Jen: Lost & Found Taxi Cabs.

Jen and I met at some networking/party event in River North last year. When I met her, I was like, “OMG! You’re Jen Chicago! You look just like your Twitter avatar!” (Nerdy.)

Fast forward. I got a call Monday night from a friend who left his wallet in a cab. So, as any good friend would do, I googled “LOST WALLET TAXI CHICAGO.”

The first search result? This post by Jen Chicago: Lost & Found Taxi Cabs.

Pictures of every cab +
Phone numbers to each cab company’s lost and found departments =
Brilliant.

I do not hesitate to acknowledge that without this blog post, I’m sure that my friend’s wallet would have been lost in cab-land for the rest of time.

Thankfully, we called two of the cab companies, and, 2 1/2 hours later, found the lost wallet. Hooray!

So, Jen, thank you for posting this and for making it so easy to track down every single cab company in Chicago. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s ever used that post as a resource.

Fabulous.

Claire: It’s Totally Blocking the Wind.

I went to my first Cubs game of the season last week. Anyone who has been to a Cubs game in April knows that it’s pretty much a 4-inning experience. And this game was no exception: cold, windy, wet, gross, 34 degrees.

A couple of rows in front of me, I saw this:

And I thought it was so genius that I climbed two rows down, tapped this girl on the shoulder, and asked her if it was keeping her warm.

“Yeah, it’s totally blocking the wind! You’d be surprised!”

They didn’t look super cool, but I know they were a lot warmer than I was, even with my 14 layers and Cubs hat.

Nice to meet you, Claire & friends! Next time, I’m bringing my zebra print umbrella and we can all be safari-esque together.

P.S. The Cubs actually did W this game, so Go Cubs Go.

Tim: Hit the Halfway Point.

I’ve known Tim since my freshman year of college. I remember how he introduced himself. “Hi, I’m Tim Winter. Like Winterfresh. Want a piece of gum?”

We were neighbors our sophomore year, and for some reason, spent a good amount of time driving around together. And one time in the car, he taught me how to parallel park in a way that made more sense to me than anyone else’s explanation.

1. Pull up parallel to the car in front of the open spot. PARALLEL. Not angled at all.
2. Back up slowly.
3. Once you hit the halfway point, turn the wheel sharply and maneuver your way into the spot. Your back tire will probably hit the curb. That’s okay.
4. Turn the other direction and straighten out.
5. Done.

Thanks to Tim, I can parallel park in ANY spot in Chicago, left or right, snowbank-filled or pothole’d – even in front of a $150,000 Maserati (and no, I didn’t even tap it!).

Hey, Tim Winter (like Winterfresh) – next time we hang out, remind me to show you my paralleling skills in action. Then maybe I’ll make you a breakfast burrito to thank you for the many, many dollars you’ve saved me since I don’t ever have to park in an overpriced garage. Deal?

Julie: Three Months.

Julie is one of my heroines. She’s mom to four amazing grown children, is a power attorney, drives a stick shift Mini Cooper and bakes the world’s best pot roast. Nom.

I was over at her house one Sunday a few years ago for dinner, and we were all chatty and having a good time. In the middle of the conversation, she said, “Hey, Mari – let’s schedule another one of these dinners in three months. When’s good for you?”

I said, “I have no idea. Three months?”

Her reasoning was fourfold:
1 – If we say, “Let’s do dinner sometime soon,” that ‘soon’ turns into a month, turns into six months, turns into 10 years. BAD.
2 – If we say, “Let’s do dinner next month,” there will inevitably be some scheduling conflict and then we’ll say, “Let’s reschedule for another time – sometime soon,” which turns back into #1. BAD.
3 – If we say, “Let’s set a date three months out to do dinner,” there are fewer scheduling conflicts, we can both put it onto our calendars now, and then we have something to look forward to in three months. GOOD!
4 – A lot can change in three months, so conversation will be fresh and fun. GOOD!

Now, I use Julie’s “three months” scenario with those who lead super busy lives, but who I MUST see again.

Julie, just so you know, aside from your pot roast, this is the BEST tip I’ve ever gotten from you. (Get it? Oh, I kill myself.)

Melissa: 10 minutes.

I went to a party last year, which was a total dud. The only good thing to come out of it? My introduction to and friendship with Melissa. (Which made the event totally worth it.)

Melissa is a fierce, bold, action-oriented, passionate entrepreneur/idea girl/supermom/friend. She decided she wanted to make a film, so she did. She decided she wanted to start a company, so she did. She decided she wanted to interview Seth Godin, so she did. Why not.

I admire everything about her.

She joined me and a couple of girlfriends for lunch the other day. I think we were talking about website domains that she bought for fun. And she said, “If an idea is good enough to stick around for 10 minutes, then it’s definitely worth the $5 it costs to buy the domain for it.”

So basically, don’t waste time. Act.

I should do more of that, and less of what I’m good at: procrastinating.

Thanks, lovely – as always.