There's Always Room for Jillo

Yes we can.

JillO — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 15:22:00 +0000

That's how the Argentines ROLL.

JillO — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 03:02:00 +0000

n2249378_39940169_9638
Originally uploaded by jillokawa

Okay, so we got to Ernie and Fiona's wedding around 8pm and didn't get home until close to 7am. This photo is just a tiny snapshot of how the wedding went down. There was drinking, eating, and all-around crazy debauchery. Some of the debauchery included Ernie and Scott joining the band to shake things up. Also included in the evening were crazy Carnival hats as you can see above. Truly epic.

All Gussied Up for Ernie's Wedding

JillO — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 03:00:00 +0000

n2249378_39940107_7585
Originally uploaded by jillokawa

Joe and me awaiting our departure to what was to become the CRAZIEST wedding ever! :)

Cemetario Recoleta

JillO — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 02:54:00 +0000

DSCN2063
Originally uploaded by jillokawa

Call me morbid, but I took a trillion photos of the cemetery in Buenos Aires. It was the coolest I've ever seen. Instead of graves, the cemetery was filled with elaborate tombs - some of which were covered in gold and others that had been neglected for years and showed the exposed remains of the dead! Crazy! Eva Peron Duarte's tomb is in this cemetery, but was only one of many fascinating tombs.

Arsenal/Boca Futbol Match

JillO — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 02:50:00 +0000

DSCN1909
Originally uploaded by jillokawa

This was truly one of the coolest cultural experiences ever in Argentina. Even the babies were decked out jerseys and team colors. We were lucky enough to sit on the winning side (Arsenal), but to avoid riots post-match we were held inside the stadium for about 45 min after the match ended while Boca fans exited. Definitely different from U.S. sports! I'm not sure which was more fun - watching the match or watching the fans!

Check it out!

JillO — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 14:18:00 +0000

Fabulous

JillO — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 15:29:00 +0000

Spryte

JillO — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 19:49:00 +0000

For info on how you can help Spryte and other homeless youth like her, please check out www.homelessyouthamongus.org.

Declare and End to Youth Homelessness in the U.S.

JillO — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 21:48:00 +0000

VIST HOMELESSYOUTHAMONGUS.ORG FOR MORE DETAILS

This November will be the first ever National Homeless Youth Awareness Month in the U.S. Right now there are an estimated 1 million homeless youth living on the streets in the U.S. 13 kids die on the streets in the U.S. every day.

I've been working closely with this cause over the past 10 months or so, and would love your help in putting an end to youth homelessness. If you're a U.S. citizen, all I ask is that you add your name to the widget above to tell Congress that you care about this pressing issue. Our goal is to gather the names of 1 million people who care to take to Congress in 2008 to gain their support in legislation affecting homeless youth and to ensure that National Homeless Youth Awareness Month continues.

Please help us spread the word by adding the widget above to your blog, MySpace, or Facebook page as well!

Thank you for your help!

Zach Bonner's Walk to Help Homeless Youth

JillO — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 13:58:00 +0000

Please check out 9-year old Zach Bonner's website www.littleredwagonfoundation.com to learn about his effort to raise awareness about youth homelessness. He plans to walk 250 miles across Florida during the month of November in honor of National Homeless Youth Awareness Month. I plan on making a trip to Florida to walk with him, but even if you can't join us, you can help by donating to the cause.

Cool Contest to End Youth Homelessness!

JillO — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 23:47:00 +0000

Jake Gyllenhaal - aww yeeeah.

JillO — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 16:46:00 +0000

What Kind of Guy Will You Fall For?
	You would fall for the sensitive guy. You'll find your future man wherever turtlenecks are sold. He will have depth, introspection, and a disturbing knowledge of musical theatre. And he may be a little weird. But hey, while your girlfriends cry over broken hearts, you'll be having Shakespeare read to you every night.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Richard Branson, Daryl Hannah, and...ME!

JillO — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 20:20:00 +0000

Richard Branson, Daryl Hannah, and...ME!
Originally uploaded by jillokawa

I know I haven't updated my blog in forever, but last weekend was so eventful, I knew I had to write a post about it! Since April I've been working with Daryl Hannah and her event greening agency on making Virgin Festival by Virgin Mobile a near-zero waste event. And last weekend, we finally pulled it off! Richard Branson and Daryl Hannah both came to the festival to talk about how we greened the festival in a press event (all compostable food service items, generators run on biodiesel, etc) and I got pulled into a photo with them! Needless to say, I was pretty stoked! The festival was amazing - The Police, Smashing Pumpkins, Beastie Boys, Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, Matisyahu, Amy Winehouse, to name only a few. I'm exhausted this week and am nursing sore feet and a sunburn, but it was all worth it!

