The Wienermobile

It's not everyday that one gets a chance to ride in a giant hot dog. Today I officially got my first wiener whistle and took a spin in "Yummy" the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. A friend of a friend was the driver, and after touring the country in the Wienermobile, I think he knew every hot dog pun in the book. We took a little tour of Richmond, and let me tell you, people love them an over sized hot dog on wheels. I've never seen so many smiles in my entire life. I felt like a celebrity! Now I know understand why everyone wishes they were an Oscar Mayer Wiener.

Locust of Control

Yesterday my group gathered to once again attempt forward movement on the project that has been looming over our heads for the better part of the semester. Anyone looking at us would have confirmed that we were a sad bunch. Most of our motivation had departed the night before after our concept came crashing down, destroying what was once considered a steady base.

As we all sat there staring at each other, I decided that maybe the principles in all of these marathon training books I've been reading recently could apply to strenuous long term projects as well. I mean, running 26.2 miles and working on a project that can bring you to the brink of insanity seem pretty similar to me. Anyway, in my head it all made sense. So here I am sitting in front of a group of 5 Creatives and I'm giving my best inspirational speech about "Locus of Control." I was trying to get across the point that your mindset really shapes a situation. If you have an internal locus of control, you can convince yourself that you can accomplish something, no matter how ridiculously hard you might have to work to do it. However, if you have an external locus of control, you give in easily and decide that your input won't make a difference. So after this whole "You've got to believe to achieve" rant that I've gone on, someone in my group says, "Wait, did you say Locust of Control? Isn't that some kind of bug?"

My only response, "Yes, yes it is."

I think I'm really starting to get through to them.

Today I ran 10 miles.

Today I ran 10 miles. When I called home ecstatic and told my dad, his first response was "Why?" Well, that is an excellent question that I hadn't thought of before running the 10 miles.

I've never actually run 10 miles at one time. Ever. This was a big deal. Was it planned? No. Did I set out to run 10 miles this morning? No.

Don't get me wrong, this post isn't to brag about the fact that I can run 10 miles. (At the slow speed I was going, really bragging isn't even an option.) Anyway, this is more of an investigation as to how this miracle occurred. I honestly didn't think it was possible. After considering various possibilities, I've decided I owe this great feat to a book that I read yesterday entitled "The Non Runner's Marathon Guide for Women."

I picked up this little gem at Barnes and Noble yesterday after feeling discouraged with my running situation. After completing my 10K training, running has slowly morphed from stress-free escape to self-induced torture. Essentially, I started to dread running, a feeling I've been familiar with my entire life. So, of course, I turned to my trusty philosophy that a good book can fix almost anything. I was immediately attracted to this particular book, first because of the La-Z-Boy recliner on the cover, and second because of the amazing hatred of running and sarcasm dispersed on every page.

An author who writes a book about running that hates running- that is exactly my kind of book. Anyway, after reading well into the night, I woke up this morning and laced up the ole' running shoes. I decided to get back out there and drop the "I'm going to die" routine that typically plays on repeat in my head about 5 mins into my run. Oh, and obviously most importantly, I made myself a new running mix, entitled FLASH back, complete with Hanson, Backstreet Boys, Britney, and even a little TLC. Actually, now that I think about it, I'm guessing that this line up of musical talent was probably the primary reason I survived this morning. As I passed other people I was secretly laughing thinking how great it was that I could listen to MMMBop in my headphones and not be judged by these unknowing bystanders. Of course, now you are probably judging me since I've shared my secret enjoyment of ridiculously horrible pop, but I'll just tackle one issue at a time.

Anyway, as this could be a once in a lifetime accomplishment, I decided that I'd better write it down somewhere. This way instead of telling my future grand kids stories of my glory days, I can just send them to my blog.

In the Land of Hipsters

Culture shock victim: Me
Foreign country: VCU Brandcenter

My trusty resource Wikipedia describes culture shock as "the anxiety and feelings (of surprise, disorientation, uncertainty, confusion, etc.) felt when people have to operate within a different and unknown cultural or social environment, such as a foreign country."

You trying being me in a hipster environment. It isn't easy.

And while I can't fundamentally change some things about myself, such as my bedtime, my innocent nature, and my love of Gossip Girl- I've decided that there are some aspects of this culture worth adopting. These include:

1. The food. Hipsters eat the most ridiculous sounding, yet delicious, food combinations. Ex. Dark chocolate covered Edamame. However, whether or not these creations are tasty or not really isn't the point- it's more the shock factor. Dark chocolate Edamame probably wouldn't taste as good if people didn't react with an exclamation of: "DARK CHOCOLATE EDAMAME?!?!***?!!!?????!"

2. The clothes. Hipsters look cool. Intimidatingly cool. If I ever get on What Not to Wear, I've decided to tell Stacy and Clinton that I would like them to add hipster accents to my Ann Taylor look. I wonder if Ann Taylor makes a skinny jean.

3. The hangouts. I go to Starbucks. They go to Captain Buzzy's. I go to P.F. Chang's. They go to Sticky Rice. If they would post a sign outside these establishments to welcome in non-hipsters, I would really appreciate it. Sometimes us non-hipsters just require a little extra push.


Needless to say, I'm starting to really appreciate the unique characters that surround my daily life at Brandcenter. They definitely bring a different perspective to the table. Unfortunately they don't see the merit in things like the Jonas Brothers, waking up early, to-do lists, and lunch totes... but I have a feeling that one day they'll come around.