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The Empress of Ice Cream
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Keepin’ Busy
First things first, congrats to the SF Giants for winning the World Series! I’m pretty sure someone set off a fire cracker a couple feet away from me last night on Mission Street…but I’d had a few beers at that point so my perception was a bit off.
When not running through the streets celebrating a major sports victory, I tend to keep myself fairly busy considering that I don’t have a job. It can be challenging explaining to people what exactly it is that I do. Do people who ask really want to know that I spend a fair amount of time writing cover letters, personal statements, and trying to improve my LSAT score? No, that doesn’t make for good cocktail conversation. And, to be honest, it’s depressing for me to discuss. So let’s not chat about that here. Instead, let’s talk about the other little things that I do to occupy my time.
A while back I mentioned that from time to time I do a bit of social media stuff for my friend Brendan’s company, BlinkTag. Although I’m not doing too much for him at the moment, it’s neat learning about some of the projects he and his employee/our friend Trucy work on every week.
It’s also nice being around other productive people who have a fairly flexible schedule, which gives us the opportunity to sometimes go on little adventures. A couple weeks ago, for instance, we got a car and drove out to Cupertino to visit a friend who works at Apple. During our stay at One Infinite Loop, we stopped for lunch and I actually saw Steve Jobs in the cafeteria line! I did a double take and he smiled at my confusion. Pretty sweet. After that we drove over to the Yahoo! Great America campus, not to be confused with the main Sunnyvale campus, to visit Conner (aka the bf) who works there. Yahoo! was a lot more purple than Apple, but I’d say both were a lot more officy feeling than I would have expected. At some point Brendan, Trucy, and I hope to make it to some of the other big name offices around the Bay Area.
Last week B and T let me tag along with them to Oakland, where we met up with the people responsible for BART‘s social media. Almost all social media work I’ve done, whether for BlinkTag or Londonist, has been based on knowledge I’ve gained by personal use and a little bit of shared info, so it was interesting to hear what people who do it more officially had to say on the subject.
One of the coolest things I think Brendan and his crew have done is create Bikesy, a bike mapping service for the Bay Area, which incorporates safety and elevation into its routes. He altered the service a bit for one of his clients, which you can read about here (guess who wrote the blog post and did the screencast, nudge nudge wink wink). And! Just to show how ridiculous I can be and what other types of things Brendan’s had me do, check out his blog for a whole bunch of WordPress tutorial screencasts I made.
Now back to business as usual, and to vote!
Well You Know November Has Come
Due to the fact that I have, once again, failed at updating my personal blog in a timely manner, I am going to sign myself up for this NaBloPoMo, or National Blog Posting Month, business. If it sounds familiar, it’s probably because you’ve heard of NaNoWriMo- or when people try to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. I think that’s kind of a neat idea, but the one time I signed up I managed to write about 100 words then forgot about it. This seems much more manageable. Not sure if I’ll try writing about anything specific, it’ll probably be more of the usual, and perhaps some commentary on things that interest me day to day.
Now that the NaBloPoMo stuff has been covered, on to other ramblings!
Living in San Francisco is at once incredible and yet bizarre. I moved here several months ago but it feels like I could have left London a couple weeks ago. Yes, it now rains from time to time and it gets darker a bit earlier, but the weather really doesn’t vary all that much. I continue to search for a job, which is really not the most fun of tasks, but I refuse to settle for just anything. LSAT scores have arrived, and although they are not bad, I plan to take that damned test again in December.
In three weeks or so I’m headed to New Jersey to spend Thanksgiving with some family out there and I am pumped, despite the fact that I’m going to freeze. It’ll be my first time on the East Coast in over two years! That’s probably the longest I’ve ever been away from the East Coast in my entire life.
This month is probably going to get pretty busy and insane- I have a feeling about this month, can’t tell if it’s good or bad, but something’s gonna happen. Hopefully this little blog will provide a space for me to put the crazy thoughts and speculations about where it is I’m headed!
There and Back Again
Recently I’ve managed to catch up with some friends and family I haven’t seen or spoken with in a long time. The usual first statement seems to be along the lines of, “I can never figure out where you are. You’re always in different places!” And, true to form, I suppose I always sort of am. No, I’m not visiting different countries or taking road trips to each corner of the continent. But I have kept myself busy and I’m certain that I’m only going to get busier over the next couple of months.
The highlights:
Drinking whiskey with a few of my male cousins in Pittsburgh after my cousin’s wedding.
Making it to Oregon for the first time to reunite with some Trinity friends. In addition to seeing waterfalls, vineyards, and hazel farms, I saw a real life Delorean.
