September 2011
1 post
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Unintelligable Fashion Statements
Over the past few days — first in Los Angeles and then in San Francisco — I have been seeing a flurry of fashion “statements” that are saying something to me vastly different than I’m sure they were intended to say. “I do not own a mirror.”
This seems to be the most popular. “I am legally blind.”
Or it could be this one. “I borrowed...
August 2011
1 post
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I told you so's
I used to find “I told you so” one of the most gratifying phrases in the English language (at least when I was the one who gets to say it; I hate it when my husband says it). I have found, though, that the older I get, the more bothered I am by the reality of having issued a warning that was ignored.
Actually getting to say, “I told you so” doesn’t have the same...
July 2011
1 post
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The Assumption of Multi-Tasking
It’s taken me a long time, but I’ve finally come to accept that age is not just affecting my physical self, but also my intellectual one. I got into certain habits at the age of 26 which, a decade later, I have to break for pure practicality’s sake, because they are simply not possible, anymore. Things such as working past 9:00 p.m., getting a full night’s rest sleeping...
April 2011
3 posts
2 tags
A Tour of Kiev
We spent Sunday touring Kiev. What started out as a five hour tour, turned into a day-long event, once we had a late lunch, and then moved on to shopping.
Kiev was beautiful, and though the wind was a bit chilly at times, it was a sunny day that was great for walking around outside.
I really liked the sculptures around the WWII Museum, even though we didn’t have time to go inside....
2 tags
Go-Karting in Jena
Our big cross-team event for our week in Jena was go-karting. But really it was ping pong, pool and foozball while waiting to go-kart. And, because it was Germany, we got to do it all with beer. Ha.
Sasha was ready for a nap before we even got started.
Artem finally gave up the idea that I would stop taking pictures of him just because he refused to look at me when I had the camera out. ...
3 tags
Team Dinner in Germany
With work being so busy, we didn’t get much chance to go out — and definitely didn’t get much chance to hang out with just our team. But on Wednesday night, we went out to dinner and enjoyed a night out, with just us.
Unfortunately, German restaurants tend to have trouble handling large groups. So a table for nine is hard to come by. Eventually we found a place that pushed...
March 2011
5 posts
4 tags
Arrival in Germany - March 2011
I’ll write more about the ups and downs of the trip later, but since work is so crazy and time is short, I’ll start with some quick pictures, and circle back around to the rest later. Sunday, March 27, 2011
My arrival in Frankfurt. I’ve gotten so used to flying domestically, that I forgot what it was like to get on a really big plane.
(Artem, Sasha S. and Sasha B.)
After...
5 tags
SXSWi: Interactive Narratives
This was just cool. And in my quest for a way to marry my love of writing and telling stories, with a way to make a living, this is fabulously appealing. In the session called “Interactive Narratives: Creating the Future of Storytelling” the panel discussed something incredibly cool: telling a multi-threaded story across social mediums to build an interactive experience between...
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SXSWi: VRM
In a Sunday session called “Shopping as a Revolutionary Act” I got a pleasant surprise. It’s something I wasn’t previously familiar with that now I want to dig into more: Vendor Relationship Management.
This is the inverse of CRM (Customer Relationship Management). The idea being that instead of vendors relying on collecting data from customers, that customers own their...
3 tags
SXSWi: Being a Generalist
There was a great session on Saturday that has had me thinking ever since: it was about how to build a career as a generalist. This is a tricky thing and one that I’ve already struggled with, because my approach to project management (even before I was willing to admit it) has always been a generalist’s approach.
Now, to be fair, it’s very, very easy to be a specialist in...
1 tag
SXSWi 2011
I have a new goal for SXSW Interactive this year: instead of spending this conference trying to learn more about topics I already know (which never, ever works and always leaves me highly frustrated), I am focusing on brand new topics that interest me and about which I know next to nothing.
February 2011
3 posts
4 tags
I have no opinion
Of course, anyone who knows me knows that is rarely true. However, I have discovered that the older I get, the more like my Dad I become. And one of the habits that both my Dad and I have developed over age is an aversion to debating opinions.
Once upon a time I used to love trying to change people’s minds. I am not sure why, but at this point in my life, I have no appetite for it. ...
Not over-committing
There is almost nothing harder for me than recognizing and redirecting my own limitations. I am notoriously bad about underestimating how much time a task will take, or how much rest I really need, or how much effort is required to deliver a result.
One of the most common manifestations of this emerges when I return to California for a visit.
Because I come home as infrequently as I do, and...
I had a plan →
I had a plan. I was going to spend my 30′s moving up the professional food chain, to snuggly position myself in a COO or CIO position at a small to mid-sized technology firm by the…
January 2011
4 posts
Road Weary
It’s an unusual day when I am desperate for a trip to end, but after this week, I am absolutely aching for this trip to be over.
I think it is because I typically travel alone, so normally I find it very relaxing, a time to enjoy some rare solitude. But this trip included three co-workers.
So we would go to the office together, spend the day in the same conference room together, go to...
