A recent day at work found me calling a large number of strangers, hoping to entice them to come in and share their opinions with us. As you can imagine, being that it was the day after July 4th, a fair amount of these phone numbers lead me to voicemail. Some were generic, others were automated, but among the many there was one particular one that left me smiling and dying to meet the woman behind the message:

The message (more or less): Hi you’ve reached __________! I’m not around my phone right now, possibly because we’re playing at the park and left it at home. Or, if I’m lucky, I’m at a yoga class. Either way, please leave me a message and I’ll call you back. Have an excellent afternoon!

I’ll admit, written out the message doesn’t seem that extraordinary, but amid the robotic voices and one downright rude message machine (“If you called this number you know who you’re looking to reach….”) I’d been listening to all day, it was nice to hear that someone might be out having fun and being friendly instead of sitting by their phone. Hopefully Carly Rae Jepsen thought to make similar moves given the amount of calls she seems to be expecting.

It’s encouraging that despite having seemingly tragic titles, songs can still manage to be about love. ↓

Crowd Fave: Marrying Ralph Lauren’s Son

Tragic that her name is now Lauren Lauren, but if your honey’s dad can design your wedding dress, I’d say you’re a pretty lucky lady.

via.

Per a recent suggestion from a friend and fellow 401 resident who is “studying abroad” south of the Mason-Dixon, I suppose it’s time I get a little more Rhode Island-y with my posts again.

Notable tech addition to this year’s Festival: they partnered with an app called Foodspotting. Three of my favorite things: food, Newport, and iPhone apps.

Crowd Fave: Accomplishing a Life Goal

This is my friend who is studying abroad in Tanzania this semester. In this picture he has just reached the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Tell me this isn’t inspiring, and I’ll tell you you’re a liar. Miss you CV, make more epic memories soon!

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