Austin: I Can't Quit You

I've blogged about our visits to Austin before. While, I always seem to tell people how unimpressed I am with Austin, somehow we keep coming back for more.

Our first trip to Austin was a rare anniversary in the states. We decided to experience train travel (it'll be just like the Hogwarts Express!) and Austin was a convenient end of the line. Our second trip was a conference John attended on my birthday. He made it up to me by bringing me along and letting me have a spa day at the Four Seasons.

On these trips we stayed downtown (the Driskill and then the Four Seasons) walked most of the time, and enjoyed the Congress Bridge bats and the various restaurants, bars and museums nearby.

At the Lady Bird Wild Flower Center.

Here's the thing with Austin. It has a reputation for being cool, and everyone (meaning everyone from Austin) knows it. The place so freaking pretentious, you just want to punch them in the face. Don't get me wrong we had a good time. Bats, awesome. Food, awesome. Museums, awesome. People, get over yourself, you are ruining this for me.

So when I decided to give John a special treat with a last minute trip to the Austin Marathon, I wasn't expecting a great time. But thanks to some great tips from friends, we saw a new side to Austin.

This was a last minute, on the cheap, trip to Austin during a jam-packed weekend. We couldn't get a hotel downtown if we had wanted. We drove more than ever. Traffic was a nightmare, but it freed us up to see some things we wouldn't have bothered with otherwise.

We took a shopping excursion and purchased a "bed picnic" at the Whole Foods (thanks, Dustin and Karee). The next day we "hiked" to the top of Mount Bonnell. It was definitely a highlight of Austin (thanks, Caitlin!).

On top of Mount Bonnell, the Austin skyline at our backs.

The Austin Marathon, well, that was great, too. It deserves it own post. I'll get back to you on that.

30 Day Blogging Challenge is Off!

We have so many 30 Day Blogger this time! It's going to be awesome. If you like the nifty badge in the corner of my blog (thanks Ruth!) and want one for your blog, just click it to grab the code to add it.

Here's the updated list of bloggers. Whether you are participating or just lurking, I hope you'll follow along and provide a little comment-y encouragement for everyone.

And.... we're off!

• There's Only Ever One Bonnie by Bonnie
• Naked Wife by Valerie
• Clear as Mud by Ruth
• Honestly Cassie by Cassie
• WillowBee Hive by Andrew
• Dust on the Mirror by Richard
• Seoul Searching by Garrett
• To Be Determined by Marissa
• CK by Caitlin
• Awesome Takes Practice by Rachel

I Knew What I was Getting Into

This is me and John in 2004 when we were dating.

As you are getting to know a new person, you discover a lot about them. Over the years, I've learned a lot about my husband, and I like to think that now I know him better than anyone else. I will always remember the first time I felt like I had a real "this is who he is" moment.

We'd been dating for about 5 weeks at the time. We were having an at-home date, homemade dinner and a rental movie. It was actually the most romantic thing we had done. John came up with the idea; he asked me to "teach him how to cook something."

I picked a recipe, we shopped together then swung by Hastings and picked out a movie. We chopped and sauted and laughed. We sat on the couch and ate while we watched I-don't-remember-what. John was taking our plates to kitchen when it happened.

I was watching as he walked directly and deliberately into the trash can. And, I saw it coming. As he was going, I thought, "He going to walk into the trash can, he is going to walk right into it." And then he did.

As he picked up the spilled trash and put everything right again, I realized this was not the first time I'd seen something like this in our short time together. It dawned on me that it would always be like this, and I needed to decide right then if this was annoying or if this was endearing.

As I watched him clean up my kitchen, I couldn't help thinking, "Well, he is awfully cute."

Seven years, I still come home to things like this:

Yes, that is a large hole in the toilet tank. He doesn't know how it happened. It just did. And he's still pretty cute.

30 Blogs, 30 Days

The return of the 30 Day Blogging Challenge is right around the corner, and I hope all my blogging friends will join me! If you're not already blogger, but kind of sort of wanted to start this is a great time to do it.

Here's how the blogging challenge works. 30 days, 30 blog posts. Yep, just that simple. We are starting on Monday, March 21 (the day after spring break for many). The last day of the challenge is April 19.

