March 1st, 2011:

Volunteering + Friends = Fun

Mar 1st, 2011
by MegReilly.
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You’re probably seeing a pattern in some of these titles — we’re not mathematicians, but we have some pretty good formulas for fun & friends. Soccer, trivia, and now… volunteering!

Volunteering isn’t just about doing good and beating Minneapolis at things (though both of those are important.)  Sometimes, volunteering is as much about building community as it is, say, building houses.  That’s what I love about the folks at Back On My Feet: their focus is on working with people, not for them.

I’ve been injured and not able to attend morning runs for much of 2011, but impending recovery put me back out on the roads last Saturday morning.  Catching up with my morning running pals was great — both the non-residents (volunteers) and the residents (the folks we work with) welcomed me back into the fold with open arms.  I was thrilled to be there.  Running at 6am?  A great way to make friends.

So, you want to make friends but you’re non-athletic and bad at coming up with catchy team names?  Get out and help!

How to begin?  I’ve named a few organizations in the past who would love to have some help.  There are a few ways to think of what you might be seeking.  You could identify a cause, identify an activity, or identify an experience.

Find a Cause:

I linked up with the American Liver Foundation after my uncle received a lifesaving transplant.  I care about building stronger communities, so ONEin3 was a great place for me to start blogging.  Do you love children?  Try Horizons for Homeless Children, Foundation for Faces of Children, Children’s Hospital Boston, or Home for Little Wanderers.  An animal fan?  Try the Boston Animal Rescue League.  Have a commitment to the HIV/AIDS community?  Check out Boston Living Center.  If you always respect your elders, FriendshipWorks may be just the ticket.

Find an Activity:

I like to run.  Finding a running group that would afford me the opportunity to also build community was a perfect fit.  (And if anyone’s interested, they’ve got a new team starting in Somerville.  Sign up for an orientation, pronto!)  My cousin likes to ski, so she combined skiing, teaching, and fun at YES.   If you’re artistic, see what the MFA has to offer.  Whatever it is you like to do with your time, you can probably do it to help someone else.

Find an Experience:

Looking to meet new people?  Go for volunteer opportunities that will keep you in groups.  Less tutoring, more neighborhood cleanup, perhaps.  Trying to gain skills?  Call up Greater Boston Legal Services if you’re an attorney.  Check out your state and local officials’ district offices or campaign people.  Call a hospital if you’ve got a medical background.  No matter what you do, you can find a way to do it for free.  Seriously.  I challenge you to challenge me on that.  Want to have a voice?  Shoot us an email and offer to blog for us.  We’re no 501c3, but we like to have volunteers, too!

Find the time to find those things!

I just gave you a whole bunch of ideas, most of which I got through a quick google search.  But ask around!  Jump on Twitter, ask us & the universe!  Just the other day I saw a local blogger on Twitter asking about Back On My Feet — she hadn’t realized that they have a Quincy chapter.  You better believe I responded (pronto!), and even tried to link her up with one of my other fave local blogstars who is a runner with BOMF.  We have social networks, people!  Use them for good, not Zuckerbergian evil!

So there you have it.  You know what they say about volunteering: it doesn’t pay.  But it does give you the chance to make friends, gain skills, and give back.  And beat Minnesota.

Got volunteer advice?  Are you a cause seeking volunteers or a volunteer seeking a cause?  Have you met your best friend, your future spouse, or your future boss through volunteering?  Or do you just want us to be way better than MN?  Share it in the comments.

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A Dog on the Blog

Mar 1st, 2011
by MegReilly.
2 comments

When I was eight years old, the teeth of the family dog managed to meet the face of the family daughter.  In other words, good ol’ Max couldn’t contain his animal urges and bit me.  I lived to tell the tale, but my parents had to get rid of our dog.  Which means I’ve wanted a dog for about 19.5 years.

Last Friday, I satisfied that need.  Meet… Charlie!

