Dave's sister and her family were in from Utah for the holiday weekend. Their youngest daughter, Mia, is sitting next to Sam in this pic. That's a chaise-full of cuteness right there.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
As if I didn't feel bad enough
Dave emailed a passel of fun-in-the-sun photos from yesterday. While I was languishing in coach, they all spent Memorial Day at the pool. So sad for RB.
Dave's sister and her family were in from Utah for the holiday weekend. Their youngest daughter, Mia, is sitting next to Sam in this pic. That's a chaise-full of cuteness right there.
Dave's sister and her family were in from Utah for the holiday weekend. Their youngest daughter, Mia, is sitting next to Sam in this pic. That's a chaise-full of cuteness right there.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Perpetual daylight
I'm in NYC this week, staying at the W in Times Square. There's a huge publishing conference at the end of the week, so my company reserved a big block of rooms here for everyone traveling into the city. The W cracks me up, because it's trying sooooo hard to be cool and turns out to be just sort of annoying and silly. For instance, is it really necessary that all the lights in the hall are low and blue or red? No one is clubbing or making out out there. Seems like it would make more sense to be able to get the card key in the door and the roller bag in the room without tripping. They do have a cool gift shop, I'll give them that. I want to buy everything in there.
Because the hotel is in Times Square, the window by my bed is lit up round the clock. It literally looks like it's 5pm outside right now (it's really 11pm). All neon, but you wouldn't necessarily notice unless you were over there checking it out.
Because the hotel is in Times Square, the window by my bed is lit up round the clock. It literally looks like it's 5pm outside right now (it's really 11pm). All neon, but you wouldn't necessarily notice unless you were over there checking it out.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Headed out of town
I'm driving to Tahoe this Friday morning. I haven't been in years, it seems (I try to avoid the torture of being a non-skier in Tahoe during ski season), and I can't remember what the weather is like this time of year. There was talk of tubing down the Truckee on Saturday, but it seems like we'd freeze, right? Even thought it's supposed to be sunny and in the 70s, that river is just liquid snow. I may be remembering wrong, but I thought it was freezing even in August.
Nothin' much on the agenda other than sleeping in, drinking beers in the afternoon, and maybe making some big dinners. I've got to squeeze in some spacey, unproductive, fun-in-the-sun time before heading to NYC first thing Monday.
Nothin' much on the agenda other than sleeping in, drinking beers in the afternoon, and maybe making some big dinners. I've got to squeeze in some spacey, unproductive, fun-in-the-sun time before heading to NYC first thing Monday.
Box in a box
I'm guessing everyone has already seen this parody of Dick in a Box, since it's been around for months. I'm posting it anyway, because it totally cracked me up.
Yes, I'm officially the oldest and most out of touch with pop culture person ever.
Yes, I'm officially the oldest and most out of touch with pop culture person ever.
B2B photo
It's the only one I've seen of Dave's costume, which pretty much makes him unrecognizable. Miraculously, that moustache stayed on all day, despite being soaked in beer.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
My favorite holiday
Another Bay to Breakers has come and gone. It truly is the best day of the year in San Francisco, and I can't believe I was considering skipping it.
I wore the disco jumpsuit again this year. People actually recognized me from years past and came up to say hello, which made me feel like a bad ass. As did my 27-second keg stand at Hayes and Scott.
It seems like the most popular costume this time around was to spoof Justin Timberlake's "Dick in a Box" skit from SNL. There were at least 10 groups of guys all dressed up like JT in that skit. However, the funniest version of this -- by far -- was a chick I saw, wearing jeans and a t-shirt, but with the gift-wrapped box strapped to her crotch. I told her I liked her box, and she looked at me, winked, and said, "It's a box in a box."
Next year will be a tough call. It's very likely that my graduation and Bay to Breakers will fall on the same day. I might have to go B2B early and then roll into graduation in the jumpsuit. It could work.
