Boldest Action Winner: Mat R flies high on fives

Category: Culture and Community

Challenge: High five someone for a job well done
Sponsor: Whole Foods Palo Alto
Action: 30 pull-ups on a work break. REALLY? Matt deserved a flying high five for that sweet pump up!

Mat's Thoughts:

Giving out high-fives means recognizing the affect that people have had on my life. It makes them feel good, it makes me feel good. When two hands meet at such a high velocity and with such ferocious enthusiasm, it makes a satisfying slap that can only be described as pure joy. Why wouldn't you share that with someone? And why wouldn't you choose to share that with someone who did something great? Seeing a company like Whole Foods encourage me to thank someone seemed like a no-brainer, and thanking ME for thanking someone in my life was just like icing on the cake.

While normally I don't go around giving out "flying" high-fives to everyone I meet (though I definitely should), the metaphor of giving someone a high-five is an ideal that resonates strongly with me, especially at this time of the year. Regardless of it being the holidays, the end of the year always presents me with a time to look back and reflect on how my year has gone. When I truly take a moment to think about it, I often find that my life has gone well because of the kindness and hard work of the millions of people I interact with on a daily basis. Whether it be my friend inviting me to dinner, my postman delivering my mail, or my coworker helping me out that one day when I was struggling at work, there are so many people in our lives that deserve to be recognized for the help and kindness they have offered me.

You might think it's the concept of paying it forward, but in reality, to me, it's about paying it back. People do wonderful things all the time, selflessly and endlessly, and a palm-stinging thank you seems to be a small price to pay for such great work. So go ahead, try it. Put that hand way up in the air, take a running start, jump up, and say thank you to someone who deserves it this year.

Need a break from work? Take a walk with Virginia B (boldest action of the challenge winner)

Challenge: Get out and enjoy the sun
Challenge sponsor: Whole Foods Market Palo Alto
Category: Health and Fitness
Virginia's action: Took an awesome walk with a coworker this afternoon in the lovely Palo Alto sunshine! felt sooo good; warm and delicious!

Virginia's thoughts:
My mid-afternoon walks with Lea are the highlight of my workweek. An awesome break from office shenanigans, and a productive and relaxing way to get away and enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. Nothing quite so satisfying as stretching the legs and having a goal oriented walk to get some java and have a koffeeklatch. And the exercise and caffeine and sunshine are great uppers, especially for those of us who get grumpy and antsy being seated inside all day! Thanks, Bolder, for validating my afternoon sunshine breaks!

Bharath S. takes us on a U-pick adventure (and wins Boldest action of the challenge)

Category: Health and Fitness
Action: Eat a SuperFood
Blurb: Went on U-Pick adventure yesterday! Got together a bunch of different fruits and made delicious smoothies to top out a perfect day!
Bold Votes: 5

Bharath's thoughts:
U-Pick adventures are a little known gem about farms. In fact, for any of you who love farmer's markets, this takes it a step further! Basically, once farms have harvested their quota of whatever they are growing, they open up the farm to civilians like you and me and give us a chance to be able to pick the fruits off the trees and bushes ourselves. Mainly, U-Picks in California are very popular around the Central Valley/Fresno area, where farming is a livelihood.

The U-Pick that I went to was the Gizdich Ranch in Watsonville, CA. The harvest was pretty plentiful this year so there was plenty to choose from. The wonderful part is being able to just pick the fruit and be able to eat it fresh and juicy. This ranch contained at least 4 different types of berries (blackberries, raspberries, olallieberries, and strawberries, to name a few) as well as some apples (still a bit early for those). The owners/volunteers were very nice and gave us plenty of picking tips and what to look for in different kinds of fruit. Overall, a great and relaxing experience =).

Boldest Action of the Challenge: "Power yourself on two wheels or two feet" with Wyles V.

Action:
Biked to Arastadero, to bike some more!

Wyles V's thoughts:
I like to escape to the local trails on my bike to get away from the craziness of homework, projects, and studying. It reminds me there is a world outside of campus, while allowing me to get to know my friends better through a shared adventure on two wheels. My favorite rides are the epic descents at Skeggs Point, and sandwich runs to Mr. Pickles in Los Gatos. It's good to have a mix of purposeful rides and pointless rides to remind me that bikes are both useful and fun.