Get Connected (Get off the couch and meet some new people)

It’s easy to get stuck in a routine of isolation after a long day of work – but just as easy to find some new people to hang out with, honest! With the power of the internet it is really a little spooky how connected you can actually get, I’m not into myspace b/c people I don’t want to find always find me!

Fortunately, there are sites that allow you to be a little more selective in who you’d like to meet; take meetup.com for instance. The website allows people to join a large variety of groups from wine enthusiasts to home entrepreneur groups and actually plan events to “meet up.” Just around Harrisburg there is quite a few interesting groups, a spanish group, an entrepreneur group, and a work at home group to name a few.  Might be worth checkin out.

Also, websites like zvents.com, eventful.com, campuscentral.com as I’ve mentioned before are great ways to get connected with whats going on in the area.

The Harrisburg Young Professionals (hyp.org) are another great group of people. The run all kind of events and social gatherings, a really great place to make contacts and new friends. The membership annually for HYP is $30 I believe.

SO, don’t make excuses, get off the couch! Use the internet to find some people of interest and get connected, life is more enjoyable than the average amount of time people watch tv every day – 4 hours!

Local Wineries – Get wine-ducated!

Haven’t quite be enable to put down your bud light for a fine wine as of yet? Never really enjoyed the taste of mom’s wine? No worries, a visit to your local winery might surprise your palate.

I never really enjoyed wine myself, that is, until I discovered the incredible variety of wines that exist and how delicious many of them can be. And, while you might raise some eyebrows by trying a sip of every different wine in a liquor store to find one you like, it’s encouraged and usually free at your local winery. After a few visits to local wineries just for something new to do with my girlfriend, I quickly realized that there is a wine for everyone’s taste, whether you like dry, sweet, sugary, aged, white, red, rose, the list goes on and on. The moral of the story is, give it a try and be amazed at how you take to one or two of the wines you might taste at a local winery.

Luckily for residents of the mid-state, there are a number of wineries you can visit that are very close by:

My favorite winery: West Hanover Winery www.westhanoverwinery.net

Other wineries I personally recommend:Nissley Vineyards www.nissleywine.com, Naylor Wine Cellars www.naylorwine.com, and Cullari Vineyards www.cullarivinyards.samsbiz.com/.

But, you can find wineries state-wide at www.pennsylvaniawine.com/ – an excellent website. So, as I always say; buy local, support your local winery, and educate yourself on some of the many fine tasting wines out there, you’d be surprised!