adamyntium

Category: personal

  • Search Engine Strategies San Jose 2006 plus more details of my past and upcoming weeks

    It’s been a while since I’ve posted here, and—as always—I have so much to say.  I’ll use my recent and upcoming schedule as a crutch for providing some musings and commentary 😀

    Last week:

    – Monday:  Special Google Event and Hakone Gardens private party.
    Early in the day I got to test my Event Planning mettle.  It all came out okay!  No one was electrocuted.  No one went hungry.  No one fell or was thrown off of large balconies.  Reviews were good, and I wasn’t fired.  In the evening, I joined a friendly group of geeks at a private party at the beautiful Hakone Gardens in Saratoga, California.  Free sushi!  Company presentations in the blissfully short form of one haiku each!  Plus prizes, a Futurist presentation, and much more.

    – Tuesday:  The Fifth Annual Google Dance and included “Meet the Engineers” event
    I was responsible for planning this year’s Meet the Engineers event upstairs during the Google Dance, enabling lots of Webmaster’y-type folks and Googlers to chat informally about largely search-focused ideas, questions, and more.  Overall, it seemed to go pretty well, though I certainly got some good feedback to improve the event for next year 🙂 (feel free to add more feedback in the comments below if you’d like!)  And in the general party there were battling robots, lots of cheese, wacky green-screen dancing karaoke, demo’ing and dunking Googlers, and lots and lots (thousands!) of geeks in various stages of buzzed revelry 😀

    – Wednesday:  Search Engine Strategies Conference (continued from Tuesday) and yet more geek parties
    The Search Engine Strategies conference in San Jose, California is one of the largest events of its kind… four solid days of learning ‘n’ camraderie in the Web Marketing / Search Engine Optimization space, with four evenings of networking, drinking, and playful debauchery.  My colleagues sumo wrestling!  Geeks Gone Wild on the dance floor!  And, on a serious but equally important note, it was a great chance for me to meet some fascinating heavyweights in the industry and for me to do my best representing Google… answering questions, gathering thoughtful bits of feedback, and happily putting names with faces (“Ah, you’re THAT blogger…”).

    – Thursday:  My first speaking engagement on behalf of Google!
    My boss, Matt Cutts, is one of the most articulate and likeable fellows in the search engine realm.  When he speaks, people listen!  When I speak… well, I really hadn’t ever publicly spoken on behalf of Google before, so as you can imagine, I was a bit apprehensive and also quite excited.  Making matters even more interesting was the fact that all of my fellow panelists (from Yahoo, MSN, and Ask) came prepared with Powerpoint presentations and I came prepared with… nothing.  Well, that’s not exactly true.  I had spent quite a bit of time thinking about the subject at hand (how Google looks at links on the Web) and was pretty confident about my ability to answer questions… but I certainly hadn’t thought of making an opening statement.  It was a “Q&A” session, after all!

    Well, luckily, during the few minutes of the others’ presentations, I managed to quickly shuffle a reasonably organized selection of thoughts into my head and then out of my mouth in a basically impromptu four minute speech.  I even squeezed in a bit of geek humor, specifically a reference to Douglas Adams’ “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” book… which was, to my pleasure and relief, pretty well-received (yay, fellow geeks with good taste in literature!).  I was asked some great questions and had answers for all but one of them, for which I admitted “I don’t know.”

    Overall, it was an enjoyable and worthwhile experience, and I look forward to speaking at another industry event.

    *  *  *

    I spent more of Friday and Saturday doing just laid back things… catching up with some friends, and catching up on sleep.  And for this week…

    – Sunday:  10 year anniversary of Lindy in the Park!
    If you live in the Bay Area and you haven’t yet been to this event, you’re missing out.  And—since it happens every week (well, in general; not the 10 year anniversary, obviously)— it’s not too late for you to get your hiney over there and have some good, energetic, sunshiney, family-friendly, no-date-needed fun!  From around 11am to 2pm each week, the DJs spin a variety of swing and definitely-not-swing-but-still-danceable music for folks to swing dance to, and there’s a free 30 minute lesson at noon!  Today there were over 250 people dancing away, smiling, meeting up with old friends and making new ones.  I guiltily don’t make it to LitP as often as I’d like, but I always have fun when I do, so I highly recommend y’all stopping by if you’re able to—whether you’re a dancer (yet) or not! 😀

    – Monday:  Brave Combo and The Mad Maggies, performing at The Elbo Room in San Francisco
    I’m not yet familiar with The Mad Maggies, but I *LOVE* Brave Combo!  They’ve been around forever and recorded quite a diverse bunch of music, but what it all has in common is this:  a sense of playfulness, strong musicianship, and a giddy enthusiasm and often silliness that is immensely likeable.  Polkas and more polkas, funky twists on classical pieces, bright horns and earthy voices.  I can’t wait to see these guys live! (and I’m curious to check out The Elbo Room. too, which is just a couple of miles from my apartment).

