Vancouver Vacay almost here

I'm pretty much done researching what I might potentially do while in Vancouver. I'll have my local buddy to help me, but I'm excited to travel again on my own.

I'll be staying at a hostel (HI Vancouver Downtown) on the West End near Davie St. It's their Gayborhood. I expect it to be bumping because it's Pride Weekend! Yay!

Here is what I came up with for ideas on what to do. I will try to wing it and be spontanous, but I'll be doing a few of these things below:

PLACES TO SEE

• Stanley Park (especially the Sea Wall) for a quick jog or stroll. Possibly the Aquarium?
• Lynn Canyon Park
• Harbour Centre Tower: The Lookout
  
• Granville Island (I'd like to check out the market and possible grab some grub?)
• Vancouver Art Gallery
• Dr. Sun Yat Sen Chinese Garden
• Museum of Anthropology

PRIDE / NIGHTLIFE

** Trip Advisor gave me some good ideas.

• Celebration of Light at English Bay (Saturday Finale Fireworks Show)
• Odyssey Night Club (Saturday)
• Pride Parade (Sunday)
• Pride Festival at Sunset Beach (Sunday)
• Celebrities (Sunday)
• Numbers (Sunday)
• 1181 - Looks like a cool 'stand and see pretty people' place. :)
  

SHOP

• Robson Street
• Yaletown
• Chinatown Night Market
• Metrotown

I'm still looking for Good Eats and Cafe's to chill at. :)

New Work Laptop

Earlier this week, I made a quick decision to get a new work laptop. My trusty, stable and mostly reliable Thinkpad T43p had run its course.

First I had to decide... Mac or PC. For all practical purposes, it doesn't make sense to get a Mac because of several known incompatibility issues with software I use. Plus, I'm planning on getting a Mac in the near future and it would be nice to have a work/home mental differentiation in computing.

From there, I had to decide portability or desktop replacement laptop. I opted for portable... the Thinkpad x61. My initial hesitation with the x61 was:

• It has a pretty small screen at 12 inches
• It lacks a CD/DVD drive
• There isn't a trackpad, only the 'nub'

After using it for 2 days, I'm super happy. The screen is a nice size and I mainly use it with an external monitor connected to a docking station. The lack of a DVD/CD drive isn't too pad because I never really use it anyways. Although, on the plus side, the docking station does have a drive. Lastly, I'm totally used to the 'nub' as a mousing device already. It's actually quite refreshing!

SCORE!

Staying in the car...

I arrived at work yesterday a little after 9am. I took a longer route, just because I wanted to finish listening to some interesting stories on NPR. They had some discussion on banning Trans Fats in California. They talked to those lobbying for the ban and also some bakers who were opposed to the ban, mainly for the reason 'we're afraid of change.'

The funny part was I arrived to my parking lot and parked right next to Nai's car. I peeked over and noticed he was still in his car, not quite doing anything.

We both eventually get out of our cars. It's because he was listening to the same NPR stuff I was. Haha.

NPR totally sucked me in!

Geez

A week from this moment I'll be in Canada. I haven't even done any planning! Ahhh!

Lovely Vancouver, I'm looking forward to you!

Random Day Off

You know, I took a semi-planned random day off of work today. No real reason.

It's what I call a sanity check day. I have a ton of vacation time, but need to get some random stuff done. Like Target runs, cleaning, relaxing and catching up on TV, etc.

For lunch, I went to Baja Fresh and got some grilled Mahi Mahi fish tacos. Those were pretty tasty! Plus, when did Baja Fresh get mango salsa? It's fantastic! I miss these things because I rarely go out to eat. (Thanks GOOG!)

When I went to the Baja Fresh, I realized there is a Nizario's Pizza in the same shopping plaza. The same Nizario's Pizza in the Castro in SF! I had no idea they had multiple locations (3 in total). It's nice to know drunken comfort food isn't too far away from my apartment, should I choose to have it (or get drunk... cause I never really drink). I have had the Castro Special (Spinach, Feta, Pesto and Chicken)... and it's tasty.

I worked out in the evening and made a quick dinner from random ingredients. Just so you know, Frank's Red Hot Sauce, Grilled Chicken Breast, Brown Rice and a small sprinkle of Blue Cheese totally work! Super tasty! If only I had celery around, it would have been complete...

Back to the daily grind tomorrow. Good news is I'm going to the Giants vs. Nationals baseball game in the evening. Sweet!

Vancouver Vacay

My friend Matt from Vancouver was in town for San Francisco Pride this year a few weeks back. He was like 'I might go to Montreal Pride but it's the same weekend as Vancouver Pride.' I was like... 'Well, whatever you do, let me know! I'm down!'

