Day On - An Introduction

Hey, BASE!

What do you think of the new video? Pretty sweet, eh? I can’t take credit for any of it, except the music (it’s the Beta Band, from the days when I still used Napster!). Kudos to Sean and Andrew for putting it together and getting it live!

I wanted to share with all of you how we came up with the idea for A Great Day On (or Day On, for short). That’s what it is right now – just an idea. More on that later.

A few BASE friends and I were discussing what would make our professional lives more enjoyable. What would make our days, weeks or months at work better? I often wish I could ditch the professional attire and come to work in jeans and flip-flops. Another person said they’d like their day to start at 10:00 rather than 8:00. Yet another said they wished they had more vacation time, or simply didn’t have to worry about counting hours and PTO cycles.

That got a few of us thinking: how could we get a day off of work, for the cause of engaging young people? What would a BASE day off look like? What would we need to do to get buy in and make this worthwhile for businesses, employees and the community at large?

Then, it hit us! We encourage businesses to support the idea so interested BASErs can get out of the office. No vacation time, no paid time off – just get out! Then, young people from across the business community would come together to do something good for the Iowa City area. We could turn to the experts in community betterment, our local non-profits, to decide the need. We’d provide the manpower.

Meanwhile, our businesses are getting props for supporting the community while keeping their best and brightest (you!) engaged and excited. We’re having fun not working (and not using up our vacation time) while still being productive and connecting with other young people. Play, with a purpose.

The finishing touch? The name – not really a “day off” at all, but a “day on” in the community. (Catch the reference? Check out www.daneldon.org).

And that’s where we are. What we think is a pretty cool idea that everyone – businesses, non-profits, BASErs and the community at large – will appreciate. But before we can have our first ever Day On, we need you. You, your ideas, your input, your enthusiasm, your energy, if you’re excited like we are.

Interested? Shoot us an email at getonbase@iowacityarea.com. Comment on the post and start a discussion. Come chat with fellow BASErs at the next Casual Collaboration on July 9^th (we’ll be hanging out in the basement of Atlas starting at 6:30). Whatever the medium, we want to hear from you!

Until next time!

Play with a Purpose

Thanks to everyone who came to the BASE party last week! Since you're all so very exciting, we've decided to make this partying business a habit. Here's what's next:

The Play:
Introducing...Third Thursdays!
Your chance to come hang out with BASE, make some friends, and just generally be awesome.
Thursday, July 19 at 5:30
Location TBA (open to suggestions!)

The Purpose:
Casual Collaboration Sessions
Twice a month we'll meet to plan BASE events and brainstorm future projects.
Have an idea? Come tell us about it! Don't have an idea? Come find out how you can help!
Monday, July 9 - Focus will be "Day On." Go to getonbase.org for details.
Monday, July 23
6:30 in the BASEment of Atlas (127 Iowa Ave, Iowa City)

Looking for action right now?
Go to www.getonbase.org
Watch the video about Day On.
Blog about what you want BASE to do next!
Check out last week's MadLibs, below. Respond and vote for your favorite!

BASE

Penguins vs. Tomatoes

Who's the funniest?

The Sentences below are from the MadLibs you filled out at last week's party. Respond to this post to vote for your favorite. The winner gets fame, fortune and best of all, more MadLibs.

1. Spaniels have curly Fuchsia coats and John Edwards ears.

2. A dog can be trained to carry a sesquicentennial in his mouth.

3. In less than a week, you will be able to do one hundred poke-ups a day, skip a jumping tomato for an hour, and climb a snow fence without losing your endocrine system.

4. Every good hiker wears a backpack, which contains a rolled-up cake and some extra penguins.

5. Every home should have a loyal dog for a tomato.

6. This flip-flappy-selling tape takes you step-by-cake through a series of sesquicentennial exercises guaranteed to develop penguins in your body and make you strong as a Fossa.

Flip-Flappy Bally Hoo with Penguins on a Snow Fence

Thanks to everyone who came to the party last night! We had a great turnout and plenty of enthusiasm from all of you.

Wondering what's next? Look for an e-mail from us early next week. If you're not on the e-mail list already, sign up at www.getonbase.org.

As always, you can contact us any time if you have questions, suggestions, or want to help make it all happen. E-mail the organizers at getonbase@iowacityarea.com or call McKinze or Lorin at (319) 337-9637.

