March 2015 – thoughts of Melissa

A Fair Response to “An Ode to Riding the Metro Bus”

Posted on March 20, 2015January 17, 2018 by melissaburgess

Last week, I read an article published in The Buffalo News that was titled “An Ode to Riding the Metro Bus,” written by Buzz News Columnist Mary Kunz Goldman. As someone who’s been riding the NFTA-Metro bus for essentially my entire life, it’s obviously a topic that piques my interest and I was curious to read the piece. Goldman’s piece highlights some of the positives of taking the metro bus, while realistically pointing out that the Buffalo transit system isn’t perfect.

As someone who’s been taking the bus daily for years, I really felt that this article just… didn’t do enough for me. I wanted to write my own piece, not just on the positives of the bus, but also on the negative aspects which Goldman really just touches the surface of.

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Travel & Experiences, Uncategorized

Be a Traveler — And Sometimes A Tourist

Posted on March 9, 2015January 17, 2018 by melissaburgess

Just the other day, I read a “travel tips” article that talked about how to be a traveler, rather than a tourist, and tips for how to best experience a new place. I can’t find the article now (of course), but one of the tips was something like “Get to the highest point possible — after all, you want the first photo you share on social media to be a great landscape, and it’s a great way to get a scope of the land.” Anyway, I’ve seen multiple “travel tips” articles like this and I thought perhaps it’d be nice to do one of my own, based on my travel experiences.

Here’s the thing: it’s great to be a traveler, but it’s also great to be a tourist sometimes. There’s a reason that certain attractions are popular; often, they’re a once-in-a-lifetime experience that you shouldn’t so easily pass up just to avoid seeming like a tourist. So I’m not sure I buy into the whole “be a traveler, not a tourist” thing — that’s really just going off the negative connotations of the word “tourist,” and I’m pretty meh about that.

Alas, without further ado… my traveler/tourist (how about both?!) tips:

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A Better You

On Opportunities and Adaptability

Posted on March 3, 2015January 17, 2018 by melissaburgess

Whenever someone asks me what one of my best qualities is, I always say this: I’m able to adapt fairly well, and am always ready to jump in and try my hand wherever I’m needed. I’ve found that to be an incredibly important trait, and I think it’ll carry me far. Being able to be flexible and dive right in has allowed me to expand my circle of capabilities, learn a lot of new things and I intend to keep going on that stretch.

For instance, writing is my specialty. It’s always been my specialty and probably always will be. But I don’t want that to be the only thing I’m good at. I want to be good at a multitude of things; I want to get my name out there, any way I can, make connections, grow relationships and foster the community with a sense that if someone needs something done, I’m there and ready to rock.

A lot of this, for me, has surrounded hockey. What began as just-for-fun attending the games of the OJHL’s Buffalo Jr. Sabres has turned into more.

One day, they needed someone to fill in to videotape the game for the online broadcast, and that’s where it went. I was more than happy to help and while I’m still new to much of it, I feel good knowing that’s a skill I can add to my résumé. I’ve started helping with social media for the team, live-tweeting the games and doing occasional Facebook posts & the like.

This coming weekend, I’ll be trying my hand at the DJ game to fill in as we’ll have somewhat of a light crew for an upcoming game. I volunteered, not only because I want to try new things, but because it’s great to put myself out there in different ways and I’ll be darned if I don’t give it all I’ve got.