Posts from the ‘Featured Item’ category

Roller Dancing with Laura Sunday Featured

By on July 11, 2018

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If you live in San Francisco, you may know about the roller skate park in Golden Gate Park.  When I learned that my friend Jessie’s mom, Laura, is a huge part of the roller skating community and has been skating there for 20 years, I knew we had to do an FWB.  This FWB has been years in the making and I’m so happy it finally happened!

As you can see, I am terrible at roller skating but I learned so much this day including the definition of a true committed community, how important it is to find your joy and the fact that it’s never too late for anything!  I’m so impressed and admire Laura for her willingness to drive down from Petaluma most weekends to be a part of this community and do what she loves.

The story of how she got started is the best.  Laura loved watching the roller skaters when she visited Golden Gate Park with her kids when they were younger.  On her 50th birthday, her husband got her a pair of roller skates and she’s been skating ever since! Laura is one of the main choreographers of the group and, when we were there, she got a shout out for her commitment to the community

The community was started by the Godfather of Skate, D about 40 years ago.  Since then, many people have been coming to skate on Saturdays and Sundays as well as attend his Church of 8 Wheels and roller skating rink at Burning Man.  I had so much fun with the most welcoming community.  I suggest everyone rent a pair of roller skates on Fulton and 6th right outside the park and give it a try!  Make sure to stay to watch at 3p on Sundays.  You won’t regret it!

 

 

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How To Get A Mentor With Lizzy Thomas

I met Lizzy on Christmas two years ago when Charlie, Bi, Lizzy and I spent it the Jewish way, movies and Chinese.  Lizzy is so delightful and knows how to keep it real. She’s hilarious and a major go getter working at one of the best companies in the world and absolutely killing it. I think this FWB is really important and I feel really grateful to have Lizzy to teach it to me.

Topics like this seem so elusive to me because I just did not receive this information anywhere up until now.  I think there are probably a lot of reasons for this including I never really connected with any adults in my school career aka I had pretty bad teachers.  Side note: This is one of the main reasons why I currently work in elementary schools…to be the adult I never experienced in my school career and of course, the sweet vacation schedule;).  I also spent very little time in a corporate america environment and do not have anything close to a straight forward career path trajectory.  But what I learned from this conversation is just how important having a conversation like this really is….

I felt really empowered learning about the mentor relationship from Lizzy and hope that this inspires others to take action to look for a mentor, become a mentor or just get more clear on the subject.  This relationship seems so important and helpful to have.  The definition of mentor is an “experienced and trusted advisor.” To have one or more successful, experienced and trusted advisors in your life and have them share their experiences and knowledge for the benefit of your success, yes please.   I would love to hear your experiences with this topic…do you have a mentor? are you a mentor?  where did you learn about the importance of having a mentor?  Please leave a comment below.

Thanks again, Lizzy, for sharing your wisdom.  Your mentees are lucky to have you!

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CHANGING A TIRE WITH STUART CAMERON

This FWB could not be more useful.  This is the skill of all skills that everyone references as the skill to know yet a large portion of us don’t know how to do it.  And now, I have Stuart to thank for making me and all the viewers of FWB no longer feel inferior about this lack of knowledge.  I now know exactly what to do with a flat tire but let’s be honest, I’ll probably still call AAA for assistance.

Stuart and I met in July 2014 at Northern Nights.  If you couldn’t tell, Stuart is originally from Scotland (Shetland Islands) and moved back home shortly after we met but not before falling in love with Ashley.  He just moved back to San Francisco to make a long distance relationship no longer long distance.  He’s such a talented mechanic and fixer of all things and I feel so lucky to have learned from the best.  Stuart is the nicest guy you’ll meet and is never without an interesting story.

Thank you so much Stuart for helping me feel like a more capable human and making one of my bests so happy!

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AcroYoga with Claudia and Daniel @ Burning Man

I impulsively decided to go to Burning Man this year.  I had all of these reasons of why I wasn’t going: Money, Work, Timing, Money and then I surprised myself by saying yes to a ticket offered the Friday before it started.

I met Claudia and Daniel naked in a steam bath with 20 other people and we began talking about AcroYoga.  I was so excited when they offered to teach me for FWB.  It’s always a goal for me to do lessons but actually getting them done is always a challenge and I feel so grateful and excited when it actually happens.  As for the steam bath, it was my everything.  I hurt my back the day before I left and the constant bending over to get in and out of the tent and move things around as well as biking all day put my back into serious spasms.  You can see from my attempt to do “The Bird” pose that my back was in dire straits and “The Falling Leaf” felt amazing for releasing pressure. The steam bath helped so much not only for my back pain but also to become more comfortable with my body and “baring it all.”   And I guess that’s what Burning Man is about for me.  Feeling a little more connected…to myself, to others, to our world.