So it turns out he's staying in Vancouver. So I kept my side of the bargain and I booked a semi-spontaneous trip to lovely Vancouver, BC, Canada! The plane ticket was kinda pricey, but at this point, all airline tickets are getting pricey. I booked a hostel near Davie St. to save some cash... and that way I can put it toward other stuff than a hotel room I'll never be in.

It'll be my second time to Canada, my first was Toronto last year.

I'll only be there for four days, Saturday August 2nd (arrive ~9am) to Tuesday August 5th (leave ~ 4pm). I think it will be a good quick getaway.

I'm looking forward to the natural beauty, skyline, shopping, food and of course... the boys. :)

2 is a magical number

I started working at Google on January 3rd, 2006. It seems like a billion years ago. So much has changed, but I won't even begin to compile that list.

My official start date after I converted from temp-to-full-hire and took vacation time was July 10th, 2006... so it means today is my official 2 year Googleversary!

I didn't really celebrate. My cohort who started with me on that day, Tinwin, left for Dublin earlier this week. But we'll celebrate when she gets back. Also, my old manager, Megan, started with me on that day back in July, too.

Analyzing TGIF for Organizational Behavior

So there's a cool thing Google does on a weekly basis called TGIF. According to 'The Great Place to Work Institute':

TGIF is a weekly, company-wide get-together started by Google co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. While it is used as a time to welcome new employees and for senior leaders to present news about Google and Google-related events that have transpired over the previous week, the highlight of TGIF is the Question and Answer section. This section reflects the leaders' belief that employees should feel comfortable asking even the most senior members of the management team any question and that the executives should talk with employees as openly as possible. No question is off-limits. Questions from past sessions include "What are Google's growth rate projections?" and "When is Google relocating to Mars?" TGIFs are webcast to Google offices around the globe and archived for those who cannot make the meeting due to time zone or other scheduling challenges.

I'm currently winding down my Organizational Behavior MBA class. My team decided to write our final paper analyzing the cultural significance of TGIF at a variety of Google Offices in the US and abroad.

I'm really finding Organizational Behavior really interesting. It really helped to have an awesome professor like Holly Schroth from Berkeley. It's basically the psychological and sociological perspective on how corporations operate.

This class is one of the few things I've looked forward to consistently on a weekly basis. Org Behavior is something I would consider studying more in depth if I were to go back to school.

I'm really a woman, based off of the amount of yogurt I consume daily

This Current TV clip had me rolling with laughter. Enjoy!

Getting back into routines; Developing Interests

Sometimes I feel like I've lost my most passionate routines. I'm not really sure what's gone on the past 7 or so months in 2008.

I personally and professionally haven't accomplished very much (relative to 2007). It's like the feeling you have when you get a paycheck, spend it, and have nothing to show for it. Being that it's half way through 2008, it's a bit disturbing.

I think my daily and weekly routines changed when I left for Ann Arbor back in Q4 of 2007. (Which by the way, was an amazing experience)

In Ann Arbor my daily weekday routine was:

• Waking up at 8 am or so, if I didn't have a Personal Training session with Jimmy... otherwise It would be closer to 6:30am. I would leave with Kevin, my roomie, to go to work between 8:40am and 9am.
  
• Get to work, make breakfast, chat with Brit and John for a bit, then tackle my email inbox.
• My day was usually scattered with scheduled and impromptu meetings.
• Lunch was usually around noon. Brit and I would usually make our usual salads and either have a desk lunch or take out some time to have lunch with each other or Ann Arbor folk.
• I'd usually ping Kevin to ask when he'd be ready to leave work... usually around 6pm or so. If he had plans, I'd usually stay a bit later or run errands.
• If it was a 'work out day,' I'd head over to Gold's Gym off of Ann Arbor-Saline Rd.
• I'd stay for about an hour, doing cardio and some machine/weights. I'd occasionally run into co-workers or familiar faces at the gym. If I was up for it, I'd end my workout in the Sauna and occasionally chat with someone new. It might be a professor at U of M or a local.
• After a workout, I'd decide whether or not to make dinner (if I had something) or grab something nearby. Working in a regional office was a bit different because Google usually doesn't serve dinner.
• I'd end my weekday evening watching TV with Kev, read a magazine or catch up on personal email. I watched less TV because I didn't have a DVR.
  
• I usually liked to fall asleep watching local news because it was something different and I got to learn about Michigan.

