This week’s A-team project was to give in some way involving food. A fitting and relatively easy task for this time of year. I chose to go to the store and buy about $25 worth of non-perishables like beans, rice and canned meats and veggies. I brought them to a local organization called Northern Nevada HOPES, which is facility and safe house for families and individuals affected by HIV/AIDS. They have a food pantry, which they struggle to keep open. It’s is only open as often as there is enough food to open it. And then, when that supply is gone, they close it again.

This organization doesn’t mean anything in particular to me, other than I worked with them on a marketing campaign Ad2 Reno did for them last year. I don’t really have a particular connection to any organization or charity. At least not one that’s personal to me. It’s hard to try to determine who deserves my help and volunteer hours [I'm unsure how to say this without it sounding somewhat snooty]. Yes, battered women deserve a place to go, veterans deserve proper care, puppies deserve a home and terminally I’ll children deserve a life they wanted. I’m blessed to never have been affected by these things enough to know that any one cause is the one for me.

So, I brought them the food last night.  I’m not sure how I expected to be recognized. I guess I thought maybe someone I’d worked with might be there. To thank me profusely. I expected $25 to look like much more food. I expected that my contribution would push the pantry to full and they’d be able to open it for Thanksgiving. I don’t know if that will or won’t happen. But the point is, my expectations and my being recognized don’t matter. I did what I could to help for this holiday weekend. I could have bought a meal for a friend, or paid for the coffee of the stranger in line behind me. But I wanted to do something that means something to me. Even if it goes completely unrecognized. That’s not the point. The reason I did it is because it was the right thing to do and the best way I could do it.

I guess for now I’ll just have to be involved with the organizations I get to know and grow to care about through my work with Ad2.

Not very, if you’re using this blog as an example.

I was never too interested in having a blog of my own.  It just seemed like a public diary to me.  And I’ve NEVER been good at the whole diary/journal thing.  I’ve always enjoyed reading others’ blogs though.  ESPECIALLY the personal ones.  We all know there’s something to be said for being able to relate to people (strangers, even), whether it’s about becoming a bigger rockstar, finding some center and stability in our lives, improving our communities, struggling with weight or just gushing about what we love on the weekly.

So, who in their RIGHT MIND would want to read my ramblings?  And WHY?! (I mean, my dad reads this, but I think that’s less about me being awesome at blogging and more about the fact that I probably don’t call my family enough)

I guess it doesn’t matter.  What matters is that I’m writing.

For at least the last six years, I’ve called myself a writer.  I have it tattooed on my body for pete’s sake.  The cycling thing was a good way to get me started in the world of blogging.  And it’s been awesome because I’ve discovered a whole new community (but mostly it’s awesome because the blog MADE me want to ride my bike, which is a huge accomplishment).  In truth, this blog has been just an experiment for bigger and better blogs in the future (dun dun dunn).  I’ve learned SO much since I attended Wordcamp in March and started this blog in April.

Lately, I’ve been training myself [with the help of a few friends] on what it takes to build a really great, customized, beautiful blog with Wordpress and CSS and all kinds of other crap I knew nothing of a few weeks ago.  (Can’t wait to share it with you all … soon!)

But anyway, thanks to this amazingly honest little yogi writer in Minneapolis, I’ve learned about Twenty Something Bloggers (membership pending).  I’ve heard about it here and there, but never really felt like there was a place for me in that network.  Until I learned about how their new partnership is going to save the world.  Okay, I don’t want to save the world necessarily.  Or rather, I am aware that I can’t.  But I am realizing more and more every day that there is more to my life than just me and the crap I do.  I’m a part of this awesome organization called Ad2 Reno, and every year we (a group of advertisers under 32) donate a full service integrated marketing campaign to one local non-profit organization.  After having been involved in the winning campaign last year, I decided to take on a bigger role as the public service c0-chair.  So, basically, my friend Jessie and I are the account executives of this campaign for this amazing non-profit client.  At first, I’ll admit, I mostly did it because I wanted a position on the Ad2 Board and they needed someone to step up.  But I couldn’t be happier.  Yeah, it’s frustrating sometimes.  It’s a volunteer program that comes out of a less-than-strong membership.  Sometimes people aren’t reliable or whatever.  But what I’m realizing is that we are going to make a big difference in this community.  We are giving a valuable local non-profit organization an opportunity they might never otherwise have.

So THAT is why I’m joining 20SB.

Because I live in this world.  And I want to make it better in what little ways I can.  So I’m going to.  So, I’m not yet sure what will happen here … but I hope you’ll keep reading anyway.  Because I’m gunna keep writing. (I will, dammit.)