A journey down Highway 1 with my parents to Carmel. They reminisced over their honeymoon, which followed the same route, and I enjoyed discovering the Carmel Mission.
Watching my friends drive their 60 foot MUNI bus, freshly transformed into the Playapillar, around Burning Man for over a week.
Showing my Dutch friend, who had never been to the US before, the joys of pick-up trucks, Mexican food, skyscrapers, casinos, and Lake Tahoe.
Other things I shall not mention here. 
The lower lights:
Deadly week long sinus infection.
Never ending physical therapy for my shin splints- I suppose this is a good thing but I am ready for it to be done.
Intense study sessions and near panic attacks thanks to the all mighty LSAT.
That is all I’ll say tonight. Hopefully I’ll get this thing back up and running shortly!
#19 Diary of a Bad Year
I’m kind of sleepy and don’t have much time, so this is going to be more of a “yes I read another book” post than anything worthwhile.
This was my first novel by J. M. Coetzee and I doubt it’ll be my last. The response to my reading it by father and a friend has been, “He’s one hell of a writer.” Neither had read this particular book but agreed that few others can measure up in terms of talent. It wasn’t my favorite book ever- it didn’t move me strongly, but it was executed wonderfully and skillfully.
An older man, referred to as Señor C, has been commissioned to write a book of opinions for a German publisher. The man is South African but lives in Australia and finds it a bit odd that his words will later be translated to a language he doesn’t speak (or at least I don’t think he does). He figures he can’t write on a computer himself anymore, or at least not much, and discovers that the beautiful young neighbor he rather fancies is looking for work. He asks if she’ll be sort of an editor/assistant and type up his manuscript. She eventually agrees and grows rather fond of him, although not in a romantic sense. She’s involved with a man several years older who left his wife for her.
The format of this book is really what makes it good. The first part of the page features Señor C’s opinions, which vary from the war in Iraq, to Tony Blair, to, well, to many different trying topics. The next part of the page holds his thoughts, about his life or the young woman. After a bit we also get a third part, the young lady’s voice. Oftentimes the lady describes conversations she has with her lover, so it’s almost a fourth bit. I struggled to figure out which order was best for reading it all. Should I read all of his opinions at once or allow the pieces of the story interrupt the flow? I opted for interruption, which created a bit of fun for me. How many of our thoughts or parts of life are interrupted by the emotional or stressful events that pop up around us? At once we get a fairly simple but almost sweet story contrasted with heavy and sometimes depressing topics. Coetzee succeeds in offering a fair amount of depth with a small amount of space and that’s impressive.
So much for not writing a lot.
#18 On the Road
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect before starting Jack Kerouac’s classic, On the Road, and I’m still not quite sure how to feel now that I’ve finished it. Yes, I enjoyed it, quite a bit actually. But I didn’t particularly feel blown away by it as others have claimed to be.
As someone who’s been on quite a number of road trips through different parts of the States, I’d have to say it struck a definite chord with me. However, there were few moments when our narrator, Sal Paradise, offers more than a basic description of his and Dean Moriarty’s adventures.
Sal and Dean venture from one coast to another in a constant quest to either find themselves, women, the American dream, or to chase a certain feeling that doesn’t really have a name. They hitch rides, get into trains, take odd jobs here and there, and pester family members and friends for whatever money they can get their hands on in order to keep traveling. Somewhere in between all this, Dean manages to get married a couple of times and Sal writes and publishes at least one book.
It was a fun read and I believe that Kerouac has the ability to write beautifully, when he chooses to do so. His descriptions of San Francisco are spot on- to think, they even had the same types of hipsters back in his day! The best bit was at the end when they wind up driving through Mexico for a while. However, a lot of the book felt like a diary. It didn’t contain much depth and it was hard to determine any sense of purpose. Yes, being on the road may instill a feeling that in and of itself justifies the journey, but oftentimes Sal and Dean emphasized great need and urgency in getting from one city to the other without really saying why.
This book would make for a good Twitter account:
“Today I decided I wanted to drive out West and @deanM said he’d come with me if I taught him how to write.”-@SParadise
“It sure is foggy out here in San Francisco! That @remiboncoeur certainly gets us in a lot of trouble!”
“I only have $5 left…I’m headed to Denver and hope that my aunt’s wire transfer meets me there on time!”
And so on, and so on. In the end I’m glad to have read it and would recommend it to certain friends, but I can’t say it was life altering.