I wore the disco jumpsuit again this year. People actually recognized me from years past and came up to say hello, which made me feel like a bad ass. As did my 27-second keg stand at Hayes and Scott.
It seems like the most popular costume this time around was to spoof Justin Timberlake's "Dick in a Box" skit from SNL. There were at least 10 groups of guys all dressed up like JT in that skit. However, the funniest version of this -- by far -- was a chick I saw, wearing jeans and a t-shirt, but with the gift-wrapped box strapped to her crotch. I told her I liked her box, and she looked at me, winked, and said, "It's a box in a box."
Next year will be a tough call. It's very likely that my graduation and Bay to Breakers will fall on the same day. I might have to go B2B early and then roll into graduation in the jumpsuit. It could work.
More Greendimes awesomeness
I just found myself wandering around the Greendimes website again and realized that you can add up to three additional names at your mailing address for only $1 a year. My roomies just got added (whether they like it or not).
Also, the Greendimes peeps sent out this announcement today:
"Matt Damon, who has joined our Board of Directors, was gracious enough to do an Earth Day spot for a major TV talk show. He's an amazing person with a big heart and we're humbled by his involvement. We can't mention the show's name, so search for 'Matt Damon GreenDimes' and you'll figure it out. It just doesn't get any better! Oh wait, it can. And it did. We were also on The Ellen Show on 5/15!
We launched our service for Canada a few weeks ago -- so if you have friends to the north, let them know we're around.
We had a booth at the Google Earth Day Fair and it was a blast -- what a nice invitation from a GREAT company!
In honor of World Malaria Day, we partnered with The United Nations Foundation to fund the purchase of 5,000 bed malaria nets to help in the fight against this aggressive and preventable disease. We accomplished the goal in 11 days! From April 25th to May 6th, every new GreenDimes membership helped save trees, reforest the earth AND save a life! Wow!
Direct List Technology, one of the mailing companies we contact on your behalf, asked us to send them an electronic file instead of a postcard -- a huge thanks to them for being so cooperative."
The show that Matt Damon's spot was filmed for is Oprah. Unbelievable publicity for this little company. It seems like they are about to take off. I hope so, as they absolutely deserve the success.
Also, the Greendimes peeps sent out this announcement today:
"Matt Damon, who has joined our Board of Directors, was gracious enough to do an Earth Day spot for a major TV talk show. He's an amazing person with a big heart and we're humbled by his involvement. We can't mention the show's name, so search for 'Matt Damon GreenDimes' and you'll figure it out. It just doesn't get any better! Oh wait, it can. And it did. We were also on The Ellen Show on 5/15!
We launched our service for Canada a few weeks ago -- so if you have friends to the north, let them know we're around.
We had a booth at the Google Earth Day Fair and it was a blast -- what a nice invitation from a GREAT company!
In honor of World Malaria Day, we partnered with The United Nations Foundation to fund the purchase of 5,000 bed malaria nets to help in the fight against this aggressive and preventable disease. We accomplished the goal in 11 days! From April 25th to May 6th, every new GreenDimes membership helped save trees, reforest the earth AND save a life! Wow!
Direct List Technology, one of the mailing companies we contact on your behalf, asked us to send them an electronic file instead of a postcard -- a huge thanks to them for being so cooperative."
The show that Matt Damon's spot was filmed for is Oprah. Unbelievable publicity for this little company. It seems like they are about to take off. I hope so, as they absolutely deserve the success.
Greendimes.com
I've been meaning to post about this website/service for months now.
Remember back when I used to blog endlessly about how much crappy junk mail I received and how long it took to shred it? Well, a group of Haas MBAs answered my prayers and started up Greendimes. It's a service that stops your junk mail and plants a tree for you every month -- for only $36 a year. It's a pretty sweet deal.
