So, remember how I told you guys there’s a lot going on? And that big stuff is happening? Well, everything is starting to finally fall into place.

Here’s a little background: one Sunday this past October, Pastor Benji showed a slideshow of a mission trip that New Hope had taken that Summer to Kiria, Kenya. Kiria is a small village located at the base of the Aberdare Mountains, which is approximately 40 miles northeast of Nairobi and approximately 100 miles south of the equator. New Hope has sort of “adopted” this village and continues to support it financially throughout the year. Just looking at the pictures of the trip and hearing about the relationships that were created, the service work that was done, and just the amazing things that the church was doing, I knew that I wanted to be a part of that.

I have always wanted to go on a service trip. In college I remember trying to get an “alternative Spring Break” mission trip together a couple times, but just couldn’t gather the money and resources to make it happen. I was looking for the right opportunity and the right place to go.

I have a passion for loving on and helping people, learning about and experiencing other cultures, and sharing in my faith. It’s not about going into someone else’s culture and imposing rich American philosophies – it’s about immersing yourself in their culture, learning, listening, and really opening your eyes to something different. It’s also about being there as a resource and helping hand.

So, when I heard that New Hope was going back to the village this Summer, I knew that I was being called to go.

From July 28th – August 6th (that’s THIS SUMMER!) I’ll be going. The deposit is paid, the commitment form is in, and I am going.

What am I going to be doing there? Well, in addition to fellowshipping and doing life with the Kenyans, a majority of our time will be spent digging trenches for water distribution lines, building and repairing roads, constructing a concrete pad for water tanks, building and fixing church and school furniture, assisting in the teaching of school classes, and providing medical services where needed.

Okay, so some of you are probably thinking, “Molly is going on a mission trip? THIS summer?” I could probably come up with a list of reasons why I shouldn’t go (life/work/time/money). There’s a myriad of excuses I could use to not go. However, the truth is, I keep coming back to the one reason why I should and ultimately want to go – God loves people and so do I. Going wasn’t a hard decision. When it comes down to it, Jesus laid out a pretty simple religion for us: Love God, love others, and love ourselves. My point exactly. Deciding to go is easy. Paying for it however, is the real challenge.

To be totally honest, I don’t have $3,500 just sitting in my bank account. So here’s where I do something I never do: I ask for money. I would love it and be so appreciative if you could support my mission trip with a donation. A little, a lot, really anything is helpful.

The other thing you can do to help is to pray. As much as God and the church love mission trips, not everyone else does. And there are definitely going to be challenges along the way. So your thoughts and prayers are really appreciated. If you’d like to know more about the trip, I’d be happy to tell you more about it. Just let me know. I’d love to talk about it.

I will, of course, be blogging about my experiences before and after the trip. I would say that I would be blogging during the trip, but the odds of having a solid and/or reliable internet connection in the small village of Kiria, Kenya are not high.

I’m excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. Thank you guys for everything.

All for now.

 

That’s right. I said it. I’m a LOSER. A loser of WEIGHT, that is.

In getting back to my old blogging habits, I try to write about things that are on my mind, things that I’m working on, things that I’m going through at this particular moment, etc… because A) It helps me to organize my thoughts, B) If I’m struggling with something, it helps me to work through it, and C) There’s a part of me that hopes someone else who just so happens to come across this little blog can identify with whatever I’m writing about and learn something / gain something / or even add their own two cents in the comments.

before the Shamrock N' Run 5K in Feb. 2011

My weight has always been something that I have struggled with and been self-conscious about. Do I think I’m fat? No. Do I wish I were a size 6? Yes. I’m short, I have wide hips, and those (infamous?) genetic “Buckley Buns”. I have been a size 10 since high school – again, it’s those darned hips of mine. I digress.

Over the last few years, I’ve found myself in this new era of “Molly wanting to get healthy and exercise.” I was never a runner – in fact, I was a terrible runner, sort of still am. But I set out to become a runner, and I’ve half-way accomplished that. I ran the Tar Heel 10-miler for my first race, the New Jersey Long Branch Half-Marathon, and a couple of 5Ks posting relatively okay times. I’m not ever going to be the speediest, but trust me, if I can run, so can you. I’m signed up to run the Tar Heel 10-miler again this year, but right now a bit of a knee injury is standing in my way. GAH. Again, I digress.

