Real Things I Found in the Public Library

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I had a library card back when I lived in Summit County. Of course I frequented my college and high school libraries before that. And before that, I had a library card that worked in the whole state of Michigan. That first card was quite convenient when I’d visit my dad on the weekends in another city.

I haven’t been a member of my public library here in Denver. I’ve made a lot of excuses. My list of books to read has grown very long. For a while it was because I still had a Michigan license. It was also because I wasn’t sure where my local branch would be. It was also because I spend so much time with friends.

Today I woke up with no plans until the evening. I already watched my Netflix DVD (it was Beginners in case you cared to know) and spent some time drawing. This had been on my agenda for so long. There is no time like the present!

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It took 10 minutes to drive to the library. I had other errands to run afterwards so I didn’t want to bike. The library I went to was refreshingly cold on this hot summer Saturday. I easily picked up a library card and I got to choose the color. I immediately went to the travel section for a book on my next getaway: Norway. There was only book on the subject so I snapped it up. Easy. Then I spent 20 minutes trying to find another book that would interest me during my last 12 days in town. I chose Climate Capitalism. Not only is it grounded in science but its also full of detailed case studies (at least this is what the book jacket promised me). Then I looked at the CD selection. There were so many disc boxes stacked up that I b-lined to the DVDs. Right there in the front was Moonrise Kingdom. Done. I grabbed Up In The Air too because I love watching all the airport scenes.

When I checked the books out, I put them on the counter and the librarian said I was all set. She didn’t open each book to scan them or stamp them. They were scanned magically through the mat on the counter!

Apparently I can also download books to my kindle. Who knew?!

Best Internet Comment This Week

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I think it’s also important to remember that you don’t have to find your passion. There’s this unfortunate line of thought that says you are supposed to “Do what you love and love what you do!” which is nice enough on the surface, but God help you if you aren’t pants-shittingly excited about your work. As someone who doesn’t seem to have a “passion” in this way, it can be helpful to think about “What things do I think are sorta cool?” Way less pressure than following your bliss. -Marillenbaum

Thank you Lifehacker. This came from an article called Four Ways to Figure Out What You Really Want to Do With Your Life.

Just Ride Your Bike

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This past week when I was driving with a friend, we saw a group of cyclers on the road. I said they looked so goofy. She said that she imagines I look like that when I ride. I told her I would never wear spandex while riding my bike. I don’t have a specific reason except that I think those people look silly. I’m not ready to look silly like that- this coming from the girl who regularly wears a neon or Jammy fanny pack.

I thought about it again today during my lunch break when I came across this article from Semi-Rad. It talks about a guy who is super content to ride hundreds of miles on a fixie. Here, Brendan describes what he wears:

…he doesn’t wear lycra when he rides because he wants people to see him riding his bike and believe they can do it, that they don’t need to buy a bunch of special gear and clothing to ride a bike.

Totally dude! Why would I buy special gear to ride a bike? I have special gear for everything else. Heck, you barely even need shoes to ride a bike. I ride my bike everywhere in Denver. I ride to kickball, to the bars, and to the pub run. I also ride in Denver Cruisers. Yep, I’m in a bike gang. I don’t wear any special clothes to bike in (well sometimes costumes) and I love it. So go out there and ride!

Women’s Fitness Day: Oakley Progression Session

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This Friday I’m going to this fitness day put on by Oakley and Shape Magazine called Oakley Progression Sessions. This is the summer version, not the mega-cool snowboarding version. I’m hoping this summer version will be super cool as well. There will be yoga (blahhh) and boot camp (wooo!). They also said there will be a nutrition seminar, social hour, lunch, contests, access to an on-site Oakley pop-up shop and more. Apparently they’re holding events in San Diego and Dallas too. I’m participating in the Boulder Area event (actually held in Lyons which is 20min north of Boulder). I got invited because I entered a contest to become a brand ambassador for Oakley Women. I love free gear as much as the next gal – especially when they make gear for snow and summer seasons- therefore I entered the contest. They chose about 200 women in the area to attend and I’m one of them! Woo! I’ll be interviewing to be a brand ambassador which is cool. If I don’t get it, at least I’ll get to spend a fun day with like-minded sports enthusiasts.

Has anyone been to this event in another city or have you been to something like it? Any advice?

I’ll be participating and socializing as much as possible during the day so I might not get to tweet too much at the event. I’ll update the blog afterwards if there’s good experiences to share!

Get that Coffee House Feeling without the Coffee Shop!

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Coffitivity lets you have the background noise of a coffee shop while playing your own music (if you want) to increase creativity. I have to tell you, it works for me. Definitely going to use this. The site has research to backup the idea that working with ambient noise, such as in a coffee shop, will increase productivity and creativity more than silence or loud noises.

No, I don’t want to take your picture. Put away your cell phone.

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The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have gotten some press recently for the sign (above) they’ve started to post at concerts. I’m loving it. As a concert-goer, I hate seeing a sea of cell phones up in the air. Most of time, the photos they take suck. I can almost guarantee that all of the videos suck. It’s obnoxious. I hope more bands jump on this train to get people to just enjoy the band!

Besides watching other people take photos and video of the band, anyone else hate taking other people’s pictures at events? I’m not here to photograph you, I’m here to have a good time.

Taken with a cell phone. 1 picture is okay. 1 million pictures is not okay.

Taken with a cell phone. 1 picture is okay. 1 million pictures is not okay.

At the Rave Run this past weekend, there was a “rave” with a dubstep/trance/dance party DJ playing. This was at City Park in Denver where they do Jazz in the Park. The stage was small compared to the nearly 10.000 people at the event. My friend and I posted up within 15 feet of the stage. We wanted to dance!

A family trio in front of me took at least 10 pictures- using each person’s individual cell phone- of each other in many different combos. Then they pulled out a point + shoot digital camera, turned around, and asked us to take yet another photo of them. I said “sorry no, I’m here to party.” I probably said something along the lines of “don’t you think you’ve taken enough pictures already?” but I’m not exactly sure. I was so irritated that a) this waste of time was happening right in front of me and b) that they then involved me.

If you’re at a concert/dj set don’t stand up at the front and take a million pictures of yourself or the act! Be in the moment, participate, and MAKE MEMORIES. If you absolutely can not attend an event without taking a million photos, stand out of the way from the people who want to participate in the party.

Other people agree with me. Take a look at their posts: