I can’t believe it has already been a year since I first wrote about the Orange County Restaurant Week, but now we are already half way into this year’s awesome celebration of FOOD!

You only have until this Saturday, March 6 to check out the many hot restaurants in Orange County participating in this restaurant week. Enjoy awesome prix fixe lunch and dinner menus served at over a hundred restaurants, and at special prices.

I shared my list of restaurants I planned to eat at last year, so here are my choices for this year!

AnQi at South Coast Plaza – http://www.orangecountyrestaurantweek.com/AnQi.html – I actually visited this place for lunch yesterday with my friend Debbie from @TravelCostaMesa. She wrote a great review on Travel Costa Mesa’s Blog

Quattro Cafe at South Coast Plaza – http://www.orangecountyrestaurantweek.com/Quattro_Cafe.html – Reservations for tonight! Looking forward to the chocolate cake.

Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Anaheim – http://www.orangecountyrestaurantweek.com/Ruths_Chris_Anaheim.html – Reservations already made for Saturday night!

If you’re a food lover like me, then you probably don’t need an excuse to go to a restaurant. On the other hand, I often frequent my same favorite restaurants all the time. So this is your chance to explore and be adventurous. Get out there and EAT!

It’s refreshing and great exercise. And if you’re like me, you get lost in your own thoughts whenever you go for a walk, but where is there to go?

Are there any parks nearby? Bars and restaurants to hang out with the friends? Or how about a nearby grocery store?

I love the idea of living an in urban environment where everything is walking distance, and anything not is easily accessible through public transportation. Unfortunately, living in Southern California, this lifestyle is almost non-existent, especially living in Orange County. There are very few people I know that do not own a car. We live in a car-dependent society.

On WalkScore.com, you can score your neighborhood on how walkable or car-dependent it is, based on the surrounding amenities within walking distance. I live in Anaheim’s [hopefully] up-and-coming Platinum Triangle. My walk score? 72. Supposedly “very walkable”. Not bad, but not great either.

However, wouldn’t it be great if we could increase the walk score for Orange County? Think about it. We’d get more exercise, contribute less to car pollution, and create more foot traffic for local businesses. Further, wouldn’t it be just a cool place to live?

Tell us, what’s your walk score?

[Image taken from walkscore.com]

After exiting the 91-motorway,  you can find yourself in a quaint little courtyard at the Villa del Sol center where a most unusual shop can be found.  Specializing in goods from the land of the Beatles,  Harry Potter, and James Bond, the British Grocer in Downtown Fullerton stocks it’s shelves full of British sweets and necessities.

Upon entering the shop, you’re greeted by shelves of sweets, tea sets, and the owner of the store, an old British lady whose voice made me smile and think of the memories of when I was in England. Seeing all of the different sweets and crisps (candy and chips for you Yanks) instantly brightened my eyes – I could see everything from crackers, curries, assortments of teas, and something  that I’ve always heard of and wanted to try – Marmite.

Jackie and I were instantly intrigued by the variety of items in the store and decided to buy some to try them out.

The first thing the Jackie and I tried were the Aero chocolate bars because they were the most familiar thing to us since they are made by Nestle. We each bought separate flavors: chocolate and mint.

So the thing about Aero bars is that they aren’t just regular chocolate bars. As the “aero” name kinda suggests, there are little air bubbles in the center which provides an interesting texture when bitten into or left to just sit in your mouth to melt. They are also seven pieces inside so you can share it easily with friends or just snap off and save the rest for later.

The mint Aero bar was the first one we tried. After I bit into it, I could taste the mint flavor. I felt  it wasn’t very minty and wished it had more.  Jackie was satisfied with it’s “mintiness” though.

The chocolate Aero bar was the one we both preferred. It felt like biting and chewing a chocolate cake. We both liked the texture as it felt a bit smoother than the mint bar.

The next thing we tried were “Tayto” crisps or chips for us in the US. We only bought one bag, but the lady working there gave us another bag for free! How nice :)

We got the Cheese and Onion flavor which kind of tasted like Lay’s Sour Cream and Onion flavored potato chips. Odd, I know, but that’s what we thought it tasted like. The crisps also had a different crunch to it’s American cousins. I can’t really describe it well, but when we bit into it and chewed it, we could feel a different texture.

Next thing we tried were “Revels,” which are chocolate covered candies. I can say that these little candies were FUN to eat! Since they are chocolate covered, you can’t tell which flavor you got until you bite into it. Flavors range from coffee and orange flavors, chocolate, toffee, or a raisin.

