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Yesterday I was on an early flight to Boston for my final college speaking engagement of the Spring Tour. Oh, the fun it has been these past few months! Yesterday’s flight was quite special, because my good friend Ross Szabo gifted me Premiere status on United Airlines. Seriously, there is no better gift for someone like me. I heart Ross. In exchange, I promised him my first born child. So I basked in those extra five inches of leg room for the entire duration of the flight. The only tough thing about flying West towards East, is the fact that you lose a few hours somewhere at 35,000 feet. So by the time I landed, it was already 3pm and I had to be in Durham, NH (about 1.5 hours from Boston) by 6. Drove like a maniac to get there in time, but hey, it’s Boston so I fit right in with all the other psycho drivers! I spoke at UNH, and it was a STRONG crowd…as you can see from our picture displaying some hot bicep action. Overall, a great program. An extra thanks to the event organizer Lauren, along with my new Alpha Phi friends.

Last night I was about to go to bed, when we noticed that a documentary I’ve been meaning to watch was on.  It’s called “Rape in the Congo” and was created by Lisa Jackson.  Lisa is also a survivor of rape, and bravely went into dangerous areas to cover the very real, and absolutely horrific realities of rape as a tool of war in the Congo.  All I can say is you gotta watch this…learn more at the HBO site.

The lease for my Volkswagen Beetle convertible is expiring this summer, and I’m wondering what car I should buy next. I love this car, and her name is Black Mamba. (A Kill Bill reference) As much fun as it is, I’ve totally boarded the earth huggin’ Eco-Train, so I’m hoping to get a car that is fuel efficient. (Besides, who can afford NOT to anymore?) I’m wondering if there are any car-savvy folks reading this blog who might have some suggestions. I’m intrigued by the Prius, but a few months ago I got one as a rental car and couldn’t figure out how to turn it on. Granted, I was very sleep deprived, and it was actually easier to ask for a new car than to figure it out. Normally I would refuse to give in, based on principle alone…but again, momma was tired. I’m open to trying again though. What other affordable, earth friendly cars are good buys? And I also live in Colorado, so it has to have some power. Thoughts?

In her 50th career IndyCar start, Danica Patrick became the first female winner in IndyCar history this weekend, winning the Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, northeast of Tokyo.  As women, we need to boost each other up and celebrate every great victory!  So hooray for Danica, for crackin’ the glass ceiling just a little bit more.

So lately I have been thinking a lot about getting a tattoo of G.G. (short for Green Girl, and the Girls Fight Back logo) somewhere on my body.  I have no other tattoos, and I’ve never really been the kind of girl that’s into getting a butterfly or unicorn on my ankle just beacuse it’s cute.  If I’m going to permanently ink something onto my body, I want it to mean something.  This June marks 7 years since Shannon’s murder, and also what would have been Shannon’s 28th birthday.  So I was thinking this could be a good time to do it.  I was wondering if any of my loyal blog readers have any experience with tattoos…where to get them, where on your body are ideal spots, etc.  I’m a newbie, so school me!

Written by an awesome young woman who attended my program at University of Texas…click here to read it.

As you know, I tend to be a pretty daily devotee to my bloggy-blog. But honestly, I’ve had to walk away for awhile, so I’m sorry to hold out on you. I’ll likely back-post about the cool schools I’ve spoken at since my last post, just so they feel the love. But I also want to explain why it is that every April I tend to check out. See, my life is really weird. Between mid-February and early May my daily existence goes something like this. Wake up at 4am, catch 6am flight somewhere, connect in some big airport to get to a smaller airport, arrive at airport closest to where I’m speaking, drive up to 3 hours to some college in bumblechuck, check into hotel, return a few emails, eat free oreos that most Hampton Inns provide, jump in the shower, try to primp and look like I haven’t been awake since 4am, drive to the venue for event set-up and then go on stage and give a 90 minute seminar. I usually get back to the hotel around 11pm, and then do the same thing all over the next day. And this bizarre daily schedule continues for about 3 months in the spring and 3 months in the Fall. So towards the end, I’m totally in the zone…but I also get a little over-exposed. In years past when I was still un-wise, I just kept pushing and thinking that I’d rest come summer. But now I’m 30, and that makes me wiser than a Buddha (not) and I have realized the need for balance…and sometimes the need to hide or hibernate from the world for a few days. Sadly, that means my loyal blog readers are denied. But don’t worry, I come back.  Especially now that I’m all rested after spending the weekend cleaning my house and gardening.  I was definitely having one of those “Holy shit! I’ve become my mother!” realizations the past few days.  Frightening. So there it is…I just wanted to explain my absence.  Sorry teacher, I hope you can understand!

Today I did an afternoon program for the students at University of Utah.  This is my second trip to the campus, and they are always quite enthusiastic to learn to kick ass.  When I arrived in Salt Lake last night, I proceeded to get my rental car.  It turned out to be the most ginormous automobile ever created.  Keep in mind, I drive a VW Beetle, so I’m not a big car person.  But it was late and Hertz was out of cars, so me and the Ford Expedition were on our way.  I could have hit a sasquatch and not realized it.  Anyway, the seminar went very well but afterwards I got a call saying my hubby was in the hospital with kidney stones!  So I rushed to the airport and was on the next flight home.  Am home now, hoping for a smooth passing…

Today I had some free time before catching an evening flight to Salt Lake City, so I decided to go to The Alamo. For those of you who slept through history class, read all about this battle for independence at Wikipedia. It was cool just to be in a place that has so much history, and such a crazy battle was fought. I’ve always wanted to go there for some reason, and it was good to cross it off the list. In addition to my history lesson for the day, I also bought this sweet cowboy hat…but only hours later I would leave it on my connecting flight to Utah. Sad.

