Meta | Jenny Neill

Well, Hello There 2014!

By: Jenny

23-01-2014

It’s January what already? Whoa. The end of November and December came and went in a flurry of social engagements and assignment deadlines. The first public evidence of what I’ve been up to as a journalist graced the virtual pages of Sprudge.com earlier this month. Soon, I’ll hold a copy of the latest STiR Tea and Coffee Industry International in my hands. The first issue for 2014 contains more stories I wrote based on traveling to Let’s Talk Coffee, Let’s Talk Roya, and Sintercafe.

Line of dry ground coffee in sample cups with two spoons

Coffee samples, ready to be cupped.
Photo courtesy of Mike Russell Foto. All rights reserved.

My Last Days at Ray’s

By: Jenny

30-08-2013

Meta

This is my last weekend working at Ray’s Boathouse as Sommelier. I’m choosing to leave this job now, near the end of summer, because it is a natural time for such departures. Already some of the younger staffers have left to go back to school in some other part of the country or have started new jobs, taking steps onto other career paths. This change, for me, at this time, is more of stepping solidly to the center of a road I never fully left.

Ray’s Boathouse sign with Puget Sound and the Olympics in the background
Photo courtesy of Mike Russell. All rights reserved.

What is Your Question?

By: Jenny

18-08-2013

Meme, Meta

I left this blog-writing process behind a few months ago knowing that one day I would return to it. For a few weeks, I’ve been trying to figure out what to say. Do I tell you what’s been happening in my life while I was away? Do I explain the conclusion I’ve reached about myself when trying to answer the “Am I a blogger or am I a writer?” question.

Photo courtesy of Nicholas Noyes. Some rights reserved.

Backburning the Bots

By: Jenny

28-05-2013

Meta

Every so often life throws each of us a lot to handle all at once. The past four weeks or so have been one of those times for me. The behind-the-scenes events in my own life are nothing sensational. Or traumatic. There are, however, a number of shifts taking place that have required more attention than I’d expected to give. And so, I went quiet here for a month. Though I do not have a thrilling narrative to share, I still have a few things to say.

Dunged: A New Series

By: Jenny

06-01-2013

Food, Meta

Why am I starting a new blog series called “Dunged?” Perhaps I am keeping company with an immature crowd online. Or, at the very least, a certain segment of my social media buddies prefer scatological humor. Maybe it’s because sometimes in order to re-use the refuse you have to deal with a little feces. So many products we take for granted as coming from factories and labs got their start in the dung heap. And much of how we care for our world and our health has to do with how we deal with our crap.

2012: The Drink was the Thing

By: Jenny

31-12-2012

Meme, Meta

If my blog were to have a birthday, it would fall in June of 2011. That means I’ve been blogging 18 months and have averaged about three posts per month since I started. But that average doesn’t tell the real story of how I struggled to find a rhythm. Nor does it capture how I’ve experimented in long and short compositions, fiction and non-fiction, or including pictures and video as adjuncts to sharing my words with you.

It took several tries for Mike to capture this image of me flaming an orange peel.
If you do decide to try this at home, use a longer match than the one I’m holding!
Photo courtesy of Mike Russell. All rights reserved.

Tired and Uninspired

By: Jenny

20-11-2012

Meta, Non-Fiction

It’s a couple hours past when most people consider themselves to be “off duty” for the day. I’m sitting at the dining room table with my partner tackling a time-sensitive project. As the title suggests, I’m feeling tired and uninspired. At least as far as writing a blog post goes. I got up and out of the house early this morning to do my duty as a citizen. I went to the county courthouse to be available to be on a jury.

Free, A Shift in Context

By: Jenny

12-11-2012

Meta

I am often far more ambitious about what can get done in a day than what is actually possible. When my husband and I caught up with each other about our mutual progress on a joint venture, neither had done what we had expected to. Yes, it’s only Monday and already both of us were feeling behind on our respective goals.

Photo courtesy of Frank Gumola.

Move Along… Nothing to See Here

By: Jenny

06-11-2012

Meta

The trend I’m seeing with my November challenge is that I do the writing that doesn’t pay (my blog) after I do the writing that does pay (contracts or freelance assignments). That’s why I’m sitting here at 9:35pm on Election Night just beginning to write a blog post for today. I’m OK with that. And, I’m OK with keeping it short, too. Important issues are being decided as votes get tallied tonight.

My November Challenge: One Post per Day

By: Jenny

01-11-2012

Meme, Meta

November is upon us, the month of NaNoWriMo and many other writing challenges. I have tried my hand at churning out 50,000 words in one 30-day period a couple of times over the years. And, oh, how spectacularly I failed. One of my characters seemed to have multiple personalities. I could only manage to write another while she was in the most depressing of circumstances. And that plot kept taking more and more complicating twists into a jumbled mess of dead ends.

Photo courtesy of Susy Morris of Chiot’s Run.

— Jenny Neill

Well, Hello There 2014!

My Last Days at Ray’s

What is Your Question?

Backburning the Bots

Dunged: A New Series

2012: The Drink was the Thing

Tired and Uninspired

Free, A Shift in Context

Move Along… Nothing to See Here

My November Challenge: One Post per Day

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