lamiki

I’m lying here in a hotel room in the historic district of Montreal, Ontario, Canada staring at the “Mazda Lifestyle Drive” mascot or character and trying to figure out what to name him. Chris, the man behind @MazdaUSA and @Mazda2USA, declared at dinner that I could suggest a name for him but all I can think about is how I’m going to turn him into the roaming gnome of Travelocity fame.

What am I doing in Montreal anyway?

I have been invited by the amazing folks at Mazda USA to take part in the “Mazda2 Lifestyle Drive.” Tomorrow morning (Saturday), they’re unleashing a team of nontraditional media (bloggers, forum moderators, and other influencers) into the streets of Montreal with fresh-from-the-factory 2011 Mazda2 cars. (more…)

At some point in their life, everyone has had the desire to fly, but rarely do they get the chance, and take it.

On March 25th I had the chance to learn to fly as part of the Twestival Seattle which was appropriately held at Emerald City Trapeze. One of the sponsors donated about 60 spots for “air time” and rumor on the trapeze floor was only about 20 people signed up. The event itself was amazing―the Seattle Social Media community came together to raise money for Concern Worldwide, an international humanitarian organization dedicated to working with the world’s poorest people to transform their lives. In one night, we raised about $10,000 dollars!

Back to the air trapeze, especially an abbreviated lesson like this one, was closer to swinging than actual flying except for the fact that I was dangling by my arms and hanging in the air (this is where all of those CrossFit workouts come in handy). The scariest part was climbing up the ladder and standing on the perch which was the width of a bleacher seat. Let’s just say that cold steel is a little hard to grip with nervous, sweaty bare feet (TMI?). I could indulge in more details about how nerve-wrecking it was to trust that the instructor really had a hold on the leather belt I was wearing as she strapped on the safety lines and I reached out to the bar, but I’d rather invite you to try it for yourself.