This was probably one of our favorite things that we bought and we really enjoyed eating it. How many other candies still give you a smile and an adventure when you eat them? Jackie and I would definitely get it again the next time we go there.

Next up was just called “Penguin.” We think. On the wrapper, it’s slogan was “Pppick up a Penguin.” And we certainly did pppick one up. It had a penguin themed joke on the wrapper as well, a la Laffy Taffy. OK, so who is a penguin’s favorite aunt? Get it yet? No? AUNTARCTICA! HAHA.

Jokes aside, it was just a chocolate cookie and tasted pretty much just like a regular cookie. Nothing really special about it. Both Jackie and I thought it didn’t have much of a chocolate flavor either.

The next thing we *tried* eating was candy called Sherbet Fountain. I say try because we had absolute no idea what to do with it. All it was was a paper tube with powder and a stick in it. The wrapper had no directions what so ever and after a few minutes we gave up and tried the next thing.

I got home, did some research and found out more about this candy. So it was a powdered candy – sherbet, and the stick was licorice. What you’re supposed to do with it was pull out the licorice stick, lick it, dip it in the sherbet powder, then lick it again – just like Fun Dip. It tasted OK trying to eating it that way as it gave a taste of licorice and the sherbet.

After a while, I got tired of dipping it in I simply just ate the licorice stick (which I didn’t like much because I don’t like licorice…ha!) and started eating the sherbet powder like a Pixie Stick. What really surprised me was that the powder foamed up in my mouth! What a surprise!

The next thing we tried was the Coffee Crisp, which is NOT British! It was pointed out to me on a flickr comment that Coffee Crisp is Canadian, and it sure is. Oh well. That doesn’t stop us from eating and reviewing it! (particularly since we already did. bwahaha)

The Coffee Crisp candy was simply were wafers with chocolate and coffee flavored layers, all covered in chocolate. It didn’t blow my mind, nor impress me much because both Jackie and I wished it had more of a Coffee flavor. We just couldn’t taste enough coffee to satisfy our tastes.

The last thing we tried was the Marmite. It’s the little jar with the yellow top and the label that says MARMITE on the lower right hand side of the picture.

When we were buying it, the lady in the shop asked us if we’ve ever tried Marmite (or Ma-mite as she pronounced it). I said no and she went on to explain how to eat it without throwing up. She said to put it on buttered toast ever so thinly, otherwise we won’t ever try it again.

She was right when she said that. We tried it a little bit and were met with a big savory flavor that definitely was not meant to be eaten alone. Marmite is yeast extract and is high in vitamin-B. It has a very strong and savory flavor (umami) – similar to soy sauce.

When I went home and tried it on toast with butter I loved it! I loved the saltiness and almost meaty flavor that it gives. I would recommend this to people if you like salty or savory food. The jar lasts a very long time, and it’s totally different from other foods we have here. Because it’s different, I can’t guarantee that you’ll like it though haha!

The British Grocer is an Orange County gem since it’s probably one of the few places if not the only where you can get some of these items. I don’t know of any other British importers yet so this would be my one stop for Marmite runs. I had a great experience going to the store, looking around, and then buying some things I was interested in. If you’re looking for things from Britain or just want to try new things, I’d definitely recommend you go and shop at the British Grocer!

I’m going to watch Top Gear and Dr. Who while eating some crisps and McVities. Oh how I love the Brits.

http://thebritishgrocer.com/

Check out the Gallery or click the pics above for full size views!

Villa del Sol Photo credit:Linda Hartman on Flickr

Sherbet Fountain Photo Credit: Atomicshed on Flickr

Up next: FISH AND CHIPS!

The final words of his speech, “It is not about you.”

This post isn’t about the conference or my students, though. Rather, it’s about the people who have taken these words in order to better the lives of others. Every year, we take one day to celebrate and give thanks. For many, this means family, a huge meal, or maybe just a day off from work and school. But I want to recognize the ones who make the day about others.

We Give Thanks Foundation

Five years ago, Thanksgiving Day, I went out to volunteer in the parking lot of La Casa Garcia Restaurant in Anaheim to serve a Thanksgiving meal to those less fortunate. When I arrived, I was surprised not only at the number of families enjoying festivities, but I was surprised by large number of volunteers — so many that my help was not needed.

