" Thankful
Tis the season to give thanks so here are just a few reasons why I’m super thankful this holiday season.

Family – I’m so happy that some of my extended family was able to move back to this area! It’s great to see them so often now! I’m also thankful to have such a thoughtful family from special surprises to caring phone calls; they are always there for me.

Friends – We’ve laughed, cried and moved each other all over this town. Good times guys, good times!

Harvey the cat – I especially love it when Harvey jumps into boxes that are just a little too small for him and can’t figure out why he doesn’t fit.

Despite my love of snow I’m thankful for the warmer weather.

Country Music – I just plain love it!

For being able to live without a vehicle for almost a year now! – I’m very fortunate to have the support and understanding of everyone in my life to make this possible.

My community and all the groups I’m involved in – IGNITE, Auburn Beautification Commission, BID, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Blueprint – Great people working towards real goals in the community and making this an even better place to live!

Amazing Opportunities – This year I’ve been blessed with amazing opportunities to travel the world, try new things and meet new people. I’m so thankful for those opportunities and the people who made it all a reality.

That I feel much younger than my real age. :)

All the comforts of life that I sometimes take for granted.

Humor – It’s what gets me through. :-P

A good book – There’s nothing like being so pulled into a story that you can’t put it down until you find out how it ends.

My blog – I’ve been able to connect with so many people though The Young Pro that I might not otherwise have been able to share my life with. Thank you for reading, and commenting (online and on the street), and for checking back time and time again! There is a lot more to come!

- Harkins :-D "

" Balancing career, marriage, and children is something that almost everyone struggles with. Especially when you want all three! It is different for everyone...some careers demand much more time, some demand being in specific geographic locations, etc. Some people find their marriage partner early on and some don't cross paths until later.

I think Ms. Trunk's blog posts are interesting to read...thanks for posting the link! It's hard because people need to realize that a typical time line for life events isn't one size fits all, but at the same time there's the reality that our bodies only allow us to have babies within a certain window of time. "

" SingleGal27

I am of the belief that if you are a single girl in your upper twenties, you should expect your friends and family members to at some point be gravely concerned with your love life.

After a certain age, available bachelors are either too old or too young. And after a while, you get to know most people in the bar scene, so you stop going out. You join clubs and go to different places but you hardly ever meet new people because it’s a small town. And you’ve lived here all your life. So you go elsewhere, Syracuse, Ithaca, eharmony or anywhere you might meet someone new. But that takes time and all around you there are people telling you that you don’t have much time.

Now a days, young professionals are marrying later particularly in larger cities where it’s fashionable to be single and you have to focus on your career if you want to rise to the top. Competition is fierce and love (supposedly) takes away from that.

But, if you live in a small town, where there is an unspoken expectation that you will eventually pair up (and most everyone else your age already is), can being single hurt your professional career?

It seems that being married can give you leverage when looking to move up. In a political race it shows you’re a family-man, down to earth, do the right thing kind of person. In the business world it shows that you’ve settled down and are probably less likely to spend Thursday nights at the bar and Friday mornings with a hangover. But does being married actually make you a better businesswoman or a better politician?

I read a blog post by one of my favorite bloggers, Penelope Trunk, that made the case for young (women) professionals to marry first and then work on your career later. She argues that if your goal is to have a family then you have your whole life to work on your career but only a few short years to successfully work on the kids part.

She makes a great point, one that I wish I had thought about in college, but at that point we were told to focus on our career, that love would come later. Get a good job, the rest will follow. But what if it doesn’t?

I think it’s absolutely possible to be single, happy and have a great career. But to do that in a small town takes perseverance, tenacity, and a great online dating profile.

- Harkins "

" TAKE IT



Wow. Apparently it’s National Save for Retirement Week. I had no idea and I’m usually up on the randomly assigned days.

If there is one thing that I can stress to young professionals everywhere at ANY stage in your career it is this. Save now so you don’t have to worry about it later!

If your employer offers a 401K option, TAKE IT.
If they offer you FREE MONEY by matching your investment, TAKE IT.
If they don’t offer a 401K, start your own IRA and TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR FUTURE.

You can start your retirement savings with little amounts of money. Try just $25 a month from your paycheck and you might not even miss it. The thing is the earlier you start to put money away the longer it can work for you and make you more money in the long run.

I know it’s almost forty years away for us, but saving for retirement will never be easier (or more profitable) than it is right now.

- Harkins "

" It’s Not Easy Being Green

I was quite the environmentalist as a child. I remember one summer where I would pick up trash along the sidewalks every week. I’d take the recyclables and sort them out, return the refundable ones. I had quite the business going. I even remember making sure that my parents were recycling everything they could too.
Not much has changed since then.

Although I’m not walking up and down the street with a garbage bag in my spare time, I’m still very committed to living an eco-conscious lifestyle.
I recycle and reuse and have stopped buying so much extra stuff that I don’t need because I think it’s the right thing to do. I’m still going car-less and really enjoying it.

I believe in striving for only one bag of trash per week. (Which would be much less if I had a better way to compost at my apartment.) I believe that my actions do make a difference. And I believe that living a green lifestyle isn't the easiest thing to do.

Even though being an eco-warrior is the “cool” thing to do right now, it’s also difficult. It’s hard because it involves sacrifices. It’s hard because it’s expensive, especially on a young professional’s budget. It’s hard because we grew up with materialism and taking on an eco-conscious lifestyle requires us to change that.

The good news is that as young professionals, we’ve also grown up learning about global warming and climate change. We’re super aware of the consequences and I think as a result, we are very supportive of measures to fix it. According to a 2007 Greenberg Millennials Study - 91% of the Millennials surveyed agreed that “Man-made causes are destroying our environment and the Earth’s delicate ecosystem. As a result, we could see massive, irreversible damage to the Earth’s landscape during our lifetimes.”

The bad news is that as millennials, particularly younger millennials, we feel powerless to the enormous problem of global warming. That combined with the cost of green products, the extra work that goes into living a green lifestyle and lack of support for that kind of lifestyle, we see young people doing nothing. (Generate Insight Survey)

For a generation that has grown up being told that no dream is too big and that we can do anything we put our minds to, I find it hard to believe that we are taking such a passive approach to something that affects our future so profoundly. Yet, as a millennial myself I can understand each and every reason that survey found for us to not live a greener lifestyle.

The optimistic side of me wants to believe that there are a lot of us out there doing the right thing and making positive, eco-conscious changes to our lifestyle. Am I too hopeful that is really the case or perhaps am I just too naïve in my thinking?

Even when I do so much to live a green lifestyle I do sometimes feel that my efforts are futile. And if I, the optimistic eco-warier, feels that way then I can only imagine how other young pro’s must feel in their quest for a greener lifestyle.

- Harkins

"

" I went to the taste of home show for the very first time with my mom this year. We were both what u could all consider "newbies" lol. We loved it and couldn't believe all the samples and vendors and our gift bags. They had a ton of door prizes too which was great, hey i even won a spice rack which ive used like 10 things already. it was a great show and we will go back to the next one =) "

" Passionate

This week we held our annual Taste of Home Cooking School. It was a HUGE success! Well over 800 women (and gentleman) attended, we had about 20 local business vendors to look at before the show, and New Hope Mills gave away pancake mix to all who attended!

Plus (and possibly most importantly) I got to emcee this year! :-D

For the past five years, our publisher Rick Emanuel had the prestigious job of entertaining our Taste of Home crowd. And for the past five years I (not so) secretly hoped that he would be sick the night of the event so I could fill in. This past year he took a position at another Lee Enterprises newspaper, The Post Star and I finally got my chance. I really just like to be up on stage in front of an audience particularly with a microphone.

The show went great, a little longer than usual, but super fun none the less. And I had a great time on stage too! My aunt actually said that I missed my calling.

For the second year now we enlisted helpers from the BOCES Culinary Arts program. Now there are some future young professionals who know what they want and are going to be great at it. :-D All three were eager to help and did such a great job. I wish I had that kind of direction when I was a senior in high school. To know exactly what you are passionate about at such a young age.

I know what I’m passionate about now, but it took a while for me to find my path and more importantly to acknowledge it. Now I just need to figure out how to follow it. Emceeing the other night was a step in the right direction.

- Harkins "

" Upside Down

I think you know how much I like to cook, which can be somewhat rare for young professionals who grew up with convenience foods and restaurants. You can often find me in the kitchen cooking, baking and more importantly eating.

This weekend was no different. I got the grand idea to roast a chicken to eat throughout the week. It would be a great Sunday meal (because I LOVE Sundays and Sunday night dinner) and then I could make many things out of it the rest of the week.

I had a recipe from a recent Glamour magazine for Julia Child’s Tarragon Roast Chicken. First it called for a 3lb roasting chicken, preferably organic. When I had gone to the store I really wanted to buy organic, free range chicken but it was double the price and I only had so much money to spend. So I purchased the Wegmans 6lb chicken.

When I got home I cleaned the bird and dried it off and added my seasoning, followed the directions and got it in the oven. I was so proud of myself for actually attempting to roast my first chicken.

An hour and a half later (as per the recipe) the bird wasn’t done. I didn’t know what I did wrong. So I left it in longer and longer and longer and about 8pm it was finally ready. (And I had a great Apple, Potato and Onion Hash for dinner instead.) Then I remembered my chicken was twice the size of the one the recipe called for and would therefore explain the much extra time.

So I called my mother to tell her how it came out and she said “didn’t the little plastic thing pop-up to tell you if it was done?” I thought about it and I said, “I wouldn’t know because I put the chicken in the pan upside down”. We were both laughing so hard. I could hear my dad on the other end of the phone wanting to know what was going on.

All in all it was a DELICIOUS recipe and the chicken was cooked, and I even made an AWESOME gravy. But yes, I put the bird in upside down. Rookie mistake. Oh well, live and learn I guess. :-P

- Harkins :) "

" 40 Below

I am constantly amazed by the amount of great work that is being done here in our area. On Friday I attended the 40 Below Summit in Syracuse. 40 Below is a group similar to IGNITE in that it is helping young professionals to have a voice in their local community through volunteering, civic projects and networking.

This year’s summit was very special because it was the group’s fifth summit, with just as many years as an organization, a mighty accomplishment for any community group. In that time a number of community initiatives have been brought forth from the group and they are making a real change in Syracuse.

Being in that room with so many talented young professionals reminded me of what I love to do. And that’s work in the community, interacting with people and making a positive difference in where I live.

- Harkins "

" Young at Heart

I walked in to the office today to find a mountain of bagels, donuts and fresh fruit. I was beyond excited. Especially since I looked in my fridge this morning and saw I had no bread left, in the pantry there were no granola bars or cereal and I was a good 10 minutes late already. So I figured I would grab “breakfast” at work from the evil vending machine. Evil because every time I go there I think about how I could get the same item for much less at the grocery store. But I digress.

It is a co-worker’s birthday and the celebration is due to it being his 50th. Complete with balloons, black streamers and food, we do birthdays big here in these parts.

So when another co-worker asked the birthday boy what it felt like to be half a century old, I somewhat expected him to be upset. But he wasn’t. He said "I feel like I’m 25 and act like I’m 5, life is good".

And that got me thinking, I hope that when I am 50, I can feel like I’m 25.

I would say that on most days I feel like I’m in my early 20’s. Probably with the exception of the day after I went water-skiing for the first time in 10+ years. I definitely felt about a 100 after that. But all in all even though I complain about getting older and reminisce about those care free days as a college student with my whole life ahead of me, I do still feel young. And I’m glad I do. :)

- Harkins

P.S. Just saw this blog post from a fellow blogger who has an interesting take on getting older. It's worth a read. :)
Getting Older is a Good Thing
"

" EMERGENCY

I think about this sometimes when I’m home alone (as I usually am). There are days where I’ve worked late, didn’t have my afternoon snack and am just so incredibly hungry that I come home ready to eat anything and everything I can find as soon as I walk in the door. And I usually opt for something ready to eat and eat it so fast you’d swear I inhaled it. And I then I think, what if I choke on this, and then I slow down.

A while back I learned about the self-Heimlich and have always kept that knowledge safe. I know where the best chairs are for it in my apartment and I try to keep my cell phone in the same spot in case I ever needed it for an emergency.

And then I think about the episode of Sex and the City where Miranda buys a new apartment and learns that the woman who lived there before her died alone with only her cat to notice. I’ll leave it at that, but Miranda blows the whole thing out of proportion and really freaks out about it. The next day she’s eating takeout and chokes on a piece of chicken. She does the self-Heimlich and spits the food out, calls Carrie in a panic and before she goes to bed overfills the cat dish that night, just in case. Then I usually get a little freaked thinking about the possibilities.

I would say that’s the one thing that I don’t like about living alone. There typically isn’t someone there if something were to happen to me. I know that’s the whole point of living alone, but sometimes that makes me nervous. So I learn my neighbor’s names and I keep my best friends and family on speed dial. And I know how I’m going to get out of the place in case of a fire. And then I think, am I just a little paranoid? Yes, I probably am, but I know that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Plus I like to think I’m ahead of the game with all this thinking too. So when I saw this video this morning on Yahoo I had to watch it. I think you should check it out too, but I hope you never have to use it. :)

Save Yourself in a Health Emergency

- Harkins "

" My Limit

A couple of weeks ago I was celebrating my birthday with a good friend. We ended up meeting her brother out and he was with a few of his friends. The friends happened to be a bit younger than all of us (they recently celebrated their 21st birthdays) but they were fun and more importantly they thought that I looked like I was 21, so we stuck around. : )

In any case, we were only out for a few hours but by the end of the night I had enough. I knew my limit and didn’t want to drink any more. These guys thought that was absurd and kept saying “come on, it’s not your birthday till you get sick”. And that really bothered me. Partially because it made me feel incredibly old because as I said to them, it’s different at my end of the 20’s, getting sick from drinking isn’t fun anymore. (Not that it ever particularly was, but I think you know what I mean.) It also bothered me because I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

At first I just kind of shrugged it off but the more they pushed this “idea” the more upset I was. Is this really the new mantra? Sure loads of people go out and get wasted for their 21st. And in our culture that is almost socially accepted. But for someone to say that you have to get sick in order for it to be a “proper” birthday just seemed sick to me. Maybe it’s the age differential, maybe I’m really just getting old, but I’m just not a fan of that. And I couldn’t help but think that these boys were going to end up getting themselves or someone else hurt by egging people on that way. It made me sad for them.

This incident also reminded me of a blog post I wrote last year in response to proposed legislation to lower the drinking age to 18 again. After this incident I’m still of the mindset that lowering the drinking age will not do any good until we start to change the way we think about drinking.

As I wrote then, “Frankly, I don’t think that we can change the law back to 18 as the drinking age and expect the problem of alcohol abuse to just go away. It needs to all be part of a larger cultural shift where we all stop putting so much weight on alcohol as a stress reliever, automatic good time helper, get you laid, freaking crazy night, you’re not cool without it kind of beverage.”

And with a new school year well under way, this is something I think we could all keep in mind.

- Harkins "

" Hey Jess "

" Missing Out

My neighbors downstairs are moving out. I saw the moving truck today. I’m a little saddened by this because I thought they were pretty cool people. Often I would think that I should invite them out to dinner or out to a party I was headed to or something. And I would think I don’t want to bother them now, they are probably busy, maybe next time.

The thing is I picture myself as the kind of person who goes out of their way to make others feel welcome. And I think in some situations I am good at that. But the truth of the matter is, sometimes I’m just too scared to put myself out there like that. And I’m not sure that scared is the right word either it’s just what comes to mind.

And now they are moving out. I’m not sure it’s the type of thing where I can be like hey let’s all go and grab a beer before you leave because it’s pretty sudden. Hmm, maybe I’ll knock on their door tonight and chat with the gal, she was always really nice. They both were. And that’s why I’m like hey I should have invited them out earlier.

And I guess the whole point of this post is that there has been too much procrastination in my life. At some point I got it in my head that certain things can wait a day or two. And yet when I wait, I miss out. I missed out on the Escape from the Judge Swim race, I missed out on a few other opportunities this summer, and now I missed a chance to make some new friends.

Sure, I’ve taken some chances, a few calculated risks. But it’s like a friend of mine said, it’s the things that you didn’t do that you think about more than the things you did.

- Harkins "

" Student Loans

It smells like Canisius outside.

I know that sounds weird but this time of year, the way the air smells between summer and the onset of fall always reminds me of the beginning of fall semester at college. Walking to and from class and the first horrific swim practices that were always much harder than they should have been.

Speaking of college, I got super excited last night when I saw that my student loan payment went down by $25 a month. And then I saw how much I still needed to repay and a tear rolled down my cheek. :-P The sad realization that I have at least a good 15 years left of this repayment did nothing but make me wish for the carefree days of college.

I remember being in school and people talking about how much it cost to go to our private Jesuit institution. And I remember thinking, what does it really matter I’m going to be in debt either way. And it’s true I would be in debt for a long time no matter what school I went to. Really I just assumed that debt was a normal part of life and in our culture it is. But I never really realized what I would have to be paying and I just assumed that I would be making so much more with my degree that I would be able to pay that off in a few years. Couple that naïve thinking with not really knowing how much my education was really going to cost or how much interest I would pay on it and years later, while I would never change a thing, I think looking back I would have factored repayment into the life I was setting up. I wish I had thought about setting up a savings account specifically for paying back student loans. Then again, hindsight is 20/20.

I heard a report yesterday that the chancellor of the SUNY system said that the comment she heard most while on tour of SUNY schools was that tuition was too high. What a hard decision for some college bound grads, go to school and get buried in debt (with no promise of a job after) or keep on keepin on with minimum paying jobs.

So here I say to all college students that may read this: save now to help you out later. Even $5 a week would suffice. Over 4 years that’s more than $1000 not including interest earned. It will really give you a little more sense of ease when you start looking for a job and have to start repaying your student loans.

And then you can really enjoy those fond memories of college, because you’ll be that much more ahead of the game.

- Harkins


P.S. Hope everyone has a wonderful, safe, and enjoyable Labor Day weekend. :-D "

" Hollywood 27



It’s my birthday weekend.

Yes, you heard me correctly, birthday weekend :). Haha. I’m turning 27 this Sunday and the celebration started yesterday with drinks and music at Bistro One and then ended with bowling and killer Karaoke at Falcon Lanes. So much fun!

I walked into the office today to find the package pictured above on my desk. I was completely surprised. When I opened it up, it was a cupcake-cake! :-D The graphics girls made it for my birthday! I was totally not expecting it at all. It’s filled with vanilla and chocolate cake and raspberry filling. They worked so hard on it and it’s fabulous.




After the stressful, busy week I’ve had I’m super excited for more festivities this weekend! I have a lot packed in to the next two days so I’ve got to make sure I stay hydrated and fueled. Tonight is dinner, drinks, and general festivities with friends. Tomorrow I’m going to the fair and then turkey dinner at home with the family. Sunday I’m going rappelling at Carpenter Falls and then playing kickball.

I think it’s funny that half the people I’ve spoken to have said, wow you’re getting old. (Thanks for reminding me. ;) ) And the other half has said that 27 is a great age. (I think I’m in agreement with them. :-P) In fact last night a random friend of a friend told me that she didn’t figure out what she wanted out of life until she was 28 and I was like you don’t even know how nice that was to hear! She made my night! :)

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Celebrate like it’s my birthday :-P

-Harkins :) "

" Invisible People

Drew from InvisiblePeople.tv on Vimeo.

Sometimes you can have everything you need to succeed and then everything just gets pulled out from under you. I follow the author of this blog, invisiblepeople.tv, on Twitter and I saw his tweet about this man who lost his job and his family and now lives on the street. He’s a young guy, not much older than me I’d say, and the message just really hit home. Bad times don’t discriminate. It was really sobering and moving at the same time.

- Harkins "

" Progress

I was just in attendance at the Stardust Entrepreneurial Institute’s ribbon cutting ceremony. I have to say, I’ve been watching the improvements they have been making to this building for a while now and I’m so impressed by how nice the building looks. The progress that has been made and the dedication that there has been to this project is a testament to what can happen here in Auburn and Cayuga County. As a young professional who sees herself owning a business someday, progress like this, in my hometown that I love, just brings tears to my eyes. I’m so excited for this institute and I think there are a multitude of great things to come.

- Harkins "

" Centro

Ok I finally did it! I used public transportation in Auburn, NY. This weekend I took a bus! I’m super excited about this because if you recall I was a little nervous about it all. I just didn’t know what to expect or how the system worked. But it was super easy and at the time that I was riding there was no one on the bus so It was pretty quiet and that was nice. As I was riding along up Genesee Street, I couldn’t help but think that I was more than capable to walk the entire way to where I needed to go. And then I reminded myself that I probably shaved a mile and a half off of my route by taking the bus most of the way there. And in this heat that was certainly worth the seventy-five cents.

- Harkins "

" Laundry Day

It seems that no matter what time of day I go to the Laundromat I’m always running into someone I know there. And it’s never my girlfriends either, it’s always guys I’ve known for a few years but don’t really talk to all that often. And so you say hi, or start up a conversation but it never fails that as you’re moving things around and chatting, a pair of your underwear falls on the floor. And then you get embarrassed and you hastily pick it up but then more clothes fall because you’re trying to move too fast. And then you’re “certain” that the guy that you know, who is really just an acquaintance, saw it and is just silently laughing at the whole thing while possibly trying to get a peak at your antics, although that’s probably not the case. Or they are just as embarrassed about the whole thing as you are and are suddenly very focused about folding their own clothes. And as a cool gal like myself, I try to play it cool, laugh it off, because really you kind of have to expect that you’re going to see someone’s underwear when you do laundry in a communal location. Even so it’s still just a little uncomfortable, especially when you kind of know the person. So yeah, welcome to my Saturday morning. :-) Someday I’ll look back on all this and laugh, right? :-P

- Harkins "

" My Quarter-Life Crisis

One year ago, almost to the day, I wrote about how I felt like I was living my dream; a successful young professional, active in the community with time for friends, hobbies and family time outside of work. The only problem was what to dream of next.

Since then I don’t think I’ve even thought about it more than once. And that’s scary to me because when I think about it, I've always been the one changing things. As a teenager I would rearrange and redecorate my room at least 3-4 times per year. My parents would always be like, really? Again? Even today, I’m constantly moving things around in my apartment. Never satisfied with how it looks or how it is spaced out. So why would I ever let myself just ride the wave of my dream back to shore without even trying to go back out to ride on another one?

Am I in the middle of a quarter-life crisis? Stuck in a rut? Or just moving so fast that I forgot to take time to revisit my dreams? And yet, I’ve had amazing dreams come true this year, ones that I never even knew that I dreamed of. So when someone recently asked me what my dream is, I couldn’t answer. And it wasn’t that I didn’t want to tell him, I actually found myself being very open with this person I had just met. It was that my mind was absolutely blank. I couldn’t think of a thing that I dreamt about. That experience made me reevaluate everything. (Thank you, Greg!) And now this has been on my mind since. How could I be almost 27 years old and not have any dreams?

Sure, I’ve had dreams that I’ve had since childhood. Singing on stage in front of thousands of people or even just a handful dedicated listeners with a guitar, with some of the greats, or just with a captive audience. Seeing all the places I learned about in my history books. Egypt, London, Paris, China, Africa, California. I’ve always dreamt about helping people. I dream about swimming in the Olympics (even though I know that window of opportunity is closing very fast). I dream about making a difference and standing up for what I believe in. I dream about challenging the status quo, but also about having the wisdom to know when to keep what’s working. I dream about being a better friend, even though sometimes I feel like I’m not. I dream about finding love and worry that I won’t ever be completely happy with it when I do. I dream about innovation and solving problems. I love to solve problems, math, community, anything. I like to MacGyver things together. Seriously give me a box of junk and a challenge and I’ll figure out how to do it. I dream about living a life filled with the most random experiences you could imagine.

After a week of thinking and trying to figure out why I couldn’t answer him, then telling everyone I knew what I was going to write about, having a serious writer’s block and then finally being inspired to write, I think I’ve found that I do still have dreams to fulfill. They were there all along. I just needed something to bring it out again. And rediscovering that has been more inspiring and more genuine than creating brand new ones could have ever been.

- Harkins "

" Wait There's Still Time

When I was a sophomore in college I had a choice to make. Stay in college provided housing, aka the dorms (even though where I lived was really a townhouse, but still college provided housing), or venture out into an off campus apartment with my then best friend. After much deliberation, a few fights, and many tears, I decided to stay in the “dorms”. Even though it felt like I was “breaking up” with my friend because I chose not to live with her, I knew that it was the only time in my life when I would be able to experience dorm life. As I put it then, I had the rest of my life to live in an apartment and I wanted to have the full college experience. That included not having to worry about electric bills, heat and furnishing my apartment.

In hindsight I’m sad that I lost my friend over that (plus lots more drama) but I’m happy that I realized that I had time to live the “young adult” life later on and that I stood up for what I wanted to do. Not to say she was living the full picturesque “young adult” life either. She moved into a crappy “twenty something” apartment, but she was out on her own without a meal plan or a couch and I knew that I had time for that.

So now I’m caught at a crossroads again. I feel like I’m at an age where I should start acquiring nice furniture and matching dishes and pieces that will last me for a while instead of the hand me down items I currently have (and absolutely love). But then I realize that I’ve still got a few more years where living bare bones, like I currently am, will still be somewhat acceptable and fiscally responsible. I’ve got lots of time to invest in quality furniture, appliances, and matching glassware. Plus, I love how eclectic my apartment is right now and as much as I’d love for it to look like a page out of a magazine, I also don’t want to give up the items I have with so many memories just because I want something new.

Somewhere I think this comes back to wanting what you’ve got and only purchasing what you need. A key principle to master if you’re planning on living on less. Not that this will stop me from garage sale-ing with the best of them, but I think that I need to remember this when I’m ogling over the really cool couch/futon on target.com that would be much comfier than the free wing backed chairs I found in my apartment when I moved in.

Plus, my friend also pointed out that it’s good that I don’t have nice furniture though, because my cat is still in the somewhat destructive phase of his kittenhood.


- Harkins "

" Performance

Sometimes good performances make me want to cry. Great performances make me want to join them on stage, pouring my heart out and giving the audience my all. Great performances make me question why I don’t do more in the performing arts. Why am I not dancing, why am I not singing outside of apartment? To which I must apologize to my neighbors because singing in the apartment has replaced the daily sing-a-long in the car.

During great performances I can’t sit still. My feet are tapping, I’m dancing in my seat and my fingers are wishing they were strumming the guitar. I clap too loud, jump out of my seat for a standing ovation, and make people turn around to stare because my cheering is so loud.

Last night I attended the Skaneateles Arts Council ‘s annual gala “A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream” Featuring Judy Collins. I was there as a representative of the Skaneateles Journal, our sister newspaper. Our seats were great, we were about twenty feet from her and even though there was a tent pole in between us, it didn’t obstruct our view.

I was captivated by her voice, her music, her stage presence. Coming into the event I knew nothing about Judy Collins. I hadn’t heard her music or anything. By the time I left I would say I’m a fan. She told such great stories and she was funny, so funny! I think I missed some of the jokes about the late 60’s but for the most part I understood everything else.

Overall it was a great performance and I’m happy I went. It reminded me again how much music can fill my soul. It also made me realize that this doesn’t necessarily mean that I am or would be a great performer, just that I have a strong desire to perform and maybe I should be doing more of that in my free time.

- Harkins "

" Book Bonanza

I’ve been reading a lot lately. Not sure why that is. I’ve always liked books but in the past year I can say that I’ve started reading a heck of a lot more. In fact I think I’ve read more books this year than I did in the five years prior, but that’s neither here nor there. I want to tell you about the joys I’ve been reading lately, beginning with “The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist” by Michael J Fox. I brought this book to Brazil so I’d have something to read on the beach and at night if I couldn’t sleep. I loved it. I couldn’t put it down. I would highly recommend it to everyone. I thought this was going to be one of those books that was like be happy don’t let things get you down. And it wasn’t. It was Michael J Fox writing about his life and through those stories you could see, feel and learn from the optimism that he lives daily. He didn’t have to spell it out for you, he just wrote and that’s what I liked about it. Plus he’s funny and likeable.

I’m obsessed with the show “What Not to Wear” on TLC. OBSESSED. Ok maybe not that crazy about it but I find myself watching it far too often. So when I saw this book on Amazon.com I had to see what it was all about. “Freakin’ Fabulous: How to Dress, Speak, Behave, Eat, Drink, Entertain, Decorate, and Generally Be Better than Everyone Else” by Clinton Kelly is a must read for a good time and some great tips. Love him!

Most recently I just finished reading “Ignore Everybody : And 39 other keys to Creativity” by Hugh McLeod. I’m found this book to be inspiring, funny, and a must read for anyone in a creative profession or who has even a tiny creative bone in their body.

A few other books on my list that I’ve recently purchased or found in my “library”, because yes I do have a “library” and I love it, are:

1. “Reality Check : The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition” by Guy Kawasaki


2. “Tribes” by Seth Godin – I really should have finished this months ago as he’s one of my favorite marketing bloggers but I got caught up with other books. Sorry Seth.


3. “I Will Teach You to be Rich” by Ramit Sethi – Again, one of my all time favorite bloggers, he writes about personal finance for young professionals like me. To get a sense of his humor, check out this video. I realize it may not be as funny to you if you aren’t reading his blog, but laugh a little anyways at the thought of me doubled over with laughter and tears in my eyes when I saw this for the first time.


4. “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle – I bought this a few years back and wasn’t sure if I really wanted to read it so I put it away. I know it’s going to challenge my thinking, but I think I’m ready for some personal growth like that. Plus I read about it on one of the blogs I follow so I dug it out and started reading. I like to live on the edge like that. :-P

I’m telling you all this because I’m hoping to inspire all of you my lovely readers to get yourselves to the 18th Annual Book Bonanza this weekend at the Finger Lakes Mall. (And of course to expand your horizons too.) All proceeds go to St. Joseph’s School, so it’s totally for a good cause. I’ve heard that there is, as always, a great selection at awesome prices and something for everyone. I say it’s worth checking out. Just be sure to bring your reusable bag to carry all of your new books home in. Or some extra plastic bags for others. Saturday the event starts at 9am, Sunday starts at 10am. Be there or be square!

Happy Reading! Have a great weekend, there’s lots going on!

- Harkins "

" Thank God

Some days as much as I love my apartment, I wonder what it would be like if I stayed home a little longer and bought a house. And then I think about all the little fixes I’d be doing all…the…time. And as handy as I am, seriously Duck Tape and calls to my father to come fix something only goes so far. And then I think about mowing the lawn (expense), and decorating (big expense), and shoveling in the winter (pain in the butt). And then I think about all the debt I would be in that I wouldn’t really be ready to pay for. And then I go and volunteer at the homeless shelter and I come home and thank god for my tiny apartment and everything that comes along with it. The leaky faucet, the occasionally noisy neighbors, and the job that allows me to pay my rent, I appreciate it all a little more now.

- Harkins "

" I’LL FORGET

I was at a meeting today. One that started at 8am and I was there at 8:07. I was even later than the usual late person. :-P In any case, at the end of said meeting we were discussing which day was really best for all of us to meet on. My immediate thought was that I would forget that I would have a meeting on Monday mornings at 8am. So I said this, somewhat jokingly, somewhat truthfully. I know myself well enough not to schedule anything before 10am on Monday’s if I can help it because I forget about them. I just get going with the new week and before I know it I’ll be like, wasn’t I supposed to do something today? Mostly everyone thought it was funny, but I think I got a weird look and it made me question myself.

Here’s the thing if they needed me to meet on Monday’s at 8am once a month, I would work it out. Thankfully no one else could meet on Mondays and we decided to stay with Tuesdays at 8am. But I got thinking about it and I thought, was that appropriate? Was what I said professional? Did it make people think less of me? On the one hand I’m glad I know myself well enough to know that I will on occasion have a problem with Monday morning meetings.