Tonight I got to visit one of my favorite Girls Fight Back supporters, Kelsey Bratcher, at U of Texas.  It was a pretty cool time to be on campus, because the Final Four basketball tournament was taking place there.  Anyway, I spoke to a packed room of women, and let out a good ol’ yee haw!  (I always do this when speaking in Texas – I bet it’s pretty annoying to the natives.)  In attendance were some pretty awesome campus security officers, who do safety programming all year round for the students.  Impressive!  The crowd was really great, and they laughed at all my jokes. (this is rare) After the seminar Kelsey held a pretty cool raffle, and nearly everyone left with some GFB booty.  Me and my homegirl posed by the fun sign they made.  I have to say, it’s a little odd to go to a school you’ve never stepped foot in, and to see your own mug on posters everywhere.  So when this happens, I always pose for a pic with myself.  Doesn’t get much more egotistic than that, huh?   Taking pictures with pictures of yourself?  My homeboy Eckhart Tolle would be shaking his head right now…

Today was good times up in lovely Greeley.  I was asked to be one of the featured speakers for the annual regional conference for BACCHUS.  The people who attend are peer educators on their campuses around the region, and they educate fellow students on the dangers of alcohol, drugs, sex and violence…just to name a few.  I gave a quick 45-minute version of the “How to be a Bad Victim” program to some awesome college students.   See me sneaking up on one of my new friends from this conference, while nibbling on a cookie.  Everyone who attended got a free autographed book from me.  Gotta love free booty when you’re a college student!

A good friend recently introduced me to a woman that I refer to as my spiritual guide.  She is able to see those who have died, and can tap into what she calls “the light” or “the truth.”  Now I’ve never really been one to WANT to know certain things.  I guess it was my religious upbringing that made me believe that talking to people like this was bad on some level.  But she shared something with me that I have found to be rather profound.  She told me that Shannon and I were sisters in a past life, and that she and I made a karmic agreement that in this life we would start an organization that would empower women.   Now, I find it a little disturbing that essentially my life was planned out before I was even born…and I’m still not sure I can believe it. But that’s what my Guide says…that everything that has happened is playing out exactly as planned.  Kinda makes us all question how in control we really are…and that maybe the old cliché of “everything happens for a reason” actually might have some merit to it.  I used to want to punch people in the face who said that.  I mean, what a cop-out!  But maybe, just maybe, the earth is spinning the way it was intended.  And all of us are playing our little parts…

Yesterday was a full travel day, and it started with United cancelling my flight from Denver to Chicago.  Oh, the joys of mass flight cancellations for airplane repairs!  The airport was riddled with pissed off people, and while I understand their frustration, do you really want to fly on a plane without the latest inspections?  I’ll take a cancelled flight over a falling, burning death any day…so oh well.  I was re-routed on a flight to Washington DC and then on to Manchester, New Hampshire.  After landing in Manchester I drove 2 hours to western Massachusetts to speak at a boarding school called Deerfield Academy.  So today I spoke to all the junior and senior girls, and we had an absolute blast.  It was my first time speaking at a boarding school, and they were a pretty tight-knit group of young ladies.  I tossed around their Dean on stage, which is always good times.  And in the audience I had a very special guest:  Anne Kuzminsky from the National Women’s Martial Arts Federation!  She lives in Rhode Island, so she came out to see me speak.  I love when I’m able to do a seminar, and then hook up a school with a local self-defense instructor so that they can schedule more intensive trainings with the girls…that’s success.

In the aftermath of such violent rampages that took place at Virginia Tech and more recently, Northern Illinois University, it’s left many people wondering if prevention truly is possible.  I believe it is, by coming together as a campus community to form a Threat Assessment Team.  The reality of most violent confrontations is that there are warning signs.  Many of these signs are not visible to the general public, but they are there, and a qualified team can jump on any potential threats if they are properly tracking them.  To read about ways we can prevent future homicide sprees from taking place on college campuses, read this excellent article from SecurityManagement.com.  Two of my mentors are interviewed:  Bob Martin & Gene Deisinger.  Nice work, guys!  Read the article.

Women’s personal safety and self-defense organization seeks an incredible intern. Ideal candidates possess excellent communication ability (both written and verbal) and are extremely detail oriented. Must be Internet savvy and have an interest in women’s issues. Ideal position for a college student pursuing a career in education, business, marketing or communications. Internship may lead to future career opportunities.  Intern will work from our office in Colorado – no relocation assistance provided.

Duties include:
*Answer phones and general e-mail inquiries
*Assist with order fulfillment for our online store
*Follow-up calls to past clients to collect feedback & payment
*Make travel arrangements
*Assist with special events, street fairs, etc.
*Manage social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook
*Assist with the monthly e-newsletter and other internet marketing initiatives
*Internet research projects on a wide variety of topics
*Administrative tasks & errands as needed

Details:
*20 hours per week
*Monday thru Friday from 12:30 – 4:30pm
*Position available immediately
*Apply for this position via Craig’s List by clicking here.