Frank Garcia, restaurant owner and founder of the We Give Thanks Foundation, has been serving families a free meal for Thanksgiving for over 20 years. The number of attendees has grown so large that the location has moved from the restaurant parking lot to the Honda Center and serves over 20,000 people with over 1,500 volunteers.

If you have more stories, people, or organizations that you want to acknowledge, regardless of being about Thanksgiving or not, please let me know, justin[at]vitaminoc[dot]com. I would love to add them to this post. Even though this Thursday is Thanksgiving, giving thanks and remembering that it is not always about ourselves should be something we remember every day.

It was super cold (at least for me, it was!) at the soccer fields in Cal State Fullerton, and the ROTC students were already warming up.

I met with Nick Siemsen and his girlfriend, Vanessa, who began putting together their weather balloon project.  Nick set his camera timer and cell phone GPS, and placed all components into a styrofoam box, while Vanessa filled the balloon with helium.  After connecting the balloon to the box, we all got excited for the moment of lift off!  Everything was set.

Nick released the balloon from his hands.  Then…

Nothing happened.  Unfortunately, the balloon didn’t have enough helium.  So, Nick and Vanessa made a quick stop at a helium store off of Orangethorpe and Raymond Ave.  About half an hour later, we were all back at the soccer fields.  They filled the balloon to double the size of what it had been earlier that morning.  And fortunately, it took off just as Nick had predicted.

We all watched for a couple of minutes until we could barely see it.  It seemed to be heading southeast, which is good news for O.C.!  If Nick’s projections are correct, it should be landing sometime after 1:00pm today.  Let us know if you think you see it in your area!

And if you find it, make sure to call Nick and Vanessa at (909) 538-6868 or (909) 861-0058, and they’ll give you some money as a reward.

Check back later as I’ll keep you updated with this project.

For the story behind this project, read Weather Balloon, Ready for Lift Off!

Inspired by the project, Nicholas Siemsen decided to take it upon himself to repeat the experiment.  Nick is a Financial Analyst who works right here in Fullerton at Raytheon; and the VitaminOC team sat down with him to find out more about his venture.

Just like project Icarus, Nick plans to launch a weather balloon into the sky with a camera and a cell phone that will track the balloon.  He estimates a total flight time of 5 hours,  3 hours going up, and once the balloon pops, it will take 2 hours coming down.  With the camera set to take a picture every five seconds, there is a lot of potential for some really amazing photos, which he admits was part of his motivation for taking on this project:

“I think is all springs from my fascination with photography.  …I was always interested in photography.  It’s one of my hobbies.”

Using the Project Icarus as a guideline, Nick said that he will be using most of the same materials.

• Sounding Balloon (350 grams) purchased from Kaymont
• Motorola i290 Prepaid Cellphone
• Canon A460 camera with CHDK

He was able to get some hookups on other material, such as foam (to build the unit) and helium (for the balloon) through some of his family and friends.  Although he is the head of this project, the few people helping him include his friend, girlfriend, and sister-in-law.

Nick told us that he doesn’t know where he will launch, but he favors the idea of doing so in a place like Downtown Fullerton or the beach so that he can get some photos of a popular and recognizable place.  Either way, he plans to put together a time-lapse video of all the pictures and share it with all of you!

Nick is very optimistic about his project and notes that his biggest concern is the recovery of the unit, saying that he hopes “it doesn’t fall on anything alive!”  And if all goes well, he told us that he plans to do several more.

Wherever the location might be the launch is set for Saturday, October 24th.  The VitaminOC team will try and get some pictures of it, and we will definitely keep you updated with his progress.

For details on Project Icarus, visit http://space.1337arts.com/

RVCA, an OC-based clothing brand, is having a sample sale at CSUF this Thursday and Friday with over 50% off clothing from 9am to 7pm at the Titan Shops at CSUF! Check the Facebook event page (FB event date is incorrect, postponed due to rain) for full details. RVCA offers a little more than expected of an action sports apparel brand and a lot more than I ever perceived about the brand. (did you see that video below?! hellooo, fashion!)