Submit Your Vision to End Youth Homelessness

JillO — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 19:45:00 +0000

Hello Again

JillO — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 00:14:00 +0000

After a few months of non-blogging it seemed about time that I emerge from from solitude and reclaim my since ignored virtual space. I'll tell you, it's been quite a few months. I apologize for being out of touch with the many folks who have called/emailed over the past few months. As you can imagine, it's been a big transitional time for me, but now that the craze is nearly over, I do hope to be in touch with everyone soon!

The holidays were fabulous - Thanksgiving in St. Thomas, Christmas in the Pacific Northwest, and New Year's in...believe it or not - NEW YORK! My very first New Year's in New York after living here for 3 1/2 years! Joe was able to make it a memorable one as well after breaking his foot in a freak dancing accident. :) Thank god he's a fast healer! Should be without the crutches in no time!

With the New Year came a new career! I am now working at Virgin Mobile - spending half of my week in Warren, NJ and half of it working from VMU's commuter office in NYC (Union Square). Life is good. The job is amazing. I'm working on Virgin Mobile's Pro Social initiatives which includes a variety of exciting programs including making Virgin Mobile a carbon neutral company and working with non-profit partners like Stand Up for Kids and Youth Noise as part of VMU's RE*Generation movement - a generation helping its own. There are only two of us working in Pro Social Marketing, so there's plenty to do! The company is fun and unconventional. I realized that when I first walked into the Warren office for an interview and heard rock music blaring through the hallways and saw employees riding through the hallways on razon scooters. But despite the fun, light-hearted nature of the company, the people at Virgin Mobile are definitely professionals and I'm excited about everything that I can learn working there. Although I'm sure I'll miss elements of working for a small, non-profit, I really feel like Virgin Mobile can create a positive change in the world too, and I'm not going to lie...it's nice not to have to work for pennies anymore as well!

Another reason why the New Year is off to a great start is because one of my very bestest of friends is moving to the city! Missy just texted me a bit ago to confirm that she is now in NYC! Although I'm a little miffed that she chose to settle in Brooklyn instead of with the SoHa (south of Harlem) crowd, I'm thrilled to have her in New York! A sleepover will definitely be in order. :) Now we just have to find a weekend when Jen will be in the country! Poor girl isn't going to have time to breathe over the next few months with all of the traveling she's doing.

All is well with our SoHa palace, except one itty bitty thing... We have a bit of an uninvited tenant. Jen's not a fan. But he's a cute little mouse. I don't have the heart to put down glue traps so we're ordering a live mouse trap online so we don't kill him. It'll all be a part of the Mouse Relocation Program. I think he'd be happier in Central Park anyway.

I guess that's all of my news over the last two months! Hope everyone is having a great 2007! Don't be a stranger!

St. Thomas Count Down BEGINS!

JillO — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 04:31:00 +0000

In exactly four days I'll be sitting on a beach in St. Thomas. This Thanksgiving may be lacking in turkey and football, but what can I say...some sacrifices are worth making!

U.S. States that I've Traveled To

JillO — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 14:39:00 +0000

create your own personalized map of the USA
or check out ourCalifornia travel guide

I guess I owe a little bit more time to the south, huh?

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: The Eel is GONE!

JillO — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 14:00:00 +0000

Thank you to everyone for their concern over my damaged trachea. Good news. The eel bone has managed to finds its way down my throat and has been properly digested! And it happened all on its own as Mother Nature intended! Woohoo! I just saved $75 on hospital co-pays! (And on my auto insurance.)

Doctor Prescribed ICE CREAM!

JillO — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 21:27:00 +0000

Well, eating all that sushi has finally caught up with me. I may have had a slight medical mishap with my Eel Avocado Roll today. Somehow I managed to get an eel bone stuck in my throat! Now those of you who thought that eels didn't have bones - you're wrong. They most certainly do. But they're rather small and typically easily digestible. But this eel bone had it out for me and chose to lodge itself in an ever-so inconvenient position my poor, unsuspecting throat. I tried everything to get rid of it. I drank 2 bottles of water, coughed and hacked, even tried making it reverse course up my throat if you know what I mean, but to no avail. It's still there.

