Given the right conditions, I’m fairly certain I could run forever.

 
I had planned to spend tonight as a “spa night.” Do a facial, paint my nails, sip some wine or whiskey, read my Kindle…and maybe watch some X-Men cartoons (okay, that last part doesn’t fit well, but that’s okay).

Instead, I saw Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, laughed and joked with some crew men on set, got irritatingly hit on by a Tarheel, discussed the casting for the Marvel movies with a stranger, and made new friends (and followers!) all while standing in pretty much the same spot for nearly two hours.

And then ran into an old & new acquaintance on the subway ride home.

New York is so funny like that.

 

“A stranger is just a friend I haven’t met yet.” – Will Rogers

Help me to love the unloveable; the poor in spirit, the broken-hearted, the downtrodden, the abandoned. Help me to love.

Sincerely,
Me.

In summary: Two guys traveled across the world in 10 days and made a fun video.

As someone perpetually bitten by the travel bug, I’m more than a little jealous. Wish someone would give me a ton of money and [more than] 10 days off to go on a new adventure!

Still, doesn’t mean I can’t make it count right here in the best city in the world. Adventure awaits all over, even at home.

“Happy valentine’s day, lil lady!”
“Happy Valentine’s Day to you too. And Generosity Day!”
“Whaaaa? Haha.”
“It’s Generosity Day!”
“Saint Generosity? Never heard of him.”

Real text conversation at 8:00am this morning.

I’m not super savvy on my saints, but I’m going to say that there is no St. Generosity. But that doesn’t mean today can’t be rebranded as Generosity day.

Evidently, at last year’s Social Media Week (held around Valentine’s Day), Katya Andresen of Network for Good, Sasha Dichter of Acumen Fund, and Ellen McGirt of Fast Company all sat on a panel for a session called “Nonprofits Using Social Media To Close Doors For Good.” The panel was introduced by Scott Case of Malaria No More, who led the session in brainstorming ideas and solutions for social entrepreneurs and non-profiters in the audience.

Afterwards, Sasha was discussing his “Generosity Experiment” with Katya, in which he said YES to everyone who asked him for help for an entire month. The discussion inspired him to take back Valentine’s Day and celebrate a different kind of love. He launched Generosity Day 2011, utilizing social media platforms, reaching out to his network, and partnering with Network for Good. The inspired Sasha then inspired others to rebrand their Valentine’s Day to Generosity Day by “doing good.”

And this year, Generosity Day is back. Individuals and organizations worldwide are spreading the word and showing some love, not just to significant others and special loved ones in their lives, but to their neighbors, their communities, and even strangers on the street.

————————————————–

Below is another video, made by the interns at Pencils of Promise: “#GenerosityDay Fail.” The part about holding the door open has happened to me more than once.

 
And one more video made by Jason & the crew from Jubilee Project: “What is Love?”

Enjoy, and happy loving!

Note: I know that most of my social circles have no idea who she is. It’s okay. She’s only awesome.

So yesterday, I woke up, got ready, and hopped on an extra early train since it was my first day with Good Scout. I arrived far too early though, so I decided to loiter outside and give B a call. In the middle of telling him something, I spotted a woman walking across the cobble stone streets just down the block from where I was standing.

“I’ll call you back. Sorry.” Hung up on my own boyfriend.

Thankfully I wasn’t wearing my extra tall heels when I dashed over to her.

“Excuse me??” I said (or squealed, maybe).

The woman looked at me and replied, “Yes?”

“Are you Jacqueline Novogratz???”

I felt like a teenager who had just spotted Justin Bieber. I’m pretty sure when she said yes to that, my mouth dropped a bit and I blanked for a second. I don’t approach “celebrities” often, but when I do my communication skills (or my overall ability to form coherent thoughts) clearly flies out the door. Not a great track record so far.

Good thing Jacqueline is incredibly nice and down to earth, and was able to overlook my bright-eyed idiocy (seriously, when did I get that way?)

