Blogtipping Day for P's - Christine Kane

Blogtipping

(Note: I will continue with Part 4 of the “Healing Bulimia” series tomorrow.)

The first of every month is Blogtipping Day. This is a tradition that was started by Easton Ellsworth, a wonderful blogger guy who gave me lots of help and advice way way way back in my beginning days of blogging. (Back when movies were only 15 cents, and blogs were handwritten with feather pens.) The idea of Blogtipping Day is to let your readers know about other bloggers you read. It’s a “Spread the Love” kind of thing. Free Hugs. Only these hugs are virtual.

You may be saying to your computer screen, “But Christine, today is the 4th, not the 1st. You’ve missed Blogtipping Day altogether!” But here’s the thing: I’ve missed it every single month since I found out about it. (That adds up to five times.) And on the second of every month, I slap my head and say, “Damn! I missed Blogtipping Day again!” And you know why?

Because I’m a P!

If you’ve done the Myers-Briggs test, you know that the last letter of the four letters is either a J or a P. J’s are the ones who are always on time, and always write things down and never get fined for luggage that weighs too much.

P’s (which is me) are more spontaneous. They don’t necessarily think they are late for anything. They are like Gandalf, who says, “A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins. Nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.” (Though I doubt that wizards ever find themselves paying the angry uptight woman behind the USAir counter a $50 fine for their bloated suitcases.)

So, I’ve decided that today is a perfect day for Blogtipping. For one thing, it’s my niece’s birthday. And while I’m fairly sure her card will arrive late (unless the mailman got in his car yesterday and personally drove the envelope up to Arlington, VA), I think this is the perfect occasion to have a special Blogtipping day for P’s. (P’s also often validate their tardiness by giving some obscure reason why today is the perfect day for the occasion that they should’ve shown up for days ago.) P stands for “Perception.” But I think it also could stand for “Pandemonium.”

So, given all that, here are my Blogtipping Tippees for October.

#1: Novelist in Training

1I love how you write. You’re funny. You don’t take yourself too seriously. And it’s fun to know that when you publish your first novel, you will already have so many readers anxious to leap in.

2The look of your site is perfect. It’s clean and easy and has a great design. (That color green was the cover of one of my CD’s, so I’m a little biased here.)

3 You write great headlines. No, they’re not headlines that bloggers are supposed to write, like “81 Surefire Methods for Building Your Business Protocol Implementation.” Yours are writer-ly and fun. Especially this one. And this one.

Tip: Don’t worry about being under-the-weather and busy and not keeping on a daily posting schedule. (From your recent post with another great title.) No need to apologize for this. Here’s a little story from my first days of gigging: I was always panicked because I didn’t do a lot of cover tunes. Cover tunes, I noticed, always made people cheer and clap loud. I mentioned this to David Wilcox at one point and asked him what he thought. He said, “Do your own stuff and what comes from the heart. Then, when people stay to listen, you’ll know they love you for you, not for the quick thrill of cover tunes.” Your readers are gonna be loyal. You have that kind of writing style. It’s okay if you’re not posting like a maniac. We, your devoted readers, are not fickle!

#2 – The Green Geek

1Your design is beautiful. (Since I’m in a green theme today, I’m picking another site that drew me in instantly with beautiful green graphics.) It’s the closest a computer screen can come to making me feel outdoors-y. Your photos draw me in as well.

2You’ve chosen a bold topic and you write it well. If I weren’t doing the work I’m doing, I’d be doing the work YOU’RE doing. (I have a song called Everything Green in which I attempt to make this known.) Your research is thorough and consistent. I consider myself lucky to get information that you’ve gone out and found. I’m happy to be kept up-to-date.

3You call yourself an optimistic environmentalist. We need more of you! Thoughts can pollute just as much as smoke. I like that you provide good news, too!

Tip: An occasional “back to basics” post would help readers like me who get overwhelmed on occasion. (Baby steps, small things you can do, everyday kind of stuff.)

