2018

Archive for the year 2018

Open Streets ICT

Posted on October 8, 2018 by Ching under Events, Food and Drink, Things to Do.

Just a few pictures from Open Streets ICT a few weeks ago… But first, what is it exactly? Open Streets ICT is a FREE community-building event that closes a Douglas Avenue to traffic and opens it for biking, walking, running, dancing, yoga, and more! Everyone is welcome to join in the fun, and to stop at the local businesses, restaurants, and street vendors along the four-mile stretch.

We started our day with breakfast at our usual place, Dempsey’s Biscuit Co, which also happens to be along the route.

Here are some pictures of our delicious breakfast.

We decided meet up for breakfast later than usual. Normally we go when Dempsey’s Biscuit Co first opens at nine o’clock but decided to go later that day so we could move right into Open Streets ICT mode. We didn’t think of the street being blocked because the official street closing was advertised from noon to five o’clock in the afternoon. However, they started closing the streets earlier that day and our cars almost got trapped in the Dempsey’s Biscuit Co parking lot (except for Jeff who planned ahead and arrived on his bike). Good thing Brian knew his way around the neighborhood.

After breakfast Brian and I took off and parked our car in my work parking lot. My office building is a long the route and right in the thick of the action.

We also purposely planned it this way because there’s a Bike Share ICT station right outside my office and our plan was to use my promo code for 2 hours of FREE bike rental. You can cover more ground and you get to see so much more by biking rather than being on foot.

We ran into one of Brian’s Edward Jones coworkers, Brandi. She had a tent along the path, right by the Alzheimer’s Association office.

There was FREE outdoor yoga on Douglas and Pattie.

There were lots of people walking and biking and there were vendors everywhere.

They even had sections of street blocked off for games such as pickle ball.

We would have taken more pictures but it was difficult to do so while riding the bikes. We only took photos at stops along the way. And, we didn’t really have enough time to see everything because we had to set aside enough time to get out of downtown so I could make it back to Andover for my two o’clock Zumba class.

There were four main hubs with lots of activities besides what’s pictured above. The City of Wichita even had a dunk tank featuring Mayor Jeff Longwell. There was also plenty to do in between hubs.

Though we missed the event last year because we just couldn’t squeeze it into our busy schedule, we heard it was a huge success so we did our best to squeeze it in this year. Next year I may have to sub out my Zumba class because I didn’t feel like we had enough time to take it all in.

Anyway, Open Streets ICT is one of those events/initiatives that we hope the city continues year after year because it’s a huge hit and people love it.

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Cheap Date Idea — Mural Scavenger Hunt

Posted on October 1, 2018 by Ching under Date Ideas, Things to Do.

I wanted to share something fun that Brian and I did recently. It’s absolutely perfect if you’re looking for a cheap date idea. If you’re unfamiliar with Wichita, we have this three-mile stretch on Douglas Avenue called Douglas Design District. It starts at the heart of downtown and ends just beyond Oliver. The stretch is peppered with local businesses — over 300 of them.

Something else that the District is peppered with are these amazing works of art. Everywhere you look you’ll find beautiful murals all over the place. Some of them are massive and breathtaking.

So Brian and I decided to go on a mural scavenger hunt last weekend. Our adventure also coincided with the District’s annual Avenue Art Days event, a tradition that started three years ago and has grown bigger and better each passing year. This year’s dates were September 21-23, culminating in a mural crawl from 12 to 5 pm on September 23 — the same day and time as Open Streets ICT. I’m not sure if they planned it that way but it was absolutely perfect.

Since I teach a Zumba class every Sunday at 2 pm, we figured we wouldn’t have much time to participate in Open Streets ICT festivities but I really wanted to check out these beautiful works of art. Brian and I decided to venture out on Saturday afternoon, the day before Open Streets ICT. It worked out fabulously because, not only did we get to see some amazing murals, we also caught some artists in the act. They were busy finishing thirteen new murals for Avenue Art Days 2018.

Here are a few more pictures of artists at work.

This mural is one that we see all the time because it’s outside our favorite breakfast/brunch spot, Dempsey’s Biscuit Co.

