Encourage your company to participate!!
Lee National Denim Day supports breast cancer awareness
Lee National Denim Day® Overview
Lee National Denim Day is the world's largest single-day fundraiser for breast cancer. On one Friday in October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Lee® Jeans encourages millions of people nationwide to slip into their favorite jeans and make a $5 donation to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Participating businesses and organizations allow employees and members to wear denim in exchange for a $5 donation to the Komen Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to eradicating breast cancer. Since 1996, Lee National Denim Day has raised more than $52 million for breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment programs.
PostSecret
Posted in on by
Saw this on the news this morning. Kinda intresting. New Secrets are posted every Sunday. Some are funny, some wierd, some just sad.
Rules: Reveal anything - as long as it is true and you have never shared it with anyone before.
PostSecret Blog
Example:
Rules: Reveal anything - as long as it is true and you have never shared it with anyone before.
PostSecret Blog
Example:
COLORADO!!!
Posted in on by
About 2 and half years ago, when I was thinking seriously about leaving Blacksburg, my mom and I had a trip planned to visit Denver. I wanted to see the city and visit some friends, she had a friend in Co Springs to visit. I packed up my car (board included) and headed to work wednesday morning.. planning to leave straight from work to drive to Fairfax and fly out Thursday morning. Well... that was the week the blizzard hit Denver! By Wednesday afternoon there was a rip in the roof of the airport and the whole city was shut down. So after work I drove back to my apartment totally bummed and unpacked my suitcases :( I didn't end up deciding to move to Denver and still haven't made it out the to visit.
Well that's all going to change tomorrow!!! TAKE 2. I'm so stinking excited I feel like a 5 year old on Christmas Eve :) We've got plans to see a lot of the state while visiting with family and friends. The next 10 days will include... Mancos, Mesa Verde National Park, Telluride, Buena Vista, Colorado Springs, Boulder, Denver, Motorcycles, ATV's, Hot Springs, Alta Lakes, Hikes, Picture taking, a Colorado Rapids game, watching the Hokies with some Denver alumni!, and who knows what else :)
:) :) :) :) :) :)
Well that's all going to change tomorrow!!! TAKE 2. I'm so stinking excited I feel like a 5 year old on Christmas Eve :) We've got plans to see a lot of the state while visiting with family and friends. The next 10 days will include... Mancos, Mesa Verde National Park, Telluride, Buena Vista, Colorado Springs, Boulder, Denver, Motorcycles, ATV's, Hot Springs, Alta Lakes, Hikes, Picture taking, a Colorado Rapids game, watching the Hokies with some Denver alumni!, and who knows what else :)
:) :) :) :) :) :)
Ah country music...
Posted in on by
Story 1 -
Faith Hill's - Mississippi Girl. M and I were driving along the other day when this song came on. Some lyrics..
Well I spent a few weeks in California
They put my face on the big movie screen
But that don't mean I've forgotten where I came from
That's just me chasing dreams, yeah
Cause a Mississippi girl don't change her ways
Just cause everybody knows her name
Ain't big headed from a little bit of fame
I still like wearing my old ball cap
Ride my kids around piggy back
They might know me all around the world
But y'all I'm still a Mississippi girl
M commented "It's her Jenny from the block song"! Made me laugh, and I guess it's true. Now every time the song comes on I can't stop myself from thinking "Don't be fooled by the rocks that I got, I'm still, I'm still Jenny from the block" And it seems to stay in my mind all day!
