Amsterdam & Utrecht - Business Trip

This is REALLY late.  Work and wedding planning have kept me away from blogging.  They also decided to block Blogger at work, so my blogging is now confined to after work hours.  Even though I was only blogging on my lunch hour...

I did a lot of wandering around Amsterdam.  As a result, I don't know the names of a lot of these places, but I'll describe them as I see fit :-)
 


My trip started in Utrecht, the Netherlands.  Utrecht is a smaller city about 40 minutes outside Amsterdam.  Sara Lee's international headquarters are located in Utrecht, along with my boss and colleagues.  I had the nights to myself, so I enjoyed the local scenery.  Utrecht, like many other European cities, has a system of canals that run through the city.  Supposedly (according to the hotel TV channel) Utrecht is unique that they are the only European city to have a lower level concourse next to their canal.  However, I think they have this in Paris as well, I could be wrong.

Utrecht is also a college town.  There are three universities in town.  This fact became very obvious, even to me as an outsider, as I walked passed scores of students in the streets.  My hotel was across the street from a dormitory.  This sign was on a walkway near my hotel and the dormitory, my translation:

Cows go here to sleep

I think we can all agree this is 100% accurate.

After three 13 hour days of training, I headed back to Amsterdam for the weekend.  I started the weekend by going to dinner with my Uncle Jack's partner, David.  He is a flight attendant for United Airlines and flys the ORD-AMS route (due to the fact he speaks fluent Dutch).  In fact, he was working my flight on the way over.    He took me to this cool hole in the wall bar where they sold homemade liquor in about 75 flavors.  If I remember correctly, I had raspberry and butterscotch (per the shop owners' recommendation).  He showed me around the city a bit and then we had dinner at an Italian restaurant (the Dutch aren't really known for their cuisine).  Our waiter was from Texas and apparently spoke terrible Dutch...and was also a crappy waiter.  But, it made for a memorable story.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of us at dinner, bummer.

I had the following day all to myself, so I decided to go for a long run and explore the city that morning (notice the headphones in most of these pictures).  The picture at the top of this page is me in front of the well known "Amsterdam" sign in the center of the city.  Perhaps best known from the Amstel Light commercials.

 Another picture from the notable Amstel Light commercial - life size chess board.  This old guy was awesome.  I athoroughly enjoyed watching this.

I'd like to point out the gray box like things in front of the sign.  These are public urinals and they are scattered all around the city.  If you look close you can see each one has 4 urinals, one on each corner.  At first, it sounds disgusting.  But after you've had for beers and you're wandering the streets, they are amazing.  The Dutch are genius for inventing (I assume) and using these.

This is "Dam Square."  That's right, Dam Square.  Its a WWII memorial.  That's really all you need to know about it.  It is really large, and very impressive.

Right in the heart of the city, there is a comedy club named "Boom Chicago."  I didn't go, but I couldn't help but take a picture of a placed named after my hometown.

After my day of exploring the city, Is went to dinner with one of my colleagues, Yaprak.  We went to dinner at a nice Italian place and enjoyed finally being able to speak face to face.  It was really a please to spend some time with her.

Before heading to the airport on Sunday, I stopped by the famous Amsterdam flower market to buy some flowers for the women in my life: Kate, my mom, Kate's mom and both of my grandmas.  I bought two bundles of tulips for 15 euro a piece.  Each bundle had 50 tulips.  I had to carry the flowers by hand, and overhead compartment, back to Chicago.  I caught some flak in customs in Chicago, but I told them how it was gonna be and everything worked out.

I'll close out this blog post with some pictures of the scenic system of canals in Amsterdam.  I took a 90 minute boat tour of the canals and it was incredible.  There are over 300 houseboats on the canals in Amsterdam.  Notice the example in the second picture.  The tour went past a Anne Frank's house (where she hid from the Nazi's), the flower market, the largest harbor in Holland, and numerous other sights.  My favorite part of the tour was the view of the canals and bridges themselves.

