Sometimes it’s a bit tough to be a social beast out and about…

I apologize for the long drought of posts. A wonderful woman currently holds my attention. This woman being my mother, my best friend. She’s recently been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and we’re doing what we can to keep things good with her so she can kick that thing to the curb.

My mother has been my best friend for a long time. I feel quite lucky to have such a wonderful woman as my best friend and have told her many times over the years that I think she did a great job raising me and that I feel very fortunate to have such a rockin’ mother.

A new site has been set up as a tribute to all the good mothers out there. “My Mom Is My Best Friend” (www.MyMomIsMyBestFriend.com) is where you can read about the woman who made me who I am and hopefully we will have submissions and stories of other great women out there who have had such a positive influence on the lives of people around them.

Peace, love, and health to you all out there!

Having sports in your life is a great way to be social. I know, I know, for those of you who are already into sports (both watching and participating) you’re probably thinking “no shit dude. I don’t need you to tell me that.” I’ve known this for a long time yet I’m still reminded of it every now and then. For over a decade I’ve used soccer (playing) as a great way to meet people and have good times with my fellow soccer people. However, with a knee that is increasingly cranky with each game I play I’ve had to lay low for a bit (yeah, that sucks big time). Yet, even to this day I still run into people I’ve played amateur and semi-pro soccer with ten years ago. Sweet!

As I chill from the soccer goodness I must find new ways to stay active. I’ve always enjoyed riding bikes. In fact, I met one of my best friends back in college because of bikes. Freshman year I saw some of his biking stuff and we started talking. Little did I know this guy used to be a racer in his pre-college days and even beat George Hincapie in the Junior Nationals. Rock on! (he still has the old Colnago he did that with and let me ride that bike from San Francisco to LA in a fundraising ride a few years ago. Niiiice). My love of mountain biking and road biking has also given me great times on the trails and on the road with people…all because of a common interest in cycling. Even now as I post updates on Facebook about this ride or that I find other people popping out of the woodwork who also enjoy cycling.

Then there’s the simple aspect of watching sports. I’m a huge Steelers fan and have been for years. Wow, I can’t tell you all the great stories and friends that I’ve met simply from wearing the Black & Gold. I’ve got friends (not just acquaintances) all over the country who share this Steelers love with me. This of course spills over into other teams with the NFL and I enjoy sharing good times watching Bears games with my friend who lives downstairs from me and catching up on all the latest NFL news.

I could go on and on about this but you get the point. Sports aren’t just for kids. And they aren’t just for watching or for playing. They are great for the body, mind, and soul…and they certainly help get you out there and into social situations. Play a game with your buds, root for your team with your friends. It’s all good stuff in helping your social life thrive.

On a side note, as I try to help everyone improve their lives in one fashion or another, I will be partaking in a fundraising ride for the MS Society. I will be riding my bike 150 miles next weekend (June 27-28) up in Rhode Island to help raise money for research and for those in need. If you’d like to make a donation (which I could still use a few to reach my goal), feel free to go to my donation page and donate what you can. Next year I plan on doing a bunch of rides for cancer as I’ve lost a few family members to cancer in the past few years. Down with cancer I say!

Friday night and you’re sitting around the house wondering why nobody is calling you. You think about those crazy friends of yours who seem to be out ALL THE TIME. “How do they do it?” you wonder. Well, without straining my brain too hard I can venture there’s one huge difference between what they are doing and what you are doing. It’s about being accessible.

There are a few prerequisites to being the social beast that everyone knows and loves. You’ll probably read through this list and go “no shit Sherlock” but often times people forget these things. I’ll be that happy little angel sitting on your shoulder reminding you of these things.

1. Be geographically accessible – It helps to live near all the activity. It really does you no good to live an hour or two from where you want and need to be for all your social activities. There’s a reason people chose to live in the city and why certain parts of the city command more of a premium than others…accessibility to the hot spots.
2. Make the time to be accessible – If someone calls and asks what you’re doing tonight or tomorrow night, realize they are asking this because they want to do something with you. If you’ve got plans to cut your toenails you can easily postpone that task and head on out to be with your friends. The more you’re out and about, the more you’ll be seen and the more people you will meet.
3. Make yourself accessible – Expand your horizons, try new things. You prefer indie rock shows but a friend calls and wants to hit a metal show with you. Go! You never know who you’ll see there and you’ll more than likely enjoy the atmosphere and being out and about anyway. Open yourself to all sorts of new activities and save your judgement for later.