Story 2 -
Hicktown - Jason Aldean
Little Jimmy Jackson is jackin’ up his Bronco
He’s gonna lay a little rubber later on at the truck pull
All the girls are getting’ pretty sprayin’ on the White Rain
Yeah they’re gonna get a rowdy tonight down at the football game
Yeah
We let it rip when we got the money
Let it roll if we got the gas
It gets wild yeah but that’s the way we get down
In a Hicktown
Well you can see the neighbors butt crack nailing on his shingles
And his woman’s’ smokin’ Pall Mall’s watchin’ Laura Ingles
And Granny’s getting’ lit she’s headin’ out to bingo
Yeah my buddies and me are goin’ muddin’ down on Blue Hole Road
You know You know
Boondocks - Little Big Town
It's where I learned about living
It's where I learned about love
It's where I learned about working hard
And having a little was just enough
It's where I learned about Jesus
And knowing where I stand
You can take it or leave it, this is me
This is who I am
Give me a tin roof
A front porch and a gravel road
And that's home to me
It feels like home to me
I feel no shame
I'm proud of where I came from
I was born and raised in the boondocks
One thing I know
No matter where I go
I keep my heart and soul in the boondocks
Podunk - Keith Anderson
Same Saturday night, same ol' crowd
Draggin' Main to the Safeway then turn back around
'Til curfew and then head down to the river's edge and get drunk
Ain't nothing new what else you gonna do out in Podunk
Well I knew this six-string was my ticket out
No flashin' red light was gonna slow me down
18 years old everything that I owned in the back of that truck
I put a dip in my mouth and I headed straight out outta Podunk
Goodgye, daddy looked me in the eye said go where you gotta go
But don't forget to call home
And momma cried keep Jesus in your life and I hugged her one last time
And then I headed down the roadin a dusty cloud of smoke
Out of Podunk
(by the end of the song he ends up moving back to podunk)
Makes me laugh that these three songs are all out right now and I hear them all the time. (well one isn't released to radio, but it's on a CD that was just released)
So where are you from... hicktown, boondocks or podunk?
Faith Hill's - Mississippi Girl. M and I were driving along the other day when this song came on. Some lyrics..
Well I spent a few weeks in California
They put my face on the big movie screen
But that don't mean I've forgotten where I came from
That's just me chasing dreams, yeah
Cause a Mississippi girl don't change her ways
Just cause everybody knows her name
Ain't big headed from a little bit of fame
I still like wearing my old ball cap
Ride my kids around piggy back
They might know me all around the world
But y'all I'm still a Mississippi girl
M commented "It's her Jenny from the block song"! Made me laugh, and I guess it's true. Now every time the song comes on I can't stop myself from thinking "Don't be fooled by the rocks that I got, I'm still, I'm still Jenny from the block" And it seems to stay in my mind all day!
Story 2 -
Hicktown - Jason Aldean
Little Jimmy Jackson is jackin’ up his Bronco
He’s gonna lay a little rubber later on at the truck pull
All the girls are getting’ pretty sprayin’ on the White Rain
Yeah they’re gonna get a rowdy tonight down at the football game
Yeah
We let it rip when we got the money
Let it roll if we got the gas
It gets wild yeah but that’s the way we get down
In a Hicktown
Well you can see the neighbors butt crack nailing on his shingles
And his woman’s’ smokin’ Pall Mall’s watchin’ Laura Ingles
And Granny’s getting’ lit she’s headin’ out to bingo
Yeah my buddies and me are goin’ muddin’ down on Blue Hole Road
You know You know
Boondocks - Little Big Town
It's where I learned about living
It's where I learned about love
It's where I learned about working hard
And having a little was just enough
It's where I learned about Jesus
And knowing where I stand
You can take it or leave it, this is me
This is who I am
Give me a tin roof
A front porch and a gravel road
And that's home to me
It feels like home to me
I feel no shame
I'm proud of where I came from
I was born and raised in the boondocks
One thing I know
No matter where I go
I keep my heart and soul in the boondocks
Podunk - Keith Anderson
Same Saturday night, same ol' crowd
Draggin' Main to the Safeway then turn back around
'Til curfew and then head down to the river's edge and get drunk
Ain't nothing new what else you gonna do out in Podunk
Well I knew this six-string was my ticket out
No flashin' red light was gonna slow me down
18 years old everything that I owned in the back of that truck
I put a dip in my mouth and I headed straight out outta Podunk
Goodgye, daddy looked me in the eye said go where you gotta go
But don't forget to call home
And momma cried keep Jesus in your life and I hugged her one last time
And then I headed down the roadin a dusty cloud of smoke
Out of Podunk
(by the end of the song he ends up moving back to podunk)
Makes me laugh that these three songs are all out right now and I hear them all the time. (well one isn't released to radio, but it's on a CD that was just released)
So where are you from... hicktown, boondocks or podunk?
