I Am Not Cool Enough to Dress Myself

After switching jobs, I realized a few things about my wardrobe.  First, I dress like an accountant.  Which was fine at my corporate client-facing job, but not as cool at my hip downtown startup.  Second, I'm in a bit of a style rut.  I tend to find something I like and buy the crap out of it.  I own 8 Calvin Klein shift dresses, 7 J. Crew Jackie cardigans, 5 striped shirts, and 4 pairs of red pants.

I also discovered that I apparently do all of my shopping online at night when I can't sleep.  Now that I've switched jobs, I actually sleep at night, and I started business school, so I have even less time than before.  I used a personal shopper at J. Crew before, which was great, but was very time consuming.   So, I decided to outsource dressing myself to strangers on the internet -- and there were a lot of options!

First, I tried Golden Tote, which has two options.  You pay $49, pick one item, and they will pick 2-3 more.  Or, you pay $149, pick 2 items, and they will send you 4 - 5 more.  There are no returns, unless you return the whole thing.  Golden Tote was originally conceived as an overstock solution for Puella, a brand which is sold at Anthropologie, which is really brilliant.   There were offering a baseball sweater, I had been looking for one for a while, and I also picked a striped sweater.  Because, you know, I didn't have any striped clothes in my closet yet.   In my tote, I received a sweatshirt, a ridiculously awesome striped maxi dress and two tops that didn't fit, which I gifted to friends.  I did the tote a second time, getting a vegan motorcycle jacket and a chunky sweater.  I received an okay striped dress, two striped tops,  and two tops that didn't fit that I gifted to friends.
Verdict:   It was okay.   I was forced to try new things.  However, I received even more striped items, which was not helpful for getting me out of my comfort zone.  The bonus items were hit or miss and both times, I ended up only being able to use 4.  I probably won't do this again unless there were two items I really loved (or one for the smaller tote) and spend money on things I want.

Next, I tried Elizabeth and Clarke.  They offer a quarterly subscription where you pick 1 ($30), 2 ($50), or 3 ($60) shirts.  You get to pick the shirts from a limited selection.  Returns are allowed.  For my first subscription, I picked these shirts:

Shirts I now own

Verdict:  Do it.  The shirts were super cute and really wonderful quality.  Since I got 3, the price was really reasonable.  I wasn't as wowed about the next selection (which I'll get in a few weeks), but they are definitely out of my comfort zone, which is great.

Shirts I'll receive in a few weeks

Next, I tried Stitch Fix.  Stitch Fix will send you 5 items upon request or monthly.  It costs $20 for the box, plus the cost of whatever items you want (you get to subtract the $20 from the cost of the items if you keep something).  You get to tell the price you want items to be at (up to $150 for pants, etc.) and fill out a style quiz.   You return the things you don't want.  The first time I tried this, I kept one item.  The second and third time, I kept all five, though I would have kept four for the second box, but it was cheaper to keep the item, since you get a 25% discount if you keep all five items.  The fourth box, I kept nothing.  Each item also comes with a card showing two looks you can create with the item.  

Style card

Look at me, following instructions!

Verdict:  Do it.  Though this last box was a total bust, they have mostly sent me things that looked great on me and worked with my wardrobe.  

And finally, I tried Keaton Row.  You fill out a style profile including budget for certain types of items, they match you with three stylists, and you pick one.  The stylist will put together several looks or find certain items (jeans, shoes, etc.) and build you a personal catalog upon request.  The catalog includes items from Nordstrom, ShopBop, or Asos, and have free shipping and returns.  There is no cost unless you buy something.  My first stylist fell off of the face of the earth, but my second one, Ophelia, has been fantastic!

Part of my lookbook

Verdict:  Do it.  It's the least risky of the services I tried, and it was super easy -- basically online shopping, but curated personally for me.

I Am Not Cool Enough for: Christian Loubontons

So, at some point, I convinced my husband that if I got promoted, I could celebrate by getting a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes.  In case you aren't familiar with the iconic, red-soled shoes, they are ridiculously expensive shoes, generally 4 inch heels with a 1/2 inch platform with a red sole -- and the red sole is patented by Christian Louboutin.  While there are different styles, I had my eyes on a classic black patent.

