I also discovered (actually remembered) that BZhive is located in walking distance to one of my favorite deli’s!  This makes me happy because as you know, I like to eat. BZhive is also in walking distance to my Chiropractor. This also makes me happy because I like to feel good and getting regular chiropractic adjustments makes me feel good. You should try it!

@fun_master popped in and snapped a picture of us working in the conference room.

Another fun fact I learned about BZhive is that Hila (co-owner) is an artist and makes some pretty cool things she sells on Etsy. I hope she brings in some of that jewelry for me to see.

BZhive is the new coworking office space in San Rafael. Come in and check it out. They have lots of community events happening in the evenings (most are free).

Bikes & Beans, formerly located by the 7-11 near China Camp, has moved to a brand new and bigger location while still close to China Camp thus being very convenient to stop by before or after riding China Camp. In particular if you like coffee, bike talk with knowledgeable people, and good deals on bikes and parts.

Check them out!

I like stopping by to get my coffee fix since I am not drinking beer these days. The stores offers a cozy place to hang and yummy coffee and I keep hearing great reviews about the Commencal and Jamis bikes Justin (the owner) sells in his this store.

I also like the selection of cool hip bike clothing… I have gotten a pair of cool shorts that made me feel like a hot shot

And the best of all, I like it that Justin kept decorating the shop with local artist work (some of his own work!). This mural is right by the bike mechanic shop area!

Check out Celia’s previous blog about Bikes & beans to get a better sense of what this bike shops brings to Marin county.

A TweetUp is a gathering of local Twitter users. It’s an opportunity to meet all your local virtual friends in person. Our TweetUps are fun, casual and totally relaxed. We meet at different restaurants throughout Marin. Anyone who is on Twitter is invited. If you have never come before I invite you to join us at one of the upcoming TweetUps. They’re lots of fun and a great networking opportunity.

It doesn’t matter if you Tweet every 5 minutes, once a day, once a month or just opened your account we’d still love to meet you. If you are not on Twitter but are curious about it, you are welcome to stop by the TweetUp and learn more about Twitter and why we all love it so much.

Anyone or any business can organize a TweetUp! All you do is decide you want to have one, pick a place and start inviting your friends. If you want me to tell all my friends just send me a message and I’ll probably announce it here on my blog.

When you arrive to the restaurant tell the hostess you are there for the TweetUp (if it is not obvious where we are). Grab a name tag and be sure to put your Twitter ID (handle, whatever you want to call it) and your real name on it. Some of us only know you by your Twitter name. For instance the other day everybody was talking to me about this fabulous woman named Suzanna and telling me they thought I knew her. I’m thinking, I don’t know Suzanna then when they started talking more about her I said, “Oh! Are you talking about @BrainMaker from Twitter?”. LOL I knew her by her Twitter name better than her real name.

Once you’ve got your name tag, order a drink if you want and then start introducing yourself to people or look for familiar Twitter names. It’s fun to meet the people behind the tweets.

I hope you can join us at the upcoming TweetUps!

PS. Restaurants: a TweetUp is a great way to get lots of exposure to your restaurant. Not only do you get 20-30 new customers you get those 20-30 people talking about your restaurant on Twitter to their thousands of friends! If you are a restaurant and would like us to consider organizing the next TweetUp at your place of business, please contact me. If you are a restaurant that knows you probably should be on Twitter but don’t have the time or are not sure how to get started, this is also something I can help you with.

I decided to try out the Hive for the next month and I plan to share my stories of the Hive and all the busy bees with you.

At the hive today I had a great brainstorming session with @fun_master,  @BrainMaker & Hila (the queen bee at BZhive). Lots of exciting events coming up at the Hive in the next few months.

I love the idea of coworking and group intelligence. I’ve been doing it for years virtually with my virtual accountability partner (and coauthor). We use Skype chat  to check in daily about our goals, to discuss challenges, to work on our business & marketing plans and to brainstorm solutions & ideas.

Group intelligence puts everything you do on fast forward. I see this when I brainstorm with my accountability partner and others; I see this when I’m networking online with the Business Divas; I see it on Twitter, Facebook, etc. I can also see this happening in the coworking environment.

I just have to get used to the face to face interaction. (I’ve been working on my own since 2002). I mean with Skype chat I can get up and walk away in the middle of a conversation to check what’s cooking in the oven or to take a potty break and the person on the other end has no idea I’m multitasking, but with in person coworking I have to be fully present during the conversation.

Actually today while we were talking, I got up, paced around a bit and went over to the dry erase board to fully erase it (pet peeve of mine – dry erase or chalk boards that are not fully erased). I told my coworkers to get used to me walking around a lot while we talk.

I think I am going to like this coworking experience, it just might take me some time to adjust and find a good balance between coworking and cocreating because I could sit (or walk) around all day cocreating ideas with people but sometimes I’ve got to stop and actually do the work.

I did come home from coworking today happy and fully energized! I think I’m going to like this coworking thing.

Stay tuned for more adventures in coworking.