I signed up with Greendimes about a half a year ago. It took approximately three months to fully kick in, but the amount of stupid junk mail I get has been cut by at least 80 percent. There are a few mail order catalogs that are apparently unstoppable. The Pottery Barn catalog just won't quit. Supposedly there is a place on their website where I could report that sort of thing and they would take care of it for me, but I've been too lazy.
The last time I checked in at their site, they had just set up a gift membership so you can buy the service for other people. I know what everyone is getting for Christmas from me this year. The amount of needless waste paper this service prevents is phenomenal.
Remember back when I used to blog endlessly about how much crappy junk mail I received and how long it took to shred it? Well, a group of Haas MBAs answered my prayers and started up Greendimes. It's a service that stops your junk mail and plants a tree for you every month -- for only $36 a year. It's a pretty sweet deal.
I signed up with Greendimes about a half a year ago. It took approximately three months to fully kick in, but the amount of stupid junk mail I get has been cut by at least 80 percent. There are a few mail order catalogs that are apparently unstoppable. The Pottery Barn catalog just won't quit. Supposedly there is a place on their website where I could report that sort of thing and they would take care of it for me, but I've been too lazy.
The last time I checked in at their site, they had just set up a gift membership so you can buy the service for other people. I know what everyone is getting for Christmas from me this year. The amount of needless waste paper this service prevents is phenomenal.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Oregonians hate reading
From one of my industry newsletters:
"Jackson County, OR voters turned down an $8.3 million tax increase designed to reopen their 15-branch library system by a 60-40 margin--about the same as a vote last November (prior to the actual closing of the libraries in early April.) The head of the Save the Libraries campaign 'said he believes many residents voted against the levy not because they don't support the libraries, but because they don't support this method of funding them.'"
"Jackson County, OR voters turned down an $8.3 million tax increase designed to reopen their 15-branch library system by a 60-40 margin--about the same as a vote last November (prior to the actual closing of the libraries in early April.) The head of the Save the Libraries campaign 'said he believes many residents voted against the levy not because they don't support the libraries, but because they don't support this method of funding them.'"
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
It's party time!
The semester is officially over and I have a truck and six kegs waiting for me to pick them up on Saturday morning. What could be more promising than that?
Last night (after one or two glasses of wine) I decided I should marry that Utah Jazz basketball player we've all been seeing so much of lately, so I could take his last name. I would then be Becky Boozer, party planner extraordinaire! My event planning empire would grow at an astonishing rate, and I'd have to change this blog to www.beckyboozer.com.
The headcount for Saturday's celebration is now up to 350, which is causing me a little anxiety. Not really sure how this is all gonna work, as the site we've got is meant for 150 people. I'm sure all those 350 picnickers won't all show up at once, right?
Last night (after one or two glasses of wine) I decided I should marry that Utah Jazz basketball player we've all been seeing so much of lately, so I could take his last name. I would then be Becky Boozer, party planner extraordinaire! My event planning empire would grow at an astonishing rate, and I'd have to change this blog to www.beckyboozer.com.
The headcount for Saturday's celebration is now up to 350, which is causing me a little anxiety. Not really sure how this is all gonna work, as the site we've got is meant for 150 people. I'm sure all those 350 picnickers won't all show up at once, right?
Email from Jenica
"Hi there,
This morning I found out that the soldiers in Iraq who were kidnapped are from the 10th Mountain Division in Watertown New York, where my brother is from. He's fine. But it freaked me out and I feel so bad for the families who are not so lucky. He hasn't been in contact with us for several days. Amy (his wife) didn't know til yesterday that they were from their army base. Luckily Gene contacted her through a friend's email (all communication between his brigade and the outside world is blocked, as dramatic as that sounds).
My mom was worried about him as soon as she found out about it. But of course I told her that she was being dramatic. I didn't know that for once she had the right to worry. Gene was supposed to be in that group but was changed at the last minute (before deploying). Yikers.
Anyway...I saw a bumper sticker yesterday that said 'I don't remember signing my son's permission slip to Iraq.' It was next to a yellow ribbon sticker.