Make sure you stay tuned until the end to watch a montage of my experience this year. It was great to reflect on my first year at Burning Man to this year (two years later) and how far I’ve come.  This year for me was a lot about letting go, loving myself more, realizing that I’m guided and to trust more.  All things I continue to struggle with but felt a little more connected to out there at That Thing In The Desert.

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THE CLAM WITH CHARLES

Happy Summer Everyone!  This was one of the impromptu FWB’s which I always love so dearly.  I ran into my friend and neighbor, Charles, at the pool on my birthday when we decided to whip out the IPhone and get the lesson of The Clam on the interwebs.  I’m so glad that I have the whole summer to perfect my skill.

Charles and I met at the pool in March when he was nice enough to let Ashley and I use his bathroom.  Meeting Charles like so many other new SF friends is always a refreshing reminder of how many awesome, smart, fun and interesting people are here and how many more potential FWB lessons are to come!

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Puppy Chow with Jessie Sunday

Watch and learn how to make the most delicious of treats from my friend, Jessie!  I was so excited when she wanted to teach me how to make Puppy Chow but I must warn you.  This is a very dangerous skill because there is definitely a tipping point when the Puppy Chow takes over and you lose complete control.

Jessie and I met a couple of years when we both worked for Livingsocial.  I was living in NYC and she was in DC at the time.  I didn’t really get to know her until I moved back to SF and I’m so happy that I did.  Jessie is so great.  She keeps it real and hilarious.  She has a zest for life that is like no other.

Thank you so much, Jessie, for being an amazing teacher and cooking show host.  Also, a big thank you to Michael Seiler for being an amazing videographer and co-director.  It was truly a team effort.

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HOLDING YOUR DOG LIKE A BABY WITH ALISSA

My roommate and good friend, Alissa, has the magic touch when it comes to holding our roommate and favorite dog of all time, Ginger.  She really knows how to put G in a relaxed state to the likes of a newborn baby.  This lesson has been a long time in the making; learning the technique and practicing on Ginger daily.  Since May 12 is “Hold Your Dog Like A Baby” Day, make sure to post a picture of you on FB and Instagram holding your fur baby just like a human baby!!

Everyone should do themselves a favor and delight your Instagram feed by adding thelifeofgg (G’s insta) to the mix.  She is seriously the best and I feel so lucky to live with her and of course to have Alissa show me how to be even more cuddly with our furry friend.  We’re such creeps but it’s hard to care when those eyes full of wisdom and love are looking back at you.  Thanks A and G. xo

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BABY FREEZE WITH ERICA SPERBERG

I was so happy when my friend from home,  Erica, better known as Sperberg in my world (or Sperm, Spermy, Sperminator) decided to make a trip to SF to visit the Canton girls.  We’ve been talking about her FWB for a while and I was so pumped when we made it happen while hanging out at Dolores Park.  Erica is a very talented dancer, choreographer, and teacher.  She is the director of The Dance Academy in Newton and they are so lucky to have her.  She’s the best.  Hang out with her for five minutes and you’ll soon realize that.  You can always count on her giggling, smiling and having fun.  We’ve been friends for so long and I appreciate our friendship so much!

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Yo-Yo Skills with Rob Martinez

I was so excited to have Rob teach me an FWB.  Rob and I worked at our first corporate america job out of college together in SF.  It was quite possibly the worst job ever especially when seated near the water cooler during the month of March when all it did was rain and everyone felt the need to discuss the rain at the water cooler, everyday.  But I digress.

Rob has since moved to many places and is now living in Nebraska. I, of course, harassed Rob to teach me something for FWB when he was visiting SF for the weekend.  He was hesitant but came out on top highlighting one of his many skills that I definitely did not know he had.  He’s really good with a Yo-Yo.  As most of you know, my hand eye coordination and fine motor skills are not my strengths so I was excited/hesitant to take on the old school Yo-Yo.   I grew up with Yo-Yos but never really mastered it and soon switched over to the ever popular Yo Yo Ball in ’92.  As someone on youtube once put it,  it’s the yo-yo for kids who suck at real yo-yos.  And how I remember the pain of losing control of the Yo-Yo Ball and having it slam into my front teeth……Hey Man It’s a Yo-Yo Ball!

 

Thanks Rob for playing along.  Great reunion and I hope it’s not another 4 years until our next one!

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Clothing Swap with Amie Wong

This FWB really had its benefits.  I am not only a huge fan of Amie but I am now a huge fan of the clothing swap.  I came home with two bags of clothes without spending a dime, cleared out my closet of clothes that I’ve had for way too long and got to hang out with some of my favorite people as well as meet new ones.  Amie did such a great job of creating a very fun and casual atmosphere (champagne included).  This world needs more clothing swaps!   Thank you Amie for being such a genuine gem.  You are the best!

 

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