Random Bits

So here's a recap of what's on my mind, what I've been up to, etc:

WORK

• I'm really content with work, probably more so than any other time in 2008. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing, though.
  
• I can't believe I've been at Google for 2.5 years. It feels like no time has past and yet at the same time everything has changed so much.
• I've noticed my managers have always been good at convincing me to stay on my current team. I'm not sure if this is a good thing in that they want to keep me or a bad thing in that I'm not good at making an argument as to why I need a change. I've been on my current team for a while and I was thinking about a switch... but got good perspective to nix the idea. I love my current team because the people are amazing.
  
• Very shortly, I will be become a volunteer mentor for minority college students through a new program called BOLD. Nai and I wanted to start to do some volunteer work and thought that this would be a wonderful start.
• Coworker drama is at an all time high. I really can't believe the small bullshit people make judgements on.

SCHOOL / MBA CLASSES

• I'm taking an Organizational Behavior MBA class at Google from Berkeley Professor Holly Schroth. She is amazing. Like quite possibly the best teacher I've had. She's super engaging and loves to teach in a way that you absorb the information.
• This is the 2nd MBA Class I've taken at Google, on top of the Business, Management and Society MBA Class I took at UC Riverside.

LOVE LIFE

• At this moment, my love life is not my strength. The well of guys has run dry for the moment.
• I've learned I REALLY lost my ability to flirt in public. I would honestly say I was much better at it a year ago and now I'm just pretty much holding on for dear life.
• Confidence seems to be an issue again. It's like I know on the exterior people might think I'm confident on initial glance, but little do they know how bad my confidence is.
• My buddy Ty set some goals for me... that are quite impossible to achieve. I laugh, but hopefully I'll make improvement.
• I need to be more honest about feelings and expressing them at the moment I feel them, rather than waiting for shit to drag on forever.

MISC

• I'm going to be taking a mini-break next week. I'm taking Fri 6/6 & Mon 6/9 off work. I'm flying to LA on Thursday 6/5 to just chill and enjoy LA Pride Weekend. I'll be flying back to the Bay Area on Monday Night.
• My Canon SD630 Camera died suddenly. I quickly purchased a new camera because I can't stand not having something I'm used to. My replacement is the Canon SD1110IS in Bohemian Brown. It's slick looking...
• I bought the Wii Fit last week on the morning it was released. It's totally fun and relatively motivating. At moments, It's pretty bitchy at you. Lol. I have really bad balance. :P
• I'm thinking of buying Madonna concert tickets tomorrow morning for her Oakland Arena show.
• I'm seriously considering buying an iMac or Macbook. I would buy an iMac immediately but would wait until the next Macbook is released if I got that. My parents are getting a new iMac! I'm so happy for them! Finally they're dumping AOL and Microsoft Windows Sweet!
• When I'm back in LA, I plan on spending time with Jack and Cindy to plan our birthday celebration vacation. Cindy and I are turning 25 and Jack will be 26. Exciting! It's going to probably be around a 2-week vacation.
• I went to the restaurant Xanh in Downtown Mountain View last week, making it the 2nd time I've been there. The food was much better the 2nd time around. I went with Danny, who apparently knows exactly what to order. :P
• I went to Thaiphoon in Downtown Palo Alto this week. The food was also very yummy. Score!
• I'm a total Red Mango lover, now! I've done Pinkberry, Fraiche, Yogurtland, etc. I'm a huge fan of tart Fro-Yo and Red Mango is a great choice! The hottie winner of Survivor Cook Island and former Googler, Yul Kwon, is the owner of the new Red Mango downtown Palo Alto location. He actually serves the yogurt, too! Mmmm... eye candy!
  

Leadership Reflection

I must admit, it's a bit strange seeing your old fearless leader now spearheading the newest 'technology media darling.'

When Sheryl Sandberg left her VP position in OSO (Online Sales and Operations) at Google to be the COO of Facebook, my heart sank a bit. By that point, I'd been at Google for over 2 years and she was pretty much all I knew in terms of head leadership. When you see your head in command leave, it's a bit disheartening.

One thing I will say is that Sheryl is inspirational and an amazing speaker. When she's on stage, you listen. Not only do you listen, but you absorb. I miss seeing her around the office. I practically saw her every day because she sat on my floor. It's weird to pass by her office and see it empty.

The good news is that I love her 'replacement.' David Fischer isn't no much of a replacement for her as a continuation of a good thing. What I really love about David is the fact he worked his way up and earned every promotion. Not only that, he knows the business and its workers for that reason. I remember the day he shadowed me working on the phone with advertisers. I was nervous as hell, but I remember thinking, when do you ever have a director get to shadow your work? I won't ever forget that personal time. You can see David in action in this YouTube video.

