On The Road Again, by Tatiana – In The Mix #21

May 29, 2009 Tatiana EL-Khouri 11 Comments

Once upon a time, I was the quietest little girl in the land. I even won an award in Kindergarden with the title. My teacher, Mrs Diaz, marveled at my restraint and discipline. Fact of the matter, I was to shy to break the rules, let alone engage my classmates in conversation outside of classwork. It comes as a shock to many, as my gregariousness now does not lend people to believe I was ever that silent.

After years and years of that quiet state, I’ve come out of my shell in a major way. It always throws me off when I’m asked how I am able to be so comfortable in new settings. A bit of it is second nature, the other part is just a flight or fight sensation. Before going into a mixer, business meeting, I mentally prepare and gear myself up for the task at hand.

With social networks becoming more popular as a tool and way of life in business and inter-personal relationships, a lot of the angst that comes along with dealing with people in person is gone. I’ve also had a myriad of opportunities come my way based off of my online presence. A few months ago, I was approached by an unusual assignment via email that I thought was too good to be true. Based off of my tweets and column here, I was asked to do a job that would normally go to a car journalist.

Acknowledging the power in peer to peer interaction on the internet, Ford was interested in getting new perspectives that were fresh and engaging. I was delighted. One thing the readers may not know about me is I am a huge car fanatic. I’ve visited the Petersen Automotive Museum just as many times as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art that is located directly across the street. My personal favorites are the American streamline modern cars of the 50’s.

So when I was told to pick a car, any car, from Ford’s latest crop of cars; my choice might surprise you. I chose to go outside of the box and not get the small sports car, next week I will be test driving an F-150 truck. This will be the biggest vehicle I’ve driven!

So while I go about my normal day to day work activities, I’m going to squeeze in some local day trips. Let me know if there are any Los Angeles area locations you want me to visit and photograph. Or tell me the type of things you look for in car or truck.

You can follow my review all week at http://twitter.com/ArtofTatiana  – #FordDrive