#3 – Woolgathering

1 – You inspire me. I started drawing because of you. Now, I do a drawing before I write songs everyday. It’s a new practice, and it empties my brain. When I learned that you hadn’t been an artist all your life, I was blown away! Even my husband uses you in our conversations when I’m being a perfectionist about my songs. He says things like, “Do you think Woolgathering cares about stuff like that?” (Your name is now officially “Woolgathering.”)

2 – Technical know-how. You’re fantastic at lay-out and design and being master of your blog. (Mostly though, your drawings have such power and simplicity. I love the lay-out of each page with words and drawings together.)

3 – You made a book. (Hey everybody! Go to her site and buy her new book! It’s almost Christmas!) I can’t wait to get mine.

Tip: Someday, I want to thumb through these beautiful books of yours and take a few hours doing it! (Okay, it’s not really a tip. It’s just me being demanding.)

18 COMMENTS ADD A COMMENT
  • christine

    Hi Elizabeth! I recommend the enneagram even more than Myers-Briggs, really. (If you’re going to be taking the time to “figure it out”) I don’t do house concerts these days, unless the host is paying me a flat fee…which typically means they’re hosting a “private party.” (Typically, they have a big house!) I’ve never heard of the Friendship House concert series. In Pittsburgh, I’ve performed at a club. I can’t remember the name. I’ll be performing at a theatre in Eerie next fall… so maybe something will link up with that show!

    Hi Easton! An ENFP? wow. And you’re really GOOD about Blogtipping Day. But then again, you created it. So I guess you sort of HAVE to! Thanks for stopping by!

  • Easton Ellsworth

    I would have responded here sooner but my Internet connection died for 5 days.

    Great job and nice links and thoughts, Christine!

    I was an ENFP the last time I took the Myers-Briggs test, in high school. I probably still am. “E-N-F-P, perfect personality!” πŸ˜›

  • Elizabeth

    Once again, I am dumbfounded. And grateful. To have dropped into your household vocabulary… hard to imagine.

    For the continuing encouragement and inspiration, thank you.

    (And one of these days I’ll figure out my Meyers-Briggs letters.)

    As for the tip – are you coming to/through Pittsburgh? Do you ever do house concerts any more? (There’s a great series, the Friendship House concerts about a block from my house… couldn’t get much closer than that for a sketchbook visit! Not that I’m hinting or anything.)

  • christine

    Hey Caryn! Excellent!

  • Caryn

    Stopping by to thank you for the inspiration! Because of your comments and those of a few others, I finally have things up and running again. Hope you’re having a good weekend. πŸ™‚

  • Kathy

    Christine – I’m only a notch or so into the E also – and I think I am going backwards in my older (and married!) age on that one. I still like the social interaction every now and then but revel in my alone time (or David and Kathy time) more than ever before….or more than I let myself at least. I do have the “Wisdom of the Enneagram” on my list – I explored the web site a bit when you first mentioned it – but ended up realizing I need more focus in going through it that I was giving it right then. David is firmly an introvert and I envy his focus abililty.

  • christine

    Hi Caryn! Yes, introversion is a good thing. And I would bet you have some P in you too! Thanks for stopping by. I understand that pressure-to-blog thing. Sometimes it can be a real motivator…and then sometimes, it can weigh heavily. Letting yourself write badly is the biggest discipline. Just starting where you are and letting the writing carry you. (At least, that’s what works for me…with both songs and blogs!)

    Hi Jeffrey… I’m off to read your latest entry now… And yes, being an active listener is such a worthy practice. I will often catch myself only halfway in a conversation, as my head spins in other directions. Then I stop, and really LISTEN. What a difference it makes! (I also recommend finding out your enneagram number. A good book on that (like “The Wisdom of the Enneagram” will blow your mind.)

  • Jeffrey Hunter

    Christine:

    Thanks for the blog tips. I tried to implement some of your suggestions in my latest entry. I welcome your feedback!

    Regarding Briggs-Meyers, I took a similar test when working in the corporate world back in ’02. Your entry inspired me to pull out the results and look ’em over. Now I have a new to do list, with PRACTICE BEING A BETTER LISTENER at the top of the list.