I Misplaced My Camera...and an April Update

 

It has been a while since I have posted anything on FFF.  April has been a really busy month for me - or as my fiance Kate has affectionately called it 'the month of Adam.'  I had intentions of blogging, but I had a few roadblocks:

1. While in Europe (which I'll fully explain in a moment) my laptop wouldn't connect to the hotel internet

2. My camera, with all of my photos from 'the month of Adam,' is missing.  Most likely, it is packed away in the garage with most of my belongings as I wait to move into my new place on June 1.

So, without further ado, here is a chronological synopsis of 'the month of Adam' (disclaimer: I'll update some photos as soon as I find my camera, so for now these are mostly crappy iPhone pictures or from friends):

 

April 1 - April Fools Day

Uneventful.  This was for the best. 

April 2 - Mitch Hedberg Day

Alright.
 

April 4-11 - Business Trip - Utrecht & Amsterdam, Holland 

As part of my new position, and the roll out of the MyTalent system, I went to The Netherlands for training.  MyTalent is a talent management software solution that combines our performance management, compensation and talent planning processes onto one global platform.  Sara Lee's international headquarters (so to speak) is located in Utrecht, The Netherlands, about 30 minutes outside of Amsterdam.  The training was in Utrecht Tuesday-Friday.  It was nice to meet everyone in the Utrecht office, but the nights alone in the hotel were pretty boring.  Who knew business travel was so lonely.  But, I got to spend Friday and Saturday night in Amsterdam - which was amazing!  First of all, the entire city smells of pot, no joke.  Amstel is delicious, especially from the motherland.  This is a picture in front of the Amsterdam sign from the Amstel commercial.  See those gray boxes - they are urinals, in the street.  Each one has four spots for men to pee in.  They are amazing; I used them multiple times - mostly after enjoying a few pints.  My uncles' partner also happened to be in Amsterdam at the same time as me.  He speaks fluent Dutch, so he took me out on the town Friday night.  We went to this cool, hole in the wall bar that served about 100 flavors of liquor - it was delicious, and very strong.  Great way to start an evening.  He showed me around the red light district which is hilarious.  I spent some time later that evening just walking up and down the alleys of the red light district, just because I couldn't believe it. haha. Then we had a nice Italian dinner (the Dutch aren't known for their cuisine - other than the fact that they have milk with every meal) over a few pints of beer.

I could, and will, write a full blog on this - as soon as I find my camera.

April 13-15 - Manager Development Center

This is a three day conference for twelve  participants that I facilitate.  Three full days non-stop at a hotel.  15 hour days.  Exhausting.  Rewarding, but exhausting.

April 17 - Miami of Ohio Triathlon - Oxford, OH

 Kate and I went to Miami of Ohio in Oxford, OH for the 5th Annual MUSF Triathlon.  Kate's brother JB and his girlfriend Laura competed too.  Here are my times:

Place       Tot Time   Swim Time   Bike Time   Run Time

136/650   1:20:10        09:16            42:01        25:23
 
April 24 - Chicago Cubs @ Brewers - Milwaukee, WI

Along with Rusty and Leslie, Kate and I trekked up to Milwaukee (Algonquin for 'the good land' prnounced Mill-e-wah-kay) for the Cubs-Brewers series.  We bought awesome club level seats on stubhub for <$50.  The Cubs won 5-1 (exactly what Leslie predicted).  Miller Park, aka 'Wrigley North' was beautiful as always - especially when its filled with 50% Cubs fans.


April 27 - Accepted to Elmhurst College's MBA program

That's right, I'm officially an MBA student.  I start the first week of September and will be done May of 2012.

April (all month) - Our lease at 'the tip' ends 4/30.
We have been moving out all month long.  It has been really stressful.  Unfortunately, for legal reasons I can't get into details.

You need kids like me...???

I am not easily shocked; but, this is pretty crazy.  Marc Klasfeld of Rockhard Films put on a remake of the 1983 gangster movie Scarface...with kids.  Seven to ten year old children to be exact.  Scarface is one of my favorite movies of all time, but that doesn't make me at all interested in this child abuse stage version.

You can check out the article on CNN for the full story.