Charlie, as you can see in this very low-res iPhone photo (I don’t own a real camera) is adorable.  She’s four months old, about 17 pounds, a terrier mix (read: mutt) and has a mysterious namesake.  I picked her up on Friday night at the Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem.  She. Is. Awesome.

….Even if she totally freaks out at the dogs, cars, and people we pass walking up and down Charles Street.  (namesake?)

Getting a dog definitely has changed my life in the city, even over these first few days.  Beyond puppy-proofing my apartment and doing a lot of obedience school research, I have to rethink my evenings.  I can’t disappear after work and stay out all night when I have a puppy waiting for me at home.

I also have to rethink my transit.  I don’t think Charlie is quite ready for her first CharlieCard (namesake?), but it’s good to know that it’s okay to have dogs on the T.  Charlie’s really looking forward to taking her first trip to Charles/MGH (namesake?) and having her 15 minutes of fame like the adorable pups highlighted on Dogs on the T.

The good news is, the T actually has a pretty cool policy about pets.  Give or take a snake.  (Snakes on a train!)  You can read it on their website, but here’s the deets:

During off-peak hours, non-service dogs are allowed at the discretion of T vehicle operators. Dogs must be properly leashed and are not allowed to annoy riders or take up a seat.

Sounds reasonable to me, and to Charliedog.  As Charlie always says, “Winning!”  Wait, that was Charlie Sheen.  (namesake?)

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Boston: Home of The Cars!

Mar 1st, 2011
by MegReilly.
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Here at ONEin3, we talk a lot about how annoying the T can be and, once in a while, the hassle of neighborhood parking-space-savers, but I think we tend to overlook a major transportation inconvenience: driving.

I am one of those fools who lives in America’s Walking City and yet spends a fair amount of my April 1 through November 30 looking for an SUV-sized spot in the small, cobblestone streets of Beacon Hill.  I moved back to Boston from Hartford, which is decidedly NOT a walkable city, so I’m committed to my vehicle.

When do I need a car?  Well, as I mentioned, this is America’s Walking City.  But if you’re heading outside of city limits, sometimes the T isn’t enough.  In fact, there are a few neighborhoods within the city that aren’t even that accessible!

So if you’re trying to get around New England without a car, you can train, boat, and bus a lot of places.  For areas public transportation won’t take you, here are your options:

1.  Rent-a-car! Plenty of options here.  Zipcar, Hertz, Enterprise, you name it.  Zipcar is probably the most popular for this kind of thing, but pretty much any auto rental place can hook you up with a vehicle for a few hours.  I’ve had a few friends really enjoy the experience with Zipcar thanks to the number of locations, possibility for a monthly plan, and hourly rates.  Pretty awesomely convenient.  Not to mention, it began in Cambridge.  So, props to regional entrepreneurship.

2.  Buy-a-car! Not for the faint of wallet, but there are loads of car dealerships in greater Boston, not to mention a pretty good Boston Globe Sunday car section.  Do it old school style: buy a Sunday Globe, make yourself breakfast, and sit at the kitchen table with the paper fully open and blocking out your spouse.  There are some things that technology ruined, and using the newspaper to ignore your loved ones is one of them.

3.  Skip-the-car! Where exactly are you headed?  If you’re going to Provincetown, this might not work.  (Not to mention, there’s a ferry.)  But if you’re just looking to get to a T-ignored neighborhood, that doesn’t mean you’re stuck with a sedan.  The commuter rail goes a long way out of town, so as long as you’re not traveling during peak commuter times, you’re probably cool to bring your bike on board. Check the rules before you board though!

4.  Steal-a-car! Alright, I’m not saying steal.  Just borrow!  But do you remember college?  There was always one kid on the floor who had a car on campus, which made him or her unnecessarily popular.  They say the city is a real college town, so might as well live it up in the most mundane way possible.  Befriend a neighbor by helping him dig out.  Fill the car up with gas if he lets you use it.  Don’t hit anything.  Don’t pester.  But if you’ve got a willing friend or neighbor, make it happen.

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