Tracking Traffic.....

A while ago I put code in my blog so I could track who was coming to visit and read.....its a pretty cool system, and after I installed it I was obsessed with checking my traffic stats. I can proudly say I've gone from approximately 8 visitors a day to over 14. WHOOO HOOO! I've always been hesitant to mention it because it feels kind of "Big Brother" ish, you know? But what the heck - there are pretty much trackers on EVERY website you visit, so why should mine be any different? The cool thing about it - besides the fact that you can see what city and country they are visiting from, how long they were reading, when they left, the IP address - is seeing how they arrived. I see if the readers arrived from a click on an email I sent, or from a link on a message board. I get a lot of random visits from people searching google. Some of the most recent searches..... "Pilsbury Sock it to Me" "Love Toe Socks" "Porristas Big A$$ Bums" <-- porrista is the spanish word for Cheerleader There has also been a lot of searches for Christmas Music - from Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers to the Vince Guaraldi Trio. Pretty interesting actually. Recently I noticed I link from another Mexican website, so I went to visit. Apparently it is a listing of all the English blogs that are written from Mexico. Both Keith and I made the list - you can see it here --> BLOGS OF MEXICO Pretty cool how its all interconnected, eh? ::::::::::::::MUSICAL INTERLUDE:::::::::::::: So my brother Kyle has been working at his music from the second he learned how to play a guitar (maybe 14, 15 years old ish?). I've always enjoyed listening to his music, even if its not really "my style" per se. He recorded a CD with a friend, Jim Baker - but it was never released to due publication issues...... Jim moved from GRap to Chicago, and is working with another group (which apparently started back in Flint Town way back in the day) - more of a hip-hop rap jazz fusion sound - called The Massey Trio. They released an album called "The City of Ill" and you can purchase it on iTunes (sorry I don't have the link - iTunes is blocked from work. Dammitall anyway!)....or you can hear some samples on their myspace page or CDBaby - a review site for independant music. Kyle is featured on a couple songs, although not an official member of the group. I was just amazed and blown away by the track called "Lost Apostle". The other track he sings in is called "They Think They're Soliders". Check it out - Kyle is the one singing the vocals (not the rapper dude). The rest of the album is OK, (Like I said before, not really my gig) - but the Lost Apostle really caught my ear. They are playing next Friday night, the 15th at THE NOTE in Chicago (Wicker Park area). If you have a sec check them out! ::::::::::::::SELF ESTEEM:::::::::::::: You know, for not having a lot to say today, I sure do have a lot to say! I decided to run and experiment this week.....I was going to see if I could go every day this week with doing my hair, dressing not frumpy and wearing makeup. The truth is I never saw much benefit in getting all hussied up every day just to make yourself easier on the eyes of other people. I'm not big on doing things just for someone else, you know? But, when Pat O'Brien is around I find myself trying to be more presentable, just cuz it feels good, you know? Not like I need to impress him, but I guess I was just doing it unconciously (until I noticed it last weekend). So I started my experiement Monday. Well, I didn't do it Monday because Pat O'Brien left super early and I was tired, but every other day I did. Now, I didn't get all hooered out or anything - just a couple swipes of eyeshadow, a scoshe of mascara & eyeliner, blush and some lip gloss. And you know what, I felt pretty good about myself all week. I looked nice, I got complements from random people....I think it was not just because I actually did look that good, I think it had to do with the attitude I was portraying. I smiled more, stood taller, etc etc. So my experiment showed me that 10 minutes of primping in the moring is actually good for the rest of the day. Hmmm....maybe it will become a habit.