C'est Fini!! (It is done)
Posted in on by
Hard to believe that 15 or so months after deciding I wanted to complete this race, it's over :)
Somehow I was talked into the idea of camping the night before. We had to drive down friday night anyways to check in, and this way we'd already be there saturday morning. Sounded good ;) This tripled prep/packing. Thanks R and C for lending us camping gear! Of course due to quality planning we didn't get on the road til 5 on friday, complete with two bikes and canoe on board. (pic soon) (So glad I got those long bars for my Yakima ;)) By the time we checked in, unloaded the canoe, and set up the tent we were starting the fire and cooking in the dark :)
The camp site was actually pretty sweet. Right on the river. Picnic Table, Fire Ring, Lantern Hook (note to self, buy lantern). 25 cub scouts at the nieghboring sites :) Cooking spaghetti on the camp stove and clean-up was actually quite easy. Then J and I tried KK Smores. (Stuff the hole in a KK donut with a marshmellow, skewer and toast, let glaze sizzle, top with chocolate and let cool a bit) Yummy!
We made it to bed around 10 and set the alarm for 6. (Had to be at the race check in at 7:45) Of course I didn't sleep great. Tossed and turned some. Looked at the clock at 1.. ugg! I guess I finally got some sleep cause I had another crazy dream... it was pretty long and I don't remember all the details. I do remember my bike was messed up. The rim was bent and all the spokes were broken. On top of that it was the realization I only had one week til the race and would have to take the bike into East Coasters to get fixed. (I'm not an EC fan, in fact just last week was reminded how much I don't like them :)) Then my alarm went off and I woke up :)
Morning consisted of making coffee and oatmeal, rolling sleeping bags/mats, taking down the tent, packing up everything at the site. My goal was to be at the car by 7 filling water bottles/blatters, changing clothes and head over to the canoes by 7:25 or so... well yeah... didn't quite work that way. Made it to the car by 7:15.. started freaking out more and more as I watched the minutes tick by and realized how unready we were. ACK!! Very intense!! Made it over to the canoes by 7:45... put our food in them, shoes on, got the bikes off the car... biked over to the start line and made it just in time to check in and start. So much adenaline I didn't have time to worry about the race :)
And we're off :) J and I had no problem starting at the back of the pack. We set into a nice spinnin pace of about 15 mph. Passed our first guy.. he was prob 60 years old. About 3 miles in we came up on another guy and rode with him for a couple miles. Turns out he's got a blocked artery and his doctor said he could do the race as long as he kept his heart rate below a certain number. We passed two guys with flats tires. Kinda like beating a 5 year old at soccer.. not very fulfilling :) We did end up passing a handful of folks during the last 25 miles. We spent lots of time chatting and joking. It was nice to have the course marked every 5 miles and mentally know how much further. It did start to seem like forever but really wasn't bad. We must have seen 7 people with flat tires and I'm soooo thankful we didn't have to deal with that. You realize while you're racing that you're at the mercy of the trail and you have no control or power over getting a flat... and just pray it doesn't happen to you! The bike portion was an out and back.. so the leaders started passing us around mile 16... in packs! Apparently drafting isn't illegal during this race!! Good to know :) So we practice riding in a pack this year so we can draft next year! We finished the 40 miles in 2:45. The race support was awesome! At about mile 35 they start radioing ahead so your canoe is in the water and ready to go. A volunteer takes your bike and helmet for you. She even followed me to the water to take my bikes shoes! This was also my first pee stop :)
Canoeing down the river was beautiful. Some of the leaves had started to change colors. The water was pretty low so there were many more rapids then I remembered last time we were there. Thank goodness I'd practiced at least once and was less scared of the rapids!! The biggest challenge was reading the rocks and avoiding getting hung up on them. Some were sticking out and easy to see, some you could tell by the flow of the water, others seem to goose you out of the middle of no where. I got spun in a couple of rapids, pretty much freakin out when I had to go over them backwards!! Even did a full 360 in one of them :) Ok so it was slow motion cause that included a couple minutes of trying to figure out how to get out of the sideways position my canoe got lodged in! Unfortuantley we had no way of knowing how far we'd been and how far we had left. J was wearing a watch but we avoided knowing how long we'd been out there. We passed under a bridge which we thought was close to the end.. apparently not. About an hour later we finally saw the Allisonia boat launch and J must have turned on his engine, cause he took off! This section definitly seemed to take forever, it was also about 2:45. We passed 3 or 4 people? (2 of which pass us back on the run!) My source pac that was filled with Gatorade Endurance mix lasted through the entire bike/canoe, it was nice to be able to drink without slowing down.