What a twisted individual.  The video above shows a few highlights (or lowlights depending on how you look at it) of the production.  The full version can be found on YouTube if you are so inclined.  Throughout the play the children actually do a pretty good job of re-creating the Brian DePalma film.  From piles of popcorn filling in for cocaine, NERF guns for actual weapons or abreviated curse words for expletives the children are eerily close to the film version of Scarface. 

Call me old-fashioned, but I don't think replacing "fudge" and "B" for the actual swear words is acceptable language for a 7 year old.  Introducing these children to this culture at their formative ages is a disgrace; this is especially true because the children are in the spotlight.  They are incouraged and rewarded for their acceptance and proficiency in swearing and gun waving.  It doesn't take a child psychologist to know that the children will now see this as acceptable behavior and replicate it later in life.

Klasfeld claims that it is all in the spirit of the 'viral video.' The producer goes on to say that he thinks the experience is positive for the children as it prepares them to deal with violence that exisits in the world.

Mr. Klasfeld, you are an idiot.  You should be put in jail for taking advantage of these children for your own benefit. 

The Dude Wins an Ocsar - Far Out Man

This is my first post in a while.  Unfortunately, work took over my life for the last few weeks.



So, as most of you probably already know, Jeff Bridges won the Oscar for Best Actor in a leading role, this past Sunday.  He was awarded for his role as 'Bad" in Crazy Heart.  In the video above, you can see Bridges' reaction to winning the award - it's pretty funny.

Kate and I saw the movie earlier this week, and I absolutely loved it.  Bridges performance was spectacular, especially so in conjunction with the mediocre performances of his supporting cast (strangely hot - strangely ugly Maggie Gyllenhaal,  the far past his prime Robert Duvall, and the never had a prime Colin Farrell).  The movie was a love story with a strong commentary on alcoholism - not what I expected to say the least.  Bridges' character, Bad, was even shown going to rehab and getting clean.  Despite catching me off gaurd, I really did love the movie.  Bridges was the perfect person for the role.  He absolutely killed the part and explored every facet of the character.

Another character that Jeff Bridges absolutely killed was 'Jeffrey The Dude Lebowski' (not the millionare). Many (including this writer) agree that The Dude was Bridges' most defining role.  Bridges paid homage to The Big Lebowski and declined to write off the role as many reporters prodded him to.  In the clip above he even made an anology to his life with a quote from The Dude "you know man, strikes and gutters, ups and downs."

It is an interesting observation that one easily can find traits of Bridges in all of his characters.  However, each character is distinct and unique in its own way.  I look forward to enjoying Bridges' acting for many years to come.  And with every role he plays, I will be sure to drop in a number of Lebowski references.  Until then, I raise my caucasian to you Jeff...I mean his dudeness, or El Duderino (if you're not in to the whole brevity thing).

Valentine's Day Dinner

Yesterday was Valentine's Day. Instead of fighting the crowds and making reservations weeks in advance, Kate and I decided to stay at home and make a nice dinner ouselves.  We've been getting more adventerous in the kitchen anyway, so we thought this would be a fun and romantic way to spend the night.

The photo above does a nice job of portraying how good of a job Kate did at creating the "ambiance" as she put it.  Candles and music in the dining room (she downloaded a bunch of new tunes, it was really nice). The entree was fresh caught salmon with a wine/shallot/butter reduction, asparagus and roasted red potatoes.

Kate was very ambitious with dessert and made a lava chocolate cake.  I wasn't too happy because it used semi-sweet chocolate instead of milk chocolate - but I was wrong.  It was amazing!  Kate really did a great job and cranked it out in 30 minutes!

Kate had ice cream with hers, but I wanted fresh whipped cream with mine as the receipe called for.  So i whipped it up from scratch with the blender.  But, just as i was finishing up, the wisk attachment for the hand blender snapped off and got whipped cream EVERYWHERE (notice the collateral damage on the microwave) and cut my finger in the process.  But the whipped cream was delicious and all is well that ends well.  It was a romantic Valentine's Day and our last time celebrating it as single people, crazy!

