Happy Halloween
October 31, 2006 | Leave a CommentPosted by admin | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
Well happy halloween, friends! Today me and Zoe (my pug) dressed up as angels. Okay, so I didn’t have time to make wings…and Zoe was certainly not into the halo I made for her. So perhaps the average person on the street thought we were just sparkly sprites wearing white after Labor Day and too much body glitter. But I noticed overall that people were nicer to me in my angel costume. One angry cab driver was not going to let me out of my parking spot, but then he noticed my halo and waved me in front of him. How sweet.
Halloween is a fun holiday, and therefore should be celebrated. Life’s too short not to! Therefore me and my two sidekicks/assistants went out to lunch on the main drag in Hoboken in full costume. From L-R: Lori Katz, who was dressed as Elvis. Me, an angel. Tiffany Loertscher, a cowgirl. Today was Tiff’s last official day as my program coordinator. She did such an awesome job holding down the fort through my book tour. Here’s wishing her lots of luck as she pursues some other cool opportunities and then heads back to college. From here out, Lori will be taking over…looking forward to it! (By the way, the pic above was taken by this lady dressed up as a Dutch woman, with the wooden shoes and everything…I guess she thought the tops of our heads were optional.)
Bowling Green University - OH
October 26, 2006 | Leave a CommentPosted by admin | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
Last night I spoke to a fabulous crowd of students at Bowling Green Univeristy in Ohio. Now normally I start out my presentations by telling the crowd how happy I am to be there. But given the day’s events with my brush with the law, I was especially glad to be in Ohio! (close call…) This was my last official stop on the Girls Fight Back book tour, and it couldn’t have been better. There were several hundred people in attendance, and my scary bad guy was awesome. (Dr. Ron, you’re the man!) It was kinda funny for my S.B.G. to be wearing an argyle sweater! But anywho, after the program the Alpha Phi’s had a reception for me at their house. I suggested we all take a picture together…after all, once a sorority girl, always a sorority girl. They made it happen (see above) despite the fact they had 80 sisters there and the room was rather tiny. Thanks so much to all my new Bowling Green friends…you made the conclusion to my book tour truly a memorable experience.
Today I’ll be hopping on a few flights to get back to my hubby and pug in New Jersey. While it’s been a blast being on the road for the past 8 weeks, I’ll be relishing the next 10 days where I won’t have to get on an airplane…
I almost got arrested today
October 25, 2006 | Leave a CommentPosted by admin | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
Well to celebrate the final day of my book tour, I damn near got arrested this morning. Like always, it seems to be my way to really go out with a bang…so here’s the story…
I was told the Williamsport, PA airport was small…but this was ridiculous. To return my Hertz rental car, I parked in the spot that had a “Hertz” sign above it…conveniently located DIRECTLY outside the airport door marked “Ticketing.” I returned the car, and checked into my flight. The ticket agent asked the question that frequent travelers like myself wrestle with daily, “Will you be checking any bags?”
Doh! It’s such a tough question. Check them, and they’re bound to get lost. Today I was connecting through Philadelphia in order to get to Detroit. I was scheduled to do a speaking engagement tonight at Bowling Green State University and I needed my bag. Dressed in my normal travel-hippie attire of baggy jeans, slip on Merrills and a black North Face jacket, clearly I’d need the stuff in my bag before getting up in front of a big crowd of people.
Okay, so the luggage getting lost simply couldn’t happen. The only other alternative was to carry it on, which opens up about ten more cans of worms. In an age where gels, creams and aerosols are just as prohibited as machetes, getting through that metal detector under the watchful eye of TSA isn’t such a snap. Especially in places like Williamsport where they scrutinize each passenger, for no other reason than that THEY ARE BORED. I bet this airport scans 100 people a day, max.
Now let me tell you this: I travel A LOT. I would take a gander at claiming that I’ve traveled to or through most airports in the United States by this point. And while people think the small airports are the easy ones, they’re dead wrong. When you go to a place like Williamsport, get ready to drop your shorts.