I started running to accomplish a goal, but mostly I hoped that running would help me shed those pounds I have so desperately wanted to lose. There was a point last year in which I was running 20-30 miles a week, yet I wasn’t losing weight. I was feeling better, but I hated what the scale said. Then I got injured and stopped running. Working at a desk all day doesn’t really allow for much exercise and frankly, I hate scales, so I stopped weighing myself. To be completely honest, I noticed I had gained weight, but didn’t think much of it.

Then I received my wake-up call. I was hanging out at my friend Laura’s house one night right after the 1st of the year. Went to the bathroom and noticed she had a scale in her bathroom – so I thought, hmm, I wonder… I got on the scale and saw a number I never in a million years would have thought I would see. [Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not going to tell you what that number was. It was that bad.]

I immediately knew that I had to get my act together.

Rejoined the YMCA the next day and re-evaluated my situation. Where had I gone wrong? What could I do to fix this? This needs to be a lifestyle change, not some fad-New-Years-Resolution.

Since then, I have been working out 6, sometimes 7 days a week, I quit drinking Diet Coke (which is HUGE for me, if you know me at all), and stopped eating after 8pm (with a few exceptions here or there). I’m not on a “diet.” I’m simply more aware of what I’m putting into my body. Since January, I have lost 16.2 pounds total. I had actually lost closer to 17/18 but I’ve hit that dreaded plateau period right now. I still have at least another 10-15 pounds to go to get to a place I’d be comfortable with, but I’d really like to lose another 15-20.

I have a couple things to thank for my progress so far. One, my BF . He’s such a workout fiend that it’s been nice to have him to motivate me to go to the gym. On days he doesn’t want to go to the gym, I do, so I make him. On days I don’t want to go to the gym, he does, so he makes me. We don’t really workout together, but to have someone else there to keep you honest really helps. I can’t emphasize that enough.

This is my calorie intake for the last week.

The other is LoseIt.com. I actually had discovered the iPhone App FIRST before I discovered the website. I can’t speak highly enough about it. It’s a FREE app, and 100% worth it. Don’t worry, if you don’t have an iPhone, you can sign up for free on their website, too. I’ll be honest, it takes a few days of getting into the habit of using it, but once you get comfortable, that’s exactly what it becomes: habit. Basically it’s a place to fill in all of your “vitals” and set up your goals and weight loss plan – it then gives you the tools and resources you need. You log all of your food and exercise and it calculates your daily calories. It even has restaurants and supermarket food loaded in there for you to search – and yes, it even has Chipotle. You’d be surprised as to how many calories some things are.

I haven’t stopped eating things I love, I’ve just learned that it’s all about balance and moderation. Plus, I get a free pass with fruits and veggies – those calories don’t count. I mean, who ever got fat from eating too many tomatoes or too many celery sticks? NO ONE. Anywho, If I go over my calorie intake one day, then I make sure I’m under the next. (It also factors in your exercise as negative calories).

The LoseIt.com website also has message boards / forums where you can make friends and get advice on recipes, exercises, and general weight loss. The people on there are super supportive and really help you along the way.

I know, I’ve entered my own nerdy weight loss world, but it’s okay. This is the exact type of thing someone like myself needs. OH, and you can even set up motivators to remind yourself throughout the day to log your food.

Anyway, I share all of this extremely personal stuff because I know that this isn’t something only I struggle with. I’m really not in this for the temporary, drop 10 pounds gain back 30 deal… I really want to finally achieve that goal I have so longed for. I’ve accepted that I’m never going to be a size 6 and look like Heidi Klum, but I know that I can feel better about the way that I look.

I will be blogging periodically about my progress – mainly for the purposes of keeping myself honest. But will you guys help to keep me honest? I do have to say, seeing that line go down makes me very happy…

my LoseIt.com weight chart where I can track my progress

Also, if any of you out there have gone through / are going through / thinking about going through something similar, I’d love some advice. I’d love to hear your struggles, challenges, and triumphs. Share your stories. Share your tips.

Love you guys.

All for now.