Of course, you can take part in secrecy, not telling anyone about the challenge. You could sneak under the radar and hope no one reads your blog posts. But, that really defeats the purpose of blogging. What makes this extra fun is that all of the challengers are in it together. We're all struggling to come up with a new, fresh, interesting post every day. And we are all rooting each other on as we go.

So why bother? Here are a few good reasons:

1. Deep down, you wish you were a better blogger. Guess what, you get better at things by practicing them.


2. If you tell everyone you are joining the challenge, they will read your blog and they will comment. Comments are awesome!


3. Visiting your blog every day for a month usually leads to refreshing some images, updating the profile, adding some new widgets. With all that clean up and all that content, you'll finish the challenge with a blog you are really proud of!


4. Searching for daily content will lead you to trying out new blog "tricks," photo essays, video posts, polls, etc.


5. Blogging daily will show you what your blog is really about. Sometimes we think we know what our blog's theme is, but it might not be what you think it is. Once you figure out what the theme really is, blogging gets easier.


6. You will blog more when the challenge is over. You'll get in the swing of it. Blogging becomes part of a routine and you'll see potential content everywhere.

So who's in? So far

• Me!


• Valerie at Naked Wife


• Ruth at Clear as Mud


• Cassie at Honestly Cassie


• Marissa at TBD


• Caitlin at TBD


• Garrett at TBD

And there are a few others, I'm really hoping join in.

I Have Come to Network! Now What?

The OSU Media and Strategic Communications School presented a networking expo today. When we heard there were lots of professionals there recruiting interns, we decided we had to turn out too. We didn't want someone else snatching up all the good ones!

I slapped some QR codes & links to our internship posting on the back of my business card (felt like a total genius) and headed out with my team in tow.

Then we just had to network. At its best, networking is something even the most outgoing have to work at. At its worst, it is awkward, embarrassing and even agonizing. So how do you do it?

Take a wing man. Garrett was my wing man today. It makes the lulls between table hopping less awkward, because you're never alone. And, if you are a little on the shy side, having a buddy can bolster confidence and help keep the conversation going.

Work the room. Sure when you first arrive, you have to get the lay of the land, but then it's time to beat feet. You can't assume people will come to you. Scope out a small group or someone standing solo and go introduce yourself.

Have some questions ready. Today, we had an agenda: recruit interns. So I looked for students, then asked about their graduation date and major. If they were fit, I asked if they were looking for internships and then gave them my card and explained the link and QR code.

Get in and get out. The point of a networking expo is to meet lots of people. Obviously, you want to spend enough time with each person to feel like you have really met them, but you don't want to spend half the event with same group. The hard part is often how to end the conversation. Something like "It was nice to meet you," or "Good luck with your job/candidate search," can be nice polite ways to say "Ok, thanks, I'm done talking to you now."

That said...

Be respectful. If someone takes the time to talk to you, take some time to actually listen. Even if they aren't exactly who you are hoping to meet (sophomores and juniors majoring in PR seeking fall internships) they might still be a great connection to the person you are looking for. That's why it's called NETworking. I often see people pinging around like squirrels, dropping conversations in mid-sentence to dash off to another person. This doesn't make you a good networker, it just makes you rude.

Egypt: Would You Do It Again?

If you haven't heard there's little something something going on the Egypt right now, I'm surprised you're reading this. You must get excellent WiFi under your particular rock. Last summer, Egypt was our "big trip," and since the recent hubub I've been getting quite few questions about our trip and how I feel seeing what could have just as easily happened while we were there a few months earlier.

So let's tackle a few of those questions.

Is it scary to watch the coverage since you were just there?

Ah, no. I'm here now. I do wonder and worry about some of the great people I met there, though. And I really hope that they and their families are safe. The people in Egypt were wonderful. We found them to be friendly, hard working and very welcoming. They seemed to have so much love for their country and their culture and were pleased to see foreigners there to experience it.

Would you go back, now that this happened?