    – Tuesday:  A chamber music performance at Google
    We have a very nice grand piano at the Googleplex, and so I suppose it shouldn’t surprise me that there are relatively informal concerts (featuring my fellow Googlers!) on a semi-regular basis here.  I’m looking forward to unwinding to some good live classical music at the end of the work day… without having to worry about parking, ticket fees, or dressing up :-D.

    – Wednesday:  A dance performance—Riptide—featuring my friend Tiffany B (warning: crappy Website.  You may want to navigate from here.)
    I’ve known and done swing dancing with Tiffany for years, but I’ve embarrassingly not made it to one of her many fine professional performances yet.  This coming Wednesday marks the first time I’ll see her on stage… finally!  And—fellow Bay Area people—there are still tickets left!  Go, go, go!

    – Thursday:  Either collapsing early to bed or attending the amazing 9:20 Special weekly swing dance
    In particular, though, I can’t wait to go to this the *next* Thursday, when there’ll be music performed by the lively and talented Lavay Smith and her full band!

    – Friday:  The 5th anniversary of Friday Night Waltz
    Though I’ll always be a swing dancer deep down, there’s something quite magical and exhilirating about spinning around the floor with various waltzes and partners.  The Friday Night Waltz event (held primarily in Palo Alto and Alameda… most recently, with trial (formal!) evenings in San Francisco) is a wonderful mix of accessible lessons with great teachers, a very friendly crowd, and free refreshing refreshments (fresh fruit, candies, etc.)  Interestingly enough, only about 60-70% of the songs are waltzes; the rest are an ecclectic mix of swing tunes, polkas, Latin numbers, and other danceable songs.  Like with the other dance events I’ve mentioned above, there’s no partner required (everyone dances with everyone else, and folks rotate regularly in class).

    *  *  *

    Whew!  Now you can understand why I haven’t had much time to be blogging.  It’s all I can do to be getting enough sleep and occasionally calling my family and friends to let ‘em know I’m alive 😀

    Still, yes, I know I have a few thousand long-overdue Australia and Singapore photos to post, more (and more interesting :-P) stories to tell, and so on.  I’ll see what I can do to squeeze that stuff in soon!

  • Selfishly raising money for cancer, one photo annotation at a time

    I have an envelope on my desk from the American Cancer Society.  A very, very worthy organization, and one that I do indeed plan to support financially.  But—being the strange bird that I am—I’d like to do so creatively, selfishly, and, well, with your help 😀

    No, I’m not going to ask you to send me money… at least not until I’m masochistically running some 42K fundraiser race or whatever where I have to raise [$x] and [x] is some relatively high number.  Instead, I’m going to ask you to do work for me.  Let me explain…

    You see, I have thousands of photos.  Tens of thousands of photos.  Lots of them are pretty darn cool (if I say so myself) and many of them I’ve actually bothered to put online via Flickr or Fotki.

    But—and here’s where you come in—lots of the photos are sadly unannotated.  Heck, except for the country of origin, I probably don’t even remember anything about the people, the sculptures, the castles, the lakes… anything at all, really, and that’s rather regrettable IMHO.

    Why not, as my boss has so aptly done in the past, invoke teh lazyweb!  You, oh sundry and smart and good looking BLADAM readers from Amsterdam and Berlin and Cairns and every other letter of the alphabet… you probably can easily identify what goofy and beautiful people places and things I’ve taken photos of!

    So here’s the deal:  If there’s enough of a response, I’m prepared to write a check for up to $500 to the American Cancer Society which—when matched by my generous employer—will become 1,000 donated smackeroos… based upon how many of my photos y’all annotate.  [x] cents per reasonable (and typically brief) annotation per photo. 

    In the end, it’s win-win-win.

    – I get to remember and learn more about the places I’ve visited.
    – My photo pages may get better indexed and more frequently viewed… and they’ll be more interesting and informative for everyone, too!
    – You get warm fuzzies and certainly recognition and thanks on my blog at a later date :-D.
    – The American Cancer Society gets up to $1,000!  Plus more if I decide to do this on a yearly basis or others decide to responsibly copy-cat the idea.