If you could keep those soldiers in your thoughts....
Love, Jenica"
This morning I found out that the soldiers in Iraq who were kidnapped are from the 10th Mountain Division in Watertown New York, where my brother is from. He's fine. But it freaked me out and I feel so bad for the families who are not so lucky. He hasn't been in contact with us for several days. Amy (his wife) didn't know til yesterday that they were from their army base. Luckily Gene contacted her through a friend's email (all communication between his brigade and the outside world is blocked, as dramatic as that sounds).
My mom was worried about him as soon as she found out about it. But of course I told her that she was being dramatic. I didn't know that for once she had the right to worry. Gene was supposed to be in that group but was changed at the last minute (before deploying). Yikers.
Anyway...I saw a bumper sticker yesterday that said 'I don't remember signing my son's permission slip to Iraq.' It was next to a yellow ribbon sticker.
If you could keep those soldiers in your thoughts....
Love, Jenica"
Saturday, May 12, 2007
A professional opinion
Dave suggested I send my keg query to Kieran, who manages Solstice on Divisadero. Here was his professional recommendation about how many kegs to line up:
"The beer question you pose is humanity's true mystery, isn't it? Will there be anything other than beer offered? Wine and spirits? Or just soft drinks? How long is the event? All things that make the difference between 1 keg and 10 kegs...
Mathematically speaking there are about 90-100 glasses of beer in a standard American keg (15.5 gallons). That figures in 12 oz glasses with minor spills and fobbing (foaming in lay-terms). I generally figure on 1.5 glasses per person per hour which accounts for the people that will drink 3 in an hour as well as the people that will drink 0. That however, depends on what else is available to drink. If there is nothing else, I think your golden number for a 3 hour event is about 8 kegs , which is about 760 total beers (give or take 40) or 3.8 beers per person on a 200 person party."
It all makes sense, though eight kegs seems like a crapload of beer. Too much beer is definitely better than not enough, especially when you have Bay to Breakers happening the next morning.
To complicate the situation, our RSVP list has gone up from 200 to 250 in the last week.
I am at least feeling on top of the food situation -- A.G. Ferarri will be bringing in a bunch of sandwiches, salads, and nibbly stuff. And we booked a face painter for the kids. Oski is out, face painter is in. I wanted to rent a bouncy house (actually I wanted one for the kids and one for the drunk adults), but the contract for the park won't allow it.
"The beer question you pose is humanity's true mystery, isn't it? Will there be anything other than beer offered? Wine and spirits? Or just soft drinks? How long is the event? All things that make the difference between 1 keg and 10 kegs...
Mathematically speaking there are about 90-100 glasses of beer in a standard American keg (15.5 gallons). That figures in 12 oz glasses with minor spills and fobbing (foaming in lay-terms). I generally figure on 1.5 glasses per person per hour which accounts for the people that will drink 3 in an hour as well as the people that will drink 0. That however, depends on what else is available to drink. If there is nothing else, I think your golden number for a 3 hour event is about 8 kegs , which is about 760 total beers (give or take 40) or 3.8 beers per person on a 200 person party."
It all makes sense, though eight kegs seems like a crapload of beer. Too much beer is definitely better than not enough, especially when you have Bay to Breakers happening the next morning.
To complicate the situation, our RSVP list has gone up from 200 to 250 in the last week.
I am at least feeling on top of the food situation -- A.G. Ferarri will be bringing in a bunch of sandwiches, salads, and nibbly stuff. And we booked a face painter for the kids. Oski is out, face painter is in. I wanted to rent a bouncy house (actually I wanted one for the kids and one for the drunk adults), but the contract for the park won't allow it.
Friday, May 04, 2007
The price of Oski
Another party-related dilemma I'm facing this week is that it would be pretty sweet to book Oski for this party. It's supposed to be a celebratory, Cal spirited, family event. There will be kids there, and it seems like they'd like Oski at least as much as I do.
