Google Holiday Party 2007
Part II

Location: Shoreline Amphitheater, Mountain View

Time Frame: 12/08 Saturday night 8:00pm-1:00am

Food: Little things to munch scattered around the rooms.

Entertainment: There were three main rooms. Each room had a theme and a different type of entertainment: There was a DJ in one room, a live band in the next room, and ambient music in the third room. Each room also had a photographer stall, with a background for your pictures. The picture only took a minute to print, and the photographer-helper person would put it in a little frame for you. There was a big corner of video games in one room, and a wall dedicated to a virtual reality game in another. There were also two people in really weired orange costumes who liked to lie you down in a chair, strap you down with weights, and hit a gong. I think if you were in the chair you felt the vibrations of the gong. In other words, there was plenty of entertainment.

Number of people: 4-6 thousand. (I couldn't count)

The Google Holiday Party was a two day affair. The first half of the guests attended on Friday, and the second on Saturday. A total of about 11 thousand people attended between the two days. Alan and I went on Saturday. SO MANY PRETTY DRESSES. Almost everybody dressed up, especially the ladies, and there where beautiful dresses everywhere. I found it amusing that only 5 minutes into the party I was already seeing women take off their 4inch shoes or limp around. By the time the party was over many women were barefoot.

The food was OK. Not inedible, but definitely not spectacular. The presentation of the food was very nicely done though. Actually, the presentation of everything was very nicely done. It amazed me that this party was so big, and everything seemed to be running so smoothly. Trash was in its place, because there were many servers running around the rooms making sure everything looked nice. I spotted a couple of coordinator-looking people with headsets, checking things out. Obviously, there was lots of man power behind this extravagant party. The decorations, the parking experience, the bars and food, everything worked so seamlessly. As a guest, all you had to do was show up and be pampered.

The three rooms were very lavishly decorated. The first room we went into was dedicated to pink, white and red, with tall vases of water that had pink and red flower balls on top. Its hard to explain, but there were what looked like gigantic half circles coming out of the ceiling and they had light projectors inside of them, so the inversed domes were very pretty and beautiful patterns of light emanated from them. There were columns rising from the floor that were enveloped in white triangles. This first room had a DJ placed on a platform the middle of the room. The DJ ROCKED! The dance floor was packed the entire night. The food was basically little hors d'oeuvre and ravioli.

The second room we visited had black walls and black floors. There was a gigantic stage, where the band was playing. The band was very good. They played and sang everything from salsa to Maroon 5 and Santana. There were big projector lights hanging everywhere from the ceiling. And, all around the upper part of the walls there were gigantic circular projector screens that had images on them, kind of like a tv, the screens had live feed from the band and people dancing on the dance floor, among outer space and Google images. The food was Asian themed with rice buns, shredded pork, and things like deep fried green beans.

The third room was called "The Space Lounge" It had gigantic retro-looking T.V.s on each end of the room. The TVs played cheesy science fiction shows and movies, like Star Trek. This room was quieter, as there was no band or DJ. The food was more "americanized":little hamburgers and sandwiches and mini wrapped hot dogs. I remember seeing BIG buckets of shrimp too. The photo stall in this room was the best because they took your picture against a green screen while you were holding a Google flag. Then they replaced the green for an image of an astronaut on the moon. I think the photo stalls were my favorite part of the entertainment.

There was at least one bar located in every room, and all the bar tenders looked really cute because they were wearing little alien-antennas. However, this did not stop the drinks from being disappointing! The selection of alcohol consisted of mostly beer and three types of wine. I don't drink beer, and the wines tasted like One Buck Chuck. There was no hard-alcohol to be found... which was probably for the best because people got smashed out of their minds anyway. (Being the hard-core alcoholic that I am, I spent the night being totally sober.)

