Life, in a Fishbowl

Hi. It’s me.

Been a while, huh?

Life seems to be really busy these days. It’s something I wanted this spring after I was practically bored to tears last fall. I guess you have to be careful what you wish for though.

I saw Spamalot (the musical) this weekend at The Fox… an excellent show. I also spent my entire Saturday indoors even though it was an amazingly gorgeous day outside. Granted I was in class, preparing for my trip to China in two weeks.. but still. I’m looking forward to the trip.. I’m still job hunting. Wish me luck.

I’ve also come to and accepted the realization that practically no one visits this site anymore. I generally get ~10 hits a day. I like it though. Makes the whole thing feel more intimate – like there are less people peering in on me. Interesting statement from the guy who’s chronicled the better parts of his last 4+ years online ;) I also like it because I feel like I can be more open. I’m not writing to the masses hoping they’ll keep coming back. I guess I’ve scared most of them away anyways. Though what I like best is that it helps keep me focused on why I write this thing anyways… For my own amusement. I realize that’s a selfish reason, and I really enjoy your company here with any comments you’re quite encouraged to leave, but 10 years from now I’ll probably be the only one looking back through the archives at all the adventures. Hopefully with a smile.

Life’s an Adventure, Live it. =)

As if I wasn’t busy enough…

Mark got me addicted to American Idol this season. I’m not happy about that.

Charter Communications

Considering how many telecom, internet and cable companies are notably guilty of having ridiculously high rates, lacking service at times, and next to zero customer service, I was surprised last night while watching television to hear my cable and internet provider’s new ad slogan -

“Charter – there really is no better choice”

Well said Charter…. Well said…. Two points for honesty.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Over spring break, I will be traveling to China with the MBA program. We will spend a week visiting Beijing and Shanghai. I spent roughly seven hours on Saturday in class learning about China and how business is conducted there.

Today I received my visa for China. I am very excited.

After graduation, my father and I are going to India, Nepal, and Tibet for three weeks. My brother will already be in Nepal finishing a mountaineering expedition, so we’ll just be meeting up with him there. Also very exciting.

I think one of my goals in life is to run out of room for stamps in my passport. I currently have five pages left =)

Words of Wisdom

No matter how much you enjoy a Frosted Orange from the Varsity, eating anything else there is probably a bad idea.

International Pot Luck

On Friday, the MBA program had an international pot luck dinner. People brought their favorite food from their own culture. We probably had 50 dishes from around the world.

With so much of a selection, it was physically impossible to take something from everyone. Our plates just weren’t that big. But with everyone standing behind their own dishes, how could you tell someone, ‘no thanks, that looks disgusting’? Good thing there were more options than room on the plates.

There was a difference between what looked good, and what tasted good. So, after finishing everyone had to be very careful and discrete about what they threw away. No one wanted to have to explain why they didn’t finish something…

The List

I haven’t talked about relationships here for well over a year. Even though it’s a very popular topic, I just haven’t had anything to say. Until now.

Recently I was talking with some women who ran across a book by Mary Corbett and Sheila Corbett Kihne titled The List: 7 Ways to Tell If He’s Going to Marry You–in 30 Days or Less!. They seemed fairly enamored by its principles, so I was curious what to hear what they were.

The seven principles are pretty straight forward – the guy takes the lead from the beginning. The other principles flow from that, and end with a discussion about marriage within the first 30 days. In the right context, I didn’t have any huge problems with the principles. However, there was one thing I still can’t let go.

This is a relationship book about men, written to a female audience, by two women. Now, let’s be honest people. Would any guy read a book about women written by two guys? Hell no. Besides, it’d be a pretty short book. You might also say it would be because men don’t read, but I digress… Even though the main principles of the book aren’t horrible, the authors viewpoint of all men was “stupid until proven otherwise”. While that may be true for some, it’s a pretty big statement to generalize. (However if you must, men have stereotypes about women too) =)

Even with my skepticism, I enjoyed one aspect. Somewhere in the book, the authors say that a woman’s prime dating span is from 20 to 30. The online reviews from pissed off single women over 40 are hilarious.

UPS and FedEx

I got my picture taken for a Chinese Visa application today. After the picture the clerk asked if I needed anything else. To which I replied, yea, can I get some FedEx envelopes?

“No, this is the UPS Store.”

“Oh….. Well, that makes sense.”

Career Fair

The Cattle Call came back to town. Georgia had their Spring Career Fair yesterday.

I doubt I’m alone in my dislike of these events as a job seeker, but I understand their necessary evil. I’d even be willing to suggest that employers aren’t big fans of them either.

I was very impressed with one consulting firm, and I enjoyed speaking with several others. The flip side is that I also spoke with firms that non-verbally made it abundantly clear they did not want to be there. I quickly received a sheet about the company and was told to apply online, just like everyone else this person spoke with.

When asked to apply online at the career fair, I imagine my chances of interviewing would be equivalent to folding my resume into a paper airplane, standing on top of my apartment building, and throwing it in the direction of their headquarters. That may be an overstatement… I’d need a strong breeze too.

Another friend of mine saw all of the attractive women and had the idea of commandeering an empty booth, setting up shop, and collecting resumes (and phone numbers) of attractive women. Sadly, this isn’t too far off from the actual two female recruiters who I saw trying to catch the attention of hot guys passing them at the fall career fair!

Before I forget, if anyone is or knows a management consultant, I’d love the opportunity to chat with them about what they do, and their experiences in the business. Many thanks.