Come on! Sing along in your head ... this simple, wonderful, glorious little ditty......

I think I'm going to make it my song of the WEEKEND as I head to a cabin in Wisconsin, the e>v e-guide in tow.... Freedom, here I COME!!!

-Elissa



If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out
by Cat Stevens

Well, if you want to sing out, sing out
And if you want to be free, be free
cause theres a million things to be
You know that there are

And if you want to live high, live high
And if you want to live low, live low
cause theres a million ways to go
You know that there are

Chorus:
You can do what you want
The opportunitys on
And if you can find a new way
You can do it today
You can make it all true
And you can make it undo
You see ah ah ah
Its easy ah ah ah
You only need to know

Well if you want to say yes, say yes
And if you want to say no, say no
cause theres a million ways to go
You know that there are

And if you want to be me, be me
And if you want to be you, be you
cause theres a million things to do
You know that there are

Chorus
Well, if you want to sing out, sing out
And if you want to be free, be free
cause theres a million things to be
You know that there are
You know that there are
You know that there are
You know that there are
You know that there are

Hi all ... Elissa here. And, as clichéd as it sounds, I'm having one of those "today is the first day of the rest of your life" sort of days.

You know, suddenly things feel all fresh and new ... and your cup of tea tastes crisper ... and the sun seems shinier ... and you look around at this glorious place called earth and you just want to EXPLORE.

You just want to bust out the door and explore and meet and greet and skip through the streets yelling to people you've never met, "Come out of your holes! We're alive! Let's have an adventure!"

And so you would ... You'd all come out and we'd meet in the street and we'd all go to the train station and choose a random destination by each asking a stranger where they're going, then all the destinations go in a hat and we'd draw one and -- BAM!  -- that's our destination. Then, we'd settle in our seats and drink champagne as we watch the world whiz by for three days and we'd share stories about our lives and loves and what we believe and what we're willing to unbelieve and then... we'd arrive. And we'd go straight to the best hotel and say: we need your entire top floor because we're on an adventure. And they'd say, "Well, absolutely." and they would give us their best rooms for free because suddenly we're like this flash mob art group that's traveling the world, being followed by all major networks and newsmagazines because we were living each day as if it really was the first day of the rest of our lives....

And then ... what happens next?

Hey Everyone! Charlie the Intern here! Like Tina mentioned, wewere able to take an E>V road trip to the Civil War!! I really can’tdescribe how excited I am at the idea of road trips. There’s just somethingabout them that I love… but that’s for another post. Like Tina, I split up my posts to avoid writing a novel, so this is only part one!

When Tina told me about the Civil War re-enactment and asked ifI wanted to go with her I have to admit, I was skeptical, and yes, maybe even abit pessimistic about the idea.

I remember having gone to a few similar things when I was ingrade school, and I think that the overheated cramped bus rides, crowded exhibitareas, and boxed lunches left a sour taste in my mouth—particularly the boxedlunches. But I tentatively agreed. Why not, right? It would be a greatopportunity for me to explore more of Minnesota and do something that Iwouldn’t have normally done.

Mind you, I’m typically a planner. I like to know what I’mwalking into, what could happen, the nitty-gritty details before I jump intosomething. So after looking it up on the web I realized.

“Was this an actual re-enactment?Were we going to pick a side, get a fake musket, and yell “BANG BANG!” atsomeone before we ourselves were imaginarily shot and then forced to lie “dead”in some field for a few hours while the remainder of our battalion fought on?!”
 
I didn’t know. And I couldn’t find out.

This bothered me; this bothered me a lot. But Tina really wantedto go, and I thought that if nothing else it would be a great intern bondingexperience… Right?

The night before we were going to go, we went to a partytogether, and as Tina revealed in the post-prior disaster struck: An expensivecamera was broken, and a T.A.T.U. song went un-danced to. So we ended uppostponing the trip.

I was relieved.

Why though? It’s not like going was a huge commitment, it’s notlike I’m getting on a plane and going somewhere completely foreign. It’s a 30-minutedrive and I’ll be with a friend. As soon as we came to the decision to postpone,however, my entire body sighed relief. On my way home from Tina’s, I had afight--with myself--about whether or not to just call the whole thing off. Ilisted off all of the things that I didn’t want to do about it, which ended upall being things that I just didn’t know about it. And then realized that theentire situation was about me not being in control of my environment. And so Idecided to suck it up. I called Tina and it was decided. We were actually goingto go…

Tomorrow.

Thanks to Michael Bungay Stanier's The Great Work Blog today for this bit of hilarity that plays very well with our celebration mantra this month.

He writes:

I love this video clip, 71 seconds of over-the-top-ness that really gets to the heart of what it means to celebrate.

I particularly like the last 10 seconds, when you see what the score is.

We ask:

When did you last shake your booty/celebrate madly with such gusto?

Hey all! 

Gretchen here, writing to you live from the hotel bathroom floor where I'm holed up while my travel partners sleep.

So this weekend has found Elissa and I in Chicago where we met up with another great friend and have lived some evolution through vacation of our own (the original version, if you will, on a trip to take in Great Big Sea).

It's been perfect--magical and mystifying, expansive and contracted, bold and withdrawn. A gathering of contrasts. Contrasts explored with two of the best friends a girl could ask for.

The Great Big Sea shows themselves = fantastic. Truly, if you have not seen this band, go! Talented musicians all, they are commanding on stage. Fun and engaging, these are not shows to be seen so much as experienced. These two shows at the House of Blues brought out the die-hards from around the country and Canada and made for a very crowded floor where there turned out to be just enough room for vertical movement (which was brilliant for my sprained ankle, earned after a tumble down my icy Minneapolis front steps). 

There were times, though, when space opened up and the crowd faded away and I got my groove on. What I love so much about dancing is that it gets me out of my head (where I spend an inordinate amount of time) and into the rest of my body to experience the music. I used to play instruments, all of which I have left behind. What I remember so distinctly about playing is a zone I would enter when I stepped inside a song. It's a space of flow where doing (causing the instruments to make noise) emanated from being (the connection to the song). Dancing brings me to this space, too. And as someone who lives a lot in their head, it's a welcome shift.

It's been a grand adventure so far. And, as I hear stirring in the other room, I'm reminded we have another day yet to explore before our planes take off this evening. So, off the bathroom floor and out into the city...

Where it all started: 16 months ago we would meet for the Thursday night pub quiz and work on Evolution Through Vacation in between sips of Guinness and Magners.

And now, we've launched ... and it's time to celebrate!

Join us Thursday July 17, 2008 for the coolest pub quiz around––and a liminal party like none other!


WHERE:
Keegan's Irish Pub, 16 University Ave NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413, 612•252•0880


WHEN:
Thursday July 17, 2008
6:00 p.m. CST – ???


WHAT:
The e>v launch, celebration and all-around-good-time hang out!


RSVP:
Leave a note in the comment section below so we'll have an idea of how many beers to buy .... You dig?


Hope to see you there!

- Gretchen + Elissa