I realize how important leadership is, especially is a large-ish organization. Not only are they strategic thinkers and executers, they have to inspire you to work your best for the interest of the company (and it's users/stakeholders).

I've always had a dream of becoming a leader in highly visible company. I do want to work in people management one day and have carved out a path to hopefully get me there.

Giving hard feedback

One of the aspects I love about my job is giving feedback. It's a useful skill to have, especially for future aspirations of becoming a people manager.

I'm enrolled in an Organizational Behavior class in which tonight's topic revolved around communication and performance appraisals.

I had the task of role-playing a really difficult scenario in front of 70 people in my class... including managers and peers.

Situation: I need to tell Nai (the recipient of the Feedback) that he has a body odor issue. Nai doesn't know what he's being called into my office for.

I was SOOOO traumatized because I didn't think on my feet nearly as quick as I should have. I kind of froze and ended up looking like a dork doing pretty much the opposite of everything I was taught in class. It's especially embarrasing because I give feedback for a living! Ugh!

The I.E. Identity

Here is an interesting read on the identity of those in the Inland Empire written by Jonathan Turner at U.C. Riverside: Reject 'Empire' Identity

This is how we roll in Suburbia

So it's Friday night. What can you do in Suburbia? Movies... dinner... shopping... strolling...

KARAOKE!

A mess of co-workers and friends of co-workers headed out to dinner and asian-style karaoke. I didn't join in for dinner (A & J's at Cupertino Village) but I did Karaoke it up at Gamba in Cupertino.

Nai and I got there on time, a rare occurence. But no one else showed up until about 20 minutes later. In the complex where the karaoke place was, there happened to be some martial arts going on too. We were sitting in Nai's car (it was chilly outside) watching young kids do martial arts. I mean... two dudes, staring at kids, on a friday night... kinda creepy, no? Who cares. We were highly amused and loved the fact that the girls were totally kicking the little guys' butts. :P

Now let me tell you... this place is hella ghetto fabulous! I mean, the decor, signage, and technology is so old school that it's fabulous!

I went here back in December of 2006. I remember it being cooler with fancy 'bar scanning' technology. Alas, they downgraded all of their equipment, but that's okay! We made the most of it. (Damn Windows XP crashing a billion times...)

The night was chock full of Disney songs, Boy Band dancing (thanks Arneil!) and all of those guilty pleasures you won't admit loving but sing in the shower anyway.

Alastair was also kind enough to inform me that Yogurtland is open in Cupertino! I'm so excited! Bring on the 1lb full of random flavored yogurt! ;)

Photo Album:

Karaoke Night 2008 - Gamba Cupertino with Googlers

Out to Eat 2008: Fundraiser for Project Outlet

I had the privilege of being invited to a Google sponsored table at this year's 'Out to Eat' event, a fundraiser for Project Outlet. My friend Ty is very involved with the organization and asked 10 Gayglers (Gay Googlers) or those that are Gay-friendly, to come to the event and represent Google at their table.

According to their website, Outlet's mission statement is:

Outlet supports and empowers lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQQ) youth ages 13 to 20 living on the Peninsula and South Bay. Through our range of support services, leadership training, community education and advocacy, Outlet successfully increases youth confidence, builds personal assets and creates healthier communities.

I would have LOVED to have an organization like this when I grew up in LA. I think the work they're doing for LGBTQQ youth is fantastic.

This year's MC's were Greg and Fernando, famous for their Energy 92.7 Morning Show. The event was held at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA. I haven't been in that building before, but I felt at home because it was a former SGI building (as are most current Google buildings).

The event consisted of a silent auction, dinner, presentations from LGBT youth and members of the organization, a live auction and dessert to end the evening.

The celebrity guest for the evening was Jennifer from this Season's Top Chef: Chicago. She was very generous to offer her time and 3 prize donations of 'Cooking at Home.' She's an Executive chef at San Francisco's COCO500. When I went up to her and asked to take a picture she immediately said 'Have we met before? You look familiar.' I actually get that a lot. So I get this weird dichotomy of 'you look so unqiue... what's your ethnic background?' and 'you look really familiar!' I find that pretty interesting...

I had a great time at the event. I brought along my friend Nai and he also had a good time. I bid and won an item at the silent auction. What is it you might ask? It's actually a 2 hour coaching experience from Jamie Moran 'focusing on increasing your knowledge, insight and skills in flirting and dating and connecting with others.' I thought it sounded interesting and useful. :)

For All Event Photos, visit my Web Album.

New South Bay Gay Night!

