Link: ESPN.com - MLB - Reports: Mets top Red Sox offer for Pedro.

Well, this makes total sense.  Here's a big name guy with a bad attitude, past his prime and on the decline, asking for too much money.  Oh, not to mention the fact that his health is suspect. 

He fits perfect with the Mets strategy.

I've heard some Sammy Sosa rumors as well.  Again, right in line, and it would be great to have both an overrated pitcher on the decline AND a slugger on the decline.

Is Jose Canseco available? 

Everyone, regardless of profession, should be using a blog to record their employment experience. Resumes dumb down years of experience to one page, failing to capture or oversimplifying the whole story.  A blog that records, semi-regularly if not daily, your thoughts on your job experience, initiatives you've taken, self assessment compared to goals of what you think your ideal performance should be, and potential mistakes and what you've learned from them would go so much further to constructing a complete picture of what you bring to the table.  Blogs are a great record of your demonstrated ability to think strategically and to communicate with written word--two of the most important attributes that employment candidates need in today's sales and service focused economy.  There will be a time when blogs are almost as commonplace as resumes and employers check the blogs of the top resumes screened out as an interim step between the resume drop and the interview invite. 

Blogs are much better tools than social networking sites to connect to others in your industry.  Social networking sites are focused on the connections themselves, which is as forced and feels just as unnatural as networking for the sake of networking.  No one wants to be seen as the person "working the crowd" to see whose cards he or she can get or how many they can dish out.  Network development should be an incidental outgrowth of sharing of interests and connections should be earned by impressing others with your ability to bring something interesting to the table.  Blogs allow people to demonstrate, before you make a connection, how insightful you can be about your field of interest.  A great comment on the blog of someone else who is established as a thought leader may drive them to comment about your ideas, as well as drive traffic to your own blog and give you the chance to earn the respect and credibility of people in a great network.  You can get tapped into a group by the sharing of ideas, as opposed to feeling like you are walking around with "hat in hand" when you are pinging strangers for connections on a social networking site. 

Blogging helps you become a more insightful worker.  Anyone who has written a book will tell you that the process of writing turns parts of your mind on that pay more attention, pick out insights, and develop theories about the subject you are focusing on.  Your "mind's eye" looks for things to write about and attempts to come up with interesting things to write about.  Plus, you find yourself striving to be consistent in what you think and write, because putting all your thoughts "on paper" challenges you to match them all up in some kind of unified pattern.  You can't write one thing here and contradict yourself later.  The same thing happens to people who start taking up photography.  Whereas you might have missed lots of interesting visuals in your world before, part of your mind is now on the lookout for things that might make for an interesting photo, making you more observant. 

Blogging can be a positive outlet for people who are dissatisfied by their jobs or "between jobs."  A professional blog can be a great way to create something that keeps you thoughtfully engaged in your career in the face of a bad employment experience.  Blogging might help you seek out ways to make your job more interesting or help connect you to people who are undergoing the same frustrations.  Written in a careful and positive way, it can also turn into a great discussion of suggestions you've made to improve your situation or the systematic things about your position that make it difficult and how employers might examine their structure to improve things.  (Of course, you don't want your professional blog to be a long list of complaints about your company or boss that might reflect poorly on you or get you fired).   When you are not working, a record of thoughtful discussion of research is a better and more impressive use of your down time than not having anything to show for it except unsuccessful job searching. 

Blogs need better ways of searching the "About" page.  Standardized fields like industry, college, years of experience, areas of interest, etc. should be tagged in a way that allows me to pick out, for example, all of the Fordham graduates blogging in the investment field.  This is incredibly easy to do and it would go a long way to making blogs more functional social networking sites as well as make it much easier for new blog readers to quickly identify who they would like to start reading.

It just occurred to me that I don't actually have a family or holiday category for my site.  I guess that might say something...  I'm not a big fan of the holidays, mostly because my family is a lot smaller than it used to be.  We used to have at least 15 or so people stuffed into either my mom's house, my grandmother's, or my mom's now black sheep sister.  Divorce and death have taken their toll, though, and now, admittedly, the holidays are a bit meloncholy for me.  However, I did reengage myself a little bit this year with the camera, fully intending to blog the holidays in our family.  I also learned that I'm a goofball and didn't figure out how to use the autofocus on my camera until after the photos were done.  So, some of these didn't come out that great, but rest assured, the Christmas pics will be clear and crisp.

