The Case of the Stolen Muffin

April 03, 2018 by Cazey Williams in Cazey's Column, Humor, Life In Your 20's, life lessons

A few weeks ago, I got invited to a networking event. For the first hour, there would be an open bar. Of course, there was no liquor, which is my weapon of choice, but red wine would do. I needed to meet people.

The end of the hour drew near. I made my way back to the bar. The bartender had gone missing, but I noticed two glasses by the register—a glass of red and a glass of white.

A friend drew my attention. By the time the conversation ended, the hour had passed. The bartender asked for my credit card. I spotted the two glasses still there.

My Paris Paradox: Time Travel and What Could Have Been

March 13, 2018 by Cazey Williams in Cazey's Column, Life In Your 20's, life lessons

The week I was supposed to go to France, an article about my old favorite TV show, “Lost,” popped up in my Facebook feed. The article reflected on an episode that premiered a decade before and centered on time travel—a popular theme for “Lost” if you were a fan. In particular, the article mentioned the difficulty in writing the episode because time travel presents several paradoxes that either must be assumed impossible or else time travel must be assumed impossible.

The Grandfather Paradox stuck with me – essentially, you must believe there are certain truths that cannot be altered by time travel. For instance, you can’t kill your grandfather (before at least your parent is born), or else you forfeit your own existence, but you can’t not exist if you are the one changing your own future.

As Told Over Cafe Caturra on Grove Brunch

Cafe Caturra on Grove

March 11, 2018 by Sara Woznicki in Life In Your 20's, Leisure, life lessons, Richmond Brunch Review, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara

Considering I live 1.5 miles from Cafe Caturra on Grove, it's embarrassing to admit that I've never been brunching there before. This week, I channeled my inner Cazey and tried to be a planner. Granted, I passively invited people to a brunch on Saturday at an undisclosed location at an unknown time.

Clearly I didn't channel enough of Cazey.

Thankfully, someone I invited helped pick the time and location. I did step up at at least make the reservation, since I had no idea how busy it would be.

Where to Find a Massey Mimosa

February 28, 2018 by Sara Woznicki in Leisure, Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Richmond Brunch Review, Sara's Column, Social Media, Tweets and Mascara, Young Professionalism

The Massey Mimosa is kind of like a dog. You love them all, but that doesn't make them all the same. We have over 20 restaurants creating a Massey Mimosa, and invited them to jazz up the drink however these choose. We encourage creativity. That means if you try one Massey Mimosa, you'll still need to try at least 19 more since they'll all be different. Muah ha ha, but don't feel bad about drinking so many mimosas because $1 from every Massey Mimosa goes back to VCU Massey Cancer Center.

Mixed Signals at Verizon

February 20, 2018 by Cazey Williams in Cazey's Column, Humor, life lessons, Life In Your 20's

Just about every two years, I get a new phone. That is the ticking time bomb that is an iPhone. The adoption always occurs around Christmas because phones happen to be a common gift from my parents to me.

Two years ago, I got an iPhone 6S. I remembered my saleswoman, “Heather.” Okay, I didn’t remember her actual name, but I remembered her face. She had been this cute, sunshiny personality with just the right amount of sass mixed with professionalism. I remember thinking I liked her, but also being like I can’t ask for her number because I dislike putting customer service representatives in that position. Also, my mom was standing there. Also, she dropped she had a boyfriend in the last two minutes of the conversation.

Cool, Heather.

As Told Over The Speakeasy Grill Brunch

The Speakeasy Grill

February 18, 2018 by Sara Woznicki in Leisure, Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Richmond Brunch Review, Sara's Column, Social Media, Tweets and Mascara

I parked around the corner from The Speakeasy Grill, and was immediately taken with the quaint house that The Speakeasy Grill is in. I knew it was associated with the Hippodrome Theater, which I assumed would make it a very different ambiance than it was. I was expecting something less quaint.

I Had My Personality Officially Diagnosed: I Am Who I Think I Am

February 06, 2018 by Cazey Williams in Cazey's Column, Life In Your 20's, life lessons

For years, I thought I knew my Myers-Briggs personality. I never formally took the MBTI test, but Facebook and Buzzfeed quizzes told me I’m an ENTJ. I read up on my personality and my compatibilities with other personality types. I became accustomed to understanding myself, at least through some lens, that I am the direct, efficient, competent, and natural leader in many settings. I used to squirm at this assertion, but just look at my resume. I always end up being the president, the chair, or point person for projects I’m involved in.

In undergrad, I discovered personality tests: True Colors, StrengthsQuest, DiSC, and the pinnacle one, MBTI. I became fascinated by what they told us about a person, how tests could categorize people into personality boxes, and how they could guide relationships. I accept all this with a dash of salt and pinch of cynicism. I will be the first to say personality tests are not definite, your personality can change, there are not only four or six or 36 personalities in the world, and maybe there are misdiagnoses—but they can also help us! It’s nice to know who thinks more with their heart than their head…so I can make them agree with me in any way I have to. Insert sly smile emoji.

My, What Big Teeth You Have: A Visit to the Dentist

January 23, 2018 by Cazey Williams in Cazey's Column, Humor, Life In Your 20's, life lessons

In my final week of being on my parents’ insurance, I made a final dentist visit before I entered the marketplace. Under my Obamacare plan I would have no dental insurance for the foreseeable future, so I wanted to be reassured I was cavity-free.

By mistake, I made an appointment at a new dentist’s office. The day before the appointment, the receptionist called to confirm I had insurance. “Well, I sure hope so,” I said.

A terrifying seven days unfolded before me. What if I didn’t have insurance? Did I need to spend the next week living in a cushioned bubble? Could I even go outside? What if I twisted my ankle showering? What if I developed strep throat? Who would pay the hospital bill?

I Won an At-Home Massage on Instagram and Here's How it Went

January 17, 2018 by Sara Woznicki in Leisure, Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Sara's Column, Social Media, Tweets and Mascara

I was relatively nervous before it, kind of like when you’re about to meet a person for the first time. I found myself cleaning my house, organizing the kitchen and vacuuming like I was hosting a first date at my house. It just felt odd inviting a stranger into my house to rub me.

When my masseuse showed up at my house, she was a perky, petite woman that got right to setting up the bed. I was sitting on my sofa, chatting and feeling like I needed to be a better host. So, I made things weird.

An Unethical Solution to an Ethics Problem

January 09, 2018 by Cazey Williams in Cazey's Column, Humor, life lessons, Life In Your 20's

In college, we had to take an ethics course to graduate. The Director of the Research Office taught the class. And incidentally, Dr. Franklin also wrote the required textbook for the class.

Curious that the head of the university’s ethics curriculum required a class to graduate that also required the textbook he wrote 15 years ago.

More curious was that the campus bookstore did not carry the textbook for rental. Most college textbooks are available for permanent purchase or for rent. This one only had the option to buy for good, through death and through health and through undergrad, and that was it. As if I want to keep a book on scientific misconduct on my reading shelf.