Summer Vacation

Well dear readers, the time has come for me to depart on my summer vacation. This evening I will be flying off to San Francisco for a lovely vacation by the Bay. Words can't describe how much I've been looking forward to this much needed vacation away from everything. For the next 5 days we won't be speaking, but I promise to catch y'all up upon my arrival. After all, there's bound to be some interesting encounters along the way.

Cheers!

-A

Inspirational encounters

Throughout my career in public relations I have had the opportunity to meet a number of people with a wide range of personalities and traits. The past year spent in healthcare PR has been a learning experience, but this weekend proved just how rewarding my job really is.

At a recent function in Philadelphia, I was blessed to be surrounded with some of the most inspirational people I have ever met. These people are living with a disease that most would consider to be a death sentence upon diagnosis (in fact, until I knew more about the disease and its treatments, I thought exactly that).

Expecting to greet 10 patients who are disabled and/or wheelchair bound, I was pleasantly surprised. Each person had his own story about diagnosis and treatment of the disease. Of the people I met, you would not know that even one of them was sick - some of which have had the disease since the early 1980s (before I was even born, folks).

The three-day event was wonderful. We mingled, we learned, and in the end, we became friends. I am fortunate to have met such an inspirational group of people. The community they share is highly connected and they continue to inspire and learn from one another. If only general society could take a lesson or two from this community...

Cheers!

-A

Tony Danza

Today, during my current business trip to Philadelphia, we had a nice dinner in downtown. At this restaurant one of my clients was invited to sit at the bar and have a drink with Tony Danza. She told him what cause we were there for and he came over. Not only that, but one of my other clients is having a birthday this weekend, so he sang her a special birthday song (apparently a T. Danza original).

Strange, truly. But it was an interesting encounter to say the least. I'd share an actual photo of the event however he made us all agree we'd put our cameras away before he would visit with us...celebrities....

The time has come to develop a dedicated weekly column. Though I'm running into a road block: the topic. My initial thoughts were something like Friday Favorites or Hump Day Happenings - though the type of posts that come to mind with that title are rather inappropriate, given this blog is centered around encounters with others...you get the picture.

So once again, dear readers, I'm leaving it to you. Whether it's related to encounters with others or not, what would you like to discuss on a weekly basis? This is an open ballot, anything goes. Let the voting begin!

Cheers!

-A

How to be liked

Tonight at yoga class I met someone I thoroughly enjoyed. She was friendly and personable and our short conversation was enjoyable. Though from the moment she walked into the room conversing with another student, before even meeting her, I knew she would be lovely. But I can't really put my finger on why, exactly.

After class, in my reflective, meditative state, I got to pondering this further. What characteristics make someone a person you want to know? What personality traits do those people have that when they walk out of the room you think to yourself, "I really like her/him/them"?

My introspection has led me to a few ideas, but I'd like to hear from you, dear readers. What makes someone likable?

1. They start conversation with me.

2. They smile, are friendly, are warm.

3. They ask questions and seem interested in what I have to say.

4. Their speech reflects empathy.

I tried to come up with a solid 5th to complete the list, but am struggling and didn't want to half-ass it. So, what are some of the others? Why are your dearest friends, your friends in the first place?

Cheers!

-A

Friend in Iraq

Like many 20-somethings in this country, I have a friend in Iraq. He's a Navy man, serving his country in the desert until December (I know, on a ship would make more sense to me, too). He also is an amazing friend and is showing me what it means to be a great friend. Let me explain.

In the relatively short time that he has been overseas, between 12+ hour days, eating, working out and sleeping (which pretty much would consume my life, I must say), he's managed to send dozens of pictures online, draft and send e-mails, write notes on Facebook, and pick up the phone a handful of times late at night just to say hi - and he called me on my birthday in the middle of a sandstorm (okay, so I made that last part up, but it sounds good). Sandstorm or not, that's one hell of a friend. Makes me look pretty bad in comparison.