The transition to the run was a little slower. I took my time changing shoes, putting my hair up, getting my fuel belt on, changed into my skirt, and ate a luna bar. My arse was in pain from sitting on the cooler for 3 hours (even though I'd left my padded shorts on!). We had to run one block to the left around a cone before turning around and heading back to Foster Falls. Kinda funny. Running on the trail was nice. The outside of my calves were instantly burning from having to stablize my ankles on the uneven ground. The hip/knee/foot thing started to be an issue. Couldn't feel my foot at all during miles 4 and 5. They had water/powerade stops about every 2 miles which was really nice. I felt decent during the run but definitly tired. We took a short (30 sec - 1 min) stop at every mile (after 5) to grab water from the air station, down a gel, or just catch my breath some. I didn't have to use the restroom at the transition, but right when I started running I regretted it. And the restroom wasn't til 7.2!!! My shins didn't bother me at all and my ailments settled down. I felt better during this run then I did at Va Beach. Even passed a couple folks during mile 12. The very end of the run had us run down this crazy hill... came up out of no where. Other then that the race was a gradual uphill the whole way.. but wasn't too bad.
It really felt like J and I were just out for a day at the park. Having fun, riding bikes, canoeing. Didn't feel like we were in a race. The bike and canoe physically were a breeze and were fun. The run, we've done it before, it's long and grueling but doable :) Overall it really wasn't that bad. I could see getting bored because it is so long, but luckily J and I planned to compete together, which made it a lot more fun. I know for sure I wouldn't have done as well in the run without him! Even if I was getting really cranky by the end and was pretty mean when he was being encouraging :)
The finish line wasn't quite as crowded as Va Beach but it was music to my ears to hear the cheers from our other friends who had finished before us and hung around to watch us finish. I think we came in around 8:30? I'll post the actually splits when they put them online. I was pretty darn spent. A park guy came over to tell me I placed in my age group. There were 3 women 18-29 that entered. Then they said I finished first. I was a bit confused cause I found out at the canoe transition one girl was ahead of me. So needless to say in the state I was in I got all choked up :) Reality the other girl in my age group got an overall award.. so I got the first place. Whatever :) I was excited!!! They took my picture.. not sure where it will be posted.
17 weeks of training really paid off. I finished under my goal times for each section. I feel like I ate/drank enough to stay energized for all 8+ hours. I'm really happy to have completed this goal I set for myself!! I'm looking forward to more triathons in my future and maybe even doing this one again!
Thanks Joel for being crazy and doing this with me! I had a blast!
Congrats also to Rocky (I think he finished 2nd in his age group? maybe 3rd) and Candance, Jess, Leslie, and Michelle who finshed 2nd among the ladies teams!
Somehow I was talked into the idea of camping the night before. We had to drive down friday night anyways to check in, and this way we'd already be there saturday morning. Sounded good ;) This tripled prep/packing. Thanks R and C for lending us camping gear! Of course due to quality planning we didn't get on the road til 5 on friday, complete with two bikes and canoe on board. (pic soon) (So glad I got those long bars for my Yakima ;)) By the time we checked in, unloaded the canoe, and set up the tent we were starting the fire and cooking in the dark :)
The camp site was actually pretty sweet. Right on the river. Picnic Table, Fire Ring, Lantern Hook (note to self, buy lantern). 25 cub scouts at the nieghboring sites :) Cooking spaghetti on the camp stove and clean-up was actually quite easy. Then J and I tried KK Smores. (Stuff the hole in a KK donut with a marshmellow, skewer and toast, let glaze sizzle, top with chocolate and let cool a bit) Yummy!