    *  *  *

    I don’t yet have a timeline for this (though “by Thanksgiving this year” seems reasonable, no?).  First, I have to upload a bunch more of my photos from around the world!  Also, I’d love to hear (either privately or in the comments below):

    1) Where you’re from and what you think about this idea.
    2) Whether you’d personally enjoy participating by annotating my photos online.
    3) Any particular restrictions or guidelines you think I should set / anything else to consider logistically or policywise.
    4) Whether you’ve ever seen this sort of fundraising idea implemented 😀

    Thanks in advance for your comments and, ultimately, your support!  Remember, speak out—I’m only going to do this if I get a sufficient number of volunteers!

    *  *  *

    Update just a few minutes after I posted this:
    Here’s a very non-comprehensive list of where I’ve been and taken photos (I hope to make a more comprehensive list someday!)

    In no particular order…

    EUROPE:

    • Austria:  Vienna, Ischgl
    • Belgium:  Brussels, Antwerp
    • Czech Republic:  Prague
    • Denmark:  Copenhagen
    • Estonia:  Tallin*
    • Finland:  Helsinki*
    • France:  Paris
    • Germany:  Berlin, Mainz, Mannheim, Weinheim, Viernheim, Maulbronn, Heidelberg, Frankfurt, Strausberg, Karlsruhe, Stuttgart
    • Hungary:  Budapest
    • Ireland:  Dublin, Glendalough
    • Italy:  Venice, Rome
    • Luxembourg:  Luxembourg
    • Netherlands:  Amsterdam, Venray, Haarlem, Rotterdam
    • Spain:  Barcelona
    • Sweden:  Herrang, Stockholm
    • Switzerland:  Geneva, Berne, Lucerne, Interlakken
    • United Kingdom:  London

    NORTH AMERICA:

    • California: San Francisco, Daly City, Thousand Oaks, Los Angeles, San Diego, Marin, Santa Cruz, Oakland, Berkeley, Sacramento
    • Colorado:  Denver*
    • Hawaii:  Kauai
    • Illinois:  Evanston, Chicago
    • Maine:  Er, I forget where!
    • Nevada:  Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas*
    • New Hampshire:  Hebron, somewhere else
    • New York:  New York City
    • North Carolina:  Charlotte*
    • Other:  D.C.
    • Tennessee:  Knoxville, Gatlinburg
    • Texas:  Austin,
    • Virginia:  Newport News
    • Washington:  Seattle
    • Canada:  Vancouver

    ASIA AND PACIFIC

    • Australia: Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns
    • Singapore: Singapore

    LATIN AMERICA

    • Costa Rica: San Jose, Montezuma

    * I’ve visited here, but I don’t think I have pictures from this city.

  • What I like about being an American and living in America

    I’ve recently written some things a bit critical about America and American culture (particularly pop culture), and—seeing as how it’s nearing our Independence Day—I figure I ought to share a more positive vibe.  Therefore, I’m offering a few things below (in no particular order) that make me happy to be an American and living in America :-D.  I know that not all of these things are unique to my country or nationality, but I think—in combination—they highlight a positive uniqueness.

    1. The freedom to fail and make a comeback (or comebacks!)
      I know of no other countries where folks can fail—go bankrupt, make their companies go bankrupt, do something really stupid or dastardly in public—and still have such high chances of redeeming themselves with later, more favorable actions.  Sure, there’s still often some stigma to failing, but it’s not fatal or absolute.
    2. The encouragement to be creative and innovative
      I’ve lived in Europe, I’ve traveled to at least two dozen countries around the world, and I’ve never seen a culture with such an openness to wacky, outlandish, and yes, impossible dreams.  This, among admittedly many other factors, is why America has been and remains the center of dot.com bold insanity and brilliance.
    3. The opportunity to get world-class and well-rounded university educations
      Yes, I think many other countries offer better and more comprehensive primary education systems.  And yes, I also know (and envy) that colleges in many other countries charge students $200 USD or less per year! 😮 But with that said—from personal experience and the experiences of my international friends—I truly believe that our universities offer exceptionally top notch educations in both practical and unpractical fields.
    4. The freedom to speak our minds
      In print, on the street corner, and on the Internet.  Within some limits, we can hold up signs depicting our public officials in Nazi regalia, call major CEOs imbeciles and tyrants, and even (confirmed recently) burn our country’s flag.  Though bearing a female nipple is (usually) out, we have a freedom of speech and assembly that billions of others around the world can only dream about.
    5. The environment which straddles superficiality with friendliness, often with charming results
      I’ve cynically derided the American tradition of “How are you?” as a symbol of superficiality.  But when it comes down to it (and again, this is confirmed by many of my international friends), it’s easier to start a friendly random conversation with folks in America than in a great many other countries.  Whereas a former non-American colleague of mine looked baffled and a bit uncomfortable in an elevator when a fellow rider struck up a conversation with him, such goofy friendliness—even if initially superficial—is something that’s often much appreciated and yet also taken for granted.