This one called “Wichita The Air Capital” isn’t massive but is one of my favorites from last year. You can find it at Clifton Square, where several other Avenue Art Days installations are located.

This is the one at Dempsey’s Burger Pub at Clifton Square, also from Fall 2017.

Anyway, now that we are several days removed from Avenue Art Days 2018, I can’t wait to head back out to check the finished product of the ones that were in progress last weekend.

Thank you to all of the artists and volunteers who have been working hard to beautify our city since the inception of Avenue Art Days in 2015.

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Fall Kick Off Party at Andover YMCA

Posted on September 30, 2018 by Ching under Events, Zumba.

Here are a few pictures from the Fall Kick Off Party we hosted at Andover YMCA a couple of weeks ago.

This is a group photo of the active Zumba instructors home-based at Andover YMCA: (from left) Crystal, Darlene, Tiffany, me and Charis. The only one missing is Mandy who is still on maternity leave. She returns to the rotation next month. In the meantime Charis has been covering her Tuesday night class.

Don’t mind my wild outfit. The theme was neon so I wanted to be as colorful as possible. I just love theme days!

We had time for a few extra songs at the end so these next few photos are of Alex leading a song. She killed it!

We took a few group photos at the end. Some people had left already but, as you can see, it was a great turnout.

I can’t wait until we have another one of super fun Zumba parties.

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Master Certificate in Project Management

Posted on September 27, 2018 by Ching under Leadership, Things to Do.

Well, it took more than a year but I am finally done. I received my Master Certificate in Project Management earlier this month from Wichita State University‘s Center for Management Development.

But, as a lifelong learner, I’m never truly done. While I’m finished with this program, there is still so much more to learn.

For now, I need to decide whether to apply for a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. I suppose that would be a reasonable next step. I’m not in a hurry to do it because it’s not required for my current role but I’m thinking this might be something I want to complete in 2019 should my schedule allow it.

I’m still undecided. What do you guys think?

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Zoobilee 2018

Posted on September 26, 2018 by Ching under Events.

As much as we say we’re not going to go to Zoobilee again, we always have so much fun. It’s definitely our favorite event to end summer and officially kick off fall. And, despite thinking each year will be our last, we’ve yet to miss one of these since we started attending in 2009. This year marked our 10th consecutive one.

We wouldn’t have gone this year because I didn’t buy tickets. I figured I was getting to old to hang with the YPW folks and felt guilty about buying through their group. They have a really nice private party set up though and early entry so if you’re buying tickets, YPW is definitely the way to go. For the same price, you get in much earlier and don’t have to stand in the ridiculously long line.

Anyway, some of my coworkers got free tickets through work. I was not special enough to get one. The Zoobilee tickets are so popular that there are never any leftovers. I’ve only ever gotten free tickets from work once in the ten years we’ve been going. In the past we’ve attended by volunteering, which I very highly recommend if you want to partake but are limited on cash, or buying our own tickets through the YPW group.

This year Isaac and Crystal decided not to go. I think they had something else going on that day. I ended up inheriting his tickets and so Brian and I were able to attend, though we totally had not planned it.

I may not be the most spontaneous person but I’m always ready for a party. LOL.

Here’s a picture of Brian in line for his first drink of the evening. Success!

So Brian’s face doesn’t look it but he actually has a lot of fun at these events (most of the time). There was one year we attended despite me having a massive headache and we still had a blast. We went because we didn’t want the tickets to go to waste.

Here’s a picture of us with Josh and his wife Jessica pretty early in the evening.

This time we are with Josh, Jessica, Darcy, and Jeff.

And then with Josh, Jessica, Derek, and Vicky.

And then with Andrea and James.

And with Gina’s brother BJ who is always at these events.

Here is Brian enjoying a free cigar from the Humidor.

Group pic with Laura and Chad and Josh and Jessica (again).

We were with Josh and Jessica most of the evening.

Cox Communications had a special sports bar area this year that neither of us remember seeing in years past. We both think it was new this year.

Here’s a picture of us with Johnson, my new favorite massage therapist at Sveta’s.

Here’s a picture of us with Sveta herself and my original favorite massage therapist Michael. He’s not working at Sveta’s anymore but still helps out for special events.