Filed under: Uncategorized
This weekend I had the pleasure of meeting Jen’s parents. After running around during the day trying to make sure that I was ready to go for this big event, I ran late. Jen had prepped me pretty well for meeting her dad and step mom. We drove over to Oroville to meet them at the Steakhouse in the casino. For those not in the area, it may sound a bit shifty. But in reality, it’s a really nice restaurant that so happens to be in Oroville in a casino. Now, I wouldn’t drive over for JUST the steakhouse, but it’s a nice bonus. We got off the elevator and met them while waiting with the rest of the senior citizens for the early bird special at 5 P.M. The time wasn’t because we were being cheap or because they had to eat early. Jen had to be back in Chico by 8 to make sure the nice old lady she was helping take care of while her daughter was away wouldn’t try to give the cat its shot again.
Actually it was a good thing we started dinner so early; I forgot how slow the place is. We sat down and started to look over the menu. When I am going out with parents for the first time I am always in a difficult situation. I am hungry, but I know I probably am not paying, so I can’t go overboard on my ordering. Unless the dad is a being rude or prickish to me… then I’ll have the Prime Rib, appetizer, dessert, and a bottle of wine. Thankfully, I have never had that situation in my life, but it’s still in the back of my mind just in case I need it.
I usually just listen for the first few minutes when I meet people that are important to me. I have to take a moment to get a feel for their tone, choice of words, and subject before I just jump into the conversation. Remember that I am being interviewed to get clearance to date Jen. I prepared myself to be peppered with questions. In the first half an hour or so there were no questions at all. Sweet. I’ll just drink my wine. Jen’s dad is a nice guy… doesn’t talk much so there really isn’t a way to judge how I’m doing with him. His wife on the other hand just talked her little head off. I now know why Jen calls her chicken. I listen for another half an hour to her talk about her dog, car, and their morning routine. All the while Jen’s dad is just enjoying his appetizers and she is her drinks. A few more drinks in, she keeps telling me that she is supposed to be on her best behavior. This makes me think if this her best behavior and I’m being polite, when we get to know each other better, she is going to make some great blog entries later on.
Dinner arrives and she makes a funny joke about asking for my background information. Finally, here is a chance to let my sarcastic side to shine. I make a joke about her not getting them and it must be Jen’s secretary fault. All without blinking once. Oh, you got come with better stuff than that if you’re going to rattle me. She then told me that she’s very protective of this one (meaning Jen). Okay, here it comes… the series of questions. Nope. She just continued on about her. I was like wow, for a person that is protective, she really doesn’t want to know much about me. Alright.
We walked to the car and bid them a good night and headed home. I had survived the evening. They were both really nice and very manageable. I keep reminding Jen that it really takes a ton to rattle me consider the fact that I was raised by my parents. You pretty much have to blow up something to get under my cool level .
On Sunday it was mom’s turn. We drove back over to Oroville again to have lunch with Jen’s mom. I wasn’t really sweating about this one at all because based on previous conversations, Jen’s mom is more like me and it should be easy to find conversation. I was right. Her mom was very much like me. The fact that she had so much energy while battling cancer was admirable. But she just kept going and going about all the things she was going to do and get done during the day. She threw Jen under the bus a few times as only a mother could. We finished up lunch and headed back to Chico. I was ready for a nap after watching the cops raid my house the night previous looking for some creep. No, it’s not me this time.
We came back and took a nap and then we went out to the airport to book Jen’s ticket for South Carolina. I booked mine the night before slightly buzzed, but it was still a great deal. The part I thought would be the easiest would be the hotel. Sadly, I was not the only one who was thinking Carolina barbeque for Thanksgiving. I was only able to book the first and last night of our stay at my timeshare. But it actually might work out better because we can spend more time in Charleston instead.