Years go by, and my promotion happened!  And then before it could be announced, the company I was working for got acquired.  Which was . . . something.  And after a little more than half a day of dealing with the announcement, my office mate decided the best way to handle the stress was a quick trip to Neiman Marcus to pick up the shoes.  Conveniently, our office was at a high end shopping mall!  So we went!  And I bought the most expensive shoes I own.  And it was incredibly exciting and they were so pretty!

And while still in the store, I realized they were incredibly uncomfortable.  Really uncomfortable.  I wore them around the house with athletic socks for a week trying to stretch them out, which did nothing.

And so I hate wearing them.  I mean, they are gorgeous, they really are, but if I have to say, like walk, or stand in them, or an any way use them as "shoes", I'm miserable.  They are by far the most uncomfortable shoes I've ever worn.  I can wear them for 30 minutes tops.  And then I start thinking, well maybe if I start drinking the pain in my feet will go away.  And then I'm tipsy and wearing 4 + inch heels, and I'm an incredible klutz, so it's a dangerous combination.

I am not cool enough for: Mad Men

I don't watch Mad Men. But you really think I would. I have gone to both Mad Men Banana Republic collection opening parties. I've bought clothes from both collections. I love late fifties and early sixties style and have a great shape for that. 

And Christina Hendricks is my style sister  She has big boobs and the hair color I would choose if I wasn't busy trying to be a responsible adult.  We're practically twins. 

I watched part of the show once. I was bored. So bored. With the new season starting, I Facebook polled my friends to see if I should jump in midstream, and consensus was I should start from the beginning.  I set the TiVo to record it anyway. It didn't record for some reason and I just assumed it was a sign. 

I'm not watching Downtown Abbey either. I really want to be entertained by TV--not educated or otherwise get cultured. I don't have a lot of free time and I'm getting choosier. It's got to be fun:  How I Met Your Mother, Happy Endings, GCB. I've even grown to like New Girl, with Zooey Dechanel, the world's most annoying person.

I Am Not Cool Enough For: Running Into Celebrities

While we were in San Francisco, another exciting thing happened.  I had a celebrity run in!

Husband was off getting a shave at the Art of Shaving (yes, we went to San Fran so I could run a half marathon and Husband went to the man spa.)  I jumped in the elevator to head over to meet him at the Art of Shaving, after a nice hour of Doing Nothing, something I don't get to do at home with two kids and a husband who likes to have every moment of free time planned.

Gabrielle Union, as seen on Wikipedia.
You know I did not take this picture

And in the elevator was Gabrielle Union (and some other woman)!

My first reaction was to say, "HOLY SHIT!  YOU ARE GABRIELLE UNION!  YOU ARE TOTALLY GORGEOUS!  YOUR SKIN IS AMAZING!  WHAT SKIN LINE DO YOU USE?" which would have been somewhat hilarious since she was at the Half Marathon as the Neutrogena spokeswoman as well as embarrassing for yelling at poor Gaby.

My second reaction was to be embarrassed by my outfit.  I was wearing a leopard print cardi over a white tank and jeans--and leopard print flats.  Somehow when packing, I had convinced myself that the leopard print flats would go with all my outfits and they were the only shoes I packed besides my running shoes.  I tend to overpack, and so I make an effort to remove unnecessary items from my suitcase when traveling, and I clearly had not thought that through enough.

I should point out that I have no memory of what Gaby was wearing.

My third reaction was to be a little smug about the fact that while Gaby is skinnier and more beautiful than I, I am taller.

I managed to pull myself together and stand silently in the elevator.

But before we left the elevator, it stopped on the second floor.  I have zero sense of direction and was momentarily confused as to what floor the lobby was on and I sort of peeked out the elevator doors.  Gaby said, "Sorry, that was me.  I pushed the wrong button."  And I said something like, "Oh, no worries."

So here's the thing.  When you see a celebrity, you have two options:

1)  Go all out.  In my scenario, I would have shouted in excitement at Gaby, possibly yelled at her to "BRING IT!", and taken a picture with her with my iPhone.

2)  Actually not care.  This would have involved me not updating my Facebook status while walking to the Art of Shaving, then announcing to EVERYONE in the store that I was on the elevator with Gabrielle Union.  Instead, I would casually mention it quietly to my husband between courses at dinner.

Because I'm easily embarrassed, I try to do option 2, but I'm not cool enough really to pull it off.  Nor do I have the balls to go all out with option 1.  And that's why I'm not cool enough to really have celebrity run ins.