Granted there are other things that need to happen to be the social beast that you crave to be but this is all about accessibility. You’ve got to get out and about, you have to be in the mix of things. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…you DON’T need loads of money to be the social beast. Since when did socializing be a money-oriented sport? You’ve got friends…see them! Buy a 12 pack of cheap swill and enjoy a day at the pool or a night shooting the shit. It’s THAT easy. You’ve got friends…enjoy some quality time with them all around town.

I know you’re out there! Come out come out wherever you are!

As I sit on this cool cloudy day writing (already finished one post to ChiaTown.com and getting ready for some deep ponderings on WaxPorhetoric.com) and listening to music I wonder where the rest of my social beast brethren are. I’m jonesing for a mountain bike ride. Or road bike ride. Or to play some soccer (ok, maybe I should hold off on that a bit longer as I figure out what my knee is doing). Ya know, there are plenty of things for us to do out there so why aren’t we doing them? You gotta get out and about to live life to the fullest. Sitting around at home does nothing for your health, your sanity, or your social well-being.

Last night I was out at a meeting planning Jakestock (a summer festival in Atlanta that will feature some local bands and some big players, have some good food, artists, etc) and met a few more people. People that also enjoy getting out and about and making things happen. I fear that people assume you’ve gotta be throwing money around to be social. People assume you’ve gotta have an entourage, high-profile status at the clubs, wads of money to hand to doormen and bartenders, and so forth. No…no, you don’t have to be in the Paris Hilton crowd to enjoy a vibrant life out on the town. I’ve done it for years on a shoestring budget. I find it to be more fulfilling actually as you can see who appreciates you for who you are instead of for the money you throw around.

So to my fellow social beasts…screw the recession! Get out! Socialize. Mingle with the people. Make things happen. I plan on it. Hopefully I’ll see you out there.

What does it mean to be a social beast? I won’t even begin to claim that I’m the most social person out there. However, I do consider myself a social beast and I thrive in interacting with other social beasts. Creating a community of social beasts is the one goal in life that I’ve got. To all of you social beasts out there it’s time to step out and start congregating so we can enjoy life to the fullest. There will also be a bit more business-focused narrative on the following events on Chia Town.

This past weekend epitomized why I enjoy doing what I do and being who I am. It started out simple enough…I was supposed to meet with a friend who also does promotions. We were going to discuss the upcoming Jakestock Festival (June 20 and 21 in Atlanta, celebrating Jake’s Ice Cream’s 10 year anniversary with bands, food, art and other goodness) and what to do. We met at a local bar with a couple other friends. Suddenly I’ve got a couple other friends showing up, I talked to a guy who wants to help me get Sweetwater Brewery there (he’s also a pretty cool music producer) and another friend who is darn good at doing video work. I started getting everyone tied together and now we’ve got my video guy partnering up with Brass Knuckle Surfer to do a music video. Soon I was talking to another guy who popped up to say hi to my friends and he was telling me about his new venture of offering a culinary treat of Persian/Southern fusion. I totally enjoyed chatting with my new acquaintance and am looking forward to adding him to the list of Jakestock vendors. Awww yeah! And to think…this was just my first stop…

Next up was us heading to Fox Brother’s BBQ to meet with a couple other friends. While there I met the owners (damn nice guys) and talked to them about the festival. Hopefully they’ll buy into it and join the fun. Next up was Front Page News to see a manager friend there. Chilling for a bit there and talking to her…again, hoping to get them involved in the fun too.

As the night progressed we continued bouncing around meeting people. I was in my element again. After a few months of being holed up in the house (grrrrr…pesky economy) I was out and about, being the social beast that I am, meeting new people, making new connections in both the personal and professional sense and enjoying life to the fullest. All this bouncing around was nice and cheap too…it pays to be social, know the people and partake in the give-and-take goodness of good people taking care of each other.

That was Friday night. Good times…good times. Well, that was until Saturday morning when I was feeling just a wee-bit less than perfect and was prepping for a soccer game (I’ve taken a couple months off to let my knee heal…oh how I miss my soccer). It was truly awesome getting back out on the field…my teammates were happy to see me (and somehow I ended up as captain again…not sure how but it was fun) and even guys on the other team were saying “nice to have you back out here again…we’ve missed ya”. Awww…rock on…
(for those that are interested, we lost in a close game and the knee is still a bit tender)

Saturday evening was a bit more mellow as I went to meet a few new people. I was tired but sleepiness does not deter a social beast! Had an enjoyable evening chilling with them and getting to know them.