#17 In Cold Blood
Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood is, by far, one of the most powerful books I have ever read. I am not sure if I have ever had such a violent reaction to written work. The story is based upon investigations and interviews Capote performed on the 1959 matter of the Kansas based Clutter family. Long story short, a couple of ex-convicts go after the “perfect score,” which led to the motiveless murder of four innocent and much-loved folks.
Having never seen the movie Capote nor knowing much or anything about the author before diving in, I really didn’t know what to expect. Or at least not until my aunt saw that I was about to start reading it a few days ago and went into a panic, “They made me read that in 8th grade and I still haven’t fully recovered!”
Well, I read it in one day, okay just over one day (to be fair, I was on a plane for most of it) and would have to declare that it is not suitable reading material for a 13 or 14 year old at an all girls’ school. To Kill a Mockingbird (written by one of Capote’s closest friends, Harper Lee), which is what I had to read at that age, is a much better choice.
However, I could not, as much as I tried, put this book down for more than a few seconds at a time. It is incredible that Capote was able to not only gather all the information, but also create a coherent and readable story out of it.
Upon finishing the book, I was definitely shaking and may even have shed a few tears. Towards the end, one of the characters points out that Perry and Dick had hoped to find $10,000 but wound up leaving with $40, or $10 per body. He questions how two people could possibly kill innocent people for so little. The rest of the section describes death row and explains that the date of execution was postponed because the court could not decide whether capital punishment was the correct action to take. As Perry points out, what is there to distinguish the murderer from the jury who chooses death or the soldier who kills on the battlefield. The motive may differ but the final result remains the same.
I wanted to share why this book now has a personal significance to me, but I’m just not ready. It involves something bad that happened to me many years ago and how I struggled for years to get over it. Perhaps one of these days I’ll write about it, but not now.
WAG #31 A Confession (Laughter)
C stared at the sad, wooden eyes, which would forever reach towards Heaven, begging for forgiveness. “What a gruesome image,” she thought to herself. How had she never noticed how terrifying a symbol this was- The statue of a semi-nude waif of a man looming overhead, red paint covering his hands and feet to emphasize the nails our sinning ancestors drove into his hands and feet. We gape at the photos of starving people around the world in National Geographic and dread the thought of going on any sort of vacation that might not involve running water, but will accept this figure as our savior?
Yes, it had been a while since she’d last been to mass. Approximately two years, as a matter of fact. Another cousin was getting married and not going wasn’t much of an option. She’d thought that going back to something she’d done once a week for 19 years would be a piece of cake- it would be boring, but she could fake her way through it, right? So what if she’d spent the last 10 years struggling, with herself and (especially) with her mother, over whether quitting church had been the right thing to do.
But once she’d gotten into her pew, C had a mini panic attack. She wasn’t the one getting married, and she probably wasn’t going to be the next in line either, but what would happen when (or if) that day did come? She’d never survive Pre-Cana classes and would feel like one of those dreaded false prophets for even pretending to have a slice of faith left. She certainly wouldn’t want to make all of her non-Catholic friends sit through all this incense and chanting.
Maybe it was time they all knew. Of course rumors had circulated about her church going habits- oh, she had indeed heard those “whispers” that emanated from her grandmother’s kitchen last Christmas, and now she would finally lay them to rest.
C refused to utter one single “amen,” “and also with you,” nor sing any form of “alleluia” or “praise be to god in the highest.” Before she knew it, everyone around her was uttering the Nicene Creed. To her dismay, she remembered every. single. word. Still, she held fast and allowed herself to observe the rituals as an outsider. She continued to wonder how anyone could expect her to believe in any of this.
She lapsed at one moment and kneeled with the rest as the priest and deacon prepared the Eucharist. Was she really going to do this? This was the big moment. She stood, lifted the kneeler, and waited for her row to move forward for Communion. Fear pulled at her but determination to hold her own proved firm. Her aunt turned to her with surprise when she noticed that C had sat down instead of joining the line. Her cousin looked slightly bewildered as he stepped past her- but she wasn’t too worried about him.
The family silently noticed and passed judgement (or so she had decided). “We all go through our doubting phase,” she could almost hear them saying.
It was just about time to go. The priest shared a few extra words and closed with, “The Lord be with you.” Unable to stop herself, she responded, “And also with you.” Her hands drew the sign of the cross to the rhythm of, “May almighty God bless you, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” “Amen.”
C swore to herself, smiled, then broke into laughter. It wasn’t an overly loud laugh- more of a soft chuckle, but a few of her neighbors noticed it. She laughed because one day, perhaps as many as sixty years from that particular moment, she would no longer remember the words to the Nicene Creed nor have to prevent the response, “Only say the word and I shall be healed,” from slipping off her tongue. It may not fully disappear on its own, but she’d made great strides that day.
