The "I should blog blog"

Registry

2011-09-03T21:23:00.000-07:00

Have you ever picked out a china pattern?

I'm lost. So forlorn, in fact, that I've come to this blog--the one I haven't touched in months--because I'm so lost.

Here's the thing about wedding planning: it's exhausting.

Rob and I work a lot. On days off, the last thing we want to do is plan our wedding (one interesting exception: wedding rings. Just because diamonds are fun.)

The good news is that there is only so much procrastination one can do. Wedding planning is well underway and I'm happy to report that I like how our special day is coming together.

But now I'm sitting here, just about four months from our wedding, and I'm doing some preliminary selection of what will become the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner vessels for our future family.

And there are 100,000 choices just at Bloomingdales!

Flowers, bows, butterflies, hummingbirds, camels.
There's actually china with camels on it.
Camels are cute but I don't want them under my mashed potatoes for the rest of my life.

Pretty sure I feel the same way about the elephants and carousel horses.

For now, maybe I'll go back to looking at diamonds :)

L-O-V-E

2011-03-25T20:20:00.000-07:00

I got this from Rob's mom just now, and I had to share:

"Andy darling, thank you so much for the note. You and Robert are the best kids parents can be blessed with. I wish I was there.
Love,
Kathy, your future mother-in-law
It is so beautiful to be conversing with the woman I've been praying for to come into our son's life."

Right now I feel like the luckiest girl in the whole world.

Bridal fitness

2011-03-22T09:57:00.000-07:00

The good news: I joined a new gym.

The bad news: They believe me to be tremendously out of shape.

They had me come in for a "fitness assessment."

And it was like a bad middle school flashback.

Remember the tests in school where you had to do as many sit-ups as you could in a minute, stretch as far as you can to test flexibility, and do pull-ups (or in my case, desperately attempt to do ONE pull-up)?

Essentially the worst days of my teenage years.
I had to do that again the other day at my new gym.

I kicked ass on the cardio portion of the test, falling into the "excellent" category.

That's where the good news ended, unfortunately.

I rated average to poor in every other category.

If this was a sales tactic to get me to purchase personal training sessions (and I have to tell myself this very thing to get through the day), it worked.

My fitness rating was something like 14 out of 40. Ouch.

I have some work to do. Trying to bump it up to the mid 20s by my wedding day.
I'll let you know how it goes.

Bridal Fairs

2011-03-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

Has anyone ever been to one?

Rob and I went to our first one this Sunday (he wasn't supposed to go, but in an unfortunate turn of events, he got the pleasure of being one in four men in a sea of aggressive brides-to-be.)

We don't like bridal fairs.

We felt like the vendors were sharks and we were guppies in the middle awaiting attack and there was no escape.

They make you fill out these forms to win a free honeymoon to Paris and a free wedding registry and a free washer/dryer set and your hand starts to cramp up from writing your email address one too many times.

I ate more than one pastry that I had to spit out (vegan cookies will not touch the lips of my wedding guests.)

And in my opinion, bridal fairs are fairly unnecessary unless you are starting completely from scratch. If you have an idea of what you want and vendors somewhat picked out, bridal fairs are a nightmare because they just confuse you and make you question any decision you've made.

And you see things like this:

And you think it's an amazing idea (possibly fueled by the free champagne they give you). And then you go home and show the brochure to your mom and she throws it back into your face and tells you you're ridiculous.

(Not that this has ever happened to me. I'm just sayin'...)

Also, I love this: 5 Tips for Guys on Surviving a Bridal Show

I love how they say that he shouldn't be hung over but he should be drinking (I know Rob was very thankful for his free champagne offering.)

Good news!

2011-03-14T09:49:00.000-07:00

We have a venue we've decided to commit to. Whew, that took longer than I would have liked, but we're very happy with our 3-month-long decision.

Even better news:

I found a wedding dress!

Kind of.

I found it online.

And there are two small problems with what has quickly become my day in-day out dress obsession (it's true: I watch wedding videos of people I don't know that feature this dress.)

1. It's Vera Wang. (Of course it is. I have expensive taste with everything else--I don't know why I ever thought wedding dresses would be any different.)

2. It's from Spring 2010.

So, my options are finding it used or ordering it from any number of very shady websites out of China who claim they can tailor it to my body for $273.

I always thought people wanted Vera Wang dresses just because they're Vera Wang dresses dresses.

But that's not true!

They're amazing!

All other dresses now look radically inferior in comparison.

Fortunately, I had always thought I'd buy a used wedding dress. To me, it just makes sense. So now instead of paying $1,000 on a used designer dress, I just have to shell out about $3,000 more than that.

Not the best plan for the world's most frugal bride.

PS. I'm not featuring a photo of the dress on the slight chance that I may actually find it used. In my size. For a reasonable price.

It could happen.

Places to sleep

2011-03-02T20:16:00.000-08:00

Today's post is not necessarily about wedding planning, but it is about my cheapness, which is, let's face it, an unfortunate bi-product of wedding planning.

Today's post is about how it seems I'll sacrifice rest, sanitation, and the respect of the man I'm going to marry...

All to save a buck.

This sounds dramatic, and perhaps it is, but bear with me while I tell the story.

We're so fortunate to work for a wonderful company that provides us with many perks--a good medical and dental plan, free language classes, and cheap hotel rooms! It's a frugal bride's dream!

As avid skiers, we often take the 4-hour drive up to the mountains of Lake Tahoe to ski. Here we are:

We usually stay here:

But this time, our super special associate (read: cheap) rate wasn't available.

This time, we stayed here:

It' s the Alpine Inn & Spa, and it'll set you back $35/night.

But it's not really a spa. Not in the traditional sense of the word, anyway. Unless you're one of the few who consider an above ground jacuzzi surrounded by caution tape a spa, you'll be disappointed.

It kept us warm from the cold, but unfortunately that's the end of its accolades. It was loud and uncomfortable, and Rob made me wear flip flops when I took a shower.

It was also very evident by the condition of the lock that our door been previously kicked in, perhaps by a tenant that was frusterated by the "spa" nomenclature.

It only took a couple of runs on the hill the next day to feel how little sleep we had actually gotten. For now, I'm assuming and praying that Rob's fears of any shower-born illness are just an overreaction.

I'm hoping (and Rob even more) that this was my low point, that maybe this was my "aha" moment that will turn this cheapness thing around.

Yeah, maybe so.

I'm going up again with weekend with some girlfriends, and we're staying here:

See? I'm getting better already.

I'm going to be a bride!

2011-03-01T22:19:00.000-08:00

The love of my life asked me to marry him.

Sometimes I wonder why. Most of the time, I'm just in awe that the crazy road I've been walking brought me to him.

The hardest part is over. I met a man who I love and who loves me back and has decided for better or for worse to be with me forever.

But there's just one thing.

It turns out I'm not so good at wedding planning.

My mother can't believe she raised such a frugal daughter.

She thinks I may need therapy to deal with aforementioned frugality.

But here I am, planning our wedding, therapy free (mostly because it's too expensive.)

Welcome to my ride.

A new post.

2010-12-06T21:34:00.000-08:00

But...
I can't for the life of me think of anything interesting to write about.

You'd think after not having written for a month, and for months before that, I'd be full of insightful musings, life lessons, brilliant commentary on our times, or at the very least a funny story or two.

But I think writing is one of those "the more you do it the easier it is" type things, and aside from limosine reservations, dining recommendations, and my rent check, I haven't been writing much of anything.

What I can say is that I'm more than a little excited that it's the holiday season.

It's crazy that in all my 30 years this is the first where I truly have my own house to decorate. Most unfortunately, it's also the year that I have next to no money to spend on decorations.

Either way, I'm so happy with our coastal Christmas decor. Here's our living room:

Note: there is a now a real stocking where Rob's blue sock once was.

And I've decorated frugally!
Exhibit A: Pumpkin (photo above) I couldn't stand to throw away + stupid hat Rob was given at work = magical transformation into special Christmas elf.
Exhibit B:
Autumn decor and some metallic paint from Michael's and you got yourself some nice little economical Christmas decorations, am I right?

Finally, I'm proud to announce that I live with someone who loves Christmas music as much, if not more, than I do (don't tell him I told you--I could see him getting embarassed by this type of thing.) And all this time I thought I was Christmas music's foremost devotee. He also has an unprecedented love of egg nog, a fact of which I think he wouldn't be embarassed at all.

Bing Crosby and Elivs Christmas songs are on when we wake up so he can jam in the shower, and on as soon as we come home at night. And I love it.

If I don't write before then (which I aspire to but, let's be honest, very possibly may not) I hope everyone has a very happy holiday season!

One year ago today...

2010-11-03T11:27:00.000-07:00

So here I am.
It was one year ago today that I started my life at The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay.
(And not coincidentally, one year ago today that my commitment to blogging went the way of the dinosaur.)

It wasn't my ideal job.
Not even close.
Like, pretty damn far from what I wanted to do or even envisioned myself doing.

It was something to fill my time and simply earn a paycheck, with self sufficiency (and not living at home) as my ultimate goals (with a stringent deadline of before my 30th birthday.)

This happened, of course.
I make money (I could stand to make more, but that's a post for another day.)
I have an apartment.
And just about a month ago, I turned 30.

But so many other good things have come out of my start here 365 days ago.

I remembered how much I love this company, and its philosophy behind the treatment of its guests and employees.

I've met a lot of really really cool people that I get to work with every day. I've said it before: this company knows how to hire cool peeps.

Even during my time at the Ritz Carlton in Colorado, people there made me laugh every day. I really hope I never see a workplace where I don't laugh every day.

Most importantly found someone I really really love just about two months after I started at this hotel. It feels like a lot longer ago, but in a good way. As those of you who have gotten to meet Rob know, he has a very big heart--the biggest and kindest I've come across in all my 30 years.

We live in a nice, homey apartment about 3 miles from work. It's in Half Moon Bay, CA, which is about as far from where I saw myself as could be.
Its a small coastal community that my coworkers call "social suicide" if you're single and ready to mingle.

For us, it's perfect. We have beaches and hiking and restaurants and pumpkins. And each other.

Work's still not perfect. But satisfaction (and pay) are improving as my responsibilities increase.

All in all, not a bad year.
Not bad at all.

Jiffy Loser

2010-06-08T18:45:00.001-07:00

I'm irritated that I don't know anything about cars.

I'm even more irritated that the guys at Jiffy Lube know I don't know anything about cars.

The worst part is that I can't even fake it. This is very disheartening for a girl who pretends to know a lot about a lot. Who can name every state capital and actually has a master's degree, but can't change her own tire.

Once in a while I'm reminded of how little I know about my trusty 11-year-old SUV.

Like today.

Today, I needed to get an oil change. My car (at close to 120,000 miles) was way overdue. Like, 3,000 miles overdue. The silver bullet's still got some miles left in 'er, but she needs some high mileage, synthetic TLC.

Before he left for work this morning, my boyfriend Rob, who happens to know and adore all things about cars (he's from Detroit), gave me some sound advice.

"They'll try to sell you a lot of stuff," he warned. "Just get the oil changed."
"Just the oil," he repeated.

$350 dollars later, I'm home from my oil change. Albeit with new transmission fluid and some radiator work, but $350 poorer nonetheless.

Mr. Lube explained what the car needed, and the total came to close to $500. I got it down to $350.

I thought I deserved a pat on the back. Or at least a cookie.
Well I just talked to Rob, still at work, and told him about my feat.

He wasn't as pleased as I was. Not nearly. He's disappointed that I didn't listen to him, and even more disappointed that they would "screw me over."

Assuming he's right, how do these people sleep at night?
The guy seemed nice enough. He commented on my dog. I thanked him when I left. He smiled.

I'm going to go forward believing that my car actually did need all and more than what I bought.

I'm going to pay my credit card bill happily, knowing that at least I'm practicing preventative medicine on the old girl.

That way, at least I'll be able to sleep at night.

Stories about love....

2010-04-12T20:25:00.001-07:00

Terrified of marriage though I am, I've always enjoyed reading The New York Times Wedding/Celebration section. I love reading about the ways people met, the way they fell in love, and the extravagence with which they sealed the deal.

So it didn't seem too out of sorts to read the San Francisco Chronicle equivalent during a late evening slow time at work (shhhh...).

I won't make that mistake again.

It was a love story. Just two good looking, super bubbly college students who, despite a bad first date over underage cocktails, fell in love and finally became Mr. and Mrs. and just wanted to read a nice story about it in their hometown newspaper.

The story was sappy and kind of lame. It was. But it didn't bug me. If you don't like love stories don't read the wedding section, right? But it apparently pissed off the majority of the Chonicle's online reader base.

What attracted me to the story in the first place was the fact that it had 97 comments made about it. 97! 97 readers had something to say about Mr. and Mrs. Happy Newleywed.

I've included below a few of my favorites (and by favorites, I mean the ones that upset me the most).

"Yes, I suppose it is sweet to be young and in love and living in this city with the hundreds of civil rights you get to enjoy by being legally married. It's too bad that that same opportunity isn't available to equally deserving same-sex couples." Not place like someone else's wedding announcent to display your political beliefs.

"I just threw up in my mouth a little."

"Get back to me when he's bangin' his secretary and she's raising their five kids and is depressed."

Straight-up character attacks: "He looks gay in that picture" followed by "awesome funbags" and "nice rack."

And my favorite:

"This comment violated SFgate's terms and conditions, and was removed." Really? A comment was so bad that the staff had to remove it. Wow.

It would be sad if it weren't so ridiculously funny. And now, the count is up to 125.

Tahoe '10

2010-02-18T13:35:00.001-08:00

Man, I love skiing.

I love everything about it. I love the speed and the smell and the views. I love the memories I have of skiing with amazing people in Colorado. I love the prospect of skiing with new people.

Fortunately, thanks to a willing boyfriend and a killer hotel discount, I've been able to make it to the mountains two times in the past couple weeks.

This is where we were:

It was 50 degrees. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. If heaven exists, I'm convinced it looks like this.

Rob loves skiing too, though he's not quite the die hard I am. Apparently, the slopes in Detroit's suburbs (built on old trash dumps--seriously) just don't quite measure up to the Rockies.

On our first day out, he said, "Can't you see how this would be intimidating? Propelling down a mountain with two skinny planks attached to your feet?"

I guess I can see it. There are trees and icy parts and random moguls and careless beginners and reckless snowboarders, all potentially available to put a dent in your day.

So the second time around, he asked for a bit of instruction.

I affectionately call it the "Andy School of Pain."

