Memorial Day

This past Memorial Day was really chill - just what I needed. I got to spend some good time with my boy Okwui. While I really enjoy his girlfriend, Jenn, there was something nice about having a guy's weekend :) Although, I must say we are getting older: we didn't even go out except to see X-men (a must see, btw).

Anyway, the point is: it was a relaxing, much-needed weekend away from all things estrogen :)

Big ups to Okes.

Cheers.

Panoramic Virtual Reality

Check out this site:

http://www.panoramas.dk/

I am sure it's not news to some, but I think some of the scenes are great. There are a few pictures under the news category that have sound as well so you almost feel like you are there (as best as can be expected via a computer monitor, I guess).

Enjoy.

RE: Spring has sprung

Alas, summer is here, and spring is faded.

Spring has sprung

Awww, spring time is a fabulous time of year. :)

Cheers.

Marriage of Figaro

Hooray for opera! :)

Neither Adrienne nor I had been to an opera before. The Opera Company of Philadelphia is currently running Marriage of Figaro so we figure we would grab some of the cheap seats and give it a try.

I must say, I did not have high expectations for an opera, but this experience was fun by any standard. Marriage of Figaro is a witty, scandalous, and generally engaging opera. I think it was a great one to start with. For $8.50 we figured we couldn't go wrong. Our seats were up in the rafters (eye-level with the chandelier) were we could inconspicuously nod off if it was boring. It turned out the show was great and the seats weren't bad (if you forgive the blocked view of 1/4 of stage left).

The acts flew by! Before we knew it, we were at intermission. There were surtitles (it's sung in Italian) but I felt like I only read them half the time. I kind of got the jist of what was going on just by watching the actors/singers (what do you call them in an opera?). By the time we got around to the forth act we had been in the theater for about 2.5 hours. It felt like we just sat down. When the opera was over, we definitely wanted to see more. :)

If you haven't yet, I encourage you to go to the opera - or at least go see Marriage of Figaro (I am still skeptical of some of the slower ones ;)

Cheers.

BTW, I now know were R. Kelly go his inspiration for Trapped in the Closet. Check out Act II of Marriage of Figaro.

Lame Duck Session (Part 3)

...and then there were four.

Yay Michaela!!

Michaela, who teaches in the public schools of NYC, served notice this morning. While sharing Molly's, Adrienne's, and my sentiments, she was very professional - resignation letter and all.

I am sad to see NYC schools lose such a wonderful person from their teaching ranks. It is a symptom of the larger problem, which causes such talented people to be miserable and runs them out. But that's neither here nor there (for this post ;). In the mean time...

Congratulations Michaela!! I am so happy for you. Welcome to the flock!

So grows the NIQMJD celebration. :)

Cheers.

In other news:
I know of a few other people from my current job who will be leaving soon to pursue higher education. I can't say who just yet, but rest assured there are more lame ducks out there waiting to join the flock.

I also know of a hyphy duckling in the Bay who is trying to be lame as soon as possible. Big ups to Driver B in the struggle. Solidarity sister! ...ghostride the whip.

Now, bark like a chicken.

Do you remember that one in-class assignment in from elementary school where you are given a long list of instructions like write your name on this paper, stand on your chair, bark like a dog, flap your arms, etc? The first one was read all of the instructions before beginning, the second was write your name at the top of this paper, and the last was disregard all of the instructions except numbers 1 and 2.

There were those two kids in class who actually read the whole thing, wrote their names, and just sat quitely with a smile, watching everyone else flapping and barking. I was not one of those kids.

I just did like 1.5-2 hrs of work I didn't have to do. If only I would have read the directions in their entirety before starting. I updated 300+ items in an excel file when the directions called for an update to only the "new" items, all 12 of them. *sigh*

Haha. Yeah, I am laughing at myself for it, so you can laugh too. It's just one of those mornings.

:)

Lame Duck Session (Part 2)

Congratulations Molly!

Molly just got a new job, and she and Matt are moving back home to the heartland. The best part is that they both got jobs they are excited about in the same city, and they can engineer stuff to their hearts content. They are getting a house with a yard, a big kitchen, and room for kids. :)

I am sure Molly shares the same sentiment as Adrienne and I. Happy Belated National I Quit My Job Day, Mo!!

Cheers.

Lame Duck Session

"I quit, suckas!"