Then on to Sunday…hitting the town a bit for some food and then meeting up with some friends at Noche. Worlds colliding! I went there with one group and was hanging with them as I saw another one of my groups coming in to celebrate a friend’s evening before he was to depart for Kuwait. As I’m intermingling with these two separate groups I see my new Persian buddy pop in with his business partner and entourage and started chatting it up with them a bit. He’s totally stoked about the ideas I’ve got for his business and my new business of event planning and such.

Such is the life of a social beast. A busy life, a fun life, one that I embrace fully and was so happy to be back into after a bit too much time off. Time for me to get back to who I really am! It’s time for you other social beasts to come out of the woodwork, say “screw you” to this recession crap and enjoy life for what it is. No need to go broke…it’s totally possible to enjoy being social at a friend’s place, at a park, or drinking cheap swill somewhere. Be the social beast…live it…love it!

Hot diggity! Being the social beast that I am, I have been asked to help set up a new festival in Atlanta. Going along with my “Think Small and Go Big” theme that I wrote about on Chia Town I don’t expect this to start out as a Coachella or Bonnaroo type event. However, I will say that it’s gonna rock.

So what is this all about? Jake’s Ice Cream is celebrating their 10 year anniversary this year and plan on having a bit to-do about it all. Why have some cheesy little “yay, we’re ten. Here’s a coupon” thing? Oh no…this can be so much bigger, and it will be! Since being tasked with being an event planner with my trusty partner in crime Heidi my phone has been going nuts sending texts, emails and making calls. Less than a day after our initial “hey, let’s do this” meeting we’ve already talked to five bands, a radio station, started working on some video ideas, working on getting the beer distributors there (nothing says summer like ice cream and beer!), a few vendors…oh yes…this is gonna be big.

I’ve never used the term “event planner” in my discussions with people when they ask what I do, yet I’ve come to realize that I’ve been planning events in one fashion or another for the past 15 or so years. Whoah! I must admit that I do enjoy doing it…the planning, the prepping, the promoting.

I shall keep you all informed as more details solidify. As of now we’re talking about the weekend of June 13th here in Atlanta. If you’d like to have a nice neighborhood summer festival, this will be one that you should keep tabs on.

Ta ta from one social beast to another!

Welcome back my fellow travelers in life,

I must apologize for my absence but alas, social duties prevail! I spent this past weekend up in Pittsburgh visiting a bunch (“bunch” in my definition is not five. Let’s lean more toward fifty or more) of friends up at Carnegie Mellon. CMU has an event each year called Carnival and yes, it truly is a carnival. Aside from the rides and games that are brought in, it is a time to catch up with many (and sometimes debauchery is involved) and enjoy both old and new friendships. This one lived up to that promise as I arrived Thursday evening, caught up with people I haven’t seen in a year, played some games and then continued on with the weekend. I was even lucky enough to be invited to a friend’s 10 year wedding anniversary gathering over the weekend (which is of course an honor for me to be invited to something as grand as that).

I won’t go through the weekend blow-by-blow rather I just want to mention that it was a weekend full of energy, activity, friends and fun. This whole weekend was done rather affordably too. Aside from the airline ticket (which was purchased rather cheaply nearly six months prior) the entire weekend cost less than $50. Yes, it IS possible. True, it would have been fun heading out and partaking in some of the off-campus activities but nonetheless I had a blast and was glowing (while also recovering) from a great weekend.

After I returned to Atlanta I met up with a good friend for lunch on Monday. We had a great meal at Radial Cafe on DeKalb Ave and used a 2-for1 coupon that was on the back of a grocery receipt. Next up was a quick trip to a CD store where he dropped off some CDs to sell and we perused the new music that was out and about. It was fun seeing some of my friend’s bands with their new releases out there and it reminded me that I need to go see more shows (usually another cheap activity for me…hurray!).

But wait! I think I WILL go to a show! Another one of my good friends is involved in a new gig – Prognosis …an industrial sounding project that has recently been signed and is getting ready for a big tour including a European tour. (He’s also the guitarist for Novocaine and Brass Knuckle Surfer) It was cool seeing him up there with new music (if you haven’t noticed I love hitting the local music scene and supporting the peeps) and also catching up with other friends (Dan, the drummer from Zoroaster was also there and it was cool as hell catching up with him again).