It's a simple regimen of pre-skiing Bloody Marys (for liquid courage purposes), yelling at the student on the hill ("skis down!" and "beach ball arms...pole plant!" are the most common), leading them down unexpected tree runs (exposed rocks and icy terrain add to the challenge), and additional beers at lunch (more liquid courage).

In essence, it's a combination of tough love and good old fashioned public humiliation.

Here we are during the 'barley and hops' portion of the training. Pupil is still smiling:

In my limited experience, I've found the program to be quite effective.

I noted unquestionable improvement in Rob's form. Being the modest and gracious coach that I am, I take full credit for said improvement.

Should be interesting to see if he re-enrolls....

Back in the saddle....

2010-01-27T18:04:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry it's been so long since I've written! But it's so nice to know that you people somehow, someway miss me! Unfortunately, today I'm sick and the creative juices aren't necessarily flowing.

My joints and muscles hurt like hell and it feels like someone lodged a spiky golf ball in my throat. I'm reluctantly revisiting the days of unemployment on my trusty family room couch.

But in the spirit of optimism (inspired by tonight's State of the Union Address, notwithstanding boos from angry republicans), I thought I'd make a list of things making me happy while I'm sick:

Ocean Spray sugar-free blueberry (blueberry!!!) juice. Straight up deliciousness.

Alleve and all the other members of the pain-killing family.

The 3rd season of "Big Love." Gotta love that crazy family and their polygamist shenanigans.

Hulu and missed episodes of "30 Rock" and "Modern Family." By far the best sitcoms on TV.

Egg white omelettes with old friends who live far away (and tell you how you're "not learning to be sick very well.")

My new subscription to "The Wine Spectator:" making me more of a vino snob than I already was. And you thought that wasn't possible....

Thoughts of being up in Tahoe in a week from now with my amazing new boyfriend, skiing, eating, drinking, and repeating. My sore throat and achy muscles aren't invited.

And, for venting purposes, a short list of the things not making me happy:

The "homemade" chicken noodle soup from our grocery store that is slimy and tastes like it came out of a can that's been sitting on a pantry shelf for the better part of a decade.

The end of Brett Favre's season. That guy fought the good fight and came up just a bit short. Sad.

Does anyone else think that our vice president looks like Guy Smiley of Sesame Street fame?

Twilight.
That movie flat out sucks.

Bacon.

2010-01-02T19:23:00.000-08:00

I wish I knew what transpired in my head to drive me to publicly pay respect in the form of an entire blog post to this unfailingly welcome addition to any meal.

But if you haven't played around with the term "bacon flavored" on Google, and you have some time on your hands, it's fun, and like bacon itself, a bit addictive.

Turns out there exists a Holy Church of Bacon, aiming to "promote consumption of, and unfaltering love for, the holiest of holy foods: Bacon." They abide by the "Five Baconic Laws," bacommandments if you will, and I love them so much I had to share them:

* Thou shalt not consider Bacon on the same level as any other food, as it is above all.
* Thou shalt not consume imitation Bacon.
* Thou shalt not stop pursuing Baconlightenment until it is reached.
* Thou shalt not forget to consume Bacon for ten days.
* Thou shalt spread the word of Bacon to all.

And now for a few enjoyable bacon things I found that I may or may not like to try someday:

"Bakon" Vodka: "clean, crisp, and delicious." Really? Some of the recipes look great, but clean and crisp are just about the last possible adjectives I would use to describe any pork-flavored alcohol.

A site dedicated to "bacon porn." Photos of everything from bacon cinnamon rolls to bacon lubricant to good old fashioned plates of cooked bacon. Bacon porn for every taste.

There's scarves, watches, underwear, wallets, mints, and toothpicks. And there's this:

Pretty awesome, right? That's a guy who loves his bacon and isn't afraid to show it. Bonus: it smells like bacon. Hopefully homegirl in the red enjoys cured pork as much as he does.

Christmas memories

2009-12-26T20:01:00.000-08:00

Does anyone else find the day after Christmas vaguely depressing? It's always such a bummer, realizing I have to wait another 9-10 months to begin listening to Christmas music again.

Fortunately, I have copious memories of this Christmas with my amazing family and friends to keep me company until then.

I thought I would write a bit about a dream I realized this week: the dream of eating the biggest, most delicious pancakes I've ever seen.

While I agree that there is no need to elaborate further on my pancake issues, risking personal embarrassment and complete dissatisfaction on the part of you, the reader, I feel the need to share it with you.

Rapidly working their way into an elite premier holiday eating list that includes my grandmother's sausage stuffing, apple pie on Christmas morning, and triple cream cheeses that wouldn't warrant a gaze at any other time of year, I think pancakes of this magnitude may become a holiday tradition for me and my future family. If breakfast addiction is at all hereditary, my future kids are sure to grapple with similar breakfast pastry issues.

My pancakes this particular morning had brown sugar-baked bananas, caramel, walnuts, and streusel, all baked into buttermilk batter, topped with caramel, walnuts, streusel, and a portion of whipped cream that, if eaten alone, would be sufficient as a meal in itself.

We didn't eat until noon. We were hungry and I was getting grumpy (an inevitable and sure-fire sign of my hunger.)

Three pancakes come in an order. I ordered two (pancakes, not orders), and I ate about half of one. This is what it looked like:

It was an admittedly pathetic display of my "off putting pancake gluttony." But they were massive. Just looking at the plate as it arrived at the table began my journey to that familiar uncomfortable fullness native to this time of year.

I was so full.

A friend I spoke with on the phone a while afterward asked if I was having trouble breathing. Seriously.

Still, it was one of the best breakfasts I've ever had, and certainly the best (half) pancake I've ever eaten.

Bonus: each customer's coffee is individually french pressed. When it's noon and I haven't had coffee yet, I'd consider licking it off the floor of Grand Central Station. But great coffee is always a welcome addition to an already fantastic breakfast.

I'm not sure I'll ever be crazy about LA. But places like this certainly don't hurt the cause.

It's Onion Friday--a day late

2009-12-18T21:14:00.001-08:00

Early Humans Finally Drunk Enough to Invent Dancing.

Even though it's The Onion, would this story really surprise you if it came out of the Smithsonian, Popular Science, or any similarly respectable publication?

Only when early humans consumed an adequate amount of fermented fruits and vegetables did they "develop the impulsive series of rhythmic movements known today as dancing."

While friends who think making fun of my dancing is a sport speak to the contrary, I imagine that my dance moves are no more graceful than those of early man.

I'm talkin' people who didn't quite walk erect or spoke strictly in monosyllabic grunts.

But the first step toward improvement, on the dance floor or anywhere, is acceptance or wrongdoing. Sometimes, in a desperate effort to avoid subsequent humiliation, I issue a disclaimer before getting down so that people aren't surprised by my unadulterated lack of rhythm.

Sometimes, if the drinks have been flowing for a while, I don't.

Which is why this story is not at all off the mark.

The Cougar

2009-12-14T08:06:00.000-08:00

Ah, cougars. The term is everywhere these days, creeping it's way into American vernacular quicker than "sexting" and "celebutante."

But as it turns out, the definition of cougar is actually quite subjective.

Most typically, it looks like this:

"A 35+ year old female who is on the "hunt" for a much younger, energetic, willing-to-do-anything male."

But here's a different one:

"An attractive middle-aged woman who is fit, active, confident, independent, somewhat bohemian and not yet brain dead who is attracted to younger men because most of the available men her age are opinionated lazy slugs with beer guts."

I'll let you make your own judgments.

Anyway, I read this morning that the world's first ever "cougar cruise" set sail from San Diego last week.

Promoted as a trip for "the woman who knows what she wants and what she doesn't want is children, cohabitation, and commitment" the cruise headed to Mexico for three days of "what happens on the cougar cruise stays on the cougar cruise" good times.

It even featured a visit by Miss Cougar America (yep, she actually exists), an honor given by the annual Cougar Convention (yep, that exists also.) Bonus: she's from my from my neck of the woods. Apparently the Bay Area is quite the cougar habitat. Who knew?

Considering that 2009 is "the year of the cougar" according to Newsweek, this type of cruise makes perfect sense from a business standpoint.

In better news, 2009 is almost over.

On a more serious note, though, I believe there is unequivocal and rampant age and gender discrimination inherent in the "cougar" term.

People don't blink an eye at older men dating younger women. And I should know. I work at a Ritz-Carlton.

But behold, the male equivalent to the cougar.

Meet "the Rhino."

"An older man on the prowl for a younger woman. The rhino is usually found in warmer locales and can be spotted wearing either a flowered or pastel shirt (with 3 buttons opened to expose a mature mane of chest hair) tucked into khaki shorts and sporting boat shoes. Also look for horrendous dance moves, a white man's overbite, male pattern baldness and a penchant for picking up the bar tab."

The best part is the photo of Rod Stewart next to the definition.

It won't catch on like "cougar." It doesn't have the predatory innuendo or derogatory insinuation of "cougar."

But I still have to commend whoever wrote it for at least attempting to find a male equivalent.

Education and wine....

2009-12-05T18:39:00.000-08:00

I've always been of the mindset that you should learn something new every day.

For instance, the other day at work I learned that Brentwood, CA, is actually not a town but a neighborhood made famous by OJ Simpson in the early 90s.

But today I learned about something even more fantastic.

There's a winery by my house where there's cheap wine. Really cheap wine. Good, cheap wine.

Great wine at an killer price ($4.99 a bottle!!!!!!) as long as you bring your own bottle. It's called Bottle & Cork Day, and you should be angry that there's no such thing in your neck of the woods.

The description of the event on the website is delightfully, if not a bit dissatisfyingly vague, "premium wine at a great price."

It's delicious. And I'm proud to report that it has earned the Stark family seal of approval, something that is coveted and quite rare when applied to inexpensive booze of any kind.

Needless to say, it was a good day.

I work tomorrow morning, and all I really wanted to do tonight was sit on my couch, drink wine, pet my dog, and watch college football followed by Christmas movies that will make me laugh and cry simultaneously.

Now I have the perfect excuse:

I drank a whole lot of wine earlier.

I'm not old and boring.I'm just an early bird, ahead of the curve, and in bed on time for work in the morning.

Nice and refreshed and ready to learn something new.

San Francisco Living...

2009-11-30T17:23:00.000-08:00

Now that I've received my first paycheck, I'm thinking realistically about where I'm going to live--away from home--like a regular, functional, self-sustaining 29-year-old.

Fortunately, I found this handy map to assist me in my increasingly frequent forages through Craigslist (yep, I'm already back on Craigslist):

It's San Francisco's "yuppie index" wherein the red signifies the highest concentration of yuppies in a given neighborhood. Their definition designates a "yuppie" as a young professional making more than $100,000/year. While the entire city is clearly blanketed by a pinkish hue, it is not surprising to me that my brother's neighborhood, the Marina, is #1. Equally as unsurprising is the fact that I have a long way to go before I fit this description, at which point, I'll no longer be young.

Digging further, I found a fantastic website--TownMe--where other maps are available for like minded curious real estate shoppers. In addition to yuppies, there are maps for populations of cougars (also highly crimson in my brother's hood), sugar daddies, starving students, single moms, single dads, and most relevant to me, people overextending themselves on rent, which sadly, will inevitably include me, as well as most people in the city.

At least I can rest assured, though, that Manhattan is more in the red on this front than San Francisco.

I'm still actively working to overcome lingering sticker shock from my time in the Midwest, a magical and glorious land of sub-$500 rents. Once the prospect of writing a monthly rent check with more than three digits doesn't make my heart race and my eyes tear, there will be no stopping me.

Shopping!

2009-11-27T09:05:00.001-08:00

Are you guys Black Friday shoppers?

Hell hath no fury like herds of bargain-lovers who have waited in the cold for 12-plus hours on Thanksgiving Day.

While I thought about complaining that I had to work yesterday evening, I stopped to consider retail employees who spent their Thanksgiving evening preparing to deal with overzealous shoppers who would sell their own mother up the river for a good deal on an electronic pet hamster

I don't ever intend to subject myself to such things. But thanks to the Internet, I'm the proud owner of two new sweaters from JCrew. Bought 'em for 20% off sittin' in my PJs eating leftover sweet potatoes.

And for the record, 9:30 am is fast approaching, and I've read nothing about old ladies getting trampled or gunfire breaking out over the last Craftsman Drill Set.

I'm considering it a successful day.

Thoughts....

2009-11-24T16:05:00.000-08:00

I have nothing in particular to discuss today (further evidence that I don't get out enough), but I thought I'd share with you my thoughts (read on, I promise they're not flying turtles though, they're equally as arbitrary.)

1. There is a Subway next door to my gym. The garage smells like fresh baked bread, resulting in a brutal daily walk from my car to the elliptical machine, where rather than consuming hundreds of empty calories worth of warm fresh starchy goodness, I sweat and pant and watch crappy shows on VH1.

2. I finally took the Missouri plates off my car today. Now the silver bullet looks like any other boring California car. The UCSB plate holder, the SF Giants decal, it's all so banal now. I'm still hangin' on to my Missouri drivers license because, frankly, I'll never take a photo that flattering ever again.

3. The latest thing making me laugh:

As my friend Sean poignantly noted, these guys pretty much comprised our entire college play list. And Bob Marley. And John Mayer. And a lot more Bob Marley.

4. These thanksgiving turkey substitutes are funny. And disturbing. And make me unquestionably thankful that I eat meat. Bean loaf? Tofu shaped like turkey? I'm all for health, but an imaginary Thanksgiving ethics line has assuredly been crossed.

5. A friend told me about Regretsy, which is a website dedicated to finding ugly crap sold on Etsy. And it's not a joke. This is real live commerce here, people.
(p.s. If you like shopping and haven't been to Etsy, go there now. It's awesome.)

My favorite featured on today's page:
Fighting for one's country is no reason not to look one's best (this reminds me of Buster's army stint in Arrested Development. Anyone else?)

Also, a super creepy fairy sculpture (that I'm not entirely convinced doesn't come to life in the middle of the night) and a nice little "frame ready" portrait for above your bed.

"Boom boom boom..."

2009-11-21T20:56:00.000-08:00

A large part of my job at the Ritz-Carlton is preparing special occasions for visiting guests.

This typically means rose petal-covered beds for anniversary or honeymoon couples and chocolate covered strawberries for birthdays, champagne for proposals and infant gifts for "babymoons" (a HUGE new fad--have you guys heard of these???)

But sometimes it's more fun than that.

A couple came to the hotel this week to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.

50 years! Of being married! 50 years of being married! That's a long-ass time and to me, certainly deserving of all the bells and whistles the Ritz can produce.

So in addition to the regular flowers and a cake, we made a CD of Billboard's Top 10 Hits from the year they were married.

