AK in Texas!

My mom is turning 60 this May and wanted to go somewhere. I was headed to TX in March for AFP's fundraising conference so i told her to meet me there and I will take off a few days earlier.

We spent a few days Austin. Heard it is similar to Portland and it was with the hipsters and  slogans: "Keep Portland weird",  "Keep Austin weird". I thought why didn't I move here to a warmer portlandia? But I did not know about Austin in 2006. There were more bars on one block than in my town.
People everywhere drinkin in the day time, lots of happy hours (no happy hours in Alaska-it's against the law to promote drinking), live music blasting outside. Streets closed on weekends so people can walk on the street from bar to bar. Not even NYC is like this. But it was downtown and felt it was very touristy. Austin also had so much outdoor seating and awesome huge tree. So not use to the humidity and I got sun burnt on the first and only sunny day!

Then headed to San Antonio, no more sun and even got a bit of rain. Texas has been in a drought for years!  I only had one free night there to explore before the conference started. Then mom went back to NYC.

The fundraising conference had 3,000 people vs my town of 5,000. I was overwhelmed with nice people from the nonprofit sector and amazing workshops. So intense! I still need to process this information. At times, I was frustrated because I can only do much with my time in my department of one. Possibilities are endless if I had more help. Wanna never be bored? Work for a nonprofit :)

I saw the work (and meet the people connected to) so many amazing causes and feel proud to be a part of so much positivity in this world. Not everyone chooses to work for a nonprofit, but if you are passionate about a cause, I encoruage you to volunteer (even petitioning or sharing info on facebook etc. helps) or donate to that cause.
And yes, some of that money goes to pay the overworked/underpaid staff that are needed to make things happen and keep the lights on in the office to get the work done. Investigate orgs that align with your passion. Be part of something positive with an impact. We might not all have the luxury of time (I sure don't and I don't have kids), but when you prioritize your finances, you realize you probably can financially contribute.

 I am actually going to leave my savings and IRA to a few nonprofits. I am super excited about this since I don't have kiddos. I will become a major donor when I pass on and then get invited to all the major events hehe...

Ok enough on that, you get the picture. Click here for fun Austin pix. and here for nice San Antonio pix.