My Cities 2011

Archive for the ‘Personal Life Stories’ Category

My Cities 2011

January 30th, 2012, by Sloane Berrent. 2 Comments »

Photo courtesy of Taylor Davidson

I started this meme in 2009 and continued it in 2010. Thanks to Taylor for inspiring me to do this project – his meme of cities goes back to 2006. Unlike him, I don’t have a photo of all of the places I slept, but that’s certainly something to aspire to!

As in previous years, a city makes it onto this list when I’ve slept there so any day trips aren’t included. If I was in a city and slept in multiple places, that counts as it’s own entry – since it counts against the total nights away and not spent at home in my own bed.

The big thing this year was having ONE home. A home that started unfurnished – a huge step for me compared to 2009 and 2010! It was still a year of travel (both in the U.S. and then to Haiti, Mexico, Barbados and Portugal) but it was also a great year to sink into New York City and enjoy everything that this glorious city has to offer and start to build a home. It’s been a good year. Here’s where I was in the year that was…

January
New York City (homebase)
Miami (1)
Boca Raton, FL (2)
York, ME (1)
Boston, MA (1)

February
New Orleans, LA (3)
Port-au-Prince, Haiti (2)
Jacamel, Haiti (1)

March
Austin, TX (2)
Austin, TX (2) *separate place
Los Angeles, CA (1)
Los Angeles, CA (2) *separate place

April
Miami, FL (1)
Tecate, Mexico (7)
Fairfield, CT (1)

May
Asheville, NC (3)

June
Kittery, ME (2)

July
Barbados (4)
Manchester, CT (2)
Boston, MA (1)

August
San Diego, CA (3)
Pittsburgh, PA (3)
Luray, VA (3)

September
Hidden Valley, PA (3)
Boston, MA (2)

October
Chambersburg, PA (2)
Kittery, Me (2)
Santa Monica, CA (1)
Burlington, VT (2)

November
Wahington, DC (3)
Hidden Valley, PA (3)

December
Scarsdale, NY (1)
Pittsburgh (5)
Lisbon, Portugal (2)
Duoro Valley, Portugal (2)

Total nights away from home: 76 (20% of nights)

Where did you go last year (work/personal or both? Where are your travels taking you this year? To all the places you’ll go and beyond – happy travels!

One Thing In, One Thing Out.

October 2nd, 2011, by Sloane Berrent. 3 Comments »

One thing in, one thing out.

I don’t know when exactly I adopted this rule. There isn’t one clear moment where I decided this would be guide for what comes into my home. I think it started as a saying, a general guideline, a concept not yet 100% adopted. But somewhere in the last year, it has in fact, become a rule.

It turns out it’s a rule that is talked about a lot online in the big declutter blogs! It makes total sense, I just landed on this one on my own.

When I left Los Angeles in December 2008, it was the first time I gave up one home without moving into another. I had to compress and declutter, then pack and give away all in two weeks. I held a weekend long garage sale and sold as much as I could, then packed as much as I could into my RAV4 and drop it off at Goodwill. The rest, I moved into storage.

I didn’t have a permanent home again until October 1, 2010 (a year ago yesterday). And that home was one that I was building with someone else. And that someone else had a lot less “stuff” that me. I spend hours every few months just going through my stuff to give away more things. Clothes I don’t wear, papers and books I don’t look at, DVDs I don’t watch. My big revelation? It’s EXHAUSTING! Stuff is quite frankly exhausting. The getting it, the keeping it, the organizing it and eventually the giving it away.

In order to free myself of this cycle, I had to free myself of the things themselves.

It’s hard to explain what happens when you free yourself of things. I mean, I still need clothes to wear, still have a “favorite shirt” and still look longingly at things I want to buy. The one thing that has changed is that when one thing comes into the house – one thing must go out.

Here’s how I do it…

I keep a canvas bag under the island in the kitchen, and that’s the “donate pile.” So I do, from time to time, buy things. Just last week I was in Boston and found a great chunky sweater at GAP. I good “winter is coming and I’m going to curl up and read on a Sunday” sweater. I bought it. I came home and the first thing I did (after putting down my keys and overnight bag) was to open my closet doors and give it an honest look. I never wear that longsleeve shirt, I am over those summer sandals and will most likely get a new pair next summer and I inherited that purse in a swap with girlfriends but actually have never worn it. They all went into the donate pile. When the bag is full, I walk it down the street to the Goodwill and drop it off. I’ve never regretted anything I’ve donated, or missed it, or wished I had it back. Life is funny that way, things we are so attached to when suddenly they are gone, they aren’t so important anymore.

It’s not a perfect system but it’s a system that FEELS pretty good once I got into the swing of it. The whole thing makes me pause before buying things because let’s face it, if you love the things you own and you buy something new, in essence, you have to give one thing up.

