Summer Wrap-Up

I know, there is still more than half of August to go and you don't need anyone else to remind you that the summer is almost over. But my summer feels completely finished since I started working the first week of August. And I'm totally okay with that feeling. Summer is overrated. And autumn is awesome.

But anyway, that's right, I got a job. And I consider myself completely blessed for being employed. I can count on one hand the friends I graduated with who have jobs, and most of those are not "career jobs." (Two side notes: 1. No, I don't have a lot of friends, and 2. I'm not putting down their jobs... just saying how lucky I am.)

And, actually, my job is only a "job" until December when it turns into a "fellowship." I also start getting benefits and a raise at that point, so you can determine for yourself which sounds better.

Right. So I work for The Ohio Channel, also called Ohio Government Telecommunications. (NOT to be confused with ONN!) I work right in the Ohio Statehouse doing video production work, and I really love my job. The deal with the fellowship thing is that last spring I applied to be a Legislative Service Commission fellow, one of 24 that the LSC hires each December. I got the position as a telecommunications fellow, and OGT ended up needing me to work full time before the fellowship starts in December. So naturally I agreed.

I feel like everything about this is confusing, especially all those acronyms.

Crocs Video Interviews

Crocs has posted video interviews from Boulder on their blog. The first video is a summary of the trip, and my personal interview is the third one from the top.

I think I sound pretty silly in my interview. I thought I was used to hearing and seeing myself from all that radio and tv work in college... I guess I'm out of practice (or overly critical?).

Crocs Camaraderie

While the ten of us are obviously up against each other in a contest to be in the top five, there was really no sense of fierce competition among us. It amazes me how kind, generous, and welcoming each of the ten finalists are. In such a short period of time, we really got to know each other, and we all feel like friends. I know there will be no hard feelings about whoever gets to be the Ambassadors. The trip to Boulder, free Crocs, exposure to top-secret new styles, gourmet dinners out, the fancy hotel, etc. is certainly a “win” in all of our minds. Here are some of my favorite photos of the finalists.
Nina checking out the Jibbitz (charms that can attach to some styles of Crocs), Amy and Kelsey in the Crocs store, Chris and Sherri at breakfast

Lorraine the "Crocs runner" and Liz on her matchy-matchy iPhone

I already posted a picture of Kat and Jon at the tea house, and I make the tenth Ambassador. What a great group!

The Ambassadorship

So, after all, what is this whole Crocs Ambassador Contest all about? I had no clue either until Thursday morning when we had the main meeting of the trip. We learned all about the new styles of Crocs and the re-vamping of the Crocs website. And the website is where the Ambassadors come into play.

To back up a bit, Crocs had about 200 photo entries in their online contest. I was selected to be in the top 15, and the public voted for us on Facebook and the Crocs website. From there, I made it into the top ten, and all of us were flown out to Boulder for this event. The next step is for Crocs to choose five of us to be the actual Ambassadors (even though all ten were referred to as “Ambassadors” throughout the trip- for simplicity’s sake!).


So what will the Ambassadors do? They will have a profile on the new "Vitamin C" Crocs page (to be revealed at the end of July when the five winners are announced) and blog about once-per-week each. The entries can and will be about anything, really, not just the shoes. Crocs wants some interesting content to draw people from outside the Crocs community - probably people like you who either do not own Crocs or have just one pair. The Ambassadorship is a community outreach program. While there will most likely be opportunities for the Ambassadors to travel, the main goal is for them to work within their own circle of friends and communities – to go to events, hold focus groups, give out coupons, etc.

Oh, and did I mention that the five Ambassadors win $2,500 each? Crocs clearly wants the Ambassadors to be independent from the company, just your average citizen who happens to like Crocs, so I think the money is as close as they’re going to get to paying for the content!

Boulder Dushanbe Tea House

On Friday morning, the last day in Boulder for us Crocs Ambassadors, we had breakfast at the Boulder Dushanbe Tea House. Don’t worry if you didn't know that Dushanbe is the capital of Tajikistan. (See what I did there?) It's Boulder's "sister city" and, apparently, the materials used to construct the building were shipped from Tajikistan specially to make the tea house. Entering the building really was like stepping right into Central Asian culture. Personally, it brought back memories from China - from the similarities in most Asian art and architecture, but also from my encounters with Tajik exchange students.

Kat, Jon with chai tea, Shelly from Crocs, Nina, and Lorraine at breakfast

I have never been crazy about chai tea, but I knew it would prepared just right here, and I was not disappointed!

Mountains

I love mountains. One of my favorite parts about traveling in China, in fact, was climbing mountains and noticing the drastic changes in mountain landscapes across the country.

I was really disappointed to not have been able to see the mountains on the drive into Boulder, Colorado on Wednesday - the rain clouds were too low and the sky was dark. The weather cleared up, however, and by Friday the sky was bright blue and scattered with clouds. I wish I had been able to do some hiking during my stay!

Boulder, Paper, Scissors

In downtown Boulder, there are a lot of, um, rocks. Rather, boulders. I found all of these (and more) at the Pearl Street Mall. Very decorative.