Nana and Puba...  I try not to get her excited, because she'll pee on the floor...   the dog, that is.  Puba is actually much older than Nana.  She's 98 in dog years, while Nana is a young 86.  Nana is mom's mom.  She's Sicilian.  Both Nana and Puba have bounced down a flight of stairs in the last few years...  Nana fell backwards down a flight of steps at my brother's old house in Chicago and wound up with a golf ball sized bump on her head.  Puba fell down our basement steps the other day, apparently, and was completely unscathed.  These old gals are unbreakable.

This is my dad checking out the neighbors behind us in the backyard.  They're gutting their house, but instead of moving the furniture from room to room while they work, they just dumped it all in the backyard...  totally uncovered.  Its raining now, and there's a microwave out there for starters.  Bizzare.

They got a new dining room set.  I think it looks nice, but it turns out that small people don't fit in the chairs very well, because they're too big.  My mom's cousin Denise couldn't reach the floor with her feet.  So we only had eight people:  Me, my parents, Nana, Mom's cousin Denise, Jackie (my great uncle's widow), her new boyfriend Jim the Pilot, and my brother Steve.  Steve hates being photographed, but I did get him to take one with me at the end.

Holiday traditions: 

Mom making me a leftovers dish to take home. Dad doing the dishes.  Puba foraging under the table for scraps.  My strawberry tart.

   And yes, Steve does exist.  The funny thing is that Dad's cousin Danny once thought that we only had two brothers in our family...  the guy knew us for 25 years and didn't know Steve even existed.  That's why we used to call him The Phantom when I was younger... he was always off working or at the gym.

Best picture...  My parent's wedding picture in a frame in the dining room:

They're married for 43 years now. 

Link: Consulting Magazine - The #1 Online and Printed Resource for Consulting Professionals.

So my friend Brian just called me up. He works for Consulting Magazine and is helping to lead their web efforts.  I've been trying to introduce him to this whole blogging phenomenon, and, short of reading my own, I'm not so sure he "got it" until today.  He was doing some competitor analysis, which led him to ring me and ask, "Are you familiar with RSS?"

Brian went from being a good journalist to an even better salesperson.  He knows his field very well, and he certainly helped me a ton by editing my Stanford essays.  But, he's never been a cutting edge tech guy, and its very meaningful to me as a milestone that RSS has found its way into his vocabulary. 

Bagel breakfast is on Brian tomorrow, since he'll be picking my brain about what this is all about.  At the moment, I'm at DTUT writing the outline for the blog career book.  This is all gaining traction very quickly.

Link: Worst drivers: Teens, doctors, lawyers - Nov. 18, 2004.

This is really interesting, because if you combine the data from speeding tickets and accidents, the result is that politicians are the best drivers.  They are one of the least likely professions to get in an accident, but one of the most likely to get a speeding ticket.  Therefore, they're driving really fast, but avoiding crashes. 

Link: Inc.com | The Reality of Raising Venture Capital#jump.

Jerry Colonna, who I had the good fortune to meet in person the other day, has a really great response to a frustrated entrepreneur in Texas, but there's one point I want to comment on...

"you MUST get connected. You know that business relies on people connecting with other people and that few great ideas are truly great enough to break through and emerge as successful companies without the founder/entrepreneur/CEO going out and pressing the flesh. So you don't have an MBA. So what? Go out and find a network you can join. If there's none in your area, start a chapter of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO) or Young Entrepreneurs' Organization (YEO). Go to you nearest university and meet with the professors there."

It is important to be connected, but a lot of people's efforts to get connected are misguided or too forced.  That's why, although I'm a huge proponent of networking, I'm always very cynical about the networking nights that Fordham tries to do with its Young Alumni.  I tried to focus those efforts on a three month mentoring program, where you could build a relationship over time.  To me, networks are what develops naturally out of being a productively functioning and active member of a number of circles.  I never tried to develop a network, but I was always active in pursuing my interests and so my network grew out of that.  If you're growing a network and you don't have one currently, I'd wonder what's going on that is leaving you out of what should naturally be your network given your course of business. 

