From the Inside Out

Since I was sleep deprived from last week, I slept late today and spent the afternoon relaxing. Tonight, we went to a surprise birthday party for a friend who is turning 30 next week.  The party was at Magic Time Machine in Addison.  If you’ve never been, it’s an unusual restaurant with servers who dress up as different characters (i.e. Buzz Lightyear, Napolean Dynamite, Jack Sparrow, etc).  They all act crazy, sing, and try to make you have a good time.  Our server was a Spartan cheerleader (like Will Farrell from SNL).  He did a great job, and everyone had fun.  There were about 30 people there, but here’s our table — Chaz, Jami, Heidi, Cody, Gary and me.

Afterwards, we hooked up with Heidi and Cody to catch a movie.  Gary and Cody wanted to see Rambo, but I’m not a Rambo kind of gal, so we split up at the theatre.  The girls went to see 27 Dresses and the guys watched Rambo.  The screenwriter for “The Devil Wears Prada” wrote “27 Dresses” and while the movies are entirely different, I think it had the same smart sense of humor and uniqueness.  It’s a feel good movie, but it’s not too much of a chick flick that guys won’t like it.  The characters are interesting, the actors were well cast (really liked Katherine Heigl and James Marsden) and it had a good plotline.  If you want to see an uplifting romantic comedy, go check it out. 

To celebrate my arrival back in Dallas today, Gary and I went out to dinner at Mexi-Go (Ricardo’s was too crowded).  Afterwards, we came home and watched our Friday night line-up.  So, here’s the run down of my favorite shows from tonight:

Friday Night Lights - Tonight, Smash had to face the consequences, compromise, and issue an apology.  However, he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.  It’s too bad no one told hm how to say “no comment” to the media.  It was fun to see Tami coaching a team, and wow, Tyra’s a volleyball player now.  I wouldn’t have expected that.  I’m glad that Jason is back.  I missed him in the last few episodes.  I loved how he talked the guy into buying the hybrid.  Finally, I’m not sure where the storyline with Lyla is headed.  As a Christian, I’m really skeptical because hollywood typically likes to paint Christians in a negative light.  So far, they’ve been fair, but I’m afraid it may not stay that way.  We’ll see.

Psych - Shawn and Gus try to solve a crime that occurred on the set of a Spanish soap opera.  While investigating, Shawn is cast in one of the bit parts, and the hijinks ensue.  I had to laugh when Shawn’s Dad was watching the show and saw Shawn as the delivery guy.  The scene in the hospital room where Shawn tries to explain to Gus his epiphany was classic.  The dramatic music, Spanish accent, and overacting were how do you say…oh yes…magnifico.  Jules getting sued for stalking and Lassiter on TV (”I like cheese”) were other highlights for me.

Stargate Atlantis — tonight’s episode was written by my favorite SGA writer, Martin Gero.   I love the humor in his episodes, and he writes the best interaction between John and Rodney.  Reading the spoilers, I wasn’t sure if Iwould like this episode (the bratty kid who needs protection), but the character interaction kept me entertained (and laughing) throughout the entire show.  My favorite lines were ”Would it not be easier to beat him?” and “Oh, our first fight”.  The “I don’t not like you” scenes were also memorable.  Finally, the painting — ROTFL.  That was the funniest thing ever.  

Well, that was my Friday night line-up.  What was yours?

Day two is over.  I’m done ideating now. 

Tonight, I’m back in San Jose at the newly renovated Sheraton (which is much better than it used to be). 

Most of the hotels here are older, so none of them are notable.  At least this one is updated now.  One feature my husband would appreciate is the flat screen TV with hi def.

Today was a long day.  It started after 5 hours of sleep (I worked way too late), which meant I was dragging from the very beginning.  During the day, we had moments of brillance mixed with frustration and total chaos — never put 20 agressive “type A” marketing people in a small room.  It can get out of control.  20 people, 10 different conversations, all at the same time.  Whew, no wonder I have a headache.  In the end, we accomplished most of our objectives and wrapped up a few minutes early.