    *  *  *

    I know this just scratches the surface.

    What things about being American and/or living in America make you happy?

  • Pre-Europe-travel grab bag

    WARNING:  Mishmash ahead.
    Haven’t yet packed, which means this is the perfect time to procrastinate with a blog entry.  Or something like that.

    I’m leaving tomorrow morning for a two-week work-related trip.  See details of that trip, plus enjoy some of my phone, camera, T-Mobile, and other musings below.

    My upcoming travels for May 29 through June 11

    • LONDON:  I’ll be attending the Search Engine Strategies conference in London, where Webmasters, marketers, advertisers, and others that care about making moolah on the Web will be hanging out.  You gonna be there, too?  Look for me and say hi!  :-D.  Oh, and just for the heck of it, feel free to check out my London 2001 photos and my London 2002 photos that I took during earlier (non-work-related) visits.
    • BERLIN:  I’ve gotten gleefully roped into a Google pan-European sales conference.  Time for me to learn about new salesy stuff in the company, and I’m looking forward to sharing info about Search Quality and spam fighting with sales-type folks.  Alas, every minute is pretty much accounted for, though, so I won’t have much free time to explore.  I’ve visited Berlin in the past (fascinating city!), but will look forward to spending more time wandering around nooks and crannies during a future trip.
    • DUBLIN:  Definitely looking forward to re-visiting Ireland!  I had a great time during an earlier visit… friendly folks, charming pubs… and now that the pubs are (at least in theory) smoke-free, I’m even happier!  I’ll be visiting Google’s European headquarters here, meeting up with some colleagues over laptops and possibly a pint or three.

    Other random stuff

    My losing streak continues, sadly.  In the last few months, I’ve had TWO cameras and TWO expensive phones stolen.  It’s almost enough to make me either become a luddite or hire a personal assistant to thwack me on the head when I’m being particularly absent-minded. 

    Luckily, insurance will (at least in theory) be covering most of the cost of everything but one of the phones… and in an almost unbelievably example of “the kindness of strangers”… a colleague in the Atlanta Google office learned of my pathetic plight and IM’d me, “Hey, I don’t really use my Treo much, would you like it?”  I said, sure, I’d consider it… what did she think would be a fair price?  But no, she said, she was happy to just give it to me.  And Fed-ex it to me next-day, just in time for my trip.  Wow!

    But alas, it didn’t quite make it here in time, and (understandably) none of my local friends just happened to have a spare tri-band phone to loan me.  So in desperation, I went to a T-Mobile store and, after learning they only had dual-band loaners, decided to just bite the bullet and buy a phone.  The salesman recommended a quad-band Motorola V188; it seemed pleasantly basic and small enough, and I figured $100—even with a required 1-year contract renewal—seemed fair.

    Upon arriving back home, though, I noticed that Amazon is selling the same Motorola V188 with the same 1-year contract for… negative $145!  That’s right, after the $35 new account fee, you get $110 cash back.  So I basically got gypped out of $210!  I’m pretty pissed.  So I decided to call T-Mobile and I got—as usual—a delightfully friendly and helpful rep (this is part of the reason why I generally do love T-Mobile and didn’t mind renewing my contract).  Alas, she said that the Amazon promo is, as it states, only for new customers.  I expressed to her that I felt this was sort of a slap in the face for existing customers (especially those loyal ones way past their required contract term).  After much time on hold, she offered to give me 30 free text messages (a value of $3).  I thought this was pretty laughable, but at this stage in the game (leaving tomorrow), I just didn’t have the time to argue.  The uber-moral of the story:  if you’re looking to get a new phone, especially one more pricey than the entry-level one I bought today, you’re likely better off going through Amazon.com and just porting over your number.