But what kind of image does that give off in a “professional” setting? Does it make me look lazy, uncommitted and unprofessional? Does it say that I’m a stereotypical young professional who doesn’t like to get up early? Because I’ve made every single 8am meeting we’ve had for two years now, and 95% of them I’ve been on time. Or does it really show that I am responsible enough to know and articulate when something doesn’t work for me even though I may need to communicate that in a better way?

Or does it just say I’m a funny gal with quirky comments who over thinks things a little too much? I’m not sure. I think it could go either way. But from now on I should be a bit more conscious of what I say, even if it is the truth.

- Harkins "

" THROWN

Last night my GSE team and I gave a presentation at the Rotary District 7150 Changing of the Guard Dinner in Verona, NY. We were given 15 minutes to speak about our experiences to an audience of about 160. Fifteen minutes is not a lot of time to summarize a month long trip to one of the most beautiful places in the world. And if you know me at all, you know that I could speak for 15 minutes by myself easily, but alas I had to share the time. So I kept my portion short and sweet. So short in fact that my teammates asked if I was ok and I was, I just knew it was a long program and we had to keep to our allotted time.

In any case, John was the last to speak, and as always he knocks it out of the park with jokes and charisma, he literally steals the show. But last night he spoke about his experience with the GSE and it made me look at it in an entirely new way. So I will summarize it here, while stealing some of his thoughts because I think they were completely on point.

Think about it, you go to a community function, family dinner, kid’s soccer game and who do you sit with? You sit by the people that you know the best and like to hang out with. Sometimes you end up with people you don’t know but mostly you are within your comfort zone. Or if you go out for the night, where do you go? To the places you know the best. Maybe you like the wait staff or they have great burgers but really it’s within your comfort zone.

Now, we just were completely thrown out of that comfort zone every day for an entire month. We flew half way around the world with people we barely knew. Spent a month in stranger’s homes and spent every day sitting with people we didn’t know, who might not have spoken the language, eating completely different foods. For a month we were out of our comfort zones doing things we wouldn’t typically do. (I do have to note that none of the people we met actually felt like strangers though. Everyone was so welcoming and open-hearted, that looking back I wouldn’t say strangers I would say friends I haven’t met yet.)

The example John gave was that we attended a harp concert at the 2009 Rio Harp Festival. A harp festival! Did you even know there was such a thing? It’s something that none of us would have even bothered to look into at home, and yet we liked it. In fact, the harp rocked!

And I guess looking at it the experience that way made me realize something. I like it when I’m out of my comfort zone. And since I’ve been back home almost everything that I’ve done, everyone I’ve seen, every day at work has been “safe”. Not crossing boundaries, not experiencing new things, not arguing my points. And I think that’s why I’ve been feeling so off since I came home.

I haven’t been able put my finger on it or rather wrap my mind about it, but life here has just been different even though everything was still the same. I’m a complete believer that when you’re not being challenged you’re not growing or thinking new things.

So today I walked a new path to work. No it wasn’t all that different, but a little rebellious from the norm, yes. I don’t know what I’ll do tomorrow but I hope that it challenges me and puts me out of my comfort zone just a little bit.

- Harkins "

" CAREFREE and CAR-LESS

Everyone seems to be very interested to know when I’m going to buy a car. And when I say that I’m not going to do that for a while, they don’t know what to say. Surely I’ll buy one before the winter months they reason, but when I say I’m not so sure about that, they really don’t know what to say next.

Sure, I miss not being able to randomly travel to Ithaca or Rochester or Fair Haven for the day. But I certainly do not miss all the times when I would be bored and would go shopping. I don’t miss those days when you have to collect your loose change to buy a couple gallons of gas that you hope will make it through to payday. And I certainly don’t miss driving one block to Wegmans for my groceries.

The thing is that overall I actually LIKE not having a car.

And it hasn’t been a problem for me…so far. A number of people keep offering me rides, and I’m happy to take them. In fact I think I would be a fool to pass something up. (Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth and all.)

I guess it comes down to the fact that people around here don’t do this. I’m going against the social norm and I can see how people wouldn’t understand my decision. People around here don’t say I’m consciously not going to own a car because I think it’s better for me and it’s better for the environment.

At first I think I had to convince myself that this was the right move, which was a good indicator to me that it was. Sure it’s hard and it takes a little more planning but now I’m very happy with my decision.

I understand that living car-less isn’t for everyone, but for right now, it’s right for me.

-HARKINS

P.S. If you’re thinking about taking the leap towards a car-free life, check out this book. “How to Live Well Without Owning a Car: Save Money, Breathe Easier, and Get More Mileage Out of Life” by Chris Balish "

" Father’s Day

For all my life my father has either worked in a men's clothing store, or worked in a store where he didn’t need to wear a tie. So for years, buying the cliché tie for Father’s Day was off limits. But this year, this year is the one I’ve been waiting for. This year I bought my dad a tie for Father’s Day. Not because he actually needed one but because it was the first year that giving a tie would have been appropriate. This inevitably means that a tie can no longer be given as a Father’s Day gift and that next year I will have to go back to creativity and home made goods, but for one year I can finally say that I gave my dad a tie for Father’s Day. And as the awesome, caring dad he is, he’s wearing it to work today. : )

- Harkins "

" Back Home

I’m not unpacked yet. I have taken my clothes out of the suitcases, mainly because they all needed to be washed, but everything else is still there. Books, papers, memories, I just don’t think I’m ready to put it all away yet.
I received an e-mail this weekend from a Rotarian back in Rio and they sent along a Power Point presentation with pictures taken from Corcovado, the mountain where the Christ the Redeemer statue is located. I looked at it yesterday and it made me tear up.

Since I’ve been home I’ve been walking to work. As you may recall I decided to live without a car for the summer, partly to save money, partly to save the planet. The first few days were hard. I was ready to get back to just going where I wanted, when I wanted, and I think I disassociated that from the fact that I didn’t have a car.

It’s getting better though. Getting to and from work isn’t a problem; it’s getting to other parts of the city. In Rio, we took buses, used the subway and hailed taxis. Everyone uses public transportation, even the wealthy.

I thought about walking to the drug store to pick up a prescription last week and I didn’t go because I didn’t want people to see me walking on Grant Ave. How sad is that? And now I’m ashamed to admit that too. But I felt that way because, at least when I was growing up, it wasn’t cool to take the bus, or to walk to Walmart or to call a cab. So I think I need to change this because taking the bus is cheap and will be a necessary part of my life this summer. Not only change the perception of public transportation users but also my mindset too. Because I'm never going to get anywhere if taking the bus is off the table.

- Harkins "

" HARVEY

Harvey came home last night! He's been spending the month with my friend at her house. I couldn't leave him alone in my apartment for a month and expect to find anything untouched. So Jacqueline very kindly offered to take care of him while I was away.

She gave me a few updates and every time she said that he was having such a great time there playing with her one year old son, and looking out all the windows in the house. I was afraid he wouldn't want to see me or come back home with me. But, when I went to pick him up last night he was so happy to see me. He came right over and he was purring so loundly! And he has been purring ever since! I do think he's the type of cat that needs someone around a lot though. So I need to try to be home more often for that.

The cats in Brazil were very small and all had such short hair specially when compared to my long haired fur ball. So when I first saw him, I kept thinking, he's a big cat! Funny enough, when I walked into my apartment on Monday afternoon I couldn't believe how "big" it seemed either. Weird.

- Harkins "

" Home

I'm home! :-D

I was double nervous about flying home. After the Air France, it definitely stirred up some of the fears that I had about flying. I half expected to get some worried emails and even though I know lots of you were thinking of me, I'm glad I didn't because I was nervous enough. We had a great flight though. At one point I even looked out the window to see us flying over the clouds and a full moon. It was amazingly beautiful.

I'm glad to be back, even though I'm sad it had to end. Someone asked me this morning what it feels like to be back and I responded, like I never left. I really feel like that was just a dream. The fact that I just spent a month is Brazil is still so surreal to me.

And I'm having trouble speaking in English as well. It took a lot of thought this morning to say Good Morning instead of Bom Dia to everyone. And I missed having breakfast ready for me when I got up, but I was also happy that I could make it on my own, and do what I wanted. For the past month we've been fed, told what we should wear, picked up, and dropped off. It was amazing but it's also nice to have my independence back too.

Today is my first day back at work, and I'm trying to hit the ground running. It's 10am and I've finally got through my emails. After two meetings I'll go through my phone messages and then it's off to the Auburn Rotary meeting.

Busy day, hopefully I'll have some time to blog more about my experiences from this past week!

- Harkins "

" Last Day

Today is my last day in Brazil. We tried to get up early after a night of dancing and saying goodbye to friends so we could go to the beach one more time but it was raining. This past week we've been to Petropolis and back here to Rio so i haven't had much time to blog, but I've got so much to tell you! Unfortunately I think that will have to wait until after I get home, or at least until our layover in Atlanta. :-P

We have a good bye lunch planed for todáy. I'm excited to see everyone but sad to say goodbye. These people have been so overwhelmingly generous with their homes, their food, their time, and their hearts. I know it's only been a month but I can absolutely say that I've found a family here in Brazil.

The past few days everyone wants to know what we like about Brazil so much. And our answer has consistently been, the people that we've met.

- Harkins "

" Right Now

I know I still have a week left and I shouldn’t think about this until I have to but I’m not ready to say goodbye to some of these people! Ingrid, Luis Paulo, Mara, Sergio, Katie, Salvia, my team mates Bill, John, and Kristin. These people have instantly become great friends to me. And I’m a little upset that I didn’t think forward enough to think about taking some extra time to travel in Brazil after my GSE. Because, it is possible to arrange your return flight so it’s later or from a different airport so you can do more traveling the country you are in. I think this was brought up in one of our meetings but it was just kind of glazed over and I didn’t even realize the opportunity that I would miss. Not that I feel like I could take any more time off of work, I’m already missing so much. But still it would have been nice to arrange a trip to the Amazon or at least had the option of spending a few more days with my new friends. Not that a month in Brazil hasn’t been an amazing experience as it is, but still this is just what I’m thinking about right now.

I’m also thinking that I’m tired of being in a car. We do a lot of traveling and I’m getting restless and I just want to be out doing something. At this point I’d gladly walk even if it took half the day to get to my destination.

Tomorrow we are finally going to have some time to sit at the beach. We’ve been here three weeks and while we’ve been to the beach for a visit it hasn’t been more than a few minutes. This will be our first chance to lay out on the beach, do a little shopping and just hang out. We’ve just been so busy with Rotary meetings and cultural experiences and the 5 days we spent at the conference that we haven’t had a chance to go. So I hope that it isn’t cloudy tomorrow like it is today. I’ve got my fingers crossed.