I put it in their room and set the CD player to repeat, ensuring that one such ditty will be playing upon the happy couple's entrance into the room (Only took me 10 minutes to figure out--I totally rule at technology.)

So romantic, right?

But, alas, here's why:

The songs are from 1959.

It's Frankie Avalon singing "Venus," The Platters with "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes," and "Lonely Boy" by Paul Anka.

Say what you will about music from the 1950s and early 1960s--that stuff's charming, if a bit saccharine and overly sentimental.

And this got me to thinking:

In the year I get married, what will be the top 10 hits of the year?

What are/will be the top 10 hits from your wedding year?

I guarantee you it won't be as romantic as if you were married in 1959.

For example, if you were married last year, some of the songs on your CD would be "Love in This Club"(Usher,) "Touch my Body" (Mariah Cary,) and "I Kissed a Girl" (Katy Perry.)

2007?

It's "Buy You a Drank" (T-Payne), "Crank That" (Soulja Boy) and "Kiss Kiss" (Chris Brown.)

Totally not the same effect.

It's "a lovely girl with sunlight in her hair" versus "Got me wantin' to give it to you all night."

It's "I'll make her happy just wait and see" versus "I know the club closes at 3 what's the chances of you rollin' wit me?"

So even though I know my work enhances the Ritz Carlton brand, I can't help but smile knowing that these little things will make a couple's anniversary that much more memorable.

Even if they're in their $700/night room, bumpin' to "Boom Boom Pow" and "Poker Face."

November 17....

2009-11-17T15:30:00.000-08:00

...the day I officially started listening to Christmas music.

I freakin' love Christmas music.

I typically steer clear of Rudolph and Frosty and Jingle Bell Rocking. I avoid like the plague Alvin and the Chipmunks, Grandma getting run over by a reindeer, and mommy kissing Santa Claus.

But I'll take most of the other stuff.

Before you call me overzealous, let me first tell you that I may have begun my holiday season a week earlier last year. My roommates laughed at me and called me a nerd (let it be known that they began listening that very day. Hypocrites.)

But listening in mid-November made sense, and here's why:

I was in the middle of Missouri. It's cold there. Today, it's 41 and raining.

Now that I've migrated out West, my foray into an early season just isn't the same.

I'm in California. It's not so cold here. It's 63 and sunny.

In honor of my day off, I jubilantly hopped on Pandora in anticipation of some solid New York Times reading and Christmas music reveling.

But it just doesn't feel right.

I'm not curled up on my bed being blasted with hot air from my space heater, a giant mug of something hot in hand.

I'm sitting here in short sleeves drinking cold beer.

Yep, things have changed a bit.

One song really caught my interest, though. Maybe because it's not overly Christmasy. I've always loved it. It's simple and perfect and can be listened to any time of year.

Otherwise, I'll put the Christmas tunes on the back burner for a little while longer. John Mayer's got a new album out that should keep me busy for a while....

Fake grammar is totally better than real grammar....

2009-11-15T20:01:00.000-08:00

I'll talk about something my fellow journalism peeps already know and love, but that requires mentioning at some point on my blog, for my less grammatically savvy readers, since it makes me laugh nearly every day.

It's Fake AP Stylebook.

And the reason it's so funny is because it ridicules the AP Stylebook itself, the virtual bible of writing, which is just that in journalism circles.

It's gospel. Scripture. Words to live by.

And you shall worship no other stylebook above it.

It's a thick and boring and updated yearly and is absolutely essential if you're writing for publication (excluding the blog you're presently reading.)

If you want to know when to underline or italicize or capitalize or abbreviate, you consult it.

If you want to know when to use "affect" versus "effect" or can't for the life of you figure out the difference between "their, they're and there," you consult it.

If you have a penchant for extraneous apostrophes (ex. "large pizza's" and "green bean's) you consult it.

If you want to escape painstaking grammar, aren't one for morphology, or just want to laugh, consult the Fake AP Stylebook.

I thought I would mention a few from past days that made me smile:

The antecedent for "she" in "that's what she said" is generally understood to be "your mom."

"Bloody Mary" on first and second mentions, "Mary" on third to avoid summoning her through the mirror.

If a person has both played a recurring role on ALF and won a Nobel Prize for Physics, emphasize the former.

When referring to litters of children conceived through IVF, always include a quote from a source about "God's precious miracles."

In a byline, "With additional reporting by" can be shortened to "Big Ups To."

And finally,

There are differences between "pass," "enact," "approve" and "adopt," but remember: your readers don't care.

Funny, right?

Or is this just my journalism degree speaking?

"A good friend who hated Glenn Beck and loves to dance...."

2009-11-12T18:52:00.000-08:00

I love this, not only because it's funny, but also because I used to be a Glenn Beck fan, back when he was a regular radio host and not an arrogant, insolent, nefarious, unscrupulous sellout.

Please enjoy.

"I heard someone screaming, and I thought it was just an accurate impression of Glenn Beck talking normally."

Victim In Fatal Car Accident Tragically Not Glenn Beck

Pancake envy....

2009-11-11T19:46:00.000-08:00

A new friend of mine trying to get me to visit him in Southern California.

Seemingly out of nowhere, I received something like this on my phone:

(photo is too big to fit on the blog, which I personally think is awesome)

The craziest thing is that he had no idea how nutso I am for pancakes.

NUTSO.

I love them. Even crappy pancakes I kind of love.

Even cold ones. Or boring ones. Or ones that are kind of raw and gooey in the middle.

Anyone who knows me knows that they could possibly be my favorite food ever (excluding quiche, of course.)

It's this place called The Griddle Cafe in Hollywood. So I checked out the menu, and it just so happens to be the most awesome pancake menu in the universe.

And though I hate admitting that LA does anything better than the Bay Area, I have yet to find this caliber of pancake rhetoric north of the central valley.

So in honor of my love for breakfast, and my new friend Eric for recognizing this even before I expose him to the off-putting display of gluttony associated with my pancake habit, I thought I would share with you a few of my favorite things from their menu (the top two of which happen to be french toasts--I sense a new addiction coming on...)

Apple cobbler french toast (apple bread rolled in cinnamon crunch batter served with baked cinnamon apples.)

Creme de la creme (graham cracker crusted french toast drizzled with creamy cheesecake topping and powdered sugar)

The Golden Ticket ("Banana nana" pancakes filled with caramel, walnuts, and streusel.)

And two that are over the top but unequivocally deserve mention:

Chocolate chip cookie crusted french toast and crushed oreo-filled pancakes.

I don't like LA. Few things get me down there. But dreams of these pancakes might just be all I need to book a flight.

Just don't tell Eric.

"From our mother in law's house to the unemployment office and back..."

2009-11-07T09:15:00.000-08:00

It's Onion Frid---er, Saturday! I'm a day late. I'm a workin' girl now, don't judge.

Introducing: Ford's new model for 2010. Hilarious.

In the words of one happy customer, "Basically, I just need a car. And the '93 Taurus is one."

Ford Unveils New Car For Cash-Strapped Buyers: The 1993 Taurus

Public service announcement...

2009-11-05T16:59:00.000-08:00

..about the new Michael Jackson movie.

On my last day of freedom, my mom and I went to see "This is It."

Purses filled with pumpkin beer and microwaved popcorn, we only hoped for an entertaining couple of hours.

That day may have seen the best $8 I've ever spent.

Incredible.

I wouldn't consider myself a die hard fan of MJ necessarily. I didn't cry when he died. I only own the greatest hits album, a surefire indicator of a so-so fan. I like the Thriller video, but who doesn't?

And thanks to a tremendous job by our own ruthless American media, I thought he was a strung out weirdo when he died.

If this movie accomplishes anything, it's teaching people that he was actually very lucid and energetic in his final days.

Rehearsing for what would have surely been the best concert experience that ever was, MJ rocked his signature dance moves in tow with his signature perfectionism, a rare quality for pop artists these days.

This says nothing of the amazing editing and organization on the part of the movie's producer. Just awesome.

I want to go again. Plus, I'm now the proud owner of just about the entire Michael Jackson catalog. It's all I've listened to for the last few days.

"Remember the Time" is the song playing at the moment.

To think of all the hours I wasted listening to anything else.

She works hard for the money....

2009-11-03T18:04:00.001-08:00

I totally worked today, you guys.

As my bestie roommates and I would have said in Missouri, there's now an "Andy-shaped hole in the couch."

For my friends elsewhere:

It was 80 degrees today.

This is what it looked like there:

We spent most of the day in a conference room learning ALL about the hotel (which we will repeat tomorrow) but we did get to take a sweet tour in a golf cart all around the grounds.

We also totally ate creme brulee.

It was awesome and I'm a happy girl.

Roughin' it, college style

2009-11-02T08:55:00.000-08:00

On our way home from the airport in Boston the other day, I saw a set of stunning new high rise condos overlooking the Charles River. Or at least what I thought were condos.

They were not. They were the new dorms at Boston University--the "skycenter of the BUniverse."

These are them:

This is their view:

For comparative purposes, I thought I'd share with you the cinder block-laden architecture of my college dorm.

And my view:

Now, I can't quite figure out why I feel resentment rather than excitement for these very lucky young people who will never again be impressed by any building they ever live in again, ever.

Maybe I'm just getting old and cynical, jaded by my recent foray into apartment searching in downtown San Francisco.

Sadly, the $13,000/year price tag on the BU dorms is really an amazing deal by San Francisco standards.

I was impressed and surprised by this, and when I turned on the Today Show this morning, it seemed their producers were impressed as well. The BU dorms and some other new dorms from Purdue won their own segment on this morning's show.

Ah, college.

In the words of one mother moving her child into aforementioned luxury, "Life is tough. I'm going back to college. If there's a martini bar, I'm staying."

Autumn in New England (part 2)

2009-10-27T17:03:00.001-07:00

As astute readers may remember, I wrote some weeks back about Fall. How much I love it, and how I went to the pumpkin patch which was awesome but that in no way compared to autumn in New England.

Fall in the West is simply inadequate by my very stringent standards.

But, behold:

I have some amazing friends in Boston who fashioned an effort to get me on a plane out there. Then my friend Lucy drew up a delightful and action packed itinerary for us, based on my wishes for autumn that appeared on the blog.

And I'm leaving on Thursday--how can a girl say no to that?!? (it also doubles as my pre-employment last hurrah.)

In the aforementioned blog post, I discussed ziplining over the orange, yellow and red trees of Western Massachusetts, which despite my fear of heights and better judgment, we have officially signed up for.

We're eating dinner at Legal Seafoods, Boston's premier seafood eatery. There's not enough lobster or clam chowder in the greater Boston area to satiate my recent New England cuisine cravings (to speak nothing of the quanities of Dunkin' Donuts coffee I'll be consuming during my stay):

Stomach's growling just thinking about it.

We're going to Salem on Halloween.

Salem on Halloween!!!

I can't wait. It will probably be mayhem, but well worth combating the costume clad, cotton candy eating masses.

As Lucy said in her itinerary, "there will be more pirates than you can count, more witches than you can take pictures with, and more shady looking characters than you’d care to encounter at once. Would you really want to spend Halloween anywhere else?"

Nope. No I wouldn't.

And of course, there will be time with good friends. It sucks when 3,000 miles separates you from people who mean the most to you. But such is life.

This history-loving, lobster-cracking, leef-peeping, coffee-guzzling girl couldn't be more excited to see them.

Big changes

2009-10-26T08:29:00.000-07:00

Today I'm talkin' 'bout Facebook!

Whether you're an active user, fueled by lack of a job, say, or a limited Facebooker, you've no doubt noticed the changes to the homepage as of late.

This throws people for a loop. Every time.

Here's why: people don't like to see their favorite site change. At all. No no noooo to change. But as Slate writer Farhad Manjoo wrote in March after the last redesign,

"It used to be easy to get to people's photos and notes, but now you've got to click around to find anything. Are you at your wit's end? I've got news for you: You'll get over it soon enough."

The Facebook team knows not to take people's threats to abandon the site seriously. For example, Facebook came along with the NewsFeed in 2006. And people hated it, calling it obtrusive. This was before my time, of course, but can you imagine Facebook without its signature Newsfeed?

As I was saying with a new friend the other day, it makes stalking so obnoxiously easy.

In case you're confused, as I was, about this past week's redesign, here it is:

1. The "live feed" (which is based on an algorithm that scores every update coming through based on "likes," comments, and your past interactions with people) is now at the top of the page and shows the number of new items since your last visit.

2. Highlights and hot status updates are the default, called "news feed."

3. Birthdays and events have replaced the old "highlights," making it even less likely that you'll forget anyone's birthday ever, assuming they're your friend on the Facebook.

Of course, there's a group called "I Automatically Hate the New Facebook Homepage."
The group's descprition:
*I hate change and everything associated with it
*I want everything to remain static throughout my entire life.
*I do not know what I want from things I cannot control
*By logical deduction I automatically oppose the new Facebook streaming homepage.
*If I have to explain this group it is no longer funny.

Not surprisingly, Mark Zuckerberg and other staffers are members.

Even less surprising, people have joined thinking it's real.

Onion Friday!

2009-10-23T08:58:00.000-07:00

Have you guys browsed the Onion's store?

It turns out the Onion is not only a superlative publication but also a thriving bastion of commerce!

Here are some of my favorites. And Christmas is right around the corner!

1. A framed copy of a paper from a memorable day (typically, I avoid expletives on the blog, but the following is an exception on account of awesomeness):

2. The world's only USB powered single slice toasting device!

3. For the outdoors lover in your life. Or the Nalgene bottle lover (of which there are a lot more in this world):

Or another, equally introspective, approach to quaffing:

4. "At last, a personal debris removal system that will not cause injury if used properly."

This could have done wonders for our house in grad school.

I also want the t-shirt that says "Area Woman" and a shamefully accurate coffee mug that says, "I often make light of my chemical dependency on caffeine."

I wonder if admitting weakness would be frowned upon in my new job....

Cognitive fitness! Move over Richard Simmons...

2009-10-22T09:09:00.000-07:00

I saw this study the other day, and since I still feel like I'm 18 years old, I didn't think twice about it.

Until I did.

I just turned 29, after all--not quite the spring chicken I once was. Also, I'm always looking for ways to prove that spending time on the computer is salubrious--not dissimilar to my affinity for studies that prove (then disprove and prove again) the health benefits of coffee and red wine.

At UCLA, researchers determined that the Internet is healthy for middle-aged and older people!

Healthy!

Apparently, time spent searching online leads to neural stimulation, which leads to better reasoning and decision-making. Searching requires people to temporarily store information and determine relevant information from a whole lot of it.

