Dear everyone, you are cordially invited to come to my house for dinner. For a while now I’ve been pondering how I can get more engaged here in my town, a subject that TBH I talk and write about far more than I actually do. I wanted to take action. At just the right moment, I stumbled across The Lovable … Read More
Issue 26: The Crappiest Thing (and a Big Announcement!)
Time heals all wounds. That’s why, if you’ve lived in the same place for a few years, you may start to say ridiculous things like, “Let’s move. It’ll be fun.” I don’t blame you. I myself had forgotten how much relocating sucks until this past spring, when for the first time in six years my family moved houses. Suddenly it … Read More
Issue 23: One Word That Changes Everything
Right before my friend Cristina moved to my town a few years ago, someone gave her this advice: Say yes to everything you’re ever invited to do. “Since you’re new in town, you’ll probably get invited to things. But you only get one chance, because if you say no, you probably won’t get invited again. So say yes.” So Cristina … Read More
Issue 21: Why You Need a City Bucket List
Fun fact: New York City residents do not visit the Statue of Liberty every day. It seems like they should, right? About 60 million people visit NYC every year, and the number #1 thing they want to see is the Statue of Liberty. Don’t the locals who have daily access to her just count their lucky stars? No. No, they don’t. … Read More
Issue 19: 11 Things I Learned at CityWorks (X)Po
Why do I blow off so many potentially life-changing conferences? Money. Time. Complicated carpooling schedules. Guilt-inducing children. Even attending the wonderful CityWorks Xpo conference in Roanoke, 45 minutes down the road from Blacksburg, required a herculean level of organization. And yet, as my writer friend Kate Hanley points out, “Good things happen when you leave the house.” Like the fact … Read More