Erin Wasson x RVCA • Fall 09 Collection from RVCA on Vimeo

I anticipate shorter lines now that Kogi will be around the area 5 nights a week!  You can catch Kogi at different spots around OC from Tuesday to Saturday every week *cue the hallelujah music*!  Don’t forget to follow them on Twitter for schedule, location, and etc updates!  Rejoice, OC!  Kogi BBQ is finally here to STAY!  Woo hoo!  Here’s this week’s schedule:

TUESDAY

6PM-9PM@Fullerton – 2419 E. Orangethorpe Ave
10:30PM-Midnight@Tile Warehouse – 616 E. Ball Rd, Anaheim

WEDNESDAY

6PM-9PM@K-1 Anaheim – 1000 N. Edward Ct
10:30PM-Midnight@Prim Jewelers – 1736 E. Meats Ave, Orange

THURSDAY

6PM-9PM@Wheel Warehouse – 125 W. La Palma Ave, Anaheim
10:30PM-Midnight@Luigi’s – 801 S. State College Blvd, Anaheim

FRIDAY

6PM-9PM@KST OC Ramps – 1316 E. Wilshire Ave, Santa Ana
-Intermission-
10:30PM-1AM@KST OC Ramps – 1316 E. Wilshire Ave, Santa Ana

SATURDAY

6PM-9PM@Santa Ana Artwalk – 727 N. Poinsetta St, Santa Ana
10:30PM-Midnight@The Huddle – 741 Baker St, Costa Mesa

If you’ve been anywhere shopping during the past couple of weeks, you may have noticed the signs of another holiday drawing near.

No, not Christmas (although, there are people getting an early start)

It’s Halloween!

For all those CSUF students who love the thrill of being frightened by zombies, ghosts, and serial killers, we know a couple of local places you can check out this season.  Of course, nothing really beats the massive attraction that is Knott’s Scary Farm.  But maybe you want more personal attention from your zombie and desire a place with less people.

Inside the Brea Plaza Center (453 South Associated Road) is a new attraction called Sinister Pointe.

Sinister Pointe premiered last year as “The Official Saw Haunted Attraction” modeled after the “Saw” movie franchise.  It featured one maze that took visitors through “Jigsaw’s Workshop” that highlighted scenes from the first four films.  It was a big hit last year and now it’s creators are bringing us something new.

Sinister Pointe is showcasing TWO mazes.  The first one is called “Fear,” an interactive maze based on the Saw movies.  And the second one is “Silent Hill Haunted Attraction.”  Thats right, based on the really scary and creepy Silent Hill video game.  Producer Jeff Schiefelbein has a great track record for creating one-of-a-kind horror attractions.

They operate Thursdays thru Sundays 7pm to 10pm, and offer more days during the week of Halloween.  Tickets are $13 for one maze and $20 for both.  They also offer group discounts, but beware:  they’re probably going to split you up into groups of four once you enter the maze.  Check out the Sinister Pointe website for more details.

Also, premiering at The Anaheim Garden Walk is The Empty Grave.

From The Empty Grave website

The Empty Grave is a new haunted house currently open on Fridays and Saturdays 6:30pm to midnight, and Sundays 6:30pm to 10pm.  The attraction is based on a legend of a possessed groundskeeper haunting a cellar, where he died.  You can read the whole story here.

Filling 50,000 square feet on the second level of Anaheim Garden Walk, The Empty Grave shouldn’t disappoint!  Tickets are $13 or two for $20.  You can also buy a “Quick Death Pass” for $20, which gets you to the front of line.  You can also get a coupon from their website.

These are just a couple of adults-only haunted attractions.  Where do you go to get your scare-fix?

There’s this Tagalog phrase, “ISANG BAGSAK!” which you’ll hear a lot of the Filipino clubs shout in solidarity.  It means “One Fall”.  We’ve seen the Filipino-American community come together all across America to provide relief for the people affected by Typhoon Ondoy and everything that has followed after.  We’ve seen the whole YouTube community come together to raise money through uStream shows, benefit concerts pop up all over the place, people donate money for each of their Twitter followers, food/clothing drives – you name it, it’s happened over the past week!  But it hasn’t been enough, the Philippines is still hurting and still needs our help!  Please continue to support #HealPhilippines!

vitaminOC and HypnoticASIA will be at the “One Tribe Typhoon Ondoy Benefit Show” at  California State University, Fullerton today from 6:30pm to 9:30pm in Pavilion C of the Titan Student Union!  You can get in FREE by bring at LEAST a medium sized bag of donations which can include:

• blankets
• clothes
• shoes
• canned food
• hygiene necessities (toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, etc.)
• any items that will benefit those in need

Or by making a $5 donation.  The line-up is quite intense for an event that was put together in one week.  Major props to the hosts of the event, Tau Theta Pi, Gamma Chapter (CSUF) & CSUF’s Pilipino American Student Association (PASA Kaibigan)!

