Small Town Feel — Gilbert, AZ

One of the charms of Phoenix is the hole-in-the-wall nature of many of its best attractions. Most of its quality restaurants and bars are disguised as brick homes and art galleries, such as The Roosevelt or Lost Leaf. People hear about these places word-of-mouth or by tagging along with those “in the know”.

But sometimes, I feel the need for a sit-back, relaxed, out in the open good time, without having to scream at the person next to me just to be heard. When I get into those moods, I’m finding that I turn to downtown Gilbert more and more.

Downtown Gilbert reminds me a lot of where I grew up, in Naperville, IL. The main street included old brick buildings, restaurants with pleasant-looking patios, shops with unique (non-franchise) names. It was the place for everyone to hang out on weekends — families, teenagers, college students and the older single demographic. Gilbert shares many of those same characteristics.

For example, most of the restaurants – excluding Oregano’s – are not franchises. Each has its own character, but they all work as part of the community.

I was first introduced to Liberty Market at the beginning of this year. This small grocery/restaurant/coffee shop boosts amazing food, huge dessert servings and the finest in espresso and coffee. It has a huge indoor seating area, as well as a well-shaded patio. In addition, the host Espresso 101 & 102 classes each Thursday for $10. Follow them on Twitter, @libertymarket, for class details and daily specials.

Then this past week, I hit up two more of downtown Gilbert’s hot spots. Joe’s Real BBQ claims to offer “real food” – authentic, delicious, wood-cooked BBQ. And man is it delicious. I indulged in their pulled pork BBQ sandwich with a side of the most creamy & flavorful mac & cheese ever. The inside is set up cafeteria style, so the line for food moves quick despite the huge crowds. Joe’s has a dozen or so picnic tables outside to enjoy Phoenix nights and is very family friendly.

After Joe’s, I met some friends over at Bergie’s Coffee Roast House to digest BBQ and listen to local reggae musicians. Since I’m not supposed to drink coffee, I can’t comment on their drinks, but my friends said they were delicious. The outdoor patio with music floating in the air and little kids dancing can’t help but make you smile.

The only thing missing is me with a beach cruiser bike, complete with a basket full of Liberty Market groceries, and a little niece to take running around in the fountain. Actually, I’d probably be the one running around in the fountain =)

Guilty Pleasure — Dog videos

I confess…I love LOVE watching silly dog videos. The cat ones I don’t enjoy so much. There are few about weird animals, like sloths, that I enjoy but mostly dogs are the most entertaining. Here are a few of my favorites.

Bizkit the Sleepwalking dog

more about “Bizkit the Sleep Walking Dog“, posted with vodpod

The Perfect Solution to Break Into Local Music

I’ve been told repeatedly that my taste in music leaves much to be desired. Not that it is bad, just not quality. Apparently my love for Three Days Grace and Disturbed bothers some. It’s not that I’m opposed to other types of music. On the contrary. I tend to find I enjoy new styles, especially live. There are several problems that hinder my growth in the indie/local music scene.

One — No time or patience to track down what’s good. Nor do I know how to distinguish.
Two — Lack of close friends in the scene. Either that or I give off the impression I’m not the type to enjoy such events.
Three — Hatred of crowds. I don’t mind small ones, bar crowds are okay. Also, standing for 2 hours listening to a band hurts my knees =)

BUT there may be hope for me yet. My friend Si at the Downtown Phoenix Journal recently covered Star Swim, a new event being hosted at the Wyndham Hotel downtown. Local bands, swimming AND booze? Heaven. Not to mention all the people watching. I need to brush up on my tacky pick-up lines.

Swimming, Star Style
Posted by Si Robins on 5/24/09 | Downtown Phoenix Journal

Beards, Lucky Strikes, margarita slushies and sleeves of tats abound at the debut of 2009’s Star Swim at the Wyndham Hotel. Nevermind the bands that played (more on that in a minute), this now weekly event is the place for twentysomethings to let loose is half-naked reckless abandonment, and if the crowd from the first weekend is any indication, this thing is catching on fast. The rooftop pool was full of boozin’, cruisin’ for digits and generally (sometimes frighteningly) loud people dancing in some very unconventional fashions. Local bands Hooves, Art for Starters and Wizards of Time helped de-sober the crowd, but by the time headliner Dear and the Headlights (or Drunk and the Headlights, as they proclaimed) took the… er… pool deck, everyone was in a very social state of mind. By the end, half the crowd commandeered microphones to sing along, people from overlooking hotel rooms were cracking open their windows to get a listen and the stuffy lobby bar was emptied in anticipation for a booze-soaked encore. This is a pretty successful debut at the Wyndham for Star Swim, which occupied Saturday evenings at the Hotel San Carlos last summer. The schedule for upcoming weekends is below.

50 E Adams St
5 to 10pm Saturdays, all summer long

Tickets are $6 and available online here. (Also available at door.)

May 30: Kinch, Aushua, Yellow Minute, Cardiac Party

June 6: K e n e s s e t, Mostly Bears, Snake! Snake! Snakes!

June 13: Black Carl, Mr. Gnome, Mondegreen, We Fear the Bees

June 20: What Laura Says, the Necronauts

June 27: The Rogue

July 4: Miniature Tigers, Princeton, DJ Ben Collins (1-10 p.m.)