(And some other time we'll talk about the time I danced with Matthew McConaughey)

I Am Not Cool Enough to Hate on the new Girly Legos

I was very excited to start seeing articles about the new Lego Friends in December, as the lack of pink and purple Legos is very annoying to me.  I bought my daughter a Star Wars Advent Calendar for Christmas (which she loved), and though she's mostly still a little young for Legos, she helps her dad build the Lego Architecture sets we give him for Christmas and his birthday.  

In case I wasn't clear in my post about women in tech, I'm all about encouraging little girls to be interested in math and science, having once been a little girl and went to a math and science high school and work in the tech industry today.  And I don't discriminate between "boy" and "girl" toys for my daughter or my son.  My daughter had a Transformers theme birthday party this year.  My son prefers the Disney Princess sippy cups we have.  If they are interested in something, we encourage it.

Immediately after the Lego announcements came out, people who have more time than I began hating on the girly legos, updating their Facebook statuses and writing on the Lego wall talking about how girls don't need these sets.   I'm really wondering who these people are because let me tell you, these Lego Friends sets look like fun, and I can't wait to play with them.  I mean, for my daughter to play with them.

Here's my favorite of all the set, girly Lego scientist:

It's so cool!  See the robot!  And there's a microscope!  

But let's pretend for a second that my feminist nature rejects Lego market research, and instead, I want to buy my 5 year old a "regular" Lego set.  Let's explore the options:

Fire plane:

Comes with trees on fire.  I'm not kidding.  See them above?  The red thing is "flames" according to the description.  Do you know what kind of conversations I'd have to have if I bought this?  "Mommy, what if the fire plane doesn't get to the trees in time?  Is our house going to burn down?"  

Dino Ambush Attack:

According to the website, the goal is to capture the dino with a tranquilizer gun before it escapes and attack the city.  Yes, dinos attacking the city--that will not keep my child up at night.

Toxic Reapa:

I do not know what this is but it looks freaking scary.  

Recycling Truck:

While no offense to people who make an honest living picking up recycling, I hoping my daughter will aim a little higher on the career ladder.  

Sponge Bob Squarepants Bikini Bottom Undersea Adventure:

I'm not kidding.  That's the actual name.  I'm not buying my child any toys named "Bikini Bottom."  

There's also a large assortment of Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, and Cars (the movie) legos available in case you just want to re-enact movies and not use your actual imagination or anything.  

While I'm a girl (I guess) and therefore the target market for the Lego Friends toys, I have to say, I totally want to play with them.  I have zero interest in the Lego Architecture sets my husband gets.  The Advent calendar was an exercise in frustration to me as the diagrams to put the Legos together make no sense to me.  They might as well be instructions from Ikea.  We have Cars and Thomas duplos and I'm really not that interested in them either.  But I'm all about building a lab, a cool pink house, or vet clinic.  (I do totally question this Stephanie's desire to have an outdoor bakery.  Buttercream melts!)  

So Lego Corporation:  I salute you and your marketing research for Lego Friends.  Mission accomplished, as I can't wait to buy them.  May I be as bold to suggest you put similar efforts into your other product research so attacking dinos, fire, and bikini bottoms aren't the other options to choose from?  

I Am Not Cool Enough For: Vegetarianism

I'm allergic to a lot of foods.  Namely:

• Shellfish
• Mushrooms
• Avocados 
• Tree nuts

I can eat a bit of tree nuts without getting too sick, but will break out in a rash or get an itchy mouth if I eat too many.  Tree nuts does not include peanuts, and don't let the peanut people fool you:  more adults are allergic to shellfish than peanuts.

Since many foods that people seem to really enjoy are already off limits to me, I can't imagine willingly give up other foods and because of that, I will never be able to be a vegetarian.  I'm just not cool enough.  Also, I'm just not that in to vegetables.  I mean, they are okay, but are they as good as steak?  No.  As good as shortribs?  No.  As good as bacon?  Okay, nothing is as good as bacon.  Bacon is heaven.  

I ran across this Parks and Recreation clip featuring Ron and food, which, as you know, means meat, and includes one of my favorite Ron moments, where he encounters vegan bacon.  Enjoy!

I Am Not Cool Enough for: a Google + invite

Many of my Facebook friends are talking about Google + and giving their opinions and I'm apparently not cool enough to get one.  I have no Google + invite.  I can't access the super cool social network.

This is not the first time Google has rejected me.  I wasn't picked to be a beta tester of their Chrome netbook.  We've already discussed my iPad indifference.  I was made to be a Chrome netbook beta tester!