Which makes sense. When you're searching, you have to plow through endless piles of data in order to get the information you want, paying careful attention to avoid porn sites and lame advertisements.

A Google session is like a spinning class for the ol' noggin!

We're lookin' at stimulating and building brain function, potentially counteracting age-related psychological slow down.

It's like crossword puzzles or knitting or (my personal fav) Sodoku, only so much more 21st century.

Can't wait until the study on middle-aged Wii use comes out :)

In related news, did you know that older web users are called "silver surfers?"

Feelin' the burn

2009-10-20T14:45:00.000-07:00

Today I joined a gym.

Then I worked out in it.

It's 24-Hour Fitness, but it's brand new and totally awesome.

It's me to the power of 24.

There are devices there I didn't even know existed.

There are machines with personal TVs for those nights when I need to exercise but don't want to miss the program du jour, lest I neglect the television habit I've nurtured so vehemently during unemployment. I figure any one of those contraptions torches at least a few more calories than the couch I've inhabited for the past two months.

In the wise words of Kanye West, "one and two and four and get those sit ups right and tuck your tummy tight and do your crunches like this."

Or equally insightful words from "Saved By the Bell" circa 1990, "put your mind to it, go for it, get down and break a sweat, rock and roll, you ain't seen nothin' yet."
(If you're around my age, you're lying if you say you don't know what I'm talking about.)

I'm so stoked to get back into a regular exercise routine. I've been running, but not as much as I used to nor as much as I should.

Today's workout of running and stairs lasted an hour, but only because I was embarrassed to leave any earlier.

Now I'm tired, but high on the idea of feeling less tired after a comparable workout in a few months. Maybe even a class or two. Maybe Pilates. Or spinning. Maybe both.

In our great state of California we have a very astute governor. He likes to work out. Pump iron. Grab a front row ticket to the gun show. Anyway, he says,

“The resistance that you fight physically in the gym and the resistance that you fight in life can only build a strong character.”

I'm goin' every day.

I want to be as cool as the Arnold.

Big news....

2009-10-19T11:21:00.000-07:00

I. Am. Employed.

EMPLOYED!!!!!!!!!!

Empleado! Entre au service! Impiegato! Bei einer Firma arbieten!!!!

I shall work here:

I'm so thrilled with the company (The Ritz Carlton) and even more thrilled with my new position (guest recognition coordinator.)

The Ritz Carlton is unique in that they have a guest relations department--a group of people employed exclusively to speak with guests before, during and after their stay, and to make them feel welcome on a far more personal note than a basket of fruit waiting in their room.

I suppose it's hard to hide that I like talking and that I'm generally super smiley when I do it. This, coupled with creative thinking about how to make guests feel welcome, and also some writing of letters and marketing materials, will be my job.

I'm so stoked.

I've worked for the company before, and I loved it. Learned a lot about dealing with people. And I met some pretty awesome people through the Ritz in Vail. Also, they're amazing about promoting from within--movin' up the ol' totem poll--hopefully to PR or marketing one of these days.

Orientation's not until November 4.

That gives me a couple more weeks to revel in the leisure that has been my life for the past couple months....

Peace out, Craigslist. Your services are no longer needed :)

I hope I see this guy...

2009-10-15T07:58:00.000-07:00

I've totally fallen off the blogging wagon this week.

I'm heading to sunny, beautiful Los Angeles for a wedding this morning, and....

...this is big....

...I'm leaving my laptop at home!!!!!!

Scary, considering the shakes I get when I'm away from this thing.

Let's call it temporary technology liberation.

Though I will have my Blackberry :) Not entirely ready to quit cold turkey on this one.

Enjoy the 30 Rock premier this evening.

Enjoy the weekend.

We're lookin' at 90 degrees in LA this weekend, so I'll certainly enjoy mine.

Permission to come aboard, Mr. President...

2009-10-13T15:32:00.000-07:00

This weekend I had the distinct treat of taking a boat ride through the San Francisco Bay during Fleet Week, a tradition during which active military ships dock in various cities, allowing the crew to visit tourist attractions.

In San Francisco, it means millions of people infiltrating the city and a fantastic air show by the Blue Angles and other amazing flight crews. Also, a copious number of uniformed sailors along San Francisco's Embarcadero.

The beauty of being on the water (aside from the obvious beauty of simply being on the water) was that we could escape the millions of land lubbers on shore while still enjoying the unspeakable beauty that is this city and the bay that surrounds it.

Thanks to my father and his friend who captains the vessel, we took the ride on the USS Potomac. Built in 1934, it was once President Franklin Roosevelt's presidential yacht.

Pretty sweet, right fellow history geeks?

Now, it carts gortex-clad fleet week enthusiasts through the bay. We were fed turkey sandwiches and wine. FDR (or at least a guy that looks a lot like him) still graces the ship, answering any possible question you have (or don't have) about the man himself.

It was a blast.

Here are some of the things we saw (you can click on the image for a closer view, or not :)

The Patriots Jet Team over Alcatraz, complete with very patriotic exhaust (which we were told is environmentally friendly. Gotta love SF.)

The Blue Angels coming over the Golden Gate:

A closer view of the Blue Angels (the show was canceled after this fly over because of fog. And damn was it foggy.)
They fly about 2 feet from each other, so the elements are bad news bears for safety, hence the cancellation:

Finally, my happy family (photo credit: nice lady who is intimidated by big cameras):

Thanks, Dad, for a wonderful time. Fleet Week will never be the same.

Fun fun math!!

2009-10-12T21:44:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the magic of StumbleUpon, I have encountered "pie chart humor."
Now, as a disclaimer, I don't know if I have a ridiculously lame sense of humor or I'm just desperate for a laugh because tonight's "The Big Bang Theory" is just not very funny.

I think the fact that I'm admitting that pie charts can be funny automatically decreases my coolness factor, but alas, admitting one's nerdhood may be the first step in combating it.

I'm presenting you with my favorite pie charts, in FAA order (that stands for "funniness according to Andy.")

(Hopefully you'll think they're funny too. If not, watch tonight's "Big Bang Theory.")

1. "We've known each other...for so long..."

2. Old school video games rule:

3. "I'd run right in to hell and back...."

4. Ah, the vicious truth behind processed food:

5. Mmmmmmm, pie. It would only be better if it were pumpkin :)

It's Onion Friday!

2009-10-09T09:48:00.000-07:00

Despondex: "A huge step forward in the battle against exuberance."

If you personalize your license plates and participate in community theater, this could help.

Hilarious.

Have a good weekend!

FDA Approves Depressant Drug For The Annoyingly Cheerful

Another year older....

2009-10-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

Wiser? Eh, not so much....

So yesterday was my birthday.

I don't like my birthday.

I stopped liking my birthday after I turned 21.

But that's not to say that I haven't been happy with how the day's been celebrated in recent years.

Last night I had an amazing dinner with my family at Foreign Cinema, complete with Rosemary's Baby playing on a big screen in the courtyard.

Getting ready for bed after this amazing meal somehow triggered a curious and unexpected nostalgia for my birthday in Missouri.

Nostalgia for my birthday in Missouri. Words I never thought I would write.

But my 27th birthday marked one of my best memories of graduate school. It was the first of many in our 7-girl house. It was semi-formal.

It was the beginning of a series of insane cakes custom baked for each roommate's birthday.

There were amazing decorations and appetizers.

There was champagne.

There were photos taken with people I hardly knew who would go on to become good friends.

And there was a keg stand in my black dress that my roommates still won't let me live down.

There was a party the next year also. You can't expect people to dress in semi-formal attire two years in a row, but it was a great time--with an unbelievable and very very thoughtful pumpkin shaped, pumpkin flavored cake that would make Betty Crocker jealous. Lord knows I loves me some pumpkin.

Thank you to everyone who made those birthdays so special.

I do miss my life there.

Though I did just see flash flood warnings are plaguing central Missouri today. They're seeing a potential 9 inches of rain.

I suppose that helps a bit...

Unemployment and the art of couch sitting.....

2009-10-06T09:36:00.000-07:00

In the early days of this looking for work debacle, I had a "no TV during the day" policy, in hopes of stimulating my brain through reading and other like productive activity.

Thanks to Hulu and all-day marathons that mysteriously suck your will to get off the couch, things have changed a bit. Additionally, the regular baseball season is over, and the Giants have hung up their cleats, clearing 3-hour blocks of my evening to fill.

I didn't watch TV in graduate school. Short of the Thursday night lineup, I was strictly an NPR girl, and proud of it.

TV, after all, is the culture of the unemployed. And I was a busy girl. Between class, school work, and my six roommates, I was rarely hurting for plans.

Now, I don't know if my standards are getting lower, or if I just have way too much time on my hands, but there are a lot of television shows on right now that I'm pretty impressed with.

So as both therapy for me and advice to you, I thought I would share the programs I like this season. I watch a lot of this online, but with research I've broken it down into a weekly schedule for your viewing pleasure.

Note: as a rule, I avoid like the plague: vampire shows, reality TV (with one super awesome exception), and cheesy high school dramas.

Monday: How I Met Your Mother. This show is legend--wait for it---dary. Still funny, even after all of these seasons.

The Rachel Zoe Project. My one reality exception. It's so obnoxious, but like any good weekly train wreck, I need to watch. Every week. As Rachel herself would say, "It's bananas."

Wednesday: Glee. The best new show on TV. Hopefully you already watch it, so I'll say no more.

Modern Family. A mockumentary-style take on a typical family sitcom, except the families are far from typical. So funny. Watch it on Hulu.

The Middle. Another dysfunctional family show, set in Indiana. Watched it last night on Hulu with low expectations and was very pleasantly surprised.

Thursday: Parks and Recreation. The Office. 30 Rock. Best shows on TV.

And the jury's still out on Community. People like it. I don't, but feel I should give it another chance since it resides within the beloved Thursday night lineup.

Saturday: SNL. One of the reasons I love Hulu so much is that you don't have to watch an entire episode--they have it broken down by sketches. I watched some of the Ryan Reynolds show the other day, and I was definitely laughing.

Sunday: Mad Men is sooooo awesome. It's "mesmerizing," as my mom would say.

I watch the Today Show but stay away from CNN, MSNBC and any other 24-hour news network because I think they make Americans hateful and fearful and compliant for no reason.

Anything else I could be missing?

I got time.

I will write about public relations...

2009-10-05T09:03:00.001-07:00

...because that is ultimately what I want to do with my life.

Ah, Wisconsin. I read this and loved it. Whether you have a healthy appreciation of the Badger State (go Pack go!) or can't point America's Dairyland out on a US map, it's funny. And it's an interesting look at a public relations decision.

Here's the story:

The Wisconsin Tourism Federation (yes, WTF) quietly changed their name to the Tourism Federation of Wisconsin (TFW), according to the AP.

WTF has been around since 1979, before I was born and way way before people who say "wtf" were born. But rather than just laughing about it and chalking it up to victimhood of modern-day acronym omnipresence, WTF backed down.

Some people say that this was a huge mistake--that embracing WTF could help rake in the tourism dollars.

Picture it: one minute someone is typing "wtf" into Google to learn to talk with his kids in modern slang, and the next he's planning a lovely trip to lovely Sturgeon Beach, WI, with stops at the Maritime Museum and a chilly jaunt on a rented snowmobile. Everyone wins!

One blogger said, "What I fail to understand is why people who wear cheese on their heads at football games are this sensitive about being called WTF.”

If it were up to me, I would have capitalized on it. It's a ballsy move, but it seems that so much success these days is the direct result of ballsy moves.

I suppose you gotta give the Midwest props for being wholesome. You betcha!

No big post today...

2009-10-03T09:53:00.001-07:00

..but something I saw this morning that I thought was hilarious, if also very sad and disturbingly accurate:

(if you can't see it, there's a better view here.)

Maybe you've seen it before. I hadn't. And it makes me laugh. I love how Canada is "uninhabited."

In other disturbing news, I read the other day that 75 percent of Oklahoma high school students can't name the first president of the United States.

Sad reflection on our educational system. Not ok, OK!

You can read the questions and responses from OK students here. See how you do :)

"Most Americans feel that being out of shape and unhappy are core American values..."

2009-10-02T08:49:00.001-07:00

Onion Friday!!!!

I loved this video--hilarious.

"He's frolicking with Michelle while most of the country is trying to make it through one more day with their intolerable spouses."

Poll: Happy, Healthy Obamas Out Of Touch With Miserable Americans

One more thing:

I follow a lot of career coaches and recruiters on Twitter, and usually the posts are full of pretty serious, thoughtful advice, especially in this tough economic climate.

But one of them posted this this morning, and I liked it. A little bit of humor in an otherwise very serious time. And a nod to my fellow Big Lebowski fans out there.

My fav line:

"I’ll tell you what I’m blathering about…I’ve got information man! New shit has come to light!”

Noting to myself to use this in my next conversation with my future boss. I'm sure it will win me serious brownie points :)

Have a wonderful weekend, all!

News from the Bucks

2009-10-01T09:31:00.001-07:00

In case you fell like you haven't been adequately inundated with Starbucks marketing as of late, I thought I would discuss it, inspired by the extremely heavy rotation of their commercials in the mornings.

I've never been a big fan of Starbucks coffee. I think it's too expensive.

I think it tastes burnt.

And at the risk of exposing my serious lack of sophistication, I admit that the bottomless coffee at IHOP rivals it.

But that's not to say that their most recent ad blitz isn't interesting. I appreciate them for embracing the fundamentals of modern marketing--getting the customer involved.

Talking with them rather than at them.

Letting the product speak for itself.

Apparently they've been developing Via, their instant coffee product, for 20 years. It's a scary thing to move to instant. You don't want to cheapen your $4/cup brand, but you want to make it accessible to peeps who aren't near a store at a given moment, but have a hankering for a nice cup o bucks.

After all, instant coffee is a $20 billion market.

Starbucks just had to tap that eventually.

As far as the marketing goes, the idea is to get customers into one of the 7,500 Starbucks stores in the US to do a taste test of the real stuff and the instant stuff. Regardless of your coffee tasting prowess, the thank-you card is good for a free cup of coffee and $1 off the instant stuff.

As it is now, the instant stuff is only available at Starbucks stores, REI (I've always said that camping should not equate to terrible coffee), Office Depot, Compass, United Airlines, Barnes & Noble cafes, and Marriott and Omni Hotels.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intrigued.

Would you guys try it out?

In other innovative Starbucks news, the coffee giant is now accepting mobile payments. In short, your iPhone = your Starbucks card. Ah, technology.

Ah, Fall.

2009-09-30T09:37:00.000-07:00

It's official.

Fall is in the air.