Then again, it's come to my attention that I may be a little Oski-obsessed. And Oski comes with some pretty steep appearance fees (they are, however, much more reasonable than Paris Hilton's). How much do you think it's worth to get Oski at something like this? I think I'm gonna try and negotiate him down.
Then again, it's come to my attention that I may be a little Oski-obsessed. And Oski comes with some pretty steep appearance fees (they are, however, much more reasonable than Paris Hilton's). How much do you think it's worth to get Oski at something like this? I think I'm gonna try and negotiate him down.
A keg riddle
I need some help forecasting how much beer to buy for the end of year party we're working on. I figure a lot of you drink beer, so maybe you'll know! Here's the situation:
Two-hundredish attendees projected, at least fifty of which will be children or non-drinkers, but at least fifty of which will be alcoholics or heavy drinkers.
The Internet says about one hundred and forty cups of beer in a keg.
I will be humiliated if we run out, but I don't want to have way too much because kegs are not cheap and I personally will have to deal with transporting them all to and fro, potentially in a truck that I will have to rent.
So, how many kegs does RB need?
Two-hundredish attendees projected, at least fifty of which will be children or non-drinkers, but at least fifty of which will be alcoholics or heavy drinkers.
The Internet says about one hundred and forty cups of beer in a keg.
I will be humiliated if we run out, but I don't want to have way too much because kegs are not cheap and I personally will have to deal with transporting them all to and fro, potentially in a truck that I will have to rent.
So, how many kegs does RB need?
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Can I borrow your truck?
I need to move a bunch of kegs the weekend of May 19. Does anyone have a truck or SUV I could borrow?
Poo
This just in from Dave:
"Talked to Rob – B2B float building isn’t happening. Neither of us have the time to pull it together at this point. Looks like it will be backpacks and beers… pass that on."
House remodeling and final exams seem to have conspired against the annual Bay to Breakers keg float effort. I can't complain about it, especially since I contribute nothing to the effort, other than awe and appreciation. On the positive side, now I don't have to order a convict costume online (the theme this year was going to be cops and robbers). Looks like the disco jumpsuit tradition will not die in 2007.
"Talked to Rob – B2B float building isn’t happening. Neither of us have the time to pull it together at this point. Looks like it will be backpacks and beers… pass that on."
House remodeling and final exams seem to have conspired against the annual Bay to Breakers keg float effort. I can't complain about it, especially since I contribute nothing to the effort, other than awe and appreciation. On the positive side, now I don't have to order a convict costume online (the theme this year was going to be cops and robbers). Looks like the disco jumpsuit tradition will not die in 2007.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
More on Fuqua
While I'm no advocate for cheating, I'm starting to feel a little sorry for the b-school students who are getting expelled from Fuqua. I read another article about it this morning, and it sounds like the whole thing is getting blown out of proportion.
For starters, it was an open book take-home test. And the "cheating" was that the students collaborated while working on it. If it's open book, does it really matter that you talked about it with some other students? Really, an open book test is only testing your ability to read and apply what you read. Also, the only reason they know the students collaborated is because they openly admitted to it.
This is my favorite quote from the article:
"'I would say at many business schools it is a part of the culture,' Dr. McCabe said. 'You want to talk rationalizations? I could give you thousands of them: everybody else does it, it’s the teachers’ fault, you have to do it to get ahead.'"
Makes us sound like middle school students.
I've got another rationalization -- in b-school you don't do anything independently. Every single project we have is team-based or collaborative, because that's pretty much how it works in the real world. Your ability to work with people is what makes you succeed in the workplace. Collaborating with other students, studying with other students, and talking about everything is ingrained within the first month of your first year.
For starters, it was an open book take-home test. And the "cheating" was that the students collaborated while working on it. If it's open book, does it really matter that you talked about it with some other students? Really, an open book test is only testing your ability to read and apply what you read. Also, the only reason they know the students collaborated is because they openly admitted to it.
