Tony Blauer
May 16, 2008 | Leave a CommentPosted by Erin Weed | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
Many people ask me, “What is the best kind of self-defense training?” Really, there is a lot of good stuff out there, and it’s sad how much of the self-defense industry just hates on each other. I mean, shouldn’t we all be suporting each other? Aren’t we all working towards the same goal to end violence and teach people to fight back? Anyways, the training I most enjoy is the real-world, studied, proven and tested methods of how a real fight or attack goes down. Martial arts is cool and a good work-out, but I’ve always preferred the grittier stuff like Krav Maga or IMPACT courses with the Bullet Man suits. There’s a lot of material out there which looks cool and seems to make sense for use in a violent confrontation. But add in some adrenaline, fear and all the physiological things that happen in a human body in these situations, and you have a whole other ball game. Through my mentor Bob Martin at Gavin de Becker and Associates, I was introduced to my friend Tony Blauer. In my opinion, he’s one of the best minds and fighters in the self-defense industry. He’s having a training camp in Virginia Beach, VA this August and I will be there. Any of my GFB peeps interested in joining me for a weekend o’ whoop-ass? Click here to read about the camp, and click here to read about Tony’s approach and philosophy. Holla at me if you’re interested in learning more.
A good quote
May 15, 2008 | Leave a CommentPosted by Erin Weed | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
I have been very blessed with a business mentor/coach named Greg Walker. Today we met, and discussed all the awesome things happening with this crusade to educate women about personal safety and self-defense. For anyone who knows me, I pretty much live this mission and live this work. As a result of this, I tend to stress out and feel an unnecessary weight on my shoulders. Sometimes I can get a little caught up in the process and to-do lists of how we will achieve the ultimate vision: That every woman on the planet has access to safety & self-defense education. Yesterday Greg said to me, “Set an intention, and you’ll get results. Stop being so hung up on the mechanism to get there.” It kind of reminds me of yoga class, where you set an intention before starting any poses. If you set a real good intention, something that inspires or drives you, this dedication of sorts helps you push through the struggle. What’s your today?
Birthday in Iraq
May 14, 2008 | Leave a CommentPosted by Erin Weed | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
Today is a special day, because it’s my little brother’s birthday. OK, so he’s not so little…he’s 27. But whatev, he’ll always be little to me. Seems like yesterday I was sticking his head in the toilet and giving him a swirly. Now he’s a Marine, serving in Iraq since January. My guess is that he’s kickin’ some arse over there, and doing his job well. So I just wanted to send a public shout-out to Andrew: Thanks for all you’re doing, little brother! Much love comin’ at you from all your supporters in the U.S.
Sue Simmons
May 13, 2008 | Leave a CommentPosted by Erin Weed | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
So yesterday Sue Simmons, anchor of the New York City NBC news, totally dropped the F*bomb live on the air. This was pretty much my worst fear when I was live on the air with my radio show. Most people don’t realize this, but the talent (Sue) and the station (NBC) will likely get crazy fines for this. Not to mention, this is grade-A reason to get canned from live television. Man, she really dropped the bomb like she knew how to use it! I wonder what Chuck Scarborough was doing to make her react like that.
The Power of Now
May 12, 2008 | 1 CommentPosted by Erin Weed | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
My friend Nancy Colasurdo turned me on to the book A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle a few months ago. I bought it at some airport, and tried to read it without much success. At the time it was too heavy and spiritual - neither of which fit in to my mindset as a tough business traveler, forging her way around 30 cities in less than 3 months. Sorry, but spiritual enlightenment would have to wait. But now that I’m back home and starting to relax a bit, I picked up the book again…and this time it really spoke to me. I finished the book while chillin’ in Atlanta this past weekend, and now I’ve begun Eckhart’s other work called The Power of Now. I’ll be writing more posts about these books in the near future, so I just wanted to warn you. Weed is gettin’ Zen, so watch out.