Then, Google Music was announced.  Despite the fact that I carry my iPhone with me everywhere, I was temporarily convinced that I Needed Google Music so I could listen to my music anytime anywhere!   I did not get an invite to use it.  Then, Apple announced its iCloud service, and I realized that since all my music is already in iTunes, that makes more sense.  Also, I have a portable music device I carry everywhere anyway, called the iPhone.  Then I got an invite but I no longer cared, even though it did allow me to access a remix of Step by Step by the New Kids on the Block.

Now, here we are, Google +.  I think what's really annoying about this is that I am a serious user of Google products:

• I only use Google Chrome, the world's most superior browser.  It's super lightweight.  I can open up the 15 tabs or so I need open at any one time and it won't crash.  If you aren't using it, you really should.  It's really amazing.  
• My personal email is Gmail.  
• I use Google docs both at home and at work
• I prefer to edit and display my pictures on the web using Picasa, a Google product, which is both amazing and free.  
• This blog is on Blogger, a Google product, and not the cooler of the blog software, WordPress.  
• I even tried to use Google Wave.  However, it turned out that no one actually needed that product, including me.  

It's also annoying that I have no idea if or when I'll get an invite.  When Apple releases a product, I have a general idea when I'm going to get it.  If it's a phone, you can preorder or stand in line.  You may have to wait weeks or take a day off and spend it camped outside the Apple store to get one sooner rather than later, but at least you won't feel like Apple is only picking the cool kids to be on their team to use the iPhone.  

If I had an invite, I would take it seriously and use it.  If it was awesome, I would tell my friends and send them invites too.   But part of me wonders if there's really something there to see.  

I Am Not Cool Enough For: SXSW

In Austin, we have a yearly event/conference called South by Southwest (SXSW, sometimes referred to just as "south by").  There are days devoted to interactive media, film, and music.

I've lived in Austin for 13 years and have never gone.  I'm that not cool.  Husband and I talked about going three years ago to the interactive part, but we were moving.  Last year, I was pregnant and due around the time of the festival.  And this year we are too tired with the second baby.  But we didn't go before we had kids.  And I didn't go before I got married.

For the last several days, my friends and coworkers have been updating their Facebook statuses to talk about what a good time they are having and the cool things they are doing.  There is live action Angry Birds.  Apple created a pop up store to sell iPads.  All kinds of celebrities are in town.  I'm looking forward to turning in early since I'm so not cool.

I Am Not Cool Enough For: Music with Explicit Lyrics

I have two kids.  And I refuse to get in the car with them and listen to kids music.  Have you heard kids music?  It's terrible.  I remember listening to Motown and disco as a kid and I did wonderfully in music in school.  I even remember when my parents brought home a copy of Michael Jackson's Thriller and wondering who that woman singing was (I thought The Girl is Mine was about a custody dispute).  So, I listen to my own music in the car with the kids and was tickled when I Gotta Feeling came on the other day and Daughter told me it was her favorite song.

Unfortunately, this also means I can't listen to music with inappropriate lyrics and I'm stuck buying the clean versions of songs which is just so uncool.  The other day I purchased the Cee Lo song F**k You (a song which I will admit that I am so not cool that I had never heard of it until the Glee episode with Gwenyth and her kicky skirt), now called Forget You in clean language.  And guess what?  It's not clean enough!  Oh sure, the f bomb is now "Forget" and sh*t is now "shhhhhhhh", but the N Word is still in there!  Who made that decision?  That's the most offensive word in the whole fing song!  I sadly need an even CLEANER version of the clean version.

I Am Not Cool Enough For: Living in Austin

Here in Austin, we have a saying:  Keep Austin Weird.  And that is so not me.  I am pretty boring.  I have no tattoos or piercings.  I shop at J Crew, Banana Republic, and Ann Taylor Loft.

The fam and I live on "the north side".  Cool people live on the east side or south of the river.  I rarely travel more than 10 miles away from my house, so I'm hardly ever in the cool areas.

I drink Starbucks coffee and not coffee from some organic, free market, local coffee shop. We already discussed my annoyance of food trailers.  Central Market totally stresses me out -- it's crowded and you get could get lost in there for days aimlessly wandering around looking for the hidden cash registers.

I don't own a dog that I take to restaurants and hang out with.  I'm allergic.  And I don't even like dogs, so even if I wasn't allergic, I still wouldn't have one.  And even if I had one, I would leave it at home.  I would probably even leave it outside!