GET WORDY, y’all. This is a new segment of my blog (hooray for new segments!). Since I was an English major in college and I taught high school English for two years, I love vocabulary. In school, I looked forward to making a gazillion vocab flashcards. Honestly, I LOVE words. So, I’ve decided to call this segment GET WORDY where I feature a word of the day/week/month/year that I am currently using, want to start using, or have made up. Yes, I like to make up words, too. I’m an improviser, making stuff up is what I do.

Today’s Word: Brobdingnagian

THIS is a brobdingnagian cow. For reals.

Main Entry: Brob·ding·nag·ian
Pronunciation: \ˌbräb-diŋ-ˈna-gē-ən, -dig-ˈna-\ [brah-b-din-nag-ian]
Function: adjective
Etymology: Brobdingnag, imaginary land of giants in Gulliver’s Travels, by Jonathan Swift
Date: 1728
1 : marked by tremendous size
— Brobdingnagian noun

This is such a fun word. I wish it were easier to say or else I would use it all the time. As you can see in the etymology of the word, it actually came from the mythical land of Brobdingnag – or the land of giants in Gulliver’s Travels. Wikipedia actually sums it up better than I can:

Brobdingnag is a fictional land in Jonathan Swift‘s satirical novel Gulliver’s Travels occupied by giants. Lemuel Gulliver visits the land after the ship on which he is travelling is blown off course and he is separated from a party exploring the unknown land. More plot details can be found under A Voyage to Brobdingnag. The adjective Brobdingnagian has come to describe anything of colossal size.

Say it with me: BRAH-B-DIG-NAG-IAN. Brobdingnagian. Say THAT three times fast. Although it may be a tough word to say, it’s definition is fairly simple. It can be used to describe ANYTHING that is large, enormous, humungous, or of colossal size.

I remember reading Gulliver’s Travels in high school and the word brobdingnag being probably the only thing I enjoyed and/or learned from that book. (I went back and read Swift’s tale when I was older and appreciated the story a lot more, but for some reason was NOT a fan when I was in high school). And there was a span of time in which I tried to use the word brobdingnagian in a sentence a lot and people judged me. Well, that time is no more. I want to bring it back and bring it in to every day vocabulary and writing. WHO’S WITH ME?

I mean, for example, let’s use it in a sentence:

• One day, I hope to have a brobdingnagian bank account. [AM I RIGHT?!]
• That brobdingnagian building sure looks poorly constructed.
• I remember before I lost all that weight, I was brobdingnagian.
• The size of this Chipotle burrito is brobdingnagian. YUM!

See how versatile of a word it is?

Can YOU come up with a creative sentence to use the word brobdingnagian in? Try me!

Word. Literally.

photo credit: the current affairs

I was at the Wootini Gallery Holiday Show opening on Friday night and was doing a healthy combination of working and schmoozing. I was talking with one of the artists, David Lanham (@dlanham), an artist I had actually interviewed a couple weeks ago. As we got to talking he showed me his newest work… and I geeked out.

David is the designer and mastermind behind OLLIE the Twitterrific bird/mascot. He works for Iconfactory in Greensboro, NC and they have developed a vinyl figure of Ollie. Ollie hasn’t been released yet, but he will be soon. I’m going to try and get some and hook you guys up. Because Ollie is SAWEEET. He was even featured as a great holiday gift for techies on @Mashable!

Admittedly, getting so excited about meeting David and seeing Ollie in person was TOTALLY my geek moment of the week… and maybe the year. But I’m not ashamed. It is totally fine to have those little things you geek out over. Right?! Right.

I want to know: What do YOU geek out over? It can be totally silly or totally serious. I don’t judge.

Word.

Me with Ollie the bird.

David Lanham with both versions of Ollie!

Some of you know that I write for a local news parody, Weekend Update style, show called DSI Witness News. In addition to writing for our own live shows at the DSI Comedy Theater, we write for a daily segment on a local station, WCHL 1360AM (every morning at 8:20AM and again at 5:55PM).

Well, some of you have probably seen these crazy Facebook phishing scams and viruses going around. “Test your IQ,” ‘I found pics of you,” and the newest, “Your friend’s booty looks GRRRREAT in the video.” Well, the booty virus hit local politicians and we were lucky enough to have THE Mayor of Carrboro himself, Mark Chilton, join us for a HILARIOUS episode on Tuesday.

