Ignite Charlotte 5

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Mark your calendars! Tuesday, September 25th is the 5th annual Ignite Charlotte series and yours truly is one of the 15 speakers presenting.

What is Ignite Charlotte? From their website:

"Enlighten us, but make it quick” is the mantra for [worldwide] Ignite talks. During Ignite Charlotte, members from the community will share their personal or professional passions using 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds for a total talk time of 5 minutes.  

How did I become involved? Apparently I decided that having a book due to my editor, traveling to Italy, doing client work and training for a marathon wasn't enough to keep me busy. My friend David Horne sent me a link to the Ignite Charlotte website and--on a whim--I sent in an application. I was equal parts pleased and horrified when I found out I'd been selected. 

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Forgotten BarkWorld Expo Interview

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Googled my name this morning (Oh hush, you do it too) and found this video recorded during the BarkWorld Expo I attended last year as a speaker. I'd completely forgotten I'd done this brief interview. 

What's funny is that if you click on the link above, it takes you to the Barkworld home page which happens to be a big picture of me being interviewed for this very video. Who knew? (Click through the images if mine doesn't pop up right away.)

Note to self: Wear more makeup on camera and quit starting your sentences with "Um." You sound like a moron. 

Cheers,

Dena

Dena Harris: Purina's First Cat Chow Correspondent

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From the moment I saw the ad announcing Purina was looking for their first Cat Chow Correspondent, I knew it was destiny. Traveling the country, talking to people about cats, looking at cats, educating people about cats... Hello?? Might as well start writing my name on the pay slip now. 

The perfect thing about the position is that it's a one-year post. In, out, done. Ideal for us "bored after we get good at something" types. (Blair, of course, had to weigh in with his comment which was, "I don't know. It's a paying position. Don't you try to avoid things like that?" Oh, the joys of living with a comedian.) 

Do I even want the job? I don't know. I haven't been able to find a lot of details about what's involved. But of course once I decided I would apply just for fun, my competitive juices kicked in. Must... win... cat chow... position.

Part of the application asked for a short video explaining why you think you would be good for the role. Blair hauled out the camera yesterday and we shot a quick 2-minute video. The cats--who fear the video camera along with the vacuum, doorbell, feather duster, and high-heeled shoes--disappeared during filming, but we awarded them brief cameos at the end. 

So please, join my campaign to convince Purina to hire me as their go-to roving-cat-reporter on the streets. Watching the video on YouTube and liking it would be a big help, as would passing on the link or leaving a comment along the lines of, "Wow. This person just screams 'Cat Chow Correspondent' to me. How could you even think of hiring anyone else?" 

And c'mon. Think of the blog posts I'll write if I land this thing. Let the wit and hilarity begin.

Cheers,

Dena