On A Weekly or Semi-Weekly Basis in Ann Arbor:

• I'd explore Downtown Ann Arbor or a different part of Michigan.
• I'd try a new restaurant or frequent a regular favorite.
• I'd go on a weekend trip (Chicago, Toronto, DC, etc.) or meet with friends in A2.
• I'd go out clubbing to a new place.
• I'd try to make a local Google(r) thrown event such as a pub crawl, activity or birthday party.
• I'd make a shopping trip to Meijer, Trader Joes or Whole Foods. (I LOVED MEIJER!)
• I'd watch Desperate Housewives with Kevin on Sundays.
• I'd get to work late on Wednesday just so I could chat with the housekeeper Carol. She usually arrived at 9am on the spot. Chatting with her for 15 minutes made my week. She was an amazing woman!
• I'd BLOG! (and edit photos)
• I'd clean up, even though I had a housekeeper.

Now my daily routine in the Bay Area is sorta out of whack. I haven't worked out as regularly with Nai as I once did. I'm letting my DVR fill-up. I'm leaving magazines un-read. I'm not uploading photos nearly as much. I'm not blogging.

What I can say is that I'm trying to get back on focusing on myself again (my original 2008 manta). I want to develop some sort of interests and extra-curricular activities.

Thoughts on current and new interests:

• I'm gonna start limiting clubbing to once a month or special occasions. (birthdays, etc.) Once I got back to the Bay Area, clubbing was pretty much the only consistent thing I did on a weekend --- at least one day a week. It wasn't uncommon for me to be in SF 3 days in a row (Fri-Sun). The good things is that I meant new friends and acquaintances this way. It was also how I figured I'd meet guys for dates.
• I want to start reading... books. Whether they be self-help, fiction, non-fiction, etc. I bought a bunch of books on Amazon last month. I got through a couple, but I want to read more... and consistently.
• I want to explore the outdoors a bit more. Whether it be hiking, biking, running, etc. I have started to run outside on occasion and went on a hike last weekend.
• Attend more things 'arts related.' Whether it be dance, theater, concerts, etc. I bought some concert tickets and have been to a few dance performances recently.
• Want to spend time with friends I really care about. Playing 'Cranium' with Nai and Audrey last weekend reminded me how doing simple things, with those you love and care about, is more gratifying than looking at eye-candy at a club in SF.
• Take up a sport. I really think Tennis is high up on my list. Also, after meeting with Shiun a few weeks ago, he reminded me how team sports, like Softball, help you build another base of close friends.
• I want to start watching movies again. This is where I get to experience things outside my comfort zone and have my eyes opened to new experiences. Being from LA, I used to watch movies all the time. I have a ton of un-opened movies and TV DVDs waiting to be watched!
• Get out and learn how to use my camera... and how to edit photos properly. I've been really good about bringing my DSLR out on excursions, but the more I do it, the better practice I'll get!
• Continue to work out... regularly.
• Start volunteering. I'm a mentor at work... but I want to do more. Volunteering at Alemany Farms through Google Serve opened my eyes on how much out there you can do for others.
• Travel! Explore! Taking a nice hiking excursion with Peter in Saratoga last weekend reminded me how much of the Bay Area I have yet to experience. Weekend trips in the Bay are a must!

It's a start... now I must execute!

Happy Canada Day!

Thank Heaven For Fuel Efficient Cars

In High School, my close friends Sherif, Jonathan and Angelo would make fun of me about valuing fuel efficiency in a car. This was back in 2001.

They posed the question: 'So, If you could have any car, what would you want?'

They all proceeded to mention cars like Lambo's or Aston Martin's.

My Answer?: I'd take multiple Civics over a luxury car like those aforementioned.

For me, my car gets me from A to B. I don't really care too much about power and speed as much as I do efficiency and comfort (specifically, technology). At the time gas was crazy cheap, getting as low as $.89 in Los Angeles. I'd imagine Federal and State taxes on gas when combined are higher than that now.

Flash forward 7 years later. My answer? It would still be the same. I still have my darling 2001 silver Honda Civic. With gas prices approaching $5.00, I'm still in that economic efficient mode.

I bet my friends aren't making fun of me now (at least for this reason). I just paid ~$49.00 for 11 gallons of gas. It boggles my mind.

Thankfully, my car is still fuel efficient, even with 108,000 miles. I just calculated that with my last tank on near empty, I got 402 miles out of 11 gallons of gas... or approximately 36 miles per gallon.

Thanks Honda. You Rule.

The Mole on ABC tonight!

So you have no idea how much I'm excited for The (real) Mole to be back on the air. Real Citizens, not sub-lebrities. Jon Kelley is taking over as host. He should be an improvement over Ahmad Rashad, but Anderson Cooper will always be #1 in my heart.

Bring it ooooooon, Mr./Mrs. Mole. :)

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.