Changes are afoot in the Josh and Corley house. Dust is getting kicked up out of long-covered corners. Books are being pulled from shelves all willy-nilly. We’re laundry-doing, vacuuming, craigslisting fiends these days.
Do you want to know why?
BECAUSE WE’RE MOVING TO CHARLOTTE!
And SOON.
We love Asheville a LOT, but the winds of change are blowing and they’re pointing us toward the Queen City. So we’re handing in our keys and saying goodbye to our little grey house on Dorchester Avenue. We’ll miss our city terribly and we hope to visit often, but for now…
Goodbye hippies, goodbye hills, goodbye mountain moonshine stills. Goodbye, land of local brews. Goodbye, Asheville. See you soon!
Today is the day that I “launch” my online portfolio. Would you be so kind as to click the image below, take a look around, and let me know what you think? I’m a little nervous and I would LOVE to hear your feedback.
If you haven’t seen this yet, please watch it today! You don’t have to hit play now — 10 minutes seems like a big chunk of time in a busy day, I get that. But on your lunch break or tonight, after dinner or right before bed — do yourself the favor of pausing for 10 minutes to watch the heartwarming story of amazing Caine and his cardboard arcade. It’ll make you feel better, even if you’re already feeling pretty good. I promise.
This is another song that’s been stuck in my head for the last couple of weeks. Best way to cure an earworm is Ukulele Wednesday, right? I hope you liked my version of “Stand By Your Man.” Chords came from Songbook 12 at wukulele.com. Have a great Wednesday!
To celebrate Springtime springing up all over, I made you another mix tape! Spring is just the greatest, isn’t it? Romance, bicycles, lip gloss, bubblegum…all the best things come out in spring. I made this playlist with a springtime day in mind – waking up full of hope, sun shining, birds chirping. Moving through the day, flirting and canoodling at night, and watching the sun set with your springtime someone. Then, you wake up and do it all again.
I hope you like my Springtime Songs playlist! Click the image below to start listening.
Track Listing:
1. Everyday – Buddy Holly
2. We Believe In You – Bess Rogers
3. As I Lay Me Down – Sophie B. Hawkins
4. In the Sun – She & Him
5. Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard – Paul Simon
6. Pull Shapes – The Pipettes
7. King of the Road – Teddy Thompson
8. Dream Lover – Bobby Darin
9. Not About To Lose – Ron Sexsmith
10. Here You Come Again – Dolly Parton
11. Sunset Soon Forgotten – Iron and Wine
First of all, full disclosure: I have loved Newsies for years and years. As a junior in high school, I campaigned for our school musical, choir concert, and even our marching band’s halftime show to be Newsies-themed. I wept over sweet little Crutchie, and I crushed on a dancing Newsie named Specs, and I got goosebumps every time I listened to the a capella reprise of “Seize the Day.” (Don’t know what I’m talking about? Click here to listen to the soundtrack and hear for yourself.)
All of this is to say that I would have been excited about the new Newsies musical even if I hadn’t been completely sucked in by their impressive marketing efforts.
However, judging by the buzz crackling across the Internet, I know that the PR team behind Newsies is revolutionizing the way Broadway shows are promoted in the world of Social Media. And the number one lesson I’ve learned from the Newsies team? Get your team excited, and then get them to share their excitement.
With sneak peeks backstage, cast blogs, and goosebump-inducing previews, we’ve seen the actors and production team getting pumped about opening their show – and that honest, unbridled giddy feeling we see from the cast is contagious. There is nothing artificial or forced about the pride and excitement we’re seeing from the Newsies team. I don’t feel skeptical, I don’t doubt their enthusiasm – in short, I don’t feel that I’m being pitched or sold to. Instead, I feel like I’m in on something thrilling! I celebrate with them when I read about standing ovations at intermission, and I share their victories with my own social network.
So what can businesses learn from this musical’s marketing team? [Read more →]
I saw this post over at Adorned and it resonated. Maybe it will strike a chord with you, too.
Things have been quiet on the blog front lately. I owe my silence in part to writer’s block, in part to being busy like a bee, and in part to just not feeling like it. Being a staunch believer in doing what you love and loving what you do, I haven’t forced it – but I am feeling ready to climb back on the blogging horse.
I’m not crazy about flying. I get really nervous during takeoff, landing, and turbulence. But the nerves are worth it, because airplanes and airports are where you get to see people at their worst – and their best.
Airports are where I started writing short stories. Flying home to Indiana, I would sit in the terminal and eavesdrop on the people around me, trying to guess at their life stories and reasons for traveling.
I’m in Vegas now. On my first flight, a 35 minute hop to Atlanta, I sat next to the most important man in the world. His hurry was the biggest hurry, his job was the most important job, his layover was the shortest layover, and his connection was the toughest connection. Also, he was far too important to turn off his phone, and it really bothered him that the flight attendant kept harping on about it.
Then, when I was getting off the plane, the most important woman in the world was behind me! She nearly chopped off my toes with her important rolling suitcase as she rushed to her important connecting flight to her important final destination. I can’t believe I managed to find the most important man AND woman in the world on the same flight, but that’s travel for you. You never know who you’ll be sitting beside.
On my flight from Atlanta to Vegas, I sat between a sleepy older gentleman and an Australian man who was completely absorbed in a book on his iPad. We sat in contented silence for 3 ½ of the 4 hours in the air – and then I mentioned that I had never been to Vegas before.
Suddenly, these two fellas lit up. The sleepy man woke up, put on his glasses, and opened his window so that I could see the lights as we circled the strip. The Reader gave me gambling advice and told me that he stays out of trouble by leaving his money at home with his wife. Sleepy told me that the lights were much brighter in person, and Reader told me to have fun and be careful. Sleepy and I admired the sunset as we landed. Then Reader asked me where my bag was, held up the line to pull it down for me, and made sure I didn’t get stuck in my seat waiting to get off the plane. They both wished me luck before we parted ways.
People show you who they are when they’re flying. I’m always so surprised and happy to see the best of my fellow passengers – and I’m glad to see the important people hurry away from me and on to their next stop. I’ll take a quiet flight and a nice view beside a kind, unimportant person any day of the week.