I have to say, there is one aspect in which this party fundamentally failed my expectations: when I left the party, I did not feel like I had just attended a Holiday party. It was big, beautiful and well coordinated, but it no way did it remind me of the holidays, or winter, or gift-giving, or giving thanks. There was no (cheesy) traditional uplifting holiday-speech. It just felt like a really big party, thrown for an unknown reason. The first room, with the red and pink and flower balls, reminded me of wedding decorations. So, if the purpose of the party was to celebrate the holidays, then unfortunately, Google failed. :(

Also, at least for Alan and me, there was something very impersonal about the party. This might have been because we are newbies, and we don't know that many people. But, there were so many thousands of unknown faces in the crowds. It was almost intimidating. The leaders of the company were nowhere to be found. I just felt like it was, well, random. And it didn't really matter if we were there or not. I guess Google would never have thrown such an amazing party if it did not value its employees, but I felt like it still needed to be said.

My Consumer Down Fall

Today I went to San Francisco. In this magical place, where every store around Union Square is playing Mariah's Christmas carols, I spent 4 hours buying three pairs of shoes. I'm not proud but I am happy, as my new shoes are quite fabulous. I really needed shoes too, because when I moved to Mountain View I threw a way a lot of old shoes that were uncomfortable/ hadn't been used for over a year. Recently I also had to retire my favorite pair of black pumps; they were so abused by my daily wanderings that they were peeling off my feet, literally. (OK, I'm done trying to justify why I spent $160 on shoes today).

Anyway, on my shoe-day I had several random thoughts:

- If I were to venture into retail, I would definitely open a boutique store dedicated to clutches. It is so hard to find a decent, well made, stylish clutch. Currently Payless has the market cornered, which is just sad.
- WTF is wrong with Starbucks? I had a venti non-fat latte and it tasted like swimming pool water, only made with milk while the 'barista' was thinking about coffee. I drank it anyway though. I couldn't let it go to waste.
- Malls = Cable t.v. There are too many stores with the same stuff. Malls make me feel like I'm watching tv sometimes: I keep flipping through the channels, hoping something interesting will appear, but nothing really happens and eventually I get bored.

Guess Who Got Accepted into Grad School?

ME!

I got the acceptance e-mail today. I start classes January 23, 3008. Yay! I'm a student again. It's official.  Merry Christmas to MM. Yay! Starting next year, I will slowly start chipping away at my masters degree in Business Administration from San Jose State University. I am so excited; I want to do a backflip.  Yay! I couldn't have done it without the support of my friends and family. I love you guys! Thank you for your help and understanding through all of my self doubt and essay writing crises. 

Holiday Party Review. 

Part I

Alan and I have 3 (possibly 4) holiday parties to attend this year, due to our various jobs. I've never been invited to so many job-related holiday parties in one holiday season. So, I thought it might be fun to compare them and highlight the things I found most interesting.  Last night we attended our first, for my company. 

Location: Hilton, Santa Clara

Time Frame: Saturday night 6-11pm

Food: Choice of salmon or steak.

Entertainment: There was a DJ, and a person from the office was in charge of getting us to play games, like musical chairs.

Number of people: 40-50 from my region.

At first, when we arrived, I was very nervous. I had no idea what to expect. I had a slight dressing emergency that day and I really didn't know anybody who was going to be at the party, as my office was recently realigned to a new region, and I was only person who was attending from my office. The first couple of minutes was a little awkward, as I went around the room saying hi to people. Thank the non-denominational holiday deities, there was plenty of alcohol. Everybody was happy and in a party-mood. I never once herd a word of work-related conversation. People danced to pop music, and played silly games for silly prizes. All in all, I think it was good fun.

In terms of food and drink, the salad was horrible: warm leaves of lettuce topped with two slices of tomato and  soggy sugar coated walnuts. The main dish was pretty good; I chose steak. However, eating the thick cut of steak with a butter knife was a little difficult. (come on Hilton! Inexcusable.) The dessert was a slice of chocolate cake, with cherry filling.  The cake tasted like it was made with box mix, and a little too much canola oil. The cherry flavor was strong, so it helped disguise the canola oil taste. In general the food, aside from the main dish, was pretty disappointing. The alcohol was good though. I had a very nice long island ice tea and some wine and, towards the end, my new Area VP invited me to take a generous tequila shot "for the road" with him and a couple others. (Don't worry, Alan drove). I haven't had a tequila shot in years. And,  I could probably go a couple more years before I have another. 