    Oh, and a few opening thoughts about this Motorola, compared to my Treo 650…
    – It doesn’t cradle as nicely between my neck and shoulder.
    – The speakerphone is decent.
    – I don’t like the non-recessed volume buttons… worried about them getting pressed when in my pocket.
    – There’s no “are you sure?” when writing a long SMS and accidentally hitting the cancel button.  Blegh.
    – It feels okay in my pocket.  Really light.  But I’d probably be more comfortable having a long and thin phone in my pocket.
    – It’s so weird to not have a qwerty keyboard for texting or Web surfing.  I already miss my Treo and can’t wait to get my replacement!

    *  *  *

    I also got a new camera today, the Canon SD700.  It is, admittedly, rather a splurge, but I don’t feel too guilty; I tend to spend money on the arts (music, theatre) and photography, and I guess everyone’s entitled to some guilty pleasures. 😀

    Online, on the low-end (but still from trustable companies) it tends to go for about $470 (with no sales taxes due up-front). At retail stores near me, it’s going for, well, retail: $499 (plus tax). Ouch. I found out that Frys (Tech Gadget Mecca for Geeks) in San Jose had it for $449, and while I’d normally never drive down to San Jose (about 90 miles round trip from my apartment) just to save $50… in this case, I already had plans to go to a BBQ at my friend Merry’s house in Mountain View, so it all worked out. They also had a reasonably decent 2gb SD card for $49, which I also snagged.

    Of course, the real cost of photography is in time. I still haven’t gotten around to processing the 1,800 or so photos from my recent trip to Australia and Singapore; at about a conservative one minute per cropping/fixing/tagging/titling/describing, that’s 30 hours out of my life just to post a bunch of photos. Even if I pick the top one-third to post, that’s still 10 hours of photofussing just for this one trip. Ack! Seriously, because of this (I know, it’s a little silly), I seriously considered whether I wanted the hassle of schlepping, protecting, using, and dealing with a camera + its byproducts. Nostalgia won out, though.

    * * *

    Anyway, I probably better get packing. I’ll try to blog some stuff while I’m away, but it may be a few weeks ’til I’m bloggily back.

  • I’ve joined Google

    A couple of months ago, I became a Googler.  Since my boss—Matt Cutts—has already so kindly introduced me on his blog, I feel this is probably a good time to say a few words about my new job 😀

    The short version:  I’m honored, humbled, a bit nervous, and yes, very happy.  As a lifelong geek who’s been excited about search and Google in particular for many years, it’s hugely fascinating to be experiencing new adventures from the “inside.”

    Okay, now for the longer version!


    What I’m doing at Google

    My main focus is on broadening communications between Google and Webmasters… learning as much as I can from both Matt and the Webmasters he chats with so amiably and then building upon this rapport.  Or, more colloquially, as it’s been joked around the office, my uber-challenging goal is to become a “MiniMatt.”  Though a colleague did note that a MiniMatt sounds like a scary cross between a convenience store and a diminutive vaccum cleaner.  Hmm.

    You’ll find me hanging out at Webmaster conferences and various geek gatherings, occasional replying to Google-related blog or forum posts, tackling some Webmaster-related e-mails, and undoubtedly popping up in other random places.

    I’ll also be a “Webmaster Advocate” inside the Googleplex.  I’ve seen firsthand that tons of folks here already eagerly read and appreciate Google- and search-related comments throughout the Web; I’ll be doing what I can to expedite concerns, bug reports, and other feedback to the right colleagues.

    I’m coming into this job with a lot of knowledge about search, Google, and communications, but I know I have a lot to learn and also much trust to earn.

    What my new job means for my blog

    I’m not sure yet.  For the time being, I’m going to generally maintain a separation between the personal and work spheres of my life.  This means that you’re likely to be disappointed if you subscribe to BLADAM expecting to read lots of juicy Googly tidbits.

    With that said, though, I do admire Robert, Jeremy, and, of course, my boss Matt and recognize that their work-related blogversations have very often educated, engaged, and entertained thousands.  So perhaps I’ll come up with a middle ground here—occasionally sharing my enthusiasm, useful Google tips, amusing Google observations, and so on—while avoiding topics likely to make my colleagues annoyed or uncomfortable.

    “So I have a question about my site…”

    Please, not here.  I’m enjoying tackling general and specific Webmaster issues every day at work… and my teammates and I are really, truly committed to opening up new channels of communication (like our Sitemaps tools and active Sitemaps GoogleGroup, for instance, plus MUCH more to come!).  But everyone needs a break from work now and then, so please respect my personal space here on the Web.  Thanks!