I Am Not Cool Enough For: Food from Airstream Trailers

A few years ago, Husband mentions that there is a crepe restaurant in town.  I was excited because I love nutella crepes.  Love them.   When we were in France I ate one for a snack every day.  And at the time, I didn't have a great crepe recipe, though I have one now that I'll share with you one day.

So, I'm all excited and I ask if we can go there for date night.  Turns out the place isn't open for dinner.  Or on Monday or Tuesday.  Or on the weekend (at the time, though it is now).  And it's an airstream trailer in a parking lot in a part of town that never has parking.

Seriously?  Listen, I'm not cool enough for this.  I've been to the restaurant twice.  The food IS good. But we live in Texas and it's 100 degrees here in the summer!  It's freaking hot!  When I go out to lunch, I want to go somewhere with air conditioning and ample parking.  

The good news is that this trend must be on the downturn, because there's now a reality show about it.

I Am Not Cool Enough For: Blogging

I'm really not.  For starters, I don't have a lot of time what with having a full time job, a newborn, and an almost 4 year old.  Which is really what you need if you are going to be serious about blogging.   I'm writing this at 5:30AM.  While watching the newborn.  And if the 4 year old wakes up, then I'll probably get around to finishing this post next week or something. This may be my last post for another three weeks.  Who knows?

I'm pretty confident I'm supposed to randomly say in conversation, "I should blog this" or "Oh, I need to go update my blog."  And I don't.  I hardly talk about this blog at all.  I haven't told many people I have this blog.  And when I do, I tell them, "I'm cool now, I have a blog."

"Oh, what's it called?"

"www.iamsonotcool.com"

Yep.   Not cool enough to blog.

I Am Not Cool Enough For: Urban Ruralism

I grew up in a small farming community about 45 miles southwest of Houston.  My parents didn't farm, but 4-H and FFA (Future Farmers of America for those not in the know -- not to be confused with FHA, Future Homemakers of America, an actual club my high school had) were quite popular.  My mom grew up on a dairy farm and still has an unnatural fear of cows.

My time there taught me that farming is hard work that I never wanted to be a part of.  It's hot here in Texas and you don't get paid time off in farming.  So, this sudden urban ruralism trend makes absolutely no sense to me. Several of my coworkers have chicken coops.  Husband spent countless hours building a raised garden and spends about 20 minutes a day checking it out.  He grew one cucumber and insisted on pickling -- a hobby I only associate with my grandmother, who also pickled.  He tried to buy a $20 preserving book at Costco the other day and has plans on creating more garden beds next year.

I spent my entire life trying to get to a real city with things like 24 hour grocery stores so I could avoid farming, only to grow up and suddenly have it be this cool thing that everyone wants to do.

I Am Not Cool Enough For: Noticing the Old Spice guy videos in a timely fashion

So I'm sure you are way cooler than me, but just in case, the "blogosphere" and "twitteratti" went crazy this week for the Old Spice guy who with apparently the world's best marketing team created over 200 personalized vidoes.  I love the Old Spice guy!  My man smells like the Old Spice man ("I am the man your man could smell like!")  And I complete missed my opportunity to blog about him and possibly have a response video.  Because that's how uncool I am!

Hypothetically speaking, had the Old Spice guy seen the blog entry I didn't write, I'm sure my experience would have been like @matthewsinclair who Twittered:

Feeling like the Old Spice guy! Over the weekend I went for a run, went horsehiding, and chainsawed firewood.#sadlyidontlooklikehim #true

 And received this video response:

I Am Not Cool Enough For: Parenting

I have two kids:  a 3.5 year old girl and a 3 month old boy.  And I am simply not cool enough to parent in 2010.