After the airport, I treated us to some Dairy Queen and headed to WinCo for another white trash shopping adventure. The place drives me nuts and saves me money all at the same time. Jen happened to be the crazy magnet at the store as some very nice, but very crazy old man talked to us for about five minutes about the stuff in fat free dairy products and the difference between pasteurized and ultra-pasteurized. Neat. I never knew about it but I never really wanted to know. We ran through the rest of the store avoiding the crazy man. We thought we had ducked him until we got to the check out and noticed that he was right behind us. Thankfully, he was done with educating us and picked a different line. When I was loading my groceries on the belt, I noticed that I had quite the considerable load while Jen had five items. It made me realize who was doing the cooking. I was amazed that she could survive off such little food when she wasn’t with me that I wouldn’t even get out of the car when we dropped off her stuff. I figured it was pointless to turn off the car when she would have been two minutes to unload her stuff.
We got back to my house and we watched “I Love You, Man.” I hadn’t seen it and it was very funny. It made me miss hanging with Jake and I decided to text him up. When Jen left to shoot the cat, Jake came over and we watched some Top Gun and caught up on life. It was good to see him and just hang for a while. I need to do that more. We have some many old 80s movies to go through and such little time.
Filed under: Uncategorized
I that Corporate America is at a crossroads. My generation (Y–just barely) is starting to move into the middle level of our careers. In our movement up we are ruffling the feathers of the older generations with our style of work. There has been much documentation about how different our generation is and how to respond to it in the workplace. I ran into my first real taste of it this week.
Without really going into too much details, I learned a valuable lesson about the company I partner. There is a chain of command and that’s the only way to get done. Sadly, I don’t roll that way. Since I started my career I have been known as Hurricane Halford. This is a blessing and a curse. The blessing of course is that I can create change and energize the people around me that what I’m trying to do is going to improve our lives. The downside is that I will take out everything and anything in my way trying to achieve my goal. When I’m done, trees are knocked down and houses are rearranged. But just as soon as I roll in, I’m gone and on to the next project. I have learned to embrace me this about myself and I try to reign it in as much as possible. Still, I have been very successful in my short career by being able to move obstacles in my way so I’m not going to abandon my work style to appease the uppers. What we need is a happy medium.
For me, I need to know that if I am relying on someone higher up to get something done that is important to me, it’s going to get done… quickly. I am not going to hang out for two weeks to wait to hear about it as people pass it on higher up and higher up. Nay. It’s more efficient to just let go to the person that can create the change and allow me to pitch my case directly. I can take the heat and criticism. I’ve also heard this word “No” from many people but I still haven’t figured out what it means yet.
For my company, the need to realize that this is no longer 1960. The corporate structure of yesteryear doesn’t work anymore. We are not in a hierarchy anymore. People are working in collaboration in order to achieve goals. My generation isn’t interested in advancing on the backs of others. When we are done with a job, you can either give us another one within the company or we’ll find a new one on our own. The days are gone where people are going to stay with the same company for 40 years. Of course there are people that will–but those will be typically unskilled workers with little area for advancement. Most are going to continue to look for jobs that fit their lifestyle. My job does not define me; my life defines me. My job just allows me the chance to use my talents and get paid for it. My world doesn’t revolve around my job. However, it still is very important to me to let me do what I want to accomplish in this world.
Gone are the days of the three martini lunches. Although, if you want to bring them back, I’d be more than happy to assist. Corporate America has to realize that they aren’t the revolutionaries anymore. Especially Baby Boomers that have drifted through their life mostly with a sense of entitlement. This isn’t your game anymore–it’s not quite mine yet either. But it’s going to be soon and if you think it’s going to be the same, you’re sadly mistaken. You’re going to find a corporate structure more open, more collaborative which will lead to happier, more productive employees. The president of the company isn’t going to be behind locked doors and someone you only hear from once a year or with a fake signature on a birthday card. Leaders of American companies in the future will be more innovated, sincere, and available to their companies. Their families are important to them, so don’t expect them to be working nights and weekends for you.