Do you have a “one thing in, one thing out” rule in your house? I’d love to hear about it! And if you’re interested in finding out more about decluttering and other organizational tips, here are some blog posts I’ve discovered:

15 Great Decluttering Tips
Instructions for decluttering your home (in less than 500 words)
Top 10 Blogs to DeClutter & Simplify Your Life

Welcome To NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service

September 20th, 2011, by Sloane Berrent. 4 Comments »

I have exciting news to share! I’ve started on a wonderful and new adventure to add to my already wonderful and full plate. I have just started graduate school as a part-time student at New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service working towards a Masters of Public Administration with a concentration in management.

This brings to mind one of my favorite quotes of all time from Andrew Carnegie, “My heart is in the work.”

The definition of public service is “a service rendered in the public interest” and I have always had such a strong pull to serving in the best interests of the public. That can be seen through all of my community activism and projects in social media for social good. Now I have the chance to deepen my understanding and my learning in these topics in a community of my peers.

I did consider MBA programs, but context matters folks. For me, it was a lot about the people in the program itself, as much as it was about the program and reviews on Wagner (one of my mentors is an alumni) are stellar. In fact, every time I mention it now to someone I often here about a person I have to meet in the program or someone who graduated from there that I would connect with.

Ranked in the top 10 graduate programs for Public Affairs by U.S. News and World Report, the school is an excellent blend of academics and practitioners. Many of my classmates also work full-time and the classes I’m taking are in the evenings which allow me to work all day and then make it to class on-time.

While my concentration is management, I am also going to be focused a lot on the two subjects that have been woven through much of my work during my careers – social innovation and access to education for girls and it’s implications on health, wellness and economic development. I am working in tandem to broaden my horizons of what is possible in my professional career and hone in and focus on the subject areas where I want to deepen my knowledge and network.

I’m kicking things off with Introduction To Public Policy and Microeconomics. If you see me in person you might have already noticed the shift in my lexicon – I posed the question last night about how I wanted my life to be linear and not parabolic (yes this happened). I also have been talking about public/private partneships a lot – in particular how something that is private becomes public and becomes policy. You can expect more of my musings and what I’m learning here, and of course in greater “live-time” on Twitter. You can also follow NYU Wagner on Twitter at @NYUWagner.

It’s going to be a long road, I know I’m putting a lot on myself to perform at work and now at school. I couldn’t do this without an amazing support network of family and friends and also the conviction that now is the time for this next steps in my formal education. You might hear less from here on this blog as I have to reallocate my time and focus on lectures and homework. Then again you might hear from me more as I’m learning so much and busting from the seams to share it. We’ll see. Either way, wish me luck! And if you want to talk at all about if going back to school is right for you or talk about Wagner in particular, you know where to find me.

5 Reasons Why I’ve Been A Terrible Blogger Of Late

August 2nd, 2011, by Sloane Berrent. 12 Comments »

Well. This is it. Rock bottom. I told myself I’d never do one of those “I’m sorry I haven’t posted recently” posts and here I am! I haven’t posted lately! I feel terrible about it.

Actually that’s not entirely true. I do have a few pretty good reasons why I haven’t been blogging lately and since I really want to get over this hump, I thought it best to wipe the slate clean, to buck up and share what all has been going down in my world. The good, the bad and the ugly. And then we can move on to bigger and better things without the rigamarole of having to explain where I have been. Here we go!

5. I got engaged! No, I’m not going to go all Sheryl Sanberg on anyone. I’m still the same hard-working girl I have always been. But I have to admit, that being in love can really take a toll on your blog – that is if you blog is not about love and relationships. Taylor and I just have the best adventures together and we spend weekends out of the apartment, on foot, exploring where ever we happen to be on any given day. And to tell you the truth, it’s marvelous. So at the end of the weekends, where I used to spend a few hours writing and queuing up posts for the week, now I’m mostly too tired to sit in front of the computer and so by the time the weeks starts the same cycle begins again.

4. Dollar, dollar bills y’all. I have a really amazing job right now that requires 110% at all times, no if ands or buts. Yes, I did have a job before (Answer With Action), but it’s all very different when you go into an office Monday-Friday and anyone who has ever worked for themselves or as a consultant would agree with me. I’m five months in now, time flies when you’re working hard! I started as Director of Digital Marketing at Lippe Taylor (and her sister agency ShopPR) at the beginning of March and it’s been absolutely amazing ever since. I lead a (growing) team and I was really looking for a place where I felt like my contributions and opinions would be valued and I have found that at Lippe Taylor. What’s hard is coming home when I have zero brainspace left. So it’s hard to get into the mode to sit and write. I’m working on it.

3. I am loving living in New York! I have wanted to live in New York City my whole life. I really have. I didn’t make it right after college as I thought I would – instead taking a year in Pittsburgh, pitstop in Boston, 5 years in Los Angeles, one traveling and volunteering (well documented here) and all of last year in New Orleans. I love every step of my journey and certainly no place outshines another. I love LA for LA and NOLA for NOLA. I know my version of “home” is different from some other people – for me home is where my friends and family are. It’s not so much a physical place but a state of mind. Living in New York means exploring and discovering new arts and cultural things to do, restaurants to try, long walks to take and spending a good bit of time offline. It’s been so important for me to balance working online and living offline and just taking some time for myself.

