I'll be leaving for California tomorrow!  Yes, I'm sure that statement is probably very familiar to many of you seeing as this will be the 5th time I've traveled over to that state this year.  However, this time around I will be in NorCal (first time!) instead of SoCal.  I will be there from Christmas Day until New Years Day.  What will I'll be doing during that time?  Well, here's what I have planned so far (if you're familiar with NorCal I'm open to suggestions for things to do and check out):

Friday, Dec 25th: Fly into Oakland, settle in over at relatives
Saturday, Dec 26th: Take a tour of San Francisco with xLove_Me_Alwaysx and elelkewljay hopefully.  If I'm lucky, I'll be having dinner with fLiPgUy31O, subaru3169, snapeful, and jeannie_dot_com when they arrive in NorCal.
Sunday, Dec 27th:  South Bay Area Xanga meet!  Will be checking out all that San Jose has to offer.  Later that evening I will also be sleeping in the same hotel with fLiPgUy31O, subaru3169, snapeful, and jeannie_dot_com .  Slumber party?
Monday, Dec 28th: 2nd day of the Bay Area Xanga meet, hosted by sonychak!  We will be hanging out in San Fransisco area on this day, including a tour of Alcatraz Island.  Fun stuff!  This will also be the last night I'll be sleeping over the hotel.
Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec 29th-Dec 30th: Visiting family in Sacramento.  Slight chance that meowmeowkimmaee will join me?  *cross finger*
Thursday, Dec 31st: Back on Oakland for the final full day here in California.  Don't know what I'll be doing yet except attending a big family dinner that night.  Hmm, I suppose I'll be ringing in the new year with them too.
Friday, Jan 1st:  Fly home to Maryland.

To say I'm very excited for this trip would be an understatement

While I'm on the subject of meet ups, the DMV (DC/MD/VA) meet up on Sunday, January 10th will be in Annapolis, MD this time around instead of DC.  TheCheshireGrins and I are coordinating this, so stay tuned with her for future updates!  The last meet up was amazing, so I expect the same from this one.  If you live close by but have some traveling issues let me know; perhaps we can work something out.  Who wants to come?

Oh, remember how I said I wouldn't be able to do another XangaSecret update this weekend because of the trip?  Well, I lied.  Expect at least another volume this coming Sunday.  Who knows, if I'm feeling super ambitious I might post up two.

One last thing.  Remember the commercial I made?  I forgot I had recorded a trial run through of that with my brother standing in for me.  I just found the footage on my camcorder, so I want to share it.  My little brother is SUCH a ham:

Sure changes the vibe of the video huh?

Anyway, I need to pack.  Happy Holidays everyone!

You guys are familiar with PostSecret right?  For those that are not familiar, it's a place where people mail in secrets anonymously on a postcard.  I absolutely love the idea, so I figured I want to do a tribute to it by doing something similar to that idea on Xanga. 

This has been done by a few people on this site before, but I want to make it an ongoing project.  I'm going to put a slight twist to it though; instead of mailing me a postcard with your secret on it, I want people to leave an anonymous comment on this post.  I will then pick my favorite ones to put in a video showcasing the secrets on top of pictures that relate to the secrets. 

To give you an idea of what I'm talking about, I made a quick demo of how it would go (FYI, only the first one is a true one from me.  The rest I made up):


Interested in helping me out?  If so, here's how to be a part of this:

1.  Ideally, try to think of a secret (brief, if possible) that relates to Xanga in some way (i.e. the community, other Xangans, blogging, etc).  However, secrets that aren't exactly related to Xanga are okay as well.

2.  The more unique your secret is the better!  For the most part, everything is fair game.  It can be positive or negative (hopefully more positive ones).  Please try to refrain from making cheap shots at others though.  I will only post up negative secrets directed toward any specific Xangan after I get said Xangan's permission first. 

3.  After you have decided on a secret to share, leave an anonymous comment containing that secret on this post.  To do that, first sign off your account.  Afterward, you can go down to the comment section and leave your secret anonymously (click on the Anonymous option in the Identity section). 

4.  If you have a picture in mind that you want me to use, include that as well (either a description or a link). 

5.  Again, keep it anonymous!  Otherwise, it's not much of a secret is it?  Don't worry, I'll respect your privacy.  I'm not going to try to guess who left which secret by looking at footprints. 

6.  Finally, feel free to reply to any secrets you see (you can be anonymous or not).  I may include your reply comment in the next entry as well.

That's it!  I will post the first official XangaSecret video this Sunday.  If this project takes off, I will make a new video every Sunday for your viewing pleasure.

So, if I may ask, what's your secret?

UPDATE (12/29/09):

Check out XangaSecret Volume I and Volume II here.
Check out XangaSecret Volume III and Volume IV here.