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I am proud to say that I did a pretty good job yesterday during my public speaking gig. I was extremely lucky that there was another speaker there before me, Andrea Walker, who pretty much rocked the mic. You would think that it would have made it more intimidating, but it actually made me feel more at ease to see her be so confident. I’m not saying that I did an awesome job or anything, but I think I did as well as I could hope for. It is hard for me to carry a talk all by myself with no questions or interaction. That is why panels are so much easier for me I think. But like I said yesterday, the more I do it the better I get. And maybe one day I will be as good as Andrea!
I did get a few interesting questions at the end of my talk. One was if I felt like I shared too much personal information, or how I knew what to share and what not to share. I think that most of what I do is instinctual, and even though it appears that I might talk about everything in my life… I actually don’t. There are many things I put in the “no blog” category. I take my own personal safety and well-being into first consideration. I also think about other people’s privacy. If content passes those criteria, then it’s pretty much free game.
The other question that I got was if I read any other blogs. And the answer is YES! So today, I’d love to share with you some of my favorite blogs here in Birmingham.
Debbie Smith- How following the Golden Rule gets you screwed
http://whatdoesitmatteraslongasyourehealthy.blogspot.com
Stephen Vinson- Weight-loss blog
http://www.whoatemyblog.com
Jan Mattingly- A journey through the world of forced domesticity
http://wheredmyjobgo.blogspot.com
Jennifer Dome- Weight-loss & fashion blog
http://stellarfashionandfitness.com
Gina Robertson – A girl, a dog, and a hike
http://awhiskeyontherocks.wordpress.com
Elizabeth Bradley Hunter – Not a Peach
http://notapeach.com
Will Nevin – Weight-loss blog
http://ducttapeweddingring.com/author/willnevin/
Laura Kate Whitney – A newcomer’s take on Birmingham
http://magiccitymanifesto.com/
Rachel Callahan – Grasping for Objectivity (family & life blogger)
http://www.graspingforobjectivity.com/
BirminghamMommy.com – Mommy Blog by some kick-ass chicks
http://birminghammommy.com/
So When Is Your Show – Theatre in the Greater Birmingham area
http://sowhenisyourshow.com/
I’m sure I left off a handful of really great local blogs, and if I remember them later I will update the list. We have a little something for everyone here in town!
Weigh-In Wednesday #75 – 150.6
Today, once again, I am doing a public speaking engagement… and I am all in knots about it. The more I speak in public the better I get, but my nerves have yet to start taking a chill pill. I know I will do fine, blah blah blah… it’s just the unknown factor that always gets me. I really envy people who are naturals at it, and luckily my partner today is just that. I am sure her confidence will carry us both through. 
Be thinking about me around lunchtime today!
September has brought a lot of major decisions along with it right off the bat. I am still working on the creative project that I mentioned a few days ago, and we should be able to talk more about it soon. We have to get a few big things figured out first, but it is well underway. I know I am being super vague about it, but sometimes that’s the way creative things have to be until it takes on a life of its own. It is definitely still growing its wings. The thing I love most is that it’s a short-term project (as far as working on it goes)… so once November gets here we should be able to coast.
I have decided that my new place is really, really small. :) I am beginning to run out of things to occupy my time. The easy thing to do would be to get cable TV (which I currently only have 5 stations upstairs), but I would like to avoid doing that. It is easy for me to watch too much television in general. Instead, it would be nice to start cooking more and to maybe have a little garden outside. I also have little window planters that could hold flowers or herbs. AND, I still have the art materials to start doing watercolors when I feel so inspired. Sounds like I have plenty to do if I really want to! I am also looking forward to training again for the marathon and Half Ironman starting next month. That will take up a little bit more of my free time as well. It’s been nice to have a short break from exercise though. It will just make it that much more fun when I start back up!
I am exhausted… and I didn’t even do much today!! I went to the gym pretty late last night, then came back to my room and watched Black Swan. Two words to describe this film: creepy and amazing!!! It has made the rankings as one of my top 10 films ever made. I especially recommend watching it alone in a hotel room in a far away city late at night. I was going to watch it again tonight, but turns out I have to purchase it a second time. WTF?? I spent $13 to watch that movie, I should at least have access to it for 24 hours. Jeepers cheapers. I am sorta livin’ large though since we each got a $50 Marriot gift card for being a presenting speaker at this conference, so I can justify indulging a little on this trip.
Speaking of speaking, our presentation went great yesterday! I was suuuuuuuuper nervous, as public speaking isn’t something that comes naturally to me. If I were to critique myself, I’d give myself a B- overall. I started off shakey, but got my groove about halfway through and never looked back. Luckily there were two other people doing the presentation along with me, so I had breaks between my speaking parts. If I had to speak a whole hour all on my own, I might have keeled over from a panic attack. However, I am get much much better at it. It’s true – practice makes perfect… or in my case, practice makes average. 
This afternoon I officially swam 1 mile straight doing the freestyle. I’m sure I’ve done it in the past, but this was the first time I’ve ever counted my laps. Actually, I did a little more than a mile since I swam 77 lengths of the pool. It took me about 40 minutes… not sure how that falls on the awesome scale. I seem to be so much slower than other swimmers, but I know that isn’t important. Like running, you don’t know what somebody else is trying to do in their own workout. They could be doing interval work… or they could just be flat out better than you.
My flight heads back to the ‘ham at 10:30 tomorrow so I will be going to bed a little earlier tonight. Baltimore, you did not disappoint!!! Can’t wait to come back and visit this city again soon.
Black Swan on the small screen...
(I apologize for the typo in the original title.)
Yesterday I conquered a big fear: speaking in front of a large group of people. And I think I did pretty good – maybe 80% of my capabilities. Some of the negative feedback was that I got a little stiff and my natural personality didn’t come all the way through. But the positive feedback far outweighed the bad… people thought my content was interesting and I had tons of questions at the end of my presentation. Doing a solo talk for me is much more difficult than answering direct questions in an interview. But, I think I can improve over time and eventually be 100%. I’m going to take my feedback and run with it!
I had the most amazing time Last night at the Kitty Cat Alleycat Bike Race!! Our challenge was to visit 5 secret locations in downtown Birmingham and accomplish the challenges at each stop. One stop even had green jello shots & vanilla ice cream. I threw such a fit over having to eat the ice cream that I ended up spilling it all over my tutu.
Big agenda for today: 5 mile run, work, helping a friend move, packing for NYC, and writing my last film review for Wade Kwon. I guess that means I should get off of the computer!!!
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- Speaker @ WordCamp!
Speaker @ WordCamp!
