As I continue to say, “Adventures come in all shapes and sizes.”  I was on Facebook the other day when I saw an opportunity to review an indie film and write a blog piece about it. I jumped at the chance and before I knew it, my screener (DVD of the film) was in my mailbox. My (unexpected) adventure was about to begin.

As I sat down to watch Night Before the Wedding written and produced by David Branin, I had certain preconceived notions.  After all, it’s a movie about a bachelor party, the night before the wedding. (and I did wonder, isn’t this night supposed to be the night of the rehearsal dinner?)

As the story unfolds, there are the usual bachelor party antics; drinking, the constant use of the f-word, beer pong, sex talk, men competing with each other, even tying up an unexpected guest. Being a woman, I wasn’t sure if I could connect. At one point I almost stopped watching thinking this story wasn’t going anywhere. But there was something about these characters that kept me wanting to know more, wondering what was really going on beneath the surface. I could see it in their eyes. There was this vulnerability in each man, beneath all the drinking, swearing and razzing. I could sense there was so much more going on here. I was hooked.

Bronco, (Gregor Collins) the host of the party, was the cheerleader of the bunch, keeping his guests happy and talking up what was going to happen at 9pm. You guessed it. Strippers. Well, more than strippers. Porn stars. The guys now were jumping out of their seats, thrilled at the thought of being in their very own, real life porn movie (except for the married guy).

Then the groom walks in. Will (John Keating) is a suit and tie guy. Sweet. Straight laced, fun loving. He clearly wasn’t up for partying, not wanting to be hung over on his wedding day. He wanted go home and play pinochle with his parents. But, Bronco talked him into staying. When the best man Bobby (Johnny Giordano) arrives, already a little drunk, Will warns him to “slow down.”  Will was determined to have the perfect wedding. It was apparent, he was not your stereo-typical groom. He couldn’t wait to marry the woman of his dreams. For him, it was more about building a life, than taking away his freedom. It was clear he wasn’t going to stay at the bachelor party much longer…

Initially I thought, this is why I chose to be single. So many men are just shallow and immature about relationships. But these men were starting to prove me wrong. My unexpected adventure was becoming clear. I had to stay open, willing to keep watching and connecting.

As 9:00 pm approaches, the bachelor party antics turn serious when the police arrive. They leave and the Porn stars show up. As they start doing their lap dances, Will wants no part of it. But then, the temptation and peer pressure starts to wear him down. (By the way, we never see much more than lap dancing)

This night before the wedding goes from the quintessential bachelor party to a group of men looking deeper into themselves and their relationships with each other.  Each man is struggling with his own issues; One still a virgin, another one grappling with addiction, one in desperate financial trouble, then one man faces his unbearable guilt, and another faces incredible remorse.

In the end, Will goes through a huge unexpected transformation of his own on this night, leaving us wondering what his wedding day will be like.

Just like Will’s inner adventure of transformation, I was surprised by my own, beginning with certain expectations, and in the end being profoundly moved by the characters (and talented cast) in this intriguing indie film.

Adventure Tip: Even if you have preconceived notions about your adventure, stay with it for awhile. It might surprise you, even transform you in a way you never expected.

-Tracy Pattin

In this New Media Tea Time webisode #23, Co-hosts Tracy Pattin and Danielle Gruen go in the field to Kelly’s Fudge in Hollywood at the Kodak Theatre, home of the Oscars! Find out what happens as the Kodak gets ready for the Academy Awards.

There’s a whole world of adventure out there…right here…at your fingertips. It’s the world of the internet; Social Media, New Media, YouTube, blogs, podcasts, videos! As Video Blogger sensation (Wine Library TV) Gary Vaynerchuk says, “This is the time to make your dreams come true.” Anyone can get their message out there to the world via video, audio, personal essays, blog posts. Anyone can get their products out there to the world. And you can distribute for very little money! The flood gates have opened. But, so many get stumped, stuck, paralyzed by the not knowing part. The overwhelm. “How and where do I begin?” On New Media Tea Time, Living Careers.net’s Danielle Gruen and moi, team up to share our knowledge, tips, ideas, on how to navigate this Social Media, New Media madness. Oh, if that’s not enough, we pepper the show with chocolate and tea tidbits.