For example, I have an idea for an online information service related to college recruiting.  That idea comes out of the student mentoring I've done, which connects me to many people in and around the career education world, and some recruiters as well.  It was my participation in this network, because it was an interest of mine, that grew the idea.  By talking to all these people, I found a need and came up with an idea to fill it.  If you ideas are grown in a bubble, away from customers, peers, other entrepreneurs, its probably not a well tested or appropriate product for the market.  If I wanted to shop this idea around a network, I have one already because it is a relevent network that helped grow the idea in the first place.  If you join a network with the intention to see what you get out of it, people will see right through you.

Its a lot like dating.  When you go out to a bar with the intention of hooking up, you're unlikely to build a long term relationship out of that.  People are a bit guarded, because they know you're "on the prowl" and they're trying to play defense.  Its a market that paralyzes its sellers because they're all afraid of getting duped.  Its all too forced.

However, if you just pursue your interests on a regular basis, taking part in activities you enjoy, you will find yourself meeting people with shared interest and you've got a much higher chance of success.  I met lots of great people at the Boathouse in a much more natural and informal way.  I always wonder about people whose only outlet for finding new people is at a bar. 

A lot of times, I find both people who understand this point and people who don't at professional gatherings.  When I'm at ILPA, I talk to the people I like and the ones I find interesting, rather than anyone I feel like it might be fruitful for me to cozy up to.  I think these personal connections are much stickier than those made by new entrants trying to "work the crowd." 

So, not to say that Jerry's suggestions won't bear fruit, they're good suggestions. I just want to point out that networking--the building of really effective long term relationships--happens over time and it happens not because you go out and look for it.  It is the coming together of like minded individuals taking part in activities for their own sake, not necessarily to get connected to other people.  Just be careful not to cross that line between trying to connect and enjoy time with like minded individuals and trying to get something out of them.

They're building a 24 story hi-rise right down the street from me on 83rd and York.  They leveled 4 or 5 walkups that were abandoned when I first moved in 2001 and now they're finally starting construction.  I think these big cranes are wild.  These are the ones that climb alongside the building as it goes up.  It just looks so out of place at the end of this block before the building is visable.  Check out the big hole in the ground for the foundation, though. 

On Thursday night, I went straight from LaGuardia to Bar 515.  PS, the Delta Shuttle to Boston is wonderful.  You literally drive up and park about 500 feet from the plane, and the whole process takes about 5 minutes to get on.  Its a pleasure.  Anyway, so I drove straight to the bar, and parked by one of those Muni Meter things.  They really dropped the ball by not letting you insert bills into it.  I suppose that's done on purpose, because they're counting on you not having change.  Its more lucrative for the city for you to get a ticket than for you to pay the meter.
Anyway, so I've got my phone and my keys and I'm shuffling through the bag in my trunk for change.  The moment I closed the trunk, I was like, "Oh shit."

I know at that moment, without checking my pockets, that I had left the keys in the trunk.  It was like I was subconsciously paying attention, but not enough to remember to put the keys back in my pocket, just enough to notice that I left them lying in the trunk.  Anyway, remembering the commercial, I called the Pontiac Roadside Assistance people and they transferred me to OnStar.  I told the lady that I locked myself out and she's like, "No problem, we'll have the drivers side door unlocked in ten minutes...  I just need your PIN number from you."   

Faaaaaaantastic!  They opened it by satellite.  How cool is that?  Anyway, that only got me halfway there, though, because the keys were in the trunk and I don't think my car has a truck latch inside the car.  I know that's hard to believe, but I really checked.  I'll have to go consult the manual on this, but its certainly not in any place that any normal human being would expect it to be.  So, I had to climb into the back seat, pull the fold down seats to get into the trunk, and climb into the truck from inside the car.  I was literally in the trunk up to my waist with my legs flopping around the inside of the car.  I couldn't see anything and I was just blindly groping.  Finally, I found them, and ended this amusing incident unscathed.  That right there makes OnStar worth it, though.  I mean, being a GM employee, we get it for free, but whatever the price is, that incident definately saved me a good hundred bucks and much time wasted, because I'm sure that's what a tow truck or lock guy would have changed me to Slim Jim their way in. 