Blackhawks Season Ticket Holder Road Watch Party

Thanks to Heidi's dad, we were able to go to the Blackhawks Season Ticket Holder Road Watch party.  This was back on January 16th, 2010; I just got around to downloading the pictures to my computer, hence this blog is a little delayed.  If you remember back to my inaugural post, I intended FFF to be my attempt at photojournalism, this post will be the first time I'm following through on that promise.

Above, you can see (from left to right) me, Kate, Heidi and Jon on the ice at the United Center.  Every time the four of us take a picture together I realize how tall I really am - or maybe how short they are, either way.  As a perk for season ticket holders (us vicariously through Heidi's dad), the Blackhawks welcomed us to the Madhouse on Madison to watch the game on the jumbo-tron as the Hawks took on the Blue Jackets in Columbus.  In addition to watching the game, we were offered $1 snacks from the concessions bar, a 30 minute open skate on the ice, and tours of the locker room and press box.  The game was a lot of fun; the Hawks ended up winning 6-5 after blowing a 3-0 lead in the first period.

While on the ice, Jon and I were fortunate enough to meet the Blackhawks Ice Girl.  They were really nice, and not so bright, but that's to be expected.

 

We took the obligatory holding hands picture, then Heidi and Jon did too.

 

 Before we skated, we decided to take the zamboni for a spin...not really, but we took a cool picture on it.  Kate rode shotgun, don't miss her, you can only see her head!

 

 Heidi and Jon got a picture too, Heidi wanted to drive, but someone must have told them about her because they wouldn't let her.

 We checked out the locker room which is pretty plush.  It was kind of a disappointment because we couldn't go into each locker like last time we visited.  That didn't dampen Kate and Jon's spirits!

 

Heidi and I got jealous, so we went up to the press box and took a picture.  What a great view!

I had to snap a picture of the Bulls dynasty championship banners from the press box.  Double 3-peats, won't ever get old.

 

Before we left the press box we stopped by and met the organist.  He might have the best job ever.  Heidi asked him how he makes the effects during hockey fights - he showed us a small box just to his right (by the small 6 on his arm) which was not as impressive as we had hoped.

 

Lastly, Jon wanted to remind everyone that he hates Impact - Thumbs down Impact!

 

Man's Last Stand! BEER, SPORTS, WOMEN, CARS! GRUNT!!!

 This post is a bit late, I started it on Monday, Super Monday if you will, but didn't get a chance to finish it until today.  By now everyone in America must know that the underdog New Orleans Saints beat the heavily favored Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV this past Sunday.  It is also safe to say that the entire country, minus Indiana, is happy to see the Saints win for their city who so desperately needed a reason to cheer.  The effects of Hurricane Katrina are still felt by many despite the lack of headlines and national attention.  With that in mind, I'm very glad the great fans of New Orleans have the chance to welcome the Vince Lombardi Trophy to their home.

Now, on to more important matters... the Super Bowl Commercials.  I won't run through the entire gamut of commercials from Sunday's game, for that you can navigate to Time Magazine's Website where you can play all 68 commercials. Instead, I will focus on my favorite commercial from the most watched TV program of the year: Dodge's Man's Last Stand. 

Many critics of this spot call it sexist and narrow minded (including the columnist from Time Magazine in the link above.  You'll see he gave the commercial a D-).  And to them I respond - you're overly PC and in fact you are the narrow minded ones.  This advertisment appeals to your senses and your emotions, its real.  This country is an Anglo-Christian society based on the practice of monogomous marriage between men and women (this is not a pro or anti gay statement, its just a fact).  Going along with that, there are simple facts that come with being married: walking the dog, listening to your spouses opinoins of your friends, putting the seat down, in-laws, etc.  These, along with the littany of tasks in the commercial, are facts of life that men (and women!) have to deal with on a daily basis.  If women or femminists don't like it, they don't have to watch.  And honestly, I don't think you'll find too many femminists in the market for the 425 Horsepower 2010 Dodge Charger SRT-8.