Here’s the line-up!

If you see us around, be sure to stop by and say hello! For the full details, visit the Facebook event page! Isang Bagsak!!!

Place: Bed.

Current Mood: Sleepy.

All of a sudden the sound of the alarm goes off and it’s time to wake up, but you get that feeling of having the weight of the world upon you. You take 7 min to get all your 5  [or 6] senses aligned and you slowly prepare yourself for today’s challenges. You’re becoming AWAKE, you turn on the television and switch it to your local news [KTLA Morning News for me] and you see the traffic report… oh yes you hear the beautiful words of that traffic accident that just occurred on the 5 South and expect delays.  “NICE. Isn’t it?”

As a student COMMUTER from Cal State Fullerton, that is one of the worst things I can hear because it really delays all of my daily activities and gets me in a really not-so-good mood for the entire day, not to mention I might miss my first class. But, traffic for the most part is uncontrollable and we have to understand that it just happens in our community. PARKING is another ball game and a BIG problem for us @CSUF.  We get to encounter this on a DAILY BASIS. I have seen people waiting in their cars by the lots waiting for students and an available spot. Inside the structures you can literally be haunted upon other cars waiting in the elevators looking for an available spot. I have heard people wait an entire hour before getting a parking spot in the lots, but I HAVE A SOLUTION!

ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION!!

You will be AMAZED at how easy it is and the amount of TIME & MONEY you will be saving! So what alternative transportation exactly you ask? ANY!!! Here are the ones I have done and encourage to comment on any other ALTERNATIVES you might have!

Take the bus!

As CSUF students, we have the awesome privilege of being partners with OCTA and have FREE access to the OCTA Express in the Fullerton AREA! This is really cool because the bus routes are quick and very clean. I have taken the OCTA buses now for all 3 years of my college career and it has been a really pleasant experience.  Not only do I take the OCTA but also take the MTA from Norwalk to school!! When I tell my friends that it takes me 1hr and 30 min to get to CSUF they think I’m crazy, but to be honest it’s not bad, it’s really AWESOME!!!!  It really gives me time to prepare myself fully for class. During my bus rides, I have time to catch up on my homework and also read my textbooks which you CANNOT do while driving. I also have my inseparable iPod and listen to my favorite music and podcasts on the go.

Carpool!

I used to carpool with my friends that lived near me to CSUF and we both saved money since we split the gasoline costs.  We both benefited from being carpool buddies because we helped each other out and not only that but I got to know him better as a person. If it wasn’t for that opportunity I would not have ever gained another true friend.  If you have co-workers or friends that are going to the same location i encourage you to  CARPOOL you might just gain a new TRUE FRIEND!

Take the shuttle!

I have not done this personally but I’ve always seen a long line by the roundabout near Langsdorf Hall and I have found that the Meridian Fitness Club has offered their parking area for  CSUF permit users! There is a shuttle that goes to and from that area and its a quicker way to get to class in less time! Click here for more info!

So NOW my question is DO YOU have another way of beating traffic / high gas prices?

[photo taken by me on my way home by the Fullerton Park and Ride]

Our #FollowFriday recommendation for this week is Kevin Sablan (@ksablan)

Kevin has been one of @VitaminOC ’s followers from its initial stages. He is currently the leader of the web task force at the Orange County Register. If you have ever wondered who is the person behind Orange County Register’s Twitter presence- well, Kevin  is the “go-to” guy of social media, and web technology at the OC Register. Can you even imagine the OC Twittersphere without the @OCReggie?

On Tuesday, we had the pleasure to finally meet him in person at Chris Brogan’s visit to OC. (read about the visit here).  Ironically, we found out  that in the past Kevin didn’t like technology. HE DIDN’T EVEN OWN A TV! haha.

He also has an interesting project that we wanted to share. 140 Pix, Southern California is Kevin’s blog where he collects pictures from Twitter users from Southern CA that are shared to the public through  Twitpic/ Yfrog.  It is very interesting to see the different pictures that So Cal people share on Twitter.  The pictures give us a reference of the different interests and events that people care about in our area.  His latest collection is of how the weather looks like in So Cal.  My favorite is the Pink Pictures shared at race for a cure.

We encourage you to Follow Kevin on Twitter and to check out his site (which can also be found on Twitter: @140pix)! and if you have any ideas for 140 Pix , you can of course tweet him (@ksablan).