Well those where not the exact words she said to her boss, but that was the sentiment. :)

Last monday was officially dubbed National I Quit My Job Day as my friend Adrienne and I celebrated our lame duck status. That morning she just told her managers that she is leaving. I had notified my bosses I am leaving a couple weeks ago. We decided to celebrate our new-found hope.

There is a fabulous sense of liberty that comes along with knowing that your current environment is not your destiny and that you will soon be free to explore your own dreams.

So from here on out May 1 is the day to celebrate creating new opportunies and leaving stale ones behind.

Cheers.

Would you like a receipt?

Now generally I am not am not one to tell people what they can/cannot do or should/shouldn't do with their money, nor am I one to say that every dime of disposable income should go directly to helping "the less fortunate." But still, when I read stuff like this:

Mystery Bidder Spends $95 Million on a Picasso

I start to think, "$207.5 million spent in one night... on art??" Now, don't get me wrong. I value art (and in a greater sense "the arts"). But I think there comes a point when things get to be ridiculous. Houses, cars, and, yes, art. You committed $95 million just to say, "I've got this one piece of art work."

Now I am not just hung up on the one guy who paid that much. It was an auction. That means at least one other person was willing to pay up to just under $95 million. I mean law of supply and demand is great. It works well, generally speaking. But this application is a bit ludicrous to me. Actually, the root cause is what I find ludicrous. People are willing to pay millions upon millions for status. I understand this Russian-sounding gentleman was not identified so there is no way of know the extent to which he is active in his community or the global community. But that does not negate my belief that $95 million is a grotesque amount for a status symbol.

I am happy for people who have worked hard, pulled themselves up by the boot straps, had a dream and never let it go, etc. That's great. You earned your keep. However, there comes a point where one really should begin thinking about the world around you and how you can make it better. I would like to think that point is from dollar 1, but I am pretty certain it has to come before number 94,999,999.

Forever? Forever-ever? ...Forever-ever?

I like this new idea from the Post Office:

Post Office Hopes Idea Of 'Forever Stamp' Sticks

I could get down with buying up a bunch and using them over the years - just have to make sure not to loose them. :) Hmmm, I guess it would be an even greater honor to get your face a forever stamp.

(I wonder how this would effect the Post Office's cash flow. If people rush to grab forever stamps, they will get a decent influx of cash upfront (of course they do hemorrhage money every year anyway). )

"Chick Lit" Mashup

I feel a little bad for this Harvard* girl:

Publisher Drops Book Deal With 'Opal' Author

As my friend RJ put it, "She's a little ahead of her time." All she really did was a creative chick lit mashup. She took the best parts of a couple books, flipped them, and made them her own, made them something new. From what I understand, she did it with finesse too. According to RJ, authors should be able to "clear samples" and remix old text. I like his idea. She's like the Kanye West of teenage women's literature.

Down with those pesky little copyrights!!

haha :)

Cheers.

*I feel the adboard would love for her to take this same approach on a final paper.

Keepin it real

I like to read Sheeshamunga, a blog with thoughts and observations by a good friend. She's got some thought-provoking posts and some funny commentary on everyday observations.

Check out her latest post:

Keepin it real: "Normally I am not going to be throwing a bunch of links out here, but this is too important to pass up:

http://thankyoustephencolbert.org/

Watch the clips."

The link is definitely worth the watch (scroll down to the links to 3 video clips). It shows Steven Colbert's speech at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner. If you don't know about Steven Colbert's The Colbert Report (or at least The Daily Show with Jon Stewart) you have been living in the dark.

We all could use a little more truthiness.

Enjoy.

Thanks Driver B. ;o)

"Baby Got Book"

I ran across this video while surfing the world wide interweb today:

"Baby Got Book" - Dan "Southpaw" Smith

Yeah, it's what you think - a play on "Baby Got Back." It's a comedic Christian rap about the Bible. At first I was cracking up, then as it keep going (yeah, it's the full song - not just a verse), I was impressed how well he's able to pull off the whole deal. He has some cool one-for-one swaps of words and themes. (Its still had me rolling the whole way through though.)

Check out his website: www.whiteboydj.com

Yo!, I need to get me one of those KJV chains!! :)

Enjoy.

School Days

I am not sure why it's taken me so long to blog this:

I am going to Wharton! - Yippie!! :)

I was refraining from blogging the whole experience until I told my boss, but now I am happy to say: I am headed back to school! I told my boss and my director a couple weeks ago and the formal announcement to our department was sent out last week.