We made it to bed around 10 and set the alarm for 6. (Had to be at the race check in at 7:45) Of course I didn't sleep great. Tossed and turned some. Looked at the clock at 1.. ugg! I guess I finally got some sleep cause I had another crazy dream... it was pretty long and I don't remember all the details. I do remember my bike was messed up. The rim was bent and all the spokes were broken. On top of that it was the realization I only had one week til the race and would have to take the bike into East Coasters to get fixed. (I'm not an EC fan, in fact just last week was reminded how much I don't like them :)) Then my alarm went off and I woke up :)
Morning consisted of making coffee and oatmeal, rolling sleeping bags/mats, taking down the tent, packing up everything at the site. My goal was to be at the car by 7 filling water bottles/blatters, changing clothes and head over to the canoes by 7:25 or so... well yeah... didn't quite work that way. Made it to the car by 7:15.. started freaking out more and more as I watched the minutes tick by and realized how unready we were. ACK!! Very intense!! Made it over to the canoes by 7:45... put our food in them, shoes on, got the bikes off the car... biked over to the start line and made it just in time to check in and start. So much adenaline I didn't have time to worry about the race :)
And we're off :) J and I had no problem starting at the back of the pack. We set into a nice spinnin pace of about 15 mph. Passed our first guy.. he was prob 60 years old. About 3 miles in we came up on another guy and rode with him for a couple miles. Turns out he's got a blocked artery and his doctor said he could do the race as long as he kept his heart rate below a certain number. We passed two guys with flats tires. Kinda like beating a 5 year old at soccer.. not very fulfilling :) We did end up passing a handful of folks during the last 25 miles. We spent lots of time chatting and joking. It was nice to have the course marked every 5 miles and mentally know how much further. It did start to seem like forever but really wasn't bad. We must have seen 7 people with flat tires and I'm soooo thankful we didn't have to deal with that. You realize while you're racing that you're at the mercy of the trail and you have no control or power over getting a flat... and just pray it doesn't happen to you! The bike portion was an out and back.. so the leaders started passing us around mile 16... in packs! Apparently drafting isn't illegal during this race!! Good to know :) So we practice riding in a pack this year so we can draft next year! We finished the 40 miles in 2:45. The race support was awesome! At about mile 35 they start radioing ahead so your canoe is in the water and ready to go. A volunteer takes your bike and helmet for you. She even followed me to the water to take my bikes shoes! This was also my first pee stop :)
Canoeing down the river was beautiful. Some of the leaves had started to change colors. The water was pretty low so there were many more rapids then I remembered last time we were there. Thank goodness I'd practiced at least once and was less scared of the rapids!! The biggest challenge was reading the rocks and avoiding getting hung up on them. Some were sticking out and easy to see, some you could tell by the flow of the water, others seem to goose you out of the middle of no where. I got spun in a couple of rapids, pretty much freakin out when I had to go over them backwards!! Even did a full 360 in one of them :) Ok so it was slow motion cause that included a couple minutes of trying to figure out how to get out of the sideways position my canoe got lodged in! Unfortuantley we had no way of knowing how far we'd been and how far we had left. J was wearing a watch but we avoided knowing how long we'd been out there. We passed under a bridge which we thought was close to the end.. apparently not. About an hour later we finally saw the Allisonia boat launch and J must have turned on his engine, cause he took off! This section definitly seemed to take forever, it was also about 2:45. We passed 3 or 4 people? (2 of which pass us back on the run!) My source pac that was filled with Gatorade Endurance mix lasted through the entire bike/canoe, it was nice to be able to drink without slowing down.
The transition to the run was a little slower. I took my time changing shoes, putting my hair up, getting my fuel belt on, changed into my skirt, and ate a luna bar. My arse was in pain from sitting on the cooler for 3 hours (even though I'd left my padded shorts on!). We had to run one block to the left around a cone before turning around and heading back to Foster Falls. Kinda funny. Running on the trail was nice. The outside of my calves were instantly burning from having to stablize my ankles on the uneven ground. The hip/knee/foot thing started to be an issue. Couldn't feel my foot at all during miles 4 and 5. They had water/powerade stops about every 2 miles which was really nice. I felt decent during the run but definitly tired. We took a short (30 sec - 1 min) stop at every mile (after 5) to grab water from the air station, down a gel, or just catch my breath some. I didn't have to use the restroom at the transition, but right when I started running I regretted it. And the restroom wasn't til 7.2!!! My shins didn't bother me at all and my ailments settled down. I felt better during this run then I did at Va Beach. Even passed a couple folks during mile 12. The very end of the run had us run down this crazy hill... came up out of no where. Other then that the race was a gradual uphill the whole way.. but wasn't too bad.
