adrienne-is

Mom and me will be packing our bags tomorrow night and heading off on Thursday to the Sip for a family gathering. I can’t recall the last time my mum and I went some place a little ways away from the house and I’m excited! Travel with family is super rare for me. My brother was supposed to come along as well, but being the home body that he is he has decided to stay put in wonderful Brandon, FL. I can’t sit still and he won’t budge. Funny how siblings with the same background can be so different.

Anyways, it should be fun being on the coast for the weekend and I hear we’ll be having a fish fry rather than BBQ, but I’m not complaining. I’ll try to take tons of pictures. (I’ve been a real slacker lately.) And if you don’t hear from me before the weekend again, please have a safe, fun and relaxing holiday.

Peace.

Yesterday I put it out there. I said it. I demanded it and the planets lined up in my favor and just before the dark gray clouds filled with lightning, thunder and rain filled the afternoon skies I got a call. At last, my free flight with T-Mobile has been booked and I’ll be heading to California in August for two weeks to run wild. So many fun summer plans already playing in my mind… Sigh. Thank you T-Mobile. This was a trip I needed to take anyway and boy did the free flight promo come at a good time. Flight costs are high and I only had to pay $68 for a round trip from TPA to LAX on Delta. The fine print stated airlines taxes and fees would not be covered, so not entirely free, but free enough for me.

Now if my good friend Muna, who works for T-Mobile joins me for a weekend out in L.A. it would be just great. The poor girl had to hear my weekly rants about this free flight promo as I was certain they would try to send me anywhere, but L.A.

Also, regarding my beloved cell carrier… As a person who travels extensively I feel they are really a brand I can identify with in so many ways. T-Mobile just gets it! I know I just came off the road spreading the VzW gospel and believe me if I never traveled abroad I would more than likely have VzW, but I’m a jet-setter. T-Mobile recognizes social networks that I’m involved with like Couch Surfing. If you haven’t seen their latest spot or have no clue what Couch Surfing is click here first and then here.

I can most certainly connect with that.

Check it out and get ready to place your orders folks. Photo: Adrienne C. Wilson

Comrades, I have been super busy since my return to town. Busier than I expected, but it is all good. Thanks to all who have asked about the fundraiser. I will have photos soon I hope and a recap with BIG LOVE and shout outs to everyone who helped and contributed. It is not the end or the last you’ll hear of Habitat, Debre Markos or taking action. Next up is the event in L.A.’s Little Ethiopia and I’ll post more details as they come in from Angel.

Now my friends I would like for you to focus in on a few things. First the lickle book above in the circle. Sssh… It’s a sneaky sneak preview of my children’s picture story book. I know you’re as excited as I am to see the whole thing, but you’ll just have to wait. This is a mark-up copy for me to go through with a magnifying glass to make sure it is super great for all of you, especially those of you with ultra-critical children. (Children are the harshest critics sometimes… Are they not?) I’m very pleased with the pages within and have a few notes so far, but I will continue my work.

In the meanwhile I have been slowly but surely flipping through the latest Planet magazine. It’s the summer music issue which is always a pleasure. I remember long ago when I first picked up Planet and got tuned into M.I.A. from one of their reviews. Now I’m taking notes on a few others to watch out for. Not a big Tom Waits fan or I should say I didn’t know much about him until the article in this issue. Very intriguing and intriguing makes me want to go find it and listen.

Also, the Dey (not mentioned in Planet), but I saw them on myspace and made note to go back for a listen. Any fans of either reading right now? Could you please recommend a track or two. A little unsure as to how I feel about the new Coldplay. So far track numero tres, “Lost” is my favorite. I’m still working my way through a honest uninterrupted listen. Thoughts? Anyone? Oh… and BIG BIG BIG…so BIG commas aren’t necessary… For all who have been waiting for J*Davey to drop nationwide and globally you can cop their music on iTunes and in most record stores July 1st. They new website is smashing and please try to see them live. I hear the shows have transformed into something sort of amazing since the last time I was in an audience. So proud of Brook and Jack. Lastly, I’m stuck on Natasha Bedingfield (Soulmate) & The Veronicas (This is How it Feels). Working concerts will do that to you.

Nuff music comrades. I just got Persepolis on DVD from Borders today and I plan on watching it tomorrow. I already know it will be grand. The book was marvelous.

Now for some randoms:

I came to the reality that I will not be able to go to Iran this year. I shouldn’t say will not be able to, but I’m just not in the mood to work for a visa or to take a tour this go round. I’ll just keep to with my Rosetta Stone lessons and dream about the streets of Isfahan and Shiraz. God, I envy those who have traveled there and back. Feed me your travel tales please. It keeps me going. Really.

Instead of Iran I am looking into Jordan or Yemen as an alternative during my three weeks in Dubai. Three weeks seems like an awfully long time in Dubai which is why I am considering going elsewhere for a week and a half of that time. Suggestions?

Oh, and T-Mobile / TLC Marketing… I do hope to hear from you soon. If nothing by Monday I will be calling to ask what’s up with the free flight promotion. I need to get to L.A. and if it isn’t L.A. then let’s make it NY, but in any case let’s make it something soon.