In conclusion: the Hilton servers were attentive, the party was fun, the food was mostly disappointing, and the new AVP is high on my "cool boss" list. 

Frosting = Sugar Farts

Its true: I'm not a big frosting fan. I avoid eating it. I avoid purchasing it. In my mind, it is a disposable, mildly decorative packaging, always surrounding or on top of more important treasures. Frosting is what sugar would do itself, if sugar could digest butter and fart.

With this in mind, I will tell you a cupcake story. The story is 100% true.

Yesterday Alan called me on his way home. He called me about cupcakes. He had two very special cupcakes that he got from "tea time" at work. He had been saving them for us, starring at them for hours as they waited patiently on his desk for the drive home. So delicious they were almost "sensual", he described. Alan, I might add, has never been a dessert or cupcake freak. I knew these cupcakes had to be amazing for him to be obsessing about them. And, I was touched that he thought about bringing two of them home for us to share. 

Alan asked me to unlock the door, so that he could just walk in. I did. When Alan got home, he rushed through the door, barley said "hi", threw down his backpack and opened the container with the cupcakes. They were small in size, dark orange wood colored, with a healthy hat of creamy frosting. 

"Here", he thrust one forward. 

"But I'm cooking [pointing at mushrooms and frying meat]... we should have them for dessert."

"No, it can't wait... you don't understand... I've waited so long. We must eat them NOW."

"OK, ok... Lets eat a cupcake then" [Big giggly smile]

I peel the paper away and make to take a bite from the bottom.

"NO, wait, you have to get a bit of the frosting with the bite."

"Umm, OK." I reluctantly follow cupcake-eating instructions.

-Dead silence-

The cupcake was, indeed, delicious, luscious and smooth. Pumpkin flavored, with surprise walnuts, and the frosting did compliment the taste of the cake to an extent that I have never before imagined fathomable (I'm not exaggerating). I thanked Alan for the cupcake. Reaffirmed its amazingness. Took the hat of frosting off and threw it in the sink.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING????"[FACE OF SHOCK AND HORROR AND DEVASTATION] 

"I threw the frosting in the sink." [Big, happy, satisfied smile on my face]

Alan looked like he was about to dive in after the sugar fart, so I made sure it fell in the garbage disposal and I turned on the faucet, for a good minute.

-Dead silence-

"What is wrong with you??"

"Nothing. I don't like frosting; it is unnecessary to my cupcake eating pleasure."

Then Alan spent the next two hours being mad at me. Seriously, he was upset. He could not believe that I had thrown that frosting away. He was, I believe, hurt.  Our love is strong though, so we were able to overcome this sugar fart with a couple more giggles.

The moral of this story is that you should never underestimate the power of a cupcake. Think about that, the next time you eat one.

Thanksgiving 2007

So I decided to stop winning, borrow Alan's camera, and finally open a flickr account. [Please refer to bottom right corner of the screen for my flickr badge] This weekend has been wonderful so far. The following is a summary of events of the last 4 days:
OMG! Its Thursday. I'm not at work, and the only thing I need to accomplish today is eating. Warm and fuzzy feelings. We drive to Santa Rosa for Bryden family Thanksgiving. Most wonderful Thanksgiving stuffing and cranberry sauces EVER. Uncle Robert smoked a turkey. Uncle Robert is "the man".
Friday: Meet with Jasmine and Aaron. Hang out in Berkeley, eat, drink, be merry, watch Bourne Identify with Riff Trax. Totally awesome.
Saturday: Reeves-Fortney family Thanksgiving. There are babies! So much food. We took home an entire pumpkin pie.
Sunday: Recuperate from eating so much turkey. Walk, drink water, do laundry.

