Inert is how I feel: The developers for my website handed over the first beta version on Friday, and it was a mess. Why bother with the weeks of back-and-forth on static design mockups if you're going to ignore them when you build the site? I sent it back like a plate of overcooked fish.
But that means more waiting.... And the more time I spend not creating content, the more concerned I am that the concept is flawed. Sometimes I like the idea of keeping the site to the topic of real estate, which can also encompass things like new businesses. Other times, I worry that no one will want to read such a site regularly. Or should it be about Santa Barbara in general, with real estate as one topic among many—restaurants, shops, the outdoors, travel...? In short, anything that I think is important, but not everything throughout the city. (Comprehensiveness was overwhelming when I was covering Tribeca; to take on a whole city, even a small one, would be murder.) The problem with that idea is that it sounds like every other media outlet around here. And I swore I wouldn't do it again....
I swing between the two options, occasionally pausing at a dismal mindset where neither looks good. The only way to learn what the site wants to be is to start working on the damn thing. I fear, however, that it won't be ready before the end of July.
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On the other hand, stone fruit! The yellow ones were labeled as mango nectarines, but I didn't buy any (just as well because we seem to have bought everything else). Maybe I'll pick some up at tomorrow's market. "No, this is not a cross between a mango and a nectarine," write Eat Like No One Else. "It’s simply two pale varieties of heirloom nectarines crossbred in California. [...] "The texture had a creamy mouth feel. My taste buds were left with an aftertaste similar to a mango. It was sweet, not as much as white flesh varieties. [...] If you have a chance give them a try, especially if you love mangoes as I think you would appreciate the slight take on the mango."
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Thanks for the postcard, Susan! It's rare for anything delightful to come by mail these days, and I love that we were thought of during the trip (not to mention appreciating the effort of mailing it from France). She wrote there was more snow on the hiking trails than they had expected, but you could "slide down on your bottom." We'll be wanting to see the video....