So when another friend of mine touched base last week to say he was deploying with the Air Force (yes, he will be flying a jet) at the beginning of July and would love to have me come visit before he goes, I jumped at the opportunity. The story comes full circle now when I tell you that I'll be visiting my dear friend in San Francisco in two weeks. So there you have it, my summer vacation destination. Though I still have a place in my heart for Denver, I'll be sure to make the trip next year.

So to all those in Iraq, and the best of the best who make it a priority to keep in touch.

Cheers!

-A

Encountering only myself

A recent change in business travel plans has left me with a wide-open weekend including the only plan of spending time getting to know me a little better - and words can't describe how much I'm looking forward to it. Even my roommate will be out of town. Don't get me wrong, I love being around people and I love spending time with my roommate even more, but I've been missing out on some quality me time lately and this extra time surely will prove rejuvinating.

This weekend provides me the opportunity to get back in touch with myself (oh c'mon now, out of the gutter, you know what I mean) and do some much needed reflecting. Sure, I have chores that need to be completed as usual, so the odds that I encounter someone interesting is likely - and when I do, you'll be the first to hear about it - but the plan is for an introspective weekend alone.

Needless to say, I'm happy it's Friday and couldn't be more excited to start the weekend. Hope everyone enjoys theirs as much as I plan to enjoy mine.

Cheers!

-A

The Midwest?

A discussion arose among colleagues recently about the actual location of the Midwest in this country. The discussion was centered around the question “is Cleveland in the Midwest?” Geographically, as shown by the map above, all of Ohio, including the Cleveland area, falls within the Midwest portion of the country. However, opinion skewed greatly based on where people spent the majority of their life. My colleagues who grew up or spent a significant amount of time on the East Coast believe the mentality in Northeast Ohio is of the Midwestern persuasion. Those who grew up in Ohio, though outside of the region itself, see Columbus as a portion of the Midwest, Cincinnati as part of the South, and the Cleveland area as an extension of the East Coast. Northeast Ohioans, born and raised, see the entire state as a Midwest entity. Though among those of us who grew up in the Midwest outside of Ohio, we believe that Cleveland and the surrounding area is in fact not a Midwestern entity.

These opinions have little to do with physical location and more to do with the distinct personality traits and behavior of the residents within each region. To me, Cleveland is a balance between the friendly, down-to-earth nature attributed to the Midwest and the pretentious rudeness unique to the Northeast – skewing, in my mind, more toward the latter. But ‘Ohio’ cannot be lumped together, rather the state seems to be separated into multiple regions. In my relatively short time in Ohio, I’ve found that there is a dichotomy between Northeast Ohio and Central Ohio, though I’m still learning why this is exactly. I honestly think it has to do with the accent (Clevelanders have a distinct accent where people from Columbus think they don’t have an accent at all – but as an outsider, and I hate to break it to you that in fact yes, you do). But I digress…

This was all a part of a broader discussion of regional disposition across the United States. My colleagues from the East are highly self-aware and fully admit that habitants of the cities in that region of the country are so self-absorbed that they don’t realize that life exists outside of their rude little world (sorry, but as a Midwesterner, I find behavior in that part of the country to be rude). The same goes for Texas. The majority of Texans do not acknowledge that life outside of Texas actually exists. The state pride is unbelievable and the region provides it’s residents with everything they could possibly need or want. Houston and Galvison have coastline, Austin is the liberal city providing entertainment and one of the largest universities in the country, Dallas has professional sports and a growing economy providing jobs of all kinds, and San Antonio has culture with a military flare. What more could you ask for? Not to mention that flights between cities are outrageously cheap! Born and raised a Texan, I probably would remain ignorant of the other 49 states too.

So how does this tie back to the Midwest, you ask? Every region has its own culture, that special something that sets it apart from the rest and makes the residents fall in love more and more every day. For me, I have yet to find the city that’s most suited to me, but for now, I’m soaking in the culture of Northeast Ohio. But the question still remains, am I in the Midwest or not?