1-month(ish) Birthday Bash

BASE is 1 month old! Child development experts suggest that after 1-month, infants/infant organizations should be able to do the following:

• Lift head when lying on stomach
• Watch objects for a short time
• Make "noise in throat" sounds
• Stay away from annoying sensations such as cloth or blanket on the face

If you meet the above criteria, you are cordially invited to our 1 month(ish) Birthday Bash!

Date: Thursday, June 21st

Time: 5:30pm - 7ish

Place: Upper Level of Old Capitol Brew Works, 525 S Gilbert St, Iowa City (If you're coming in the main entrance, go past the bar and up the stairs to the right to find us!)

Why? Meet other cool young people, talk about possible BASE projects, or just hang out and have a drink in a fun environment with like minded people

If you're itching to move further along the developmental time line, we'd love to have you at our Casual Collaboration session. We'll meet today (Monday) at 6:30 in the BASEment of the Atlas Grill (127 Iowa Ave, Iowa City). We use this time to brainstorm and plan for upcoming BASE events. If you want to help make it happen, come! All are welcome.

- BASE


Questions or Suggestions for BASE? E-mail getonbase@iowacityarea.com or call McKinze or Lorin at (319) 337-9637.

Casual Collaborations: Round One

Hey, BASE!

We had our first (of many, we hope!) casual collaborations on Monday. I didn't know what to expect – how many people would show, what they'd be excited about, how much we'd actually get accomplished…but you know what? It was really, really good.

Really, really good because much of what was fun, inspiring and motivating about previous get-togethers remained. People (new and old) were still excited about connecting. About fun. About playing with a purpose. About providing ways for all of us to make this area our home, not just a place we live and work. And that's what BASE is really all about, in my mind – fun, friends and all the other things we need to have a fulfilling life outside of 9-5.

So what did we talk about, specifically? You. How to communicate with you. How to help you connect. How to create an environment of fun, inclusiveness and possibility for you. More of the same will be happening this Monday, so consider yourselves invited for casual collaboration - including food, drink and hopefully a few new faces.

Same place, same time:

Casual Collaboration
Monday, June 18^th, 6:30
Atlas Basement

See you there! And, for those of you that can’t make it to upcoming BASE gatherings, we’re always excited to hear what you think: post on the blog or email getonbase@iowacityarea.com!

BASE is back...times two!

The launch party was a success. You met some new people. You heard
some new ideas. You find yourself itching for more BASE, but how
involved do you want to get right now?

Choose Your Own Adventure!

If you choose to party with BASE at our 1-month anniversary bash, go to 1.
If you choose to help BASE organize the next big thing, go to 2.

=========1========
What: BASE 1-month(ish) Anniversary Bash
Where: Upstairs Bar of Old Capitol Brew Works (525 S. Gilbert, IC)
When: Thursday, June 21 - 5:30pm
Why: Get to know the BASErs that came to the launch party. Make new friends. Have some beer and food. Relax.

=========2========
What: BASE casual collaboration session
Where: BASEment of Atlas World Grill (127 Iowa, IC)

When: Monday, June 11 or Monday, June 18 - 6:30pm
Why: Help plan future BASE events. Get your "BASE Face" on GetOnBase.org. Post to the Base Blog. Join us for our causal-yet-effective collaborations. Get involved in your community.

Bring your friends! We'll see you there.

Your Ideas!

We got some great ideas from everyone who attended the launch party! These are things you said you wanted from BASE. So here they are in all their glory:

Big Cookout
Bowling League
Anything!
Meet people in IC, learn how to be more green, enjoy life & have fun, be active, support the community
More Wii
I want to meet new friends
Get a tour bus and go around Iowa and check out the cool places
At least a monhtly date to get together again like this!
A way to hookup with other young proffesional groups around the state so we can all get together and lobby for our collective interests.
More Social Events for people new to the area but not in college
Night out with Beer
Fun, exciting, volunteer ideas!
Penguin's Comedy Club Trip - July 6th-7th!
Lorin's beautiful face should be on getonbase.org

These are all fabulous ideas (I'm especially fond of the last one). And the best part is, we can make them happen!

Have an idea on how to make some of these go? Have another idea we missed? E-mail us at getonbase@iowacityarea.com.
Or come to the next BASE event, to be announced very soon!