One thing is for certain though; I’m going to be soaking up everything about this next week, because I don’t want to miss a thing. Even the car rides. :)

- Harkins "

" MAID
The maid not only washed my clothes for me but ironed them too. She cleans up when I make a mess, and takes the dishes away when I’ve finished eating. It’s weird and actually very hard to get used to. Many families here have servants. In fact almost all of the homes that we’ve been to, have had maids, waiters, and people to drive them around.

I think many of us have said that we wished we had a maid. Just to have someone to do the housework so that we could relax for a while. Now, after living with them for a few weeks, I’m not sure I would. I’m very independent and I really feel like I should help but that’s like an insult to them. I don’t want her to think that I think that they are doing a bad job if I help bring dishes into the kitchen. And since most of the maids I have met, don’t speak English, it’s hard for me to communicate that I’m just trying to help out.

The one that lives with Alice, I don’t know how to spell her name, is so sweet. We try to communicate and she teaches me words. I really like her. :)

- Harkins "

" SUGAR LOAF

On Tuesday we went to one of the most well known mountains in Rio, Sugar Loaf. It’s a weird name for a mountain, right. When they used to process sugar, the final product would come out of the processor shaped like cone, and they would call it a loaf of sugar. So this mountain looks like the cone of sugar that is produced from that process of refining the sugar cane.

There is only one way to access and get to the top of this mountain. A glass encased cable car. Thank goodness for anti-anxiety meds.

I don’t do well with heights. I just feel like I’m going to fall, even if there are barriers preventing anyone from doing so. So yeah, I thought this was going to be a challenge for me, but I was actually ok. Maybe it was the valium, maybe I’ve grown more that I thought, but I really wasn’t that scared, once we got moving. I even stood next to the window on the way down.

We were there to view the sunset, and it did not disappoint. Orange, red, and violet painted the sky into a very memorable evening.

- Harkins "

" FAMOUS

On Monday we visited the production area of Brazil’s major TV station , O Globo Digital. It was amazing! Think the Universal Studios of Brazil. O Globo Digital is broadcast throughout Brazil, and even into the Amazon Rain Forrest via satellite. Although I’m not sure how many people have tvs in the Amazon but, just in case, you can get O Globo Digital there too. :-P

We took a tour of most of the buildings on the expansive area. (It boggles my mind sometimes that as space is at such a premium here there are a number of large facilities.) We went to the special effects area where they create wind, rain, thunder, explosions, and anything that will be broken in a show, like a beer bottle for instance.
Our guide, who spoke English very well, brought us to India as well. One of the TV Novellas that is airing right now is about a Brazilian girl who married into a traditionally Indian family and now she’s learning how to live in their world, so the show has a set that looks just like you’re on the streets of India.

After that we were able to see the taping of a scene for that particular novella and when they were finished we walked onto the set and had our picture taken on it. The light operator even moved some of the shades and such around so that we got a better picture. It was really nice of him. As we were being escorted off, the stars were coming back on to tape another scene.

As cool as this was, I think that it would have been even more awesome if we knew who those actors were or were familiar with the shows. For example, if we had been on the set of Grey’s Anatomy, my excitement level would have been atomic instead of just super excited. Speaking of which, I thought it would be great to log on to abc.com and view the season finale of Grey’s. But when I tried to watch, they said that the “full episode viewer wasn’t available to those outside of the US”. As you can imagine, I was highly disappointed. So don’t tell me what happened. ;)

- Harkins "

" TRANSIT
(Written Sunday May 24th)

We’re all settled into our next host family’s home. After we spent 11 hours traveling from the district conference in the state of Minas Gerias to Rio de Janeiro, we were welcomed albeit very late by ham and cheese and toast and coffee and fruit. It was a welcomed change from the bumpy ride we just come off of. The bus ride was long and I slept most of the way so I wasn’t really that tired despite our celebrations the night prior and the late hour. None the less I have been told that I should sleep when I have the chance, and that I will because we have a packed week ahead of us and I’m very excited about it!

We are going to be visiting lots of museums, and landmarks around the city including the famed Sugar Loaf Mountain. We have to take a glass encased tram to get to the top but we’ll be able to see the sun set from there. I love sunsets and I love to watch them especially on clear nights when the colors saturate the sky.

For another one of my vocational days I get to visit a newspaper, and tomorrow we are going to the set of one of Rio’s TV novellas. Novellas are like soap operas but they come in many forms here such as drama and comedy. I’m very excited. Maybe we’ll be asked to be an extra in one of the scenes! Ok, that probably won’t happen but I like to imagine it anyways. :-P

- Harkins "

" RECHARGE

For the past week I’ve had someone with me at almost all times. It’s been great I’ve really been able to get to know my team mates and new friends and I love it. But every once in a while I just need a few minutes to myself. Tonight I got just that. I felt a little bad because I think the guys wanted to hang out but I was like I need to dance in
my room for a bit.

So for the past 45 minutes I’ve been dancing and singing and basically just being by myself in my room. I’m sure the boys can hear me in the room next door and will tease me endlessly, like the brothers they’ve come to be, but it doesn’t bother me. I had my time, my batteries are definitely recharged. :-D

We presented at the district conference today. It was our largest and most important presentation yet. It actually went really well. I met a couple whose daughter is a physician in Auburn, NY. All week I’ve been thinking about how I’m actually in Brazil and how far away from my family I am and then today in a matter of seconds I’m reminded of how small the world can be sometimes.

I went shopping today too. We haven’t had much time to visit stores and to stop to by postcards was like pulling teeth. We’re just always on the run and it makes it hard to stop for a bit. But the shopping was good. I picked up a few earrings and a bracelet and necklace for myself. We’re trying to mandate a beach and shopping day next week though.

We’re finding that plans are very flexible and timing isn’t necessarily a priority. This is hard for a group of type A people who like to know exactly what’s going on when and by whom. Sometimes it seems to take all that we have to not break into the discussions and start organizing things. And it’s not that they aren’t organized it’s more that we don’t know what’s going on and we all want to just have a little more control. This is certainly an exercise in patience.

But this week has been fun, we haven’t had to do too much and the jug of cashasha (Brazilian liquor made from sugar cane) that we purchased is almost gone. So needless to say we’ve been having fun. In fact we’ve been drinking and hanging out in a hotel room all week and we said it feels like college road trips all over again.

Tonight is the Governor’s Ball which we have affectionately coined as the Rotary Prom. So we’ll all be decked out minus corsages and will dance the night away to our favorite samba.

- Hollywood :) "

" Never Ending Desserts

I feel like I was such a messy eater before I came to Brazil. In fact I might even classify myself as a savage eater prior to this experience. One of the things that I’ve been noticing about Brazilians is that they use their fork and knife throughout the whole meal. They use the knife to push food onto the fork and then eat it. I’m sure this is the way people should eat, but it’s not usually the way I do. I’m a one fork, use my hands, and cut the meat ahead of time kind of gal, which isn’t necessarily appropriate here. So I’ve been learning how to eat with both utensils in my hand at the same time, it’s been a little difficult.

I’m thinking about this now because we just got back from lunch. Where we are staying for the conference they have buffet meals, which is fabulous, but not when you are trying to control your weight. We’ve been eating so much here that all of us feel like we’ve put on a few pounds. I’m not too worried since when I get back I’ll be walking it off without my car, but none the less all this wonderful food has left us all a little concerned.

Breakfast here is very light, they typically have breads and cheeses and meats like turkey and ham cold cuts. They like yogurt and lots of fresh fruits and fruit juices. Lunch is the big meal of the day and it will typically take about two hours, maybe longer depending on how much conversation there is. Dinners are light and late, usually about 7-8pm.

There are these restaurants called Rodizio’s and they are like a never ending salad bowl at Olive Garden except for any kind of food you’d like. We’ve been to a steak rodizio, a sushi rodizio, and pizza rodizio. And they have all been amazing. The only drawback is that you can’t take what’s left home with you.

Many of the restaurants we’ve ate at are very different from home. They all have had many waiters one for drinks one for serving you one for this one for that. You really feel like you’re being waited on at these places.

The one thing that I’m missing here though is snack time. I typically eat many small meals a day so changing that to small big small with nothing in between has been a little difficult but not terrible. Now I just need to learn some self control at the dessert table.

There is always dessert and coffee and for as much sweets as I eat, I don’t have dessert that often, that’s another big but enjoyable change for me.

Ok, off for more pool and sight-seeing. :-D

- Harkins "

" TIRED

We have internet access! And probably more importantly some energy to stay up and use it!

We've been on the go since Saturday morning when we headed to an island getaway called Angra. It's a series of hundreds of islands that boast crystal clear waters, boats, and relaxation. We staying in this magnificent house, used the infinity pool that overlooked the mountains, the hot tub, and sauna. At night we watched movies in the home theater. This place was way too awesome!!!

After this past weekend, we moved to our second host families. I was staying with Ingrid, who was one of the Brazil GSE team members who came to our district last fall. Ingrid is amazing, so is her husband Luis Paulo. He's been doing a ton of interpreting for us and transporting us from meeting to sightseeing to meeting. I can't thank both of them enough!

We had a short schedule week this week because we were transported to the District Conference last night. We rode on a bus for 8 hours, slept intermittently and now are in Minas Gerias where the conference will be held. We had a "free day" today but we have been exhausted and then we sat in the sun most of the afternoon. I'll tell you one thing, if the Brazilians tell you to wear sunscreen, you should probably wear sunscreen. I'm a little burnt today but not terrible, but tomorrow I think I'll be wearing a ton of my SPF 50. :-P

We're going on a tour of the area tomorrow too as well as finally being able to do some shopping. I can't wait, we haven't had a chance to get anything because we've been on the run so much. I have got some post cards in the mail though, so that's good.

Well I'll have some more time to blog more tomorrow, supposedly. I'm finding that we are very busy and by the time we're home I'm just so exhausted that going online, if I have access, isn't as important as sleeping. And from all the past GSE members that I've talked to, getting any sleep you can is important.

- Harkins :) "

" MMM

Oh I`m so full! I tell you, we eat like kings here! :-D We just finished lunch at Mara´s house. She prepared a traditional cozido for us. (I know that I´m spelling that incorrectly.) Cozido is like a stew with beef and carrots and potatoes and bananas and cabbage. It was really good and very rich! We also had rice and beans and lots of other things too! Oh and dessert consisted of lots of fruit and a dish called Pudim. Pudim is kind of like a custard, and it is very sugary. I had seconds. :)

Thsi morning we went to a Botanical Garden. It was amazing to see all the different plants and wildlife. We saw a millipede in the bathroom and caught it and brought it to safety. We also saw lots of butterflies. Since you can~t touch anythign in there I mad eit my personal goal to have a butterfly land on me. As I was making a note of that to put it in my blog, one landed on Kristin. Go figure! :-P

Well we are off to see the Christ the Redeemer, so I have to run. More on our sight seeing adventuires later!

