Julie Pecenco’s Life in the Little City

We’re visiting my family this weekend, and there have been all sorts of things going on.  Yesterday afternoon we watched Molly graduate from preschool.  We had planned to watch my brother on some portion of the 62.5 mile bike ride he was doing this morning, but less than an hour into his ride, he got a flat, and didn’t have the tools he needed to fix it (the wheel had no quick release, of all things.)  So he got a ride home and tried to replace the tube, only to pop yet another tube.  Eventually, he gave up on his road bike, climbed onto his cheapie old hybrid, and headed off down the road to rejoin The Ride for Roswell (a benefit ride for the Roswell Park Cancer Institute) and do a shorter loop.  In the end, he still rode around 48 miles, most of it on a lousy bike.  So hats off to David for his ride.

Meanwhile, we played with the girls, helped Annette with cupcakes, and played with the girls some more.  In the evening, Leah, Annette (my sister-in-law) and I decided to walk the 4.3 miles to my parents house, while David drove himself and the girls in the van.  We had a nice, but warm, walk, and appreciated the oppurtunity to go for a swim when we arrived.  The girls joined us, and Molly had a blast with the new snorkeling set her Nonni had for her, picking up how to use the mask and snorkle in minutes.

Megan requested a swim with Aunt Julie, so she and I shared a swim before we all had to get changed for dinner.

Tomorrow is her third brithday party.  There’s just all sorts of stuff on the schedule this weekend.

Photo credit for the swimming photos goes to David Pecenco.

Tweet This Post

They didn’t have time for an engagement session, but on Friday I attended Sarah and Mike’s rehearsal at the Chestnut Inn at Oquaga Lake.  It rained on and off on the drive there, and was still sprinkling lightly during the walk-through.  As the bride’s father walked her towards the awaiting wedding party, I looked beyond them across the lake to see a complete rainbow framing the group.  It was a bit faint, so you’ll have to look for it in the photo.  (Click the thumbnail to enlarge.)

What a sublime moment as they begin their lives together.

Stay tuned for a sneak peak at the weddings photos.

Tweet This Post

In a recent post, I mentioned that I am on Facebook and LinkedIn and a few other social networking sites. Leah pointed out that I provided a link to my Twitter page, but didn’t actually mention it in the text.

First of all, let me say that I think Twitter is incredibly silly … and highly addictive. I find that I have been updating my status up to several times a day, which is significantly more regularly than I update the blog. The beauty of Twitter – a concept known as “micro-blogging” – is that it is quick to post and quick to read, since updates are limited to 140 characters. It’s a way to share as those little random things that happen throughout the day but don’t merit a full fledged blog entry. I also have it set up so that whenever I update the blog, it sends an status update to Twitter, so that if you followed me there, you’d see all the blog updates as well.  I also have a “What I’m Doing” section on the right side of the blog showing my Twitter status.

As if anyone really needs to know what I am doing all the time    If you’re interested, however, you can follow me on Twitter, at http://twitter.com/pecenco And be sure to let me know if you’re on Twitter (or Facebook or LinkedIn or …)

Tweet This Post

For many reasons, I’ve wanted for some time to start riding my bike again.  It’s great exercise, it’s better for the environment, it saves on gas (thus saving money), and it’s fun.  We got the bikes tuned up not long ago, and I recently ordered and installed some thinner and smoother city tires to replace the MTB knobbies I’d had on the bike since I bought it.  I added a mirror and a rack, and was all set to start running errands and commuting to meetings and events on my bike.

Last week, Leah and I rode to the library, and Monday night I rode to a church event.  I’m not yet kitted out for night time riding, so I had to walk home, but the next day I walked back to pick up my bike.  These little rides around town are getting me back into cycling shape, and allow me to avoid driving while still getting places quickly.

After a few days of very warm temperatures, it was finally cool enough to mow the lawn today.  When I went to start mowing, however, I realized that we were out of gasoline.  The gas station is about 3/4 of a mile away, and it seemed so silly to drive 1.5 miles to buy gas.  So I strapped the gas container to my bike, and off I went to the gas station for a fill up.  It was busy (since the station directly across the street from it has inanely priced the regular at $0.16/gallon higher) so I had to wait in line to use the pump.  On my bicycle.  It was fabulous.  When I was re-securing the cannister to my rack, a man commented, “That doesn’t need gas.”

I feel so green.

(Photo credit goes to Leah Bridgers on these two photos.)

Tweet This Post

As I sit in a dorm room at Hamilton College, sweating like crazy in the heat and forced to listen to a drunken party just outside the window, I’m going to try to write a blog entry.  We’re at Hamilton for Leah’s ten year reunion, and apparently some people have not grown up since college, and bring the party back to campus with them.  But that is not why I’m writing.

Regular readers will notice that I haven’t been very diligent at updating the blog in the past month or so.  My online time has been spent chasing Web 2.0.  Frankly, though I am online all the time, and have heard the term used all over the place, I had no idea what the heck it meant until I decided to figure out what all the fuss was about, and how I could use it to help build my business.  So first stop was to Google “Web 2.0″ which led me to the conclusion that the term doesn’t really mean much of anything.    What it’s all about is active web sites versus passive sites; Web 2.0 is about users creating content, versus content provided primarily by the big companies.  It’s the social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, Linked In, etc., as well as blogs, apparently.  So, without even knowing it, I was already participating in the Web 2.0 phenomenon.

Here at the Hamilton Reunion, Leah and I heard Dan Nye, CEO of Linked In, speak this afternoon.  It introduced Leah to Linked In, and I learned a little about what was behind the scenes, though it was mostly a pitch for Linked In.  I’ve been on Linked In for a while now, though I must admit that I am on Facebook far more often.  I’ve wasted many hours on Facebook, but I have also gotten back in touch with people from high school to college to my years as an engineer.

So, are you on Facebook, Linked In, My Space and the like?  I’m always looking to connect. You can find me using the links below.  (The Facebook link is to the Julie Pecenco Photography page; if I know you, I’ll gladly add you as a friend.  Just search on my name.)  As for MySpace, I’m there, but I never really use it.

Tweet This Post