So it’s time to past the torch, but leave the martini… we’ll take care of that for you.
Filed under: travel
This weekend Jen and I took a trip down to the city to visit some friends. Now of course there are only two cities in the United States as far as I’m concern depending on which coast I am visiting. If I am on the East coast it is New York City. And if I’m home, it’s San Francisco. Other places don’t have the honor of being called THE city… they are just plain ol’ Boston, Chicago, Sacramento. That is unless it is Los Angeles… then it is just THE Hell Hole.
We headed down after our club’s children’s shopping spree at Kohl’s which was great. Last year I was under by like under a $1 from the $100 allotment we had. This year, not as good… I was over by $11. But this kid really needed what we got him. So even if I had to pay for it myself, he was getting those damn clothes. It is a great project because as shallow as it might sound, looking good translates into so much more confidence that will further provide more student success.
The drive down was so relaxing. We had my ipod and just cruised down I-5. The blessing and curse about driving down to the city is that it is a relatively easy drive, but it’s also boring as hell. Usually, I’m doing it by myself and it was great to have someone with me that we just talked and joked down the entire trip. We also stopped at Chevy’s which we used to have in Chico. The food isn’t that fantastic, but I do miss their chips and salsa. I swear they lace their salsa with crack to make it taste good. We drove across the Bay Bridge into the city which I have a huge fear going back to when I was a kid. I can still remember during the 1989 earthquake and watching on the TV the cars driving over the edge of the broken section of the bridge. So when I drive across it, I drive like a possessed man to get across it as soon as possible.
We got into the city and Jen’s friends weren’t quite ready for us. We went to the hotel instead to check in and to get this guy’s required nap. I hate paying for parking in general. I REALLY hate overpaying for parking. Given that our hotel was in the financial district on the weekend, parking was relatively easy to find. Sadly, when we arrived, we were still on the metered time. So in reality I paid $3.50 for an hour to nap. I say money well spent. We checked in and they put us in the handicap room that I swear was probably a linen closet at one point. The door opened outward and the shower was so low that I never thought my midsection could ever be so clean. We woke up from our nap and headed over to Jen’s friends house.
Now to preface this trip, it was really to run me through Jen’s friends for approval. I was never too nervous about it because I know Jen likes me and I am a pretty easy person to like. So I was just down there to enjoy myself. The first stop on the interview tour was Kevin and Myra. After google maps lied to me yet again, we found their house. They live near Golden Gate Park and have a great view of the city from their street. They just had a new baby boy are both Chico grads. We had plenty to talk about between school and being in Chico. They took us to this great little spot at the edge of Golden Gate Park called the Beach Chalet and we had a few drinks and just visited. We were running on a tight schedule, so we had to leave there and head back to change for dinner. After nearly killing us trying to find a parking spot, we got dressed and headed to my next interview.
Dinner was at a place called Café Divine near Little Italy. Heather joined us for dinner and her husband was going to come for drinks afterwards. We sat down for dinner and I think I might have said maybe 30 words for the first hour of dinner. However, the server thought that I needed two wine glasses in front of me because my meal came with a glass of wine. Yet, I already had one in front of me. Oh well… twice the fun. So I just sat and drank my wine and listened. Heather worked for United for a few years and of course I’m fascinated by the airline business. I tried to pick her brain for a bit and she started to loosen up a bit. We went across the street and met her husband Bob for drinks. He’s one cool dude. I had fun just talking about marketing, sports, and Disney stuff. However, I broke the seal so I had to go the bathroom a lot during the night. I guess every time I left for the bathroom, they were talking about me… like you’re supposed to do. I didn’t know this until later in the evening. We talked about so many different things that we shut the place down at midnight. Neither Jen nor I wanted to get too drunk because we still had a busy day on Sunday, so we called it a night and retreated back to the broom closet.
