Free Jack Johnson Download via Twitter

So, I love free stuff and I love Twitter and I love Jack Johnson... so... it was announced today that Jack is giving away free MP3s off his new album, En Concert.

All you have to do is log into your Twitter account and then click this link - http://twitter.jackjohnsonmusic.com/. After you tweet out a message that is already prepared for you (you can add more if you wish) your download will start automatically.

I think this is a great way for a musician to promote Twitter!

Holiday Cards

The Holiday season does not start for a few months, but it's about that time to start thinking about photo holiday cards!

Right now you can save 55% on all holiday cards at 123print.com! They have a ton of template designs to choose from that cover virtually any holiday or occasion. You can choose a flat card or a fold-over card and then the card can be customizes to fit your personality, including adding a family photo. In addition to cards, 123Print offers stationary, labels, memo pads, Post-It notes and personalized envelopes to match your holiday theme.

This is a fast, easy and inexpensive way to get a great holiday customized holiday card to send to your friends and family.

The Counter Burger

If you have not heard of it yet, The Counter is a new Burger restaurant concept where you are in control of your meal. Basically, they have a tong of options and fresh ingredients and you choose to custom make your burger exactly the way you like it. According to their website, there are over 312,120+ different burger combinations for you to choose from. Though, for those that are not too picky, they do have signature burgers and sandwiches where you do not customize it.

The Counter's newest location will be opening in Ballard on Monday, September 21. To help the staff get more comfortable with serving, the menu, how the restaurant runs, etc, The Counter arranged to have people come in to test out the newest location - for free! Well, everyone loves a free meal - so I was in!

When we sat down our waitress was very friendly and told us how it works, about the meat & toppings and how to fill out our card. OK, I LOVE the card idea because I am a picky eater and a visual person and I like to see what toppings/sauces/cheeses are available. As a picky eater, I can write notes next to my checked items like, on the side please.



That was my custom burger card today! You can choose beef, turkey, veggie or chicken in either 1/3lb, 2/3lb or a 1 pounder! The portions are pretty big and are weighed AFTER cooking. As you can see I added tons of toppings. In addition to the normal toppings (mixed greens, tomato, onion, tomato, etc) I ordered pickle, jalapeno, scallions, avacado, sun dried tomato and fried egg. What especially excited me was the fact I can put an egg on my burger! All burgers should come with a fried egg, and let me tell you it was cooked perfectly! I also choose the apricot sauce which was amazing. I almost chose an english muffin as my bun, but went with the honey wheat. They also offer a "burger salad" which is bun-less. I will have to try that.



We also ordered french fries, 1/2 regular fries and 1/2 sweet potato fries. They were really good and I think I actually prefer the sweet potato fries. Also, a big portion.

Because the burgers are customized, they take a little bit to cook, especially if you get the 2/3 or 1 pounder. Actually, we were told the 1 pounder takes about 30 mins to cook - that is how big it is!



The burger was really big, really good and really messy. The ingredients were fresh, the burger was cooked perfectly and that egg yolk broke and I was in burger heaven. Also, I love juicy burgers and this one was juicy. I ordered the 1/3 pound and I was overly full and did not even finish my last bite.



Prices you might be wondering? Well, actually, their prices are pretty reasonable. A 1/3 burger is 8.50 and comes with 1 cheese, 4 toppings, and 1 sauce. You can add additional toppings for $.50-$1.00 each, depending on topping.

In addition to burgers they have a full menu featuring appetizers like fried pickles, chili, salads, milk shakes, soda floats and desserts like key lime pie or apple crumble. They also have wines and beers, if you so choose. I had the chocolate shake and it was thick and topped with fresh creamy whipped cream - yum. They have an Apple Pie shake that I think I would try.

How did I find out about this "community welcome party"? Why, Twitter, of course. The Counter is using social media to help spread the word about the opening, and the voice behind the account is Brian Berman, Director of Marketing for The Counter. I had an opportunity to meet him and he is excited to use social media to offer contests, discounts and communicate with burger fans via the web! You can follow The Counter here: www.twitter.com/counterburger

The Counter in Ballard opens Monday, September 21, 2009. It is located in the Ballard Blocks shopping center, and they have outdoor with porch propane heaters ;)

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Flying back...home?

I wish NWA had inflight internet like every other airline. Everyone asks me why I do not fly Virgin from Seattle, well these people must only travel from Seattle to NYC and Cali or something because the cities I generally have to go to for work - Detroit, Orlando, Atlanta, Dallas, San Antonio, Denver and Vegas (does Virgin go to Vegas?) do not use Virgin. I like my Alaska MVP Status too much to go lose miles to it from another airline. Plus I am always on the Gold cusp and cannot afford to lose even just a few hundred miles (last year I made Gold by 200 miles.) Alaska has me for awhile, but the downfall of Alaska is flying Northwest Airlines to Detroit. Though, the CSA gate agent - who recognized me from flying so much - told me in a few months most NWA planes should be equipped. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Oh, I am on my flight right now. I am not sure where we are, but I have about 2 hours and few minutes before we land, which is about the halfway mark. I tweeted this before we took off, but seriously, my plane smells like baby vomit and weed. Weird. The do not put air on when the plane in loading and unloading so it was super hot while we were waiting there. I am sure people were sweating and that is where the smell came from.

I have been in Detroit for 17 days. That is crazy. This time it was a bit different. I still do not live there, but I was OK with coming back. Maybe it is because I am not stuck somewhere in between, but I am an actual visitor. Also, I actually took some time off from work! I have not really had any vacation time since I started at my company. I have taken a day off here and there but that was all comp time that I picked up working weekends, which most trade shows start on a Sunday so every time I work a trade show I usually pick up 2 days.
Anyway, I am excited to go back to Seattle, to sleep in my own bed, to see my friends, to not live out of a suitcase.

So, this is weird, and I never expected to feel that way. Sometimes I feel almost guilty for leaving Detroit. I feel people like me, and some of my friends, could have stayed and created something amazing. Some people are sticking around and doing just that. Not to mention, we'd all be living in crazy nice houses that we bought for super cheap. Seriously, the housing market is horrible there. There are houses in my mom's neighborhood that are selling for $165,000, $175,000 and just four years ago they were in the $300,000 levels. It is sad really, but for someone like me, it would be an awesome opportunity to pick up some prime real estate.

OK, so besides the selfish aspect of it, I feel like Detroit is going to come back, going to come back strong and in a way I want to be a part of it. Michigan is bad, and it's sad, and people have the "Michigan Syndrome" which is to talk shit about the economy, talk about no jobs, and just lose hope. I feel people like me, and friends of mine, and others, could come in, bring back what we learned living in Seattle, Austin, San Fran, LA, NYC, Chicago and apply it to Detroit. Detroit, especially the downtown area, has beautiful architecture. These buildings are going to waste and not being used. Also, we have amazing sports teams that are downtown, let's capitalize on this! More people need to go downtown, to move downtown. Even though I hate hate hate snow, I'd consider moving back to Detroit if it ever became a "real city."

I need to think about this some more, gather and collect my thoughts and present them in a better manner when I actually have a viable plan.