Ideas Worth Spreading

I just got home from TEDxPSU, an independent TED conference held today at Penn State University.  I went, because the CEO and Founder of Thread, the social-venture start-up I work for was one of the speakers.

It's been a long day, and I'm exhausted, but my brain is swirling, and I need to spend some time on my couch in my flannel pajama pants before I can attempt sleep.  It was a good day. Full of learning, and discussion, and hearing about new ideas, or experiencing a new perspective on a universal truth.  There are a lot of good people doing wonderful things in our world.  Unfortunately, there are so many problems.

It can get kind of overwhelming when you're hearing these talks all day to think about climate change, our current political state of affairs, the rise of women suicide bombers, and how the worlds next wars will be fought over water, and all the other horrible things happening, and mistakes we've made as people, and things we're doing to contribute to the destruction of our world and our societies.  There were times today things seemed quite overwhelmingly bleak.

But there's action that can be taken, and people hopeful and passionate enough about that action to climb on stage and talk about it in front of thousands of people. And there are thousands of people listening, wanting to educate themselves, and wanting to know what they can do to make a difference, and that is hopeful. And inspiring.

And so, when my boss got up on stage to talk about the work we will do being in Haiti, and described the events that lead to the creation of our company, and explained how we exist by seeing resources and opportunity amidst abject poverty and trash, I was so proud to be sitting in the audience knowing that I am a part of that.

Our world is a mess. But the good news is there are actions we can take. The problems are huge, but we're not powerless.  There are people that still want to do good. That is heartening.

If you need inspiration to start making a difference, I sincerely suggest you check out TED talks. There are hundreds of amazing speakers, and concepts, and the content is available for free. We have access to more information then we ever have before, it's a gift we should use.

All the Pumpkin Things!

A couple of years ago in college, my roommates and I started a tradition of a party that consisted of eating pumpkin flavored things in the fall. We called it Fall Fest.  I know, we're like copy-writing geniuses.

We held fall fest last weekend, and it was delicious.

What's cool about Fall Fest though, is that it's started to grow up with us.  We no longer take the bus to Giant Eagle to stock up on pre-made pumpkin flavored treats - this year we made our own pumpkin inspired dishes, with ingredients we bought from stores we drove to in our cars. (Or maybe in our roommates car as is my case...)

This year, the menu included bite sized pumpkin spiced chicken tacos, spicy pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread pudding, homemade pumpkin cookies, a cheese plate, a pumpkin cheesecake, various craft beers, and local cider from Arsenal Cider House, and the best chocolate stout sorbet Precisely has made with his new ice cream maker yet.

I know, right? Fall Fest got fancy!

The best part though, of course was the company.  My friends are simply delightful, and I love them.  We all scatter to spend time with our families over the upcoming Holidays, and it was really nice to carry on our own tradition and spend time together.

In Every Generation There is a Chosen One.

I have spent the past 2 months watching all 144 episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  I mean, I've done other things too, but in terms of television entertainment, Buffy was it. It's the most addicting, most gratifying tv show I've ever watched, and I loved every second of it.

Obviously I'm super late to jump on this fan bandwagon, but I think the fact that the show is almost 15 years old, and still this awesome, says a lot.

While there were a lot of great metaphors, themes, and subtexts throughout the show's 7 seasons the discussion around fate, destiny, and loneliness of being "the chosen one" has stuck with me.

It would suck, in a lot of ways to be told at 15, hey this is your destiny, what you've been chosen for, what you're meant to do with your life.  And yet, the sometimes paralyzing question, of what the hell am I supposed to do with my life? can seem a lot more overwhelming.

Even scarier, is finding something you do feel drawn towards, and making that leap of faith and throwing yourself into it, without really being sure that this is what you're supposed to be doing.  It would be kind of nice if a council of British men would show up and say, "Yep. This is your destiny. Carry on."

I guess knowing would take all the fun out of it.

This is why we run

"Don't you think it's strange," asked Running Buddy as we were finishing up a 5 mile loop over lunch, "that there are people out there who have never run a whole mile in their life?"

I do think it's strange.  But probably, because running is such a major factor of the way I spend my time, particularly now being 8 weeks out from a marathon.  I mean, I'm sure its weird to swimmers that there are people who have never swam a mile, but I very well may be one of those people.

Anyway, there are a lot of reasons for running.

And because I like to eat, and drink beer, and my roommate just bought an ice cream maker, exercise will never be an optional part of my life. It doesn't have to running I guess - it's just that running is the only thing that has stuck.

See, the secret to running, is that it doesn't feel good until after those first 3 miles.

Miles 1-3 suck. Almost always. It's like you have to remember how to run all over again. You feel kind of stiff, kind of disjointed, and all the parts of your body are working against one another. Why is it so hard to put one foot in front of the other, and what are you supposed to be doing with your arms?

But, then. Then, you hit mile 4, and suddenly you're warmed up, everything snaps into place, and you stop having to think about it, because you were born to do this.

And then running is fun.

And yea, a lot of that has to do with pleasure center endorphins flooding your body.  I mean, we wouldn't run this far if it didn't feel good.  But more than that, you have these moments when you hit your stride, and you are so focused on what's happening right now that you are totally present. And suddenly, for a few seconds at least, you know that you are exactly where you need to be, doing exactly what you need to be doing, and you understand the universe and your place in it.

I don't meditate, but I think the goal there is something similar, no?