It really felt like J and I were just out for a day at the park. Having fun, riding bikes, canoeing. Didn't feel like we were in a race. The bike and canoe physically were a breeze and were fun. The run, we've done it before, it's long and grueling but doable :) Overall it really wasn't that bad. I could see getting bored because it is so long, but luckily J and I planned to compete together, which made it a lot more fun. I know for sure I wouldn't have done as well in the run without him! Even if I was getting really cranky by the end and was pretty mean when he was being encouraging :)
The finish line wasn't quite as crowded as Va Beach but it was music to my ears to hear the cheers from our other friends who had finished before us and hung around to watch us finish. I think we came in around 8:30? I'll post the actually splits when they put them online. I was pretty darn spent. A park guy came over to tell me I placed in my age group. There were 3 women 18-29 that entered. Then they said I finished first. I was a bit confused cause I found out at the canoe transition one girl was ahead of me. So needless to say in the state I was in I got all choked up :) Reality the other girl in my age group got an overall award.. so I got the first place. Whatever :) I was excited!!! They took my picture.. not sure where it will be posted.
17 weeks of training really paid off. I finished under my goal times for each section. I feel like I ate/drank enough to stay energized for all 8+ hours. I'm really happy to have completed this goal I set for myself!! I'm looking forward to more triathons in my future and maybe even doing this one again!
Thanks Joel for being crazy and doing this with me! I had a blast!
Congrats also to Rocky (I think he finished 2nd in his age group? maybe 3rd) and Candance, Jess, Leslie, and Michelle who finshed 2nd among the ladies teams!
Dreams
Posted in on by
You know the dreams... where it's the first day of school.. and in your dream you suddenly realize you aren't wearing any clothes? So maybe you don't have this dream... but I've had it more then once on the eve of the first day of school.
I don't have the first day of school anymore... but the dream is back with a twist. I forget the details.. but the weekend before the Nashville 1/2 (not sure which year) I remember dreaming that for some reason the morning of race my mom and I went off to do soemthing and I missed the whole race. Of course I was devestated I'd done all the training and them missed the race!
So last night... I dreamt about the challenge. (Which was in fairfax?) Something happened and they stopped the race in the middle. While we were waiting to find when they'd start the run portion I decided to go home real quick. (I think I took a nap) Well by the time I made it back everyone else had finished the race!! I was kinda happy I didn't have to run, but then I was really bummed I couldn't say I'd finished the race!! And I was being a brat and argueing with the organizers that it was unfair. (Who for some reason happened to be the facilitators of Leadership NRV) It was horrible. Then I woke up and realized the race was still a day away!!
I don't have the first day of school anymore... but the dream is back with a twist. I forget the details.. but the weekend before the Nashville 1/2 (not sure which year) I remember dreaming that for some reason the morning of race my mom and I went off to do soemthing and I missed the whole race. Of course I was devestated I'd done all the training and them missed the race!
So last night... I dreamt about the challenge. (Which was in fairfax?) Something happened and they stopped the race in the middle. While we were waiting to find when they'd start the run portion I decided to go home real quick. (I think I took a nap) Well by the time I made it back everyone else had finished the race!! I was kinda happy I didn't have to run, but then I was really bummed I couldn't say I'd finished the race!! And I was being a brat and argueing with the organizers that it was unfair. (Who for some reason happened to be the facilitators of Leadership NRV) It was horrible. Then I woke up and realized the race was still a day away!!
65.1
Posted in on by
Miles :) Wow... can't believe this weekend is here already! So tomorrow I embark on the biggest physical challenge thus far in my life. The New River Trail Challenge. I'm pretty excited, a little bit scared, and kinda ready for it to be over :) Luckily I won't be on my own. My good friend J took the bait and signed up for the race also... we're planning to stick together so we can encourage and help each other through the day. Should be interesting to see how well we stick together while canoeing the 12 mile stretch of the New River.
Saturday night I will (even if I can't walk.. I've already had volunteers willing to carry me) be downtown celebrating.. so if you're in town give my cell a ring.
Saturday night I will (even if I can't walk.. I've already had volunteers willing to carry me) be downtown celebrating.. so if you're in town give my cell a ring.
Leadership NRV
Posted in on by
PURPOSE: The objective of Leadership New River Valley is to assist in the development of community leaders by providing participants from diverse backgrounds with an understanding of the problems, opportunities and issues facing the community. The program will also foster the development of leadership skills and techniques in an environment that encourages the establishment of new relationships and communication networks between the participants.
