Welcome
to Continuing the Conversation – the new official blog of Northern Connection magazine. I am Marianne Reid Anderson, the new
executive editor of the magazine, and I have begun an editorial column called “Starting the Conversation…” In the
editorial, I will start a different topic every month and then encourage you to
write back to me here in this blog or on our Facebook page, where we can
continue the conversation.
In
the first issue, I write about new beginnings and ask for any advice that you
may have when taking on new challenges. For example, a professor of mine use to
begin every class with the Latin phrase “carpe diem” which means “seize the
day”. I have always thought this was very good advice. What do you think?
The thing I
like most about new beginnings is that they can really get a person out of a
rut. In the article on “Being Social inspite of Social Media”, I recommend several ways to stay social, but they
can also offer ways to embrace new beginnings as well. Specifically, I
recommend www.meetup.com. It is a non-dating site. Instead “Meetups are
neighbors
getting together to learn something, do something, share something”. There
are meetups for every interest and hundreds of people that sign up; for
instance, there are meetups of kayakers, golf players, hikers, tennis players,
and just about every other sport you can imagine. There are foreign language
meetups so people can either speak in their native tongue or practice a new
language they are learning. There are book clubs, dining clubs, urban gardeners
clubs and the list goes on and on. One meetup called “Grapenuts: Pittsburgh’s
Wine Tasting Group” has over 1200 members.
Another
website that I recommend in the article is www.livingsocial.com because of
the amazing array of special offers and coupons available to get a person out
and about and possibly trying new things. Current offers include special deals
on spa treatments, dance lessons, excursions to Philadelphia, learning to paint
pottery and even the opportunity to drive a race car, to name only a few. Personally,
I would prefer painting pottery over driving a race car but maybe that’s just
me.
What’s your opinion? Do you have any
recommendations for new beginnings or ways to be social? Let’s continue the
conversation, just type your advice or recommendation in the “Comment” section
below:
