What a year it’s been. I’ve experienced some of the highest highs and the lowest lows of my life this year. When things were good, they were REALLY good. When they were bad, they were REALLY bad.
January – I’ll probably remember January 2008 as one of the worst months I’ve ever had. At work, I had to help manage the PR and logistics of a very public product recall that got a lot of attention in the national media. This took up a lot of time (that I already didn’t have) and was very stressful. On the personal front, my car was rear-ended early in the month. Only a couple days after I got it back from the shop, it was hit again. My Midas touch didn’t stop there. I had a natural gas problem and a propane tank problem at my place; lightbulbs were going out when I walked in the room; I ended up getting a defective copy of one of my favorite movies when I ordered it on HD DVD. It seemed like everything that could go wrong did go wrong in January.
February – Comparatively uneventful. I participated in my first caucus ever, and I came away having even less faith in our election process than I had prior to going in. There weren’t enough pencils or ballots for people; I couldn’t hear the person leading the caucus, because several precincts were caucusing in the same room. The guy I voted for won Minnesota on the Republican side, but ended up dropping out of the race not too long after. Oh well.
March – A pretty good month. I went to Vancouver on business, and while that trip was fairly lame due to my co-workers, I like Vancouver quite a bit. After years of lusting over one, I finally bought a Gibson Les Paul guitar, which I named Melinda. I had laser eye surgery toward the end of the month, and while the next couple of months were pretty rough with all the eye drops, eye exams and frequent discomfort, the end result has been wonderful. I’m glad I got over my fear and finally did it. Not wearing glasses has been great.
April – I was mostly focused on school during this month. I finished my complex negotiations course in April, and it will forever remain one of my favorite courses…and not just because I got to wear my ridiculous red Hawaiian shirt to class on the final day. April was also great because we sold off or threw away a bunch of stuff via a yard sale, eBay, Craigslist and other internet methods. I parted with some rare CD collections I’d been holding on to, but I made over $2000 from CDs alone. In total, I think we made between $3500-4000 from all these sales. Awesome.
May – May was definitely a month to remember. We went on our first cruise, which had stops in Italy, Greece and Turkey. We ate a lot of great food and saw many interesting and wonderful things that I thought I’d never see. I can’t say enough good things about that trip.
June/July/August – These were pretty rough months, and I think coming down from the Mediterranean cruise high had a lot to do with that. On the school front, I hit the wall in late July, and I don’t think I ever fully recovered. It’s a good thing I finished up and graduated the following semester. I finally snapped out of my post-vacation funk at the end of August, and I think buying a new car had a lot to do with that. Man, do I love that car. I’ve always loved driving, but I REALLY look forward to driving now. It doesn’t matter what’s going on in my life or what the weather’s like. Ah, the futility of capitalism. Or maybe that’s consumerism. Whatever.
September – Back to school after a short break, and while I didn’t really want to be back, it was in September that I finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. It was also in September that I stopped listening to political talk radio. I switched over to listening to comedy, and I haven’t looked back. Sure, I’m less informed, but I’m a much happier person for it.
October – It wasn’t like there was a ton of stuff going on, but I think it was a pretty good month. It was certainly my most prolific month ever, from a blogging perspective. I wrote 24 entries on this blog alone (I do have another one), and I felt like I had so much to say about the world and life, in general. Sure, the stock market and the economy went to hell in a handbasket, but that’s OK. It was bound to happen sometime.
November – What a lame month. Barack Obama won the presidency, and while I don’t think it’s the end of the world, I didn’t vote for him and am not a fan of the policies he was proposing. Uncle Sid, my co-worker with whom I had a love/hate (mostly hate) relationship, left the company and I was forced to take on all his work in addition to my own. Work responsibilities cast a very dark shadow over otherwise happy Thanksgiving festivities. My parents and sister came to MN for the holiday, and that was great.
December – What can I say? I was super busy, but I finished my master’s degree. I got promoted at work. I can’t complain too much, right? I’ve been in California for a week, and while I’ve had to work almost every day, it’s great to be here and away from MN for a while. I don’t mind the snow and cold of MN, but I also like variety. I’m currently sitting on a hotel balcony, looking out at the ocean, the boats and the fog on Catalina Island. What a great way to end the year.
To all my friends and family who read this blog, thanks for reading and for being there for me in 2008. Here’s to a better year in 2009. Happy New Year!
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Wednesday, December 31, 2008
the pride before the fall
The little lady and I were trying to find the local botanical gardens this morning. Neither of us bothered to get directions before we left the hotel, but we each had an assumption about where they were. We (I) decided to follow my assumption and head up the street on which the hotel was located.
When we got to the top of the street, we quickly realized that it was a dead end, and that there were no gardens to be found. The ol' ball and chain was pretty irritated that we had gone the wrong way, but rather than admit defeat, I just told her to calm down, since we had plenty of time and needed the exercise anyway. Right after we turned around, I slipped on the wet sidewalk and fell down. I ended up with a sore, bloody knee.
Becca had slipped and fallen in the shower earlier in the morning. She says she's going to have a nice, big bruise on her rear. Maybe we both need to humble ourselves.
When we got to the top of the street, we quickly realized that it was a dead end, and that there were no gardens to be found. The ol' ball and chain was pretty irritated that we had gone the wrong way, but rather than admit defeat, I just told her to calm down, since we had plenty of time and needed the exercise anyway. Right after we turned around, I slipped on the wet sidewalk and fell down. I ended up with a sore, bloody knee.
Becca had slipped and fallen in the shower earlier in the morning. She says she's going to have a nice, big bruise on her rear. Maybe we both need to humble ourselves.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
holidays in the sun
Earlier this year, my parents sold the home I grew up in and in which they had lived since 1983 and moved to a new house. The new house is just a few miles from the old one, and is in the same city as the old one, so "going home" still feels like going home.
The new home is beautiful, and is the kind of house I always wished we lived in when I was a kid. The yard is big, the ceiling are high, and there's lots of space. What's more, it's right next to the mountains, and I've always loved the mountains.
The house has become my parents' new project, and I'm glad. They seemed really bored with life before this new house thing came along. My father's part of the project has been the yard. My mother essentially told him to do whatever he wants with it, so he has. It's finally nearing completion, and it's beautiful--a place where you really want to spend some time.
A view of the neighborhood (and my dad and youngest brother) from the front courtyard:
The front of the house:
One of my favorite features is this creek/pond that my dad had put in the front yard:
Unfinished covered area in the back yard:
The pool. There are two rock fountains that go into it, and a slide--something I always wished we had on our old pool:
Looking down from the top of the slide:
Looking to the northeast from the top of the slide. You can sort of see the snow-covered mountains in the background:
You can't really tell, but this is a wading area my dad had put in the pool for his grandchildren:
The spa, with a blown-over palm tree in the background. We got heavy rain (heavy for southern California, anyway) on Christmas Day, and the new palm tree didn't make out so well:
Another unfinished covered area, with furniture and fireplace. This will be a really cool place to hang out when it's done:
The built-in grill is connected to the house's gas lines, which means no more propane tanks to fill. I would love that kind of convenience. There's also a built-in refrigerator and ice maker. Nice touches, but we'll see how much they actually get used:
It looks sunny in the picture, but the weather hasn't been the warmest--50F or below since I've been here. As I mentioned in a previous post, the pool can't be heated yet, but we're going to go in anyway. I think today is the day.
The new home is beautiful, and is the kind of house I always wished we lived in when I was a kid. The yard is big, the ceiling are high, and there's lots of space. What's more, it's right next to the mountains, and I've always loved the mountains.
The house has become my parents' new project, and I'm glad. They seemed really bored with life before this new house thing came along. My father's part of the project has been the yard. My mother essentially told him to do whatever he wants with it, so he has. It's finally nearing completion, and it's beautiful--a place where you really want to spend some time.
A view of the neighborhood (and my dad and youngest brother) from the front courtyard:
The front of the house:
One of my favorite features is this creek/pond that my dad had put in the front yard:
Unfinished covered area in the back yard:
The pool. There are two rock fountains that go into it, and a slide--something I always wished we had on our old pool:
Looking down from the top of the slide:
Looking to the northeast from the top of the slide. You can sort of see the snow-covered mountains in the background:
You can't really tell, but this is a wading area my dad had put in the pool for his grandchildren:
The spa, with a blown-over palm tree in the background. We got heavy rain (heavy for southern California, anyway) on Christmas Day, and the new palm tree didn't make out so well:
Another unfinished covered area, with furniture and fireplace. This will be a really cool place to hang out when it's done:
The built-in grill is connected to the house's gas lines, which means no more propane tanks to fill. I would love that kind of convenience. There's also a built-in refrigerator and ice maker. Nice touches, but we'll see how much they actually get used:
It looks sunny in the picture, but the weather hasn't been the warmest--50F or below since I've been here. As I mentioned in a previous post, the pool can't be heated yet, but we're going to go in anyway. I think today is the day.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
the school I never attended
The last of my grades was posted this morning. I did about as expected, so I'm satisfied. By the time you get to the graduate level, no one seems to care about your GPA, so as long as my grades have been good enough to get tuition reimbursement from my employer, I've been happy. Mostly. Regardless, I'm one step closer to having full closure. Now all I need is my diploma in hand, and I will feel completely free of grad school.
The little lady and I went to the university bookstore last Saturday so that I could sell some books back. We each bought a University of Minnesota sweatshirt as well. I figured that now that I'm a graduate of the university, I might as well own at least something that shows a little school pride.
For me, school pride is kind of like patriotism--a sentiment that has always troubled me. In my mind, patriotism often brings out the very worst in people, and it blinds them to negative truths about their home/city/state/country. It's for this reason that Independence Day is probably my least favorite holiday. Actually, it's tied with Halloween.
Anyway, back to school pride. When I attended Claremont High School, I never had any clothing or other paraphernalia with CHS or wolfpack (our mascot) logos until right at the very end, when "class of 1994" sweatshirts were being sold. That was the last sweatshirt I owned until I bought my U of M sweatshirt on Saturday, and it was only worn a couple times--a pointless purchase, to be sure. I probably just got caught up in the moment. That wouldn't be the first time that "the moment" has gotten the best of me.
As a BYU student, I wouldn't have been caught dead wearing anything with a BYU logo on it. Even as a graduate of BYU, I still wouldn't be caught dead with anything with a BYU logo on it. Honestly, I never really wanted to go to BYU (maybe I'll explain why in another post), and the fact that I don't like the school colors is the cherry on top of my I-don't-like-BYU sundae.
I have my U of M sweatshirt, but it's not like I have school pride--not in the traditional sense, anyway. In many ways, it feels like I was never even there. I was a part-time student, and never had any day classes. All of my classes were in the business school building, save one class I took last summer, and that building was adjacent to the business school. BYU's campus is very compact, and when I was there, I never felt like I was too far from the action. The U of M campus, however, is very spread out and is divided by the Mississippi River. The business school is on the west side of the river, I only went to the east side of the river to sell back books. When I did, I always got the impression that the east side was where all the action and most of the students were. Also, I'm not a sports fan and never attended any U of M sporting events. All of these things contribute to my feeling that I was more a Carlson School of Management student than I was a University of Minnesota student.
My sweatshirt, which is black and says "Minnesota" (no "university" or "golden gophers" or anything like that--too obvious) in the school's maroon and gold colors, is probably the only piece of U of M memorabilia I'll ever own. My diploma will probably end up in a drawer, just like my high school and BYU diplomas. It's nice to have the accomplishments, but ultimately they were means to an end. I loved my undergraduate major (Chinese language), but I really just needed to graduate so I could get a job. I like business, but I really just needed my MBA so I could get even better jobs. If money didn't matter at all, I would have studied something else. More Chinese? Latin, ancient Greek or another language of interest? Astronomy? Music performance? Classical literature? The history of the Roman Empire? There are so many things I could have studied that would have been more interesting to me than business, but that wouldn't have allowed me to get a very good job. I sometimes joke that I'm a corporate whore, but the truth of this joke is never clearer than when I think of the alternative paths my life might have taken.
The little lady and I went to the university bookstore last Saturday so that I could sell some books back. We each bought a University of Minnesota sweatshirt as well. I figured that now that I'm a graduate of the university, I might as well own at least something that shows a little school pride.
For me, school pride is kind of like patriotism--a sentiment that has always troubled me. In my mind, patriotism often brings out the very worst in people, and it blinds them to negative truths about their home/city/state/country. It's for this reason that Independence Day is probably my least favorite holiday. Actually, it's tied with Halloween.
Anyway, back to school pride. When I attended Claremont High School, I never had any clothing or other paraphernalia with CHS or wolfpack (our mascot) logos until right at the very end, when "class of 1994" sweatshirts were being sold. That was the last sweatshirt I owned until I bought my U of M sweatshirt on Saturday, and it was only worn a couple times--a pointless purchase, to be sure. I probably just got caught up in the moment. That wouldn't be the first time that "the moment" has gotten the best of me.
As a BYU student, I wouldn't have been caught dead wearing anything with a BYU logo on it. Even as a graduate of BYU, I still wouldn't be caught dead with anything with a BYU logo on it. Honestly, I never really wanted to go to BYU (maybe I'll explain why in another post), and the fact that I don't like the school colors is the cherry on top of my I-don't-like-BYU sundae.
I have my U of M sweatshirt, but it's not like I have school pride--not in the traditional sense, anyway. In many ways, it feels like I was never even there. I was a part-time student, and never had any day classes. All of my classes were in the business school building, save one class I took last summer, and that building was adjacent to the business school. BYU's campus is very compact, and when I was there, I never felt like I was too far from the action. The U of M campus, however, is very spread out and is divided by the Mississippi River. The business school is on the west side of the river, I only went to the east side of the river to sell back books. When I did, I always got the impression that the east side was where all the action and most of the students were. Also, I'm not a sports fan and never attended any U of M sporting events. All of these things contribute to my feeling that I was more a Carlson School of Management student than I was a University of Minnesota student.
My sweatshirt, which is black and says "Minnesota" (no "university" or "golden gophers" or anything like that--too obvious) in the school's maroon and gold colors, is probably the only piece of U of M memorabilia I'll ever own. My diploma will probably end up in a drawer, just like my high school and BYU diplomas. It's nice to have the accomplishments, but ultimately they were means to an end. I loved my undergraduate major (Chinese language), but I really just needed to graduate so I could get a job. I like business, but I really just needed my MBA so I could get even better jobs. If money didn't matter at all, I would have studied something else. More Chinese? Latin, ancient Greek or another language of interest? Astronomy? Music performance? Classical literature? The history of the Roman Empire? There are so many things I could have studied that would have been more interesting to me than business, but that wouldn't have allowed me to get a very good job. I sometimes joke that I'm a corporate whore, but the truth of this joke is never clearer than when I think of the alternative paths my life might have taken.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
merry christmas from the futility of capitalism
Becca and I arrived in Los Angeles last night at 9:30pm. While the idea of having a white Christmas is really appealing (I've never had one, since we always leave town for Christmas), and while I really enjoy having distinct seasons after having grown up with eternal summers, I think I'm going to enjoy having temperatures in the 50's and 60's for the next week and a half. My parents' new pool was just finished, and I think my brother and I are going to break it in today. It's going to be cold (can't heat it yet), but I wasn't that interested in having kids anyway.
No matter what holiday you celebrate, I hope it will be a merry/happy one. Thank you for reading and for your friendship.
No matter what holiday you celebrate, I hope it will be a merry/happy one. Thank you for reading and for your friendship.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
a childhood dream realized
I paid a visit to Micro Center yesterday, and picked up this blessed device for only $10:
I've wanted a plasma ball ever since I was a kid. This one is small, but it plugs into a USB port on my work computer and is really cool to look at. Touching it is also pretty addicting, as well.
I'm going to have to buy a few for home.
I've wanted a plasma ball ever since I was a kid. This one is small, but it plugs into a USB port on my work computer and is really cool to look at. Touching it is also pretty addicting, as well.
I'm going to have to buy a few for home.
Friday, December 19, 2008
a bittersweet victory
Over the past few weeks, I have had five different interviews for a promotion at work. This afternoon, I learned that I had been selected for the job. Before I was given my offer letter, my manager and the hiring manager explained that my raise was going to be less than normal because of the current economic climate. I nervously opened the envelope, and discovered that my raise was less than 20% of what I was expecting for this promotion. Considering the additional workload plus the extra time I'd have to spend learning the position, I wasn't exactly thrilled.
This promotion was within the team I'm already on. A meeting was called late in the afternoon, and I was told my promotion would be announced with a few other org changes. After all the org changes were announced in the meeting, someone raised their hand to ask our vice-president if the job I was vacating would be filled. The answer was "no". The reason, as you might have guessed, was "the economy".
The job I'm vacating is closely tied to the job to which I was promoted. What does that mean? You guessed it--I'll be doing two jobs for the foreseeable future. Actually, considering my responsibilities, it's more like three jobs. I've always had more responsibilities than any of my counterparts. You know--"stretch assignments". "Development opportunities". "Career opportunities". This burden is my "reward" for my hard work and sense of responsibility.
It's nice to be recognized for my efforts. It's nice to get a promotion and to beat the competition. It's nice to have a new title. Senior Manager--I'm so powerful now! Mua ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! It's nice to even have a job and a tiny bit of extra cash (and I do mean tiny), especially when so many people are losing their job or are in danger of losing their job.
It's not so nice to have to do three jobs. Or to be told about that minor detail after I accepted the new position. Congratulations, Steve-o.
This promotion was within the team I'm already on. A meeting was called late in the afternoon, and I was told my promotion would be announced with a few other org changes. After all the org changes were announced in the meeting, someone raised their hand to ask our vice-president if the job I was vacating would be filled. The answer was "no". The reason, as you might have guessed, was "the economy".
The job I'm vacating is closely tied to the job to which I was promoted. What does that mean? You guessed it--I'll be doing two jobs for the foreseeable future. Actually, considering my responsibilities, it's more like three jobs. I've always had more responsibilities than any of my counterparts. You know--"stretch assignments". "Development opportunities". "Career opportunities". This burden is my "reward" for my hard work and sense of responsibility.
It's nice to be recognized for my efforts. It's nice to get a promotion and to beat the competition. It's nice to have a new title. Senior Manager--I'm so powerful now! Mua ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! It's nice to even have a job and a tiny bit of extra cash (and I do mean tiny), especially when so many people are losing their job or are in danger of losing their job.
It's not so nice to have to do three jobs. Or to be told about that minor detail after I accepted the new position. Congratulations, Steve-o.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
cold weather benefits
It's cold. Really freakin' cold. Colder than it should be in December. The wind chills were -25 to -35F yesterday. We got two inches of snow today. I like the snow, and if given the choice, I'd rather have cold weather than hot weather...but not this cold. This is a bitter cold, the kind of cold that stings and makes it hard to breathe.
Cold weather isn't all bad, though. Despite all the complaints you'll typically hear, there are some major benefits to having cold weather. Here are a few:
1. Cold drinks. I love slurpees/icees, so sometimes I'll leave a bottle of water or lemonade in my car while I'm in the office. When I come out at the end of the day, I give the bottle a few shakes and have an instant slushie.
2. Car antics. When there's snow on the ground, that means it's time to test your traction control. And your anti-lock brakes. And your all-wheel drive (my new favorite). This can all be topped off by doing doughnuts in a parking lot--always a good time.
3. Experiments. How fast will wet hair freeze? How long will it take a bottle of water to chill until it's rock solid? How long will it take for my runny nose to freeze shut? Here's your chance to find out.
4. Grocery shopping. When it's warm, the grocery store is always the last place you go when you're out doing things and running errands. Can't have your produce and meat spoiling, right? When it's freezing cold, however, that's no longer an issue. It doesn't matter when you go to the store during the day, your car is going to turn into a refrigerator--guaranteed. This is the best cold weather benefit of all.
Only five more months until winter ends...
Cold weather isn't all bad, though. Despite all the complaints you'll typically hear, there are some major benefits to having cold weather. Here are a few:
1. Cold drinks. I love slurpees/icees, so sometimes I'll leave a bottle of water or lemonade in my car while I'm in the office. When I come out at the end of the day, I give the bottle a few shakes and have an instant slushie.
2. Car antics. When there's snow on the ground, that means it's time to test your traction control. And your anti-lock brakes. And your all-wheel drive (my new favorite). This can all be topped off by doing doughnuts in a parking lot--always a good time.
3. Experiments. How fast will wet hair freeze? How long will it take a bottle of water to chill until it's rock solid? How long will it take for my runny nose to freeze shut? Here's your chance to find out.
4. Grocery shopping. When it's warm, the grocery store is always the last place you go when you're out doing things and running errands. Can't have your produce and meat spoiling, right? When it's freezing cold, however, that's no longer an issue. It doesn't matter when you go to the store during the day, your car is going to turn into a refrigerator--guaranteed. This is the best cold weather benefit of all.
Only five more months until winter ends...
Sunday, December 14, 2008
the year of steve
Now that I've graduated, I decided yesterday that it was time for me to make a conscious effort to have fun and not do anything work- or school-related. So, I declared yesterday "Steve Day" and told the little lady we'd be going out to do various things that I felt like doing.
Our first stop was a jewelry store. As I've mentioned before, I love watches, so I thought it would be fun to see some new ones and try on a few. This particular store is a few miles from my office, and despite the area of town its in (it's not that great), happens to carry the most expensive watches you can buy in Minnesota (and some of the most expensive in the world, for that matter). The saleswoman indulged us as we made our way around the room, trying on some truly incredible watches from well-known makers like Rolex, Panerai and IWC. The highlight of the visit for me, however, was trying on watches by A. Lange & Sohne and Patek Philippe. If you're not into watches, then you've probably never heard of either brand. People in the know, however, generally consider Lange and Patek two of the top three brands in the world (with Vacheron Constantin or Audemars Piguet being the other). They're so expensive and so rare that I'd never even seen one in person until yesterday. I took advantage of the situation and the saleswoman's patience and tried on a Lange 1 and a Patek Nautilus. I didn't even bother to check the price tag on the Lange, but I did check the Patek: $32,300--by far the most expensive watch I've ever tried on. I'll probably never own a Lange or a Patek, but it was fun to touch and admire them. I needed a break from reality, and this jewelry store was it.
A. Lange & Sohne Lange 1:
Patek Philippe Nautilus:
We needed to balance out our day with something a little closer to reality, so our next stop was the bowling alley near my office. I've never been very good at it and I don't do it very often, but I do enjoy bowling. We played three games, and it wasn't until the third game that I really got into a groove. I bowled 63 (and lost to Becca), then 73 (winning by a point), then 163 (destroying Becca). In the third game, I resorted to the tactics I had used when I went bowling as a teenager. In short, I stood in front of the lane and tossed the ball so that it would land several feet away from me and then roll slowly toward the pins. While this probably dented the wood, it also allowed me to be more accurate. And, to be honest, I got a big charge out of the sound of the ball crashing onto the wood. Good times.
Our next stop was the Mall of America. I was hardly in the mood for crowds, but it was cold yesterday and I wanted to walk around a bit. The mall wasn't as packed as I expected it to be, but it was still pretty crazy. Our first stop was the new Best Buy store--the only Best Buy inside a shopping mall anywhere in the world. It was different--not necessarily in a good way--and in retrospect, I should have stayed away in order to keep with the "nothing work- or school-related" theme of the day. Our next stop was the Wisconsin cheese store. They always give out free samples, and they have some great cheese. My favorite yesterday was the smoked Swiss cheese--really good flavor. On a whim, I decided that our next stop would be Famous Dave's. There are few better ways I can think of to celebrate an accomplishment than to gorge one's self on barbecued pig. We shared some chicken wild rice soup and catfish strips, and then Becca had chopped pork and chicken wings for her main course, while I had baby back ribs and chopped pork for mine. We enjoyed the food, and left the restaurant barely able to walk.
We walked around the mall for a bit, and then spent some time in Nordstrom, looking at coats and boots for Becca, and shoes for me. There wasn't anything too exciting going on in any of those departments. We visited a couple more jewelry stores after that, and tried on a few watches in one of them.
Our final stop of the evening was the grocery store. It was kind of a strange visit. The lady at the deli counter was totally grouchy because I asked her to slice some ham for me, rather than just give me the ham that had been sitting out all day. The people at this store are typically fairly friendly, so I was a bit surprised. I then threw off our usual rhythm by going down some aisles in a different order than usual. This isn't really a big deal, but when you're used to a particular routine, any deviation from that routine can be, well, strange. Finally, when we were by the checkout counter, one of the workers told people to move down to the counter I was standing by so that he could check them out. Since I was already standing there, and since the kid who was moving to get in line first looked like he was having trouble deciding whether or not to proceed or to let me go first, I just went first myself. In retrospect, that was probably the rudest thing I've done in a long time. Oops.
We finished off the day by watching this week's episode of "The Office", which was quite funny. I fell asleep on the couch right after that. There are few things in life I enjoy as much as falling asleep on the couch, so it seemed like a fitting end to a good day.
A few hours of self-indulgence were exactly what I needed yesterday. As the day wore on, I decided "Steve Day" was going to have to become "Steve Week". By the end of the day, "Steve Week" had become "The Year of Steve". I think we'll be celebrating December 12, my own Independence Day, for many weeks to come.
Our first stop was a jewelry store. As I've mentioned before, I love watches, so I thought it would be fun to see some new ones and try on a few. This particular store is a few miles from my office, and despite the area of town its in (it's not that great), happens to carry the most expensive watches you can buy in Minnesota (and some of the most expensive in the world, for that matter). The saleswoman indulged us as we made our way around the room, trying on some truly incredible watches from well-known makers like Rolex, Panerai and IWC. The highlight of the visit for me, however, was trying on watches by A. Lange & Sohne and Patek Philippe. If you're not into watches, then you've probably never heard of either brand. People in the know, however, generally consider Lange and Patek two of the top three brands in the world (with Vacheron Constantin or Audemars Piguet being the other). They're so expensive and so rare that I'd never even seen one in person until yesterday. I took advantage of the situation and the saleswoman's patience and tried on a Lange 1 and a Patek Nautilus. I didn't even bother to check the price tag on the Lange, but I did check the Patek: $32,300--by far the most expensive watch I've ever tried on. I'll probably never own a Lange or a Patek, but it was fun to touch and admire them. I needed a break from reality, and this jewelry store was it.
A. Lange & Sohne Lange 1:
Patek Philippe Nautilus:
We needed to balance out our day with something a little closer to reality, so our next stop was the bowling alley near my office. I've never been very good at it and I don't do it very often, but I do enjoy bowling. We played three games, and it wasn't until the third game that I really got into a groove. I bowled 63 (and lost to Becca), then 73 (winning by a point), then 163 (destroying Becca). In the third game, I resorted to the tactics I had used when I went bowling as a teenager. In short, I stood in front of the lane and tossed the ball so that it would land several feet away from me and then roll slowly toward the pins. While this probably dented the wood, it also allowed me to be more accurate. And, to be honest, I got a big charge out of the sound of the ball crashing onto the wood. Good times.
Our next stop was the Mall of America. I was hardly in the mood for crowds, but it was cold yesterday and I wanted to walk around a bit. The mall wasn't as packed as I expected it to be, but it was still pretty crazy. Our first stop was the new Best Buy store--the only Best Buy inside a shopping mall anywhere in the world. It was different--not necessarily in a good way--and in retrospect, I should have stayed away in order to keep with the "nothing work- or school-related" theme of the day. Our next stop was the Wisconsin cheese store. They always give out free samples, and they have some great cheese. My favorite yesterday was the smoked Swiss cheese--really good flavor. On a whim, I decided that our next stop would be Famous Dave's. There are few better ways I can think of to celebrate an accomplishment than to gorge one's self on barbecued pig. We shared some chicken wild rice soup and catfish strips, and then Becca had chopped pork and chicken wings for her main course, while I had baby back ribs and chopped pork for mine. We enjoyed the food, and left the restaurant barely able to walk.
We walked around the mall for a bit, and then spent some time in Nordstrom, looking at coats and boots for Becca, and shoes for me. There wasn't anything too exciting going on in any of those departments. We visited a couple more jewelry stores after that, and tried on a few watches in one of them.
Our final stop of the evening was the grocery store. It was kind of a strange visit. The lady at the deli counter was totally grouchy because I asked her to slice some ham for me, rather than just give me the ham that had been sitting out all day. The people at this store are typically fairly friendly, so I was a bit surprised. I then threw off our usual rhythm by going down some aisles in a different order than usual. This isn't really a big deal, but when you're used to a particular routine, any deviation from that routine can be, well, strange. Finally, when we were by the checkout counter, one of the workers told people to move down to the counter I was standing by so that he could check them out. Since I was already standing there, and since the kid who was moving to get in line first looked like he was having trouble deciding whether or not to proceed or to let me go first, I just went first myself. In retrospect, that was probably the rudest thing I've done in a long time. Oops.
We finished off the day by watching this week's episode of "The Office", which was quite funny. I fell asleep on the couch right after that. There are few things in life I enjoy as much as falling asleep on the couch, so it seemed like a fitting end to a good day.
A few hours of self-indulgence were exactly what I needed yesterday. As the day wore on, I decided "Steve Day" was going to have to become "Steve Week". By the end of the day, "Steve Week" had become "The Year of Steve". I think we'll be celebrating December 12, my own Independence Day, for many weeks to come.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
the end of the tunnel
I just submitted a take-home exam. My last final exam ever, hopefully.
I never thought that the light at the end of the tunnel would shine black. I guess sometimes it takes time to realize that you're no longer in the tunnel.
At some point in the near future, the significance of this glorious event will sink in. I'm free from school. Free from homework, from papers, from group work, from presentations, from boring lectures given by self-aggrandizing professors. Free from the limited dinner choices in the basement of the Carlson School. Free from the parking fees. Free from having to take short naps in my car in order to maintain my sanity. Free from the traffic. Free from the long commute home.
Free.
I never thought that the light at the end of the tunnel would shine black. I guess sometimes it takes time to realize that you're no longer in the tunnel.
At some point in the near future, the significance of this glorious event will sink in. I'm free from school. Free from homework, from papers, from group work, from presentations, from boring lectures given by self-aggrandizing professors. Free from the limited dinner choices in the basement of the Carlson School. Free from the parking fees. Free from having to take short naps in my car in order to maintain my sanity. Free from the traffic. Free from the long commute home.
Free.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
the ultimate marketing machine
Dear BMW,
I love the car. It's wonderful. It has exceeded my every expectation. Rain or shine, there are few things I look forward to more in my day than driving it. Would I ever consider buying another? Absolutely. Maybe I'd even get one for the little lady, if she's really nice. That would look silly in the garage, but I digress.
I do have one complaint, however, so let's make a deal--if I ever buy another, can you do me a favor? Don't send me BMW magazine. Don't send me fancy cards, Christmas or otherwise. Don't send me a multi-CD set containing lectures by the great and up-and-coming minds of the world for my listening enjoyment. Don't slam my inbox with coupons for BMW-logo merchandise or news about the latest piece of automobile wizardry that you've created. Believe me--if I want to know about it (and I will), I will seek it on my own.
DO, however, feel free to give me a discount on the car with all the money you'll be saving by not marketing to me. After all, the best advertisement for a BMW is, strangely enough, a BMW--and somehow I ended up with one without your magazine, free CDs or other useless trash. It's strange, but it's true.
When, many years from now, the time comes for me to replace the current car, you won't have to remind me to seek you out. Or to ask you for a discount.
Love ya,
Steve-o
I love the car. It's wonderful. It has exceeded my every expectation. Rain or shine, there are few things I look forward to more in my day than driving it. Would I ever consider buying another? Absolutely. Maybe I'd even get one for the little lady, if she's really nice. That would look silly in the garage, but I digress.
I do have one complaint, however, so let's make a deal--if I ever buy another, can you do me a favor? Don't send me BMW magazine. Don't send me fancy cards, Christmas or otherwise. Don't send me a multi-CD set containing lectures by the great and up-and-coming minds of the world for my listening enjoyment. Don't slam my inbox with coupons for BMW-logo merchandise or news about the latest piece of automobile wizardry that you've created. Believe me--if I want to know about it (and I will), I will seek it on my own.
DO, however, feel free to give me a discount on the car with all the money you'll be saving by not marketing to me. After all, the best advertisement for a BMW is, strangely enough, a BMW--and somehow I ended up with one without your magazine, free CDs or other useless trash. It's strange, but it's true.
When, many years from now, the time comes for me to replace the current car, you won't have to remind me to seek you out. Or to ask you for a discount.
Love ya,
Steve-o
Sunday, December 7, 2008
I, mastermind
I've always found the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment a very interesting way to learn more about myself and other people. I've taken the assessment numerous times, and I've come out as an INTJ (introverted, intuitive, thinking, judging) every time, except one time when I came out as an INFJ. I took the assessment again yesterday, and was once again declared an INTJ by the assessment.
Personality tests and assessments can be good indicators of how people will behave or what gets them going. My company uses one in particular, and many employees have embraced sharing their top five personality "themes" with other people as a way of introducing themselves or letting others know more about what makes them tick. Sometimes we do rather touchy-feely exercises where we go around the room and talk about our themes and how they are a part of who we are and what we do. I've never found these exercises to do more than scratch the surface, so I got my previous team to take the MBTI so that we could spend time talking in depth about our personalities and how they come into play at work. It was interesting to see how many people had the same personality type within the team--a phenomenon I'd noticed with the signature themes. For example, my type--INTJ--supposedly makes up less than 1% of the total population, so I was surprised to find that four other members of the team were also INTJs. Only one member of the team was an extrovert, and everyone else was an introvert. Considering the nature of the work (system and process design), perhaps it shouldn't have come as a surprise.
Some interesting facts and anecdotes about INTJs that I believe match my personality/behavior very well:
- The INTJ type is sometimes called the "mastermind". INTJs will typically stay in the background and not assume leadership roles until others have failed.
- "To outsiders, INTJs may appear to project an aura of "definiteness", of self-confidence. This self-confidence, sometimes mistaken for simple arrogance by the less decisive, is actually of a very specific rather than a general nature; its source lies in the specialized knowledge systems that most INTJs start building at an early age. When it comes to their own areas of expertise -- and INTJs can have several -- they will be able to tell you almost immediately whether or not they can help you, and if so, how. INTJs know what they know, and perhaps still more importantly, they know what they don't know."
- "INTJs are perfectionists, with a seemingly endless capacity for improving upon anything that takes their interest. What prevents them from becoming chronically bogged down in this pursuit of perfection is the pragmatism so characteristic of the type: INTJs apply (often ruthlessly) the criterion "Does it work?" to everything from their own research efforts to the prevailing social norms. This in turn produces an unusual independence of mind, freeing the INTJ from the constraints of authority, convention, or sentiment for its own sake." (italics are my own--this whole paragraph is a good description of why I have sometimes rejected authority figures, social norms, my own upbringing, etc.)
- "Anyone considered to be "slacking," including superiors, will lose their respect -- and will generally be made aware of this." Much to my co-workers' and wife's dismay, I'm afraid.
- "INTJs can rise to management positions when they are willing to invest time in marketing their abilities as well as enhancing them, and (whether for the sake of ambition or the desire for privacy) many also find it useful to learn to simulate some degree of surface conformism in order to mask their inherent unconventionality."
- "Personal relationships, particularly romantic ones, can be the INTJ's Achilles heel. While they are capable of caring deeply for others (usually a select few), and are willing to spend a great deal of time and effort on a relationship, the knowledge and self-confidence that make them so successful in other areas can suddenly abandon or mislead them in interpersonal situations. ... many INTJs do not readily grasp the social rituals; for instance, they tend to have little patience and less understanding of such things as small talk and flirtation (which most types consider half the fun of a relationship). To complicate matters, INTJs are usually extremely private people, and can often be naturally impassive as well, which makes them easy to misread and misunderstand. Perhaps the most fundamental problem, however, is that INTJs really want people to make sense." (again, italics are my own--I know how much I hate small talk, and as for flirtation, I've been told I neither recognize it when I flirt nor when anyone else flirts with me)
Now, I mention all of this merely to describe my personality/behavior, but not to excuse it. Obviously, some of the above personality traits will rub people the wrong way, and over the years, I've rubbed a lot of people the wrong way--sometimes on purpose, and sometimes inadvertently. Ultimately, I am who I am, as are we all.
Some famous INTJs:
Dan Akroyd
Chevy Chase
Julius Caesar
Hannibal
Peter Jennings
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Donald Rumsfeld
Colin Powell
Rudy Giuliani
Lance Armstrong
Thomas Jefferson
John Kennedy
Alan Greenspan
Friedrich Nietzsche
Stephen Hawking
Isaac Newton
Ayn Rand
If you'd like to take a version of the MBTI, you can find a free one here:
Jung Typology Test
What's your type? Any interesting or cool stories related to personality tests?
Personality tests and assessments can be good indicators of how people will behave or what gets them going. My company uses one in particular, and many employees have embraced sharing their top five personality "themes" with other people as a way of introducing themselves or letting others know more about what makes them tick. Sometimes we do rather touchy-feely exercises where we go around the room and talk about our themes and how they are a part of who we are and what we do. I've never found these exercises to do more than scratch the surface, so I got my previous team to take the MBTI so that we could spend time talking in depth about our personalities and how they come into play at work. It was interesting to see how many people had the same personality type within the team--a phenomenon I'd noticed with the signature themes. For example, my type--INTJ--supposedly makes up less than 1% of the total population, so I was surprised to find that four other members of the team were also INTJs. Only one member of the team was an extrovert, and everyone else was an introvert. Considering the nature of the work (system and process design), perhaps it shouldn't have come as a surprise.
Some interesting facts and anecdotes about INTJs that I believe match my personality/behavior very well:
- The INTJ type is sometimes called the "mastermind". INTJs will typically stay in the background and not assume leadership roles until others have failed.
- "To outsiders, INTJs may appear to project an aura of "definiteness", of self-confidence. This self-confidence, sometimes mistaken for simple arrogance by the less decisive, is actually of a very specific rather than a general nature; its source lies in the specialized knowledge systems that most INTJs start building at an early age. When it comes to their own areas of expertise -- and INTJs can have several -- they will be able to tell you almost immediately whether or not they can help you, and if so, how. INTJs know what they know, and perhaps still more importantly, they know what they don't know."
- "INTJs are perfectionists, with a seemingly endless capacity for improving upon anything that takes their interest. What prevents them from becoming chronically bogged down in this pursuit of perfection is the pragmatism so characteristic of the type: INTJs apply (often ruthlessly) the criterion "Does it work?" to everything from their own research efforts to the prevailing social norms. This in turn produces an unusual independence of mind, freeing the INTJ from the constraints of authority, convention, or sentiment for its own sake." (italics are my own--this whole paragraph is a good description of why I have sometimes rejected authority figures, social norms, my own upbringing, etc.)
- "Anyone considered to be "slacking," including superiors, will lose their respect -- and will generally be made aware of this." Much to my co-workers' and wife's dismay, I'm afraid.
- "INTJs can rise to management positions when they are willing to invest time in marketing their abilities as well as enhancing them, and (whether for the sake of ambition or the desire for privacy) many also find it useful to learn to simulate some degree of surface conformism in order to mask their inherent unconventionality."
- "Personal relationships, particularly romantic ones, can be the INTJ's Achilles heel. While they are capable of caring deeply for others (usually a select few), and are willing to spend a great deal of time and effort on a relationship, the knowledge and self-confidence that make them so successful in other areas can suddenly abandon or mislead them in interpersonal situations. ... many INTJs do not readily grasp the social rituals; for instance, they tend to have little patience and less understanding of such things as small talk and flirtation (which most types consider half the fun of a relationship). To complicate matters, INTJs are usually extremely private people, and can often be naturally impassive as well, which makes them easy to misread and misunderstand. Perhaps the most fundamental problem, however, is that INTJs really want people to make sense." (again, italics are my own--I know how much I hate small talk, and as for flirtation, I've been told I neither recognize it when I flirt nor when anyone else flirts with me)
Now, I mention all of this merely to describe my personality/behavior, but not to excuse it. Obviously, some of the above personality traits will rub people the wrong way, and over the years, I've rubbed a lot of people the wrong way--sometimes on purpose, and sometimes inadvertently. Ultimately, I am who I am, as are we all.
Some famous INTJs:
Dan Akroyd
Chevy Chase
Julius Caesar
Hannibal
Peter Jennings
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Donald Rumsfeld
Colin Powell
Rudy Giuliani
Lance Armstrong
Thomas Jefferson
John Kennedy
Alan Greenspan
Friedrich Nietzsche
Stephen Hawking
Isaac Newton
Ayn Rand
If you'd like to take a version of the MBTI, you can find a free one here:
Jung Typology Test
What's your type? Any interesting or cool stories related to personality tests?
Saturday, December 6, 2008
an important question that deserves an answer
In their natural state, English muffins are vile, bordering on the unedible, if not poisonous. I know nothing of their history, but if they were indeed invented by the English, then that only serves to enhance England's reputation for terrible food.
This being the case, why are English muffins so incredibly delectable when toasted? There are few foods I'd rather eat for breakfast than a toasted English muffin, garnished with a nutritious cube of butter. No, not margarine. Not even if it's churn-style Country Crock. It must be real butter. Salted real butter. And not the store brand, either. Land o' Lakes or better is a requirement for the ultimate in toasted English muffin experiences.
This is definitely one of life's mysteries...
This being the case, why are English muffins so incredibly delectable when toasted? There are few foods I'd rather eat for breakfast than a toasted English muffin, garnished with a nutritious cube of butter. No, not margarine. Not even if it's churn-style Country Crock. It must be real butter. Salted real butter. And not the store brand, either. Land o' Lakes or better is a requirement for the ultimate in toasted English muffin experiences.
This is definitely one of life's mysteries...
open letter to the guy with the spurs
To the guy on my floor who wears spurs to work every Friday:
You're a jackass.
Anyone who thinks it's acceptable to wear spurs to work is an idiot, unless, of course, you work on a ranch. We don't work on a ranch, ace. There are no cows or horses inside the headquarters of the corporate behemoth to whom we've bequeathed our lives and souls.
I don't care if Fridays are "casual". We work for one of the biggest companies in the world, and regardless, nobody wants to hear you walk. No one wants hear you jingle-jangle-jingle as you saunter up and down the corridor. Everyone, however, wants a piece of you. Personally, I'd love to meet you at the flagpole.
I should congratulate you. Few people I've known in my lifetime have made numerous enemies as quickly as you have. Who ever knew that a few bits of seemingly innocuous metal could be so hazardous to your health?
You're not cool. You're not stylish. You're not a trend-setter. You're noise pollution. You're a disease. You're an infestation that must be eradicated. Your day will come.
Take the boots off. PLEASE.
XOXOXO,
Steve-o
You're a jackass.
Anyone who thinks it's acceptable to wear spurs to work is an idiot, unless, of course, you work on a ranch. We don't work on a ranch, ace. There are no cows or horses inside the headquarters of the corporate behemoth to whom we've bequeathed our lives and souls.
I don't care if Fridays are "casual". We work for one of the biggest companies in the world, and regardless, nobody wants to hear you walk. No one wants hear you jingle-jangle-jingle as you saunter up and down the corridor. Everyone, however, wants a piece of you. Personally, I'd love to meet you at the flagpole.
I should congratulate you. Few people I've known in my lifetime have made numerous enemies as quickly as you have. Who ever knew that a few bits of seemingly innocuous metal could be so hazardous to your health?
You're not cool. You're not stylish. You're not a trend-setter. You're noise pollution. You're a disease. You're an infestation that must be eradicated. Your day will come.
Take the boots off. PLEASE.
XOXOXO,
Steve-o
Monday, December 1, 2008
Is that a TV on your feet, or are you just happy to see me?
I'm one of those people that's always hot, no matter what the temperature is. As such, when winter comes and it's time to turn on the heater, I keep it at a toasty 64F. This is a bit on the warm side for me, but it's unacceptably cold for the little lady and most people I know. That said, my feet sometimes do get cold. And when that happens, that means it's time for these:
These slippers are the coolest ever. Bless the people at Tivo for devising the completely worthless loyalty/rewards program that made it possible for me to acquire this fabulous footwear, plus a few other Tivo-emblazoned bits of junk that are gathering dust in some dark corner of my domain.
holiday emptiness
As I've previously mentioned, Christmas is my favorite holiday and my favorite time of the year. The (roughly) one month between Thanksgiving and Christmas is a magical time, filled with good food, bright lights, family fun and a myriad of opportunities to create memories that will last a lifetime. Regardless of what's been going on in my life, there's never been a time when I didn't look forward to the holidays. Whether life was going well or I was in a pit of despair from which I thought I'd never escape, each holiday season in my life has come and gone with more good than bad to say about it. Considering how many people hate the holidays and find them the most stressful time of the year, I consider myself lucky. Very lucky.
As you are all aware, I work in the retail industry. We take employee satisfaction surveys on a regular basis, and one of the questions we are asked is if the mission/purpose of the company makes us feel that our jobs are important. Since the essence of my job is discovering ways to get people to buy stuff they probably don't need, I always give a "strongly disagree" response to this question. This feeling is never stronger than during the holidays.
This Thanksgiving has been a case in point. With the economy being weak and our sales soft, many people in the office (OK, just about everyone) have been on edge and freaking out about every piece of information that comes their way. Logically, I think we all understand that you get to a point in the holiday season (right about now) where there's not much else you can do. You can't change your advertising; you can't get more product if you need it; you can't give product back to your suppliers if you've got too much. In this economy, however, emotions have taken over. Worries about foot traffic, sales, inventory and every other metric of import in retail will drive everyone insane this holiday. And even though I'm not really worried about things, I, too will be a victim.
In a way, my holiday season began a long time ago. I had commitments for some Black Friday products almost a year ago. Some people may tell you that Black Friday and subsequent holiday ads consist of overstocked, unwanted product. Anyone who tells you this is a fool. It takes many months of planning to pull off holiday advertising, and it takes a lot of effort to ensure that everything goes off without a hitch. This means that I think about the holidays all year long, but I'm not thinking about the aspects of the holidays that I love--I'm thinking about selling more stuff and how profitable we'll be when we do.
I had Thursday and Friday off, and although I took my work computer to my brother's house, I never turned it on. I did, however, check my email on his computer and my phone. I wish I hadn't. There were lots of emails going around about sales on Friday. Some members of my team were providing hourly updates on how our promotional products were doing. The further I got into my email, the more I felt like I was cloaked in holiday manure. I've barely been able to think of anything else since Friday, and it's a horrible feeling. It makes me feel like quitting and getting as far away from retail as I possibly can. It makes me wonder why I'm getting an MBA, rather than pursuing a field I really enjoy, like linguistics, astronomy or music. I do like business, but sometimes the burdens are more than anyone should have to bear. And at the end of the day, a lot of this stuff doesn't even matter. Woo hoo, I sold a zillion digital cameras on Black Friday. Big freakin' deal. And then you hear about people being trampled to death or shooting each other during these sales. That's not important, though--at least a lot of people were able to save $100 on a TV.
We're going to California for Christmas, and I can't wait. The way things are shaping up, however, I'm going to have to take my work computer and work every day while I'm out there. It's like expecting a light at the end of the tunnel, but finding a steaming pile of cow dung when you emerge from the darkness. I can only hope that people will calm down and that things will settle down at work enough for me to have a real vacation. A real Christmas, where I don't hear or even have to care about the average selling price of a USB cable. A true Christmas, where I have my family's traditional danishes and hot chocolate for breakfast, rather than yesterday's sales reports.
I wish I could take the next couple of months off.
As you are all aware, I work in the retail industry. We take employee satisfaction surveys on a regular basis, and one of the questions we are asked is if the mission/purpose of the company makes us feel that our jobs are important. Since the essence of my job is discovering ways to get people to buy stuff they probably don't need, I always give a "strongly disagree" response to this question. This feeling is never stronger than during the holidays.
This Thanksgiving has been a case in point. With the economy being weak and our sales soft, many people in the office (OK, just about everyone) have been on edge and freaking out about every piece of information that comes their way. Logically, I think we all understand that you get to a point in the holiday season (right about now) where there's not much else you can do. You can't change your advertising; you can't get more product if you need it; you can't give product back to your suppliers if you've got too much. In this economy, however, emotions have taken over. Worries about foot traffic, sales, inventory and every other metric of import in retail will drive everyone insane this holiday. And even though I'm not really worried about things, I, too will be a victim.
In a way, my holiday season began a long time ago. I had commitments for some Black Friday products almost a year ago. Some people may tell you that Black Friday and subsequent holiday ads consist of overstocked, unwanted product. Anyone who tells you this is a fool. It takes many months of planning to pull off holiday advertising, and it takes a lot of effort to ensure that everything goes off without a hitch. This means that I think about the holidays all year long, but I'm not thinking about the aspects of the holidays that I love--I'm thinking about selling more stuff and how profitable we'll be when we do.
I had Thursday and Friday off, and although I took my work computer to my brother's house, I never turned it on. I did, however, check my email on his computer and my phone. I wish I hadn't. There were lots of emails going around about sales on Friday. Some members of my team were providing hourly updates on how our promotional products were doing. The further I got into my email, the more I felt like I was cloaked in holiday manure. I've barely been able to think of anything else since Friday, and it's a horrible feeling. It makes me feel like quitting and getting as far away from retail as I possibly can. It makes me wonder why I'm getting an MBA, rather than pursuing a field I really enjoy, like linguistics, astronomy or music. I do like business, but sometimes the burdens are more than anyone should have to bear. And at the end of the day, a lot of this stuff doesn't even matter. Woo hoo, I sold a zillion digital cameras on Black Friday. Big freakin' deal. And then you hear about people being trampled to death or shooting each other during these sales. That's not important, though--at least a lot of people were able to save $100 on a TV.
We're going to California for Christmas, and I can't wait. The way things are shaping up, however, I'm going to have to take my work computer and work every day while I'm out there. It's like expecting a light at the end of the tunnel, but finding a steaming pile of cow dung when you emerge from the darkness. I can only hope that people will calm down and that things will settle down at work enough for me to have a real vacation. A real Christmas, where I don't hear or even have to care about the average selling price of a USB cable. A true Christmas, where I have my family's traditional danishes and hot chocolate for breakfast, rather than yesterday's sales reports.
I wish I could take the next couple of months off.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
fashion victim redux
It's been cold, so the snow pants made their inevitable second appearance--this time, on Thanksgiving Day:
And, for those of you who would rather see a train wreck close up than look away:
In this context, they don't seem that bad. Can you imagine how it would have looked, however, if we had gone to a nice restaurant for his birthday?
In this context, they don't seem that bad. Can you imagine how it would have looked, however, if we had gone to a nice restaurant for his birthday?
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
my father: fashion victim
I picked my parents up from the airport on Friday afternoon. As one might expect, these southern Californians were ill-dressed for the cold Minnesota weather. My father, in particular, was feeling it--shorts are far from appropriate when it's 22F outside.
I quickly discovered that other than the suit he brought for church attendance, my dad had only brought a few pairs of shorts and a pair of Gore-Tex snow pants he had just purchased with him. Now, I don't know about you, but I personally don't think that snow pants are appropriate anywhere except on a mountain...like, when you're skiing. My dad doesn't ski. He doesn't snowshoe. He doesn't even live in a place where it snows. I think he just thought those Gore-Tex pants were really cool. After all, how many pairs of pants does a person typically own that can repel water?
When he came downstairs on Saturday morning, he was wearing the snow pants. It had snowed a little the night before, so I think he was excited to try out his new gear. One of our stops that day was the outlet shops in Albertville, and maybe the snow pants helped keep him warm--it is, after all, pretty windy whenever I go there. I don't know.
The last stop of the day was supposed to be a nice restaurant. It was his birthday yesterday, so we were taking him to dinner on Saturday night to celebrate. The snow pants made "nice restaurant" a bit of a problem, though. He had gotten excited about the long list of restaurants I had rattled off earlier that day, but his enthusiasm was later destroyed when I narrowed the list of places where he wouldn't feel uncomfortable wearing snow pants to Famous Dave's, the Chinese buffet near my house, and the buffet at nearby Mystic Lake Casino. We ended up going to the casino, and I think he felt right at home (gambling, alcohol and cigarette smoke aside, of course) with all the other freaks that were in there.
The snow pants aren't the only questionable choice in fashion that my dad has made over the years. There were the acid-washed jeans that he wore well into the 90's. Then there were the black jeans that he wore, but typically only if he could dress entirely in black. Since he wouldn't let me get a black suit when I was a kid ("only the mafia wear black suits"), I found this to be an odd choice. And then there were the times that he and my mom would wear matching outfits--typically some kind of t-shirt with jeans. I've rarely felt more embarrassed to be associated with someone. Anyone.
My father: a true original and one heckuva cool guy.
I quickly discovered that other than the suit he brought for church attendance, my dad had only brought a few pairs of shorts and a pair of Gore-Tex snow pants he had just purchased with him. Now, I don't know about you, but I personally don't think that snow pants are appropriate anywhere except on a mountain...like, when you're skiing. My dad doesn't ski. He doesn't snowshoe. He doesn't even live in a place where it snows. I think he just thought those Gore-Tex pants were really cool. After all, how many pairs of pants does a person typically own that can repel water?
When he came downstairs on Saturday morning, he was wearing the snow pants. It had snowed a little the night before, so I think he was excited to try out his new gear. One of our stops that day was the outlet shops in Albertville, and maybe the snow pants helped keep him warm--it is, after all, pretty windy whenever I go there. I don't know.
The last stop of the day was supposed to be a nice restaurant. It was his birthday yesterday, so we were taking him to dinner on Saturday night to celebrate. The snow pants made "nice restaurant" a bit of a problem, though. He had gotten excited about the long list of restaurants I had rattled off earlier that day, but his enthusiasm was later destroyed when I narrowed the list of places where he wouldn't feel uncomfortable wearing snow pants to Famous Dave's, the Chinese buffet near my house, and the buffet at nearby Mystic Lake Casino. We ended up going to the casino, and I think he felt right at home (gambling, alcohol and cigarette smoke aside, of course) with all the other freaks that were in there.
The snow pants aren't the only questionable choice in fashion that my dad has made over the years. There were the acid-washed jeans that he wore well into the 90's. Then there were the black jeans that he wore, but typically only if he could dress entirely in black. Since he wouldn't let me get a black suit when I was a kid ("only the mafia wear black suits"), I found this to be an odd choice. And then there were the times that he and my mom would wear matching outfits--typically some kind of t-shirt with jeans. I've rarely felt more embarrassed to be associated with someone. Anyone.
My father: a true original and one heckuva cool guy.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
there's nothing better than...
...being with family during the holidays.
My parents arrived in Minnesota yesterday afternoon, and will be with us until tomorrow afternoon, when we pass them off to my brother that lives in another part of Minnesota. We'll be hanging out, doing some shopping at the nearby outlet stores, and going out to dinner tonight (it's my dad's birthday tomorrow, so we're going to celebrate).
My parents still live in the Los Angeles area, where I grew up, and they've had record-breaking heat for the last few weeks. I think they were a bit shocked when they arrived here and it was 22F. We all agree, however, that seeing Christmas lights (I have mine on at night now--special thanks to Becca for putting them up and humoring me by turning them on) and having cold weather makes it feel more like the holidays. And, to add to the feeling, we got a little bit of snow overnight. Awesome.
My sister and her family will be driving up from Kansas City on Wednesday night, and we're all going to meet at my brother's house for Thanksgiving dinner. It's amazing that three of the five children in my family ended up in the Midwest, with two of us being in Minnesota. And I love it when we have our little Midwest get-togethers, which are made even more special when my parents come--they come at least every other year for Thanksgiving.
My Thanksgiving is going to be great. How are you going to celebrate?
My parents arrived in Minnesota yesterday afternoon, and will be with us until tomorrow afternoon, when we pass them off to my brother that lives in another part of Minnesota. We'll be hanging out, doing some shopping at the nearby outlet stores, and going out to dinner tonight (it's my dad's birthday tomorrow, so we're going to celebrate).
My parents still live in the Los Angeles area, where I grew up, and they've had record-breaking heat for the last few weeks. I think they were a bit shocked when they arrived here and it was 22F. We all agree, however, that seeing Christmas lights (I have mine on at night now--special thanks to Becca for putting them up and humoring me by turning them on) and having cold weather makes it feel more like the holidays. And, to add to the feeling, we got a little bit of snow overnight. Awesome.
My sister and her family will be driving up from Kansas City on Wednesday night, and we're all going to meet at my brother's house for Thanksgiving dinner. It's amazing that three of the five children in my family ended up in the Midwest, with two of us being in Minnesota. And I love it when we have our little Midwest get-togethers, which are made even more special when my parents come--they come at least every other year for Thanksgiving.
My Thanksgiving is going to be great. How are you going to celebrate?
Friday, November 21, 2008
waking the dead
When the little lady went out last night, she found an envelope marked “private” stuck in our door. There was a letter inside, and it read as follows:
Howdy neighbors…it’s xxxx and xxxx, and we were hoping you could help us with a little something we have been trying to deal with. Unfortunately, we are all aware that our connecting walls are not as soundproof as any of us would have hoped. Thus far I believe we have all been open to the occasional noises that occur, and have been receptive to each other if we felt the level was beyond our own comfort. Saying this then makes writing this note rather awkward, as we are having a problem with a noise we hear from your home on an almost nightly basis…it’s your snoring. I have thought about writing this note for quite some time, but in truth, I was worried about embarrassing or offending you. When it comes to someone’s snoring, how do you bring up the topic? We just figured though, that if you were having the same issue on your side of the wall, we would like to know and to hopefully be able to fix it. Almost every night, in an attempt to block the noise coming through the wall, we run a humidifier, two fans, and a white noise machine. However, none of this has really helped, so last week we moved our furniture so our bed would not be on the connecting wall…but again to no avail. We are hoping that there is something you could diffuse the sounds we hear.
Snoring can be a very personal issue, and we meant no disrespect in writing this note. We did, however, feel that it was important to let you know how this affects us, and what we have done in an attempt to deal with the situation.
If there is anything you can do to help with this issue, we would truly appreciate your efforts.
Thank you,
Most sincerely,
xxxx and xxxx
Can you believe Becca’s snoring is that loud? Wow...
Actually, I’ve known about my snoring problem for a long time. Becca occasionally mentions it, but I think she’s mostly gotten used to it and can sleep through whatever I dish out. Other people, however, have apparently not been so fortunate.
Maybe it’s a family problem. My mom snores so loudly that she and my dad no longer sleep in the same room. When I was in high school, I could hear it in the street when I came home late at night. My parents didn’t have the shortest driveway, either.
The last time I was in China, I was on a BYU study abroad program. One weekend, my classmates and I decided to take a trip to nearby Anhui Province to climb Huangshan (“yellow mountain”), a very famous and picturesque mountain in central China.
The climb wasn’t horribly strenuous, but it did take a few hours and left us all really tired. We had decided to rent cheap hotel rooms—one for the guys and one for the ladies—at the top of the mountain so that we could spend the night at the top and catch the sunrise the following morning. The rooms were DIRT cheap—there was no running water or bathroom inside, and there several bunk beds in each room. When night came, I selected the top bunk by the door and quickly fell asleep. When morning came, several of my classmates and the American professor that came with us grumbled about not being able to sleep very well. One guy was particularly upset, and yelled:
“Who the hell was snoring all night long?!?”
Hmmm…I have no idea.
Anyway, I guess I’ll have to try a few things to help out my neighbors. I used a nasal strip last night, and Becca said it helped some. I don’t think we’ll move our furniture around, as that would make our room really awkward. The best thing I can do, really, is to go on a diet. Becca has commented that when I’ve dieted in the past, I’ve almost completely stopped snoring. Kind of odd, but I guess it makes sense. A diet has been in the game plan for a while now, so maybe I should get started earlier than the post-holiday start date I’ve given myself.
Until then, no one is safe from my wrath. Not even people on the other side of the wall.
Howdy neighbors…it’s xxxx and xxxx, and we were hoping you could help us with a little something we have been trying to deal with. Unfortunately, we are all aware that our connecting walls are not as soundproof as any of us would have hoped. Thus far I believe we have all been open to the occasional noises that occur, and have been receptive to each other if we felt the level was beyond our own comfort. Saying this then makes writing this note rather awkward, as we are having a problem with a noise we hear from your home on an almost nightly basis…it’s your snoring. I have thought about writing this note for quite some time, but in truth, I was worried about embarrassing or offending you. When it comes to someone’s snoring, how do you bring up the topic? We just figured though, that if you were having the same issue on your side of the wall, we would like to know and to hopefully be able to fix it. Almost every night, in an attempt to block the noise coming through the wall, we run a humidifier, two fans, and a white noise machine. However, none of this has really helped, so last week we moved our furniture so our bed would not be on the connecting wall…but again to no avail. We are hoping that there is something you could diffuse the sounds we hear.
Snoring can be a very personal issue, and we meant no disrespect in writing this note. We did, however, feel that it was important to let you know how this affects us, and what we have done in an attempt to deal with the situation.
If there is anything you can do to help with this issue, we would truly appreciate your efforts.
Thank you,
Most sincerely,
xxxx and xxxx
Can you believe Becca’s snoring is that loud? Wow...
Actually, I’ve known about my snoring problem for a long time. Becca occasionally mentions it, but I think she’s mostly gotten used to it and can sleep through whatever I dish out. Other people, however, have apparently not been so fortunate.
Maybe it’s a family problem. My mom snores so loudly that she and my dad no longer sleep in the same room. When I was in high school, I could hear it in the street when I came home late at night. My parents didn’t have the shortest driveway, either.
The last time I was in China, I was on a BYU study abroad program. One weekend, my classmates and I decided to take a trip to nearby Anhui Province to climb Huangshan (“yellow mountain”), a very famous and picturesque mountain in central China.
The climb wasn’t horribly strenuous, but it did take a few hours and left us all really tired. We had decided to rent cheap hotel rooms—one for the guys and one for the ladies—at the top of the mountain so that we could spend the night at the top and catch the sunrise the following morning. The rooms were DIRT cheap—there was no running water or bathroom inside, and there several bunk beds in each room. When night came, I selected the top bunk by the door and quickly fell asleep. When morning came, several of my classmates and the American professor that came with us grumbled about not being able to sleep very well. One guy was particularly upset, and yelled:
“Who the hell was snoring all night long?!?”
Hmmm…I have no idea.
Anyway, I guess I’ll have to try a few things to help out my neighbors. I used a nasal strip last night, and Becca said it helped some. I don’t think we’ll move our furniture around, as that would make our room really awkward. The best thing I can do, really, is to go on a diet. Becca has commented that when I’ve dieted in the past, I’ve almost completely stopped snoring. Kind of odd, but I guess it makes sense. A diet has been in the game plan for a while now, so maybe I should get started earlier than the post-holiday start date I’ve given myself.
Until then, no one is safe from my wrath. Not even people on the other side of the wall.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
daih yih chi tag
I've been tagged again. I haven't much else to say today, so the timing's not bad. Special "thanks" go out to Abish.
Two names you go by:
1. Steve-o
2. Brownie
I hear these more at work than anything else.
Two things you are wearing right now
1. Underwear
2. T-shirt
Two things you want right now?
1. A shower
2. Milk
Two things you did last night?
1. Fall asleep while watching "Liar Liar"
2. Tried not to think about any of my school/work responsibilities
Two things you ate today?
1. Eggs
2. Rotisserie chicken
Two favorite drinks?
1. Crushed Melon Jones Soda
2. Ocean Spray Cran-Grape juice a.k.a. liquid crack
I tag whomever.
I tag whomever.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
death and rebirth
God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?
from "The Madman", by Friedrich Nietzsche
The death of God is a way of saying that humans are no longer able to believe in any such cosmic order since they themselves no longer recognize it. The death of God will lead, Nietzsche says, not only to the rejection of a belief of cosmic or physical order but also to a rejection of absolute values themselves — to the rejection of belief in an objective and universal moral law, binding upon all individuals. In this manner, the loss of an absolute basis for morality leads to nihilism. This nihilism is what Nietzsche worked to find a solution for by re-evaluating the foundations of human values. This meant, to Nietzsche, looking for foundations that went deeper than Christian values. He would find a basis in the "will to power" that he described as "the essence of reality".
from Wikipedia commentary on the phrase "God is dead"
Though an admitted fan of existentialism, I'd never read any of this until Sunday, when I was surfing the net aimlessly as I often do when I'm not otherwise occupied (which is, like, never). The quote and commentary struck me as somewhat entertaining. Nietzsche and I have apparently come to the exact same conclusion. Perhaps we're both super-smart. Perhaps we're complete idiots.
If one rejects religion, where does their moral/ethical foundation come from? And what should the basis of their morals and ethics be? Is there value in a non-absolutist approach to morals and ethics? I've been thinking about these questions for years, since long before I ever announced a change in beliefs or religious affiliation to anyone.
A portion of my business ethics term paper was supposed to be devoted to a discussion of my own ethical/moral foundations, so I explored the questions I posed above in that paper. Ultimately, I didn't have any easy answers, but declared myself a relativist in some ways, and an absolutist in others. For example, I believe that it may be morally/ethically acceptable to withhold information from people in certain instances. Much of my job is facilitated by the restriction and filtration of information. I don't lie, but I also don't tell people everything because I've seen what happens when maximum transparency is offered to my customers. Jack Nicholson once exclaimed "You can't handle the truth!" in A Few Good Men; I'd do the same if I could gather all my customers in a room at the same time.
Absolutism seems to be the Judeo-Christian way, at least, at face value. I've largely rejected absolutism in my life because this point of view fails to take into account the myriad contingencies that will be found in a situation. There are some situations, however, where absolutism is acceptable and may even be the only viable basis for judging a course of action. For example, I accept as a maxim the idea that bribes should not be accepted under any circumstances. Giving them, however, is a potentially different matter (maybe I'll get into that some other time). Working against one's employer for one's own personal gain is also not acceptable under any circumstances. There are other big questions, however, where the value of absolutism must be questioned. Take, for example, killing. Killing in war is generally considered acceptable; murder, however, is not. And what about capital punishment for a crime? When is it acceptable and when is it not? If you ask me, it would be generally acceptable if it served as a viable deterrent to crime, but studies show that it doesn't. It doesn't serve the greater good (here's the utilitarian in me speaking), so I deem it to be of little value to society or to the punished.
Reassessing one's ethical/moral foundations is much like falling off a cliff into darkness--there's no telling where the bottom is or what I'll find down there. Somehow, though, I believe the light will shine just as brightly as it does on the ground, if not brighter.
from "The Madman", by Friedrich Nietzsche
The death of God is a way of saying that humans are no longer able to believe in any such cosmic order since they themselves no longer recognize it. The death of God will lead, Nietzsche says, not only to the rejection of a belief of cosmic or physical order but also to a rejection of absolute values themselves — to the rejection of belief in an objective and universal moral law, binding upon all individuals. In this manner, the loss of an absolute basis for morality leads to nihilism. This nihilism is what Nietzsche worked to find a solution for by re-evaluating the foundations of human values. This meant, to Nietzsche, looking for foundations that went deeper than Christian values. He would find a basis in the "will to power" that he described as "the essence of reality".
from Wikipedia commentary on the phrase "God is dead"
Though an admitted fan of existentialism, I'd never read any of this until Sunday, when I was surfing the net aimlessly as I often do when I'm not otherwise occupied (which is, like, never). The quote and commentary struck me as somewhat entertaining. Nietzsche and I have apparently come to the exact same conclusion. Perhaps we're both super-smart. Perhaps we're complete idiots.
If one rejects religion, where does their moral/ethical foundation come from? And what should the basis of their morals and ethics be? Is there value in a non-absolutist approach to morals and ethics? I've been thinking about these questions for years, since long before I ever announced a change in beliefs or religious affiliation to anyone.
A portion of my business ethics term paper was supposed to be devoted to a discussion of my own ethical/moral foundations, so I explored the questions I posed above in that paper. Ultimately, I didn't have any easy answers, but declared myself a relativist in some ways, and an absolutist in others. For example, I believe that it may be morally/ethically acceptable to withhold information from people in certain instances. Much of my job is facilitated by the restriction and filtration of information. I don't lie, but I also don't tell people everything because I've seen what happens when maximum transparency is offered to my customers. Jack Nicholson once exclaimed "You can't handle the truth!" in A Few Good Men; I'd do the same if I could gather all my customers in a room at the same time.
Absolutism seems to be the Judeo-Christian way, at least, at face value. I've largely rejected absolutism in my life because this point of view fails to take into account the myriad contingencies that will be found in a situation. There are some situations, however, where absolutism is acceptable and may even be the only viable basis for judging a course of action. For example, I accept as a maxim the idea that bribes should not be accepted under any circumstances. Giving them, however, is a potentially different matter (maybe I'll get into that some other time). Working against one's employer for one's own personal gain is also not acceptable under any circumstances. There are other big questions, however, where the value of absolutism must be questioned. Take, for example, killing. Killing in war is generally considered acceptable; murder, however, is not. And what about capital punishment for a crime? When is it acceptable and when is it not? If you ask me, it would be generally acceptable if it served as a viable deterrent to crime, but studies show that it doesn't. It doesn't serve the greater good (here's the utilitarian in me speaking), so I deem it to be of little value to society or to the punished.
Reassessing one's ethical/moral foundations is much like falling off a cliff into darkness--there's no telling where the bottom is or what I'll find down there. Somehow, though, I believe the light will shine just as brightly as it does on the ground, if not brighter.
Monday, November 17, 2008
quantum of saturday
Work has been brutal lately, so I decided that I needed maximum relaxation yesterday. I started out the day with a long bath. By long, I mean like three hours. Taking a long bath probably seems like an odd thing for a guy to do, but having a whirlpool bath is a beautiful thing, and those jets make all the difference in the world. I was a skeptic and didn’t want to pay the extra money for one when our place was being built, but the little lady talked me into it, and I’ve been grateful ever since. I use it way more than she does, too. I keep a huge stack of magazines next to the tub, and it’s probably the only place where I have the opportunity to read anything other than a textbook these days.
The bathtub is a place where time has no meaning—lonely, yet inviting just the same. I can adjust the lighting in the room to fit my mood, and with the room half-lit, the rest of the house and the world seem to fade away. Whether this has long been the intent of having large bathtubs or my own subjective view of hot water and bubbles doesn’t really matter. I’ll not likely buy another home without a large bathtub.
Costco was the first stop of the day. I like Costco a lot; I like the way they treat their employees and the fact that there is always new and interesting stuff to buy. Shopping at Costco has often been described as going on a treasure hunt, and I don’t disagree with that. Whether it’s a new flavor of frozen chicken wings or a Tag Heuer watch, there’s always something interesting lurking around every corner. Yesterday was no different from that perspective, but the overall experience wasn’t anything to write home about. Everyone and their mother decided yesterday would be a great day to go to Costco; the aisles were crowded, the store noisy, the parking lot unsafe for pedestrians and pets alike. Since we only bought three things, it was hardly worth the trouble. Saturdays are great for all the free samples they hand out, but I think I’m going to have to stop going to Costco on Saturday and find another day.
Our next stop was the nearby mall. We spent 20 minutes wandering around Barnes & Noble, which was surprisingly fun. It’s been a few years since I last read a book that wasn’t required for school, and so many of the books I saw looked fascinating. Perhaps Barnes & Noble is a place I’ll spend more time when I no longer have to go to school. By now, I’m willing to read almost anything, as long as words like “business”, “leadership” and “Stephenie Meyer” don’t adorn the tome’s cover or pages.
The movie theater was our next stop. I had wisely pre-ordered tickets for a late afternoon showing of “Quantum of Solace” the night before. We actually had to wait in line to get into the theater, which seemed odd. We don’t go to the movies nearly as much as we used to (I think Blu-ray is better, honestly), but when we do, we usually have trouble finding people amongst all tumbleweeds blowing through the cineplex. The movie was great. I’m a Bond fan, but the franchise had grown a bit tired with Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan at the helm. Daniel Craig has brought life back to the role. His Bond is the most realistic of all the Bonds; his character is cold, vicious and possesses a singular focus with which I can readily identify. He doesn’t care whether his vodka martinis are shaken or stirred, and has no qualms about leaving a hefty body count in his wake if doing so serves the purpose of his mission. All that said, Craig’s Bond is not without wit or a humanity that was missing under the suave personae of his predecessors. In any case, I went in with low expectations for the film, as it has not garnered the rave reviews of its predecessors, and my expectations were quickly surpassed. There was a lot of action, and yet the story line was still plausible and the characters believable, if not always likable. I can’t wait for “Quantum” to come out on Blu-ray. Like “Casino Royale”, we’ll watch it again and again. I am now anxiously awaiting the next installment of Bond with Daniel Craig at the helm—he’s the best Bond ever.
Our next stop was the local Best Buy. You’d think I’d stay away from the place on the weekend, but I always like going. Some people like clothes and shoes; for others, it’s handbags that make their day. Me, I eat, drink, breathe and sleep the majority of what Best Buy has to offer. Even more so than Costco, there are treasures to be found in every aisle. No two visits are the same, and I never know what’s going to hold my attention most before I get in the store. Yesterday, it was CDs and movies in which I was most interested. I bought a couple CDs, but restrained myself when it came to movies. I’ve been trying to exercise restraint on my purchases lately so that it will be easier for Becca to shop for me for Christmas. We’ll know if my strategy has paid off soon enough.
There is a loop of freeways that encircles Minneapolis/St. Paul. On a whim, I decided to get on the freeway after our visit to Best Buy and drive the entire loop. I didn’t ask Becca before I did so, knowing that she’d probably say no. She was remarkably agreeable the entire time, however, which was great. We listened to the sweet sounds of Velvet Revolver and the new Christmas compilation from Jack Johnson’s record label as we conversed and made our way around the circumference of the Twin Cities. The moon was bright, big and orange in the eastern sky. The cars were few, and the trip fast. I think we drove the entire loop in a little over an hour—a feat which would never occur on a weekday.
It was 25F by the time we arrived at our local grocery store, and the moon had returned to its normal color and size as it traversed the night sky. The parking lot was quiet and largely empty, as was the store itself. This is how I would have preferred Costco, but I’m not likely to see such idyllic conditions in a Costco in this life or the next three. Anyway, we made quick work of our shopping list and then headed for home. We had turkey soup from Costco (I’ll never buy it again—it was infested with mushrooms, one of the more vile foods known to man) and homemade rolls, and then enjoyed the episode of “The Office” that we had recorded on Thursday night. It was a classic episode, and I felt strangely happy to see Jim and Pam reunited and kissing. I don’t remember ever seeing much kissing on “The Office” before, so it seemed strange when two different couples did during the same episode. Whatever the case, I’m really enjoying this season.
Saturday was a good day. A really good day.
The bathtub is a place where time has no meaning—lonely, yet inviting just the same. I can adjust the lighting in the room to fit my mood, and with the room half-lit, the rest of the house and the world seem to fade away. Whether this has long been the intent of having large bathtubs or my own subjective view of hot water and bubbles doesn’t really matter. I’ll not likely buy another home without a large bathtub.
Costco was the first stop of the day. I like Costco a lot; I like the way they treat their employees and the fact that there is always new and interesting stuff to buy. Shopping at Costco has often been described as going on a treasure hunt, and I don’t disagree with that. Whether it’s a new flavor of frozen chicken wings or a Tag Heuer watch, there’s always something interesting lurking around every corner. Yesterday was no different from that perspective, but the overall experience wasn’t anything to write home about. Everyone and their mother decided yesterday would be a great day to go to Costco; the aisles were crowded, the store noisy, the parking lot unsafe for pedestrians and pets alike. Since we only bought three things, it was hardly worth the trouble. Saturdays are great for all the free samples they hand out, but I think I’m going to have to stop going to Costco on Saturday and find another day.
Our next stop was the nearby mall. We spent 20 minutes wandering around Barnes & Noble, which was surprisingly fun. It’s been a few years since I last read a book that wasn’t required for school, and so many of the books I saw looked fascinating. Perhaps Barnes & Noble is a place I’ll spend more time when I no longer have to go to school. By now, I’m willing to read almost anything, as long as words like “business”, “leadership” and “Stephenie Meyer” don’t adorn the tome’s cover or pages.
The movie theater was our next stop. I had wisely pre-ordered tickets for a late afternoon showing of “Quantum of Solace” the night before. We actually had to wait in line to get into the theater, which seemed odd. We don’t go to the movies nearly as much as we used to (I think Blu-ray is better, honestly), but when we do, we usually have trouble finding people amongst all tumbleweeds blowing through the cineplex. The movie was great. I’m a Bond fan, but the franchise had grown a bit tired with Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan at the helm. Daniel Craig has brought life back to the role. His Bond is the most realistic of all the Bonds; his character is cold, vicious and possesses a singular focus with which I can readily identify. He doesn’t care whether his vodka martinis are shaken or stirred, and has no qualms about leaving a hefty body count in his wake if doing so serves the purpose of his mission. All that said, Craig’s Bond is not without wit or a humanity that was missing under the suave personae of his predecessors. In any case, I went in with low expectations for the film, as it has not garnered the rave reviews of its predecessors, and my expectations were quickly surpassed. There was a lot of action, and yet the story line was still plausible and the characters believable, if not always likable. I can’t wait for “Quantum” to come out on Blu-ray. Like “Casino Royale”, we’ll watch it again and again. I am now anxiously awaiting the next installment of Bond with Daniel Craig at the helm—he’s the best Bond ever.
Our next stop was the local Best Buy. You’d think I’d stay away from the place on the weekend, but I always like going. Some people like clothes and shoes; for others, it’s handbags that make their day. Me, I eat, drink, breathe and sleep the majority of what Best Buy has to offer. Even more so than Costco, there are treasures to be found in every aisle. No two visits are the same, and I never know what’s going to hold my attention most before I get in the store. Yesterday, it was CDs and movies in which I was most interested. I bought a couple CDs, but restrained myself when it came to movies. I’ve been trying to exercise restraint on my purchases lately so that it will be easier for Becca to shop for me for Christmas. We’ll know if my strategy has paid off soon enough.
There is a loop of freeways that encircles Minneapolis/St. Paul. On a whim, I decided to get on the freeway after our visit to Best Buy and drive the entire loop. I didn’t ask Becca before I did so, knowing that she’d probably say no. She was remarkably agreeable the entire time, however, which was great. We listened to the sweet sounds of Velvet Revolver and the new Christmas compilation from Jack Johnson’s record label as we conversed and made our way around the circumference of the Twin Cities. The moon was bright, big and orange in the eastern sky. The cars were few, and the trip fast. I think we drove the entire loop in a little over an hour—a feat which would never occur on a weekday.
It was 25F by the time we arrived at our local grocery store, and the moon had returned to its normal color and size as it traversed the night sky. The parking lot was quiet and largely empty, as was the store itself. This is how I would have preferred Costco, but I’m not likely to see such idyllic conditions in a Costco in this life or the next three. Anyway, we made quick work of our shopping list and then headed for home. We had turkey soup from Costco (I’ll never buy it again—it was infested with mushrooms, one of the more vile foods known to man) and homemade rolls, and then enjoyed the episode of “The Office” that we had recorded on Thursday night. It was a classic episode, and I felt strangely happy to see Jim and Pam reunited and kissing. I don’t remember ever seeing much kissing on “The Office” before, so it seemed strange when two different couples did during the same episode. Whatever the case, I’m really enjoying this season.
Saturday was a good day. A really good day.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
important questions for prospective employees
Yesterday, I spent half the day interviewing four college students for a new position that's being created in my former department. Each candidate was to be asked each of the following three questions in separate interviews:
- A pond has lily pads on it. The number of lily pads doubles every day. If it takes 48 days to cover the entire pond, how many days does it take to cover half the pond?
- A boy paid $1.10 for a baseball bat and a baseball in a sporting goods store. If he paid $1 more for the bat than the ball, how much did he pay for the ball?
- It takes five machines five minutes to produce five widgets. If there are 100 machines, how long does it take them to produce 100 widgets?
I found this quite entertaining, since there has been little evidence to suggest that my former department has ever been interested in anyone's analytical capabilities in the past. The idea of "fit" has always appeared to be more important, despite the fact that the job requires people to perform analysis and run numbers all day long. Weird.
Based on this, I was able to have quite a bit of fun with the "widgets" question before the interviews started. One of the managers in the department got the question wrong, so I told her it didn't matter and that she should be focusing on other important matters with regards to widgets:
Did the machine get along well with other machines?
Did the machine aspire to be like other machines?
Did the machine have a good work/life balance?
Did the machine have experience motivating other machines if they weren't pulling their weight?
How would the machine resolve conflicts with more experienced machines?
In the event the machine's immediate supervising machine was out sick, could he cover for the supervising machine?
Was the machine ethnically diverse?
Was the machine a self-starter, or did he prefer to work from a task list?
...and so on. My facetious questions are exactly the kinds of questions that have been asked of candidates for years. It isn't any wonder to me that the department is currently facing serious difficulties with regards to mismanagement and a dearth of talent.
I wasn't able to attend the final debrief in order to hear what all of the other people conducting interviews thought of the candidates, but I sincerely hope they weren't putting too much weight on these questions. I think there are better ways to gauge a person's analytical skills than asking them brain teasers. Whatever the case, three of the four candidates got all three questions right. One of the candidates got all three wrong. I don't know if there is a correlation between their responses and our opinions, but the guy who got all three questions wrong also happened to be the candidate at the bottom of each of our lists. That said, my colleagues that I spoke to and I all agreed that we could hire all four, and that all four would probably do very well.
Leave a comment if you think you have the correct answer to the above questions (the serious questions). I'll post the answers later.
- A pond has lily pads on it. The number of lily pads doubles every day. If it takes 48 days to cover the entire pond, how many days does it take to cover half the pond?
- A boy paid $1.10 for a baseball bat and a baseball in a sporting goods store. If he paid $1 more for the bat than the ball, how much did he pay for the ball?
- It takes five machines five minutes to produce five widgets. If there are 100 machines, how long does it take them to produce 100 widgets?
I found this quite entertaining, since there has been little evidence to suggest that my former department has ever been interested in anyone's analytical capabilities in the past. The idea of "fit" has always appeared to be more important, despite the fact that the job requires people to perform analysis and run numbers all day long. Weird.
Based on this, I was able to have quite a bit of fun with the "widgets" question before the interviews started. One of the managers in the department got the question wrong, so I told her it didn't matter and that she should be focusing on other important matters with regards to widgets:
Did the machine get along well with other machines?
Did the machine aspire to be like other machines?
Did the machine have a good work/life balance?
Did the machine have experience motivating other machines if they weren't pulling their weight?
How would the machine resolve conflicts with more experienced machines?
In the event the machine's immediate supervising machine was out sick, could he cover for the supervising machine?
Was the machine ethnically diverse?
Was the machine a self-starter, or did he prefer to work from a task list?
...and so on. My facetious questions are exactly the kinds of questions that have been asked of candidates for years. It isn't any wonder to me that the department is currently facing serious difficulties with regards to mismanagement and a dearth of talent.
I wasn't able to attend the final debrief in order to hear what all of the other people conducting interviews thought of the candidates, but I sincerely hope they weren't putting too much weight on these questions. I think there are better ways to gauge a person's analytical skills than asking them brain teasers. Whatever the case, three of the four candidates got all three questions right. One of the candidates got all three wrong. I don't know if there is a correlation between their responses and our opinions, but the guy who got all three questions wrong also happened to be the candidate at the bottom of each of our lists. That said, my colleagues that I spoke to and I all agreed that we could hire all four, and that all four would probably do very well.
Leave a comment if you think you have the correct answer to the above questions (the serious questions). I'll post the answers later.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
I'm flattered. I think.
A colleague from my previous team left me a voicemail this afternoon. The message was cryptic--he said he needed to talk to me about something, but didn't say what about. I'm helping him conduct job interviews this Friday, so I figured he wanted to talk about that.
I called him back, and he explained to me that he and his team had been making videos for large groups of employees to learn about the project I used to work on (it's been over four years now, I think--four years, and still no system launched--successful!). He said that they figured that it was more effective to play an entertaining video for people than to bore them with another PowerPoint. He's probably right. In any case, he asked me if I'd be willing to star in his next video: a spoof on the Mac vs. PC ads that are so popular right now. I knew as soon as he said "Mac vs. PC" which character he'd want me to play.
I agreed to do it, but it made me wonder: fat dork, or funny guy? I guess we'll wait until the video is done to judge that.
Monday, November 10, 2008
the goodness of bacon cannot be overstated
Seriously. There are few dishes that cannot be made better by adding a small slab of crispy, crumbly bacon. Some dishes, like fresh green beans, aren’t even worth eating unless you add the crackling, smoky miracle of bacon to them.
I don’t usually mind buying private label food products. Most of the time, you can’t tell the difference them and their pricier, name brand counterparts. Bacon, however, is one of those foods where you should accept no cheap substitutes. Turkey bacon is for fools. Tofu bacon has been classified as "cruel and unusual" in the Geneva Conventions. “Lean” bacon is not only an oxymoron, but also blasphemy to all that is sacred about bacon. This Holy Church of the Blessed and Beloved Bacon accepts nothing less than Oscar Meyer bacon. Not lean. Not low salt. Not fortified with nine vitamins and minerals. Just plain, old, regular bacon. And it is wonderful. Oscar Meyer (en paz descanse), in his infinite wisdom, struck the perfect balance between meat, fat and salt. It may cost more, but it’s worth it. All hail to this Chief of bacon.
There are surely more expensive forms of bacon out there, and one day I'll have to try them. A Wall Street Journal article written a couple of years ago set the world on fire with its praises of a bacon made on a small farm somewhere in the Midwest. I need to find that article again. It would be my patriotic duty and privilege to prop up the economy by purchasing extra quantities of overpriced bacon.
Some of you may say that bacon is unhealthy. Too fatty. Too salty. Too whatever. You know what I say to that? A life without bacon is no life at all. A life without bacon is a life not worth living. Roger Daltrey of The Who once sang he hoped he'd die before he got old. I hope I die before I can't eat bacon.
The geniuses over at Maxim magazine have a monthly column in which they share a new food with bacon or a bacon tip. There was recently one column in which they recommended making “bacon holders” by crossing two strips of bacon in each indentation of a muffin tin, and then baking them. The finished products could then be filled with scrambled eggs and served to guests (all of whom would surely be in awe of the cook’s brilliance). I need to try this sometime.
Have a favorite use for bacon, or a favorite brand of bacon? Please do share it.
I don’t usually mind buying private label food products. Most of the time, you can’t tell the difference them and their pricier, name brand counterparts. Bacon, however, is one of those foods where you should accept no cheap substitutes. Turkey bacon is for fools. Tofu bacon has been classified as "cruel and unusual" in the Geneva Conventions. “Lean” bacon is not only an oxymoron, but also blasphemy to all that is sacred about bacon. This Holy Church of the Blessed and Beloved Bacon accepts nothing less than Oscar Meyer bacon. Not lean. Not low salt. Not fortified with nine vitamins and minerals. Just plain, old, regular bacon. And it is wonderful. Oscar Meyer (en paz descanse), in his infinite wisdom, struck the perfect balance between meat, fat and salt. It may cost more, but it’s worth it. All hail to this Chief of bacon.
There are surely more expensive forms of bacon out there, and one day I'll have to try them. A Wall Street Journal article written a couple of years ago set the world on fire with its praises of a bacon made on a small farm somewhere in the Midwest. I need to find that article again. It would be my patriotic duty and privilege to prop up the economy by purchasing extra quantities of overpriced bacon.
Some of you may say that bacon is unhealthy. Too fatty. Too salty. Too whatever. You know what I say to that? A life without bacon is no life at all. A life without bacon is a life not worth living. Roger Daltrey of The Who once sang he hoped he'd die before he got old. I hope I die before I can't eat bacon.
The geniuses over at Maxim magazine have a monthly column in which they share a new food with bacon or a bacon tip. There was recently one column in which they recommended making “bacon holders” by crossing two strips of bacon in each indentation of a muffin tin, and then baking them. The finished products could then be filled with scrambled eggs and served to guests (all of whom would surely be in awe of the cook’s brilliance). I need to try this sometime.
Have a favorite use for bacon, or a favorite brand of bacon? Please do share it.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
the king is dead
Uncle Sid and I have had a somewhat tumultuous relationship. He's one of the most abrasive people I've ever known. When other people have complained to me about things he's done or said, I've often shrugged my shoulders and described Uncle Sid as "all brain and no heart".
It's never been fun for me to do, but I haven't hesitated to let Sid know that he's irritated me and other members of the team with his behavior. The first couple of times, he was receptive to my feedback. He'd quickly revert to his old ways, however, which infuriated me and other members of the team. The last couple of times I provided feedback, however, he lashed out--defensive, whining, attacking my own personality. I may be heartless sometimes and I'm certainly not perfect, but I'm no Uncle Sid.
You might think that Uncle Sid is the antichrist, but he's not. Prickly as he might be, he knows how to get things done. He's ultra-responsible, hard working, and extremely dependable. He's also detailed to a fault, and while his Spock-like level of detail often irritates others, it helps him get the job done. Yes, Sid and I have experienced incredible success together. We've launched new products in new categories that will bring in over $50 million in sales this year alone. It's work that we're very proud of.
My boss pulled me aside last Friday to inform me that Uncle Sid would be leaving the company. The news was shocking--Uncle Sid was a lifer, or at least that's what I thought. He seemed frustrated, but his responsible nature also made it seem like he'd never walk away from his career here. In other ways, however, it made sense. To give you some context on Sid's career, when I joined the company, Sid was six grade levels above me--extremely experienced--and I was a little nobody, fresh out of college. Seven years later, Sid is at the exact same level he was when he joined the company, and I've been promoted such that I'm now one grade level below Sid.
Today was Sid's last day, and his departure was bittersweet. Sure, I won't have the arguments and the rude emails to deal with any more. That's a big relief, to be honest. I will have, however, all of Sid's work to deal with until his replacement can be found. I've been asked if I'm interested in applying for the job. It would be a promotion, but I have my reservations. The billions of extra dollars per year that I would earn with this promotion would likely be offset by having to work for a bad manager. Life is too short to have to deal with another bad manager.
Uncle Sid's departure is also unfortunate because we lost a good person. A responsible, intelligent person. While I'm sure that Sid's failure to get promoted in his seven years with the company had a lot to do with his people skills, it's too bad that the company never thought of a way to reward Sid for all the good work he did. Some people aren't cut out to be people managers, but that doesn't mean that you don't need them around.
This loss of talent is something we can all lament. And so, I raise my glass of water to Uncle Sid in tribute. We barely knew ye, Sid.
It's never been fun for me to do, but I haven't hesitated to let Sid know that he's irritated me and other members of the team with his behavior. The first couple of times, he was receptive to my feedback. He'd quickly revert to his old ways, however, which infuriated me and other members of the team. The last couple of times I provided feedback, however, he lashed out--defensive, whining, attacking my own personality. I may be heartless sometimes and I'm certainly not perfect, but I'm no Uncle Sid.
You might think that Uncle Sid is the antichrist, but he's not. Prickly as he might be, he knows how to get things done. He's ultra-responsible, hard working, and extremely dependable. He's also detailed to a fault, and while his Spock-like level of detail often irritates others, it helps him get the job done. Yes, Sid and I have experienced incredible success together. We've launched new products in new categories that will bring in over $50 million in sales this year alone. It's work that we're very proud of.
My boss pulled me aside last Friday to inform me that Uncle Sid would be leaving the company. The news was shocking--Uncle Sid was a lifer, or at least that's what I thought. He seemed frustrated, but his responsible nature also made it seem like he'd never walk away from his career here. In other ways, however, it made sense. To give you some context on Sid's career, when I joined the company, Sid was six grade levels above me--extremely experienced--and I was a little nobody, fresh out of college. Seven years later, Sid is at the exact same level he was when he joined the company, and I've been promoted such that I'm now one grade level below Sid.
Today was Sid's last day, and his departure was bittersweet. Sure, I won't have the arguments and the rude emails to deal with any more. That's a big relief, to be honest. I will have, however, all of Sid's work to deal with until his replacement can be found. I've been asked if I'm interested in applying for the job. It would be a promotion, but I have my reservations. The billions of extra dollars per year that I would earn with this promotion would likely be offset by having to work for a bad manager. Life is too short to have to deal with another bad manager.
Uncle Sid's departure is also unfortunate because we lost a good person. A responsible, intelligent person. While I'm sure that Sid's failure to get promoted in his seven years with the company had a lot to do with his people skills, it's too bad that the company never thought of a way to reward Sid for all the good work he did. Some people aren't cut out to be people managers, but that doesn't mean that you don't need them around.
This loss of talent is something we can all lament. And so, I raise my glass of water to Uncle Sid in tribute. We barely knew ye, Sid.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
the dawn of a blue day
Once again, the guy I didn't vote for has won. The Democrats appear to have been given even greater control of both houses of Congress. I consider myself more of an independent with conservative leanings than a Republican, but I didn't want this. Especially with regard to economic/fiscal policy and taxation, my feeling is that the Democrats still don't get it. They may never get it.
It's not the end of the world, though. If it were, then I'd be overestimating the president's ability to change my life. Yes, I may get higher taxes and more social programs. I may get greater regulation and overall bigger government. The president and Congress, however, cannot take away my hard work, my resolve, or my desire for all of us to rely more on ourselves and less on the government.
I guess it's time for us to learn what all that "change" and "hope" that Obama's been yapping about are really about. I'm curious, if nothing else.
It's not the end of the world, though. If it were, then I'd be overestimating the president's ability to change my life. Yes, I may get higher taxes and more social programs. I may get greater regulation and overall bigger government. The president and Congress, however, cannot take away my hard work, my resolve, or my desire for all of us to rely more on ourselves and less on the government.
I guess it's time for us to learn what all that "change" and "hope" that Obama's been yapping about are really about. I'm curious, if nothing else.
judgment night
What a day it's been.
I had trouble sleeping last night, and woke up at 4:15 this morning. I decided I was too busy to sit at home, so I left home shortly thereafter and got to the office around 5:15. I worked on homework for a while, and then sifted through the dungpile that is known as my email inbox until 8:00. From 8:00 on, I had meetings for all but one hour. I left at 3:45, with my head hurting and my brain having long before turned to goo.
Becca left work an hour early, and we went to our polling place as soon as she got home. I had been hearing about ridiculous lines all day long, so I feared the worst. I discovered once I got inside the building that most of the people waiting in line were registering to vote right there (MN allows for voter registration on election day), so we were able to walk right by them and get our ballots. We spent less than 20 minutes total on voting. And no, I did not vote for Obama. Bad ideas, no substance, limited understanding of economics. Thanks, but no thanks.
We went to dinner at Qdoba after we voted. Nothing screams "I love America" like a burrito and a plate of nachos. I spent a couple more hours after that doing work and homework, and now we're watching last night's Saturday Night Live election special. Awesome.
I don't consider myself a patriot in the traditional sense, but man, do I love voting. I love doing my civic duty. I love getting that "I voted" sticker, and I wish I'd gotten it earlier in the day. I love seeing other people getting out and getting involved. It's probably the only day of any year that I really feel like flying the flag. Election Day is a great day to be an American.
I had trouble sleeping last night, and woke up at 4:15 this morning. I decided I was too busy to sit at home, so I left home shortly thereafter and got to the office around 5:15. I worked on homework for a while, and then sifted through the dungpile that is known as my email inbox until 8:00. From 8:00 on, I had meetings for all but one hour. I left at 3:45, with my head hurting and my brain having long before turned to goo.
Becca left work an hour early, and we went to our polling place as soon as she got home. I had been hearing about ridiculous lines all day long, so I feared the worst. I discovered once I got inside the building that most of the people waiting in line were registering to vote right there (MN allows for voter registration on election day), so we were able to walk right by them and get our ballots. We spent less than 20 minutes total on voting. And no, I did not vote for Obama. Bad ideas, no substance, limited understanding of economics. Thanks, but no thanks.
We went to dinner at Qdoba after we voted. Nothing screams "I love America" like a burrito and a plate of nachos. I spent a couple more hours after that doing work and homework, and now we're watching last night's Saturday Night Live election special. Awesome.
I don't consider myself a patriot in the traditional sense, but man, do I love voting. I love doing my civic duty. I love getting that "I voted" sticker, and I wish I'd gotten it earlier in the day. I love seeing other people getting out and getting involved. It's probably the only day of any year that I really feel like flying the flag. Election Day is a great day to be an American.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
eve of the apocalypse
He did it!
Grandpa just sent out his political email for this election. I'm surprised it took him so long.
It is morbid. It is a man's last will and testament to his family, shrouded in impending doom and death.
It is a tirade against government spending.
It is a warning against the liberal-socialist ideals of one shallow politician, one Barack Obama.
It is the confession of a man who is sorry for voting against one man instead of for another.
For those of you who never thought it was possible, yes, lightning can strike twice in the same place.
Grandpa just sent out his political email for this election. I'm surprised it took him so long.
It is morbid. It is a man's last will and testament to his family, shrouded in impending doom and death.
It is a tirade against government spending.
It is a warning against the liberal-socialist ideals of one shallow politician, one Barack Obama.
It is the confession of a man who is sorry for voting against one man instead of for another.
For those of you who never thought it was possible, yes, lightning can strike twice in the same place.
Monday, November 3, 2008
howard stern is keeping me alive
Over the summer, I wrote about how pointless and boring life seemed at the time. Looking back, I think I felt the same way last summer, but for different reasons. I didn't take any classes over the summer, but I was really busy at work. Nothing was going right. I was working on the launch of a new product line and our supplier was terrible--dishonest, duplicitous and a disaster to work with. I managed to survive, however, and largely credited the exercise program I started over the summer with helping me to maintain my sanity. I lost almost 30 lbs before Christmas, which was great. I was feeling good and my wardrobe was growing by the day, as old clothes that hadn't fit for years began to fit again.
I've gained all that weight back since then, which sucks, but it's the story of my life--up, down, up, down, up. I usually end on an "up" note, unfortunately. School has been a major factor in that, and I'm not alone. Just about everyone I know that's doing a "part-time" program like I am has gained weight, though not to the level that I have, I think. While I realize that I should start dieting and exercising again, I just can't find the motivation. Or maybe I am motivated, but always at the wrong time. Call it a symptom of the "grass is greener" mentality, if you like. I frequently think about exercising, but only when it's impossible for me to do it, like when I'm sitting at my desk in the office and sifting through mounds of mostly pointless emails. I realize that better time management and diligence would fix this problem, but like I said, the motivation is lacking.