It's hard to say now what the next leadership will bring to the nation. Egypt is a muslin country and part of the Middle East, but it is the most Western-accepting country in the region. Hopefully it stays that way and other non-Egyptian can have the amazing experience we had there.

Obviously, we wouldn't go right now, and probably not for at least a year. But if the country retains its foreigner-friendly attitude, then I'd definitely still recommend it. (And really I think they have to. Egypt depends too strongly on its tourism to throw that away.) We don't tend to repeat countries, because there is still so much of the world to see, but Egypt is without a doubt the most exciting, adventurous, breathtaking and delicious trip we've ever been on.

Did you know something like this could happen when you went?

You can't really prepare for something like mass revolution, and if you think it can't happen anywhere, you are kidding yourself. That said, I do think we knew what we were getting ourselves into when we went and we prepare (as much as possible) accordingly. Egypt was probably one of the more dangerous places (for an American) that we've been. If you want to see the world, there is a certain level of risk involved. Knowing that helps to keep you safe.

So how do you prep for potential political unrest? First, you research, research, research. Know the laws and your rights (if any) as a foreigner. Beyond the laws, know the customs, and be respectful of them. Egypt was far more accepting of Western behavior and dress than I had expected, and John and I probably dressed and acted more conservatively than we HAD to, but not more than we SHOULD have. I saw several American women (including one in my tour) who seemed to be going out of their way to dress inappropriately. It's disrespectful to the people you are visiting and makes all Americans look bad.

Next, register your trip with the State Department. They will provide you with contact information for your Embassies in the country, information about health and safety concerns specific to the area and they will begin sending updates if there is activity in the region you should be aware of. Registering your trip also means while you are there, the State department will be aware of your general location. If for any reason, they decide to evacuate Americans (like they did recently in Egypt), you'll be on their list to contact.

Finally, leave a friend or family member with as detailed an itinerary as possible. Note where you are staying when, contact information, and all your travel details. Make sure you know how to contact home and the local authorities if needed. Dialing abroad can be confusing and most cellphones turn into paperweights once you leave North America.

You can see all our pictures from Egypt here. Maybe it will inspire you to visit too... Once it settles down.

Little Things That Mean A Lot

Last night, I had the chance to speak to the OSU chapter of PRSSA It's probably my favorite group to speak to. They were an awesome audience with lots of questions when we finished.

I discussed making a good first impression, specifically during a job interview (since that is on the mind of most of the students). Here are some highlights.

Be prepared

• If you're job hunting, have a interview suit ready to go, and keep it dry cleaned.


• Research the organization, so you can give specific answers to questions. Everyone knows they should do this, but lots of people skip this step. Use it as an opportunity to set yourself apart.

You had me at hello...

• Know the interview starts the moment you talk to anyone from the organization (30 minutes before the interview or 30 days before the interview).
• Be nice to the front office staff, they can make or break it for you.

You can't predict the future... or can you?

Obviously, you won’t be able to guess every question they are going to ask you. But you can guess a few. Regardless of whether you script answers or basically wing it, there are a few standard questions you will want to moll over beforehand.

The standards include "What is your greatest strength?" "What’s your greatest weakness?" and "Why are you interested in this position?"

Time to turn the tables

You’re going to be given the opportunity to ask questions. If you want to impress the interview you need to prepare something more think-y than "Do you have a dental plan?"

Ask questions that will help you decide if this job is right for you. Just because they offer you a job doesn’t mean you have to take it. You are interviewing them just as much as they are interviewing you. Ask questions about the culture, the job, and goals and strategy of the organization.

Put your best foot, and hand, Forward

The last thing we covered was how to give a good handshake, a key to making a good impression.

• DO stand up and move out from behind any desk, table or chair.
• DON'T be afraid to initiate the handshake.
• DO keep your drink in your left hand so your shake isn't cold and clammy.
• DO grasp thumb webbing to thumb webbing, DON'T shake with just your fingers or the front of your hand.
• DON'T give the "crusher." Press palm to back of hand instead of top to bottom to ensure your shake is firm, but not painful.
• DON'T give the two-handed shake to anyone you wouldn't hug. It's too intimate.
• DON'T give the palm-down handshake, it's domineering.