Cinco de Mayo
May 6, 2008 | 1 CommentPosted by Erin Weed | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog, Just Life
You know what I love? Unexpected randomness! Yesterday I started getting a taste for a margarita in celebration of Mexican independence, and I made some calls to my fellow degenerates. Next thing I know, the blender is out, tacos are being made and twenty people are at my house rockin’ it out sombrero style. We even made a campfire in the back yard, and for dessert we had something crazy authentic for the occasion: brownies. Who cares? Good people, good times…and we were also celebrating the official end to my Spring ‘08 Tour. A reflection blog to come shortly, but for now I can just say “muy bueno.”
Eastern Illinois Graduation
May 5, 2008 | Leave a CommentPosted by Erin Weed | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
First I want to say thank you to all my peeps, for giving me ideas for the commencement speech I gave on Saturday at Eastern Illinois University. It was a totally wild experience. I flew to Chicago on Friday night, and my parents picked me up at Midway and we drove to Charleston from there. The ceremony was on Saturday at noon, and of course I wrote the speech about an hour prior. It definitely got me out of my element, that’s for sure. First off, the whole aura of graduation is so prim and proper and I had to wear the typical black hat and gown. It was all I could do to refrain from not demonstrating a palm strike on the university president after he introduced me, simply out of habit. Furthermore, this was one of the first speeches I ever gave that did not include the word “ass” in some fashion. (kick ass, bad ass, whoop ass, etc.) When I got up to the podium in front of thousands of people, I immediately learned two things. First, I could only speak to the graduates sitting directly in front and below me. If I lifted my head even slightly to address the crowd in the bleachers, my damn hat would fall off. Second, I had to avoid looking at the jumbotron video screen which was projecting a ginormous image of myself speaking. But anyway, it went very well and it was a really cool and exciting day. It’s always hard to be in Charleston, just because it’s a reminder of some pretty bad times. (mostly the murder trial for Shannon’s killer) but I try very hard to never let the few bad memories outshine the thousands of good ones. I’m going to post a video of my speech shortly…
Click here to read a newspaper article about the speech.
Commencement Speech
May 2, 2008 | 2 CommentsPosted by Erin Weed | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
Hi loves. Well I’m in and out…just got home Wednesday, had meetings all day yesterday and now I’m about to hop a plane to Chicago. Why, you ask? Because I am giving the commencement speech at Eastern Illinois University tomorrow. Yeah, I’m totally going to be the girl in the embellished graduation garb and spewing life wisdom to a bunch of recent grads. It’s exciting and scary, but most of all, I just want to say ONE THING that will help these young people start their post-college existence with a bang. So my question to you, my loyal blog readers, is this: What is the one piece of life advice you wish were told when graduating college?
Univ. of New Hampshire
April 30, 2008 | Leave a CommentPosted by Erin Weed | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
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.
Rape in the Congo
April 23, 2008 | Leave a CommentPosted by Erin Weed | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
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.
Car Suggestions?
April 22, 2008 | 2 CommentsPosted by Erin Weed | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog, Just Life
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?
Go Danica!
April 21, 2008 | 1 CommentPosted by Erin Weed | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog, In the News
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.
Tattoo
April 20, 2008 | 5 CommentsPosted by Erin Weed | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog, Just Life
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!
Article in “The Independent”
April 20, 2008 | Leave a CommentPosted by Erin Weed | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
Written by an awesome young woman who attended my program at University of Texas…click here to read it.
Hibernation
April 14, 2008 | Leave a CommentPosted by Erin Weed | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
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!
University of Utah - Salt Lake City
April 9, 2008 | Leave a CommentPosted by Erin Weed | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
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…
The Alamo - San Antonio, TX
April 8, 2008 | Leave a CommentPosted by Erin Weed | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog, Travel
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.
Univ. of Texas - San Antonio, TX
April 7, 2008 | Leave a CommentPosted by Erin Weed | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog, Girls Fight Back!
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…
BACCHUS Regional - Greeley, CO
April 5, 2008 | Leave a CommentPosted by Erin Weed | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog
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!
Karmic Agreements
April 4, 2008 | Leave a CommentPosted by Erin Weed | Filed Under Erin Weed's Blog, Just Life
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…