Well this was no exception. I attempted to carry on my laptop bag, carry on luggage and my trusty court-sized ziplock bag filled with my dangerous liquids. (a.k.a. shampoo and conditioner) The minute my carry on suitcase got hauled off the belt so it could be re-scanned, I knew problems lie ahead. It goes through a second time, and this time it warranted a thorough inspection by a TSA employee. Let me tell you, nothing makes me squirm like a male TSA employee touching my unmentionables in the public view of all other 14 passengers. Barf bag, please!
As he sifts through my stuff, I realized I made a mistake. I had left my house keys in the luggage, and the attached keychain is a pink mini swiss army knife. Uh oh. He found it and proudly announced to the waiting area that I had attempted to bring a knife on board. Rifling further, he then discovered my kubaton. (a self defense keychain, which is 4 inches in length, metal and not sharp.) That’s when shit really hit the fan, and the TSA dude got on the walkie talkie. That’s never a good sign.
So he calls his boss over who then proclaims the kubaton as banned under the category of martial arts weapon. I explain that I’d been traveling with it for over 4 years and no one has ever taken issue with it. I offered to check the bag instead of carrying it on. He told me it was too late, and that he was calling the police. What?? Are you kidding me? Oh yes, he did. So the cops show up about 10 minutes later, and they’re all taking pictures of my knife and kubaton next to my driver’s license. It’s at this point that I realize I will never again go through airport security without being selected for extra screening. “Way to go, Weed,” I thought to myself. Even after a 20 campus tour, I still manage to whip out my unsavvy traveler ways.
So after they take pictures and record all my personal information into several log books, they stand around deciding what to do with me. Meanwhile I was rehearsing my whole speech of who I am, what I do, where I’m going, why I had a kubaton, etc. I even had an extra copy of my book that I planned to give and even autograph for the officer. I waited for the questions. And waited. And waited. And the next thing that was told to me as the officer handed over my driver’s license and boarding pass was, “Have a nice flight.”
One of my teachers, Rafi Ron, would have shaken his head with disgrace. An Israeli citizen who was Director of Security for the Tel Aviv airport for several decades, he would probably think to himself, “Those silly Americans. They just don’t get it.”
They go through all the trouble to stop the security line to deal with me, do a full bag search, come up with two illegal items, log my information, take pictures of my drivers license, call the cops and then tell me to have a nice flight. Is anyone else noticing a possible helpful piece of protocol here that might actually keep people safer on airplanes? Like, uh, maybe asking me a question or two?
People have all sorts of solutions about air security, but let me tell you this. There are two things we lack: security technology and personal interaction between TSA and passengers. Why are we spending billions of dollars across the globe in a war when we’ve spent nothing to re-vamp security at home? The technology exists..we just need to pay for it. And what’s up with not utilizing one of the best ways to detect sinister intent of violent people…such as using our human intuition? Most people know a creepy person when they meet one…why not actually trust these instincts on a level that can help with national air security?
So after sharing this story with my friend Stacy, she found that Snoop Dogg has had similar experiences recently. Read it here: http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1329696.php
Lycoming College - PA
October 24, 2006 | 1 CommentPosted by admin | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
Today I drove 3.5 hours from New Jersey to Lycoming, PA. It was leaf-peeping at its finest…so pretty! (I took the above pic out my car window.) Tonight I spoke at lovely Lycoming, and what a fantastic crowd. The school only has about 1200 people, so I wasn’t expecting many students to attend. But I’d have to say there were about 60 or so peeps who showed up, so it was quite rad. Thanks so much for coming out ladies. A special thanks to Meg, who set up the kick ass event and to Luke, my exceptional scary bad guy.
October E-Newsletter
October 24, 2006 | Leave a CommentPosted by admin | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
Just sent it out today to my loyal E-newsletter subscribers…
Read it here: http://www.girlsfightback.com/html/enews.html
Clemson University - SC
October 20, 2006 | Leave a CommentPosted by admin | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
Well this week I certainly spent a fair amount of time in the South. Yesterday I flew down to Clemson, South Carolina to speak to a whopping 1100 people! This was a champion of even my biggest and best Britney nights. Here is the auditorium empty:
And now here it is full, with everyone in the room saying, “Stop. Leave me alone. I don’t want any problems.” (And yes, I actually stopped mid program, asked the audience if it was okay if I took a picture and they said yes…hence this photo. What a rock star I am…)
This program was particularly powerful because many women in this audience knew my pain of losing a friend tragically to homicide. My loyal blog readers may remember me writing about Tiffany Sauers last summer. Tiffany was murdered at her off campus apartment at Clemson by a Florida sex offender. It was a random attack. The killer saw her sitting on her porch and just decided she would be his victim. He later broke into her apartment while she was sleeping and killed her. So incredibly senseless and sad. So for this program, there were a lot of teary eyes as I shared Shannon’s story. A big thanks to the event organizer, Eli Kerr, for taking care of logistics and also for being my scary bad guy! See us below.