This random linking epidsode, combined with some screaming protesters on the street at Union Square last night make me thing that one of the problems with our country, and maybe even the world, is that we spend way too much time criticizing other people and debating issues and not nearly enough time actually creating positive change in our immediate lives.  How much money was donated to political campaigns this year by people who have never given a dime to any charity in their lives before, or even worse, never having given any of their time to any charity.  I try to help people around me...   that's why I want to write the book, that's why I do these mentoring programs, and that's one of the reasons I like the Boathouse.  Not everyone has to spend time in a soup kitchen for it to be a worthwhile charitable endeavor.  Just treating people right would be a start. 

Ask yourselves what are the last three selfless things you did for other people?  Stuck for an answer?  What about the last time you criticized someone or attacked them personally for their political views? 

Now, that's not to say you can't have views and support politicians that represent your views, but the level of derisiveness that we've sunken to has to stop, especially since so few of us are doing our part as quality human beings.  This is not a glass house we should be throwing stones from, people.  Go spend more time with your family and close friends.  Be supportive of them.  Go do something nice for someone... go show your appreciation for someone.  Give of your time to a charitable, as oppossed to a political, cause.  Helping people is the most non-partisan activity you can take on, and there's not enough of it.  Was John Kerry going to save the world? End homelessness?  Comfort the sick?  Take in the tired, the poor, yearning to breathe free?  No, and neither will George Bush.  Its up to each and every one of us individually to, as Ghandi says, to "be the change we want to see in the world."  I'm so sick of everyone being so negative and critical.  And I do it, too, so I'm not saying I'm perfect.  One of my new goals is going to be to encourage people to find positive solutions to as many simple, immediate problems as they can find.  Let's not waste any more time debating this bygone election.  Neither candidate was a great man, and I'll debate that with anyone.  We don't have enough great people around because it seems easier to knock people down than to aspire to be great. 

Who is a great person that we can all get behind?  Is Barak great?  I don't know.  Sein seems to think so.  I honestly don't know enough about him, but his blog is on my FeedDemon.  He's holding town hall meetings and he's asked for commentary on his site.  I think the most important comment was simply, "Thanks for asking."   I never see my local counsel people except for election time.  They're supposed to be representing me, but I don't see them asking me what I think.  I'm trying to get Fordham to do some polling or town hall type things to see what the alumni base is thinking.  Feedback.  Great people are great because they ask a lot of questions and strive to inform themselves about their constituencies.  Great marketers know their audience, and great politicians should be spending half their time in their own districts just talking to people.

I think I'm going to try and make an appointment with my local counselpeople just to talk and see what's on their mind, find out what they do, etc.  I think that would make for interesting blogging.  Let's see what our representatives are up to.

We have a first today at the site...   Someone random linked to me. 

I was looking at my referring sites and noticed a site a didn't recognize.  I have no idea who this person is, but he linked to my post regarding "the big red middle."  I'm not going to defend my opinion for two reasons:

1)  I shouldn't have to.  I posted my feelings and I wasn't knocking anyone else's feelings.

2)  The comment obviously wasn't meant to be serious political analysis and commentary.  Anytime I end a post with "warm, fuzzy feelings" and "Go Rudy" you should be intuitive enough to realize I'm not being serious.  Truthfully, that's how I feel, but it was a silly, offhand comment.  If I was posting a more serious assessment on the reasons why I think Rudy Giuliani would make a better President than Hilary Clinton you'd be able to tell the difference.

Obviously, people's opinions differ from my own, and I respect that.  What I can't stand is people who will personally attack those whose opinions differ from their own.  The random guy who linked to me went on to describe the Midwest, which supported Bush in large numbers (4-8% in a controversial and highly contested presidential election is a pretty solid margin as far as I'm concerned... ), in the following manner:

"That big red middle you got your mandate from, a lot of that "red" is sand, dirt, rocks, water, and three guys with AK-47s!  Do you really think every square mile of this great country has the same population density? Dear Lord no, you can't be that stupid, can you."

I'm sorry, but that's just really offensive.  My best friend is from Wyoming and she's a lovely human being.  I understand the nature of population density and we can debate this all we want, but the bottom line is that Bush won and Kerry lost, no matter how you slice it.  What's not necessary is to rip on anyone's personal opinion.  I don't think anyone was stupid for voting for John Kerry.  In fact, I was a Kerry voter, just barely, for a good part of this election, and it wasn't until the debates that I ran out of patience with him.  I don't think anyone would be stupid to vote for Hilary Clinton if she ever ran either.  I personally dislike her (greatly) but the best part about our country is that we're all free to express our opinion.  There's no need to characterize people in Middle America as three guys with AK-47s.  That's just offensive and disrespectful, and there's nothing that can justify that.  We're one country, and while we don't always agree, we should respect each other and take each other seriously.