Hairy Otter and Perfume for Dogs

Yesterday, Saturday, we went to Monterey. I took a couple of pictures:

Me, with my favorite flower plant (aside form Calla Lilies). It is called bougainvillea, and it comes from South America. Monterey has them all over!

I saw this on display: Only in Monterey, California.

Also, I discovered irrefutable evidence of the down-fall of Macys (Sorry Indra). I love Macys. It is a great place to buy shoes, stockings, suits, jewlery... and perfume. Alan and I were checking out perfume section, and I ran across this advertisement:

Its perfume, FOR DOGS! Why, Why on earth would they sell that next to where I buy my perfume. What are they trying to say... that I smell like a dog? How could dog perfume be worthy of being sold next to human luxury products? Its for DOGS; little for legged creatures who like to smell their own butts! Its almost an insult. Since when to dogs need boutique high-end perfume, from Macys? I don't care how many insanely-rich people there are living in Monterey county. Its just freaky and unnecessary, and the product would be better located at the local boutique PET store.

On the other hand, maybe Macys has always been a pet store... we just never realized it until now.

My Monsters

I have many, but these are my favorites:

They live beside the TV, and they guard the apartment.

A Day in my Life
November 13, 2007

1- Alarm sounds at 6:30 am. The clock is 7 min. early, and I know it, so I stay in bed until my phone alarm goes off. Turn blasted phone off. By the time the radio alarm clock has sounded again I decide I might as well get up, because of all the pain I just put Alan through.
2- Eat and make coffee, take shower, find clothes. I should really invest in new pants. Where on earth are my shoes? Three sets of keys, two cell phones, one stupid purse. -All of this in no particular order.
3- Say hi to the insane squirrels who live around my apartment, in the trees. (Think about how squirrels are creepy.) Drive to work, aprox. 30 min. Listen to NPR News or Sarah and No Name, whichever is less depressing. Today Sarah and No Name talked about hemorrhoids.
4- Arrive to work. J beat me to work, yet again. Wonder in awe: J lives in Hayward (substantially farther away than me) and takes public transportation to work, to San Mateo, across a bridge. Talk about determination...
5- Say hi to office, including all three of my coworkers. Ask about any developing crisis in the company/branch. More wonder and awe.
6- Make first cup of tea; necessary step in order to survive following 9 hours.
7- Work.
8- Work more, and eventually goof-off by talking about some crazy work-related incident with Branch Manager (BM).
9- Check to see if San Jose State has finally decided to accept me.
10- Think about San Jose State: Why haven't they accepted me yet?! AHHHH. Life must be more than just working!
11- Pretend to work, while really thinking about lunch.
12- Hunger is too pronounced. Must eat soon. Damn it! I'm out of cashews and cranberries. What is a person supposed to snack around here? Think about 2 bars of delicious chocolate I saw this morning while making breakfast.
13- Ok, I really should work.
14- Prepare lunch: Pick Lean Cuisine from 3 left in mini fridge. Heat. Consume while sitting at desk checking e-mail and proof-reading memos/work stuff.
15- Release front-desk-person so that she can take a lunch break. BM talks about totally random things. Use hour to relax and answer front desk phone. By accident, read in news that Paris Hilton is worried about drunk elephants in Africa.
16- Laugh uncontrollably for 15 sec.
17- Go back to my desk, in the back of the office. Work.
18- Proof read memo of BM, by unsolicited request of BM. BM gets offended. Explain to BM that I received formal training as a linguist and worked for a year as an English tutor. What did he expect?
19- Is it time to go home yet? Make list of things to follow up with tomorrow.
20- Time to head home.
21- Hybrid is empty. Fucking cheapest gas is $3.49 a gallon. Miss Venezuela.
22- Arrive home. It is dark. I am hungry. Go for chocolate bars: I taste the best chocolate I have had all year. Veneto Seeds of Change, dark chocolate with espresso beans and lemon essence is manna from heaven. I got this bar from hippy "green convention" in SF last weekend. The 5 dollar donation I gave to Family Farms was totally worth the chocolate I got in return.
23- Alan calls. He is on his way to school, after his long day at work.
24- Make dinner for self: shiittake "ugly" mushrooms sauteed with spinach, garlic and onion (all ingredients I found at the farmer's market!) over rice. Accompany dinner with wine from Chile: 2005, Panilonco Chardonnay from Colchagua valley.
25- Watch Farscape, my space-cowboy adventure tv series. It is so weird.
26- Sleepy MM puts away laundry that was washed yesterday. Why do have so much grandma-baggy underwear all the sudden?
27- Alan arrives, tired and still recovering from cold.
28- He reads me a chapter of "Option$; the secret life of Steve Jobs. A parody by fake Steve Jobs". More wonder and awe: WTF is wrong with this world?
29- Sleep. Sweet, well deserved sleep. Maybe life isn't so bad... if we could all just get a full nights rest, the world might be a better place. I didn't exercise today. Ohh well, maybe tomorrow I'll work off the manna from heaven, and actually use my lunch break to go on a walk. Sleep.