- Harkins :) "

" DAY TWO

Today I ate a chicken heart.

No it was not still beating, and yes it was cooked. I don’t know how to explain it because it tasted like chicken and was meaty but also was a little tough in parts almost like cartilage. It was super small too, so you could just pop it in your mouth, like popcorn shrimp or something. :-P We were eating a at Brazilian steakhouse and the food was so good. I don’t think I’ve eaten that much meat at one time in my life. And everything was so fresh…amazing. They kept coming to the table with something new and they would slice it right there for you. Great experience.

This was all after we visited one of Rotary’s service projects. We went to a school, where the government has converted an old hotel on the edge of the favellas into this learning center. Each floor has a different subject or concentration. They work a lot with public health, dentistry, music, elementary students, as well as adult learners too. It is all free, and provided by the government. Rotary has teamed up to support much of this and in particular has purchased some of the instruments for children to learn on.
We visited many classrooms and in the music one they played us what sounded like some traditional music. There were four guitars one of them was a seven string guitar which I’ve never seen before. The way it all came together was magical. I could have listened to them all day.

I’m finding that the Brazilians that I have met so far have been very welcoming and very nice. Not many speak English, but we have had some translators in our group. Those that do may not be fluent in English but know enough to speak with us. I’m finding more and more that I need to be studying my Portuguese because I feel very out of place without it.

The roads are packed with cars and they tailgate like crazy. And you know what? I find it fun to ride in, probably because I’m not driving.

So far, I’m finding Rio to be a very likable city. The streets are lined with trees and vegetation so as to create a natural shade from the hot sun. And everything is built into the mountains, and there are many tunnels that go in and out of them. The city is bustling and vibrant, there is always something to look at and there are beaches everywhere!

Tonight we make our first presentation to the Rotary Club Sao Conrado. I have to say I am a little nervous, mainly because I realize that I will have to speak much slower than I usually do. But, I’m really looking forward to it.

- Harkins :-D "

" I’M IN BRAZIL!!!!!!

For those of you who know me, you know that I was a little nervous about the flight. I have flown a number of times but it was years ago. Then the last time I was supposed to go somewhere, let’s just say I chickened out. Well I got on the plane this time, and it wasn’t that bad actually. I slept pretty much all of the way from Atlanta to Rio, which was great and I didn’t really freak out! Ok so I was a little nervous on the take off of the first flight, but I chatted up my teammate Bill for a good hour until I felt more comfortable, and then I was pretty intent on my Glamour magazine. Thankfully Bill was a good sport about it. :)

So far I’m still taking in the fact that I’m in Brazil. It’s just so surreal to me that I traveled to South America and that I’m in Rio de Janeiro. We have a lot on the itinerary for this week, sight-seeing, visiting three rotary clubs, and a mini-vacation to the islands this weekend. I can’t wait to see all of it!

We were greeted by our Rio Rotarians when we came through customs. Everyone was so welcoming and excited to see us and nice and just amazing. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Rotarians are just so welcoming, I always feel at ease with them and I can’t think of a better group of people to be visiting!

We’ve already had our first taste of Brazilian coffee too. Like espresso, it was a small serving, but this coffee was so good. It was rich and full bodied, strong, and smooth all at once. I could get used to this. (Oh and for those who have been following the blog, don’t worry. My caffeine tolerance is back up to normal levels, I hope. :-P)

Our hotel is a block away from Copacabana beach, and we may venture out there later this evening, but probably not we are all pretty tired from traveling. Brazil is only an hour ahead of NY so the time difference isn’t such an issue, but the uncomfortable seats resulted in less than desirable sleeping arrangements last night.

This afternoon we are having a Mother’s Day lunch at the home of our Rio Rotary leader, Lilia. It will be an informal affair where we will have a chance to experience some local cuisine and meet her family. I am SO excited, and really hungry too!

- Harkins :-D "

" PUMPKIN

Sun burnt Orange is the official shade of my car. I chose the orange coupe because I thought it would be cool to continue tradition. Both my parents had orange two door cars when they were around my age and they loved them. I loved that not only was I driving an orange car, but it had a special meaning to me too. But as they say, history repeats itself and I, like my parents, must give the car up. Maybe years down the road I’ll fondly remember “Pumpkin” and wish I still had it, but probably not. I don’t get attached to my cars.

I’m sending “Pumpkin” back to the “patch” because the lease has ended. Actually it ends on June 8th, the day I return, but frankly I don’t need a car while I’m gone so I’m turning it in now.

I’ve decided to live this summer without transportation of my own and this scares me to death. In the past few weeks I’ve started to realize how dependent I’ve become on my vehicle to get me around. But that queasiness that I feel when I think about living without a car is what tells me I’m making the right decision. The easy way out would have been to just lease or buy another car, no thinking about it and shelling out more money for it, but I’ve found that the easy way is rarely the right thing to do and the right thing is usually the harder choice. They say nothing worth doing was ever easy.

So this summer, you will see me trekking it around town, well downtown at least. The truth is that I live close enough to everything I could need, food, entertainment, work, friends, and even public transportation. Even laundry is only a couple blocks away, although I’m not sure how I feel about actually walking it down there. So there really isn’t a need for me to have a car, at least until it snows and I become overly concerned with my core body temperature.

In any case, I’m making the choice to live greener (at least for a while) and save a whole bunch of money. I figure now is the time to do something like this since I’m living within walking distance to everything, the timing is perfect, and I should really take the opportunity while I have it.

- “Hitch Hiking” Harkins :) "

" PREVIEW

I wrote a preview article about my trip to Rio for this past Sunday's paper. In case you missed it, here it is. :)

- HARKINS

P.S. I'll be writing articles for the paper while I'm away, assuming I can get them in on time. Look for them on Sunday's in the Lake Life section.


TRIP OF A LIFETIME
Sometimes, you’re lucky enough to get opportunities that you never could even dream of. If you had asked me what I thought I would be doing five years out of college, I don’t think I could have even fathomed that I would be on my way to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

In less than a week I will be south of the Equator participating in a Group Study Exchange (GSE) with the Rotary International. The GSE is a program that brings young professionals to different parts of the world to learn more about their professions and the culture and the people of the country they will visit are in. Each Rotary district that participates in this program also hosts a GSE team from the country they will be sending a team to. The Brazil team visited central and upstate New York earlier this year and we will be meeting with them when we get to Brazil.

Traveling is always more fun when you can experience it with others. As such I’m going on this incredible journey with three other super fun team mates Kristen Nylen from Fulton, Bill Doner from Skaneateles Falls and John Jadhon from Utica as well as our team leader Herb Jerry from Syracuse. We all bring different things to the table and it’s been a blast working with them so far, I’m sure the trip will be even better. We were all chosen through an extensive application and interview process to represent Rotary District 7150.

While we are there we will be giving presentations to Rotarians throughout the Rio de Janeiro district. Our presentations consist of information about our hometowns, our careers, our family, friends, and interests. We each have five minutes to talk and I’m finding that to be extremely difficult because when I’m speaking about things I love and am excited about I could literally go on for days.

In addition to all of the Rotary meetings we will be attending, we will also be learning about the service projects that these Rotary clubs are working on. Rotary’s motto is “Service above self”, a phrase that I completely believe in, so I’m super excited to see how they are making a difference in their communities.

Another main component of the Rotary Group Study Exchange is that we learn more about our professions by visiting businesses like ours in our host country. This allows us to see how business is done in another culture and to learn more about our specific field. On one of my vocation days, I’ll be visiting a newspaper in Rio to learn how it interacts with the community at large and how it promotes itself.

Lastly, we will spend a decent amount of time sightseeing and touring the city. I’m sure we’ll be visiting the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue, copious amounts of beaches, experiencing the nightlife and learning about the area’s rich history. I hope to see much more than the average tourist as local Rotarians will be taking us around. I love going to locally known places that are off the beaten trail because they really show the spirit of a city more so than the tourist traps.

Even so, as exciting as the beaches and the nightlife can be, I’m more excited to really experience the day to day life of the city and to meet the people who live there. I can’t wait to swap ideas with other marketing professionals and expand my thinking. And I’m really excited to make new friends, share meals with them and learn about a different way of life. While doing so I’ll be blogging about my experiences on The Young Pro at auburnpub.com/blogs/TheYoungPro.txt as well as submitting articles for The Citizen about my travels and what I’m learning in Brazil.

Até a próxima! (Till next time!) "

" BALANCING ACT

I just read a blog post from one of my favorite bloggers, Penelope Trunk, entitled “6 Tips for being a CEO without ruining your kids lives. I hope.” Her honest and vivid writing captivates me to no end. I find myself lost in the world of the Brazen Careerist probably more often than I should. But that’s neither here nor there.

Her most recent post discusses some of the things you have to do to be both successful in your career and successful in your home life. She describes the guilt and the extra people and the choices you have to make and the crazy schedules you have to keep just to keep your home life together. It’s hard and she makes no excuses for that, but it got me thinking. Is this really what I have to look forward to?

If I want a successful career and to be involved with my community and eventually raise a family, then is this what I have to look forward to? A life full of guilt that I’m ruining my kids lives by not being around as much? Or even a life where you are constantly running on empty and no sleep and long days?

I already feel guilty leaving Harvey the cat home all day and then running out the door again to go to a meeting or out with my friends. What am I going to have to give up as my career moves forward? And more importantly, am I willing to do that? Do I really have to make that choice; can’t I really just do it all? I’d like to think so, as I’ve certainly got that superhero mentality, but as I start to realize the demands of all the aspects of my life, I start to question that too.

Oh goodness, this is way too much thinking for a Monday morning. I’ll leave you with this. How do you balance a successful career with a successful personal and family life? Do you think it’s possible? Or does something always have to give?

- Harkins "

" WEEKEND WARRIOR

People keep asking me how my weekend was and I feel like I should have some great stories about all the outdoor activities I did this weekend in the beautiful weather, but I don’t. I sat around waiting for people to call me back or to make up their minds. And that’s ok, I’m not saying that everyone needs to run to my side every time I want to do something, but by the third and fourth time plans got cut short or didn’t materialize, it’s safe to say that I was a little disappointed.

I wanted to be outside and doing something physical and in nature and such. What I really wanted to do was to go to Ithaca. However I’m not necessarily comfortable going there and hiking the gorges by myself. First of all you shouldn’t go hiking anywhere by yourself. I think that’s like the cardinal rule of hiking. But really the state park trails there are pretty basic and as long as you follow them, you’d be hard pressed to get lost. No, I worry more about being a pretty young thing walking in the woods by myself, that’s all. Too much CSI I guess.