August 1: Lymbic System

Cell Phone Etiquette

My family and friends have a wide range of opinions on when it is appropriate to be on your cell phone and when it is not. These views are than sub-categorized based on the cell phone feature. This means I have to remembering who doesn’t mind when I text during a meal or who hates when I take a call while in the car with them. In many ways, the level of cell phone freedom defines the relationship. For example, my middle sister Kelly does not allow me to be on my phone at all while in her presence. We don’t see each other often and she finds it extremely offensive when I choose matters here over spending time with her. However, my friend Martha and I can pretty much be on our respective Blackberrys at any time during our quality time. This causes our relationship to be very open and understanding, respectful of each other’s space and time. It doesn’t diminish our closeness. In fact it fosters a connection because we are both phone addicts.

Despite my “crackberry” ways, I can recognize that real, personal interactions take precedent and that not everyone wants to hear how you fell into a parked car after having one too many shots of Jim Bean (completely hypothetical of course). Therefore, here are my essential rules on cell phone usage:

1. No phones while food is on the table.

2. NEVER make a cell phone call from restroom. Texts are acceptable.

3. Phones have become incredibly personal. Do not take or look through someone else’s phone without their permission.

4. Turn off all sounds, excluding ringer, while at work. There are enough sounds already and the blinking light should be enough of an alert.

5. NO LOOKING AT PHONE DURING A MOVIE!!

6. When vegging at home with roommate/others, put phone out of sight.

7. NEVER take out your phone during a meeting.

8. Only texts after 11pm unless, a. you know they receiver is an night owl OR b. emergency

9. DO NOT be on the phone when ordering food or making a purchase.

10. Do not drunk text, call, email, etc. Leave your phone at home if you have to.

Want to test your cell phone etiquette? CNET has a great little quiz on their website. Here are my results:
You could be worse
You know proper cell phone etiquette, but you don’t always practice it. With just a little more effort, you can avoid the evil stares of strangers and save yourself the embarrassment of revealing private details on a quiet bus. Remember to use the environmental settings on your phone, excuse yourself from a conversation if it is necessary to make or take a phone call, and brush up on your cell phone etiquette.

Back to 9-5

Today was my first day working 8 hours in one place. Naturally, this requires some reflection.

When I taught 7th grade my typical day involved being up at 5:30am, to work at 6:30am, classes until 3pm and then home for the day to grade and watch marathons of Law & Order. Even though it was an 8, or more often a 12, hour day I was constantly moving. Classroom to classroom, library, main office, gym. I thrived on the quick pace and the running around. Hell, I perfected the art of running in heels as a result.

Then came grad school. No day was the same. Having six internships over the course of 2 years kept me driving all over the Valley over the course of the week, with trips to Tempe and Downtown Phoenix for classes. I might go 8-10 hours each day, but I was never in the same place for longer than 3-4.

So what was my first day tied to a desk like? A couple of things I noticed right away…fatigue and decreased productivity. Sitting at my computer for longer than an hour or two, even with interesting projects in front of me, made me feel lethargic. This in turn decreased my productivity. It wasn’t until lunch when I was rushing to get a blog entry for the Downtown Phoenix Journal in by 2pm while driving to get Subway, then coming back and putting the finishing touches on a release that I felt truly productive.

What I loved about the nonprofit world was the pace and intensity of work. I was constantly having to switch my brain between various projects — writing content here, designing a newsletter there, organizing surveys over there. Additionally, the ability to work during non-traditional hours helped increase my productivity and hone my ability to prioritize projects. For example, I knew I could only contact the New York office during certain hours at Teach for America or meet in person with my boss. Therefore, content updates to a newsletter could wait until I was out of the office working from home or at Lux Coffee shop. The moving around and change of location kept me focused and productive, more so than sitting at a desk for 8 hours.

Is there a point in all this reflection? It seems I’m not the only one wondering about the relevancy of the 9-5 work day. TIME magazine recently published a cover story regarding the changing face of the modern workplace. The series covers 10 features of the future workplace in depth, with three in particular capturing my interest. Check them out below:

We’re Getting Off the Ladder

Women Will Rule Business

The Last Days of Cubicle Life

Social Media Presentation @ Nonprofit Business Summit

This is a video, courtesy of AmazingCauses.com, of my presentation at the Phoenix Business Journal’s Nonprofit Business Summit on Thursday, May 15, 2009. I discussed social media best practices and tactics along with Chris Rogers, vice-president of communications for Valley of the Sun United Way and Peter Vanderlee, vice-president of marketing for AmazingMail.com.

more about “Social Media Presentation @ Nonprofit…“, posted with vodpod

To know where you’re going you must know where you’ve been…

My middle sister and I are divided by 18 months. As it was just she and I until my youngest sister arrived, competition for my parent’s attention was particularly intense. So when my sister began writing poetry at a young age, I took note of the praise showered upon her by my mother, secretly steaming with jealousy.

Katie, Kelly and Kim

Kim, Kelly, Katie

Thus, my life-long affair with writing began.

I have expressed myself through the written word in nearly all its forms. From poetry to plays, from persuasive to political, there is no aspect of writing I will not attempt. However, it was not until I began planning for my future after completing my two-year term as a history teacher for Teach For America that I seriously began to consider making a career out of writing.

My time with Teach for America instilled a great respect for the work of nonprofits. I knew that I wanted to pursue a career that combined my passion for public service with my love of writing. In 2007, I was accepted to Arizona State University’s prestigious Walter Cronkite School of Mass Communication and Journalism, beginning my journey into the public relations field. Utilizing my undergraduate work in political science and communications, I honed by writing skills to compel others to support meaningful causes that strive to better the community.

The saying goes “the pen is mightier than the sword”. I work to make significant impacts on my community…pen and passion in hand.