“Where high tech meets low tech for tea and chocolate”

There’s a whole world of adventure out there…right here…at your fingertips. It’s the world of the internet; Social Media, New Media, YouTube, blogs, podcasts, videos! As Video Blogger sensation (Wine Library TV) Gary Vaynerchuk says, “This is the time to make your dreams come true.” Anyone can get their message out there to the world via video, audio, personal essays, blog posts. Anyone can get their products out there to the world. And you can distribute for very little money! The flood gates have opened. But, so many get stumped, stuck, paralyzed by the not knowing part. The overwhelm. “How and where do I begin?” On New Media Tea Time, Living Careers.net’s Danielle Gruen and moi, team up to share our knowledge, tips, ideas, on how to navigate this Social Media, New Media madness. Oh, if that’s not enough, we pepper the show with chocolate and tea tidbits. The fabulous feline Hailey is purring somewhere nearby absorbing all this tantalizing info. In webisode #15, Danielle and Tracy celebrate New Year’s 2009 and the incredible BLUE MOON phenomenon. First time in 20 years this has happened on New Year’s eve. Find out what it all means! Oh, and of course, there a little Green Tea and Chocolate too.

“Where high tech meets low tech for tea and chocolate.”
There’s a whole world of adventure out there…right here…at your fingertips. It’s the world of the internet; Social Media, New Media, YouTube, blogs, podcasts, videos! As Video Blogger sensation (Wine Library TV) Gary Vaynerchuk says, “This is the time to make your dreams come true.” Anyone can get their message out there to the world via video, audio, personal essays, blog posts. Anyone can get their products out there to the world. And you can distribute for very little money! The flood gates have opened. But, so many get stumped, stuck, paralyzed by the not knowing part. The overwhelm. “How and where do I begin?” In New Media Tea Time, Living Careers.net’s Danielle Gruen and moi, team up to share our knowledge, tips, ideas, on how to navigate this Social Media, New Media madness. Oh, if that’s not enough, we pepper the show with chocolate and tea tidbits. The fabulous feline Hailey is purring somewhere nearby absorbing all this tantalizing info. In episode 5, Danielle and I talk about, What is a personal brand?” And how to find your passion to create your own midlife adventures.

There’s a whole world of adventure out there…right here…at your fingertips. It’s the world of the internet; Social Media, New Media, YouTube, blogs, podcasts, videos! As Video Blogger sensation (Wine Library TV) Gary Vaynerchuk says, “This is the time to make your dreams come true.” Anyone can get their message out there to the world via video, audio, personal essays, blog posts. Anyone can get their products out there to the world. And you can distribute for very little money! The flood gates have opened. But, so many get stumped, stuck, paralyzed by the not knowing part. The overwhelm. “How and where do I begin?” In New Media Tea Time, Living Careers.net’s Danielle Gruen and moi, team up to share our knowledge, tips, ideas, on how to navigate this Social Media, New Media madness. Oh, if that’s not enough, we pepper the show with chocolate and tea tidbits. The fabulous feline Hailey is purring somewhere nearby absorbing all this tantalizing info. Click here for Afternoon New Media Tea Time (Show #1)

There’s a whole world of adventure out there…right here…at your fingertips. It’s the world of the internet; Social Media, YouTube, Blogs, Podcasts, Videos! As Video Blogger sensation (Wine Library TV) Gary Vaynerchuk says, “This is the time to make your dreams come true.” Anyone can get their message out there to the world via video, audio, personal essays, blog posts. Anyone can get their products out there to the world. And you can distribute for very little money! The flood gates have opened. But, so many get stumped, stuck, paralyzed by the  not knowing part. The overwhelm. “How and where do I begin?” In New Media Tea Time, Living Careers.net’s Danielle Gruen and moi, team up to share our knowledge, tips, ideas, on how to navigate this Social Media, New Media madness. Oh, if that’s not enough, we pepper the show with chocolate and tea tidbits. The fabulous feline Hailey is purring somewhere nearby absorbing all this tantalizing info. Click here for Afternoon New Media Tea Time Show #2.