(Click here if you can’t see the video. And click here if you want just the audio.)

Hilarious, right? Ahhh gotta love elected officials on Facebook. Thanks, Mayor Chilton for being awesome.

Question: Do YOU have a booty virus?

Word.

Considering this video has over 7.5 million views on YouTube, most of you have probably already seen it. However, I wanted to share it anyway because I think it’s incredible. It is really humbling to think how small we are in the scheme of things. It puts things in perspective.

DISCLAIMER: AND it was researched and remixed by a good friend of mine and hilarious improviser, Jeff Brenman of Apollo Ideas.

What do YOU think?

Word.

This week seems to be sending me inspiration left and right. First my small talk post, now this week’s tip of the week! I was reading Chris Brogan’s blog (say THAT 3x fast) the other day, and he had a great post about the questions that we should ask ourselves and our business – especially with regards to social media.

As usual, his post brought up some great points and I got to thinking about each question and the impact it had on my business. (I’m not going to regurgitate all 7 questions here, you can check out his post by clicking this link).

Then I realized a question was missing. It got me thinking and here is the question I have posed:

When it comes to our practices, whether those be business, branding, or marketing, how are we differentiating ourselves from the pack? In essence, what makes US unique?

I know not all of you own your own business, plan to own your own business, or are even passionate about being an entrepreneur, but my point is that this theory can be applied to any of us, no matter our role. We are all, in and of ourselves, our own “business.” Our personal brand is our business. How we market ourselves, how we represent our brand, and how the world sees us, are all part of our overall “business plan.”

But in this day and age, it is easy to get lost in mix and mass of content out there. For example, when looking for a job, how do YOU make yourself stand out above the other hundred-or-so applicants? Or if you’re a business, how do you make your business stand out against your competitors?

The short answer is to find that unique angle or perspective that differentiates you from the pack.

The long answer is, unfortunately, that can sometimes be difficult.

For me, it has been a challenge. I am passionate about social media and marketing, but so are a gazillion other people out there. So how do I make my brand different than the rest? I don’t want to be better than anyone, but I do want to stand out and I want people to know my name.

My other passion, comedy, was something I thought for a long time that I had to keep separate from my social media brand. Then it dawned on me: Why do I need to separate the two? They are both part of me. Why not combine them? Which is where I came up with the idea of THE Molly Buckley – where I put the MEDIA in comedian.

I am who I am and I’m going to own it. THAT makes me different. THAT makes me unique.

So, my tip this week – is to find out what makes YOUR brand unique. From what angle do you approach your business so that you can stand out from the crowd? What makes your business special?

Find that niche and OWN it. Be the rockstar you know you are. What do YOU think?

If you can’t see the video, click here.

Word.

[This post is all about the using the philosophy of improv to enhance small talk and social media interactions.]

PREFACE: My dear friend, margarita drinker, olive lover, and Punk Rock HR-blogger-rockstar, Laurie Ruettimann, wrote about this topic a week-or-so ago. Her post, entitled: “F@%k It Friday: Weather & Small Talk,” in short, is about how the weather unites us all — we can all create small talk by bonding over the weather. No matter where you are, you can talk about the weather. Laurie posed this series of thoughts/questions:

Do we have one universal ice breaker that works in all countries, cultures, and regions? Is it weather? Can we replace it? Should we replace it? What would we replace it with?

And of course, I got to thinking. So, I decided to write a post about this whole idea, but connect it to the things I know and love: IMPROV & SOCIAL MEDIA. Yes.

[All of these statements are going to be made with regards to the general public. So if you live in a small town or you're a stay at home parent or whathaveyou, I'm sorry, I'm just trying to make a point ]

Unless you’re a hobbit or a hermit, you are interacting with dozens, if not sometimes, hundreds of people on a day to day basis. And I guarantee, at least HALF of those people are either mere acquaintances or complete strangers. Well, the days of don’t talk to strangers are behind us in a high-tech world. Most people are strangers to us. And of course, even our now-friends were once strangers to us. So, if we don’t talk to strangers, how are we ever going to make connections? Now, that doesn’t mean run off and start talking to creepos… use your judgement, people.