How many times have you said you wanted to do something but then didn’t because there wasn’t anyone to go with? I realized a while ago that if I want to do something I need to either go do it, or be ok that there isn’t anyone around to go with and do something else. Even so, I just couldn’t escape the feeling that everything was happening around me and I was standing still. That’s a very different sensation considering I’m usually the one flying past everyone else.

In any case, I ended up reading and sunning at Grover Street Park on Saturday. It was peaceful and relaxing and completely boring. On Sunday out of nowhere I decided to take a trip somewhere fabulous to watch the sunset. I ended up on Cayuga Lake. I drove along a somewhat vacant but beautifully scenic Route 90. Stopped for a portable dinner in Aurora and then headed to Long Point State Park to watch the sunset. It was fire red, soothing and beautiful. After that trip I also decided to proclaim myself: World Champion Rock Skipper.

All in all I did have a very good weekend, I got up early and enjoyed both days and even got some work done. I think I just wanted to do something, and for once I was the one with the completely open schedule, and everyone else was booked.

- Harkins "

" Coffee Jitters
I was told that I’m crazy, received many a concerned look, and countless well wishes. Some were concerned that I couldn’t live without it. I’m not sure if these people just didn’t think that I could actually do it or if they just thought I was crazy for doing it. One thing is for sure is that the more people I told about this the more it was being viewed as the ultimate commitment.
I gave up coffee for Lent.
That’s right; I suffered every day being less than 10ft from one of those coffee pots that purposely emits steam to entice you to participate in its rich coffee goodness.
I didn’t think that coffee had such a gripping hold on my life, but once I told myself that I couldn’t have it, the cravings started to set in. It was then that I realized that I needed it much more than I would care to admit.
The time went by fast, and I kept to my Lenten mission and abstained from drinking coffee. At first each day brought new thoughts about how I could get coffee. Coffee ice cream, Starbucks chocolates, chocolate covered coffee beans, but in the end all of these were off limits too. The cravings made me stare longingly at the coffee pot as so many others partook and tea became by best friend.
So when I started adding coffee back into my life I didn’t really think much of it. I would just pick up where I left off because before this coffee didn’t really have an effect on me. On Easter Sunday I ended up drinking 3 cups of coffee throughout the day. I didn’t fall asleep until after midnight, and I had only had three hours of sleep the night before so I should have been plenty tired.
This past week has been rough too. I’ve found that even if I drink one cup of coffee in the morning I get jittery when I try to go to sleep. And as soon as that black gold touches my lips, I can feel a change in my body. I’m suddenly overly aware of my surroundings and I’m wide awake like I’d slept for hours.
I don’t like what this caffeine does to me but I truly do enjoy coffee. And in less than three weeks I will be residing in the top coffee producing country in the world. So for my own health and safety I think that I should build my tolerance back up so I can get some sleep in Brazil, because I think I’m going to need it.
Step one: Iced coffee day at Dunkin Donuts - $0.50 small iced coffees all day folks, get yours before I do.
- "Jitterkins" Harkins "

" INSPIRED

There is a great article on the front page of The Citizen today! Young professionals are taking an old mill on North Street and creating living spaces, professional & retail development opportunities, restaurant options and a stop for the Finger Lakes Railway. What an amazing vision these guys have!

And this is only the tip of the iceberg on amazing things that young professionals are doing here in our own area! We’re starting businesses, getting involved with the community and putting out hearts and souls into the place that we call home.

Seeing investment like this reminds me of why I’m here, because Auburn is a wonderful place to live, people do care about it and we’re willing to work towards our goals.

And the next time you hear someone saying that all the young people are leaving, remember that there are a bunch who are staying and we’re determined to make this a better place for other young professionals to live, work and play!

- Harkins "

" BEAMING

As I sat in the pew with the glow from the sun reflecting through the stained glass windows I couldn’t help but reminisce. A year ago I sat in the same spot wearing the same coat, but a very different person.

Listening to the Ukrainian and English weave through the church, lamenting over the cross Jesus had to bear and yet also about to celebrate his resurrection, I couldn’t help but think about my own resurrection and how things have changed so much since a year ago. I finally feel like that fun loving Harkins that I used to know, complete with an expanded mindset and better accessories.

Last year I sat in mass on Good Friday and hoped that I was making the right decision. I sat there alone, knowing that I would have to tell everyone that I was taking the path less traveled and knowing that they wouldn’t understand why. But it was the right decision for me, through and through. No regrets.

This year I sat in mass on Good Friday and reflected on the path my life has taken since, the wonderful people I’ve met and the awesome experiences that I’ve had and I thought; I’m so unbelievably happy with how things turned have out. I’m living on my own, something I’ve always wanted to do, experiencing new things and living the life I dreamed of. How many people can say that?

Like the spring sun streaming through the windows, some would say that I’m beaming.

- Harkins "

" LOTS TO BE EXCITED ABOUT!

There are two things that are making me super excited today. First, an amazing IGNITE event last night and secondly the onset of spring weather. You all know that I love the snow. It certainly holds a dear place in my heart. But there is nothing like the excitement of seeing the first buds start to appear on the trees, and the daffodils and tulips peeking up from the ground.

My dad even warned me too. He said don’t go outside today; you’re likely to not return to work. I didn’t listen, how could I not spend some time outdoors on such a beautiful day especially when I have so much to talk about.

Last night was IGNITE’s 5th Anniversary Celebration. We had a great turn out, raised money for the Matthew House, and gained some excellent new members. I can’t tell you how excited I am about how things are going this year! We’ve started a regular basis volunteering program at the Chapel House where we give one week a month of our time to help make dinner there. We’re also collecting toiletry items for the Salvation Army. These are things that families in need can’t purchase with food stamps.

The other program I’m very excited about is an Ambassador Program. This would be a program where we can take newcomers to the area around and show them the ropes. Let them in on things like half price burger night at Daut’s and the Auburn Public Theater.

Lastly, we’re working on video interviews with young professionals in the area. We realized that there are so many cool things going on in the area and we should share with each other what awesome things that young professionals are working on.

We’ve got more too, but I’m not ready to announce it yet. So, I’m going to continue to spread the excitement and cheer today. Watch out. :-P

Happy Spring!

- Harkins "

" Back to School

Yesterday, a coworker and I gave a presentation on journalism at the Auburn High School Career Day. As Alyssa and I pulled up to the building I couldn’t help but reminisce for her some of my better memories of high school. After eight years, it still holds a dear place in my heart. I don’t think I realized it then but I had some pretty good times there.

The students were just what I expected and not what I expected. A number of them didn't seem interested. Or they were just acting uninterested to look “cool”. Even so, the one thing that stood out for me about them was that they were very respectful towards us and we certainly appreciated it.

We did have a number of students who exceeded my expectations though. They were attentive, asked questions and even laughed at my jokes. That skill will certainly get them noticed and will definitely get them ahead as they move on to college and their career.

Perhaps it’s just the performer in me but I love doing these kinds of events where I get to interact with the public and give presentations. It’s what gets me excited about life. I left yesterday talking about the new memories I had just made and the awesome people that I had met.

- Harkins "

" GUILT

I’m sick. Again. This time I think it’s a cross between a cold and allergies. It started Tuesday night and I played it off, oh I’m fine it’s just my allergies. Wednesday, I wake up with a drippy nose and sore throat. The problem was that I had so many meetings yesterday that I couldn’t miss them. So I suffered through, running out of tissues, staring into space.

I told myself last night that if I felt sick again today that I would stay home from work. Because I’ve been pushing myself too far and I need to scale back a little and rest. Plus it’s a slow day, not much on the schedule, relatively easy day to miss.

Here’s the problem.

No matter how sick I am, I end up feeling incredibly guilty about calling into work. So I got up this morning and started to get ready. And of course that getting up and showering and getting ready makes you feel a little better, so it’s hard to tell if you’re really that sick to stay home or not.

But now I’m here, feeling just as sick as I did yesterday, plus now I’m thinking that I should have just stayed home. Yet if I was home I would be feeling very guilty that I was there and not at work.

Ugh.

Plus, I think I’m one of very few young professionals, or any professionals, who would feel bad calling into work when they are really sick.

I’m going to make myself some tea, because I gave up coffee for Lent – more on that later, and try to make it through my 10am meeting, and then I may just go home.

- Harkins "

" Six OT’s!

Oh my gosh! What a game!

I like basketball, if invited to go to a game, I’d probably go, but to sit down and watch a game, not necessarily my cup of tea. But last night I watched the SU game and stuck it out to the end. I saw the 3-point shot and almost cried when they took it away from them even though that was the right call. I held my breath through five overtimes only for the game to go to a sixth. And then for Syracuse to just get a second wind like that. Wow that was exciting!

It was even more exciting watching it with a group of strangers, everyone yelling at the TV. I hadn’t planned on staying out or even staying up that late and had I been home I would not have been watching this extraordinary game, but I’m glad I did because that game was unbelievable. A friend of mine kept saying “I didn’t know you were such a Syracuse fan” to which I responded “how can you not be a Syracuse fan right now?” Those guys played with heart last night and I’m so excited for them.

Go SU!

- Harkins "

" WALKABLE

I was inspired by the city's comprehensive plan meeting last night about a walkable Downtown Auburn. While I already feel that I could walk to any place I would like to go in the downtown area, most times I don’t. I’ll admit it, it’s cold and I’m lazy.

But today the sun was shining and I thought, life is good I’ll walk to work. And while it was slightly cold, it wasn’t too bad. The walk is super quick, probably 5 minutes or so and it’s a straight shot too. Very enjoyable, I can’t wait until it gets warmer so I can do it more often. And when the Farmer's Market starts up again I can walk there on my lunch break and bring my vegetables home!

I’m so excited to be living in downtown Auburn. Seriously it’s a really exciting time right now and there are a lot of ideas and things moving forward. I think this is going to be a great year for Auburn, especially downtown.

If you want to know more about what happened at the Comprehensive Plan meeting on Downtown and the Arts, check out in today’s Citizen or read it online at http://auburnpub.com/articles/2009/03/05/local_news/news01.txt

- Harkins "

" National Pancake Day

What’s the one thing that will get a young professional out of bed before the sun rises?

National Pancake Day

Yes, today we give homage to this wonderfully satisfying breakfast treat. So in honor of such a great way to spend a random Tuesday, I asked a few of my friends to join me for an exclusive pancake breakfast.

I got up super early (ok 6am) and got myself ready by 7am, which by the way, isn’t so hard to do when I’ve got my outfit and shoes all picked out. In any case, the breakfast was planned for 7:30am and while many were invited only a few were out of bed early enough to partake. But those who did enjoyed pancakes with a variety of toppings, including homemade mulberry jam – delish!