It's 9:30 am. It's 55 degrees outside.

And it's crazy how just two short months in Northern California makes these temperatures feel frigid. To the Colorado or Missouri Andy, this would feel tropical.

Still, it's my favorite time of year, even in this fall foliage-challenged part of the country.

In honor of the first fall-like day we've had here, my mom and I went to Half Moon Bay, home to the famous Mavericks surf competition, the best Ramus Fizz on the planet (in my somewhat limited experience with this delightful cocktail), and also home to dozens of pumpkin patches.

Pumpkins everywhere!

And not just your run of the mill orange ones. There's huge gnarled ones, tiny little ones, and every type of gourd and squash I've ever seen, and some I have never seen.

Did you know they grow light green pumpkins?

Accompanied with autumn is my insatiable desire to hit up the Northeast, home to some of the most fantastic fall foliage around. Summer's hot, winter's bitter, but fall may make it all worth it.

Here are some places I want to go right now:

Ziplining in Massachusetts: conquering my fear of heights with a birds' eye views miles and miles of colorful trees would make me one happy "leaf peeper."

Then I want to go to Camden Hills State Park in Maine, where I can hike in, or just sit and stare at this view from afar. The only thing better than marvelous fall colors is the contrast of the colors against the water.

I've always wanted to visit Salem around Halloween. There's an Annual Psychic Fair and Witchcraft Expo! And a creepy looking Terror Trail (which could tie with ziplining as the most scary thing I've ever done.) And for the history nerd in all of us, there's the Salem Witch Museum, which I've seen before and will happily see again.

And I want to stay here, an old stagecoach tavern from 1773. There's a porch with rocking chairs and creeky floors. I'll feel like I'm actually sleeping in a Normal Rockwell painting!

Not that I'll mind.

This time of year, there's no better place to be.

Stumblin' on through

2009-09-29T09:21:00.000-07:00

As long as I'm on the subject of things that take up way too much of my time, I thought I'd share one more thing that I love.

That I spend time with.

That I spend way too much time with.

It's called StumbleUpon, and it's been around since 2001. I've had it since 2007, but I've recently rediscovered it. And now I don't know how I ever lived without it.

It's an Internet community that allows users to find and rate websites based on their interests (a choice of 500 topics.) A toolbar can be installed on your computer (below the address bar) that makes access super easy.

I like media and PR. I like fashion and all that it entails. I "stumble" and I find an independent jewelry maker. I "stumble" again and find an interpretation on the state of the news media by a distinguished Columbia professor.

It's like channel surfing! No remote to get lost in the couch cushions! Fantastic!

It's an outstanding way to learn the hidden corners of the Internet--to break out of your daily website visits and find sites you may love but would have never found on your own.

And it's an outstanding way to waste a lot of hours.

I justify it with the assertion that it's more productive than reality television.

Here are some cool things I found while stumbling my way into the wee hours last night:

360 degree views of the world's 7 wonders! From my couch! At 1 am!

The best funny t-shirt collection I've ever seen.

Evidence that Abe Lincoln invented the emoticon.

Apparently Wikipedia publishes in Banyumasan. Who knew?

I really could have used this in my 11th grade world history class.

I'm definitely a fan. Hopefully you will be too.

"To see Life; see the world"

2009-09-28T07:37:00.000-07:00

I was so excited to hear that Google and Life magazine have joined to scan and post all of the magazine's issues online for us to see!

You can peruse the magazine in its original format. I love reading old magazines--everything from the copy (captions in the case of Life) to the advertisements. It was such a different time, and it's fun to be transported back, even though they're being read on my shiny new 21st-century laptop. Thrill of the musty paper smell aside, this is a pretty cool way to dive into history.

Years and years later, they're somehow just as interesting as they were to their contemporary readers. History rules.

I took a class on the history of photography in grad school, and learned about the tremendous contributions the staff at Life made to photojournalism and also publishing in general. It was the first all photography news magazine and dominated the market, selling more than 13.6 million copies weekly at a dime a piece. Some of the world's most iconic images come from Life photographers, like this or this or this or this.

Hard to believe that before this magazine, there wasn't a whole lot of access to photography for American readers.

The collection comprises more than 1,860 issues, covering 1936-1972.

And to think that I might have been productive today.....

Onion Fridays

2009-09-25T10:57:00.000-07:00

I've been inspired by the video my friend Jackie posted this on Twitter this morning.
I loved it so much that I wanted to share with everybody.

I think the Onion should make more regular appearances on my blog, so the final day of the work week will henceforth be known as "Onion Friday" here on the "I Should Blog Blog."

I love this particular segment because I'm always singing the praises of social media.

Young people, old people, overzealous mothers. They all love the Twitter and the Facebook and the social media revolution.

This is so funny, though I don't doubt that occurs daily on the world wide web.

By the time I have children, they may have to cut me off of social media completely so I don't sound like this lady.

Enjoy.

Facebook, Twitter Revolutionizing How Parents Stalk Their College-Aged Kids

A moment in my day...

2009-09-23T15:37:00.000-07:00

If there's one favorable opinion of my time without a job, it's that of my dog, Zoe.

She loves running on the beach and going on hikes. So do I.

We do this a lot.

This morning we hit Sweeney Ridge Trail, a gorgeous hike west of the bay and San Francisco.

Most of the time, the view looked like this:

But as every tourist who's ever bought a "I Heart SF" sweatshirt knows, it can get a bit foggy. This is the same view:

And there was a bit of wind:

For fear of my 14-pound Schnauzer getting swept up in a gust and going airborne, we turned around after about 45 (very steep) minutes.

She's safely on the couch next to me.

And she's sound asleep.

Time to Help!

2009-09-22T17:39:00.000-07:00

It's been a long day, it's about dinner time, and there's a serious rumblin' in my tumblin' (yeah, I wrote that.)

And there's plenty food in my kitchen to satiate it.

But there are just too many people in California who don't have that reassurance.

Thankfully, September is Hunger Action Month.

For those of us tight on expendable income for donations, there's another very clever option to make a difference.

Tyson Foods, the San Francisco Food Bank, and the Social Media Club of San Francisco have enacted the "Hunger Challenge."

Social media = pounds and pounds of food donated by Tyson.

500 pounds, to be exact, for this blog entry!

That's a lot of chicken.

And there's no excuse not to partake.

Tweets or retweets of any of these facts will result in a 100-pound donation. Very impressive--they've even given you numerous 140-character facts to tweet.

For example:

In San Francisco, 150,000 people are unsure where their next meal is coming from.

1 in 5 San Francisco adults can’t count on daily meals they need to lead healthy, productive lives.

and

5.3 million Californians are living below the federal poverty line ($21,834 for a family of 4).

So tweet away!

I wouldn't say I'm a huge computer person or knowledgeable about much of anything remotely techie, but I certainly know enough to get my fellow San Franciscans their next meal.

Dovetailing off my food entry...

2009-09-21T19:33:00.000-07:00

..I decided to write a bit about booze, and in particular, how they sell it to people.

A recent Advertising Age story spoke to the trends. I'm not writing about it because I like the stuff--anyone who knows me knows I'm a strict beer and wine girl, save for the rare appearance of a top-notch bloody mary.

I stay away from anything "up," "on the rocks," or "neat." I like my evening cocktail squeezed from grapes and chilled.

But I think it's so interesting how alcohol is being marketed these days. Apparently it's a backlash against the "Sex in the City" cosmos and other analogous girly umbrella-clad drinks out in the cocktailosphere.

Alcohol marketers are now appealing to the man's man, "timeless masculinity," in order to show that though the times are changing, manliness remains as it always has, and always will be.

It's all very Don Draper, Roger Sterling, and the Madmen three martini lunch.

Notable examples:

Canadian Club: "Damn right your dad drank it."
Jim Beam: "Guys never change."
Ketel One: "there was a time when men didn't drink their vodka from delicately-painted perfume bottles. ... There was a time when men were men."
1800 Tequila: "These days, it's all velvet ropes and posturing. I don't know about you, but when I drink it, I really like to kick back and be myself."

I'm not exactly the demographic.

But as Don Draper says, when it comes to marketing to women, focus on the men.

And that Don Draper is one smart, classy, and cool, albeit fictional, dude.

PS. when I waitressed and men ordered cosmos, they asked for them in rocks glasses rather than stemware. It definitely happened more than once.

And for the record, Don Draper wouldn't be caught dead drinking a cosmo from anything.

Inspired by food today...

2009-09-20T16:21:00.000-07:00

I love it. Reading about it, cooking and baking it, going out in search of it. And of course eating it.

And here I shall expose to you one of my shameful and guilty Internet foodie pleasures: This is Why You're Fat.

It's a disgusting display of the gluttony and overindulgence that defines American cuisine, responsible for the ever rising obesity rates and heart disease across this great land.

It's home of the "spamsicle," "deep fried hamburger on a stick," and a breakfast burrito the size of my right leg.

It's obscene.

It's so fun to read (assuming you have the stomach for it.)

Whether people eat these things out of shock value or because they actually enjoy them, I'll never know. In the interest of general American well being, accompanied with confidence in the successful proliferation of our species, I'm hoping for the former.

I'm a healthy eater. I like vegetables. I like chicken breast and tuna fish.
I don't like eating carbs. They scare me. I'll never touch another baked potato--something about that big creepy carby starchy solid that just keeps me far away.

I do enjoy some junk food. I adore pancakes. The french toast casserole a friend made last weekend = crazy delicious. The maple bacon that was served beside it shows up nightly in my dreams.

In conclusion, no post about highly caloric food is complete without mention of the queen of butter and lard herself, Ms. Paula Deen.

Some of the best cookies I've ever made, chocolate gooey butter cookies, come from Ms. Deen.

I served them at my thesis defense, and I'm pretty sure my diploma wouldn't be mine in their absence. I bring them to parties, though for fear of ruining the evening, I neglect to inform people of the brick of cream cheese and stick of butter that comprise most of the batter.

Other Deen stand-outs (I have yet to try them:)

Fried pumpkin layer cake with cream cheese and orange frosting
Why, why, why do all things pumpkin always make my mouth water?

The bacon/doughnut/egg burger.
A burger where doughnuts are buns, topped with bacon and a fried egg. It inspires and disgusts simultaneously, in the way only a Deen creation can.

Am I alone in my self-professed bazaar fascination in over-the-top fattening food?

"I stay up late - till half past three! And that's a peg below me knee!"

2009-09-19T09:43:00.000-07:00

This morning, once again, I find myself indebted to Twitter.

Daily, I learn last night's sports scores, things that happened on this day in history, and top headlines from the New York Times.

And it's all great.

But it's a rare occasion that I learn of a holiday I didn't know existed.

Yes. Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

It's 1995 at the YMCA in Albany, Oregon. Two racketball playing friends began speaking like pirates, and declared that people throughout the world should do the same one day each year.

The reason it's so cool, aside from the obvious pleasure of talking like a pirate, is that the holiday has the Internet to thank for its popularity. Save for a Miami Herald article in 2002, word of the day spread throughout the world virtually.

Now, there's 'post like a pirate' and an 'English-to-Pirtate translator' features on Twitter, and an 'English (pirate)' option for primary language on Facebook.

There's pirate language guides, Youtube tutorials, a TLAP 2009 events schedule.

Do you know what "Arrr!" actually means? The lingo guide does:

It can mean, variously, "yes," "I agree," "I'm happy," "I'm enjoying this beer," "My team is going to win it all," "I saw that television show, it sucked!" and "That was a clever remark you or I just made." And those are just a few of the myriad possibilities of Arrr!

My personal fav is pirate pickup lines. I reckon that if I were a wench living of the coast of somewhere, courted daily by pirates, I would have fallen for one/and/or all of them. Enjoy.

Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?

How'd you like to scrape the barnacles off of me rudder?

Yes, that is a hornpipe in my pocket and I am happy to see you.

Try to throw some pirate lingo into your vernacular today, my fellow landlubbers.

2009-09-18T20:15:00.000-07:00

I truly have the unprecedented ability to finish school when the economy is tanking.

For example, I finished college in 2003. By today's standards, the job market wasn't so bad. But it wasn't the best time to leave the cozy, protective, seemingly careless bubble that was my five years in college.

Somehow, someway, I got a job offer in Santa Barbara, only to turn it down to move to Vail, Colorado. Best decision I ever made, though finding a job in sunny, gorgeous Santa Barbara is generally difficult for UCSB grads resisting skipping town.

The jobless rate in 2003 peaked at 9.2%.

Then, I finished graduate school in 2009.

Today's jobless rate in California is 12.2%, setting a new modern record.

2.2 million Californians are out of work.

A recent study reported that 2 out of 5 working age Californians are unemployed.

For the record, we're ahead of Michigan (15.2%), Nevada (13.2) and Rhode Island (12.8%) and tied with Oregon.

Now, nearly three times as many people are looking for jobs in Silicon Valley than in 2003.

I think this is an interesting statistic because it speaks to lingering questions that remain unanswered after releasing numerous job applications into the black abyss that is the Internet during the past month or so.

The job market is saturated with incredibly talented, skilled, and eager potential employees.

It's a staffer's dream, and a job seeker's nightmare.

Let's hope we've seen the worst of it.

"It won the blue ribbon in 1898..."

2009-09-17T09:18:00.001-07:00

Sales of Pabst Blue Ribbon are up 25% this year. 25%!!!! And it may not be simply a reflection of the bad economy.

Throughout my time in graduate school, I often reflected on the power of PBR--why people who could afford remotely better beer still proudly boasted those little patriotic cans at social gatherings of the drinking kind.

An unpaid internship last summer and the drying up of funds that accompanies such a position led to a blind taste test of (and I'm trying to be diplomatic here) lower-end beers. And PBR did not win. Not even close.

(For inquisitive readers, Busch Light was the winner. The BL is $1 cheaper per case than the Pabst. Similarly, Keystone is $1.50 less per case.)

So what's this all about?

It's not the beer market. PBR hasn't been the top beer brand in this country since the 1890s, apparently winning it the blue ribbon and it's namesake. Now, it only comprises 0.7% of the US beer business.

It's not advertising. There was no reported PBR media spending in the first half of 2009.

It's brilliant marketing. Marketing that occurred before the recession.

It's retro. It's "ironic downscale chic." It's anti-establishment. It's a "hipster prop."

It's also the largest remaining American-owned beer maker.

For fellow grammar lovers out, I checked Urban Dictionary for PBR. There were many creative entries. My favorite follows:

"Derived from the Latin Pasbitinus Bluinus Ribbionus, it is a staple of white trash beverage consumption nation wide. As a noun, it is simple, referring to the mildly refreshing Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer. As an adjective, it is being used to describe the people, actions and possessions of those who drink it most."

noun: "I drank a 24-pack of PBR and my wife drank my other case so I ran her over with my 1983 GMC 1500."

adjective: "That guy who ran over his wife with the pickup truck is pretty PBR."