I realize that nothing has changed since post on boredom (I mention depression, but I'm sure that was there, too). My job is the same, I'm taking more classes now than I was then, I've gained more weight, I have no fabulous vacations in sight, and the economy is in the toilet. Strangely enough, however, I'm feeling great. I have more energy and I'm not particularly bothered by the stress of having so many things on my plate. I can only attribute the change in my mood and perspective to one thing: laughter. Let me explain.
I previously wrote about test-driving new cars. Despite having no intention of buying one, I did. XM radio, my favorite non-iPod companion for the road, wasn't offered in the new car. I was pretty disappointed about that, but realized that not having the entertainment smorgasbord of satellite radio at my fingertips was not an option, so I opted to get Sirius, which was offered with the car.
There are many things about the two competitors that are the same--dozens of channels of commercial-free music, audio-only broadcasts of major TV networks like CNN, stand-up comedy channels, etc. There are some channels, however, that are different. I was initially disappointed at the political talk radio channels being different. For the last year, I've listened to more political talk than anything else if I've chosen to turn on the radio. Left-wing talk in the morning, right-wing talk in the afternoon and evening. Sirius offered some of the same programs, but most were different and I didn't like that. Furthermore, I was starting to get sick of what I was listening to most: Sean Hannity. That guy hammers the same points, day in, day out. I get that Barack Obama is elitist and looks down on bitter Americans who cling to guns and religion. I don't need to hear it 20 times a day, five days a week.
So, I decided to change the dial. With dozens of other channels to choose from, there must be something else going on, right? That's when I stumbled on the Howard Stern show. One Sirius channel is devoted entirely to Howard Stern and his sidekicks. There's even a show after the show that talks about what happened during the show, if that makes sense. The show is repeated throughout the day, which means that I can hear it any time I want. I listened to Howard Stern briefly in 1995, when I was home from BYU for the summer. It was childish and fairly crude, but quite funny. And what had changed in the 13 years that had passed since I last listened? Nothing. Some of the stuff they say and do on the show is beyond idiotic, but it's funny. And funny happens to be exactly what I need right now. I even laugh when they're not saying anything at all and just laughing at each other. That laughter has totally recharged my batteries and made life bearable again. I haven't listened to political talk radio since I switched over to laughing, and I'm much happier for it.
I've been looking for other ways to laugh, too. Yesterday's post about John McCain was an example. Many other posts I've written would qualify, too. I crack myself up at many of the things I write here, and even if no one else laughs, that's OK--at least I do. I've also been looking for ways to laugh at work. Sometimes it's with childish things like purposely misspelling the name of someone I work with (his name is Stewart, and we're always confused about how to write his nickname. Is it Stew? Stu? We don't know, so I write it multiple ways, sometimes even in one email: the other two + Stoo, Stue, Steu, etc. yes, I'm sure I'm the only person that finds that funny, but that's OK), or goofing off with my boss and co-workers. I've discovered over the last month and a half that whoever said laughter was the best medicine got it right. It's been a lifesaver.
Now, if I could only combine an exercise program with that laughter...
I've gained all that weight back since then, which sucks, but it's the story of my life--up, down, up, down, up. I usually end on an "up" note, unfortunately. School has been a major factor in that, and I'm not alone. Just about everyone I know that's doing a "part-time" program like I am has gained weight, though not to the level that I have, I think. While I realize that I should start dieting and exercising again, I just can't find the motivation. Or maybe I am motivated, but always at the wrong time. Call it a symptom of the "grass is greener" mentality, if you like. I frequently think about exercising, but only when it's impossible for me to do it, like when I'm sitting at my desk in the office and sifting through mounds of mostly pointless emails. I realize that better time management and diligence would fix this problem, but like I said, the motivation is lacking.
I realize that nothing has changed since post on boredom (I mention depression, but I'm sure that was there, too). My job is the same, I'm taking more classes now than I was then, I've gained more weight, I have no fabulous vacations in sight, and the economy is in the toilet. Strangely enough, however, I'm feeling great. I have more energy and I'm not particularly bothered by the stress of having so many things on my plate. I can only attribute the change in my mood and perspective to one thing: laughter. Let me explain.
I previously wrote about test-driving new cars. Despite having no intention of buying one, I did. XM radio, my favorite non-iPod companion for the road, wasn't offered in the new car. I was pretty disappointed about that, but realized that not having the entertainment smorgasbord of satellite radio at my fingertips was not an option, so I opted to get Sirius, which was offered with the car.
There are many things about the two competitors that are the same--dozens of channels of commercial-free music, audio-only broadcasts of major TV networks like CNN, stand-up comedy channels, etc. There are some channels, however, that are different. I was initially disappointed at the political talk radio channels being different. For the last year, I've listened to more political talk than anything else if I've chosen to turn on the radio. Left-wing talk in the morning, right-wing talk in the afternoon and evening. Sirius offered some of the same programs, but most were different and I didn't like that. Furthermore, I was starting to get sick of what I was listening to most: Sean Hannity. That guy hammers the same points, day in, day out. I get that Barack Obama is elitist and looks down on bitter Americans who cling to guns and religion. I don't need to hear it 20 times a day, five days a week.
So, I decided to change the dial. With dozens of other channels to choose from, there must be something else going on, right? That's when I stumbled on the Howard Stern show. One Sirius channel is devoted entirely to Howard Stern and his sidekicks. There's even a show after the show that talks about what happened during the show, if that makes sense. The show is repeated throughout the day, which means that I can hear it any time I want. I listened to Howard Stern briefly in 1995, when I was home from BYU for the summer. It was childish and fairly crude, but quite funny. And what had changed in the 13 years that had passed since I last listened? Nothing. Some of the stuff they say and do on the show is beyond idiotic, but it's funny. And funny happens to be exactly what I need right now. I even laugh when they're not saying anything at all and just laughing at each other. That laughter has totally recharged my batteries and made life bearable again. I haven't listened to political talk radio since I switched over to laughing, and I'm much happier for it.
I've been looking for other ways to laugh, too. Yesterday's post about John McCain was an example. Many other posts I've written would qualify, too. I crack myself up at many of the things I write here, and even if no one else laughs, that's OK--at least I do. I've also been looking for ways to laugh at work. Sometimes it's with childish things like purposely misspelling the name of someone I work with (his name is Stewart, and we're always confused about how to write his nickname. Is it Stew? Stu? We don't know, so I write it multiple ways, sometimes even in one email: the other two + Stoo, Stue, Steu, etc. yes, I'm sure I'm the only person that finds that funny, but that's OK), or goofing off with my boss and co-workers. I've discovered over the last month and a half that whoever said laughter was the best medicine got it right. It's been a lifesaver.
Now, if I could only combine an exercise program with that laughter...
Saturday, November 1, 2008
why i'm voting for john mccain
And you thought I was going to give you a dissertation on the evils of liberalism, didn't you?
From a humor standpoint, George W. Bush will be a tough act for anyone to follow. Few presidents have ever provided comedians and regular citizens with so much material for jokes, skits and the like.
It seems like Obama humor is almost non-existent, and the man isn't particularly funny himself. I don't think that the problem is that there aren't things about Obama that could be made fun of. I do think, however, that people are afraid of being called racists if they do make fun of him, which is too bad--humor should be blind with respect to race, if you ask me. At least we'll have Joe Biden if we get an Obama presidency.
A McCain presidency would be far superior in this respect. The age jokes already kill me. And then there's Sarah Palin, who adds a lot of comedic value to the McCain ticket (and to Saturday Night Live). She seems to have more of a sense of humor than the other three candidates combined, too.
So, there you have it. Vote for McCain!
From a humor standpoint, George W. Bush will be a tough act for anyone to follow. Few presidents have ever provided comedians and regular citizens with so much material for jokes, skits and the like.
It seems like Obama humor is almost non-existent, and the man isn't particularly funny himself. I don't think that the problem is that there aren't things about Obama that could be made fun of. I do think, however, that people are afraid of being called racists if they do make fun of him, which is too bad--humor should be blind with respect to race, if you ask me. At least we'll have Joe Biden if we get an Obama presidency.
A McCain presidency would be far superior in this respect. The age jokes already kill me. And then there's Sarah Palin, who adds a lot of comedic value to the McCain ticket (and to Saturday Night Live). She seems to have more of a sense of humor than the other three candidates combined, too.
So, there you have it. Vote for McCain!
halloween hater
The little lady and I decided to watch The Devil Wears Prada (I'm strangely OK with this movie) the other night. About half-way through the movie, she offered to get me a slice of the rockin' good apple pie she had made on Saturday night. I was also in the mood for my current liquid obsession, Hawaiian Punch, and realizing that its sugary goodness would not mix well with apple pie, I decided to get up and get some. I was standing by the refrigerator with the bottle in my mouth when Becca swung the refrigerator door open and hit the bottle. This resulted in Hawaiian Punch getting all over my shirt and the floor, and in both my lips being split. As tasty as the mix of blood and liquid crack was in my mouth, I was quite upset. Rather than KO my wife with an uppercut to the chin, I threw the mostly full 2-liter bottle at the wall, which created an even bigger mess. Goodbye, nectar of the gods. Goodbye, quiet evening. Goodbye, happy wife. Goodbye, apple pie. We barely knew ye.
That was a pretty stupid move. I might be about as emotional as Mr. Spock, that doesn't mean I don't have or won't show my emotions from time to time. In any case, the Great Hawaiian Punch Incident of 2008 reminded me of another stupid, emotional thing I had done on Halloween some 20 years before. And that, in turn, reminded me of why I hate Halloween.
Like most children, I liked Halloween when I was really young. It wasn't until I became sentient at the age of 5 or 6 that I realized that being dressed up as a skunk or a clown by my parents wasn't for me. I always knew what I wanted to be for Halloween (a redcoat costume was my top choice), but I was always stuck with some god-forsaken clown suit that my mother had made. And I hated clowns--to this day, few things creep me out more. So, at that tender, young age, I gave up the clown suit and the makeup and refused to dress up for Halloween.
Obviously, it wasn't Halloween itself that was the problem. It was the costumes. After all, I was a kid, and what kid doesn't like damaging his teeth for life with mountains of candy? Whatever the case, it wasn't until I was in junior high school that I decided to make another go of Halloween. A friend of mine was going to go trick-or-treating in the next suburb over, and invited me to go with him. Hair metal was popular at the time, so I decided to go as a hair-metal headbanger. Or something like that. I had a denim jacket with military pins on it, a fake earring, and my "Guns 'n' Roses was here" t-shirt that all the chicks loved. It wasn't much of a costume, but I felt like it was more me, and that's what mattered most.
It was rainy that Halloween--a rarity for the LA area--and to make matters worse, my friend was late. He was supposed to call and then come by at a pre-appointed time. That time came and went. Half an hour passed. An hour passed. An hour and a half passed. Nothing. It was dark and rainy, and my dad told me he wasn't going to let me go out that late. For reasons I still don't understand, I became enraged and tears welled up in my eyes. I grabbed my electronic stopwatch, swung it around my head, and then slammed it into my desk chair, shattering the watch into dozens of little pieces. A very stupid move. Two minutes later, the doorbell rang. My friend was late, but he was ready to go trick-or-treating, and my dad let me go after some pleading and begging on my part. I had a pretty good time, but I was out a stopwatch.
It would be another 6-7 years before I would dress up for Halloween again. The people of Provo weren't exactly wowed by the BYU Dining Services uniforms I "borrowed" from the Cannon Center (the cafeteria in which I worked my first two years at BYU) and distributed to my friends, but at least we got our candy. That was the last time I dressed up for Halloween. It may be the last time I'll ever dress up for Halloween, unless someone conjures up a redcoat uniform and a really good reason for me to put it on.
I guess the moral of the story is three-fold:
1. Get your kids the costumes they really want.
2. Be careful when opening that refrigerator door.
2. Think before you do something stupid.
That was a pretty stupid move. I might be about as emotional as Mr. Spock, that doesn't mean I don't have or won't show my emotions from time to time. In any case, the Great Hawaiian Punch Incident of 2008 reminded me of another stupid, emotional thing I had done on Halloween some 20 years before. And that, in turn, reminded me of why I hate Halloween.
Like most children, I liked Halloween when I was really young. It wasn't until I became sentient at the age of 5 or 6 that I realized that being dressed up as a skunk or a clown by my parents wasn't for me. I always knew what I wanted to be for Halloween (a redcoat costume was my top choice), but I was always stuck with some god-forsaken clown suit that my mother had made. And I hated clowns--to this day, few things creep me out more. So, at that tender, young age, I gave up the clown suit and the makeup and refused to dress up for Halloween.
Obviously, it wasn't Halloween itself that was the problem. It was the costumes. After all, I was a kid, and what kid doesn't like damaging his teeth for life with mountains of candy? Whatever the case, it wasn't until I was in junior high school that I decided to make another go of Halloween. A friend of mine was going to go trick-or-treating in the next suburb over, and invited me to go with him. Hair metal was popular at the time, so I decided to go as a hair-metal headbanger. Or something like that. I had a denim jacket with military pins on it, a fake earring, and my "Guns 'n' Roses was here" t-shirt that all the chicks loved. It wasn't much of a costume, but I felt like it was more me, and that's what mattered most.
It was rainy that Halloween--a rarity for the LA area--and to make matters worse, my friend was late. He was supposed to call and then come by at a pre-appointed time. That time came and went. Half an hour passed. An hour passed. An hour and a half passed. Nothing. It was dark and rainy, and my dad told me he wasn't going to let me go out that late. For reasons I still don't understand, I became enraged and tears welled up in my eyes. I grabbed my electronic stopwatch, swung it around my head, and then slammed it into my desk chair, shattering the watch into dozens of little pieces. A very stupid move. Two minutes later, the doorbell rang. My friend was late, but he was ready to go trick-or-treating, and my dad let me go after some pleading and begging on my part. I had a pretty good time, but I was out a stopwatch.
It would be another 6-7 years before I would dress up for Halloween again. The people of Provo weren't exactly wowed by the BYU Dining Services uniforms I "borrowed" from the Cannon Center (the cafeteria in which I worked my first two years at BYU) and distributed to my friends, but at least we got our candy. That was the last time I dressed up for Halloween. It may be the last time I'll ever dress up for Halloween, unless someone conjures up a redcoat uniform and a really good reason for me to put it on.
I guess the moral of the story is three-fold:
1. Get your kids the costumes they really want.
2. Be careful when opening that refrigerator door.
2. Think before you do something stupid.
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