    With that said, I know that Matt got some outstanding feedback on Google Communications, and so I’d be nuts if I didn’t also invite you to share your Google Communication ideas below.  I’d also love to hear from you about your favorite bloggers who masterfully juggle work and non-work topics on their blogs; I could use some more role models in case I decide to go that route eventually :-D.

    *  *  *

    Anyway… to you faithful BLADAM readers who’ve stuck with me during all my bloggily dry and/or boring spells, thank you.  To you new readers, welcome!  It’s a pleasure to have you here, and—as always—I look forward to your comments.  Now I’m heading offline to go celebrate my birthday weekend! 😀

  • Quick summary of my 3 week trip to Asia and Australia

    I just returned from a three-week-long vacation in Australia and Asia.  It was—like most of my vacations—filled with notable disasters and joys.  Here are a few of the highlights (or, in a few cases, lowlights):
    Opera House in Sydney, Australia

    • Cuddling with an indifferent koala, petting appreciative kangaroos.
    • Snorkeling with colorful big and little fish (and gorgeous plants) in the Great Barrier Reef.
    • Watching aboriginal dancers and learning about didgeridoo, natural medicine, and more.
    • (Badly) throwing a spear and a boomerang (some poor tourist now has one less finger! Okay, so I’m just kidding about that. Maybe.)
    • Hiking in a gorgeous albeit truly rainy rainforest.
    • Getting sucked on by leeches and bitten by a zillion mosquitoes in that same rainforest.

    • Swimming under a huge waterfall (Milla Milla Falls).

    • Mountain biking around a beautiful lake.

    • Spotting tree kangaroos and lots of other exotic animals while canoeing in that same lake.

    • Exploring Melbourne and Sydney and walking all the way across the Harbor Bridge.

    • Eating unidentified food in a Korean food court all by myself.

    • Dealing with 90 degree heat (with nearly 100% humidity) and 20 degree snowy weather in the same week.

    • Enjoying the look on Koreans’ faces when they saw me walking outside in that 20 degree snowy weather… in my t-shirt (there’s a story behind that, of course)

    • Taking over 1,800 photos (thank goodness for digital photography and big cheap SD cards!).

    • Witnessing huge flocks (?) of fruit bats flying overhead for several nights.

    • Drinking Australian beer and eating kangaroo (no, not the one I petted!) and other Australian delicacies, including really delicious fish.

    • Being told by many Australians how much they’re dying to visit California.

    • Dancing in a casino and get asked if my “partner” and I are partners / teachers / whether we’re doing Rockabilly / if we can teach them how to do what we do (we had never danced previously).

    • Seeing some of the ugliest birds in existence (cassowaries) and also the cutest birds (little penguins… without ice!).

    • Having a different big white bird tell me to “SHUT UP!” repeatedly.

    • Going to an emergency warm (thankfully not for me!) and a Singapore police station (I had stuff stolen this trip… yet again. Ack!).

    • Shopping for a new camera and bargaining with brusque and sometimes shady dealers in a multi-story tech complex in Singapore.

    • Riding in modern trains, a vintage train, trolleys, buses, shuttles, gondolas, canoes, subways, and (actually affordable!) taxis.

    • Eating tons of fruits and drinking fruit juices I had never sampled before, including dragon fruit, star fruit, jack fruit, passion fruit, and (indeed smelling just like garbage) durian fruit. Fresh squeezed juice: 60 cents USD in Singapore (albeit $8 in an uber swanky bar… ouch!).

    • Meeting a huge range of interesting and diverse people, from lesbian Hong Kong hikers to crazy Danish military men to camera-shy Dutch girls to amazingly talented Japanese dancers to marathon’ing airline reps, and more…

    • Trekking around a Night Safari in Singapore and seeing flying squirrels, lions, hippos, giraffes, and other exotic animals.

    • Staying with wonderful friends I’ve never met in person before.

    • Riding a ferris wheel where my friend and I were the only ones onboard. Kinda spooky.

    • Watching (twice!) Swedish dancers skillfully performing an African-American dance in Australia and Singapore. Impressive, enjoyable and a little bit odd.

    • Dancing with people from around the world… some of whom barely spoke English, but our (dance) conversations were wonderful!