This is my favorite quote from the article:
"'I would say at many business schools it is a part of the culture,' Dr. McCabe said. 'You want to talk rationalizations? I could give you thousands of them: everybody else does it, it’s the teachers’ fault, you have to do it to get ahead.'"
Makes us sound like middle school students.
I've got another rationalization -- in b-school you don't do anything independently. Every single project we have is team-based or collaborative, because that's pretty much how it works in the real world. Your ability to work with people is what makes you succeed in the workplace. Collaborating with other students, studying with other students, and talking about everything is ingrained within the first month of your first year.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
My whereabouts
I bet it seems a bit like I've fallen off the face of the planet. After a brief revival, I haven't been keeping up on the blogging. I've been out of the swing of my usual habits and out of touch with everyone. The past few weeks have been more introspective that usual and I've mostly been occupied by
hanging out with Sally,
standing around in airports,
writing papers,
networking and attending informational interviews,
trying to get a Chinese visa,
scratching my inexplicably extremely itchy legs and worrying that I developed have a skin condition,
meditating on parenthood,
planning a BBQ,
being trapped in my cube,
feeling very much in love,
shopping for a summer cocktail dress,
aging,
reading leadership books,
and trying to gear up for summer, which feels almost within my reach.
My semester ends next week. Two papers to go, before school ends and I launch myself head-first into an extended period of travel.
hanging out with Sally,
standing around in airports,
writing papers,
networking and attending informational interviews,
trying to get a Chinese visa,
scratching my inexplicably extremely itchy legs and worrying that I developed have a skin condition,
meditating on parenthood,
planning a BBQ,
being trapped in my cube,
feeling very much in love,
shopping for a summer cocktail dress,
aging,
reading leadership books,
and trying to gear up for summer, which feels almost within my reach.
My semester ends next week. Two papers to go, before school ends and I launch myself head-first into an extended period of travel.
I am a dork
Julia recently accused me of being obsessed with Franklin-Covey, and I've come to realize it's true -- I love me my Franklin-Covey. I've been using it as a life planning system for about six years now, and I can't get enough. I love the lists, I love the inspirational quotations, I love the emphasis on priorities and personal goals, and I love the stylish leather binder. I love that it allows you to customize to your heart's content and keep everything in one place. If anyone out there feels they need more organization in his or her life, please -- let me convince you to adopt the Covey!
Just to give you a taste, here's an inspirational quote from last week:
"You have brains in your head, and feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose." -- Dr. Seuss
Simple, yet eloquent.
Just to give you a taste, here's an inspirational quote from last week:
"You have brains in your head, and feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose." -- Dr. Seuss
Simple, yet eloquent.
NSFW
What does NSFW mean? I get that they always list it in front of links that connect to nudie photos, but what does the acronym actually stand for?
Dumbest thing ever
Dave just sent me a link to an article about the cheating scandal at Fuqua. His comment was, "Pretty stupid on the students' part -- why would you cheat in an MBA program of all places?" By which he probably means it's a stupid thing to do because b-school is not really that hard,* and on top of that your grades just don't matter that much. I doubt he means that it's a stupid thing to do because we're supposed to be role models for ethical decision making, but you never know.
I think it's pretty stupid for 30 graduate students turn in answers that were similar enough for a professor to tell everyone was cheating. Did they really think that was going to work? Seems like if you're going to cheat, you should at least do a decent job of it. I also think Fuqua is a stupid word.
*Dave thinks b-school is not hard. I think parts of it are hard.
I think it's pretty stupid for 30 graduate students turn in answers that were similar enough for a professor to tell everyone was cheating. Did they really think that was going to work? Seems like if you're going to cheat, you should at least do a decent job of it. I also think Fuqua is a stupid word.
*Dave thinks b-school is not hard. I think parts of it are hard.
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