In part 1 of The Secret to Adventurizing Your Midlife, I wrote about taking action THEN imagine. There’s so much hype about visualizing. The problem is, if all we do is visualize, expecting results, we may find ourselves disappointed. Something happens when we take action. Any simple action can energize your world and push you toward your dream. In the first place, just taking action is a motivator, making us want to take more action.

And guess what? When others see you taking action, they’ll jump in to help you.

After I quit my job 3 years ago, taking a flying leap of faith, knowing I had to make a change and challenge myself, it was scary at first. I went through many many funks. But I always took some sort of action, like going to UCLA’s free events. The Writer’s Faire in 2007 changed my life.

Adventure Tip: When you take action, you’re telling the world you mean business. And the world will jump in to help.

It was the New Media for Writer’s sample class at the Writer’s Faire. The room was packed. New Media expert Doug Welch, his TV writer wife Roseanne and a filmmaker were the speakers. As they started talking about the opportunities in New Media for creatives, like blogs and podcasts, I was hooked. I knew in that moment, this was the path for me.

Adventure Tip: Step out. Go to a seminar. An event. Audit a class. You’ll meet people, get ideas and maybe even be inspired. It could be a life changing event.

Action step #3. I decided to become a New Media Expert. I connected with Doug Welch, making him my mentor. Doug has been a wealth of knowledge and an incredible connector. We now do a web video show called New Media Answers, where I get to ask all those New Media questions and Doug answers them.

When I look back to exactly 3 years ago, where I had no idea of the “How” in this new chapter of my life, I’m so very glad that I took the adventure. Today I’m getting hired for my expertise in New Media. My career is growing. New opportunities are everywhere.

Places to Adventurize:

•Meetup.com: An Online site to find local events on just about anything AND they’re usually free.

•Facebook. There are tons of events. Many free or $20.

•Local University or Colleges. They always have events and are often affordable.

“Social Media” is the buzz phrase of the moment. Everybody is Facebooking, Tweeting and Linking in on Linkedin at a frantic pace. I love this new way to connect, but I’ve discovered something. We still crave AND need human contact. Nothing has been more evident than the past two weeks with the plethora of events I’ve attended where real humans show up and interact with one another. (click here to read about the events) Judging by the huge turnouts, face to face contact is alive and well. Here’s the trick to all of this. We need both! “Meat space” (the real life physical world) AND cyberspace are key players for many of us. I guess as long we straddle both spaces, we’re okay. But the key here is balance.

Last night I went to one of those events. Heartlink is a “relaxed dinner/networking gathering for women. This unique experience enables you to meet women like yourself who help one another grow their business and strengthen their community.” After a great dinner (provided by a restauranteur and Heartlink member) Host Carolyn Ziel began the 3 minute introductions going around this circle of about 20 women. ” We all need to reach out. Each one of us has a dream to be realized. Being grounded in passion moves us forward” Carolyn said. As we went around the circle, each woman shared their dream and business with a lot of passion and humor.

I was amazed by the variety of expertise; reflexologist, mortgage broker, restauranteur, wealth coach, hand analyst, chiropractor/motivational fitness coach, life coach, executive sales consultant, bodyworker, even a woman who sells nutritional fruit and veggie “gummy bears.” All these women had interesting stories and all were about community and helping each other realize those dreams.

So whether we’re  Facebooking or Facing Each Other,  we need to remember, there is nothing like that real human contact. Afterall, we humans were here long before the internet was born.

You can easily find human contact events in your area by using…guess what? The internet. Go to Meetup.com, join a Facebook group or the other social media site groups.

-Tracy Pattin

These past couple of weeks I’ve been on an event marathon where I actually meet people FACE TO FACE instead of on Facebook! What a concept. Seems these days we’re so connected with Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and all the others that we’re disconnected to real live interaction. We need to have human contact NOW or we’ll forget how!  Here’s the ironic thing; most have been Social Media events ABOUT Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin! (Click here to read about it).

Turns out they’re all very affordable, either free or $10-$20 and filled with lots of handsome, ambitious men! Where do you find these events? For one, on Facebook and other Social Media sites. Just join their “groups” and you’ll be updated on events in your area. And there’s always Meetup.com. (Read Meetup.com Meets Sizzle Chick Adventures).

-Tracy Pattin