This muscle car is made for men and it should be marketed to men. Sergio Marchionne & his Fiat team have done an excellent job revamping Chrysler Group's marketing to reinvigorate its customer base.  I love this commercial and I have the feeling most other car enthusiasts do too.  The unique perspective of the men's blank stares while the narrator lists the daily tasks that their lives consist of is nothing if not attention grabbing - it makes you wonder, what is this commercial for.  Then as the camera zooms in on the man's eyes, the shot cuts to the roaring engine of the V-8 HEMI tearing down the street - "...I do this so I can drive the car I want."  Brilliant.  The first time I saw the commercial the roaring of engine put chills down my spine.  Car buying is an emotional experience, especially for a car like the Dodge Charge SRT-8.  Bravo to the marketeers who created this commercial for appealing to your emotions. A+

This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather

This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather - Phil Connors (Groundhog Day)

I should be busy working on my application for grad school or working out preparing for the upcoming triathlon season, or even working on things for my upcoming nuptials in October; but alas, it is Groundhog Day and I would be remiss if I didn't take a few moments to share my thoughts with everyone on my favorite non-holiday holiday: Groundhog Day.

First of all, bravo to Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis for writing the 1993 screenplay.  The premise of the movie is quite simple - a miserable man is forced to live the same terrible day over and over again.  The success of the movie does not rely on the premise alone.  Groundhog Day was the perfect subject.  A formerly nondescript holiday which typically resulted in a blurb on the morning news, if that.  Groundhog Day was a joke.  The movie based on the tribulations of Phil Connors (Bill Murray) took that joke and actually made it funny.

I could continue and go on a long blithering analysis of the movie and hypothesize about the messages the movie is conveying.  But, I would rather list out some of my favorite quotes:

• This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather.
• (Waiter drops tray of plates) Gus: Yeah, just put that anywhere pal!
• Phil takes sip of drink then says to waiter: can i have another one of these, with some booze in it?
• Ned: Hey, what are you doing for dinner? Phil: ...something else.
• Rita: are you drunk? Phil: No, drunk's more fun.
• I'll give you a prediction about the weather...Its gonna be cold, its gonna be gray, and its gonna last you for the rest of your life.
• That's not bad for a quadruped. You gotta check your mirrors...Side of your eyes, side of your eyes...Don't drive angry!
• Do you want to throw up here, or in the car - I think... both.
• Doctor: You know what I think you need Phil: a biopsy? Doctor: no, a psychiatrist. 
• I'm A god, not THE God.

Timeless quotes, a timeless film.  Thank you Mr. Rubin and Mr. Ramis for filling my February 2nd with purpose.  Without Groundhog Day, February 2nd would be cold, gray, and last me the rest of my life.

iPad: Slim & discrete, but can you swim with it?

Steve Jobs has applied his marketing genius again - he has made Apple Nation lose their minds over the latest Apple product release, - iPad; Apple's alleged "laptop killer" tablet computer.

Allow me to preface this with the fact that I own an iPhone...and love it.

God I hate Apple.

Apple thinks that their best-in-class marketing will make every middle-class American with discretionary income think that they will need their products.  Well, Apple is dead wrong.  The company has been successful, as of late, because they have revolutionized the personal music listening experience.  The combination of iTunes and all of the iterations, up to and including the iPhone, are to thank for this revolution.  Mac computers have achieved success due to their top end components and excellent displays.  Coupled these attributes with addictive marketing and 20-somethings led the march to overpay for trendy must-have Macs.  Steve Jobs has been one of the best innovators of the 2000's.

Someone forgot to tell Steve Jobs that innovation must be accompanied by common sense.

Let's start with the name: iPad.  Really?  I think Apple should incorporate a roomful of drunk college guys into their R&D process.  How the hell does a Fortune 100 company name their latest and greatest creation after a feminine hygiene product?  I'll stop short of elaborating on this.  Let's suffice it to say that "iTampon" was a trending topic on Twitter minutes after the announcement.

Now let's get to why the iPad is terrible in terms of functionality.  I would be lying if I said all of my criticisms were original to me.  For a professional list of gripes with the iPad check out Gizmodo's 8 Things that Suck about the iPad. Here are my personal favorites of why the iPad is an iFlop:

• Overall, the iPad is an overgrown iPhone, without the the telecom functionality.
  