Also, there's no need to characterize me as Republican.  I'm a registered independent and I'm pretty liberal on a number of issues.  Frankly, I think political parties should be banned and I'd like to just choose based on each candidates individual criteria, rather than their ability to tow a party line.  That's why I like Bloomberg.  Let's be clear, now.  Mayor Mike is a Democrat.  He switched parties to run in the mayoral election and avoid a very crowded Democratic slate of hopefuls.  He could care less about political parties, because he's rich enough to care less.  He says what he feels and does what he feels is right.  I respect that.

Anyway... I will give the random linker credit for an amusing headline to his post.

"This is going to be stupid.  I can feel it."  Highly amusing.

I wonder how he found my blog.  Perhaps now that I've posted this, he'll come out of the woodwork and post a comment on my site as opposed to just talking behind my blog.  :)

I'm in the newspaper!  (I'm not sure if that link will always work, but the article is written by Patricia Kitchen and its in today's Newsday.)

The article is about young people and their careers.  Here's my part:

"New York, especially, can be a breeding ground for a who's-in-the-lead mentality, says Charlie O'Donnell, 24, an analyst in a New York City private equity group. A graduate of Fordham University, he's set up a young alumni mentoring program there for students and finds that some are "very focused on getting a job as opposed to getting the best job for them," which would call for slowing down and doing some self-assessment.

Young people also can "pay too much attention to what they perceive as the pace around them. Others get jobs and move up and it's easy to feel like you're falling behind."

While he's no advocate of staying stuck in a going-nowhere situation, he does say there's value to finding some kind of fulfillment in the job you're in for as long as you're there. He addresses such career issues on his Web site www.findmypath.com."

Ok, how cool is that?!  The story behind it is funny.  I e-mailed her months and months ago when I was trying to generate interest in my book, and she literally just called me last Monday for this article.  She even featured the Find My Path site!  haha... wooooo   I'm going to get to work on advertising the site more now that its been featured in a major newspaper.  wooooooo

Ugly Sign Misses the Mark in NYC Subway

Leave it to idiocy to bring out idiotic comments from people.  So someone hacked into the transit message system in the subway and made the signs say, "Pretty Girls Don't Ride the Subway". 

So a reporter goes around asking people about this, as if this is real news that we should be wasting brain cells on. 

The responses?

"It's a vicious lie," said Rachel Russell, 37, an East Village arts-program coordinator, mostly in jest. "I think someone is trying to be clever."  (Someone... not you, but someone...)

Another woman...

"That's horrible," she said of the sign. "I'm pretty, and I take the subway every day."

(Horrible?  Horrible is a curious puppy getting his nose snipped off by a weed wacker.  This falls slightly short of horrible, ma'am.)

Nick Bello, 57, a technical representative from Brooklyn, said he has seen proof that the message is wrong. "It's very strange," he said. "I see a lot of pretty girls on the subway."   

(Good to know that 57 year old Nick is ogling pretty girls on the subway on his way home.  I'm sure his wife will have something to say about that.)

Actress Katharyn Bond, 33, of the upper West Side, who was wearing a little black dress with heels and a pink shawl, was taking the subway to a theater to see a play. "Pretty women," she said, "take the subway so we can go spend money on more important things - like alcohol."

(Clearly she already had a few in her when she gave the reporter the spelling of her name.)

So after I walked out of the Starbucks this morning, I walked down this street with a sign to "Coit Tower".  There was a long set of steep stairs up this hill and a spire at the top of the hill... looked like an interesting place to go, plus I wondered with the view might look like from up there.

The sun kind of washed out the second and third level of stairs above this....  its such a curious setup, right up from the end of this side street.

At the top of this set of stairs, halfway up the hill, there's a really great view.  PS... this post is now a race against my laptop battery.  Can't find a plug in this Starbucks.

Odd pink castle up the hill...

You gotta be kiddin' me...   

"Hey, where do these stairs go?

They go up..."   