Toyota Conference - Kentucky
October 17, 2006 | Leave a CommentPosted by admin | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
Sunday evening I flew from New Jersey to Lexington, KY for a two day women’s conference sponsored by Toyota. What a crazy Southern time. The opening speaker was bestselling author Rhonda Rich (”What Southern Women Know That Every Woman Should”), and the lunchtime entertainment program was Wynona Judd. (Pictured above) Not being a country gal myself, I had never been a big Wynona fan. But she was good, and she had a healthy message of loving oneself and taking the time to take care of YOU first. She performed a very cool song called “Peace in This House” that gave me the chills.
I met some really interesting people, and the other speakers at the conference were a total hoot. All my scary bad guys for the events were hilarious. There was Archie, the hotel security guard who physically ran from the room when the program was over. Then there was Kim, a big wig guy over at Toyota, then two other poor souls who got suckered in. Overall, a good time was had by all. A big thanks to Toyota for being so proactive for women. A very impressive comany indeed. I’ll be working on my Southern accent…’till then, see y’all later!
Dulles is a Downer
October 13, 2006 | Leave a CommentPosted by admin | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
Today I was up at 5:30 am to catch a flight to D.C. so I could catch a connecting flight back to New Jersey. Despite it being a toal monsoon in New Orleans, we took off on time, and all was well. Got to Dulles International in D.C. and boarded my connecting flight. Since the flying time was only an hour, I was really psyched to get home and see my hubby and pug. Fast forward 3 and a half hours, and I was STILL sitting on the plane…on the tarmack. Finally we ran out of fuel sitting out there, and had to come back to the gate. I sat there for another hour, and then re-boarded. This time we actually left…and I got home about 6 hours late. But such are the joys of travel…I’m glad to be home for a well-deserved weekend of relaxation. Hopefully I won’t have to connect through D.C. again anytime soon…damn you, Dulles!
Tulane University - New Orleans, LA
October 12, 2006 | Leave a CommentPosted by admin | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
Today I flew from New Jersey to New Orleans. This was a trip I’ve been looking forward to for quite some time, since I have not been to this wonderful city since the hurricane hit. When we were in Chicago a few weeks ago for a wedding, we met the cutest people from New Orleans in the hotel elevator. The gentleman was wearing an all white suit and hat and a cool cane, and put P-Diddy to shame. The old woman was wearing a fancy dress. It was 100% southern style! The little old lady in her cute accent kept saying, “Come to N’Orleans!” So it was good to do just that. The last time I was here was back in college for an Alternative Spring Break trip to work at the Covenant House. This is an organization that’s essentially a halfway house for troubled teens. It serves as both a shelter and also provides life training to give the kids skills to lead a productive life. It was truly an awesome experience.
So it was good to be back, and at the last minute I cancelled my reservation at my hotel near the airport to instead stay at a hotel in the French Quarter. Really what the city needs is for people to come, visit and spend some money! So I did, and it was awesome.
