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🚂 Choo-Choo.
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🚂 Choo-Choo.

Alex rockin’ her own swag for #WhittysTittyCommittee.

To anyone who doesn’t know her well, Alex looks like a vivacious college-aged blonde, full of spirit and remarkable light. But we caught up with her on a good day. (And she had just tried cookies from Gideon’s Bakehouse for the first time after eating a bite of Farm & Haus, sooooo
.).  She was also a week out from chemo and feeling a little stronger than normal.

In January, while prepping for a night on the town with her girlfriends, Alex was putting on a sticky bra– Florida girls know the importance of these in summer (read: all the time, really) – when she felt an undeniable lump in her right breast. Not wanting to slow down the crew, she went on about her night. But by morning, she decided to make an appointment with her OB-GYN doctor.

At such a young age and with no family history of breast cancer, the doctors and Alex thought the odds were in her favor. Then four weeks and many appointments and biopsies later, Alex learned she had Stage 1 breast cancer. She just finished round four of six rounds of chemo.

Even in the midst of all the shit times that come along with cancer, Alex is hellbent on finding the silver linings. For one, she and her friends came up with a funny name to support her on her journey: Whitty’s Titty Committee.

While it’s fun and lighthearted, Alex and her friends take it very seriously. In New York, her friends have hosted Braless Brunches in her honor, donating to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Alex’s charity of choice for breast-cancer awareness. She’s started selling Whitty’s Titty Committee-branded swag and donates those funds as well to the foundation. She spends her days researching and writing and creating a platform for others in her position. Since only 5 percent of breast cancer patients are diagnosed under 40, Alex found that a lot of online resources weren’t that useful to her, so she’s using her voice (her blog) to do something about it.

The most important thing Alex says you can do to make a difference?

1. Be your own advocate. No one knows your body like you do, not even doctors.

2. Petition your insurance. If your insurance wouldn’t normally cover your mammogram because you’re under the age of 40, tell them why they should.

3. Check yourself before you wreck yourself, says Ice Cube. Life and death are closer than they are far apart.

4. Be grateful for your moments. Every one of them.

P.S. Taylor Swift, if you’re reading this, give our girl Alex a thumbs up, would ya?

P.S.S. Alex received some sweet news coverage from People and Orlando Sentinel recently. Check her out there too.

If you want to join and/or support #WhittysTittyCommittee, check out her site here. If you want a shirt – one of the pieces of swag she’s selling to raise funds –, check them out here. And if you want to research the foundation  Alex donates to, you can do that here.

WHAT'S GOING DOWN IN PULPTOWN?

The year of the career. A study by WalletHub just ranked Orlando No. 2 of best cities to start a career. With a professional opportunities ranking of No. 1 and a No. 6 ranking of quality of life, we landed in second place behind Salt Lake City and right on top of Atlanta as the best place to start a job, specifically with the college graduate in mind. Thoughts? (WalletHub)

Q: How many Division Streets are too many Division Streets? (A: All of them). A new map from the Anti-Discrimination Center finds that while Orlando seems more diverse than ever, a breakdown of Orlando neighborhoods shows that our community is still very segregated. (Orlando Weekly)

That’s what we call a gutter ball. If you haven’t heard, the long-beloved bowling alley Colonial Lanes is officially closing its doors for good next week. So many good memories in that place
 and some bad ones too. (Let’s face it, it’s not THE go-to place for a midnight snack while bowling, but hey, it’s home to us and we love it). (Orlando Weekly)

We’re keeping our eyes on this one. Could it be? Really? Like for real, for real? The CEO of WACX, the religious independent TV Station SuperChannel 55, says construction will continue on the Majesty building, which is better known to most as the Eyesore on I-4. (Orlando Sentinel)

The not-so-friendly-skies. This hurts to even type but the story goes that on a flight from Colorado Springs to Orlando, a man allegedly punched a 20-week pregnant deaf woman in the stomach after punching her service dog. When he successfully made it past the cops upon exiting the plane, the woman’s deaf partner ran after him, tackled him, and held him down until the police got over to them. (Fox 8)

For now, a yellow card. The next one will be red. Orlando City Soccer Club has finally released its new rules regarding fan code of conduct after last week’s game against Atlanta United. Some of the changes? For starters, whenever a fan throws an object, a message will be played over the PA to warn of ramifications. Also, a new video of our soccer players delivering the do’s and don’ts of fan behavior will be played before every game. Finally, the stadium plans to transition to an all-pour menu, meaning drinks will be served in plastic cups and more security cameras will be installed at the stadium. (Click Orlando)

IN & AROUND TOWN

TODAY

📅 Check out student startup success at Starter Stories (UCF)

 

TOMORROW

🧐 Find some adventure with this Scavenger Hunt (Downtown)
đŸ„đŸ»â€â™€ïžÂ Watch these elite water athletes as they go head-to-head at Feet on Fire (SoDo)
đŸ¶Â Aloft Hotels is kicking off their new foster dog adoption program with a Yappy Hour (Downtown)
đŸŒœÂ Let’s talk health and eat and drink to it too. (Downtown)
⛱ Get your summer fashion on. (Mills 50)
đŸŽ€Â Don’t be OUTKAST by your friends for missing this show. (Downtown)

 

THURSDAY, MAY 24

đŸ»Â Beer and board games at The Hourglass Brewery (Longwood)
đŸ’„Â Geek out with Frodo, Peewee, Aquaman and more at MegaCon (IDrive)
đŸ·Â Feel fine while drinking wine and dining with this group of ladies. (Hunters Creek)

 

FRIDAY, MAY 25

đŸ·Â Pig out at Old Town BBQ Throwdown (Kissimmee)
đŸ„‹Â Wax on, wax off with ‘Karate Kid’ at Movie in the Square (Sanford)
🩓 Or bring your crew to ‘Zootopia’ at Movieola (Lake Eola Park)

 

SATURDAY, MAY 26

đŸ‡ș🇾 Honor our fallen at the Memorial Day Parade and Remembrance Ceremony (Sanford)
đŸ„© More meats and treats at the Central Florida BBQ Blowout (Oviedo)

 

SUNDAY, MAY 27

🎟 Orlando’s hosting its own Carnival to celebrate Carribbean culture. (Downtown Orlando)

 

Going to any of these events? If so, take us with you! Send us a pic to hello@pulp.town or tag #pulptown on Instagram. We love it when you #livelikeyoulivehere and would be happy to repost you.

HANG OUT WITH YOUR FRINGE OUT

Haven’t made it to Orlando Fringe yet? Don’t freak out – there’s still time to Fringe! Check out the Fringe-o-matic and find the perfect show(s) for you.

If you’re a fringer, I’m a fringer.

Au revoir!

 

Anyone doing something cool in Orlando, Lake Nona, Sanford, Winter Garden, Winter Springs, Altamonte, Longwood, Kissimmee that we should know about? Tag us #pulptown or @pulptown or hit reply.

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