- Ghostbusters  (One of the most well written comedies ever.)

Who says people in California are strange?  This woman appears to be completely normal.  Of course, I'm not sure I can say the same thing for the owner of this house.

Well, maybe I do have some photographic talent.  Although, a untrained monkey probably could have taken a good shot from this spot given this fantastic scenery.  Obviously, that's the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance.  Perhaps New York should start painting some of its bridges.  How about painting the Verrazano bridge yellow?

I'm here.... literally.  The little black asterisk on the top left of the map marks my spot...   but I'm also right there in the reflection.  Cool, no?  My tat my reflect my inner badass, but this picture definately reflects the inner dork.  Check out the panorama of photos at the top of this hill by the Coit Tower below...

Sweet.

You know what, I'm not even going to include a picture of the tower itself, because its not nearly as cool as the view.

But you know what is cool?  This guy's door...

I took that on the walk back down the hill.

The rest of the day I spent mostly driving.  I drove down to Palo Alto to have lunch with Valarie from CM Capital at Zibbibo.  I had a puttenesca pizza... good stuff. 

I did visit Stanford, but I didn't take any pictures.  I don't want to jinx it, because then I'll feel like a goofball.  After Stanford, I drove around University Avenue...  there are some great houses down on the other end.  I love looking at houses.  I took an architecture course in Regis and every time I look at an interesting design, I mentally add it to the list of stuff I'd like in my own house one day.  I think it would be great to design my own house--with someone special of course. 

A really special architect.  ;)

Oh, Holian will appreciate this.  On the drive back into the city, I snapped off a quick photo on the highway..

   How sweet is that Vette?  Its like a '70 or so.  I also saw a new Mustang at Stanford.  I can't decide whether or not I want a new Mustang or an older car like this.  I guess it depends on whether or not I'll be driving to Greenwich everyday.

I wish more people would post comments on my blog.  It would be nice if it was a bit more interactive.

     Thinking about grad school and figuring out where my next challenges are going to come from has made realize just how much of a constant GM has been in my life.  I've been there since February 3, 1997.  Just the idea of not being there is a little strange and just that building itself has become sort of a mental safety beacon.  I walk around midtown with friends or on dates and enivitably I walk by it and point out to anyone who doesn't know yet, "I work here."  Walking around its halls has always felt comfortable and there was never anyone there I felt I had to be careful or timid around, from Allen Reed on down.  Oh, I applied for other internships and jobs in the meantime, but nothing else provided the challenge and the stimulation, so it was never really an issue.  Even when I signed with JP Morgan, my start date was so far away that I'm not sure the realization that I would be leaving GM ever truly hit me.
     And now, leaving in the next year is a realistic possibility--in fact, its a likely occurrence.  Its not necessarily scary...  its just...  different.  Its a lot to think about.  At the same time, its exciting.  The one thing I'm definately not used to is having to convince anyone of my ability.  I was sitting there writing applications and I just wanted to write down what I told Larry--that I would bet any amount of money that, when all is said and done, however you want to measure success, that I would come out in the top quarter of my Stanford class in twenty years.  The trouble is, like investing in venture, is that there isn't a commonly accepted set of predictive criteria on leadership, so you present who you are, and you just leave it up to some admissions counselor to decide whether or not you're a top quartile candidate.  Its very frustrating.  You just want to reach through the computer (the app was online) and grab the counselor and go, "How can you not see that I'm great!?  I'll outhustle any of these goofballs."
And that's what it really comes down to--outhustling your competition, which is difficult to show in a short trial.  That's why I did so well at GM.  I had four years to show them I was worth hiring.  That helped, because I'm not particularly flashy as a candidate for anything. 
     That's what happened to me when I tried out for baseball at Regis.  Its hard to show up with 80 guys trying out for 18 spots and singles hit your way onto the roster.  I remember this one at bat when I was playing for St. Ephrem's...   I must have fouled off about 8 or 9 pitches.  The pitcher was visably frustrated and it just popped into my mind that I was absolutely getting a hit.  I just decided to get a hit.  Now, maybe that's just drinking the Kool Ade, but it was so clear to me in my mind that I was going to get one.  On the next pitch, I smacked an eye level fastball right up through the box on a line drive--nearly decapitated the pitcher.  It was really a laser.  Yet, how can you show people in a short trial that you can do that? 
     So here I am with three or four possible paths that my life could take over the next year, but I'm not exactly holding the cards.  I hate feeling like I cannot affect my life and that I have to depend on outside forces.  I've always believed that your life is what you make out of, and that, to a large extext, you can pretty much brute force your destiny--if only because few others believed you could and no one else was really trying.  I still believe that in the grand scheme, but these little individual decision points that I need to leave in the hands of others are inordinately frustrating for me.  Last night, I saw the Incredibles, which was incredibly entertaining.  There was a preview for Star Wars (which I don't seem to be as big a fan as everyone else's), but it made me think of Obi Wan's ability to influence the decisions of others.  I'd like to just be able to wave my hand and get them to say, "This one has promise, we should take him on."
    I'll tell you though, this is where blogs become interesting.  Someone made a comment the other day about how blogs might change the nature of job interviews.