An interesting glimpse into modern beer culture, I think.

Old stomping grounds...

2009-09-16T09:15:00.001-07:00

I'm applying for a job at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Half Moon Bay, a beautifully untouched beachy town about 20 minutes from my house here in Northern California.

It's beautiful--right on the beach, surrounded by a lush green golf course, fire pits outside every ground-floor room.

A cocktail server job in the lobby bar is what led me to the hotel. This is something I'm unequivocally qualified for; something I have plenty experience with; something I'm markedly good at.

Something I actually did five years ago.

I wouldn't say I'm the most overqualified waitress in the world, but I'm just sayin' that it could be tough to impress human resources with my skills in radio editing and nut graph construction.

Now it's a matter of selling myself on another Ritz job besides serving overpriced martinis and Kobe beef sliders to sunburned tourists.

Without sounding ungrateful for the opportunity to finally have an income, I'd like to convince them of my hospitality prowess--my ability to transcend the lobby bar with the things I've learned in the past five years.

I've thought a lot about my career path in recent days and weeks. I've learned to reject jobs that put me behind a computer for the majority of the day. I don't have confidence in a lot of my skills, but talking to people is one thing I can do.

I miss working in hospitality. Despite daily annoyances of high demand clientele and discomfort in what I affectionately called my "pilgrim uniform," some of my best memories and friends are from the Ritz lobby bar in Vail, Colorado.

And when it comes to serving cocktails, I'd choose the dignified setting of the Ritz over beer-soaked college night at the local Irish pub any day of the week.

PS. In case you've ever wondered, like me, about the world's largest meatball (crosses my mind at least bi-weekly), here it is. Thanks to the Ritz Carlton, Cancun for this particular display o' carnage.

A job lead....

2009-09-15T10:11:00.000-07:00

Since I was out of town for the past five days, I have nothing to eat for breakfast.

Desperation for something remotely breakfast-y led me to sift around what I affectionately call "the carbohydrate drawer," where bread, crackers, and other like-minded starches are kept.

I found fortune cookies. I took one. Right before shoveling the thing into my mouth, I read the fortune:

"Now is the time to enjoy something new."

Sounds like typical fortune cookie fare, except for that I have a job interview/meeting this afternoon!

For the first time in a month, the "something new" is not a season premier of a new sitcom or a pair of shoes.

This job prospect is something new! And though I'm nervous, the wise baked good is telling me to enjoy it! Great news, indeed.

Fortunes emerging from cookies are what you make of them, of course, but in my case, I think it's a good message. Interviews are stressful, but I think it's so important to really take it in and enjoy it, be myself, and hopefully good news will follow.

Which led me to my next move:

Whether it was out of wanting another cookie or pushing my luck, I opened another one, and read the the fortune:

"You will be selected for a promotion because of your accomplishments."

It's not a promotion, and I haven't accomplished all that much.

But I'll take it.

Join me in hoping the fortune cookie gods are watching over me this afternoon.

Wedding bells

2009-09-09T09:50:00.001-07:00

I'm heading down south tomorrow morning to attend the wedding of a very good college girlfriend and her groom-to-be.

This is going to be special for so many reasons.

Franny is starting her life with someone we all love, who complements her perfectly, and shares her same insatiable curiosity and wildly adventurous spirit.

Franny and I are very fortunate to have a group of unbelievable girlfriends from college. We're scattered all around the country and world, carrying on with our respective lives, but always looking forward to the next time we get to be together.

And the wedding is in Santa Barbara, where we all went to college, and where I always say Franny left her heart. A few years older and many years wiser, it will be fun to be back in our old stomping grounds. Sentimental value aside, Santa Barbara in itself is an unbelievable corner of the world.

I've known Franny for more than 10 years now, and we've had only one or two arguments.

One such memory involved our college innertube waterpolo team (yep, waterpolo in rubber tubes--don't knock it till you've tried it.) We had too many people playing one day, and someone needed to hang up their tube.

Franny's competitive. I'm competitive. Neither of us wanted to sit on the sidelines.

As I recall, Franny said, "I'm not goin' out."

I had no choice but to leave the game, scowling during my swim to the edge of the pool.

After the game, apologies were made, hugs were given, and Franny and I would continue our lives, fight-free, just as close as ever.

But in reflecting on this episode, I've realized that Franny's fire and passion are qualities that I really love about her.

So when she talked to me about Ryan, her roommate turned serious romantic interest, I had a decision to make. She said she was at her "breaking point," that she wanted to tell him how she really felt, at the risk of compromising their amazing friendship. Now, I knew better than to discourage her.

She wasn't goin' out.

Franny, I'm so proud to be able to stand beside you this weekend.

Congratulations.

A word on user reviews.....

2009-09-08T19:16:00.001-07:00

Did you know that some Yelpers get paid for reviews?!?

How did I not know this?

Here I sit on this computer, in my blissful ignorance, reading Yelp reviews of restaurants and bars from real live, eating, drinking, human beings like myself who just enjoy a nice meal with good service and have the thoughtfulness to write about their experiences.

And it could all be a lie. Not necessarily on par with seeing my dad's handwriting on a gift "from Santa Claus," but still so very disappointing.

I suppose I thought it was against some grand unspoken code of ethics.

Or something.

One such example is Mel's Drive-In, a famous 50s-ish-type restaurant in my own San Francisco. If you write a Yelp review, bring in a copy and get 20 percent off your burgers malts, and fries.

A local PR firm calls this a "virtual bribe," and rightly so in my opinion.

My only relief comes from the fact that Mel's Drive-In accepts both positive and negative reviews, perhaps attempting to increase their Yelp presence rather than simply buy people off for writing glowing, shining, happy, positive reviews.

Maybe it's that Mel's and other such restaurants are capitalizing on the public relations potential of Yelp.

Maybe it's that blissful ignorance talking. But in the perfect world according to Andy, this is not the way Yelp should work.

2009-09-07T14:57:00.000-07:00

Aside from my passion for PR and media, I also happen to be a foodie and a wino, afflictions that are worsening by the year.

I read wine blogs in the mornings when I have no intention of drinking wine.

I voraciously peruse recipe sites when I have no intention of cooking.

I read reviews of restaurants in cities I have little intention of visiting.

I love cooking for my friends and family, watching their faces as they enjoy something I knew they'd love.

I revel in requests from friends for particular recipes that I've made in the past.

And I fancy myself a bit of a turkey burger connoisseur. I eat a lot of them. Rarely do I follow a recipe. Rather, like with my salads, I include everything I can find in the kitchen, save for the kitchen sink, and they're usually pretty great.

Today is Labor Day. And there's no better day to test a new burger recipe.

This week, the Internet was abuzz with Oprah's favorite turkey burger, and "the best turkey burger in the entire world."

It's from Mar-a-Lago, a Donald Trump resort in Palm Beach.

While I don't normally use recipes for burgers, I am intrigued by this one for two reasons:

1. Oprah loves it.

2. It calls for some pretty unique ingredients, most of which I wouldn't typically include in my burgers. Among other things, these burgers include Granny Smith apples and Major Grey's chutney (a mango-based jelly.) They're also topped with pear chutney

As one reviewer put it, "Why hasn't there ever been a turkey burger that tastes like the day after Thanksgiving?"

I can't wait to try them. Hopefully, they'll join the ranks of my carrot cake, spaghetti squash, and gooey chocolate butter cookies as crowd favorites.

Not that I can take credit.

If it's good enough for the Donald and the Oprah, it's good enough for me.

Fun things from around the web

2009-09-05T09:42:00.001-07:00

Just thought I would write about a few things that caught my interest this week:

1. The Harvard Clothing Line: for all of your seersucker, plaid, and preppy blazer needs.

Meant to emulate the Harvard dress code of years past, "Harvard Yard" will arrive in department stores in February.

My favorite quote from the story (as told by the creative director):

“We want to combine the power of Harvard with the power of a plaid shirt."

You can check out the "good ol' boy era" collection here.

2. Today in cupcakes

I've always wondered about the designer cupcake trend that has swept our great nation as of late, starting in New York and LA and proliferating to other parts of the country. More specifically, I wonder: 1) When people will tire of spending $4 on a simple baked good and 2) when people will simply tire of cake in a cup.

According to Slate, half a dozen cupcake bakeries have opened in the DC area in the past 20 months, with more on the way.

They call it the cupcake bubble, and like with other bubbles, the expect it to pop soon.

In other fattening food news, fried butter is making its debut at the Texas State Fair this month. Apparently it tastes like a buttery biscuit or croissant.

My favorite quote from the story (as told by the creator of aformentioned butter invention):

"An order of fried butter will get you three or four pieces of piping-hot dough in a little cardboard boat. 'Any more than that and I think it would be a little bit too much. A little bit too rich.'”

Apparently three or four daily fried butter pads is just right.

Other fried foods to make their debut at the self-proclaimed "Fried Food Capital of Texas:"

Texas fried pecan pie, country fried pork chips, and fried peanut butter cup macaroons.

3. Glamour magazine encountered controversy when they featured an image of a plus-size model, nearly naked, on one of their pages. The Daily Beast calls it "the belly roll heard round the world."

The thing is, the model is amazingly beautiful, and despite her lack of washboard abs, looks fantastic. The way MOST WOMEN look.

My favorite quote from the story (as mentioned in a blog comment):

"There’s still this addiction to thin, thin, thin in the media, which has us all addicted. It’s time for a Revolution all y’all! Down with size 2, up with size YOU!“

The reaction to the photo is such a testament to our society these days.

Some people are saying the magazine industry is turning over a new leaf. Cynics believe the controversy is a way to sell more magazines.

Either way, I can't wait for the day when images like this grace pages of magazines without a stir.

Ah, Science

2009-09-04T08:47:00.000-07:00

It always excites me when I read a sentence that starts with "A recent study shows" or "Researchers believe" and ends with a positive, healthful spin on one of my vices, such as coffee or red wine.

As any reader of these things knows, however, such studies are open to question. One minute coffee is a cancer cure in a cup and the next it joins the ranks of trans fats or red meat.

Needless to say, I was happy to find this study this morning. It's from 2006, but as those of us who have done research know, these kinds of things don't appear overnight.

Drinkers earn 10 to 14 percent more money than non-drinkers (!!!!!)

This delights me for three fundamental reasons:

1. The crux of the study lies in personal social capital (a concept with which my master's thesis made me all too familiar.)

In a nutshell, social capital stresses that social networks have value; that social contact can increase productivity and solve problems.

An evening at the bar, the study claims, can create new contacts and strengthen existing ones

Note: Benefits desist at dancing on the bar and singing drunken karaoke at the company Christmas party. This, in fact, has been shown to weaken ties with coworkers.

2. As a graduate looking for work, it gives me an excuse to leave the house for reasons beyond grocery shopping.

While there may be blasphemy associated with leaving this computer screen full of tabs open to Craigslist and Monster.com, this marvelous study shows that getting out and talking to real live people can actually be more beneficial to me.

3. Who doesn't like going out for good cocktails with good friends?
I'm a social person, which I hope will benefit me in my future career.

And when out for drinks with friends, you never know who you'll meet.

News about News

2009-09-03T09:33:00.000-07:00

I don't write too much about the media on this blog, but it is something I think about a lot. Journalism school curriculum these days seems to be a mix between learning the trade and understanding the current dire state of news.

We heard from the very first day of school, "Journalism needs fixing. If one of you could come up with a solution to maintain quality news, you'll make a lot of money."

(I'm still holding out hope that it's one of my brilliant classmates that comes up with a revolutionary new plan--like the Google or Facebook of news media.)

So even though I steered away from the actual practice of journalism, I remain very concerned about its progress in adopting a suitable business model that will keep news organizations in business (thriving rather than just scraping by) and keep Americans in touch with things they need to know to lead informed lives.

Which is why I thought I would share something I read this morning about Amish media.

In short, one of the solutions that has been presented for making a profit with news is hyperlocal coverage--the idea that if a newspaper presents only local news, it will attract local advertisers and maintain readers who may have otherwise gone to other sources for their news. Hand in hand with this idea is that of citizen journalism or participatory journalism--the idea that the community contributes to the news product through letters and guest columns, giving them a sense of ownership and improving the product.

These are both hotly debated solutions. But The Budget, an Amish newspaper out of Ohio, has been following these principles for 120 years, and its business is as healthy as ever (even with a website--for the non-Amish, technology using readers.)

A British graduate student spent some time in Sugarcreek, Ohio. In her time among the horse drawn carriages, she couldn't help but see parallels between this thriving news product and steps being taken by mainstream media to keep afloat--making itself the most relevant place for advertisers to reach consumers, dedicating significant space to reader letters, and giving readers a sense of entitlement to the paper that transcends generations.

I can't pretend to know the first thing about how news organizations are going to survive through the changing news climate and rough economy, but I do think it's interesting to look to organizations who are experiencing success and to learn from them.

Moving.....Again.

2009-08-28T19:05:00.000-07:00

Thrilled to be starting my new life in the city I know and love.

Sad to be leaving beautiful, green, liberal Eugene, Oregon.

That is all.

In Memorandum...

2009-08-27T14:08:00.000-07:00

As I was thinking about what to write today, I was inspired by the recent news that Reactor Field, the parking lot that University of Missouri students tailgate in before football games, is now closed to students.

Tailgating on college gameday is as American as apple pie or baseball (both of which, incidentally, can be found at a good tailgate.)

Some of my best memories from graduate school involve crisp fall mornings, 20 of my favorite classmates, and yes, beer. At Reactor Field.

In fairness, though, responsible 20-something journalism graduate students are not of concern to the university. But it's a shame that a few beer-soaked, aggressive bad seeds (like the guy with 800 beers in his trunk. 800 beers?!?!) have to ruin the fun for the rest of us by getting sloppy and starting fights. Reading the comments following the Columbia Tribune article demonstrates very clearly that there is some controversy here. I'm sure my fellow graduates share my regret about Reactor's closing.

In other Mizzou news, Anheuser-Busch has begun promoting "fan cans"--cans of Bud Light adorned in college colors for the football season.

Hmmm, drink Bud Light and show your school spirit. How is this good for underage drinking?

One more thing about college drinking (only because I have opinions about it):

I feel very torn about the term "party school."

I am a proud graduate of UC Santa Barbara.

And I hear all of the time, "You went to UCSB? Isn't that a party school?"

Apparently its reputation transcends state lines.

