13,957 White Gloves

I heard about this last month but didn't look at the links until today. Wouldn't the King of Pop be proud. Talk about some serious coordination!

And of course- the original video that we all just can't seem to get enough of.

Nike

I hate being MIA from here and then trying to make excuses as to why, because excuses suck. I will say though, that I have been busy scrambling to find and place to live, help launch a company and put and event series together and dive into/get involved in my community. (Among other things.) With all this I have tried to take a step back and observe my surroundings. Here's what I have found:

People like to talk about stuff, but not do stuff.

It's ridiculous.

I can't say I haven't been guilty of it at times myself, but overall I think I've gotten off my a** and made things happen when I've wanted to. I'm not a hero, just a woman who was raised to earn it and do it herself and never expected anyone else to do "it" for me.

I have lived in and spent time several cities at this point in my life. In them I have over-volunteered, been over-involved, been overly-concerned, had a huge bleeding heart. While being/doing these things I've met lots of those key community people/business leaders/"important" people as well as been invited to join and participate in, this group and that board of such-and-such. While I have met incredible people, learned immeasurable things and been fortunate to find a mentor or two- I have also found that so many people seem to like to sit around and talk about "making things better" and not actually make things better. 

I had to write about this today because it's part of the reason I've disappeared for a few days. I've been trying to take some time and space to have these conversations. I wonder why everyone seems to be so afraid to stand up/dive in and just do it. The common thread in every single conversation I have had in the past week personally and professionally seems to center around a "Yeah! We need to do this and that!" ...and then nobody seems to take action. 

Talk is cheap.

Put your money where your mouth is.

Well behaved women rarely make history.

(Insert 9,967,367,912,980 other lines here...)

Give me a task or challenge- I'll do it. Give yourself a task or challenge- then do it. Let's all try to practice a lot less sh*t-talking and a lot more doing. We do not live in a place where you are ordered to sit down and shut up- so why are we all sitting down and shutting up? If going after what you want and what you believe in makes you obnoxious- then sign me up for president of the obnoxious club. We've got one life. ONE. And the clock is ticking. What are we waiting for?

Thanks for lunch yesterday Malcom. You might not know this, but it was so much more than a good chat about work.

This Is Why We Do What We Do

Below is a portion of an email response from a ticket buyer for concerts we are putting on this fall.

People have told us that we are "unrealistic" and will drive ourselves crazy by trying to respond to every ticket sale email confirmation. We don't listen. We go the extra mile, we work our tails off to treat our "customers" how we'd want to be treated and we still email every single person individually and say thank you for buying a ticket. That's just how we roll. It takes a lot of time, we're tired, we do things like miss days of posting on blogs (like I have here:( ) and don't get to sleep very much, but it is so so worth it when things like this pop in our inbox. We love being "unrealistic."

Hi Back Diane!

What a pleasant surprise. Not only my two favorite bands, RRE & GPN at what looks like a wonderful venue, but a thank you email from the promoters with a link to a blog that made me feel really good. Don't get THAT from Ticketmaster.

I'm Alive

I promise. Just a few days of good madness. More soon...hang tight please! :)

This Is One Of Those...

..."I shouldn't laugh at this picture but I so did."

Hilarious.

My friend Greg sent me this link. He and I are considering living in this van together. Down by the river. We could hand out candy to little kids and just be fun and homeless, not gross and creepy. It might be fun. 

It sure beats the endless apartment and house hunt. HA!

Sleepy Staffers?

Dear Planet fitness,

I'm thinking that because you're open 24 hours, your staff must have been very tired when putting these words up on your sign. In what seems to be someone's effort to be cleaver, they've confused us. 

Just sign it/no contract?

Huh?

Then again, while on one hand this makes no sense, the other- I stopped, took a photo and now I'm writing about you for lots of people to see. If it's the case that this is actually a marketing effort- it has worked. Congratulations.

Love Him Or Hate Him...

...Michael Moore makes some intriguing documentaries and I have to say I'm a fan.

Capitalism; A Love Story comes out on October 2nd. Here's the trailer. Time to grab some popcorn and get your think on.

Isn't This The Truth

I walked by this sign today and had to chuckle, especially because it was outside a flower shop. It wasn't something I expected to see but I couldn't agree more.

I love honesty. 

Your Way, Right Away

Sweet Flour Bake Shop in Toronto is every kids...well- who am I kidding? It's any sweet lovers dream. You walk in this place, choose your dough, your mix in(s) and voila! In just two minutes your hot cookie is baked and ready for you to gobble up. 

These Canucks know what's up. They say you should be able to choose what you want in your cookie and shouldn't have to wait long to get it. Wow. I think I'm in love. Sweet Flour even takes photos of their "cookie visitors" from all over and posts them on their site. How cool. 

Toronto or bust! I need to meet these people and get myself a double chocolate chunk, M&M...

How Many Things Are We Missing?

Here's a story about perception that will sure to make you think. 

Without stopping to talk to someone, none of us could ever begin to know if that fancy looking lady you see, just likes to take care of herself and look nice while grocery shopping or if she has some big high-powered job. Or maybe if that scrubby looking hiker guy has millions but drives a dumpy truck.

What we perceive things to be are so often completely off base. I love that. It just means that there is so much to learn about each other and that everybody has a story. That and if we all stopped for a few minutes and simply enjoyed more- maybe we'd be that much happier and a little more accepting.

Don't Press Send

Yikes. 

None of us should be allowed near phones or computers when we are drunk or off our rockers. Here's a site with some funny text messages that will entertain you for a while!

9.11.09

I was lucky enough by chance 12 years ago to walk into the lives of an amazing group of young guys who were rookie firefighters. They have since then become my best friends and people I respect more than anything. They have always been there for me, loved, supported, been kind to me and taught me many great lessons. They probably have no idea the immeasurable value I have taken from our friendships or the amount of times I have watched them in awe.

I have always tried to thank them for being in my life, for being so generous and selfless. I hope I have done a pretty good job on voicing my thanks and respect over the years, but especially today I would like to say thanks again. Thank you guys. Thanks to people like you who put others first. You have hearts of gold and are heroes to me and many others.

More Than Sand In Your Crack

What's not to love about a beach volleyball court in the middle of a city? Especially when it has signs up like this? Don't be offended ladies- this is funny.

Admit It

You would so use one if it were lying on your couch and you were cold!

These things are totally ridiculous. And great.

Gettin' Cozy With Cockroaches

Even though it's kind of a pain to move, you have to admit it's a little bit exciting thinking about getting new space, decorating and all that fun stuff. You might start daydreaming of painting and and refurbishing that old table or polishing up that family heirloom and where you might put it. 

Until you actually start your apartment hunt, and reality strikes. (Even if you're looking in nice neighborhoods and fine with spending some money on a place.)

Is there someone out there who wants to follow me with a video camera? We could put together quite a reality show about encounters with the landlords (if that's what you want to call them) who seem to be living on the edge of Crazyville. We could feature the beautiful places (can you sense any sarcasm here?) they are actually trying to get people to pay to live in. Here are some of my favorites. The ones that:

*Smell so bad when you walk in, you gag

*Have stains. Yes- stains. On carpets and walls and doors and...

*With dead roaches on the floors 

*You have to kick/step over garbage to make it through the hallway

*Advertise "all inclusive utilities" and in fact there are no utilities included

I especially love the trick words/terms like "cozy cottage", "cute bungalow" or "unique living situation." Yeah, it's unique alright. I'll take the one with the rats please. Who do I make the check out to?

No thanks.

I knew my idea of living in an RV long ago was a good one. Even in the mess of things like this I still have fun. Let the stories pile on...