There are plenty of shows in Southern California – from Orange County to LA and San Diego!  This is a great opportunity to check out theatres you’ve never been to before!  Visit the website click Find a Show!  Some shows in the So Cal area are already sold out, so browse the list and choose quickly!

Here’s a quick peek of what these three areas have to offer us this month:

• House on Mango Street in Santa Ana
• Premieres & Repertoires Ballet in Costa Mesa
• Pretend City Children’s Museum in Irvine
• Social Security in Newport Beach
• The Seagull in Anaheim
• How Katrina Plays in Hollywood
• I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change in Malibu
• Wonder of the World in Burbank
• Zombie Prom in Coronado
• Lights Up! in San Diego

Check out the quick 30-second commercial in regards to the month’s event!  Which theatres are you headed to this October?

Free Night of Theater Ovation TV Spot from Theatre Communications Group on Vimeo.

What is #FollowFriday?

Every Friday, tagging a tweet with #FollowFriday or #FF is a way to share with your Twitter followers someone that you think they should follow as well. Usually it is someone that you have built a relationship with online, someone that you want to highlight, or simply someone that is new to Twitter and you want them to get some new friends.  (More details: #FollowFriday- The Anatomy of a Twitter Trend)

What do we like about #FF?

#FF is awesome because it’s a fun way to help everyone find interesting users. We enjoy reading all of your #FF recommendations and many of the people we follow in @VitaminOC have resulted from a #FF endorsement.

We highly encourage you to share your recommendations on #FF because we can all learn a little about each other and create a bigger OC community. Plus it cuts the time of searching for valuable people that may have the same interests as you.

So, what is wrong with #FF?

We have noticed in our Twitter stream that on #FF people are starting to tweet out a list of 5-6 people without  giving a real reason on why to follow them. By doing this, it’s just a bunch of names that get lost in the #FF tweets. (we don’t want you to spam your followers! eek!)

For example, we have seen tweets that look similar to this:

[this is not from our actual stream, just an example of what we are talking about]

We want to know why should we follow these people? Are they doing great things in their community? Do their tweets make you laugh? Do they work or go to school with you? Are they car aficionados?  Do they have an interesting blog? Are they new to Twitter and need  friends? Are they the biggest @kogibbq fan that you know? haha!

It doesn’t matter what your recommendation is!  One thing that we have learned from Twitter is that we can all have pretty obscure interests and still find another person that shares that interest with us.

What are we doing different?

So in the spirit of bringing back the true value of #FF we are going to recommend an OC #FF person/company/ brand/ organization on Twitter and tell you on VitaminOC why we think they are valuable.

What do you think?

We are going to begin with our new way of #FF this week. We welcome all types of feedback and response, so let us know what we can do to provide more value.

In his lecture, Chris focused on the human and trust factors of social media. He spoke about about the increase in anonymous trust online and how it affects our individual decision making.  For example, when purchasing a product on Amazon, we read and trust the ratings from people that we don’t even know.  Listen to Chris and what he has to say about pattern recognition and pattern breaking.

He provided some key information for businesses emerging into social media and the opportunity of “putting a face to the brand.” He said that “businesses DO want to know what the consumer wants, just that in the past they never had the tools to do it”. Social media is changing the game on how businesses communicate with consumers and how we create relationships online.  “Get to know me before you sell to me” is Chris’ advice to businesses and people on social media.

We also had the opportunity to talk to Chris during his book signing, and to our surprise he knew about VitaminOC! Maybe it was because we posted about his visit to OC, but none the less it was awesome to be recognized by him. We admire Chris because many of the things that we do (or try to do) here with VitaminOC are what Chris teaches people about every day on his blog- Chrisbrogan.com.  We enjoy reaching out to you and being able to cluster information about the things that matter to us.

His book, “Trust Agents” goes more in depth about relationship building online. I am looking forward to reading it! Actually..would any OC people be interested in reading it with me and discussing it somewhere in OC? Maybe we can even uStream the discussion?  I am sure the book will give rise to some interesting conversations!

You can check out the rest of Chris Brogan’s lecture - here. We also have some photos of the event on our Flickr stream- here. If you want to see what other people thought about the event- check out #BroganOC on Twitter!

If you attended the event, let me know what you think! Also, leave a comment if you are interested in reading “Trust Agents” and discussing it with me!

And if you are wondering, ” Sawubona” means “I see you” in Zulu!  Watch our YouTube Chris Brogan videos to find out the significance.