I wanted to thank you for the Frozen Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough I just discovered at your store. They are amazing! I love these cookies! What a great idea to have individually frozen balls of dough so I can make as few or as many cookies as a like at one time. I love that I can just bake one or two cookies at a time because we all know if I were to bake a dozen or more cookies at one time I would also eat a dozen or more cookies at one time.

These cookies are delicious!

Thank you!

Love,
Sally

PS. Many of the people living in Southern Marin would be really happy if you opened up a store in Marin City or Mill Valley and by the looks of how busy your central Marin stores are I think Trader Joe’s would do quite well in Southern Marin.

Fresh baked cookies in less than 15 minutes!
Preheat oven to 350
Open package

Remove the amount of cookies you want to eat NOW!
Place frozen balls of dough on baking sheet

Bake for about 12 minutes
Eat yummy, warm, gooey chocolate chip cookies!

*Bonus: Your home will smell like fresh baked cookies.

PPS. Trader Joe’s did not pay me to write this. They don’t even know I wrote it but I’m happy to accept payments, gift cards or free frozen cookies as a thank you.

Comforts always has their fresh Chinese Chicken (or Tofu) Salad in a box and ready to go. This is a great lunch to grab when you are on the run. They also have a huge selection of prepared healthy food which you can pick up in the afternoon and bring home for dinner.

Comforts Café has two sides. One side is a sit down more formal café the other is the take out, more casual side. I usually go to the take out side because… I’m usually in a hurry but both sides are good and on a sunny day it is really nice to sit outside while dining.

In addition to all delicious and healthy meals they have a full service café where they serve excellent tasting cappuccinos, lattes, mochas, etc…

After filling up on fine food at Comforts you can take a stroll down San Anselmo Avenue to Gioia’s for a little boutique shopping.

Comforts is located at:

335 San Anselmo Avenue
San Anselmo, CA 94960
415.454.9840

Photo borrowed from www.comfortscafe.com

Here are some of the places owner and artist Hila buzzes around the bay to when she is not working:

Where is your favorite place to hike or bike in the Bay Area?
Terra Linda/Southern Novato Hills – different trails, mostly the “shortcut” from Terra Linda to Sleepy Hollow (San Anselmo).

What do you love most about the Bay Area?
The weather, the air, the view, the people. I’m coming from a relatively hot and humid climate (Tel Aviv) so the weather here is just perfect. I only wish the beach and the water were warmer. The people here are much more relaxed and patient. Above all we love San Francisco- one of my favorite cities if not “the” favorite. gracious and gorgeous. I love it especially when it’s gray (which is most of the time) it gives it just the perfect bittersweet taste of melancholy.

What is your favorite restaurant in the Bay Area?
The Slanted Door in SF love the the food the scene and view.
(I think Hila and I have similar taste. I love this restaurant!)

Favorite Coffee/Tea shop?
Cafe Gratitude especially the one in Berkeley. I’m grateful for a great food- especially the sweets… and you know you are safe there- it’s all vegan! (Another one of my favorites.)

Favorite park? Bon Tempe Lake (From Fairfax)

Favorite place to shop?
Crossroad Trading. Favorite location is Irving st in SF. I like the idea of recycling and exchanging. AND what  great finds! (I’m telling you, I think Hila is my long lost sister.)

Read more about BZhive in the MarinIJ.

Be sure to follow BZhive on Twitter to keep up with the latest happenings at the hive.

The social interaction and possible collaboration that comes when people get out of the home office can also make people more productive, according to a 2008 study by Stephen Humphrey, formerly a management professor at Florida State University’s business school.

“People who work interdependently with others have better performance ratings, lower stress, lower turnover intentions, and greater work and organizational satisfaction,” the study found. – Jim Welte, MarinIJ 2/7/10

Stay tuned you just might see me working out of BZhive one of these days.

I wanted good quality rain gear but I didn’t want to spend the money I would have to if I went to REI. Instead, I went to the Sports Basement in San Francisco. The Sports Basement is an awesome place for getting great deals on quality brand name athletic clothing. A few years ago I bought a big puffy down Northface jacket from the Sports Basement. I called REI first to compare prices and it was $50 cheaper at the Sports Basement.

The Sports Basement in the Presidio is located in one of the most beautiful spots in San Francisco.  It’s right across the street from the Crissy Field Beach located below the Golden Gate Bridge. The views are breathtaking.  You can see the bridge, Alcatraz and the city skyline. We were lucky because when we got to the store it was not raining so we took a walk on the beach before doing our shopping. The boardwalk was full of happy people walking, jogging, rollerblading, biking and playing with their dogs.

It’s fun to shop at Sports Basement. It has a very casual friendly feel. There are couches throughout the store and they encourage you to hang out and chat. There is even a play area for kids. Lot’s of community stuff going on there. I found a great rain jacket and a pair of convertible pants I love! We’re back to walking or hiking everyday and it feels great!

Our TweetUps were mentioned by the:

• SF Chronicle SFGate In Marin Blog!
  (Thanks MarinMaven & MoreMarin)

• Pacific Catch Blog

• San Rafael Police on Twitter

Hope you can make it to the March TweetUps!

Photo from the Pacific Catch blog.

In this photo: @AtomsanRafael, @LivingInMarin, @Sally_K, @MarinBroker, @Brainmaker