stella's groove

ever been 4 beers into a two hour lunch and wish you didn't have to go back to work?..

i could make love to stella artois all day long

Use It

I just made a page on the Wiki for tracking good conversations/discussions.

http://wiki.nomadlife.org/default.aspx/NomadLife.GoodDebates

I put a link to the discussion happening at the messiah's blog. I know there's been a couple other good discussions that have happened. Add their links to the page.

I know that the blog pops to the top of the list on the main page each time a comment gets added. However, what happens when the discussion falls off the front page of each person's blog? It gets lost.

Further, my thinking is that what if somebody wants to share all the great ideas of the nomadlife community?.. A nice central place to find it would be nice. I can imagine somebody trying to convince someone to join the nomadlife community by saying "Are we a bunch of nimrods who like to drink and party? of course. but we have good thoughts too... just look at this page."

Possible Trifecta!

I need one more old person event for the trifecta today!

Event One: Walking to work I nearly got ran over by a woman in her mid-60's on a razor scooter.

Event Two: I was calling a contact whom I know to be in her late 50's. Instead of talking to her, I ended up leaving a message with her mother, the CFO of the company.

Event Three: ???

More Fun-ness in Asia

Just saw this over at the TSMI Tradeshow Blog.

Japanese firms banned from China IT trade show - News.Com

This seems to be in response for the recent acceptance of controversial Japanese textbooks. However, this can't be the real/only reason for such actions. The relationship seems to be getting more and more antagonistic, and bigger issues are underfoot.

The TSMI blog goes further to suggest that if Japan can be banned for a textbook, how much longer until the US is banned for their relationship with Taiwan?

Nomads, care to add some subtext and analysis?

Moving on Up!

To the East Side!
To a Deluxe Apartment, in the SKIIIYYYIIYYY!

Two developments at work today.

1. I have become eligible for health insurance. I have signed up for said coverage, and it will be removed from the paycheck at the end of each month. My mother rejoices and relaxes one point of nagging.
2. The office will move on June 24th to the 200 block of North Michigan.

I think new office is smaller. Which makes sense; there's a large room on each half of the office that has empty desks. It supposedly has floor to ceiling windows (the kind that induce vertigo) so lots of natural light. Also, we get a view of the lake. Which sounds nice, but I find kinda boring. OK, it's a lake. The city side at least has stuff moving around on it. Whatever, I'm sure I'll find something to amuse myself whatever the view.

The shitty part for me is that my walk when I get downtown has doubled to 14 blocks. I can either shift my schedule forward another 20 minutes to account for the extra 7 blocks or I can figure out the public transportation. In theory I can take a bus, or a bus and subway or two busses. The middle option amuses me most because it would complete the public transportation trifecta each day. (Metra, Pace & CTA)

Poof

The view from my office has remained unchanged today except for one vital detail... the Sears Tower has dissapeared.

It would be better to say

That I just lack momentum. Because about some things, I haven't been so lazy.

However, it seems that blogs are like gold fish... they can take a whole bunch of neglect but perk right up when you decide to change the water and feed them and all that.

Anyway, I'd hardly call getting to the gym every weekday lazy. Although I've been doing it for about 3 or 4 weeks now, results aren't super obvious. But I think some things are changing. As one of my ex-girlfriends says... firming some things up just makes you realize how loose other things are. true... too true. It's definetely a good habit, and I'm gonna keep that momentum going.

Part of the reason I didn't update last week was that our CEO was in town from London. I wanted to seem all busy, or something. That and the sales teams were hopping last week. They sold almost as much last week as they did last month. However, from what I hear, they should be turning about that much each week anyway. Or they were a couple years ago. Each sale means another registration for me to process. It fills the tedium. Quite nice. However, they seem to have lost serious momentum. And here I am posting again.

A couple fun things to post about from each of the two weekends previous.

Friday, April 8th - Cubs Home Opener!
Through my relationship with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, I got free rooftop tickets to the home opener for the Cubs. Mike met me here at the office, and got the half penny tour. Then off to the Friendly Confines. We were early enough to have a pre-game beer, and then it was up to the rooftop. It was a really nice set up. A big 'ol bar with free beer and soft drinks. A big 'ol barbecue with burgers, chicken, steak, salmon, hot dogs, sausages, fixings and desserts.

We took our raffle tickets coming through the door and headed for the bar, and then some food. A couple of Angelas were kind enough to share their table with us. Usual chit-chat and I felt cool for being able to throw industry lingo around. They wasted no time tearing into Mike for being a bit fruity looking with his scarf. It was amusing. He can be very... metrosexual at times. But he weathered it well.