As everyone knows, the South Bay is kinda lacking in gay-ness. I mean besides the handful of gay bars in San Jose (Hunter's, Splash, etc.), Ikea in East Palo Alto, Santana Row on the Weekends, and the staff of the Cheesecake Factory in Palo Alto, it's very difficult to guarantee your gaydar being set off in the South Bay.

Don't fret! A new weekly, yes-- not monthly or semi-annual -- gay night is exploding on the scene. It's called Oops! and takes place on Thursdays at Fuel in San Jose. This week has a hip-hop theme. Last week was Madonna Night to celebrate her CD being released. I haven't been yet, but I hear it's fun!

More Info:
Cover: None
Hours: 7pm to Midnight
Specials: Happy Hour 7-8pm, 2-for-1 drinks
Day: Every Thursday at Fuel
Address: 385 S. Winchester Blvd., San Jose, CA 95128 (Across from Santana Row) MAP

Come join the party!

Downelink site

Shabuway in Mountain View, CA

After work last night, Nai and I went to go get dinner at Shabuway off Castro St. in Downtown Mountain View.

It was one of the few places with a wait on Friday night, but I've heard good things. We couldn't really figure out what we wanted to eat... but Nai has been before and liked it. I haven't done 'Shabu Shabu' in ages, so it was fun to do again.

There were two massive groups waiting in the front of the restaurant -- one with 7 people and one with 9 people. Considering the place holds maybe 20 people, I was concerned we weren't gonna eat for a while. Alas, we were seated in about 5 minutes at the counter with no problems.

The restaurant is a mix of modern and classic. The menu and food are very streamlined... a la In-N-Out. You have meat and veggies, drinks, and a few other dishes.

Nai and I both got the large meat/veggies plate for $15 and some change. The only real choice you have is whether or not you want lean beef or not. Apparently the lean beef is pretty much no fat. We both opted for the full flavor version.

Shabu Shabu is very much an experience. If you handed me raw meat and veggies and said 'go boil it yourself, bitch!' i'd probably slap you. But it's fun and makes for an enjoyable dinner experience because it gives you time to talk with your dinner company.

When you walk into the place, you can see the 'Kobe-style' beef being sliced by chefs on your right hand side. Shabuway only has beef as an option, so no modern variations like chicken or seafood for your boiling pot of water. Additionally, the water comes only in a normal version... so those who like spicy need not apply.

The food was good, but as soon as I got home, I felt really heavy. I mean, I ate a ton of meat and a smaller amount of veggies. I also had some Oolong tea. But I literally passed out because I felt like a ton of bricks.

Overall, a good experience and probably a really good date place. Not good for big groups.

On Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/shabuway-mountain-view

Donna Summer's 'Crayons'

I just found out Donna Summer has a new album of all original material coming out on May 20th, 2008 called 'Crayons.'

Here is the promo vid:

Help Fight Breast Cancer

On Saturday, May 10th my Dad will be joining the fight against women's cancers by participating in the 15th Annual Entertainment Industry Foundation Revlon Run/Walk For Women. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation for this worthy cause by visiting his page below:

Revlon Run/Walk for Women

Your donation will help fund important research into the cause and cure of women's cancers, prevention, education and support service programs. Every donation will help bring us one step closer to a cure. Until a cure is found and we know that all women are safe, we must continue the fight.

WHAT: A 5K Run/Walk, Health Expo and Celebration Concert

WHEN: Saturday, May 10, 2008 – Mother’s Day Weekend

WHERE: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum at Exposition Park

WHO: Over 50,000 men, women and children

WHY: To raise awareness and critical funds for women's cancers research, counseling and outreach programs.

BACKGROUND: Created in 1993 through the committed and collective efforts of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, Lilly Tartikoff, Ronald O. Perelman, and The Davis Group, The EIF Revlon Run/Walk For Women has grown to become one of the nation’s largest 5K fundraising events. To date, the Run/Walks (LA/NY) have distributed nearly 50 million dollars for cancer research, counseling, and outreach programs. Thanks in part to these funds, new treatments are being developed and lives are being saved.

Running outside

I feel rather accomplished today. For the past month or so, I've been taking some exercises at Google with my friend Nai.

We've tried:
Vinyasa Yoga
Bootcamp
Stepping (was a substitute class for Cardio Kickboxing because the instructor was out)
Cardio Kickboxing

Today's Bootcamp Class was pretty much an endurance run around the Google campus with loads of stretching and warm up/cool down. We ran around the Googleplex area twice (each lap around 1.6 miles) for about 3.2 miles. I've never run that far outside before and I felt pretty accomplished. We were given about a half an hour to run that far, so I felt pretty good. And it was nice to just be with nature for a bit.

Considering I have pretty crap knees, I'm surprised I lasted that long. And you know what else? I could have kept going...

I just wish I knew we were running so I would have brought my iPod!