TEDxFIU 2013 – Exploring FIU

This is my follow up post to my TEDxFIU 2013 – Reimagine Possible post.

Some more pictures (in a slideshow) of TEDxFIU have been posted, for those interested. Also FIU’s Flicker has behind the scenes, and the event itself.

TEDxFIU was so insanely fun that I have to dedicate two posts to it! Consider this to be a more behind the scenes kind of deal, well…behind the scenes from my perspective. I’d like to share with you my adventure around the FIU campus as well as the cool stuff before and after the TEDxFIU event!

TEDxFIU 2013 – Reimagine Possible

TEDxFIU Speakers and Innovative Shark Ideas!

For those who may remember, I recently perchased my ticket to go to this year’s TEDxFIU Reimagine Possible event! The tickets to which sold out in a matter of minutes, and I was able to get my hands on one. The ticket camp-out processes is one that I had never done before and provoked a family value-sized amount of anxiety. The sweat on my palms alone could have filled the Red Sea.

Words cannot describe how excited I am to go to my FIRST EVER TED talk. Seriously. Like, the words…I don’t have any.

At the time of purchasing my ticket, I didn’t actually know WHO was speaking at the TEDxFIU event, but nowww THE SPEAKERS HAVE JUST BEEN ANNOUNCED. 

SWEET SONS OF NEPTUNE I AM SO EXCITED.

Innovation and new ideas are something that everyone can use.

Even better is taking negative stigmas and turning them into positives.

Take for example, this supernatural shark phenomenon. So I don’t know if you’ve heard about Sharknado…but its basically showcasing the already feared shark as a diabolical, flying death machine. WHAT?

There’s also Ghost Shark, which I caught on the Sy-Fi channel… It’s about a shark so evil that it kills you after it’s already died. And yes, this shark also flies at you in the land.  Really???

What I’m trying to say is that if we are going to make sharks do stuff that they normally don’t do – why do we have to make their tasks things that are violent – and always flying?  Why not have sharks save the world?

TED has inspired me to reimagine new innovative ways that we can use sharks that relieves them from this flying death trap stigma.

I present to you, Shartato. This shark is half potato, and grows back its body parts – so infinite potatoes for the world to feast on!

I got another idea: Sharktenna. Sharktenna is a new, innovative way to improve your cellphone reception.

I know that I could definitely use this next invention: Shark.S.B. The USB that swims your way when you’ve lost your own USB or desperately need to back up some documents!

But lets think on a global scale, how about repairing our OZONE LAYER? Thanks to sharks, we can. Its a little idea that I call SHARKZONING.

I even have an idea to help local communities get more into physical fitness! Just institute the EXSHARKCISE program!

Help give scientists around the world a new perspective on their research, a shark’s perspective. That’s what the SHARKINEERING is for:

Is your government shut down because of irrational convoluted political drama? Send in the GOVERNMENT SHARKDOWN! All problems will be solved within hours, or no one leaves Washington alive.

So with that last one I seem to have failed at providing a non-violent representation of sharks…sorry. I think I’ve just made my whole argument invalid at this point.

Guess I’ll end it here.

What kind of shark innovation would you invent to better the world?

TEDxFIU “Reimagine Possible”

I’M GOING TO A TEDxTALK ON NOVEMBER 7TH!!!!!

OH OH OH OHHHHHH YEAH. THAT’S RIGHT. ME. I’M GOING. THAT WOULD BE ME GOING TO A TEDTALK. Is this real life? It better be.

I AM ECSTATIC. 

I LITERALLY CAN’T CONTAIN MYSELF.

I’VE BEEN WALKING AROUND MY APARTMENT DOING VICTORY POSES FOR THE PAST TEN MINUTES.

I am officially going to TEDxFIU!

I was really worried when I found out that student tickets sold out in like five minutes. So today I decided to camp out in front of my computer for 10:00am when the general admission tickets would become available. 

I’m not even sure who the guest speakers are going to be, but last year’s TEDxFIU was a huge success, and I didn’t even know it happened. To be honest, the fact that I get to participate as an audience member in any TEDTalk is mind-blowing. I have been a fan of TED and watched numerous speakers inspire and educate me on a variety of topics. I think I’ve even blogged about a few of my favorite speakers. I plan on continuing to do so as well. I will be periodically checking their webpage for updates. I am just so excited, you have no idea.

That being said. I just had the most terrible anxiety building up as I was refreshing the ticket page.

Has anyone ever done this before?

I have to admit, though I have in the past bought tickets the same day they were made available, I never had to camp out for tickets. I mean, I’ve camped out for various other things (Black Friday deals!), but never for an online purchase.

It’s kind of a nail biting experience. All you do is sit there and wait for the website to start selling the tickets, you’re compulsively clicking refresh again and again. Your palms get all sweaty. Your heart starts to pound like crazy within five minutes before the time they become available, mostly because you realize that maybe your computer or cell phone clock isn’t in sync with whatever the website’s clock is. Not to mention my crappy internet connection. Why do I pay so much money for below average connection speeds? I digress. So, around 9:55am I was in full refresh-click-mode.

But when my computer clock changed to 10am, a fiery motivation took over my body and right index finger. THIS IS IT. THE TIME IS NOW.

BUT NOTHING HAPPENED WHEN I CLICKED REFRESH! So, naturally, I panic. I focus all my energy on keeping my eye on the prize. I WILL CLICK THIS REFRESH BUTTON FOREVER. I WILL GET MY TED TALK TICKET!

See you guys there.