Halloween

For Halloween I was Miss Lame. I did nothing. That is right. Nothing. I don't live in Alameda anymore. I don't know Mountain View that well yet, so I didn't know where all the cute trick-or-treaters would be scavenging for candy. I don't know where all the decked out houses are. I didn't have the time or money to put together a costume. In conclusion, I was not prepared this year. I miss Alameda; it was my town, and at least I knew where to go to get some candy.

However, this morning, front and center of the newspaper, I read that some 15 year old girl from Alameda High was shot to death in Alameda Park. So maybe it is a good thing that I don't live in Alameda anymore. 

My Weekend

 Chinese Radishes, Dave and Busters, Birthdays and Friends

This has been an interesting weekend. It started Friday night, when a couple of friends visited from Monterey. It had been a while since we last hung out, so I was very happy to see them again and catch up on things. Alan took them to Google, for a Friday Social event, and then they all came over to our little place for pizza, beer and the hot tub. The gals were particularly enamored with Google's toilets, since they are temperature controlled and have several "exciting buttons"... 

Saturday morning I had to get up super early, at 6:30am, and attend a work meeting. This meeting lasted until 11am. (Yes, I know I work too much) When I finally got home, Justine, who had stayed the night, was getting ready to leave. However, I was able to convince her to stay and go on a walk around Shoreline Lake. We walked at least six miles, which was AWESOME. I finally found someone who likes to walk more than me! We talked mostly about boys and Mexico. [Have I mentioned that I have recently become Mexico's #1 fan? It is a country of many worldly wonders and natural beauties. I can't wait to visit and explore the Riviera Maya]. On our way back home we found a dying kitty in the driveway of my apartment complex. The kitten was gray, much like the pavement, so we assume it was an accident. I'm not particularly a cat fan, but I don't want to see baby kittens immobilized and agonizing in my driveway either. I had no clue what to do to help the situation. Fortunately, a cat-loving-lady who lives in my complex drove by. Justine flagged her down, and she took the barely breathing creature to an animal rescue center not far way. 

Now,  I know this is wrong, but I'll write it anyway: I have a horrible stereotype in my mind of "the crazy cat-lady" who has no social life, smokes too much, and carries the unique oder of cat urine, undoubtedly provided by the 4 billion cats that she owns. I couldn't help but wonder if the nice lady who tried to rescue the kitten was a crazy-cat-lady in the making. She had reddish hair, curly and frizzy, tied loosely in a pony tail. Her t-shirt was purple, and it had a cat design on it. Her voice was raspy, indicating years of cigaret abuse to her vocal cords. She was, from what I could tell, middle aged or older. And, she disclosed that she worked in a cat shelter. 