• No Flash -  You have to be kidding me.  The lack of Flash support is by far my biggest gripe about the iPhone.  How does one expect to be a "laptop killer" if it doesn't even support one of the most popular website formats; not to mention the inability to stream video via Flash!
  
• No Multi-tasking - You can only run one application at a time on the iPad.  Dealbreaker.
  
• No USB port - the definition of USB: "Universal Serial Bus" is a wired serial bus standard to interface computers and electronics devices. Only Apple would have the audacity to create a computer without a USB port.
  
• Not Widescreen - Welcome back to the stone-age.  Maybe Apple will start selling 4:3 Standard Def tube TV's again too!

What I will say in defense of the iPad is that the price point is interesting starting at $499.   However, $499 is a little pricey for something that you only need once a month.  Sure, its slim and discrete, but can you swim with it?

Obama burns Magic

If the video won't play above, you can click the link below to open it in YouTube in your browser:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHrZd7JxvPQ

The day before President Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, announced a three year freeze in federal discretionary spending, he spent the afternoon welcoming the 2009 Los Angeles Lakers to the White House. Following tradition, that has transformed into ritual over the past 20 years, the Lakers traveled to the nation's capital to receive the President's congratulations via a short press conference and photo op (you can view the press conference in it's entirety above). The entire team made the trip including the Zen-Master Phil Jackon, Kobe Bryant, Pao Gasol and even Magic Johnson (Minority owner and "Team Vice President").

Obama, an avid Chicago Bulls fan and proud Chicagoan in general, congratulated the team, and specifically congratulated Phil Jackson on winning his tenth NBA title. The President went further saying,

"I do want to point out that six of [the championships] came with the Bulls.

(turns and looks at the team behind him)...

You Remember that Magic...90-91...

Remember when Jordan went up (gestures with hands)!"

Obama jabs Magic at 2:47 in the video

This is, by far, the best moment in Obama's tenure as President. All politics asdie, except perhaps those sporting in nature, I love that the President is a socially accessible person. He loves his hometown team no matter what his job is and who he works for. And he's not afraid to say it; even if its in front of millions of constituents. Obama's impromptu grilling of Magic about MJ and the Bulls rolling the Lakers in the Finals almost 20 years ago is a great example of why Obama is so well liked: He has personality. He speaks proudly of his team, even during the dreadful Joakim Noah and Ben Gordon-less era. Even though he's president, you feel like you could approach him at a bar and strike up your typical guy small talk in the universal language of Men - Sports (Yes, both Men and Sports have, and deserve capitalization).

So, my hat's off to you Mr. Obama. During these trying times of economic dispair, war and jobless-ness, you keep it light with your likable personality. After all, anyone who had a pulse in the 90's enjoys a good MJ story. Too bad China doesn't like basketball; wait a second...

7 Year Old Haitian Rescued after 9 1/2 Days

I'm no news reporter, but I couldn't help but blog about this. A 7 year old Haitian boy buried under feet of rubble after surviving the 7.0 tremor in Haiti last week. He emerged after living through 9 1/2 days of aftershocks without food or water. Understandably terrified, he was reluctant to come out when first found; but once coaxed by a relative and resuce workers his fear passed and transformed to overwhelming joy. Matthew McDermott, a free-lance photographer for AmeriCares magazine, captured the moment in a perfectly timed photo. McDermott explains in the video above.

McDermott aslo captured, now famous, photos from ground zero in New York during 9/11. Some might say that the free-lance photographer is taking advantage of people in their greatest time of need. I disagree. McDermott's photo journalism is shedding light on the horror and tragedy that is taking place in Haiti right now. He explained that his intentions are to publish the photo in AmeriCares magazine in an effort to raise funds for the Haiti Relief Effort; and noble intentions those are. A photo really does say 1,000 words and I think these are words that all of us can relate to. We are fortunate to live in the greatest country in the world. That is something that I truly believe in and am very thankful for. Along with that, we are fortunate to have the resources to handle a disaster of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti as well as any country on Earth. Even so, tragedies like Hurricane Andrew, the 1989 California earthquake and Hurricane Katrina prove that even with the best support system in the world, we are all susceptible to the pain loss and sufferring. We are all 1 human race and equally understand the feeling of pain. This is why I think Matthew McDermott is on a rightous mission with his million dollar photo. We all feel pain, we all want to help the people of Haiti in this trying time. Hopefully, McDermott's photo will encourage us to do so and the majority of that million dollars will end up directly in the hands of a needy Haitian.

