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My First Black Tie Affair Print E-mail
Winter 2006 - Columns
Written by Dawn Runge   
altTravel isn’t just for fun. Sometimes, taking a detour can serve an excellent purpose.

Take a wedding, for example. It’s a great place to meet new people – for business purposes, of course.

Social events are a great place to network.

Today’s young professionals rely on networking. In fact, 85 percent of job-seekers’ success comes from networking, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. With formal weddings and social affairs, known as black- or white-tie, coming back into style, it is important to be conscious of what the opportunity entails.

If you’re traveling to such an affair, you’d better be ready so as to not embarrass yourself.

Like many other girls born in the era of Disney-style fairy tales, I have longed for my chance to be the belle of the ball. So, when asked to be a date to a black-tie reception, I realized that not only did I have a chance to dress up, but also to meet some influential people.

 

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Band on the Road Print E-mail
Winter 2006 - Columns
Written by Andrew Gant   
alt

I figure our band got its start the way most bands do. 

One of my roommates had his guitar out, and the rest of us filed into his room demanding a live show. He played every song we requested – for more than an hour.

Jon kept interrupting Scott’s musicianship by reminding us all that he used to have a bass guitar in high school. 

“It was brown — no!  It was cream. With a fret board like Scott’s. My bass, that is.”

I scoffed, not only because Jon seemed to be lying, but because I spent years preparing myself for this type of bragging. I’ve mastered two legendary instruments of rock.

The piano and the trombone.

The only logical thing to do now was to form a group.

“I’ll just be the manager,” the last guy, Chad, decided. He only played the trumpet. In seventh grade. The rest of us would be music gods.

As a new and momentarily unknown band, though, we’d first have to get ourselves heard. And the best way to do that?

Hit the road.

 

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