Emma Alvarez Gibson

Entries Tagged as 'op/ed'

The Grand Adventure

January 28th, 2010 6 Comments

This is a piece I wrote for Long Beach Magazine. It was published in the January 2010 issue.
A few years back, sitting in the kitchen of a beautiful guest house just outside of Christchurch, New Zealand, I came face to face with some surprising truths about myself.  My husband and I were six days into [...]

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The Biggest Reason I Love Social Media

January 14th, 2010 9 Comments

It’s not because social media has been the most important factor in building my business. (Although it has.)
It’s not because it levels the playing field in so many ways. (Although it does.)
And it’s not because I’m now very much in touch with the quotidian habits of people I have not seen in twenty-five  years. [...]

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My Co-Workers: You, You, and YOU.

November 10th, 2009 8 Comments

A few weeks ago, my friend Stacy put words to something I’d been thinking about for some time. Appropriately, she said it via Twitter: “…twitter is like the watercooler for the self-employed.” Of course! I thought. That’s exactly what it is. Since I am self-employed, I see very few other humans during an average workday, [...]

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Let Us Compare Mythologies

October 28th, 2009 20 Comments

There’s been a lot of talk around the internet lately about manifestos and life lists, and I love that stuff. Seriously. Big life lists are sensationally exciting to me. And manifestos? Color me drooling. I’ve had the life list for awhile now, but felt I really needed something more concise…a, well, manifesto. If you like. [...]

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#5 is my favorite.

October 27th, 2009 2 Comments

I use GoogleVoice primarily for business. If I get a business call at home, I can just answer the land line and rest a little easier, knowing the call won’t be dropped due to the sporadic cell phone coverage in my hometown. That aside, I think the main benefit of having voice-to-text messages delivered to [...]

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5 Tips For Sounding Smarter (And Writing That Way)

September 28th, 2009 18 Comments

Like most everything else on earth involving humans, grammar is prone to flights of fancy. We all remember when you used to be able to say “Ain’t” ain’t in the dictionary!, right? Well, some things remain solid and unmoving. Those things are important to know. Here are five of them.  Smart chicks will dig you. [...]

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A Story About Ping

August 13th, 2009 4 Comments

This is not a story about a duck. (Sorry.)
Note: This is my first-ever video. How excitement! However, there is maybe an issue with image/sound syncing? If this is the case while you’re watching, I recommend opening another tab in your browser and pretending you’re listening to a podcast. I hate image/sound syncing issues. They totally [...]

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It matters.

May 16th, 2009 2 Comments

(Originally posted on February 29, 2009)
This afternoon I was rude to the security guard at the front gate of my condo complex. I had broken my don’t-let-yourself-get-hungry rule, had left the house two hours prior for a hair appointment that had to be rescheduled due to my having been caught in traffic, and had neglected [...]

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What Keeps Me Steady

May 14th, 2009 No Comments

(Originally posted on March 28, 2009)
Historically, I’ve been an all-or-nothing type of girl; either I’m thrilled and enthusiastic, or I’m Sylvia Plath’s spiritual twin. You probably know someone like that. It’s a very tiring way to live. At some point I decided it wasn’t for me. So I studied what other people did, people who [...]

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