My undying love for Costco

Costco is like heroin to me.

I don't know what it is but I can't help but love shopping there. Maybe it is the fact that Costco is everything in a big-box retailer that Wal-Mart (and Sam's Club) is not (and believe me that is a big deal because I hate Wal-Mart). Or maybe it is the fact that I love everything in life to be as large scale as possible. In the words of fiance: Go big or go home!

Kate and I went to Costco today to do a little Sunday (although today is really more like a Saturday due to MLK day tomorrow) shopping. She really wanted to buy one thing: a hefty bag of clementines; her new favorite snack. I wanted to stock up on Gatorade for working out. Here is the list of everything we ended up buying:
Clementines
Gatorade (two 24 cases)
Sara Lee Soft & Smooth Bread (2 loaves)
Wedge of well aged Gouda (1 lb)
Coarse Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Salted Almonds (3 lbs)
Ice Mountain Water (24 case)
Kirkland Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (6.5 lbs)
Frozen Edamame (4-14 oz packs)

Total: $99.92

Costco has my demographic nailed. It's a club - everyone loves to be in clubs. For instance, the first thing you see when you walk in...a huge wall of big screen TV's - 3 rows deep. In the back, aisles of excellent red wine at affordable prices. On weekends and busy days they have free samples, I ALWAYS love free samples - who doesn't? Then, they make you get an Amex to pay for it all (unless you want to pay in cash, and honestly who carries cash anymore). The best part about it is that you get 1% back on all purchases at Costco...it's like they're paying you to shop there!

For better or worse, I will continue to love shopping at Costco, even if my bank account doesn't.

Conan lays into NBC

Seeing that FFF has one lone follower, I thought I should play to my audience and start off the blog with a crowd pleaser. Less than 24 hours after NBC brass announced that they would like to retun Jay Leno to the coveted 11:05 timeslot and bump Conan O'Brien back by 30 minutes, Conan stepped up to the plate with plenty of amunition for his opening monologue. You can watch the monologue, as well as the entire episode above.

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Good for Conan.

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Jay Leno's ratings have been plummetting for years and his lack of success in Prime Time solidifies that fact. So much so, that NBC's hand was forced by its affilliates to replace Leno in Prime Time as his poor ratings were negatively affecting lead in ratings to the local news. Leno stepped down by his own choice and should have to deal with the consequences. Conan has paid his dues and certainly has climbed the late night ladder at NBC. If you don't believe me, you should check out some of Conan's shows from early in his career - painful. But, he endured and found his niche in late night and now, in my opinion, is the funniest late night host on TV. The sun has set on the late night career of Jay Leno. He needs to realize that and respectfully bow out. Unfortunately, I doubt that will be the case; after all Leno needs to finance his massive car collection somehow. Jay's car collection is one thing (and probably the only things) that I respect about him. Maybe that is what he should shift his career focus to.

"Form Follows Function" - Louis Sullivan

"It is the pervading law of all things organic and inorganic,
Of all things physical and metaphysical,
Of all things human and all things super-human,
Of all true manifestations of the head,
Of the heart, of the soul,
That the life is recognizable in its expression,
That form ever follows function.
This is the law." -Louis Sullivan (architect 1856-1942)

In perhaps a moment of haste, I decided to start a blog. My main motivation for this forthcoming trail of thoughts, ramblings and perhaps a piece of my mind here and there, is house my attempt at photojournalism.

I named this blog after one of my favorite quotes by iconic Chicago architect, Louis Sullivan. Form Follows Function was the mantra which served as the foundation for the famed Chicago School of Architecture. I like to think I live my life by this same principle, or try to at least.

If anyone actually reads this feel free to post comments or even request a blog topic if you're feeling saucy.