I may not be the best driver out there — there was that unlucky streak of speeding tickets a few years ago, and I’ve driven over curbs and had my share flat tires — but at least I can say I’m a friendly driver. I let people in front of me when they’re switching lanes, I wave a thank-you when someone lets me over into their lane, and I often stop in parking lots to let a car back out of their space. (OK, sometimes it’s because I want to park in their space, but still, it’s a nice thing to do, right?)
But from my experiences in the year and a half I’ve lived in Indy, I can’t say I feel the same about many of the other drivers here. Continue reading ‘Road rage rant’
Liz is an associate editor at
Angie's List magazine. She enjoys eating chocolate chip ice cream on the beach after swimming. She also likes colder, drearier places like London.
…my new home:
According to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill the number one reason you should bother to write a good introduction is because you never get a second chance to make a first impression. I hope I succeeded in writing a good introduction of my new home.
It lies in the Indianapolis neighborhood known as Williams Creek. I have famous neighbors in the area — Peyton Manning lives around the corner in Meridian Hills. Continue reading ‘I would like to introduce…’
Conor is an associate editor for
Angie's List magazine. He has a cat named Kanye and a puppy named Sherman, his favorite movie is
Back to the Future, he loves playing basketball and his favorite place is his couch.
My partner, Eliese, has wanted a dog for years. I did my best to dodge this request because I’ve had little experience with dogs, I think dogs are high maintenance and I’m quite accustomed to my footloose and fancy-free ways. I was hesitant to the thought of being responsible for something that would change my life so dramatically. Continue reading ‘Puppy Mama’
Mandy Miller is senior online editor for Angie's List publication department. When she's not focusing on the
magazine's website and other online offerings, she's tackling a mounting list of home improvements she thinks she can do herself. Plus, she really likes to ride her bike, play with her puppy, Boo Radley, and take naps.
In college, I adopted two mixed-breed dogs from the Monroe County Humane Association in Bloomington, Indiana. I named the sisters Aja and Diva (that’s Aja’s nose shot, and Diva playing hide-n-seek — her favorite game), and I thought I knew what I was doing while raising and teaching them. Eight years later I finally realize they weren’t the only ones who had a lot to learn. Continue reading ‘The power of pawsitive reinforcement’
Tristan Schmid is host and producer of
List-en up!, the Angie's List podcast. When he's not sitting in front of a computer, working on websites, audio or video production, he stays occupied by taking his dogs for walks, helping
homeless animals find families, and skiing.
As you, the observant and frequent reader of the Blue House Blog, may know, the Angie’s List campus offers the excellent benefit of an on-site, fully equipped gym, replete with personal trainer. In an effort to improve my overall health, as of late I’ve been taking full advantage of this benefit by working out about three times a week. To tell the truth, I’m not really doing it to improve my health. I’m not even working out on a regular basis to get big, rippled muscles. Truth is, I want to be the guy who kicks sand in the face of the minuscule weeny on the beach. Continue reading ‘Getting stronger’
Josh is an associate editor at
Angie's List magazine. He has two dogs, Simon and Clem, and likes Thai food, Portland, Ore., and riding his motorcycle. For the low price of $1.00 US, he will give you his sincere and succinct opinion about anything.
I’m one month into riding my bike to work and already the reviews are pouring in:
“We laughed. We cried. Two thumbs up,” say Ebert & Roeper, mistaking my commute for the Italian neorealist drama, “The Bicycle Thief.”
“Keep it short and you’ll limit the helmet hair,” says my barber.
“Um, could you bring an extra change of clothes on humid days?” say my co-workers. Continue reading ‘This is how I roll’
Matthew is the senior editor for local affairs at
Angie’s List magazine. When he’s not at the Blue House, he enjoys reading and writing fiction, playing guitar and riding his bicycle.
My fiancé and I can go anywhere in the world for our destination wedding next year. Sounds nice coming from our destination wedding travel agent, but the truth is, like most people, we (and our guests) have a budget.
We’re in the stages of narrowing down our location. This is, we’ve been told, the hardest part of a destination wedding. I hope so, because I want my wedding to be as easy as possible for me. Continue reading ‘No worries, mon!’
Kristy is deputy managing editor at
Angie's List magazine. She has two rottweilers, Bud and Moto, and enjoys playing mom to her rott-en, lovable pups. Taking the plunge into homeownership last year was a huge wake up call for Kristy. Thankfully, she says, she not only has a handy fiancé, but a handy tool called Angie’s List as well.
My wife and I recently made the decision to move. Actually, we made the decision a long time ago, not long after we moved into our current apartment. While we feel relatively safe in our neighborhood, there have been some things we don’t like about it. Like Mike, we had to deal with a break-in not long after we moved in, and although the damage was relatively minor — enjoy that non-working PlayStation, punks! — anytime someone comes into your home uninvited it’s a little disconcerting. We also returned from our honeymoon to find graffiti scrawled across parts of our building and the others in our complex, although it was quickly cleaned up.
But neither of those things are why we decided to move. Continue reading ‘Movin’ on up?’
Eric is an associate editor for
Angie's List magazine. He has a Cocker Spaniel named Maggie, his favorite food is anything but beets, and he enjoys watching football, being loud and correcting other people's grammatical errors. His favorite album is Johnny Cash's "At Folsom Prison."
I’m putting a lot of thought into getting a dog, but I don’t want just any puppy. It’s got to be a companion, a real man’s best friend. That means poodles, the most selfish of all dogs, are out. I thought about a Weimaraner, except people might mistake me as being artsy, which would mean I’d have to start wearing berets. No thanks. Continue reading ‘My dog dilemma’
As editorial intern, Mike writes the monthly employee page, edits content and talks to service providers for the Comparative Shopper column in
Angie's List magazine. His favorite place is the Appalachian Trail (except for the areas that have bears, snakes or birds). His favorite album is "London Calling" by the Clash.
Spurred by the torrential rainstorms that have recently plagued Indiana and the number of responses we’ve received from Angie’s List members concerning our Green Living Issue — both positive and negative — I’ve been giving global warming some thought…
I’ve decided that, regardless of which side of the global warming camp you’re on, or if you’re camping at all, there should be no denying that something is causing the earth’s weather patterns to go absolutely haywire. Continue reading ‘A stealthy ride to greener living…’
Lindsay is the publication assistant for
Angie's List magazine. She has a dog, Clio, whom she found on the street, pregnant, in front of the Blue House. Lindsay loves eating anything homemade, especially salads, and her favorite movie is The Constant Gardener. Coincidence? Her favorite place is the South of France.