Now, the harsh truth is, that 9 times out of 10, most of us are somewhat challenged in the small-talk-and-make-simple-conversation-with-someone-we-don’t-know department. Therefore, we go to the default topics, such as the aforementioned weather, or “Hey, how are you?” I think both of those topics are fake, surface, jibber-jabber, nonsense that is superficial and just ends up being a big ol’ pile of B.S.

[BTW: For the most part, I really don't enjoy asking people how they are. Let's be honest, most of us aren't going to give an honest answer. Now, I like to mess with people that I don't know, so sometimes if someone asks me how I am, I'll give a crazy answer like, "Ahhh you know, feeling a little shmackity doo in a diddy land." People immediately leave me alone. And then I regret my decision.]

But going back to Laurie’s question, should we break the “universal” ice breaker? Should we replace it?

In my humble opinion, the short answer is, YES. Now the long answer is, YES. My explanation of WHY is TWO FOLD.

There are two things I am passionate about: Improv Comedy & Social Media. In BOTH of those fields, I am constantly engaging with people in my “community” – whatever community that is at the time – whether it be on stage or on the web. Either way, I have to engage, make small talk, connect with, and relate to people I’ve know for 10 years, 10 months, 10 weeks, 10 days, or 10 minutes. It doesn’t matter.

Especially in the world of social media, we are ALL trying to engage with our community. And the vast majority of the people in our community, we have never met. Yet, if I were to only make “small talk” about the weather or how I’m doing in my social media or improv community, I would be seen as a “me-monster” (someone who only talks/cares about themselves) and I wouldn’t last 24 hours.

SO here’s MY question:

“How do we engage people in our respective communities without being superficial?”

In the art of improvisation, which I love so much, our primary philosophy that we live by is this philosophy of, “Yes, and…” meaning YES (agree to everything), AND build upon that agreement by adding new information, a detail, a feeling, or a consequence. When we are on stage improvising a scene, you must be in agreement and on the same page with your scene partner at all times or else the scene will fail.

For example, if you were to hand me an imaginary cat and say, “Hey Molly, I fed your cat for you.” And if I were to respond with, “What?! That’s not a cat, that’s a jar of peanut butter.” Well, then our scene has failed because I denied your offer. I did not YES, AND, if you will.

One of the best ways that I learned to really take the notion of YES, AND… to heart was to incorporate these key elements, in this order:

LISTEN. CONNECT. REACT. RESPOND.

LISTEN to what your scene partner (or the person in question) has to say.

CONNECT with your scene partner (or the person in question) on a personal level. Establish a relationship. Who are you to each other?

REACT to what they have said and how your relationship or the connection is affected by this.

RESPOND by building on that new information with something of value.

Now, of course, this all seems a little complicated and a little “much” for a way of coping with small talk. BUT, now hear me out, by thinking about these simple ideas, we can use the lessons we’ve learned to avoid the plague of endless, superficial small talk. Hey, at least it will make networking events a whole lot more fun.

People are interesting. Talk to someone you don’t know, strike up a conversation about something completely unrelated to the weather, or the event you’re attending, or the gum you’re going to buy while waiting in line, find out something about them – and be genuine. People appreciate a genuine conversation and people loooove to talk about themselves. We have so much to learn from each other that we shouldn’t waste valuable learning time by talking about the fluctuating barometer levels.

And what I love is to also apply these same philosophies and ideas from improv to my interactions online. Social media and community building is all about the give and take – the yes, and. It is all about the listening, the connecting, the reacting, and the responding. If we have too much of one thing, we won’t last very long.

Tell me, what do YOU guys think? Do you think these simple ideas could help connect with people in a new way rather than the traditional, “SOME WEATHER WE’RE HAVING” way?

Word.

GET WORDY, y’all. This is a new segment of my blog (hooray for new segments!). Since I was an English major in college and I taught high school English for two years, I love vocabulary. In school, I looked forward to making a gazillion vocab flashcards. Honestly, I LOVE words. So, I’ve decided to call this segment GET WORDY where I feature a word of the day/week/month/year that I am currently using, want to start using, or have made up. Yes, I like to make up words, too. I’m an improviser, making stuff up is what I do.

