Well then, you and I have very different ideas about what’s sexy.

But if you love or even just kind of have a crush on this blog, or if it’s one that you read but don’t exactly ever know what to expect (yeah, me neither), or if it’s the only expat blog you read, or it’s marginally better than that one you read by that girl who moans endlessly about the lack of peanut butter (there must be one), or who doesn’t run in circles to explain to you what’s going on here and there, or perhaps doesn’t even measure her kitchen in matchboxes or talk about her elevator like it’s a neighborhood bully, well then have I got a task for you.

Lonely Planet, that on-a-shoestring-tourbook publisher that printed the book I dutifully carried with me on my first ever sola foray out of the country, on an ill-conceived trip that at times left me very ill indeed, through the highlands and lowlands of Central America with a backpack that was entirely too heavy, too full of socks and also a space blanket which thank goodness because I almost froze to death a couple of times, well that publisher is running a blog contest.

It’s essentially a popularity contest. Contrary to what you might guess given the pithy observations and verbose diatribes, I was never particularly unpopular, in the idea of disliked. I might have been a curiousity (poke her, see what she’ll do), or perhaps even an oddity (did she say squabble?! squabble? (they sounded like turkeys at this point in my tenth grade history class, squabble? squabble?), but I never sat at the cafeteria lunch table alone, spitballs in my hair. (In fact, I skipped lunch entirely, but that’s a tale about how we had captive lunch at my highschool because of the neighborhood it was in, and not about the blog).

So back to popular. If you want to see me achieve great pretend fame in the virtual world that is bloggity madness, look no further but to vote for my little rincón (corner) of the internet on Lonely Planet’s blog awards.

Clickety and you shall arrive!

expat blog: www.bearshapedsphere.blogspot.com

‘twould be nice indeed.

If I win, or get honorable mention or at least a size medium t-shirt, I will start taking suggestions about what to write about. And um… well, that’s really all I can offer. But I’ll be extremely smiley while I do it. That’s got to count for something.