    • Having an amazingly honest Australian cabbie turn down my tip because “Hey, Mate, you don’t have to tip in Australia!”

    …and wow, so much more! I took a bunch of journal notes (many of which, sadly, were on my cell phone that was stolen), and I’ll do my best to write some more specific details on my experiences, not to mention share more of the photos! The next couple of weeks, however, are going to be quite hectic.

    Anyway, though I had a wonderful trip overall, it’s certainly nice to be back… with my own bed, my good Bay Area friends, and so on. And hmm… I wonder where I’ll go next… 😀

  • The satisfaction of mentoring

    I recently got an e-mail from a former workmate, asking if I’d be willing to join him for a coffee or a meal to give “some career advice […] and honest opinion[s].”

    I’m very flattered and I like doing this sort of thing for many reasons.

    First of all, this particular guy is someone I have a lot of respect for… smart, driven, and clearly sincere. Helping someone like that is fodder for great karma and just a pleasure overall.

    But the “help” isn’t a one-way street. While I’ve unfortunately gotten very little direct mentoring in my work life so far, I’ve learned a great deal from those I’ve mentored… from interns to colleagues in different departments and so on.

    That may seem cliched — the mentor becoming the mentored — but it’s quite true and much appreciated. In particular, when giving career advice, I’m forced to do some deep thinking and soul searching on my own.

    – How did I get to where I am? How much of it was planned vs. serendipitous?
    – What are some of the mistakes I’ve made? How can I recognize the warning signs in the future and avoid future pitfalls?
    – If I could go back in time, what would I tell a Past Adam careerwise?
    – What do I have to be thankful for in my career?

    And, despite an untraditional and often challenging, aw hell, even oft frustrating set of career experiences… I have an enormous amount to be thankful for. Reflecting upon my blessings in this context not only provides me with guidelines and encouragement to give to others… it also serves to consciously remind me of what makes me happy and motivates me in my career.

  • Despite some challenges and regrets, dancing at Jammix is still a blast

    Every month or so during the school year, the Stanford University Dance Department puts on an event called Jammix. It includes a huge variety of music and dance styles… from schmaltzy tangos to goofy covers of American pop tunes to “Play that Funky Music, White Boy!” to Metallica waltzes (!) and beyond. And all for $2, too!

    The talent is equally varied. Given that this was the first Jammix of the season, there were even more newbies than usual, but also quite a few impressively experienced folks (including dance teachers!) in attendance.

    The common denominators amongst it all are Fun and Friendliness. Oh, and always at least a couple memorable moments for me :-).

    The D’oh Moment
    A salsa song came on, and — despite being a total salsa neophyte (I remember about 3 moves) — I decided to ask the woman standing next to me to dance since she looked particularly warm and approachable.

    “Hi, I’m Adam” I offered.

    She looked at me with a mix of surprise and genuine amusement. “I’m…”

    “Anne!” I interjected. Yeah, as in Anne the (at least locally) famous and much beloved salsa teacher that I’ve been acquainted with socially for over a year. She had dyed her hair, and apparently by this Friday evening my brain fuel was running low.

    Thank goodness she IS a kind and patient soul, or I would have been even more mortified than I was… asking such a fab salsera to dance salsa AND not recognizing her. And why oh why couldn’t I have asked her to Lindy Hop instead?! :O But luckily I ended up feeling pretty comfortable sticking to the basics during the dance, chatting throughout and catching up with her since we hadn’t seen each other in a few months.

    * * *

    Of courage and compliments
    Despite assurances from nice friends that my waltzing is actually decent, I still am a bit self-conscious about it. So you can imagine how proud I am that I got up the guts to ask one of the most talented women of the evening to dance a cross-step waltz with me. Even better yet, halfway through she complimented me on my dancing and asked if I’d consider being a part of the Annual Stanford Viennese Ball Opening performance group that she’s leading.

    Alas, it requires rehearsals twice a week for several months, and given my uncertain schedule for the next while, I sadly can’t afford to make that commitment. But I was quite honored nonetheless, since she obviously liked my waltzing :-).

    * * *

    Each time I attend Jammix, I always have so many mixed emotions. On one hand, I feel regret (for not learning to dance earlier in my life), I feel a little embarrassment (for being an old fart amongst so many 18 and 19 year olds!*), and — when dancing with beginner after beginner — I sometimes feel frustration or even exhaustion (e.g., waltzing with someone who has no frame or polka’ing with dead weight). But on the other hand, the welcoming atmosphere of openness, of joy, even giddy enthusiasm tends to outweigh the downsides for me. And — unlike sometimes when I’m out Lindy Hopping — I rarely worry whether I’m good enough or popular enough to be asking someone because at Jammix everyone’s just happy to be dancing (it helps, too, that there are often more women than men in attendance… w00t!!!)