I’m presently in Orlando and I must fix the madness that is called “tan lines.” I will lay out by the pool tomorrow and scheme great things. Great ideas always come from the poolside. Everyone knows that. I will think of you while I’m out there too. I will also think about how much I hate it when bar soap falls in the shower and how yummy a mango lassi would be by the poolside and whether there is a way to go back to school to study language next year without going broke…

Investors always welcome.

I’m hosting a fundraiser for HFH. If you are in Tampa this weekend and interested…

(Click on flier to see full size.)

Wanna make a “bet?”

In English most of us would probably associate the word “bet” with words like a “stake” or “wager.” In Amharic, one of the most widely recognized languages of the east African country, Ethiopia, the word “bet” could more than likely conjure images of “hope, happiness and family.” In Amharic, “bet” means “house” or “home.” Now, I’d like to challenge or “bet” each of you that together we can build a house for a family or two or three families that are greatly in need of decent shelter.

Join me on Sunday, June 22, 2008 from 1-5pm at the Queen of Sheba to celebrate Ethiopian culture near and far for a good cause. This fall I will be leading a team of volunteers to Debre Markos, Ethiopia in partnership with Habitat for Humanity’s Global Village program. Together: you, them and myself, we can all contribute big and small. With reggae music by Tribal Style and an eclectic range of Ethiopian & African related goods to win, I invite you again – come travel with us.

Wanna make a “bet,” but can’t attend? Feel free to donate to this charitable cause by visiting the link found here or by contacting me for further details.

Tomorrow marks my exit from the VzW Street Team tour which has been loads of fun over the last six months. I’m in Dallas now where I will work my last event with my awesome new replacement and then fly out to Tampa. I’m sure she’ll rock! I won’t be on the tour grind again for a moment and people have asked if I will I miss it… Well, yes and no. This type of stuff runs through my veins. However, I must try and take on other endeavors tugging at my sleeve. What will they be? You know I’ll do my best to keep you posted.

Goodnight.

The ice cream man. Photo: Adrienne C. Wilson

After the concert in Houston the ice cream man drove by… I had a chocolate ecclair. Yum.

Just doodling over the view from my hotel window. Photo: Adrienne C. Wilson

I’m having a moment right now. The kind of moment where you are sitting in bed, going through the motions, clicking the keys on your laptop, shooting email after email and then the pause comes. A break, possibly a very subtle one from the music playing in the background. Maybe it’s those brush things against the drums on a real good jazz track. I can’t recall. The pause came. I stopped. Time didn’t. The clouds didn’t. The cars on the interstate didn’t. Just as soon as the pause came the break ended and doodling time began.

To my right: a box of multi-grain Wheat Thins, camera, Sidekick LX, Amharic phrasebook, and quarter full bottle of SmartWater. I’m having the kind of moment where not doing much of anything is perfectly fine. I’ll call my mum and tell her I love her. Here’s the last ten played:

Jill Scott: The Fact Is (I Need You)
Charles Mingus: Reincarnation of a Lovebird
Herbie Hancock: Watermelon Man
Third World: Journey to Addis
Melody Gardot: Gone
No Doubt: End It On This
K-OS: Superstar Pt. II
Nancy Wilson: Guess Who I Saw Today
Coldplay: Low
Whitney Houston: Why Does It Hurt So Bad

What are you listening to?

The time that passes from entry to entry is an amazing thing. Just eight days ago I was in Tallahassee, then Franklin, TN for a couple of days and now Texas. I’m in Austin for the moment which is great although I haven’t really been out the past two days. I’ve been tucked inside my hotel hiding from the heat and everything else that is said to be big in Texas. Today I won’t be so lucky. If you’re anywhere around Austin you can catch me at Southpark Afterdark in Southpark Meadows tonight for a VzW event. From Austin I’ll carry on around to Dallas and Houston for two Natasha Bedingfield concerts, a Father’s day event and a F.C. Dallas before bringing my VzW roadshow to a close.

Can’t say that I’ve got anything exciting planned here in Texas for this last week other than my work related events, but I’m sure things will pep back up sooner than later. There are several interesting projects ahead, but for now my focus is here. Somewhere.

Today I worked at a Grand Opening event for a Verizon Wireless store in beautiful Tallahassee, FL. My day went a little like so… It was 92 degrees first off and our set-up included an additional tent for the Chick-Fil-A folks, Choo Choo the clown and a local radio station. If you were driving by on Apalachee Parkway you may have noticed something like the scene below.

VzW store in Tallahassee. Photo: Adrienne C. Wilson


Then you might have caught glimpse of this mob scene. Photo: Chick-Fil-A Chick

And if you were super cool like me and the Chick-Fil-A Chick then you would have had the clown make you a hat to wear. Photo: Germany Mayfield

Lastly, when the day was over I fell onto the grass to ponder which type of clouds were floating above? Before the super itchy-itch started to kick in or before the ants started coming I hopped off of the grass. Photo: Germany Mayfield

When I got back into the hotel I made it into a little piece of art. Now I’ve decided I’m tired. I should probably hit the sack. We’ve got to drive up to Franklin, TN tomorrow.

On the road… again.

Progress by Scott Hansen
Putting my order in three, two, one, zero…