My vote is no. What’s yours?

Cheers!

-A

The great hockey debate

While curled up watching the Stanley Cup finals last night, all three overtimes of it, I had a small debate with a close girl friend about the sport of hockey. My love of the game was challenged with a question of which states 'actually follow hockey,' followed by comments alluding to a small following of the sport. I gave her the benefit of the doubt on this one, given that our city does not have an NHL team, neither did her small college of under 5,000. Further conversation led to a statement that blew my mind, and ended the debate purely out of frustration: soccer is just as popular, and as big a money maker, as hockey. Maybe if we're talking ages 6-12 but I've got NHL on the brain, and on the TV at the moment.

Now I pride myself on being an avid sports enthusiast and last night my sports knowledge was challenged - and I'll be the first to admit I'm out for blood in such challenges; more to prove that I know what I'm talking about than to prove others wrong - that's just a bonus (kidding!). But given that I grew up watching Bill Laimbeer and Isiah Thomas run the court for the Pistons, and Steve Yzerman and Sergi Federov rule the ice for the Redwings, my passion in this issue lies not within being right (though I often argue for this fact alone...hey, at least I can admit it), but to defend those sports that have been such a large part of my life for so long.

During our short debate I had mentioned that when thinking of the "big 4" of sports in my mind they would be football, basketball, baseball, and hockey - both college and professional - as the most popular and the biggest revenue generators for cities and universities alike. Her argument is that more people in the U.S. play soccer than play hockey. This may very well be the case, given the nature of the sport as well as the amount of money it costs to play. This does not mean, however, that it has a larger following.

Now, I'm trying my hardest to see both sides of the debate, so I decided to do a little digging to find an objective answer and found the following in a Wikipedia article (about as official as I could find in my quick Internet search during commercials - good ole Stanley and The Joe were much more important at the time).

"Sports in the United States are an important part of the national culture. However, the sporting culture of the U.S. is different from that of many other countries. Compared to any other nation, Americans prefer a unique set of sports. For example, association football (soccer), the most popular sport in most countries, is not as popular in the U.S. compared to the four most popular team sports, namely, American football, basketball, baseball, and ice hockey. The major leagues of each of these sports enjoy massive media exposure and are considered the preeminent competitions in their respective sports in the world. The preeminence of the major leagues is partially attributed to their strong financial power and huge domestic market, as well as the fact that relatively few other countries play some of their dominant sports, like American football, to any significant extent."

Thank you, Wikipedia, for making my opinions and knowledge of sports a little more valid. But because I don't always take Wikipedia's word as fact, I'd like to see what everyone else thinks. What do you consider to be the sports "big 4"?

Cheers!

-A

Synapse traffic jam

Lately I've been feeling as if the thoughts in my brain are caught up traffic-jam style - where no matter how hard you crank your head out the window to see what the hold-up is, you can't manage to see that far ahead.

This has led to deep reflection in my oh so introspective fashion. Unfortunately though, my thoughts and emotions are so backed-up that it's difficult to put any ideas into words. So much so that I've not only become a challenged writer, but a bad friend. For someone who typically makes a weekly call to closest friends, I've really been slacking. Here's a snapshot at some of the thoughts I've captured...

Ideals, traveling, photography opportunities, the non-negotiables, constant negative discussions, office politics, "the non-traditional family," career advancement, location, finances, summer visits, writing, past relationships, future relationships, needs vs. wants, phases of life, routine, values, voluntary changes, stress, goals, organizing, time alone.

The above is just a short list of where my head is at the moment. Yikes! It's a scary list but I'm ready to take these thoughts head on.

My apologies, dear readers, for this (hopefully short) layover in intelligent postings. As the traffic clears I will post on the lessons learned and folks encountered along the way. Until then.

Cheers!

-A