The pancake mix was from New Hope Mills, who is holding their own National Pancake Day event today from 10am-3pm at the York Street store.

Good friends, pancakes and my friend’s baby chasing the cat, now that’s what I call the good life.

- Harkins "

" Hollywood goes Hollywood

Last night I attended the Academy Awards Party at the Auburn Public Theater (APT) and it was fabulous and so much fun. It was nice to see so many people, young and old, out on a Sunday night, dressed to the nine’s for such a great cause. We were raising money for Auburn Public Theater, a vibrant business that is truly transforming downtown. You can watch a movie on Friday and Saturday nights for only $5. They host locally and nationally known performers, comedians, dancers and musicians. They are also currently under construction to create a 200 seat theater for small performances, dance, music, and more. The Auburn Public Theater’s motto is “It’s all happening downtown….again” and they couldn’t be more right.

As a young professional I’m so excited about APT. I talk it up any chance I get because I know that it’s a key piece to bringing people downtown and getting them excited about it too. And it’s not just for young professionals it’s for anyone and everyone who are interested in it.

Coming up this week, Ballroom Dancing Lessons 7pm Thursday night, call 253-6669 for more info. And this weekend they are playing the movie “FLOW – How did a handful of corporations steal our water?” It’s only $5 – save $1 by purchasing online at auburnpublictheater.com.

I’m just so excited because this is just one of the awesome things that are happening downtown and I hope that more people realize this and take advantage of them.

- Harkins

P.S. For more on the Academy Awards Party see today’s article “Auburn Goes Hollywood” http://auburnpub.com/articles/2009/02/23/local_news/news01.txt "

" Co-Workers

Earlier this week I read an article about things you should never discuss with your co-workers. Many were common sense and the list really doesn’t leave much to discuss except the new color of post-its. (MSN.com – 13 Things Not to Share with your Coworkers - http://tinyurl.com/d4drsn)

But what happens when you are friends with your co-workers? Some of these things like your weekend activities or news of your recent breakup are bound to come up and are things that you want to talk to your friends about.

As a young professional we are probably more likely to create a friendship or more specifically an out of work friendship with our co-workers. In my opinion that is because we have less going on, we’re more interested in socializing, and if we’ve moved to a new city then those are typically the first people that you meet.

Certainly there are people here who I don’t share much with and that’s by design. They don’t need to know. But the reality is that we spend a third of our days with our co-workers. They are bound to find out about certain things though. And when you work closely with people over the years you become a type of work family.

When Saturday rolls around though, I don’t want to talk about work when I’m hanging out with people from work. Sure, things are going to come up but a lot of the time I’d rather change the subject. Mainly because even though I’m the same age as some of the people I work with and friends with, I’m at a higher level than they are. My level of knowledge on some things is greater and it’s for me to know, not them. I’ve explained a number of times that there are things I can not talk about and don’t want to talk about with them either. I’ve gotten very good at being vague, at screening my words and not crossing that line. But I’m not sure everyone understands why or is even as conscious as I am about what they are saying.

Even so, I think that it's important to have friends outside of work too. So you don't have to share certain things with people you work with and you can have that distance.

- Harkins "

" ROTARY GSE UPDATE

I got accepted to go to RIO!!!!

Oh my goodness I’m so excited!

Off to get a passport!

Thank you Rotary!

- HARKINS :-D "

" FIGURES

Isn’t it always when you have many people available to work, that you don’t have much to do and when you’ve got a lot of stuff to do, there is no one around to help? That’s what happened this weekend when I moved. I had lots of helpers and many more willing souls, but really I didn’t have as much to move as I thought, and we got a lot of it done the day before I arranged for helpers to be there. Plus with the expert moving techniques employed by the men, there were no problems getting my things up the stairs either. All in all it was a painless, profanity-free move, which probably means that I’ll pay for it when I move out, but we’ll deal with that when it comes.

In any case, I had a lot of firsts yesterday. First night alone in the new apartment, first spider found (and it wasn’t a nice Daddy Long Legs either), first time I’ve had to light a stove with a lighter. And seriously the scariest of all those firsts for me was the lighting of the stove. I can build a fire and stick my hand inches away to move sticks around and cook over it and that doesn’t bother me. Although I am kind of a freak about making sure it’s completely put out before I leave, courtesy of Smokey the Bear.

But gas stoves really freak me out. I think it has something to do with the fact that I witnessed our gas grill explode into a ball of flames when I was at the tender young age of 8. Since then I hadn’t so much as placed myself within a foot of a gas grill until this past summer, when I faced my fear and actually learned how to light it, without the aid of the ignition switch none the less. And now I’m living with an appliance that needs me to create the spark that makes it useful. You know, the ironic thing is that the day before I moved in I reasoned that I didn’t need to buy a microwave right away because I had a stove to cook with.

Best thing about my new apartment though...I have a library! Ok, so really it’s shelving that goes around the top of a closet, but it looks so cool with all my books on it! Ever since the Beast gave Belle his library in Beauty and the Beast, I have been enamored with creating my own library someday. And I have a loose rule that I should have read all the books in my library, but I have many a book now that I have yet to read, so I’ve slightly amended that rule.

I’m going to go home on my lunch today and I know that the easy way out is to make a pb&j sandwich, but I really would like tomato soup, so I’m going to use the stove again. But I’m going out tonight to make sure that I get myself a fire extinguisher, because even though I think that it may be feeding into my fear just a little bit, I know it will make me feel that much better and it’s good to have anyways.

- Harkins "

" SNOW DAY

On my way to work this morning, I found myself listening to the school closings, fingers crossed, hoping for Auburn to be closed.

Then I caught myself and realized that it didn’t really matter to me if they were closed because I work in an office, I no longer go to school, and I don’t work with the school district.

I don’t know where my mind was at but there was just something about hearing the radio announcer break to the school closings that brought me back to those good old days of high school where you were glued to the radio or tv waiting for that glorious moment when you learned that your school was closed.

Oh I miss those days.

Ok, on second thought, maybe it’s just the snow day part of high school that I miss. :)

- HARKINS "

" The Interview

This weekend I interviewed for a chance to participate in the Group Study Exchange program with the Rotary International. An opportunity, that would hopefully bring me (and three other young professionals) to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for one month, to learn about the culture, people and how they do business there. The interviews were being held at the Canastota Library, a central location in the Rotary District. The building was magnificent. It almost looked out of place compared to the houses around it and I can only imagine what it all would have looked like years ago.

In any case, I was interviewed by a group of Rotarians from the entire region, some I knew, some looked familiar, others, I had met just that day. They all made me feel welcome though. That’s one thing I like so much about Rotary, I always feel welcomed into their group. I don’t know how they do it, but it’s very nice to feel that way. Even so I was still so very nervous.

They had many questions for me and I answered them as best I could, but the problem is that when I get into interviews like this I feel like my mind just blanks. I try to think of an answer and my mind is blank. And the thing is that I had been trying to prepare as best I could all week, and thinking about what I wanted to convey to them and why I am such a great candidate.

I think it went pretty well though. I am a little nervous about it because I think there is so much more about me that I wasn’t able to fully show the group. Like how outgoing I can be, and that I actively seek out new opportunities especially ones that will help me professionally. And I know I could have explained myself better too. But I will pick apart these things all day if you let me.

There were a lot of good things about the interview that in my opinion were things that I can feel confident about. And I know that if nothing else, this has a great experience for me and I got to meet a number of very nice people.

Now, I’m just keeping my fingers crossed!

- Harkins "

" Thank you, thereaper! That is very good advice that I'm sure not everyone follows. That brings up a good point though, when you're going out on your own for the first time (or even the second as is my case) the thrill of that move can sometimes overshadow the important things that you should do to protect yourself as a renter and it's nice to be reminded or informed of that kind of stuff.

I'm with you on the one cat thing too. I'm not sure there would be enough for more than one cat plus me and all my stuff. :-P But I'm going to wait until I get settled to introduce a cat into the place anyways. That will be easier for both of us.

Any other tips out there for renters? What kind of renting experiences have you guys had?

Or, even better, ideas for meals for one. I certainly know how to cook and such, but I usually make enough for a few people and frankly you can only eat leftovers for just so long. So that would be helpful too!

Have a great weekend! I'm off to start organizing my stuff.

- Harkins :) "

" Before you even begin to move into your new apartment there are some very important steps to take. First make sure you do a walk through with your landlord noting any imperfections. Second and most important take a lot of pictures, even if there is nothing wrong you want pictures. Landlords are in the business to make money, even if it takes away from your security deposit. Third, keep records of any improvements that you do to the apartment. Last but not least A CAT MEANS ONE CAT!!!! ANY MORE THAN THAT IS JUST ASKING FOR TROUBLE.
GOOD LUCK TO YOU "

" MOVING

Things are looking up!

Today at noon I’m going to sign a lease on my very own 1br apartment. It’s super cute, I can walk to work, it’s got lots of windows (which my orange tree will love), and I can have a cat! I move in February 1st and I am oh so excited! Not motivated enough yet to clean my current room at home but I figure I’ve got two weeks to work on that. :-P

In any case, I can check that off my list of things to do for the year. Go me!

- Harkins "

" OUCH!

A friend of mine had a bit of an accident last night. She was sewing the binding onto a quilt she’s been working on for a few years and understandably eager to finish. All it took was one second of distraction from what she was doing and she sewed her finger.

I never really thought it was actually possible, but just in case I, for the most part try to keep my fingers well away from the needle. Her story will keep me away from my sewing machine for a little bit.

In any case, this happened last night. Now my first response would have been to go to the ER because there is a piece of needle in my finger. But no, she waited all night to go to the Urgent Care clinic when it opened this morning...because it was cheaper.

I know I’ve blogged about this before, how many young professionals I know will put off treatment because they don’t want to pay for it. The thing is though what if during that time, the wound had become infected or had closed up enough so that the needle had to be surgically removed? Or what if it sliced through a nerve causing lasting damage?

I don’t know, maybe I worry too much about health related issues, and when it comes to my health I’m just a little over cautious. By the way, my friend is just fine. She is expected to make a full recovery. :)

But, when are we as young professionals going to realize that stupid stuff happens and maybe we should be saving money for it just in case. Just in case we have a sewing machine needle go through our fingers, just in case we are playing soccer at 3am in the middle of the street and hit our heads on the pavement, just in case we have a severe asthma attack and should really go to the hospital.

It seems kind of ridiculous to think about or even plan for a medical mishap, but having a couple hundred dollars stashed away for it, just in case, isn’t a bad idea. Because we all know that even with insurance there are costs associated with health care. Even if you started at saving just $5 a week, in a year you could have $260, which would be a nice base to help pay for the stitches.

- Harkins

A personal finance blog that I’m super into right now and is partly what started me thinking about this blog post today: http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/ "