Mood:  a-ok

Hey everyone!

I'm taking off for a week to work for The Sasquatch Music Festival, and will be in Seattle/Washington Gorge from tonight-next Wednesday, May 27th.

There's a chance I'll blogging about my work on Sasquatch through the Salem-Times News, and will find out more this evening.

Mood:  celebratory

Ahoy there, y'all!

San Francisco is all about invention, innovation, and acceptance of other tribes. People come here from all over the world to test out new ideas, to find other like minds to connect with, and to build the kind of world they want to see. For Kim Corbin, an Indiana native who came to San Francisco some 15 years ago, the gift was fitness in the guise of happiness and joy!

Working in publishing kept Kim indoors for long hours, and because of this, she'd usually end up exercising at the gym, which she -- like a lot of other people out there -- found rather unexciting. One evening in 1998, while on the gym treadmill after work, Kim became bored and, as an alternative to jogging, she began to skip! For a moment, Kim worried that it might look kind of weird to the other people in the gym, but when she realized it was the best way for her to get some exercise in a fun, comfortable way, she did it anyway, ignoring the stares and giggles of other gym members. When someone dared to ask what she was doing and why, she'd happily explain.

Kim soon found that skipping was a great way to get to every activity, and rather than only skip at the gym, she began skipping just about everywhere! She skipped to and from work, the gym, the bar, and anywhere else she had to be. It was through this dedication to skipping, plus her participation in the annual Burning Man event, that gave her the support she needed to create iSkip.com in 1999.

Kim Corbin -- now called Skipper or The Skipping Queen by friends and fans everywhere -- began leading skips around the city of San Francisco that same year, and pretty soon, she was skipping every event she could. Eventually, she was asked to come to different cities and show others the joy of skipping, and from there, she landed several television appearances.

Today, iSkip.com boasts thousands of members across the country, and her website has an active forum. Kim Corbin has revolutionized a joyful activity that used to be for kids only, and by sticking her own neck out there, she's incited thousands of others to spread just a little more love and joy in the world.