    Also, seeing so many young people on campus doing something than drinking themselves into a stupor or grabbing each others’ asses at crass frat parties is also delightfully refreshing. And no, these aren’t predominantly freaks-‘n’-losers, either. It’s clear that — along with indeed a bunch o’ geeks (not that there’s anything wrong with that ) — Stanford dances attract many jocks, cheerleaders, pretty boys, hottie chicks, fashionable peeps, and so on. Indeed, this sort of scene does give me hope for future generations of college students :-). I’ve even heard that many students camp out just to get into the uber-popular dance classes at Stanford.

    What a wonderful world, at least this piece of it! And how lucky I am to be a part of it 🙂

    * * *

    Related links:
    – “Skipping the frat scene: Jammix social dance party” [Stanford Daily newspaper]

    * * *

    * Regarding the age-thing, my friend Graham said to me at an earlier Jammix: “You may be old, but you’re not creepy old.” Whew 😀

  • I don’t understand American pop culture and I want to create a culture mashup

    Apparently, according to a recent newspaper article, viewers are getting sick of reality TV shows.

    You don’t say.

    Could it be that people are actually discovering that time spent in front of the tube watching others’ (laughably) “real” lives is time that’s not spent developing real friendships, pursuing real hobbies, learning real skills, getting real exercise or even real sleep?

    Nah.

    Frankly, I’m just feeling like an old fuddy-duddy nowadays, because at the approaching-dentures-age of 34, I don’t get most of popular culture. I don’t understand why people wear clothes that are clearly uncomfortable, why people love so much music that is — by pretty much any unbiased measurement — unmusical, and why people watch so many crime shows (isn’t there enough adversity, darkness, and gore in the real world?)

    I yearn for a mixture of former and modern times. I am deeply saddened that I missed the eras of Beethoven and Basie, but I am thrilled to be living in a time in which I can connect with other theatre aficianados across the world via the Internet.

    I’m simply disgusted when I listen to the Top Billboard charts via online music services, but uplifted when I can discover amazing gems from over 1.5 million songs in these same grand jukeboxes at home and work for $5/month.

    I want to shatter glass when I encounter the pure idiocy of a TV barking CNN news coverage in my hotel elevator. But I feel like hugging my radio when I hear yet another enlightening or heartwarming segment on NPR.

    I want to create an island with all the good mixed from disparate eras and cultures, and move there… as long as I have a good Internet connection, lots of quality broadway musicals, several fab big bands, my favorite lindy hop teachers, good sushi, a nice piano, a big heated swimming pool, snappy dressers, organic foods, women with sexy aussie accents… okay, okay, it’ll have to be a hell of a big island.

    Maybe someday.

  • So much to say (take six divided by two)

    In my life, the last 22.3 hours:

    • a screaming baby duet
    • faux yogacized safety instructions
    • dozens of signs telling me not to stand
    • yet another brush with fame (soon, I’ll have top-level contacts at EVERY major broadway play! Okay, three. But it’s a start!)
    • a massively huge sauna — free!
    • dirty rotten scoundrels (from a distance)
    • the cheapest expensive hotel in the world? Or is it the most expensive cheap hotel? Hmm.
    • A hot british fitness instructor who had never heard of blogging… and hates computers (or “Why is life sometimes so damn unfair?”)
    • The most costly cheerios in the world?

    Hmm… I need to stop this teasing, don’t I, or at least deliver? This certainly isn’t the first time that I’ve mentioned wacky mini-bits from my life without getting around to actually going into details. And indeed, the list of AdamHappenings and Musings I need to eventually journalize is getting to be quite lengthy. Ah, but the more time I spend blogging, the less time I have to get myself into and out of Life’s glorious and capricious randomness. No easy solutions.

    For now, though, I have to catch some z’s so I can be awake to haul 230 pounds a dozen blocks or so in order for me to eventually get to another famous (infamous?) Camp For Swingers(tm). From there, you can bet computering will be the last thing on my mind 😉 Bye for now!

    P.S. — Hey, TabletPC-heads, don’t worry… I still have much more to say about those things. In a week. Or three. Ack.