Anderson, Todd, Stuart, Autumn, Tynan, Grace
"Umm... I have to kick out a lot of bums and crackheads. Take this."
It was a puzzling statement. He handed us three bags of ground coffee, worth almost fifty dollars. We thought he was a fan of what we were doing, so we smiled at him. He didn't smile back. Then it hit -- we were being kicked out of Blue Bottle Coffee for not wearing pants, and being bribed with coffee to not make a scene. That's probably a smart idea; people who go to respected coffee establishments without pants on might be more prone to causing scenes than the other patrons.
We took part in 2010 No Pants Subway Ride, a worldwide event where people take off their pants and ride on the subway at a particular time. There's no cause, no mission, and no statement. Just hordes of people roaming around downtown without pants.
What I really like about the event is that it takes something people really want to do-- walk around without pants-- and makes it okay. There were over a thousand people participating, both pretty and ugly, thin and fat. People were thongs, briefs, boxers, lacy panties, and superman underwear. It was clear that most people weren't uncomfortable walking around in public in their underwear, they were just uncomfortable with the social stigma of it. Take away the stigma by hosting an event, and it's fun.
Even in an uninhibited person like myself, walking around bottomless fostered a sense of adventure and excitement. After the parade part of the event, five friends (some old, some made during the parade part) and I roamed around looking for adventure. After every stop, no one wanted to go home, so we asked each other, "what should we do next?". We went through Chinatown, visiting a fortune cookie bakery and a restaurant (an Australian girl at the table next to us asked if there was a special event, or if this was an American fad), then we walked back to the mall to visit the spa, and finally ended up at Samovar Tea Lounge.
I've resolved to organize more events like this. Not necessarily big group events that involve pantslessness, but fun events for my friends where we break social conventions and make scenes.
Next time you find yourself bored, skip going to the movies. Get some friends together, take off your pants, and go wander around. Or go to the movies, but take off your pants first.
Usually I come to this page with an idea of something to write about. Not today. This will probably be one of those random posts with little bits of everything in it. Have you ever noticed that my first paragraph is always long enough to make that drop cap thing on the left look right? Often I'll want to start off with a single sentence, but I write some fluff to make it look right.
I just gave my fish some medicine. They still have fin rot. It's really scary because huge chunks of their fins just dissolve into the water, so they look really pitiful. I've bought tons of different kinds of medicine for them, but none have fixed them yet. Each time they seem better, but then after the treatment the symptoms start showing up again. Of course I'm trying to treat the root problem, too, although I don't really know what it is. I change the water and feed them less. Almost everyone feeds their fish too much.
I really love my fish. I think they're the best pet ever. I can go out of town and not have to worry about them, but whenever I have a spare moment I sit and watch them swim around. Now I don't like watching them as much because they're sick so it makes me feel bad. It's amazing that they can just swim around and not die of boredom. I couldn't.
Two days ago I attended The Santa Barbara Business Expo, my first networking event. Almost all the business blogs and books I’ve read give importance to networking and nothing convinced me more than when I met with my friend Jackie, a real estate agent. I asked her how business was since she had only become a licensed for a few months earlier, and from what I know about real estate, it takes years to get clients. But she told me that she’s busy and business keeps coming. What? How? I asked her what she did for marketing, and how she sought clients.
“Well, it was really easy. I found some real estate agent networking events to go to, and this guy I met told me he was leaving for Shanghai and gave me all his clients”.
My eyes widened. Of course there was some luck to this, and I couldn’t help myself from being jealous. I had spent the past few months, thinking of a business identity and value proposition, targeting my niche, sending out cold emails, meeting with potential middlemen …and Jackie just goes to a networking event and gets handed business.