I actually woke up at a decent time in the morning, but was upset because I forgot my headphones in the car and I couldn’t work out. But still getting up early, we still wound up running late to meet my friend Liana for coffee. She’s going into law school at the same school Jen attended. It was fun watching Jen try to help her with tips to make it through. After learning more about the law school process, I have so much respect for those poor people that subject themselves to that torture. No wonder some of them chase after ambulances… they want to make people just as uncomfortable as they had to be to get the degree. But it was great to see Lianna and glad that she decided to choose Northern California for her adventure.
I did some research before we left for the weekend and realized that show Wicked had a lottery for limited view tickets before each show. We were going to try to jump in on it, but when we got there we realized that we were going to be late for lunch if we tried it. So instead, we decided what they hell, we both want to see it, so we just bought tickets for the 2p show. We had about 20 minutes before lunch and the BART station was right in front of the theater, so I, being in charge of transportation for the weekend, decided to take BART down to the lunch spot. The station had two of the four machines broken for tickets, tourists (which I loathe even when I’m one), and the homeless people. I generally feel bad for anyone is homeless. In a society of so much wealth, it really is inexcusable that people live without a home. However, these two cats were pissing me off. One of them was standing in between both lines holding his hands out… no problem. Then he tried to steal the change out of machine from a tourist couple. Well the tourist couple from Middle America was not going to have any of that… and told the security. They don’t have that where they come from and were definitely not giving up their quarters for this guy.
We got our tickets and heading down to the Embarcadero to meet up for lunch. Google maps lied to me again (or I just don’t know how to read a map) and we headed down the wrong direction. I called the restaurant for directions. Now, I know this place is pretty high class, but it had more phone options than the damn IRS! I just need help… give me a hostess. We turned around and high tailed the right direction and at the ended up 15 minutes late which drives both of us crazy. We met Jen’s friends Joe and Sandy for lunch. They are both wonderful people… very active and animated which was a great lunch experience. They just came back from a year in London which is my favorite city of all time. So we talked about that and the shared experience of remodeling a house. But in the end, we had to literally run out to catch the show. I felt so bad, but I already missed this show once in London (I paid a handsome sum for the tickets) and I wasn’t going to do it again.
We got to the show and it was fantastic. The sets were amazing and it was actually pretty funny. I read the book a few years ago and I kept trying to remember the story and comparing it. In some aspects, I wish I went into it cold and I think I would have enjoyed it even more. Yet, it was still so well done that it would be hard not to enjoy it. The only thing that I don’t enjoy about musicals is that I can barely understand what they are singing so I just have to guess that it part of the story and move on. The best part of the show was that the Wizard of Oz looked like Dick Cheney and he was a little slime ball like him… so I got my own private giggle from that.
After the show, I flew back across the bridge and headed to Tracy to have dinner with gma. On the way there, I tried to debrief Jen on the potential cousins that could be there. I thought it would be good back up plan in case they were there… and yep, when we got there, they were. But we just went to dinner with gma so we weren’t there long. When we got back, they were gone so I didn’t get harassed to badly. But it was nice to see gma and my aunt and uncle for a while.
On the way back home, I told Jen that we would be back home by 11p give or take three minutes. When we rolled back into my driveway, it was 11p EXACTLY. I think I am driving a bit too much when I can predict that close. If I were on the Price is Right, I would have won both showcases. Where’s Bob Barker when you need him?
Filed under: me
People have said that they have missed my writing as this is the only way they have been able to keep up with me since I have gone MIA. Well, I will have to let you know that I have gone MIA with reason. I have had a few busy weeks. First, it’s the beginning August and you know what that means… getting ready for schools to start? WTF? It’s just mean to make kids go back to school this early in the month. When I was a kid (and now I can say that because I’m like 9 months from being 30), school didn’t start until the last week of August and if I was really lucky, not until after Labor Day. Now, these poor kids are being dragged to school instead of being free to roam the local pool. This is also not prudent financially because it’s usually 105 or hotter and those kids are dead from being to hot and teachers are pissed to be back at work. So they are cranking down that AC down to 70 to spite the district. Which is pretty sad because the temperature in the classroom is one of the few things teachers still have control of in their classrooms and most districts are taking that away too. So because they are back in school, I have to go back to work too and start doing leadership trainings and pre-grad stuff. I have been a road warrior the last six days going all over Northern California bouncing from school to school.
