Working on a story right now about virtual aging and the effect on saving for retirement. I played guinea pig last week and had my face aged 30 years -- and had the shock of my life. I voiced some opposition to the digital recreation of my image. (Grey? Please. Who doesn't color their hair?) But the wrinkles, the paleness of the eyes (the irises, I believe, lose some color with age), the pockets in my cheeks? I didn't like the look of my elder me — and truthfully? I did want to make sure she didn't have to worry about money.


There are studies now about how viewing an older version of yourself may affect the way investors save. An investing app that lets you virtually age your image, while choosing how much to sock into a 401K, is not here now. But it's not likely far away. Yet will an elderly 'you' encourage more savings? Or frighten you so much, you click delete and avoid the issue entirely? Worth writing about? I think so. 

Last month I walked the streets around Zuccotti Park to talk to financial district workers about the Occupy Wall Street protests just blocks from their offices. Sidewalks were blocked, plaza’s roped off, making it difficult to grab some lunch or coffee in the afternoon. I spent a year working on Wall Street. Not as a trader but in a supporting staff role. And you want to escape at lunch. It’s hectic and stressful. And when you head out quickly for something to eat, you really don’t want barricades standing in the way of your turkey sandwich. 

But I was still taken aback by how many people expressed confusion about what the protestors hoped to accomplish, and yet seemed to understand their motivation. Yes, there was one guy who complained about the “smell.” Another told me he worried about his wife’s safety walking past the encampment. And many just waved me by. (A reporting rule: For every quote you need, you call/stop five people for their thoughts.) 

I walked past the protest. The news crews out. The cops directly traffic. A couple of kids having their T-shirt spray-painted ‘I’m a 99 Percenter.’ I saw a man I interviewed, now standing on a corner across the street from the park. He’d told me he’d been on his way to get lunch. The light would change to green, I’d think he’d cross over, but he wouldn’t move. I watched the executive watch the protestors. After a few minutes though, the man still held the corner, and I left.

Interviewing people passionate about their job is a key reason I walked into this career. This month I spent some time with an elementary school librarian using Twitter to broaden her community, her network. A single mom, she hit social media with a vengeance when her job was cut to less than half time, finding a librarian post for an online university. She quickly realized they needed more digital presence -- and built it. The experience has toughen her. But it's also given her permission to act without fear. She summed it up this way: "I'm learning to stop asking for permission. Just do it and live with the consequence. And always apologize later." 

We live in a time when we're fairly comfortable acting without thought. We post photos, comments, even what we ate for breakfast to social networks choosing to forget these details have an online half-life longer than our own. But in the bigger realm, we hide behind a lot of what-if's. Not this woman. To her, mistakes happen. Action sometimes breeds messiness. But mess is colorful. And always makes a good story.