    Ugh! Old habits die hard.

  • Caryn

    Wow, Christine! Thank you so much. It made me feel so good to read your words, and I’ve enjoyed the visitors your links have brought. I miss blogging, and what you had to say has given me yet another shove back toward it.

    By the way, I am absolutely LOVING your music–your lyrics and voice both. So glad to have “found” you!

    As for the Myers-Briggs, I have a bit of a split personality, tending toward extremes, which actually means that my scores average out to my being right down the middle, only slightly tending toward INFJ or INFP, depending on the day. Definitely the I, though. Oh, the loveliness of introversion…

  • Dblwyo

    Well try a : plus a D and see what happens. πŸ˜‰

    D

    p.s. – I cheated and looked up the list in Wikipedia but your site does the graphics.

  • christine

    oh, well, dave. i did my best to guess how you did it. but what sits there is a testimony to my paltry attempts at smile-code.

  • christine

    mk, yes, but at some point, won’t it get a little tiring for those who aren’t into self-congratulation?

    susie, that’s the idea. to blog-share.

    dave, oo! and open mouthed smile. hmmm…how’d you do it? graphs and charts are right around the corner! haven’t seen that star trek, but it reminds me of a book i read recently… and now, i’m so into graphs and charts i can’t remember the name of it! :->

  • Dblwyo

    Outstanding ! Bravo Zulu. :D.

    What’s next – graphs and charts for us INTJ types ?

    Dave

    p.s. – you ever see the StarTrek NG where the alien ship captain spoke only in emotional metaphors from historical stories ?

  • Susie

    I’m glad we’re all in the smiley-face circle now πŸ˜‰
    Thanks for sharing these other great blogs, I’ll go check them out now.

  • mary katherine

    Oh my, you used the winky one. I’m so proud! πŸ™‚

  • christine

    you know, i have to say…I am kicking some butt on this smiley-face thing.

  • christine

    Hi Kathy! (my dad’s an INTJ, so I relate to what you wrote!) There’s so much to say here about this. I’m teaching a creativity class for the Federal government during a week long “retreat” they have, in which they are required to do the Myers-Briggs and then participate in group dynamics to illustrate these issues that come up. (It’s really funny. And telling.) I only have one notch in the E… so I’m more of an introvert than most of our kind…but I’m pretty high on the P and the N. The business culture is so ISTJ and INTJ that it’s easy to get a little embarrassed of yourself when you’re an ENFP… I get that.

    AND, always remember that this is ONLY on the level of personality. That’s why I love the enneagram, rather than Myers-Briggs. It approaches the idea of this “facade” you have created as “who you are NOT.” You are so much more. And so much deeper. But still, I get why Myers-Briggs works in office environments. Try the enneagram book I recommend on my reading list. (Try reading the section on number two first. That would be my guess for you! πŸ˜‰ )

  • Kathy

    Ok, so it’s not on topic but I love that you mention Myers-Briggs and just had to comment on it. I’m a huge fan and a proud ENFP myself. It wasn’t until I took the test and digested my Myers-Briggs results that I better understood why I just couldn’t get along with some people (i.e. my father, a particularly annoying coworker, an acquaintance I was trying to get to know better). I always believed that it was a good thing that everyone was different from each other but for so long I tried to force myself into my father’s idea of an ideal approach to life (he’s exactly opposite of me in all categories as an ISTJ.) It wasn’t until taking Myers-Briggs that I truly felt it was ok to be me. That it was ok to be spontaneous and a little messy, take a long time to make decisions, go somewhere or approach a day without a fully laid out plan, thrive in group interactions, enjoy experiencing things (especially surprises) as they unfold. To do anything else stifled my creativity, made me feel bad about myself that I wasn’t living up to some standard way of being. I discovered that there are not many NFs in the world (something like 2% of the population) which was why I was coming up against this “standard” so much. It was so freeing to understand my personality in this way. To all you Christine Kane readers that haven’t taken Myers-Briggs……do it!!