absence

Sweet Treats

One of the benefits (or curses) of living in Montreal is the fabulous food.  If you have a sweet tooth like I have, there are many wonderful temptations.  In the last six weeks, I had the pleasure of sampling a long time favorite and trying some place new.

Olivier Piffaudat Chocolatier Alchimiste is the inspiration of my good friend Olivier.  Over the last two years, he has been building his business and his collection of tasty and unusual chocolates.  Just before Valentine's Day, he was part of Je t'aime en chocolat - a celebration of all things chocolate at Marché Bonsecours.  I went to check out his latest inventions and to get acquainted with Montreal's other chocolatiers.

The exhibition space was packed!

Olivier's table was filled with a selection of every chocolate in his collection.  With Valentine's Day coming, I bought one of each of his chocolate cocktails.  What are chocolate cocktails?  They are a re-imagination of your favorite, classic cocktails in chocolate form, such as Bloody Mary, Cosmo, Pina Colada and, my favorite, Margarita.  For the exhibition, he was also selling Mexican Hot Chocolate.  I love a good Mexican Hot Chocolate, so I had to get a cup.  It was thick, sweet, rich with the kick of hot chili.  Perfect for a cold winter day.

O.P Chocolatier Alchemiste's Collection  

In March, I held a tea and macaroon event with some friends at La Maison du Macaron in my neighbourhood.  With over 20 different flavours to choose from, it was hard to pick just three to have with my tea.  Almost all of us had the macaron du mois, a delicate maple and cashew nut.  I am always a fan of seasonal products, so I selected the Pailleté Feulletine and caramelized banana macaroons to round out my trio.  If you're looking for a small, quiet and delicious dessert place to have a coffee or tea with friends, I can recommend La Maison du Macaron.

Tea and a trio of macaroons

Good thing Spring is around the corner.  The warmer weather will get me doing more active things outdoors, distracting me from these sweet treats.

Blogging Marathon Weekend (sort of)

I'm not spending nearly enough time on my blogs.  My business blog is being neglected due to my hectic work schedule.  Even though I only update this one once a month, the quality of what I post could be better.  This is why I was really looking forward to this weekend.  I've known about the semi-annual Bloggiesta since the mini-Bloggiesta in early February.  Just this week, though, I found out the Biannual Blogathon Bash is also holding an Itty Bitty Blogathon.  Not one, but two reasons to focus on my blog!  But... I have to block off some time for work and a social commitment.  So, I won't be spending as much time on blogging as I would like.

With that in mind, my blogging goals for this weekend are simple (with updates at the end of the weekend in italics):

1. Write a post for this blog and my business blog. 
• Done!
2. Find a post on a particular subject to republish for the PMI Community of Practice blog I edit.
• Not done... yet.
3. Participate in Twitter chats.  (I'm doing that as I write this!) 
• Participated in both Bloggiesta and one of Blogathon2 Twitter chats.  
4. Promote my Sockets and Lightbulbs Facebook page.
• Spent a bit of time on this.  I added a link to the blog post on how to promote your blog on Facebook.  I posted something about it on Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus and invited Facebook friends to "like".  Doubled my "likes" as a result.  Need to do this more often, as well as start some original discussions on Facebook.
5. Figure out a way to build on my one-hit wonder post. This post alone gets half my blog views!
• I spent some time analyzing the search engine terms that led to blog views. My top 100 search terms boiled down to four key categories.  It's very clear who my audience is.  I also learned that Google is only indexing my post titles.  I changed two post titles to include common search terms.  We'll see if that improves views on those two posts.  It was also interesting to see what terms did NOT show up.
6. Do the "Through A Visitor's Eyes" Bloggiesta mini-challenge
• Done!  It was very helpful.  I need to think about how someone would search for a particular post on my blog.
7. Check out Itty Bitty Blogathon's task list and try a few, even if I don't officially enter the challenge.
• Read through the impressive task list and did one: ran BDC Website Assessment.  As I acted on the result, I discovered that my domain registrar had my domain listed as "expired" (it's not). Got that fixed!
8. Update: Break apart an old post into three separate posts so I can share them separately.
• Didn't get to it.  I mostly put this on the list as a reminder to do this.
9. Update: Write custom Blog Follow Email text and Comment Follow Email text.
• Same as above.

If I get all the above done this weekend, I'm rocking!

Why am I participating in both events simultaneously?  Bloggiesta is mainly for book bloggers. I LOVE the community, which is why I participate every time.  Blogathon is supposed to be more general, so I thought I would see what one of the events were like.  

Happy blogging!