Fact is, in this high tech, Web 2.0 world, there's been a return to a crunchy granola hippie time and I'm frankly not cool enough to go along.  Examples:

• Nursing in public.  I breastfeed but don't nurse in public.  Not with a blanket, not without a blanket.  I don't find it comfortable.  I'd much rather breastfeed at home on my couch with a bunch of pillows.  And though I'm pumping at work now, once I'm over this whole breastfeeding thing, I'm giving the baby formula.  I'm not even going to pretend I'm going to do this for a year, as recommended.
• VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Caesarian).  I had a C-section with my first baby (not intentionally) and I had a C-section with my second baby.  I didn't try to have a vaginal birth and I certainly didn't try to have the baby at home (as did two people I knew the same month my little one was born.)
• Vaccinations.  I vaccinate my kids, using the schedule provided by my doctor.  I don't create my own schedule or skip vaccinations.
• Baby wearing.  I have this giant Moby Wrap.  I've worn it twice.  And I didn't get it from Amazon, I got it from this natural store which I had never even seen before (I looked up where I could get the wrap), so it was organic cotton, making the cost per use $35 a wearing.  And I've never been to a baby wearing group.  
• Baby food.  I'm not going to make my own  It's Gerber all the way.  And I'm probably going to use the non organic kind too. 

Despite my uncoolness, my kids are happy, healthy, and delightful.  

I Am Not Cool Enough For: the Twilight Saga

I read Twilight.  I wanted to like it.  I really did.  But I didn't.  There was a lot of staring.  A lot.  And it's a book, so all that staring was quite impressive.  And there was so much missing in the dialog, apparently you were supposed to infer things by the staring, soI kept thinking that I missed a page or something (this was also after I had bought a book that had been mis-bound and so it literally skipped from one part to another, so I was particularly sensitive about this.)

I found the whole thing so boring, I've lost interest in typing about how boring it was.

I did see the movie.  It was just like the book.

I Am Not Cool Enough For: the iPad

I am a geek.  I love gadgets.  I bought a first generation iPhone, and while I didn't buy it the week or day it came out, I bought it soon and I love it.  Later, Husband got one too and we both upgraded to the 3GS last summer.  Child1 uses one of our old phones for car and restaurant entertainment.

So, when the iPad announcement finally happened, I was intrigued.  I was also very pregnant and looking for a mobile device to read books on.  I'm an extremely fast reader and when I had Child1, I spent a lot of time nursing her and reading.  And she took forever to eat, so I read A Lot.  And there's nothing more annoying than finishing a book at 3am and having nothing else to read.  So, I began looking for a mobile reading device so I could buy books any time I wanted. I evaluated the iPad, the Nook, and the Kindle.

I ruled out the Nook because of reviews that complained about page "turning" speed (though I really liked the Nook loaning books feature.)  I ruled out the iPad almost immediately because of size and weight.  At 10" and 1.5 lbs, it's too heavy to hold with one hand, which is the only number of free hands I have when dealing with a baby.  I chose the Kindle.

(Interestingly, I use other devices to read my Kindle books.  I also have a netbook and using the Kindle software, I read books on it as well as my iPhone.  And it doesn't matter what device I use, they all know what page I'm on.)

Husband really wanted the iPad, reserved one, and stood in line for hours a week after Child2 was born to retrieve it.  He loves it.  He carries it everywhere.

Me?  I'm not impressed and won't get one of my own.  I've tried to like it, but I'm just not that cool.  Here's what's stopping me:

• I already have a netbook.  It runs Flash.  And any other software I want on any browser I want.
• I have a smaller, more portable iPad already:  it's called an iPhone.  There's nothing the iPad can do that I want to do that I can't do on the iPhone.
• I found typing near impossible on it.  I really tried to use it as my computer at home for a week and gave up after trying to write an email for an hour.  The netbook has a tiny keyboard, but it still has real keys.  (And I know that you could plug a keyboard into the iPad, but why?)
• Being able to watch streaming media on it was cool for a day, but I can get Netflix on our Blu-ray player which is hooked up to our 54" television, which is a much better experience.  

One thing I really do like about the iPad is tactile web browsing.  You want to look at something -- touch it.  You want to zoom in on something, you expand it using your hands.  It's much more enjoyable than a mouse. My fantasy future has this technology for all computers.  

I Am Not Cool Enough For: FourSquare

One of my colleagues asked me if I use FourSquare or Gowalla*.  I use neither.

For those of you just as uncool as me, FourSquare and Gowalla and similar applications for your mobile device allow you to "check in" at locations and earn badges. In FourSquare, you can be the mayor of a place, and I'm not sure what that's all about.

The fact is, I'm so lame that really, no one has any interest in the places I go. In the last week, I've been to:

• Target
• HEB
• Yoga
• The outdoor mall near my home
• A handful of not cool restrurants

And that's pretty much it.  I don't go anyplace cool enough to let other people know about.

*Apparently, I'm so not cool, I didn't realize that the app is name Gowalla and not Govella and Husband had to correct me.