Since Saturday, every time I walk on my driveway I think about the little kitten. It was so helpless. I'm sure it died. Oh well, moving on.

Saturday night Alan and I went to Dave and Busters to celebrate Flor's birthday. She is 25. Yay! Hanging out with Flor is always fun. Dave n' Busters, on the other hand, is not really my scene or my crowd. It was dark and overpacked with people being way to excited and rowdy about outdated video games. This is the kind of place where you feel like you need to always keep an eye on your purse. I have to admit, what really disappointed me were the watered down "cocktails". Plus, the staff seemed jaded and full of apathy; you should have seen the look on their faces as they repeatedly gathered to clap Happy Birthday at almost every table around ours. I almost felt sorry for them, but then they brought me my drink. 

Alan and I left the joint around 1:00 am. We then proceeded to get lost. Thanks Google Maps, for being utterly useless and confusing. Dave n' Busters is located about 20 min away from our place. We got home, tired and cranky, around 2am.

Today I got up around 10:00am and went to the Mountain View Farmers Market. I love going to the Farmers market. Its my newest Sunday morning obsession. There I can find cute, happy, babies eating strawberries, beautiful cheap flowers, fruit, veggies, and many other lovely odd things. The Farmer's Market is truly a treasure. Today I bought, for the first time in my life, a Chinese Radish. It is long, white, and is shaped kind of like a gigantic carrot. The person at the stall told me that it is mostly used in stir-fries and soups. So, tomorrow I might make a stir fry. 

Around noon I met up with Flor, and we hung out for most of the afternoon. We drank home made coconut chichis, to make up for yesterday's drink fiasco. We ate Pha, at my favorite Pha restaurant on Castro street, and then we went to Ikea. I was able to get a couple of much needed picture frames for a very reasonable price. We went home, drank coffee, and hung some frenchy-poster-art on my walls. Now my walls are not as bare. :)

Tomorrow is Monday. Arg. I still have much to do to prepare for Tuesday, Alan's commemorative date of arrival to this world. I plan on making a carrot cake, from scratch, to celebrate. 

It is 10:30pm, and I will soon go to bed. Thus, my busy weekend now comes to an end. I still haven't done any laundry. Weekends should be three days long, not two. There is never enough time in two days. 

It is Done

After agonizing for a couple of days over my statement of interest, I was finally able to submit my grad school application. It was really hard for me to write coherently about myself, and what I could contribute to San Jose State. I do not know why. Maybe I'm shy. Maybe I hate writing about myself just so that other people can judge my potential for success. Maybe I'm rusty from being out of school for a year. Maybe, I was afraid to think about my accomplishments and how truly trivial they sometimes seem to me compared against the grand scheme of life. Maybe because this exercise made me think about myself in ways I usually don't, and I was forced to realize that my life, compared to a couple of years ago, has become more peaceful and appreciably more boring. I honestly don't know why San Jose State should pick me over another person. There is nothing truly original that you can write in a Statement of Interest for Business school, and I'm just as deserving as the next applicant.

I guess in essence applications are designed to determine how much you want to be accepted, not how much you deserve acceptance. If that is the case, then I hope they see how much I love school.

I miss the excitement of being a student, and thinking that nothing was beyond your comprehension or understanding. That knowledge was just a class away, and tomorrow you would learn to think about a subject in a way you had never imagined before. I miss the challenge of proving yourself capable of creating things, just because you can. I miss the satisfaction of getting a good grade on an exam. I miss my college friends. I miss being goofy around people who didn't judge you for being goofy. I miss being in a structured environment, where I knew how the procedures worked and what exactly was expected of me. I miss almost everything about school, and I want to go back.

Why do I want to go to Grad School?

Twas not until I started writing my Statement of Interest last night, that I realized why I want to go back to school so badly: I'm insane. I have, like, 50 reasons. Only three of them appropriate inspiration for Statement of Interest purposes. I would tell you what they are, but I'm feeling kind of shy right now.