The Tulane program was fantastico. Many of the students I met had some pretty intense fears in regards to their safety, since the crime rate in New Orleans shot up since the destruction of Hurricane Katrina. Anytime there is great economic hardship, the crime stats always reflect that reality and this is no exception. So I taught them some awesome techniques, and focused a lot on taking little proactive strategies like locking doors. (There have been so many robberies lately.) Check out the pic of us above, showing off our fave self-defense moves! Can’t wait to come back and visit my new Louisiana friends…
W Networking
October 11, 2006 | Leave a CommentPosted by admin | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
Yesterday I made the 7 hour drive from Charlottesville, VA back up to New Jersey. While that’s a pretty long drive, I always look at it as a good opportunity to do some real thinking. Today I was all about catching up on my life back at home, including taking a relaxing yoga class and sifting through a whole lotta mail. Tonight I had the opportunity to host a networking event at my Hoboken studio for the W Networking group. It’s a bunch of women who are entrepreneurs in the area, and we gather once a month at someone in the group’s business venue. Tonight they showed up at 6:30, and we enjoyed wine and awesome food. Then I gave an hour talk and interactive demo on some cool ass kickin’ moves. It was wine and whoop-ass indeed! See the gang chillin’ at my studio in the pic above. A big thanks to the organizer, Ellen (far bottom left in the magenta shirt), and the rest of the ladies who came out.
James Madison - Harrisonburg, VA
October 9, 2006 | Leave a CommentPosted by admin | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
Tonight I spoke to a huge crowd at James Madison University. I gave my program called “How to Be a Bad Victim” to a mixed crowd of guys and gals. What a great time it was. I had to speed up the program, since the band Guster was playing after me. Afterwards I posed with a mammoth and supportive chapter of Alpha Phi girls. (See pic above) Thanks so much for coming!
Also during this trip I had the chance to visit with my good author buddy, Shawn Decker. He wrote a book called My Pet Virus, which is his humoristic memoir of growing up with HIV in Virginia. He’s awesome…and as you can see, we’re each other’s biggest fans!
Self Defense 101
October 8, 2006 | Leave a CommentPosted by admin | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
Today we had a one-hour Self Defense 101 seminar at my studio in Hoboken, NJ. It was so great to be back at my home base teaching. As much as I love canvassing the nation, I have to admit, home has been so great all week. Thanks so much to you all who came to our studio today…I hope you can come back soon!
Vanguard - Valley Forge, PA
October 7, 2006 | 1 CommentPosted by admin | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
Well I’m kicking myself for not bringing my camera to the gig of one of my best clients ever…Vanguard! A big thanks to Janine and Allison for putting together the event…and also Allison’s husband Lenny for being my scary bad guy! I have been speaking at Vanguard literally since the first year I was in business, and I just love going back to Valley Forge to say HOLLA! So to all my new friends, I hope your Saturday was full of fun and ass kickin’….
Awesome Au Pairs
October 4, 2006 | 1 CommentPosted by admin | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
Tonight I had my first-ever speaking engagment with a group of interanational au pairs (or nannies) in Colts Neck, NJ. A big thanks to Martha Cowles at Cultural Care for recognizing the need for this demographic to learn how to defend themselves! My scary bad guy for the evening was Humberto, a lovely guy who is an au pair for two teen boys…and a big thanks to Johanna from Sweden who shared her story of being assuaulted with two of her friends in Linden, NJ a few months ago. So often we hear the advice that you should “Never walk alone” but stuff happens all the time to people in groups. No matter what, we must always keep up our intuitive radar and be bad victims!
Almost out of 20’s
October 3, 2006 | 3 CommentsPosted by admin | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
Well this is it…today I am 29 years old. It’s my last year of being a 20-something. Pretty wild. People have been asking me what I plan to do today to celebrate. But frankly, I have no big plans. Right now I’m just thankful for my life and today I plan to take extra time to appreciate it. Whether it’s going for a run with the NYC skyline in the distance, or watching my pug wrestle with other dogs the park, or driving my VW Beetle, or attending my Rotary Club meeting, or enjoying a steak dinner with my husband…I just plan to be grateful.
No Water
October 2, 2006 | 1 CommentPosted by admin | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
So I came to my office for the first time today in over 2 weeks! How I missed it! Tiffany has done an awesome job at holding down the fort in my absense, so thanks girlfriend. I have to say, it was wierd to just get up like a normal person this morning and go to work. I felt like I should have been on some airplanes or at least drive across a few state lines. But alas, I just went to work where I was confronted by the largest mail pile I’ve ever seen. I was also greeted by my water cooler bearing this sign:
All you loyal blog readers know what this means…it’s time for Weed vs. the Water Cooler, Round 3! Video coming soon…