A friend participated in this program though the MCCC last year and encouraged me to apply. Since I've officially decided that Blacksburg really is home and I plan to stay awhile the promise this program offers of learning about the town and county, meeting key people, honing some buisness skills, and making new friends made it a no brainer for me. The more (or in this case less) I found out about the group, the more I wondered what I'd signed up for :) This past weekend was the kick-off retreat and all those doubts were squelched. I'm very excited about the activities in the coming year.
The group consists of about 25 professionals, all ages, marrital statuses, years in the area, and careers. Some loud and boisterous, others more subdued. I didn't count, but pretty even across genders. Most from Blacksburg/Christiansburg, 2 from Radford, 2 from Roanoke (these two work close by). The weekend retreat really helped jumpstart relationships, I really felt like they were all friends by the time we left. I'm looking forward to building on these friendships throughout the year.
The main event this weekend was SIMSOC. This is a society simulation game. Hard to really go into details. Basically we were broken into different groups of a society and assigned different jobs, then based on 'complex' rules left to fend for ourselves. I was a bit skeptical reading the rules prior to the retreat, it was fun though. Definitely a good activity to jumpstart this group.
Some things outside of 'class' I'll be required to do is attend a town meeting, attend a school board meeting, and participate in a police ride along. I'm really excited to expand my knowledge of what goes on in this place! I'll let you know what I find out :)
A friend participated in this program though the MCCC last year and encouraged me to apply. Since I've officially decided that Blacksburg really is home and I plan to stay awhile the promise this program offers of learning about the town and county, meeting key people, honing some buisness skills, and making new friends made it a no brainer for me. The more (or in this case less) I found out about the group, the more I wondered what I'd signed up for :) This past weekend was the kick-off retreat and all those doubts were squelched. I'm very excited about the activities in the coming year.
The group consists of about 25 professionals, all ages, marrital statuses, years in the area, and careers. Some loud and boisterous, others more subdued. I didn't count, but pretty even across genders. Most from Blacksburg/Christiansburg, 2 from Radford, 2 from Roanoke (these two work close by). The weekend retreat really helped jumpstart relationships, I really felt like they were all friends by the time we left. I'm looking forward to building on these friendships throughout the year.
The main event this weekend was SIMSOC. This is a society simulation game. Hard to really go into details. Basically we were broken into different groups of a society and assigned different jobs, then based on 'complex' rules left to fend for ourselves. I was a bit skeptical reading the rules prior to the retreat, it was fun though. Definitely a good activity to jumpstart this group.
Some things outside of 'class' I'll be required to do is attend a town meeting, attend a school board meeting, and participate in a police ride along. I'm really excited to expand my knowledge of what goes on in this place! I'll let you know what I find out :)
VB - Good Times
Posted in on by
The trip to VA Beach this past weekend was chock full of good memories :)
~ adventurous ride involving a AAA phone call and unplanned lodging with a pal in Richmond
~ excitement of pre-race expo and lots of cool running gear (I only window shopped!)
~ the beach! sand castles - waves - frisbee - boogie boarding
~ hanging out with old friends and new friends
~ three very adorable littles girls I don't get to see often enough!
~ US vs Mexico soccer
~ the half marathon (thanks J for keeping me company and letting me walk!)
~ the finish line (amazing experience... very addictive!)
~ VT vs NCSU with a huge group of Hokie fans :)
~ J scaling the balconies to break into our hotel room since the door lock was broken
~ perfect weather!
~ chaos!
~ laughs!
~ fun!
Congrats to all the finishers!! A special congrats to all the first timers! YOU ROCK!
Let's do it again soon :)
~ adventurous ride involving a AAA phone call and unplanned lodging with a pal in Richmond
~ excitement of pre-race expo and lots of cool running gear (I only window shopped!)
~ the beach! sand castles - waves - frisbee - boogie boarding
~ hanging out with old friends and new friends
~ three very adorable littles girls I don't get to see often enough!
~ US vs Mexico soccer
~ the half marathon (thanks J for keeping me company and letting me walk!)
~ the finish line (amazing experience... very addictive!)
~ VT vs NCSU with a huge group of Hokie fans :)
~ J scaling the balconies to break into our hotel room since the door lock was broken
~ perfect weather!
~ chaos!
~ laughs!
~ fun!
Congrats to all the finishers!! A special congrats to all the first timers! YOU ROCK!
Let's do it again soon :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