Second, well there’s Jen. We just are having a blast. Well I am. I’m guessing she is too because she keeps coming back. It’s not stressful at all and we just let it roll. Last night we had a date night. We walked to Safeway and got sandwiches and walked back over to one mile in the park and just sat on a bench eating and just enjoying the fantastic evening in Chico. I learned that not only does Jen have her stuff together, she’s really a smart cookie. She was explaining the whole law school process and I couldn’t have ever done it. Then we walked down to this place called Glazed Creations down the street from my house. You get to pick out a piece of ceramic and you’re able to paint it. I was just looking for something a bit more active than going to a movie or hanging at the house. It was actually a lot of fun. But we got there a bit late and we didn’t get to finish our pieces. We’ll just have to come back. This weekend we are heading down to the city to meet up with some of her friends. This is the first time I’ve met any of her friends, so this should be fun.
Jen on the other hand has been meeting the parade of my friends that have been coming through town lately. I have had a house guest for the past six of the last seven days. My friend Jon came up to visit last weekend and Patrick was here most of this week. On Tuesday night, I had a dinner party with Patrick, Jen, and Patrick’s sister and roomies. We just had a blast (and a ton of wine) throwing each other under the bus and/or bicycle depending on the severity of the story. But by Thursday, I was beat. Then I remembered I was hanging out with Hunter. He came over and we started playing Drunk Madden… many tequila shots later we were downtown. We came back and were hanging at my house. I was giving him a bad time and he warned me that he was going to punch me if I didn’t stop. Of course I didn’t and POW right in the nose he punched me. Fair game. He warned me. It was more funny and he didn’t remember it the next morning.
So I’m up early on a Saturday to help with our 20-30 Children’s Shopping Spree for underprivileged kids. It will be fun to run around the store to help them look cool for Monday when they come back to school. I am glad we do this project because although my family wasn’t ever the most wealthy (gpa and gma helped out a lot) I always had new clothes for school. Again, doing service to my community makes me thankful for the life that I have. You just have to give a little bit…
Filed under: travel
This is an open letter of pure frustration with SFO…
Dear SFO,
You and I have had a rocky relationship for a while now. Typically when things go this bad, I usually cut the other person loose and call it a day. But SFO, you have something I need and you don’t want to give it up. Sure, you tease me with those cheap fares and the convenience factor of flying out of my home town. Baby don’t drive to Sacramento when you can get the good stuff right here you whisper in my ear. As you seduce me with that sexy connection time and I’m all yours.
I’m always good to you. I show up when you tell me. I bring just exactly what you allow me. What do I get in return? You stand me up and make me go to Sacramento anyway. You sometimes can’t let me go when you know it’s time. So you keep me around an extra eight hours just because you’re selfish and you can’t get enough of me. Sure, you say the weather out there is bad, but I can see out the window and I see sunshine. Then when I need to reach out to rest of the world, you tell me you have to charge me to use the internet to help cover the bills. After you kept me longer than I wanted you offer me your weird foo foo food that I don’t crave. Sometimes all I want is some comfort food that you don’t overcharge me.
In order for our relationship to work, and trust me I really want it to work, you got to get your crap together. We’ve got a good thing going and I would hate to start talking crap about you. But the truth of the matter is that you have deserved it. You are a tease and I know you’re classy so I put up with it. Yet, there’s only so much abuse I can take before I have to walk away. If it’s counseling you seek, you should talk to Sacramento. She’s always a good friend willing to listen when you let me down. She can give you some pointers on how to be a better airport for me.
