And where is his protective gear?!

I went for my first outdoor skate this weekend. Even though we've had nice weather for quite a while, it seemed like every time I put my outdoor wheels on my skates, it would rain.

So I finally got to go! Extra skating! Yayyayyayyayay! [wave arms in the air Kermit-style]

Also see: Holy crap, is that ever hard work. Like, way harder than at practice. There are rocks, and sticks, and wind. And places where it is uphill. 

(Both ways!)

I went with a derby pal and we stopped at one point, mostly because we were tired after a whole 10 minutes, but also to check out this guy.

He was standing on top of a bridge with a UNICYCLE, trying to steel himself to ride it over the arc. His friends were giggling on the shore with a flip cam.

"I say he goes sideways," my friend speculated.

"Nah. With the curve, he'll either go backwards and fall on his face, or he'll go forwards and crack the back of his head on the edge before his limp body falls onto the bridge," I replied.

She raised an eyebrow at me. "I hope he goes sideways," she repeated.

"I hope he chickens out and just doesn't do it," I said. (What? I have SOME piece of my soul left, honest.) 

He delayed for so long - hemming and hawing and "OMG"ing - that we go bored and skated on.

 ...

I know, you expected a more spectacular end to that story, didn't you? So did I.

YouTube has completely ruined us as a society.

Spare some change?

Today I moved desks at work. 

It wasn't an earth-shattering move; one of my co-workers moved down the hall and so I snagged her desk. I'm tired of having my back to the door. I'm not easily startled, but I don't want anyone to sneak up on me while I'm, say, blogging.

You wouldn't think that this sort of thing would have an impact on your life. It's the same room, the same co-workers, the desk is identical. Except that it's backwards.

I've found myself mildly unsettled by this all day. My pens are in the wrong spot. My files need to go somewhere new. The desktop on my computer got reset when I unplugged everything to move it. People walk into the office and pause, expecting to see someone else where I'm sitting. This one tiny change in the status quo has caused ripples.

I like to think that people are adaptable; we accommodate social change, geographic change, losses, death. But we are also creatures of habit, of routine. We get used to having things a certain way, we find comfort in them.

I find comfort in them too, but I'm also of the belief that routine breeds closed minds. Too much comfort creates fear of the unknown. Fearful, closed minds are dark. They scorn. They hate. They resist understanding.

So I force myself to change it up occasionally, even little things. Take a different route to work. Shop at a different grocery store. Wear that shirt that's in the back of the closet that I never felt comfortable in. Change is good. 

But sometimes I really have to force it. A minor shift in my everyday perspective can chafe more than an entire trip to another country. 

What tiny thing have you changed lately?

Absence makes the butt grow fonder.

I missed posting yesterday. It was because, I was, once again, on planes.

(Also, once again, being flagged by security/customs. Hello, Canadian Customs agents, thank you for not being too creepy about fondling all of my dirty underwear.)

(Do I look like a spy? I must look like a spy. Natasha Romanova, I’m next in line for your job.)

I loved Atlanta and everything and everybody in it, but I won’t lie, I was glad to get home to my menfolk. I got home late last night so I basically mumbled a ‘hello’ to Alfred and fell asleep. Promptly at 7am my four-year-old crawled into bed with us.

“Hi, buddy,” I whispered. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, Mama,” he told me. “Can I stick my butt in your face?”

Then he laughed maniacally.

Happy Mother’s Day to you all. May you all be similarly blessed.

The touristy bits

Our conferencing is complete, so today we went to some tourist parts of Atlanta. This included the World of of Coca-Cola (CokeWorld?), the Georgia Aquarium, taking the right bus but in the wrong direction, and meeting up with Becky.

That's Becky & I, rendered in Coke bubbles and suitably branded. You don't get out of the World of Coca-Cola without their stamp on you somewhere.

Did you know Atlanta is the birthplace of Coca-Cola? I actually didn't. Apparently, people don't offer you a "pop" or a "soda" here, they offer you a coke. Then they tell you what kinds they have.

It's the little things.

World of Coke was a tribute to the amazing marketing machine that Coke has been for 126 years, and then they let you sample all their products, including the ones that are popular in other countries. I have to say some other countries have strange taste in beverages, but it was fun.

Then we had a Googie burger in the park, where there was better wifi than I'm currently getting (and paying for!) in the hotel.

Then, aquarium. There were fish. It was really cool but I always feel mildly guilty about the animals. I'm sure those stingrays just LOVE to be poked repeatedly.

That didn't stop me from poking them, mind. But still. I'd break them out if I could.

I figured I walked for about 5 hours today. That seems like a lot. My feet agree. I'm about ready to go home, I think.

What do y'all have going on?

What I learned

I just spent two days in a LOT of sessions about digital marketing. Here are a few takeaways:

• You don't need to be on Pinterest, even though absolutely everybody else is on Pinterest. No, really. Why are you all still talking about Pinterest?
• Twitter is still awesome.
• People like to be "surprised and delighted". I know, I was shocked too.
• Google+ isn't popular because Google is too transparent about their Big Brotherness. Stop telling us what creepily accurate analytics we can get from it, and maybe someone will start using it for fun, you guys. (Okay, that one is less of a takeaway and more of my own opinion.)(They're trying so HARD though, I feel bad for them.)(Not bad enough to spend much time on G+ though.)
• The modern attention span rivals that of a goldfish. My toe is itchy. What was I talking about again?
• Puppies and kittens are always a marketing winner.
• Facebook is a mess.
• I don't see how the economy is still suffering, with all the e-shopping people are apparently doing.
• Mall shopping is still fun. That one isn't so much a "conference" takeaway as a "we went shopping after the conference" takeaway.

There, now you guys don't have to go to any conferences on digital marketing. I have served a useful purpose!