The early ending was a good thing because its been snowing in the Santa Cruz mountains, and the winding road out can be a bit treacherous.  Luckily, it wasn’t bad when I passed through, but I did get to see snow on the way down.  It really made me want to go skiing again.  I guess I shouldn’t have passed on the business trip to Tahoe next week.  Oh well…too late now.

I’m heading home tomorrow morning.  I may need to come back next week, but I’m trying to get out of it.  Some things can be done remotely.
Have a great Friday everyone.

Have you seen the IBM ideating commercial?  Well, there’s some truth in it.  Today my company gathered 25 of the top marketing leaders from across the globe to “ideate”.   We met in a vacation home in the Santa Cruz mountains to brainstorm and participate in strategic planning sessions for an upcoming product launch.  Not that I’m complaining.  It’s beautiful here and is a better alternative to being stuck in a cold, dreary conference room all day.  Check out the pictures…I’m sure you will agree.

After coming up with brilliant ideas for the future, we rushed back to the hotel and quickly departed for our team building/dinner.  I can honestly say I’ve never been to a place like that before (and I’ve run the gamut of team building activities).   We were dropped off in a quaint little area in Santa Cruz.  The group was ushered into an upstairs loft which doubles as an art studio.  The moment you enter, your senses are flooded with a deliciously eclectic environment that is a mixture of odd items, live animals (bird, turtles, hamsters, etc), art supplies, tables, chairs, and waiters.  Very strange. 

Anyway, we proceeded to the back of the loft which was set-up like a small art gallery.   The night began with appetizers and the obligatory “wine” pitch (Californians love their wines).  Since I don’t drink, I opted for the water.  A few minutes later, we were settling down at tables loaded with art supplies and canvases.  As appetizers were passed around, we learned about our team building art project.  Each individual was supposed to create a masterpiece using tissue and a special gel paste (looked like normal glue to me).  Then, each “team” would be called away to work on a larger art project that depicted our company logo. 

I was skeptical at first, but it ended up being a lot of fun.  Pics of my team’s lovely creation are below.  Yeah, they were crappy, but we were proud anyway (haha).  Our logo project was signed by each person, and the finished artwork will be hung up in our office in San Jose, so that will be cool.  I hope it looks better than our individual projects.

All in all, it was a good day, but it’s about 11:15 PT, and it’s been a long day.  I still have work to do, so I’m signing off for now.  I’ll report on “Day Two” tomorrow.

Today was mostly a travel day for me.  It’s 9:40 pm pacific time, and I am just now sitting down in my hotel room to do some real work (well, right after I write this blog).  It seems that most people think business travel sounds like fun (and sometimes it is), but there is also a down side to it.  Like sitting in the middle seat on a crowded coach flight.  Unfortunately, it’s always that way when I fly to San Jose.  The planes are packed, and there are so many business travelers on those flights that all of the “exec plats” get priority for the first class upgrades. 

Today was no different.  I had two men on each side (why do men always have to hog the armrests — what’s the deal with that?). Every time I was close to falling asleep for a much needed nap (got about 6 hours of sleep the previous night), the guy on my right would stretch his legs and stamp on my foot.  I finally gave up on the sleep, opened my laptop and started to work.  I guess it could’ve been worse, at least there were no screaming kids.

Finally, we arrived.  I picked up my bags, hopped on the rent car shuttle, and proceded directly to my car (the perks of being a frequent traveler).  However, the moment I opened the door, I could smell smoke.   The car was beat up on the outside and was dirty inside.  So, I had to trek back to the priority member area to request another car.  The next one wasn’t pretty (bad upholstery stains), but I didn’t want to treck back to get yet another car so I decided to take it.    At least it didn’t smell.

I was headed to Scotts Valley in the Santa Cruz mountains.  I’ve been there once before, but today I messed up the directions (long story).  By the time I realized it, I had gone 15 miles out of my way (or 30 miles round trip).  So, over an hour later, I finally arrived at my destination, the Hilton Scotts Valley.  I quickly freshened up and then headed out for dinner with the gang from work.

Now, I’ve got to get busy working on action items from today and deliverables for Wednesday.  My meetings tomorrow are all day strategic planning sessions which means “laptops down” (i.e. no multitasking on other projects).

Ah, the glamour of business travel…