All in all it’s been a very busy time BUT it’s been a good busy. Some people assume that being social means you’ve got to spend loads of money to go to this bar and that restaurant. Such is not the case. You can live a social life and even run yourself into the ground (in a good way of course) by living on the cheap. Hurray!

To all the other social beasts out there, don’t let this economy bring you down. Go out, have fun, enjoy life and let’s show them who’s boss!

Awww yeah! For those of you that went to Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), know someone that went there, went to Pitt (University of Pittsburgh), Carlisle, Chatham, lived/live in Pittsburgh, or just have heard stories from these people, Carnival is coming to Carnegie Mellon this coming up weekend.

For some, Carnival is a time to blow off steam. For others, it’s a time catch up with old friends. Here’s what it means to me, a CMU alumn and a Social Beast.

For me, Carnival is a mix of many things. Back in the day it was a “yeah! Let’s drink!” event (isn’t that what everyone does at college? Oh my poor mother…the stories I told her). As I got older, I mellowed out a bit and truly enjoyed seeing my friends, both old and new. More people come back to CMU for Carnival than they do for Homecoming…it’s THAT big. I’ve been back every year since I graduated and let me tell ya, it’s something that I look forward to every year. Over the years I’ve found myself being the pin that links undergrads and alumni. This is something I don’t take lightly. I remember when I was an undergrad and I’d be saying “sheesh, look at those alumni, telling us what to do. Who do they think they are?” Now I’m one of the alumni and I obviously hear the opinions of my fellow alumn. However, having befriended many of the younger guys there I also know what they are currently going through and it is easy for me to say to the alumn “hey, chill out. Do you even know what they did this year?” or tell the undergrads “dudes, you guys gotta step it up a bit. This is how you’re being perceived”.

Ah…such is the task of a social beast. I love it. I love keeping up with my newer friends and what keeps them going and I love catching up with the older guys. It’s a great way to stay current on social trends, to network, and to just enjoy yourself.

Hopefully everyone out there has some sort of event where you are able to do the same. Maybe a family reunion, homecoming, some other annual event…who knows. If it’s an organized event, do it. If there isn’t one, organize your own (another group of friends of mine have a yearly event where we meet each other somewhere different around the US and spend a long weekend together. It’s possible to do your own thing).

For my fellow CMU people reading this, I hope to see you this weekend! I get in on Thursday…look me up.

Chia

So there I was this morning sending out a “Happy Friday!” to some of my friends. One of them happens to be an old coworker at a company I had left back in December and he ended up switching to the department I was in. It was my quick note to him that reminded me of one of the worst positions I ever had…doing support for a tech company. This job had me starting work at 11pm and ending at either 7am or 11am the next day. Not only that, work started on Thursday and went to Tuesday morning. No more weekend activities for me!

Worst. Job. Evar.

I couldn’t stand it. I was tired. I was cranky. My friends and family were concerned about me. My health was clearly affected. Terrible. Terrible I say.

I had another job offer in October that started in January. I stuck with the crap job to December and was then going to take some time off for the holidays to spend with family and friends but ended up leaving that job a week earlier as I had caught a rather nasty cold and couldn’t fathom staying up all night again and again. So I left and never looked back. My health immediately improved, my happiness returned and life was good. I started my new job in January and then they laid off my entire team three weeks later. Ayeee!

I’ve been working on a few side projects since then. Some personal, some professional with the hope that something will catch and we’ll come up with the next big thing. There are some smart and driven people out there despite all the doom and gloom you see on the news.

So what’s the point of this ramble? It’s not a full business ramble you’d see in in ChiaTown.com or a pure life rambling you’d find in WaxPorhetoric.com but rather something that mixes it all…something that the Social Beast is…a mix of many things. My point to this morning babble is that I’m off on my own again and I’m ok with it. It gives me the opportunity to explore new options. Thinking about that old job just gives me the shakes and made me wonder “is it ok to take any crap job to survive in this economy?” Honestly, I don’t think so. Yes, we all need to survive but good lord, when your very soul and core are destroyed from someone else’s schedule it’s just not worth it. We weren’t put on this planet to be mindless drones. We’re here to interact with others (family, friends, acquaintances, strangers, etc) and hopefully have a positive influence on their lives. Don’t take whatever you can get if it’s going to run you into the ground and negatively affect your health and your relationships.

That’s my ramble for now. Happy Friday to you all. Enjoy it, enjoy your friends and family and get ready for a good weekend.