4 tags
Watercress & Lo Mein Salad
Cafeteria food sucks. And the cafeteria at the client office in Philly is not typically an exception. I have to say, though, today’s pre-made salad was surprisingly good. And I want to capture it here so that I don’t forget about it, because it’s got some ingredients I am not in the habit of using.
Best as I can tell, here’s what’s in it:
Watercress
Lo Mein...
3 tags
I left my heart in... not San Francisco, it seems
I had really been looking forward to my planned trips home in January and February. I was slated to be in SF the second and fourth weeks of the month; and then ten days in the middle of February.
Of course, work is now sending me to Philadelphia during the second week of January instead. This bums me out because — despite being ridiculously cold in that part of the country this time of...
5 tags
Twitter Purge
After nearly 3 years on Twitter, I’m finally ready to admit that my addiction is over. This past year, my Twitter usage has dropped considerably and at this point, it’s actually almost to the point of being a chore. My former boss, John, has been telling me for years that he’s got ‘social media fatigue’ and that’s why his profiles on each network are mostly...
December 2010
21 posts
2 tags
Caramelized Pineapple
One of my favorite flavor combinations: pineapple and coconut rum. Add in some brown sugar, and it makes a killer caramel.
Slice pineapple no more than half an inch thick. Place in shallow oven-safe pan. Pour coconut rum over it, so all pieces are slightly coated, and sitting in shallow puddle of rum. Sprinkle brown sugar over each piece of pineapple.
Let it sit for 1-4 hours, so the...
2 tags
Cornish Game Hem with Blueberry Reduction & Lemon...
This one comes in three parts: the Blueberry-Balsamic Reduction, the Lemon Rosemary Couscous and the Cornish Game Hen itself. In combination, it was an awesome meal. So, first things first:
Blueberry-Balsamic Reduction
1 cup fresh blueberries (frozen can work, too)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
Heat water and blueberries in a sauce pan on the stove. As the...
2 tags
Spinach Salad with Toasted Almonds, Bacon &...
I love spinach salad. It’s my favorite. And it’s just about the only way I actually like to eat spinach (can’t stand it cooked). Normally, I make spinach salad with a fruit-based vinaigrette, but because the over-all meal on Christmas had a lot of sweetness to it, I wanted a more savory approach this go around.
The most obvious ingredients:
Baby spinach
Orange wedges...
2 tags
Pumpkin Apple Ginger Soup
I always thought I hated soup as a kid. Turns out, I just hated my mother’s taste in soups. I do, however, detest pumpkin… except in soup. And this is one of the many soups that I make quick and easily, using canned pumpkin. It’s especially good when Charles is sick: he hates brothy soups, and if he’s ill, creamed soups are rarely a good idea.
So, the general recipe...
3 tags
Sweet Potato Fritters
While my recipe writing tends to suck, the gist of this one is pretty easy: mashed sweet potatoes, egg, nutmeg, ground cloves and ground allspice. Mix it all together, and then drop it by the spoonful into hot oil.
The drizzle over it is heated honey mixed with cinnamon.
Awesome.
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Mushroom Spinach Pesto
I made the most amazing mushroom spinach pesto last night for ravioli. As usual, Charles wants me to write down the recipe so I can reproduce it. And, as usual, I wasn’t paying close enough attention to be entirely sure if I can write it down, much less reproduce it.
However, since it was extremely good, I’ll jot down what I can remember:
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/2 stick of...
3 tags
A coffee conversion
For someone who drinks as much coffee as I do, I can’t say it’s something I really love all that much. In fact, coffee is to me what sex with a fan is to a rock star: run-of-the-mill, compulsive, expected and more unthinking habit than anything else.
And then yesterday at Sprout’s I (compulsively) grabbed a cup of their free sample… and instantly saw the culinary skies...
2 tags
Christmas Dinner Menu
I think I figured out the menu for Christmas dinner tomorrow night.
Appetizer - Sweet potato pecan fritters Soup - Pumpkin apple ginger soup Salad - Spinach salad with toasted almonds, fried rosemary and garlic-herb vinaigrette Entre - Cornish game hen with blueberry coulis over lemon rosemary couscous Dessert - Carmelized pineapple with coconut almond ice cream
The coolest part is that,...
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“See! This proves that time is irrelevant!”
– Charles about “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus”
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“I keep trying to be consistent and create systems. But then I forget what the...”
– Hubby
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“I thought I fixed it. But I may have just thought of fixing it.”
– Hubby
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“I was being funny. But if you couldn’t tell, then I was only being funny...”
– Hubby
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March 2009
7 posts
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February 2009
247 posts
“Growing an Enterprise 2.0” in response to @Alex_Manchester’s inquiry http://tr.im/gJSC
Musings on Social Networks by Confused of Calcutta: http://tr.im/gJUD
Time Magazine’s list of the 25 Best Blogs in 2009: http://tr.im/gJUo
“Will SaaS CMS be able to survive the recession?” http://tr.im/gJTC