“How did you enjoy the ceremony?” C’s great uncle asked as they exited the church.
“It was wonderful,” she replied. The smile on her face was anything but fake.
Instructions for this week’s topic were:
Writing Aventure Group Topic #31: “Laughter”. There are many types of and reasons for laughter: twitters, titters, guffaws, snickers, snorts, belly laughs and bursts of inappropriate giggles at a funeral. Laughter can mean many things and be displayed in various ways. This week write about someone (real or fictional) and a moment of mirth. Your piece can be as long or short as you want, using any form you like. No Rules! Now Write!
To see my past WAG entries, click here. To learn more about WAG and see what others have written this week, visit India Drummond’s blog here.
Please Do Cry for Me Argentina
Four years ago I was hanging out in a pub in London with a friend during World Cup madness. Argentina was playing Mexico and, because we were in England, the majority of the crowd was supporting Mexico. A couple young fellows asked what was the matter with us and cheerfully explained that we were the bad guys (we’d met while studying in Buenos Aires, which meant we were kitted out in baby blue and white). You bet your ass that I was screaming for victory when Argentina trounced Mexico.
Then before I’d had a chance to feel happy for finally supporing a winning team for once (I typically root for Ireland), Germany came along and destroyed us. Oh well, I thought, there’s always next time…four years from now.
This time the Argentines seemed to be on fire. Diego Maradona may not be your ideal coach (or human being, for that matter), but he is legend. How could a player not feel pumped about scoring for his country when his idol (who looks like he may now be better suited for the Mines of Moria) kisses and embraces him whenever he subs in for another player?
Alas, it was not meant to be. And, unfortunately for myself, there were further implications involved. My friend Raf, who you may remember because of his little buddy Chewy, decided to make it real. Devastated that his team, Mexico, had lost yet again to the superior Argentines, he bet me that there was no chance Argentina could beat Germany. I virtually laughed at him via gchat and agreed to a wager. Whoever lost must not only praise the other via blog post, but must also send him or her something completely ridiculous from Amazon. Well, fine. We lost. Again. STUPID GERMANY!
So here you have it:
RAF IS THE SUPREME EMPEROR AND MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE!
I’m not going to say what I got him off of Amazon because I don’t want to ruin the surprise- perhaps I’ll update later, but it is pretty amazing. It may be semi Star Wars related and it may be the best stupidest thing ever. Please enjoy your prize but please note that come 2014 you will suffer defeat once more.
If you’re confused about the photo gallery up top, those are some rather zealous fans at a Boca game in Buenos Aires. Just imagine the sound of vuvuzelas being replaced with cries of “Maradoooooooooooonaaaa!” and “Dale dale dale dale dale dale dale boca” mixed with their tears when the stupid Germans tromped all over their steak and mate infused dreams.
Do You Buzz and Me [Blatant Self-Promotion]
For being unemployed I happen to be a pretty busy person, hence the recent silence on here. In the last couple of weeks I’ve written cover letters, done some freelance social media stuff for Blinktag Inc., headed to the beach, visited Virginia City for the 4th of July, cried for Argentina (ouch) after the Germans destroyed them, and done my best to avoid studying for my upcoming Accounting exam (yuck).
I also stopped by Parisoma, a very cool “innovation loft”/co-working space, to meet with Evy and Sylvia from Doyoubuzz. Doyoubuzz, which was started in France a few years ago, is a free online resume builder site. If you’d like to see an example of a super awesome one, visit mine (hehe)!
My friend Lisa recommended I try it a couple of months ago, I did, and am now a definite fan. It’s easy to use, especially if you’re like me and have no graphic design skills. Doyoubuzz is hoping to move away from paper resumes and CVs, which is definitely an idea I can get behind. They’ve done pretty well in Europe and are hoping to gain more ground in the States- I have no doubts that they’ll succeed.
They’ve started a new project for their blog, which involves interviewing some of the site’s users, such as extremely cool people myself. You can read my interview here. It was great meeting Evy and Sylvia, learning more about the company, and hearing their job hunting tips.
Having the opportunity to visit interesting spaces and learn about how young startups have grown and what their strategies for further development are is yet another reason why I’m happy to have moved to San Francisco. Even if I don’t yet have a job I’m happy to know I’m surrounded by creative and incredibly helpful people!
I believe it’s now time to return to the land of T Accounts and Double Entries…someone save me from my accounting class!
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