Luckily, Paul's dad is a doctor, so we gave him a call to ask for his advice. He said that it could be two possibilities - either I have a bone in my throat or an eel bone scratched my throat on it's way down and the scratch makes it feel like I have a bone in my throat. Either way, it's a little uncomfortable. I can feel it every time I swallow or turn my head. Paul's dad said that I should take anti-inflammatories and drink cold things to prevent swelling. So Jen, Paul, and I took a trip to Baskin Robbins for ice cream. (It's two for one Sundae Day!) But even that didn't make it go away! If it doesn't go away I have to go to the Emergency Room for an X-ray and have it plucked from my throat with a tube! Ew.

I hope it goes away.

Fort Wayne

JillO — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 01:58:00 +0000

Sitting in my hotel room in Fort Wayne, Indiana, dressed in formal wear waiting for the festivities of the 50th Celebration to begin at SSC. Today the full delegation arrived for the conference, and already I'm tired from 4 days of prep and Leadership Meetings. Tired, but happy! The trainers have been an AMAZING help - I owe my life to Ali, David, and Sara for really working their tails off. The organization feels like it's stabilized and ready "To Boldly Go" as our cheesy conference theme indicates. We had really amazing output from the subgroup that's been working all summer and it felt so good to get more ideas, more perspectives, and more creativity in one room to create exactly the type of organization that we all want to be working for. I'm exhausted, yet revitalized. Just sad that some really important people couldn't be here. We're really missing Tanja from Mad-town, Tiffany from GT, Rusty from Austin, April from Michigan, Juli from Yale, Adrienne and Meghan from DC, and lots of others. You all had better get yo'selves to WSC 'cause it'll be my VERY LAST CONFERENCE!!!

When I get back to NY next week, the job search will begin!!!!

Camping on the North Shore

JillO — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 20:21:00 +0000

Camping on the North Shore
Originally uploaded by jillokawa.

Joe and I took advantage of the long weekend to reconnect with nature. Somewhat. Camping in NY is slightly less hard core than the Colorado backwoods hiking and camping that I'm used to ,but it was still a perfect escape from the city. And I can't deny that the fully functional restroom facilities were a nice luxury. :) We rented a car and drove to Wildwood State Park in the North Shore of Long Island on Sunday, just in time to pitch a tent and cook chicken quesadillas over a grill. We were initially only going to stay for one night, but we couldn't resist having an extra day to relax, so we hung out until Tuesday. Being at a campground full of families on a holiday weekend, I couldn't help but be reminded of numerous camping trips with my family when I was a kid. There's just something about the smell of roasting s'mores over a campfire, hearing the sounds of tents and sleeping bags zipping, and the bobbing strobe of flashlight beams bouncing through the woods that takes me back to my Girl Scouting days! I couldn't ask for a better 4th of July!

Jen's Birth-Day-O-Fun

JillO — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 19:56:00 +0000

Six Flags Trip
Originally uploaded by jillokawa.

I know I'm a little late blogging about this, but the summer has just kept me so busy! But here's a photo of our fabulous Jen's Annual Birth-Day-O-Fun at Six Flags in New Jersey. Eight of us piled into two cars for a day of stomach flipping roller coasters, devilishly delectable funnel cakes, and very, very long lines! But it was all worth it! This has become the best birthday tradition EVER!

BFF Birthday!

JillO — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 22:15:00 +0000

Jen and me in Cancun!
Originally uploaded by jillokawa.

Tomorrow my dearest friend, Jen, turns 26 years old. That means we're going to 6 Flags on Monday for our 2nd Annual Jen's Birthday Celebration Gala - roller coaster style!

Today in the office, the Team surprised her with her favorite Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Cake and tickets to go see an off-Broadway show called Jewtopia with Jesse and me. I can't wait to give her her real birthday gifts tomorrow from Chris, Paul, and me!!!

This promises to be an eventful weekend. Tonight is margarita happy hour and summer stage in Central Park. Tomorrow will be tanning in the beach or Central Park, dinner with Jen, and live music at Session 73. Sunday will be a World Cup brunch, then more music at Central Park. And Monday is face-gorging and roller coaster riding 6 FLAGS! I can't wait!

Special message for Jen: I'm sorry I didn't get you a duck for your birthday. But I promise you that our friendship will be better off without it! :) I love you dearly and I'm SOOOO happy to be spending another birthday with you! This year will be even better than the last and filled with even more memorable adventures than ever! I can't wait!

SarahK come home!

JillO — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 17:58:00 +0000

SarahK
Originally uploaded by jillokawa.

Sarah is gone for the week and I miss her oh-so-much! She'll be home on Monday, but I wanted to send her a virtual blog-hug!

Good times!

JillO — Wed, 31 May 2006 17:00:00 +0000

Here's Jen and Meg after a few beers on Saturday night!

Umm...Drunk?
Originally uploaded by jillokawa.