It was a pretty long journey, starting with MLT's MBA Prep program, which is geared toward increasing the number of underrepresented minorities in MBA programs (I highly recommend contacting them if you are considering applying). I applied and was accepted in January '05. Through the program, I worked on my business school application (GMATs, introspective analysis, essays, references, etc) pretty much all of 2005. The process was tough at times, but my couch, Couch Jackson, was very supportive and encouraging, with just the right level of finger-wagging.

In December '05 came the true crunch time. With applications due just after Christmas, I had to buckle down. I had gotten the GMAT out of the way in May, so Dec was a month of essays. I am grateful for the volunteers from the program who read essays, made comments and corrections, etc. I am also grateful for my wonderful friends who took their time to read through my essays as well (Big ups to Desiree - she read every essay for every school! ...well except Wharton, but I still got into the others :) My recommenders were also fabulous. I had one who was unable to complete the recommendation. When I asked my backup, he was able to bang them out in a matter of days, saving my hide!

After pushing the "Submit" buttons, the anxiety and relief were both overwhelming. I couldn't believe a solid year of work was done and out of my hands. I also couldn't wait to find out what my future will be.

I had heard from some schools and was waiting to hear from others when I got the acceptance to Wharton. In that moment, the rest of the schools faded out of focus into the background. Visiting during Wharton Welcome Weekend all but solidified my decision (sending in my deposit truly solidified my decision :)

So it's official, I am going to be in the 125th graduating class from the world's first collegiate business school, established in 1881, the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

God is good.

Amazing Origami

Check out: Robert J. Lang's Origami. It's amazing the things he creates with folded paper! I am sure it took a million years. I am always in awe of such dedication to intricite hobbies.

Enjoy.

(curtesy of Pogue Posts - a blog from NY Times tech author David Pogue)

Next Chapter in the Chronicles of M&M

I am up in State College, PA this weekend on my last trip to see Matt and Molly before they head back west. It's been such a pleasure getting to know them over the years. They are a great couple. :)

Last night two of their friends, Matt and Whitney, came over for dinner. I like those two - another really fun and chill couple. Needless to say, there was non-stop laughter and jokes all night long. We playing a few rounds of Scattergories. I had heard of it, but that was my first time playing. Tons of fun, especially with a larger, creative group.

In other news, Matt got a new toy today: nord lead 2 virtual analog synth. It is crazy fun! We have been playing with it all morning. Matt figured out how to make it say "Yes" - it almost sounds real :)

Check out the action:


Well, M&M, it's been a pleasure hanging out with you guys in State College. I look forward to visiting Omaha again this summer. :) God bless!

Frolicking in Valley Forge

Had a great time yesterday after work. The weather was perfect so Adrienne and I went out to Valley Forge Park with some take out Indian food (which was half bad) and some cheap, boxed wine from the Wine & Spirits store that was next to the Indian place.

Check out the pictures of our sillyness: Frolickling in Valley Forge - Facebook

Mala K Party

My normal routine is to head up to NYC Friday after work, hang out for the weekend, then head back to Philly late afternoon on Sunday. This weekend I broke routine and stayed for Kamala Salmon's party: the Mala K Music Album release of "H"- The Music, Vol 1. It was definitely worth the 6am train ride straight to work the next day. :)

The party was tight. It was held at Libation, and the turn out was pretty impressive - especially for a first party and on a Sunday night. There were performances from the voices on the album, including Kelley Nicole, Soulfege, and Shu.

Nuff respects to Kamala for a good time and great music. I can't wait to see what the future holds for all my friends. They are so talented, and (as my mom would say) they do me proud.

For more info, check out the website: www.malakmusic.com

Gotta love a marathon ...and Keren (gotta love 'em both :)

This past weekend, I took a trip to NYC - surprise, surprise :)

It was my friend Keren's b-day last week, so she had a nice get together at a local bar (well, a couple local bars - we did some hopping). I figured I would come up for the weekend for her party, especially cause I missed the festivities last year. I had a good time and met some more of her friends.

I like hanging out with Keren. She is a good person all around. This weekend was rainy and there was a Godfather marathon on AMC, so we were chillin for the most part catching various parts of the series, on and off, and piecing together the rest from memory.

Yay, Keren. Happy Birthday again.