Your friend,
Robby
Filed under: Uncategorized
Okay, this is my fourth trip to Las Vegas and it’s official… not a fan. There are a variety of reasons why I have a disdain for the City of Sin. First, it’s the City of Sin. A bunch of middle aged people that don’t really want a sense of culture come here to gorge on the buffets, which aren’t cheap by the way, and see the cultures of the world in a two mile strip. Then we have the newly minted 21 year olds that are just here to get drunk and stupid while pushing up the STD count. They don’t usually appear until around 7p because they are just waking up then from the walk of shame the evening before in their “dresses” or the classy dress shirt, vans, and jeans attire from the night before. If they have woken up any earlier, they are hanging out by the pool trying to get a mid-day booty call. It’s almost too classic to watch and sad that I once thought that was the standard. Third, Vegas is dirty. I hate walking down the road and being harassed by a bunch of people trying to get me to call some hooker. Entertaining as it is, just not feeling it. Fourth, I really just don’t like people on vacation. They have no idea of traveling or being a good guest of a city. They throw crap where ever they want and leave a mess because it’s not their city. This is also a city that attracts “recreational travelers” which I REALLY dislike… see ( Summer of Traveling ). These people travel once every few years and they are the quintessential Ugly American. Finally, what the hell are people thinking dragging their TODDLERS to freaking Las Vegas? Leave them in their cages or with the grandparents. I don’t want to see freaking strollers at 2a just because you’re a selfish parent and want to drag your poor children around so you can get $100 in free slot play. Put them to freaking bed. Yes, the shows are pretty cool at night, but they should do what the rest of the normal people do and wait until they are 21 to enjoy it. Come on people. Vegas is not made for Children. That was soooooooooooo 1990s.
Having said all that, I still had a great time in Vegas. Jen flew down on Friday after my meetings with HJ. She hasn’t really been in Vegas so we got something to eat and walked through the hotels catching shows here and there. This was really the first time we have spent a long period of time together and it was great. We just clicked. It wasn’t searching for conversation and it really was just us for two days. We both wound up with some sore feet from walking up and down the strip. But we got some PF Changs which was worth it. I forgot how good those darn lettuce wraps are! We got lost in the Forum shops trying to avoid the heat by walking through the properties. Eventually we made our way out and stocked up for the night. After a great nap, we went got some dinner and just had a little party for 2 in our room. Then we watched the frog at the Wynn and the pirate show at TI. By then we were too far gone to really do anything else and I passed out. I woke up this morning to see Jen on her way. She had an earlier flight than me. I went back to bed and I didn’t get out of it until almost 11:30. By then Jen was already home and I had done nothing. I went downstairs to the exercise room and did my workout. I will have to say that the Trump hotel is the best hotel on the strip. The room was huge with a whirlpool tub, great pool area, and an amazing exercise facility. Plus the hotel was smoke free and didn’t have a casino.. so it attracted a different crowd. I came back upstairs after I lost my room key for the third time in two days. I was just reading the paper waiting for the toothpaste that I requested to come up. After a half an hour, it didn’t show and I decided to walk down to get it myself. I made sure I had a key and went downstairs. I achieved my goal and I was looking forward to soaking in whirlpool tub. When I got to the room I made it through the first door (the room had a sound barrier room… very cool) and the second… nope. Damn. I wasn’t going back to ask for a room key yet again. I just waited for security to let me in. I got a nice soak going in the tub when I hear a knock on the door. I thought it was housekeeping trying to get me out, but it was the toothpaste I asked for a hour ago. Oh well, no one is perfect. I headed over to the airport and I again got reminded that this town is a tourist dominated city. All these darn people that are getting in the way because they don’t know how to move efficiently through the security lines and it’s just a giant clusterfuck. By the time I get to the gate I realize that flight is late to SFO and I have 25 minutes to connected. Well at least I get some exercise… but now I might be staying the night again because the flight is overbooked. Joy