I started telling her how I loved her work and how I loved Acumen Fund. I also added that I literally was just reading her book The Blue Sweater a few minutes ago on the train. I considered pulling it out and showing her, but remembered all the junk in my bag…and pictured everything spilling out in a tangled mess as I attempted to show her that I really was carrying her book…and thought about the awkwardness of bending down in my heels and trying to pick up everything off the ground while doing a juggling act…and became utterly horrified at the potential of such embarrassment…and so I decided not to pull it out. (This entire image and decision happened in less than a split second.)

She kindly searched through her bag for a business card as she recommended that I check out the New York chapter since the Acumen office/Google building was right down the block from my office. (Glad I didn’t try to take that book out. I don’t think they let spazes join their meetings.)

Anyways, since I had the honor of speaking with Jacqueline for a brief moment, I decided that I should share one of her TED Talks. Below is one called, “Inspiring A Life Of Immersion.” It was the first one I had seen of her, though I think it’s the most recent one she’s done.

Check out more TED Talks from her too.

Also, she tweeted me back and wished me good luck! Nice people rock.

 
Life has been a bit crazy and stressful for me lately (hence, a lack of updates…even more so than typical). Between work, and side projects, and family, and relationships, and interviews, and ideas, and meetings, and financial issues, and being nomadic, and life decisions, I just have been non-stop moving, sometimes robotically, which is completely not my style.

I’ve been feeling especially disjointed these past few days. Waking up this morning was difficult because I was just drained — mostly emotionally and spiritually but a bit physically too.

Eventually, I got up from the slab of ice I slept on last night (no heat), went to my computer, and got on my grind. After a while of working, I checked my TweetDeck and saw more than one tweet about the Holstee manifesto (see below). Evidently, they launched a new a LifeCycle film of the manifesto.

It totally made my morning better and reminded me of who I am and what I believe (sorry if that sounds cheesy or dramatic or cliche — but there’s no other way to say it). You can read their manifesto below or just watch the video.

 

Last week, I had the great opportunity to meet with Simon Höher (@jimmiehu) and Emanuel Schwarz (@emustweet), founders of Knowable. The two Berlin boys were in town for the Social Good Summit, but thanks to the infamous Christian Vanizette (MakeSense.org), we were able to squeeze in some coffee and chat about development work and their start-up adventure.

The purpose of knowable.org is to connect creative ideas in order to solve everyday problems in developing countries. Currently, the guys are in start-up mode and therefore doing some crowd-funding. Check out their recently released video that better explains their pretty fabulous idea:

I can attest to the fact that knowable.org is not only a great idea, but it’s also run by some really great and super chill guys. I’d recommend checking them out and perhaps donating a few bucks to help get this idea off and running. If you can’t give money but have experience or connections on the ground in developing countries, don’t be afraid to reach out to them also. And if you ever find yourself in Germany, they’re hiring!

It’s official. The Adventure Project is having a Cocktail Party next week in Soho, and it looks like it’s going to be awesome. The crowd expected to attend will be mostly young leaders and entrepreneurs in the tech, media, socent, and international nonprofit industries, amazing supporters, and folks who just like a good party.

Complimentary cocktail drinks + time to hear from Becky Straw and Jody Landers, two incredible women working on making a lasting impact. They’ll be sharing about the work being done with entrepreneurs in Haiti, India, Kenya, and Uganda.

Details of the party:
When: Wednesday, September 21, 2011 — 7pm to 9pm
Where: 1534 (20 Prince Street, between Elizabeth and Mott)
Why: Support entrepreneurs in developing countries
Cost: $20

Honestly, complimentary drinks + doing good? Not a bad combo for an evening.

Hope to see your beautiful faces there.

Just came across this article, Best Dressed Wrists In NYC, by Refinery29. Love some of this arm candy going on.

Though that spine bracelet on Rachel Strugatz (Accessories News Editor of Women’s Wear Daily) in the last picture is awesome, my favorite wrist is probably Shiona Turini (Accessories Director of Teen Vogue ), Picture #1. But that’s probably in addition to what’s not on her wrist.

I’m infatuated with the nail ring, and after a quick and easy search, discovered such a ring can be found at Bijules.

Mmm. So pretty.