2. Fear. Writer’s Block. That what I’m writing isn’t good enough. The usual feelings of “not being good enough” that all of us have. I have a piece of street art I love that says, “Everything. Everything. Everything. Everything.” That’s how I am. I want to be everywhere and everything to everyone all the time. So not writing for a week, then a month, then longer, well it just ends up feeling like I have so much to get out of my system that I don’t know where to start. So frankly, I don’t start at all. It’s a hard thing to get over. I have been working on it. I recently took a class for 8 Thursdays through The OpeEd Project about multimedia thought leadership. Surrounded by the same group of women for 8 weeks talking about various forms of media, how to get our voices heard and sharing our collective experiences. I wrote for them, I wrote for myself, but it’s time to step back in and share some of what I’m writing.

1. I’ve gone old school and started journaling again. That’s right, pen and paper. Crazy times we live in! I really needed a place I would write without abandon and needed to get back to find that chi inside of me. I’ve kept actual paper journals since the 7th grade and written at some points more frequently than others but it’s something that has always been really important to me.

There you have it! 5 reasons I’ve been a terrible blogger of late, but honestly, I’ve been a pretty great offline person. Now it’s time to balance the two a little better. Does this ever happen to you? I’d love to hear any stories or tips about you got through a down-point in blogging and came back!

Rock the causebah,
Sloane

Celebrating NOLAlicious, Celebrating Change

January 11th, 2011, by Sloane Berrent. 5 Comments »

Collage Of NOLAlicious Desktop Wallpapers

There are quite a few changes happening this week that I’m excited to share. First, today marks the one year anniversary of NOLAlicious. It’s been an amazing year and there is no better way to talk about it than to share the introduction from this week’s newsletter:

NOLAlicious #53, January 11, 2011

Celebrating an Anniversary and a Goodbye.

Dear NOLAlicious readers,

Today marks the one year anniversary of the collaborative project between friends that became known as NOLAlicious. Today is the 53rd consecutive weekly NOLAlicious newsletter (with 11 additional special issues scattered throughout). We’ve shared with you over 35 desktop wallpaper images of classic New Orleans sights (mostly taken by our own in-house professional photographer Taylor) and produced a 2011 calendar from many of these images. We’ve featured more than 265 activities to do or places to eat around New Orleans and provided information about over 135 full-time jobs based in New Orleans. We have sent over 1,000 tweets, shared over 500 photos, and have close to 1,400 friends on Facebook. We hope you know, without a shadow of a doubt, how much we have enjoyed sharing a sliver of life in New Orleans with you every week.

Today also marks the final weekly NOLAlicious. When NOLAlicious was created last year, we were new to living in New Orleans and looking to find a curated list of things to do outside of the traditional media sources. There wasn’t anything like NOLAlicious (at least that we could find). Lending our skills, ideas and the little time we had to give, the concept for NOLAlicious was born. And what a year it was! The highlights are many including the Saints winning the Super Bowl, riding in Mardi Gras Krewes and bouncing through a muddy (and beautiful) JazzFest. It also included the election of a new mayor, the Gulf Coast oil spill and the 5-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. It included all of the magic that is New Orleans, from food and music and culture to sharing it with neighbors and new partners-in-crime along the way. 2010 was about making lifelong friends and memories that we will hold close to our hearts forever.

Throughout the year, the NOLAlicious family grew to include Elise, Kat, Martin and Emily, who each shaped NOLAlicious in their own way. Without them, we would have been lost.

Our lesson? Support those wacky ideas you hatch over coffee with friends. Use your passions to create something you can share with others. Be consistent. Share your passions and love. That’s why, instead of our regular PICKS this week, we’ve each described what New Orleans means to us, our perfect New Orleans day, and what we’re most looking forward to this upcoming year.

We like the idea of NOLAlicious having bookends, a beginning and an end. Of course, all of our past newsletters, featured picks and photos will stay online. On occasion, you might even hear from us when something comes up that is too good not to share. But now it’s your turn. We featured the New Orleans we found and loved in 2010, but our love for New Orleans lives on, stronger and deeper because you showed NOLAlicious what you loved about New Orleans, and why it was so important to you. Thank you. Now get out there and show New Orleans that same love you showed us.

Always yours,

Carl, Sloane, Taylor and the NOLAlicious Team

(more…)

My Cities 2011

One Thing In, One Thing Out.

Welcome To NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service

5 Reasons Why I’ve Been A Terrible Blogger Of Late

Search The Causemopolitan

Sloane Berrent

NOLAlicious

Cause It's My Birthday

Gulf Coast Benefit

Kiva