What Happens in Vegas Needs Help from Facebook

16th November 2012

I can officially cross “we’re going to Vegas baby” off of the bucket list (though I’m not certain it was even there to begin with) by competing in the Great Urban Race National Championship this past weekend.

P and I are always looking for weekend adventures, and with fewer football games and more money saving post-college, when I saw a Tweet from Yelp Atlanta giving away tickets to the Great Urban Race’s Atlanta race in April, I jumped on the opportunity. We were lucky enough to win the race entries, went into the race knowing nothing and we somehow managed to qualify for the race’s National Championship in Vegas (you can read all about the Atlanta adventure here).

We aren’t quite Vegas people (and boy we confirmed that one this weekend) but couldn’t resist the opportunity to go and compete. More bucket list items, right?

To put it simply, The Great Urban Race is a local version of the Amazing Race (though not affiliated) and sends you across a city with 12 clues to figure out, a challenge at each location, four hours to finish and only public transportation to get you from point A to point B.

Saturday’s Vegas race took us to places like the Graceland Wedding Chapel where we had to memorize vows (and I proposed), decode combinations to remove handcuffs at the Mob Museum and determine real from fake at the famous Gold and Sliver Pawn Shop from Pawn Stars.

Over the course of the day, we ran more than eight miles, made our way around town on countless buses and trams and our social networks came to the rescue with Tweets, texts, phone calls and even Facebook posts to help us solve the clues. We worked as a team to finish in just over four hours, crossing the finish line in the top 20 (though a penalty or two might have set us back a few slots in the final results, but we’re not counting that).

If I don’t have to see a naked women card flicked at me or walk the strip from the MGM to the Venetian for a few years, I’ll be OK with that, but the experience was exciting, challenging and just the break we both needed from the day-to-day. We cannot wait for the adventures the Great Urban Race will bring again in 2013 and this time we ~~hear the National Championship will make its way to New Orleans. Hurricanes, jazz and cobblestone streets?~~ Update: the 2013 National Championship has been confirmed for San Juan, Puerto Rico. Even. Better. Count us in.

Check out the Great Urban Race to see when it’s coming to your hometown, and sign up. I promise it’s worth every penny and maybe you’ll take home the grand $10,000 prize next fall.

I Left My Heart In Athens

24th October 2012

It’s been nearly two and a half years and I still feel like a piece of my heart is stuck in Athens, Ga. For my college roommate’s 25th birthday this month, I decided to get crafty and bring out our love of the Classic City.

Inspired by a few Pinterest projects and Esty finds, I decided to get to work on channeling our love for Athens and all things DIY with this string and nail artwork. After deciding on the design, I headed over to Home Depot for materials.

My dad is my go-to for anything involving a saw, but a limited timeline means I didn’t have the chance to drive home and have him help on this project. And as much as my little heart is set on owning a table saw, that’s not quite feasible in a city apartment. Home Depot to the rescue.

Did you know you can pick out any piece of lumber and a Home Depot team member will cut it for you? For free? Yup. Done. Total cost for the wood? A grand 51¢.

I picked out a piece of 2′ x 2′ plywood, a set of 5/8″ nails and opted to use twine I already had at home to create the design (though colored embroidery thread would have worked as well, especially if the surface area was smaller).

After sanding and painting the background, I sketched an outline of the state and decided to use this template taped to the wood and remove the nails once I was finished. I found this easiest as I could really pay attention to the finer lines and not leave any pencil marks behind.

My state of Georgia sketch. Not too shabby for my poor drawing skills.

Lots of nails and weaving twine later, I had the perfect birthday gift and a little reminder of the place we both called home for so long.

The finished product

Materials:

Plywood (I used a piece 2′ x 2′, this is a bit larger than I had seen, but it allowed the string to show much more clearly in my opinion)
Paint
Sandpaper
Nails (5/8″)
Twine

Unplugging and Recharging

15th October 2012

It comes as no surprise that as a digital marketer I fill my days surrounded by laptops, tablets and mobile devices.

A tech-advocate myself, I often find myself in need of quite the opposite, a non-digital lifestyle during my down time. This weekend, I trekked a few hours northwest of Atlanta to Sand Rock, Alabama to camp and climb with friends.

While a night under the stars might sound like the ultimate escape from the digital jungle, rest assured, even miles down a gravel road and a view like this one afford you four bars and 3G.

Tech connections aside, I’ve found activities like rock climbing not only allow me to spend some time beyond my screens, but to also exercise my brain in ways that will benefit me come Monday morning (even if my sore abs and knees wouldn’t agree).

Climbing is new to me, and it’s a challenge. It’s like a real life puzzle where I’m battling my size and reach to find the next hold. It’s not a matter of reaching the next ascent, but where to move left, right or push down to propel my body upward. The even better news? According to people much smarter than myself, I’m not the only one feeling the benefits of a little downtime.

A recent study of keyhole surgeons by Iowa State University found that gamers were 27% faster at surgery and made 37% fewer errors. See, worth it.

It’s the time “disconnecting” that will allow us to perform at our best tomorrow morning. And while I may have been able to Tweet and post to Facebook from the wilderness this weekend, the combination was the perfect distraction.

How do you disconnect away from work? And let’s be honest, “disconnect” doesn’t always mean the great outdoors. Pinterest is absolutely an acceptable answer.