I like to consider myself an adventurous person.  For instance, I lived in Europe for three months by myself, moved to NYC without a job and jumped off a volcanic cliff 20 feet above the Pacific while on vacation in Maui.  Yep, I have a number of adventures under my belt, but I have always felt there was something missing.

One thing I’ve always wanted to try is SKIING, but I’ve just never made it happen.  Luckily for me, my parents recently relocated to Salt Lake City, UT, home of some of the best skiing in America, and I was headed to visit them for the Christmas holiday.  I was not going to let an opportunity to ski pass me up, so I made sure a day on the slopes was on our itinerary.

I decided to try my luck at Brighton Ski Resort, a great place to ski at the very top of Big Cottonwood Canyon outside Salt Lake.  Brighton offered a beginners package that was perfect for me – two-hour lesson, all rentals and a lift ticket for $94.  I was sold!

I started my day early in the rental shop, parents with camera in tow.  After asking no less than three people for help getting my boots on, I headed out for my lesson.  I can’t say that skiing came naturally to me, far from it, but after a little practice under a watchful eye I was definitely ready for the bunny slope.  Sure I fell a few times, but who doesn’t fall on their first run? After figuring out how to pull myself up without the use of my ankles (those darn ski boots again…), I really got the hang of it.  In fact, by the end of the day I was zooming down that bunny slope!  I’m still far from a pro, but I look forward to another ski adventure soon.

- Julie

We just returned from our annual Hunter Public Relations off-site staff training where we learned not only new brainstorming techniques, but also some killer dance moves as part of Hunter PR’s first ever “So You Think You’ve Got Talent® To Be Hunter PR’s Best Dance Crew Idol®” competition.

Three professional dancers joined us as judges and were pretty impressed with Hunter PR’s dance skills.  After 12 crews took the stage, the judges announced the winners: “Crew Formerly Known As the Westsiders.”

I asked Jamie, Mel, Melissa, Rebecca and Valerie about how it feels to be the “So You Think You’ve Got Talent® To Be Hunter PR’s Best Dance Crew Idol®”:

What was the concept behind your dance?

Mel: “The running joke is that Hunter PR is finally ‘legal,’ as we just celebrated the agency’s 21^st birthday.  We knew in developing a concept for our dance that we wanted to pay tribute to our younger years, while also highlighting our more ‘adult’ nature now that we are 21.  So, we decided on a compilation of traditional kid songs that have been turned into more adult versions.  Our playlist went something like this:

- Kids song ‘If You’re Happy and You Know It’ into Crazy Le’ggs’ adult version

- Kid song ‘London Bridge’ into Fergie’s pop version of ‘London Bridge’

- Kid song ‘Happy Birthday’ into ‘Happy and U Know It’ by uber-adult artist Uncle Luke

 We danced very child-like during the kid song portions and we ‘broke it down’ on the more adult versions of each song.  At the end of the dance, we took off our matching jackets to reveal L-E-G-A-L spelled out on our tank tops.”

What did you do with the prize?

Jamie:  “I put it toward my honeymoon I just booked to Australia and New Zealand!”

Mel:  “I booked a last minute trip (as in the night before?!) to South Florida for Labor Day!”

Melissa:  “Since I left my husband without dinner several nights due to rehearsals, I used the prize winnings for our anniversary dinner.” 

Rebecca: “I splurged and spent the money on a new purse during a trip to Paris the following week.”

Valerie:  “I put it right into the vacation fund for my upcoming trip to Europe—I’ll splurge on a nice dinner!”

Julie

I get excited each December 31st when I turn on the morning news and the anchors are highlighting celebrations from around the globe.  Video clips from Australia and Japan remind me that no matter where you are from fireworks always mean a party is under way!

And while everyone enjoys a good party, New Year’s Eve also offers a fresh start and hope for the New Year.  As a proud Southerner, I never forget to eat my black-eyed peas, collard greens and hog’s jowl for a healthy and rich year-to-come.  This hearty tradition has been passed down from generation to generation in the south, and my grandmother calls each New Year’s Day to make sure I didn’t forget to cook up a mess.  That annual phone call got me thinking about what others might do to ring in the New Year other than popping bottles of bubbly.

I asked around the office and it turns out that everyone has something special (and totally unique) that they do to bring good luck and good fortune on New Year’s Eve.  For instance, Cubans kick-off the New Year by wearing yellow underwear for good luck and eating 12 grapes at the stroke of Midnight making a wish for each one.  However, my favorite Cuban tradition is walking around the block with an empty suitcase to bring more travel to your New Year.   I can only imagine what the streets of Havana must look like….

For Filipinos, it’s tradition for women to wear polka dots on New Year’s Eve to bring good fortune in the next year.  Each household will also make sure to fill a large bowl with 13 different fruits to bring good luck and prosperity.  And hung like mistletoe, a small bunch of grapes is placed above the door in everyone’s house to usher in even more good luck.

 To me, the most interesting thing about each of these traditions  is no matter where the party may take place everyone is hoping for a better new year than the last.  Whether you hope for good luck, good fortune or good health, I hope you get what you wish for in 2010!

Julie