Then it was up to the bleachers with more beer and food. End of innings were punctuated with trips to the bathroom and then the bar and then the barbecue. Innings were punctuated with drinking and eating and cheering and gloating calls to friends and family.

About the time that they stopped serving beer in the seventh inning, we learned that we had each won a prize in the raffle! It was a bittersweet moment. Learning that I could only get one more beer followed by the realization that we were WINNERS! I was torn. Mike won a free two night stay at the Stratosphere. I got a personal DVD player. Every time I look at that thing, I get a little misty eyed.

Even though the Cubs lost, I was definetely a winner: A half day of work; Free DVD player; Free Food; Free Beer.

Last weekend was another gluttonous symphony of free stuff. The company in Chicago that Heather is doing her internship with was doing the PR for a new play called the Polish Joke. The person in charge needed some help running the press preview, and Heather was bright enough to volunteer. So Saturday we went out to Pheasant Run and were treated to a very nice dinner, then a play (though she did have to help sort out the press before hand... tickets and press packets) and then a reception (more food and drinks!).

The play is quite funny, and kinda hard for me to explain. The main theme is dealing with being born into an identity or stereotype. The main character spends so much time running from his 'polishness' that he ends up being more 'polish' until he just embraces it. Or something like that.

So maybe, I'll get momentum for more than just free food and drink... and start blogging again.

One could say that...

I'm lazy. And they would be completely and totally right.

True leadership is built small

Just saw this post on Inc. It closesly echos my own sentiments on relationships and leadership. Something to take to heart... all those little hellos and chitchats add up.


From Inc.com

Posted by Roger R. Pearman at April 8, 2005 10:03 AM

http://blog.inc.com/archives/2005/04/08/the_art_of_microinteractions.html


Relationships are built through micro-interactions. Each interaction has one of two possible outcomes: You are seen as either inviting -- or as cold and indifferent. After a period of time, and through numerous moments of potential interactions, the cold and indifferent are usually thought of as self-interested, too absorbed, and generally uninterested in others' contributions.


Those leaders with a long list of inviting interactions usually have more latitude and more options when working with others. The perception is that you are invested in others and that you recognize that your success is tied to the work of others in the organization. Everyone feels like they are in the same boat, pulling the oars in the same direction.


To be sure, leadership is a combination of vision, business smarts, persistence, and a commitment to realizing the vision through people's efforts. But the single most important and simplest aspect of leadership is working with others and getting their commitment -- rather than just compliance -- to work effectively toward goals and objectives.

WTF

WTF is up with blogger lately? Pages aren't loding, or loding with errors, comments aren't posting, new posts aren't posting or posting twice...

Things are shitty for me at home and at work. Anybody else having problems?

I predict

That USA will become a warmer place. Why?

Because all the cold hearted bitches grubbing for power will leave for Norway to be promoted to company boards based on quotas.

Maybe I'm missing the bigger 'equality now' point, but isn't this the exact opposite of what you'd want? It reminds me of the little kid whose mother makes the big kids play with him. He gets treated even worse than if he proved on his own that he could play with them. Or take my three year old nephew learning to share with his year old brother... yeah he needs to be forced at the beggining but you want it to be a voluntary action at some point and you don't want the younger guy to always expect to get his way.

Nine out of Ten to Norway for advancing women's rights, but minus several million points for implementation.

******************************************

Govt to shut firms with too few women
From correspondents in Olso, NorwayApril 06, 2005
From: Reuters
From: News.Com.Au
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12770128-38200,00.html

NORWAY will shut companies that refuse to recruit at least 40 per cent
women to their boards by 2007 under an unprecedented equality drive, a cabinet
minister said."Companies have been dragging their feet. They really have to
recruit more women," Children and Family Affairs Minister Laila Daavoey said.
"In the very worst case, they will face closure."

Well there goes one of the fun bits of Oozefest - Cheap booze at the Duty Free

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/04/05/passports050405.html

[T]he U.S. State Department announced that by 2007, most Canadians will need a passport to enter the United States. And by 2008, most Americans who visit Canada won't be able to re-enter their country without a passport. The changes are part of border-security measures the United States will phase in over the next three years that are likely to have a major impact on U.S. tourism and even on the number of Americans who make short trips to Canada.

That's all folks!

No really, it's ALL the nomadlife bloggers.

http://www.nomadlife.org/all.aspx

Now, no matter how many nomadlife blogs the front page decides to list ... (240, 70, 30 etc...) you can go here and find 'em all.

I don't know if you did it yourself or whipped your staff of silverkey programming lackeys to do it... but thanks. ;)

Tall Boys

Heather finishes her first day at the new internship today. I think I'll treat her to tall boys and french fries on the train. Drinking is one of the advantages of taking the train.