Today’s Word: Aforementioned

She's pointing to the aforementioned dude over there.

Main Entry: afore·men·tioned
Pronunciation: \-ˈmen(t)-shənd\
Function: adjective
Date: 1587
A : mentioned previously

I love this word. I LOVE the word aforementioned. I’m a dork and I try to use this word as often as humanly possible – or wherever I can feasibly fit the word into a sentence. Why? Because I feel like this word makes you seem a whole lot smarter than you really are. No, no, no, I’m not saying that you aren’t already smart. What I AM saying is not a lot of people throw the word “Aforementioned” around… and if you were to toss it out in an unexpected scenario, people might say, “Man, that guy/girl/thing is S-M-A-R-T.”

So it means mentioned previously. But what does THAT mean? Well in this case I would be referring to the AFOREMENTIONED definition of the word – meaning that I am mentioning the previously mentioned mention of the definition of the word.

Oh no, I’ve gone cross-eyed.

I don’t want to confuse you. I don’t think that I have, but in the off chance that I have, I am sorry.

So, use the word in a sentence today. As soon as you go to reference something previously talked about in the conversation, be sure to refer to it as the AFOREMENTIONED topic.

Ahhhh that’s nice.

Leave me a comment referencing something I already said. I want you to wow me.

Word.

Today is Veteran’s Day. This day is really important to me… I’ll tell you why.

In lieu of a Social Media tip this week, I have more of a life tip. I promise, my story has a point.

Lynda Van Devanter Buckley, 1947-2002.

My mom, Lynda Van Devanter, served as an Army nurse in the Vietnam War from 1969-1970. She left for war a young, naive, girl ready to serve her country. What she would see and experience would change her forever. The horrors of war affected her beyond her comprehension. She came home a very different woman.

For many years, she shut herself away afraid of facing the reality of her time in Vietnam. She was terrorized by nightmares, flashbacks, and couldn’t even watch fireworks for the longest time. She was haunted. Eventually, she channelled her emotions, her fears, and her anger into an incredibly honest, brutal, and life-changing memoir called Home Before Morning. One of the only war memoirs written from the perspective of a woman. After publishing her memoir, my mother continued to face challenges.

Many veterans, especially women veterans, were denied the support they needed and shunned by many members of society. She was spit on, called a baby killer, and ridiculed. Yet, despite the harsh criticism she received, she continued to fight for the rights of women veterans.

Suddenly in the fall of 1993, she became extremely ill due to her exposure to Agent Orange while in Vietnam. Essentially, her immune system was waiting for something to take it over. For ten years, she fought a disease that didn’t have a name, didn’t have an explanation, and didn’t have a cure – this battle went on about nine years longer than doctors had expected. Even through the toughest of times, she continued to speak about her experiences and lobby on behalf of women veterans. She was a revolutionary woman. She passed away November 15, 2002.

I learned everything I know from my mom. No matter what life threw at her, my mom always stayed positive, worked hard, and stood up for what she knew was right – even if it wasn’t the most popular stance. She was incredibly selfless, incredibly humble, and a brilliant woman. She left a lasting legacy and impacted thousands of people – many whom she never even met.

She was a hero and the person I have admired most in the world. I live my life every day with the hopes that I can live up to her legacy and hope to lead a life like hers.

I want to make a difference. I want to make an impact.

Is there someone in your life that you look up to or admire? Take them out to lunch, dinner, coffee, or even send them a note. Thank them. Tell them why they’ve made an impact on your life.

I may not have served in the military, gone to war, or saved lives – but I have goals and I have vision. I get the most joy out of helping others and making people laugh, and I hope that I will be able to make an impact in some way doing what I love.

In addition, because it’s Veteran’s Day – if you know a Veteran or have someone in your life who has served in the military, Thank them. Tell them you are grateful for their service. Many of us would not be here today if it were not for their bravery.

I want to thank you for taking the time to read my mom’s story and listen to my thoughts today. I tend to get very reflective at this time of year.

I want to hear Your thoughts. Who in your life has left a legacy and made a lasting impact on you? Is there any mantra/motto/thought that you live by? Tell me your story.

Happy Veteran’s Day.

Word.