But I've always believed that the school is what you make of it. Sure, there was always the opportunity to have some debaucherous good times at anonymous house parties or crowded frat houses (though we didn't have football--our innertube waterpolo game tailgates just didn't measure up somehow.)

But there were also some really intelligent people at that school--people who could handle the healthy mix between school and fun (or what I affectionately call, the "work hard play hard" mentality.)

So I feel proud that UCSB is consistently ranked among the best "party schools" in the country:
#10 on Princeton Review
#5 on Pubclub.com (ahead of Georgia, Ohio State AND Arizona State. Nice!)
And #12 on Playboy

But who's counting?

2009-08-26T12:40:00.001-07:00

Ah, the fun of getting dressed for work first thing in the morning. Unless you work for UPS or in some kind of law enforcement, it can be a pain.

I don't know if it's our generation, or if dress codes aren't enforced as they used to be, but office wardrobe controversy seems to be a problem these days.

A friend of mine, a newspaper reporter, gave me the idea to write about this after seeing a TV reporter show up on scene to report a story wearing flip flops.

The scene was an archeological dig.

In her words,
"Flip flops are not about a generational difference. It's about safety on the job. You can quote me on that."

The thing is, I don't care if this young woman was reporting from the Beverly Hills Beach Club, pina colada in hand and surrounded by cabana boys. There is no room in the workplace for casual clothing. Especially for a young professional just starting out.

I'm sure most people have stories from their offices of people who have dressed inappropriately.

A Careerbuilder survey showed that 41 percent of U.S. employers said that people who dress better or more professionally tend to be promoted over other people in their organization.

As they always say, "dress for the job you want, not the job you have."

This, of course, depends on the industry in which you work, so you need to use your own common sense. Unless your common sense tells to to wear colorful plastic clogs to the office (assuming your office isn't a vegetable garden.)

For me, I moved from the Colorado mountains to Columbia, Missouri, followed by a brief stint in Eugene, Oregon. Not exactly the high power centers of the fashion universe.

But now I'm looking for work in San Francisco. This means I can kiss my cute short skirts and flat sandals goodbye, at least during the work week.

I'm not saying that nylons, turtlenecks and shoes that look like they serve an orthopedic function will grace my body for the rest of my life.

But I think that perhaps young people drastically underestimate the power that their clothing has on the way people perceive them.

As a side note, did you see the casual Friday episode of The Office? Meredith's outfit was priceless--makes me smile just thinking about it.

Career options

2009-08-25T16:25:00.001-07:00

In my quest to find the perfect job, I've been looking a lot into the industries in which PR is important. I've recently applied for a job with Chronicle Books, a really creative, forward-thinking small publishing house in San Francisco.

Now that I have a decent (albeit limited) understanding of the publishing industry thanks to the world wide web and Google Books, I've recently taken the plunge and added publicist/marketing/promotions in publishing onto my short but distinguished list of dream jobs.

It's great for people who like to write but don't want to be journalists, enjoy a team environment, and want an ongoing liberal arts education.

Check. Check. And check again.

So in honor of this recent revelation, I thought I'd share some interesting little publishing related nuggets I've learned in my research as of late. I thought they were fun. Hopefully you will too.

1. Dan Brown's new book The Lost Symbol.

Admit it. You like his books. Don't worry, you're not alone. The author of the Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons could publish his grocery list and his fans would go running to Borders to reserve a copy. But if you're not Brown or his publishers, you wish it would just go away. People are saying that the book could actually be bad for publishing, some even calling it a "book killer."

--People will run into bookstores to buy this book: eye on the prize, never stopping to browse at other selections. To add insult to injury, they won't likely be paying full price.

--Media attention to The Lost Symbol will steal attention away from other books, and also eat into their sales. More insult to injury: the number of media outlets covering books is down.

2. Eat Pray Love author Elizabeth Gilbert gets a rebuttle.

From her husband. The one she left at the beginning of the best selling "single woman adventure around the world" memoir.

It will be called Displacement, and if it does well, it's only because he's riding the coattails of his ex-wife. Publishers call it "dueling memoirs" and it's been done before. Over and over.

3. Cake Wrecks: When Professional Cakes Go Horribly Hilariously Wrong.

Have you seen this? You HAVE TO. Just a great example of a woman who writes for fun and makes a living doing it. The website is awesome. And the book is due out soon.
These two came very highly recommended. I hope you laugh as hard as I did:

Cake phone orders and Fireman

It excites me at how excited I get looking through publishing related news and controversy. Maybe it's because I don't get out much.

But hopefully it's because there's something great in the works.

2009-08-24T11:29:00.000-07:00

Today's post is more career-y and less a chronicle of the things happening in my head. I do love writing general musings about life, but in this time of unemployment, I should also keep my eye on the ball.

Plus, I'm a self-professed computer nerd who likes reading about my industry.

So, without further ado, I give you....

The press release.

PR people depend on it. Most journalists resent it.

Even with the vast array of options available for communication about a company, product, or event, press releases are still relevant and effective assuming they are used correctly.

If a press release is good, it can result in great coverage with traditional media outlets as well as with influential bloggers and social media writers.

But if a press release is bad, it encounters the same fate it always did. Whereas it once fell straight from the fax machine into the recycle bin, it is now labeled as "PR spam" and sent straight from the inbox to the virtual rubbish bin.

So even though I went to journalism school, and decided halfway through that my future will not include sitting in on city council meetings or relentlessly calling a source who has made it very clear that he/she doesn't want to speak with me, I feel that I'm armed with some journalistic skills that will make me a fantastic PR person someday.

Here are just a few things I learned, proving once again that my time spent studying journalism was not a total wash:

1. A good press release, like a good news story, should grab the reader at the first paragraph.

First and foremost, this means telling a great story.
Great stories get attention. Make the story good, and makes sure people know it's good before they finish the first paragraph.

Second, it means tailoring the message to the audience. How is your message going to make the lives of the audience (and their readers) better? Look at what the writer writes about. Look at his/her audience. Go from there.

2. Good press releases, like good news stories, should be timely and relevant.

Make sure that you concoct a reason for sending out your information here and now. As my journalism professors used to say, "Why should I care?"

Tell them why they should.

3. Good press releases, like good news stories, should be concise and simple.

The ultimate purpose of journalism is to take a seemingly complicated story and make it readable--to interpret the facts and lay them out for people to understand.

I don't care if you work for NASAs Heliophysics Research Program. Keep the release uncomplicated. Leave out the lame quotes and executive psychobabble.

4. Good press releases, like good news stories, should be well written.

Nobody likes bad grammar. Nobody likes it when you use "your" when you mean "you're" or there" when you mean "they're." It's like nails on a chalkboard, and journalists will abandon your grammatically incorrect press release in steadfast defense of the English language.

Armed with this knowledge, I vow right now to stay off journalists' PR spammer lists even before I begin my career.

2009-08-22T17:11:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the unspeakable power that is Facebook, I'm meeting up with some really old friends this evening.

Like, people I haven't spoken to in a decade.

People I went to high school with.

People with whom I would have most likely never spent more time past the hazy fog that was our all-night graduation trip to Disneyland.

Enter Facebook.

We all live in the Bay Area. We are all free on Saturday night. And we all enjoy wine.

The funniest thing about it is that through aforementioned Facebook awesomeness, I know more about their lives than I should considering I haven't talked to either of them for such a long time.

Not in a creepy stalker-type of way.

But I know how long their hair is. I know where they work, and if they're dating anyone. I know that one of them had an issue when Wells Fargo lost her paycheck, and the other is thinking of a new career in the medical field.

I don't know if we'll have the world to talk about, or if conversation will run dry quicker than our first drinks.

I don't know if we'll talk about our present and future, or if our conversation will remain in high school.

But I do know that I'm thankful for Facebook. A girl can never have too many friends.

No better opportunity than to rekindle some old friendships.

Tworkers!

2009-08-21T09:24:00.000-07:00

Twitter in the workplace.

Have you thought about it? Would you, oh powerful and forward-thinking big boss, allow your employees to use it in the office?

(Disclaimer: Call me bold and presumptuous for making management decisions while I as yet don't even have a job. I say, putting the cart before the horse is fine when you have a lot of time on your hands.)

So, here are the arguments:

*Cynics would say allowing employees to Twitter at work (twork--God bless the 21st century with its spike in newfangled words) wastes time and opens a company to potentially harmful comments by employees.

*I am of the opposite camp, in agreement with the author of this story. Twitter is not going anywhere fast, so acknowledging its presence and creating a policy is important, not to mention an asset to your company. It's Twintelligent!

Here's why:

Tworkers are extroverts. They like showing off, which can be a huge benefit to your company.

Tworkers like that community feeling that Twitter helps to create. This could mean that they are open to sharing and compassionate.

Tworkers are open to trying new things. In the thick of the new media frontier, this is important if you want your company to innovate.

Tworkers make friends with people they don't know. As long as this employee is on your side, this is a great asset.

Tworkers are concise. Getting straight to the point is important when you only have 140 characters to do it in.

And I'll add one: It can it be a great (and free) PR tool to distribute your message, and a way to see what people are saying about you.

Finally, you can learn a ton about your industry and competitors with Twitter.

I used to be a cocktail waitress at an upscale hotel. Drinking on the job was forbidden. I vowed that if I ever owned a bar, I would allow employees one pre-work cocktail. In my eyes, as long as you know its happening, its practical to create a policy for it.

Not to mention that some upscale hotel guests are easier to manage when you've had a stiff drink or two.

"It's so much easier to write a resume than to craft a spirit." --Anna Quindlen

2009-08-20T12:14:00.000-07:00

For better or worse, we all know the power of a great resume. One teeny tiny sheet of paper to sum up your entire life's schooling, experiences, skills, accomplishments, and ability to do the job for which you're applying and do it well.

And make sure it fits on one page (or shirt, as the case may be). No one has time to look at more than that when they're hiring.

But fear not.

I read yesterday on Twitter about JobSpice--a new start up that creates a resume for you. Input your personal information, and then customize the format, the color, and the font as you like. Download the PDF version and watch the job offers roll on in.

You can also create a URL and publish it online.

I had totally missed the bus on this one.

It's as if I was driving around the 1989 Toyota Corolla of resumes when I could have been driving the shiny new Rolls Royce of resumes for FREE.

Shame on me for distributing my homemade, sub-par Microsoft word junker of a resume all over town.

No wonder I'm jobless.

But I'm on the bus now. And I LOVE the look of my new resume.

My education, my experience--everything looks more impressive. Even my unpaid internship with the International Tap Dancing Association looks like a gem on this thing.

The only way my resume could look better is if it said I was de-worming orphans in the Sudan or working on a cure for cancer on the weekends.

Even despite my lack of humanitarian feats, however, my resume still looks great thanks to this fantastic find.

2009-08-19T10:16:00.000-07:00

Do you ever take a step back from your daily technology use and wonder how the hell the world existed without it?

Like when I was in the thick of writing my thesis, I thought a lot about how the same process was done 50 years ago:

When my Google Scholar was the Dewey Decimal System.
When my online periodicals were hours in the library stacks.
When my laptop was a loud typewriter, and my delete key bottles and bottles of whiteout.

Or how there was a time when you would go skiing with a group and NOT have cell phones for when you would (inevitably) break away from the group and get lost among a gortex-clad mob?

So here I am today, singing the praises of Twitter, marveled yet again by its sheer awesomeness.
Because today, I took a new step in my quest to understand it.

Tweetchat.

An entire, hour-long online conversation with some of the best and brightest in public relations. Tips, wisdom and advice from the pros. And I didn't even have to change out of my PJs!

If I were emerging into a cold Twitter pool, I would be waist deep by this point.

The idea that I could be involved in a conversation such as this blows my mind.
And here's why:

1. These are people I would NEVER EVER normally meet. A lot of them live in DC or NY. Some are in FL. Some are abroad. All had valuable insight. None are ordering a latte at my local coffee shop or working out at my gym or commuting on the train--traditional networking places.

2. These are people who are pretty accomplished in their field, at least from what I can gather on their websites and profiles. CEOs, public relations executives, recruiters, and successful job searchers. Again, people I would NEVER EVER have the opportunity to speak to, despite my best efforts.

Harnessing the wisdom of people who have been where I am now can only help me in my job quest. I'm excited to get up the nerve to contribute something of my own to the next conversation.

Why not? I don't even have to get off the couch.

Obligatory post about "Julie & Julia"

2009-08-18T18:16:00.001-07:00

After seeing "Julie & Julia" (for the second time--I feel an obligation to see it with anyone who hasn't yet. I'm open for appointments) I came home and found the book--not a difficult task as my mom uses it frequently and calls it her "best reference."

The movie has evoked an unexpected sense of pride that it has graced our kitchen cupboard for 30 odd years.

It's yellowed. The pages are falling out. The cover is falling off. It smells musty. Best of all, there are drops of sauce or wine or broth on the pages. It has been the source of numberless delicious family meals, indeed.

But something really awesome is happening here. And the proof is in my inbox.

--I'm in the wedding of a really good friend next month. In an email I learned that two of the three meals will be French for the bachelorette party, no doubt inspired by Julia mania that's sweeping the nation.

Quiche and french toast, bread, cheese, meats, and wine sure beat the hell out of corn flakes and PB&J.

--I went with some girlfriends to see the movie last night. Today in an email I was invited to a dinner party, the host inspired, again, by the amazing food we saw in the movie.

Whether we have boeuf bourguignon or frozen lasangna is beside the point (I would prefer the former.) And this is why:

I think there is a unifying power behind food.

I think there's value in savoring and respecting food, taking fresh and simple ingredients and making them into something amazing.

I think it's crucial to explore the customs of other countries. In France, food is at the center of their culture.

As a history buff, I love watching as a book written almost 50 years ago continues to make such an impact--motivating, inspiring, and teaching people like me who had heard of Julia Child, but who never understood or appreciated her tremendous influence on the food we eat.

My mom, a phenomenal cook in her own right, seems reinvigorated by the film, reading through (out loud) "The Art of French Cooking Volume 2" as I write this. There's a second volume. Who knew?

I'll gladly lend my mouth, stomach, and appetite to her in her quest to put a dent in it.

Interviewing 101

2009-08-18T09:44:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've been in an interview (that was not with a source for a story).

I've never actually been in a truly formal interview setting.

I've never had to wear a suit.

Short of defending my master's thesis, I've never been impossibly, irreconcilably, "can't sleep, can't eat, baking muffins like a crazy woman" nervous in an interview-like setting.

(Note: for my master's thesis defense, I was all of these things. There was not enough counter space in the kitchen for all of that lemon-blueberry goodness.)