Anyway it doesn't happen every time, or even on every long-run, and I have yet to discover a recipe of distance, music, weather, or terrain to make it happen.  But is it ever worth it, to get out of bed for a couple of hours on the weekend just to try and reach that feeling.

That is why I run.

So while I feel kinda sorry for those who have never run a mile in their life, maybe they've found something else that gets them there.  I feel more sorry for the people who run, but never go more than 3 miles, because they don't even know what they are missing.

It's the most wonderful fashion time of the year

It's starting to get cooler, Pittsburgh colleges are swarming with students, and even though the equinox is a week away, we're coming into fall.

I've been walking around with The Long Winters song, It'll be a Breeze, stuck in my head, because in addition to feeling nostalgic, the opening line is; This fall I don't know if I survived. And while it's more likely that they're talking about a fall, like a tumble, I like to interpret it as though they're singing about not surviving the season.

But I digress, Fall is here - and that means.... Fall Fashion!!!

What with the layers, and the no sweating, and the fabrics, and the boots, is there any better time of year to get dressed in the morning?!


No. There isn't.


In addition to the September issue of Vogue, and NY Fashion week, and back to school feelings (does that ever go away?), I have once again fallen in love with my wardrobe now that my main objective in choosing an outfit is not "what won't be completely sweat through after I walk across the Smithfield Street Bridge?"

This season, I decided I was going to purchase a cape.  (Which are very, and completely different than their unfortunate cousin, the poncho, that along with gaucho pants and sweatpants in public, should be banned.)

Luckily, having a roommate that works at ModCloth means that when I mention I'm looking for a cape, he gchats me links of outerwear as they go up on the website.

Which is how I've found myself in the possession of a lovely cape, that has made it's debut today, and which I couldn't be more happy about.

The downside of having a roommate who works at ModCloth, is that a week after I purchased my cape, I get an email from said roommate, with the subject line Cape #2? and a link to a darling new arrival.

Which makes me beg the question, how many capes is it appropriate for a girl to have?

Being Thrown into the Woosh

My sister, like most college students, took an abnormal psychology class to cover some requirement. Luckily, she did not use this class as license to start analyzing me, but she did share a story about a schizophrenic who talked about something called "the woosh".

I'm paraphrasing here, but I believe the story went something like, the guy was in group therapy and began describing "the woosh".

"Somedays," he said, "you wake up and step right into the woosh, and just go wherever it takes you. Other days you can't get in the woosh, and it just goes right by you."

All the other patients in the group seemed to understand exactly what he was talking about.  And since then, my sister references "the woosh" frequently.

My sister has lived most of her life in "the woosh", and probably will continue to, and I'm sure we all know people like that.

I, on the other hand, don't often find my self in "the woosh", except occasionally during scheduled unstructured amounts of time, and even then, I suspect that setting aside time to be in "the woosh", defeats the purpose of "the woosh" entirely.

Girls like me, need more often, to be thrown into "the woosh".

Which happened a couple of weeks ago, during a trip with the Thread team to Haiti, when hurricane Irene shut down JFK, and canceled my flight home.

After a lot of pleading, batting of my eye lashes, and a first class upgrade, I had a new flight, and 4 extra days in Haiti.  4 days, of unplanned time, 4 days out of the office, and 4 days away from the phone/internet.



Hey woosh, sup?



And you know what?

I was challenged. At first. But then I gave in and learned, and discussed, and read. Reflected, rescheduled, shared, connected, played games, danced, sang, and generally had a great time hanging out in "the woosh".

Sometimes it takes being thrown off of your scheduled path, to be assured of what direction you should be going in.

I am trying so hard to like vegetables.

I've started training for the Philadelphia Marathon. Yay!  And it's still fun, since I'm only in the first few weeks, except for one thing that became glaringly apparent, which, is that like most American's my diet sucks.  And you can't train with a lousy diet. Your body won't have it.

I'm not hopeless. I stay away from fast food and pop soda, and have even started to cut my meat eating down to a couple of times a week.  But, I still love me some icecream, and wine, and oh my god cheese! And these things do not a marathon diet make.

I've written before about my hatred of salad.  And it's time for me to just be honest with myself and admit the fact that I don't like raw vegetables.  So, I need to do the adult thing, and start finding ways to sneak raw veggies into my diet.

I decided to start this initiative this week with green smoothies.  I mean, it's easy. You throw some fruit and some veggies in a blender with some ice and orange juice, and a minute of blending later, you have breakfast! Also, you knock out 4-5 servings of fruits/veggies in one meal first thing in the morning! And you can drink it while you get ready... Multi-tasking!!

Yesterday I had strawberries, banana, spinach, and pea shoots.  Today it was strawberries, bananas, and kale.  I read a lot of things on the internet that told you the fruit covers the taste of the greens, and you wouldn't notice them, but they are liars.  You can totally taste it.  And, no, I don't think it tastes good.   So far, my strategy has been holding the smoothie in one hand, and a mug of black coffee in the other, to immediately chase the smoothie and get rid of the taste of healthy.

The kicker though, is that I feel great.

Like, full of energy, practically skipping to work in the morning great.

Sigh.

Raw vegetables are so good for us.  And you know what? 10 mins of discomfort in the morning, is totally worth feeling good for hours.  And hopefully this will eventually translate into running farther, faster, better, stronger.

I'm trying really hard here. That's gotta count for something, right?