I'm a pretty personable person. I like being around people, and I've been told this shows in my demeanor. But I have a feeling that a corporate job in the city is a whole new bag of worms.

So as long as I have the time, I might as well prepare for the inevitable by looking at potential questions and researching tips from other job seekers or recruiters.

Then I get to shop for a suit.

I came across these interview tips on Twitter today, and I thought I'd share them. They're simple, but important to keep in mind if and when I get the opportunity to interview (the tips say nothing about baked goods, though I'm sure I'll change that. Raspberry scones, anyone?)

1. Don't be a smiley face. This is simple: smile when smiling is appropriate, but not all the time.

I could have trouble with this one. I naturally smile a lot. When I'm nervous and when I'm not, I just do.

2. Don't be a small talker.

Another one I'll have to work on a bit. I worked for a business weekly in college. The night before my interview I was at a Steve Miller Band concert. My boss was unsure of who Steve Miller was. I sang "Joker" to him. Somehow still got the job.

3. Don't sweat. It looks bad, and will make you look nervous.

Note to self: layer, layer, layer.

4. Don't be petty: ask important questions, not superficial ones.

I can handle this one--I'm a hyper researcher for anything, so I'm sure I'll have plenty of good questions (even though I'll probably already know the answers).

5. Don't be a liar.

I never embelish my accomplishments because I'm afraid I won't be able to back it up.
And because lying is bad.

6. Don't be a bad comedian.

Sometimes this is hard for me, but I like to think I keep it subtle and appropriate, short of my aformentioned singing incident (don't say joker, smoker, or midnight toker in any interview-like setting.)

7. Don't be high maintenance.

Nobody likes a complainer. I don't care how lukewarm their coffee is.

8. Don't be a time waster. Ask good questions, not lame ones for the sake of asking them.

God bless the world wide web and its awesome information superhighway. With this tool, all of your questions should be remotely insightful.

9. Don't be a swtichblade. Never talk bad about old employers.

I see this as being a fine line. Employers may want someone who has opinions about previous work. Just keep it appropriate. No calling your old boss a loser or any derivative thereof.

10. Don't be a roadblock. Be open to challenges.

I've filed enough papers, made enough travel reservations, picked up enough cakes for office parties. I'm rearing for a challenge. Bring em on!

Twitter-ific.

2009-08-16T21:35:00.000-07:00

Just a few short weeks ago, Twitter experienced an outage.
And people freaked out.

From my own personal ivory tower (i.e. the couch or a lawn chair, depending on the time of day), I laughed reading people's stories of panic and anger, disbelief and frustration.

I'm here to say now that I would now genuinely be frustrated and angry (though hopefully stop short of panic) if Twitter were gone tomorrow.

I love it. And while it does cut into time for other activities such as reading newspapers, talking to people, going outside, and maintaining general personal hygiene, I believe now as I did when I started this blog, that it is a fantastic tool for learning from people who know a lot about your city, your career, and your interests.

Recent data shows that 40 percent of tweets are useless--standard "I'm eating cheerios for breakfast" or "I wish it weren't raining" talk.

But that other marvelous 60 percent?

I'll keep comin' back for it.

And this is why:

*The other day I learned that a local restaurant in San Francisco has bottomless Bloody Marys on Sundays. Bottomless Bloody Marys!!!

*I learned that I should never write, "From the desk of Andrea Stark" in a cover letter. Ever.

*I learned that Tom DeLay is going on Dancing with the Stars.

And yesterday I learned about these:

A sweet virtual social media business card from Card.ly. Tons of social networks to chose from and so easy to use.

Tougher to hand out in bars or insert into raffle drawings, sure.
But they say, "I'm tech savvy." "I'm young and hip." And "I no longer kill tress for networking purposes."

Learning from the Biggies...

2009-08-15T13:31:00.001-07:00

I'm watching my beloved San Francisco Giants play the Mets. They had a bit of a rough go of it with the loathed Dodgers, and lost last night to NY. Still only a game and a half back in the Wild Card, so I'm holding out hope.

I've always had a dream of working for the Giants (or work my way up with another, albeit inferior, baseball team). I think it would be fantastic.
Now that I'm interested in PR and social media, I think this could actually someday be a possibility. As I always say, I'm willing to start at the bottom, short of selling malts or foam fingers. I don't think I have the patience. Or the lung power.

In my free time, I read a lot about companies that have embraced and successfully used social media. I hope that in learning the stories of other companies, I can contribute this knowledge to my long and happy career with the San Francisco Giants :)

So today I've compiled a little list of three big companies that I think have done a wonderful job venturing into the new Internet frontier with gusto.

1. Southwest Airlines

I follow SW on Twitter. Along with 471,000 other people. They're fun. And they're everywhere--Flickr, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn. They saw the importance of social media early, and dividends have been paid in terms of sales and brand awareness.

They always provide new content on twitter and on their blog, Nuts About Southwest, in the form of discussions, videos, photos and contests.
Most importantly, they encourage employee participation (even by the CEO).

The idea that an airline website can attract such traffic baffles me, and is something to be commended.

2. Zappos.com

A SHOE COMPANY! So unlikely, right? Well I follow Zappos on Twitter also. And the blog. Again, it is not about solely selling shoes online. It's about engaging customers and would-be customers and giving a large company a more human side.

Like Southwest, they encourage their employees (more than 400 contribute on Twitter). They even offer classes. The CEO seems to spend more time contributing and less time policing his employees' posts. Interestingly, he says he's not concerned about social media as a marketing tool, but rather as a way to connect with customers (which means no need to measure ROI--a huge stress factor these days).

3. Whole Foods Market

I've been very impressed by Whole Foods' efforts also. Great for my fellow foodies!

According to my reading, the object of the blog (Whole Story) is to extend the conversation in the market (recipes, tips, ingredients and experiences) to the online realm.

AND, the CEO has an UP-TO-DATE blog! What a great way to humanize the company if your CEO can find the time.

Also looks like they're trying to localize it a bit, realizing that customers of Whole Foods in Los Angeles, CA may have different interests than customers of Whole Foods in Overland Park, KS. Very thoughtful, and a great way to keep customers feeling engaged and appreciated.

There are so many more of these. I can't get enough of reading about companies that have surpassed traditional press releases and e-blasts to make themselves stand out. Great inspiration for a newbie!

Chicken puffs, ham medleys, salmon party logs

2009-08-14T09:03:00.000-07:00

Inspired by "Julie and Julia" and the resurgence of Julia Childs' "The Art of French Cooking," I somehow found myself thumbing through the "Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook" circa 1973 last night.

French cooking it is not. It's not healthy or sophisticated or contain any vegetable that's not canned. It is, however, a really interesting glimpse into food culture of 35 years ago in this country. At least for a foodie like me.

My mom told me the book contained the first meal she ever cooked for my dad in their New York galley kitchen (tuna noodle casserole), so I suppose it holds some sentimental value for me (she went on to cook him a similar pork casserole, topped with blue cheese).

Some of the book's recipes just sounded disgusting and wrong: liver loaf, scrambled brains, jellied chicken salad, and bacon butter.

Some sounded relatively normal: biscuts, Coq au vin, and ceasar salad.

Below is my own personal winner's gallery:

--Luncheon meat dinner

Here, luncheon meat is left unidentified. Turkey? Ham? Roast beef? Doesn't matter. Add some marmalade, sweet potatoes, and pineapple and you've got yourself a nice little one pot dinner.

--Frosted cheese mold

Anything with 'frosted' that is not some kind of baked good, in my opinion, is beyond disgusting. As is the term 'mold' without further reference to some kind of cheese product. This gem is made with gelatin, milk, cottage cheese, whipped cream, frozen limeade, pecans, and--the all too often overlooked in my own cooking--green food coloring.

--Frosted ribbon loaf

There's that term again--something frosted that doesn't fall into the dessert category. It kind of looks like a cake in the photo, but where the cake would be, it's white bread, where the frosting in between would be, it's a mix of ham salad filling and egg salad filling. The entire thing is frosted with cream cheese. Why not? It's the 70s--we're not countin' calories!

I like that "shrimp curried eggs" make an "unusual casserole" that's a "perfect main dish for a ladies luncheon."

I like that I can top chicken livers and water chestnuts with bacon and call them "luau bites."

I suppose it's easy to criticize these with my California chardonnay drinking, farmers'marketing going, sushi eating, 21st century viewpoint.

Anyone else have any tried and true recipes from this era?

"..But Pioneering is Inherently Risky Business.."

2009-08-13T09:04:00.001-07:00

Following up from yesterday, I've realized that while it's great to be a trailblazer, innovator, risk taker in the social media world, it also requires a great deal of care and research.

A story from Marketing Magazine inspired this post.

Long story short, Nissan Canada created a contest to promote their new Cube. The 500 finalists were required to show off their creative skills over web pages, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to generate buzz. Contestants were rated on their uniqueness, personality, enthusiasm, and in the grand tradition of media democratization, peer voting.

Months later, 50 winners were announced, given keys to their shiny new Cube, and instructed to blog twice a month on CubeCommunity.ca about their experiences with their super awesome, spakin' new Cubes.

Cheap, easy, got the attention of the Canadian national media. What could go wrong?

This:

The losers were upset, and with the Internet at their disposal, they had the power to research holes in the campaign, post their findings to all kinds of platforms, and all but destroy the effectiveness of this grand marketing scheme.

Accusations flew that one of the winners had a relationship with someone on the judging panel, along with accusations that the judging panel was looking for a particular type of person (a "nonconformist") and that those who didn't fit this mold didn't have a chance of winning, despite their work.

As we all know, bad publicity will spread like wildfire. Worse yet, the company took too long to address the situation, making contestants (and potential future Nissan buyers) really upset.

The CEO of the Capital C agency (who conceived the idea for Nissan Canada), Tony Chapman said:

“You’re always going to take a risk when you do anything other than write a cheque and buy some media and have a one-way conversation. If you go out and have a two-way conversation with consumers, you have to be prepared for the fact they are contributors to the conversation and are capable of hijacking it."

What can we learn from this?

1. Be very very concrete in rules and regulations for the judging process. This way, when something does go wrong or accusations fly, they will be able to respond quickly and efficiently to negative publicity.

2. If there are any holes at all in the plan, they WILL be discovered. They should mend them before bloggers and online zealots make them bigger.

Great lessons.

They use Twitter for that?!?

2009-08-12T08:35:00.000-07:00

In the time I've spent researching Twitter recently, I've learned (or been further convinced) that it is so very useful--for both businesses, leaders in their field, and people just starting out (such as yours truly).

But I've also had a good time checking out the more innovative (read: bazaar) uses for Twitter. But if I've learned anything, creativity and risk taking is key in this crazy crazy social media frontier.
So here goes:

1. The Twitter Opera
To get people involved in opera, London's Royal Opera House has democratized the opera-writing process. Users contribute a line over Twitter, and professionals put the words to music. Maybe not a Verdi or Puccini, but cool nonetheless.

2. "A world where everyone can play Siskel & Ebert"
The creators of Skinnipopcorn have created a site that compiles Twitter movie reviews. Seems very influential--let's just hope the movie executives don't go crazy with the promotional tweets.

3. Travel by Twitter
The Portland Visitor Center has become the Portland Twisitor Center , Visiting Portland? Questions about what to do and see or where to eat? Tweet your queries, and the Visitor center tweeters will have answers ASAP. And who knows the city better than people who are paid to know the city?

4. The Personal Assistant
Save money on that real live human personal assistant, and use Twitter to monitor what's being said about you online. Don't even have to worry about it talking back. Or Christmas bonuses.

Finally, saving the most odd for last...

5. Water your plants (yes, your plants)
Twitter updates to your phone will let you know when your plants need water. Bonus points for the thank-you note they send you (seriously).

I hope someday I can contribute some great ideas to wherever I work. They may not always be winners, but you never know unless you try.

Some thoughts on Twitter

2009-08-11T08:59:00.001-07:00

I'll admit that, like most of the world, I was a bit reluctant to join Twitter.

I assumed it was just one more thing to keep me staring at this screen, rather than going outside, socializing with ACTUAL people, or (gasp!) getting some real live calorie-burning exercise.

Still, I'll admit when I'm wrong (it took me forever to join Facebook and now I can't live without the thing.)

I joined Twitter mostly because it's such an amazing tool for public relations and marketing. The only other thing I know for sure about Twitter is that I'll be behind the curve if I don't learn it.

I came across this link on Twitip which has some great tips on getting started with Twitter if you're a small business (written by Mark Hayward).

A small business I am not, but I am a beginner, and the tips are helpful to anyone looking to get their feet wet in the social media pool.

The tip I found most helpful:
19. Create connections don’t spam. You most likely would not just walk into a crowded venue where you don’t know anyone and say, “Hi my name is Bob and I replace window screens and have great prices.” This method does not work very well on Twitter. (Should be a given but you still see it every day!)

In my experience, this is SOOO true. It's obvious to people when you're to sell sell sell. The key, I think, is to join the conversation, network, etc. and eventually the product will sell itself.
Which leads to another great tip:

12. Use Twitter Search with keywords to find information and conversations that are relevant to your business. It’s also a good way to find out if anyone is talking about you or your company.

Finally, he says that it takes 3-6 months to create a following. This is so good to know. Don't get frustrated or overwhelmed, just keep contributing.

Check out all 20 tips, and the other tips that Twitip has to offer every day.

PS. Naked Pizza (above) is using social media in amazing ways. A friend in New Orleans turned me on to it--they're fun to watch.

Weekends are fun...

2009-08-07T21:54:00.000-07:00

...Even for the unemployed....

I'm headed up to Lake Tahoe to visit a friend tomorrow morning. Boating, swimming, maybe a cocktail or two--some good girl time. Should be fun.

And it begins...

2009-08-07T18:53:00.000-07:00

I've done it!
I've begun blogging!
And it's not that hard!

Simply type some words in the little box, but make sure they're brilliant.

Here's my story:
I am a 28-year-old in San Francisco. I finished my master's degree in journalism at the University of Missouri (yes, Missouri). Now, I am on the hunt for a great job. At the risk of losing my social skills and sanity, I've decided to hold out until I find something I truly love.

In the meantime, I've decided to start a blog. Not only is it the wave of the future (especially for my career interests--public and media relations), but also because I read so much related to my field, that I thought a blog would be a great way to keep track of it (I have some skills--a great memory is not one of them).

I also love the finer things in life. I love the San Francisco Giants. I'm a wine lover. I love food. All kinds of food. And like a typical girl, I love fashion.

I am excited to start writing, find a great job, and have the necessary funds for aforementioned ball games, wine, food, and fashion.

Please enjoy.