Deirg (I figured I'd post a picture of her, since I'm going picture crazy lately and she does represent a good third of my social life as one of my two best friends) said last night that she would never feel comfortable with an employer reading her blog.  Personaly, I didn't have an issue with it, and in a way, I welcomed it.  In all honesty, this is as close to a record of who I've been for the past eight months as anything...certainly more fullsome than an interview.  Sure, maybe there are some off color jokes, but if people aren't comfortable with that, then I'm probably not suited to work for them.  Politcal comments?  Yeah, that could hinder me, too.  But, its me.  I'm not apologetic for any of it and I think its a lot of the kind of insight people are looking for in an interview.  To me, interviews have always been more about personality and drive than qualifications.  When I interviewed Jeff the Intern, he had little experience with Access, and no experience dealing with institutional investing.  He knew nothing about private equity either.  But,  what he had was curiousity and drive.  If there was a model to do that he had to learn from scratch, I could count on him to figure his way out of it.  Would I rather have had someone who had created cashflow models for portfolios?  Well, actually, no.  Because, how would I know where their knowledge ends.  Everyone's knowledge ends somewhere... more importantly is where they are going to take it when they reach that point.  Will they strive to learn?  Stay late or wake up early to noodle their way out of a perplexing problem?  I can throw a lot at that kid and I just know enough of it will stick that he'll figure it out, which is how I think of myself.  I can't tell you how many times I've cut Larry off and said, "Just give it to me, I'll figure it out."  That's personality...  that's tough to diligence in an interview.  Yet, I don't think most people would be comfortable with an employer delving into their experiences on such a personal level.  Me?  I say, "Bring it on."

Do you know why I like Google Mail Notifier?   

Because, as I'm rushing out of my apartment to leave work, it lets me know if there are any last minute, potentially career altering, messages I need to mull over on my way into work.

I just got a visit from the Spot Fairy. I was walking up my block and I noticed a spot on the right side of the street for tomorrow. I had planned on waking up a 1/2 hour earlier to park the car in Queens by Deirg's house, as per the usual game of musical cars I play. Now, I get an extra 1/2 hour of sleep, b/c the car is legally parked right across the street from my apartment.

Thank you, Spot Fairy.

Sometimes, I like to think of myself as a badass... at least as badass as an investment analyst can be. I drive a badass car But, admittedly, I have some non-badass fascinations... things I can't help but stop and notice. The last few weeks, its been a voice at DTUT. Like my own personal Enya or Dido, all work comes to a screeching halt when she plays her two songs that combine for under eight minutes, only one of which can be a cover (or so the rules go.) I wonder... people base relationships around looks sometimes... can you base it on voice. What's the audio version of arm candy? Vocal cord candy? I just want her to walk around with me and sing in my ear... She's a voice hottie. That's probably not as badass as my car.

"Every little thing..."

So I got my second review back for the book, and its obvious I need to do some repositioning of the concept. Career counselors are not going to accept, or more importantly, encorporate a book into their program if it comes off as a replacement or replication of what they are already doing--especially not from someone who has a lot more experience than them.

So, if you can't beat them, join them. Basically, I'm going to rewrite it to make it "Make Your Career Counselor's Life Easier From Day One." It will basically have all the same content, but it will be positioned so that its basically meant to prepare you for the regular career education process offerred by a school. The idea is that your career education, like any other education, is all about what you put into it.

The second part of this is that I'm going to try to partner up with a career counselor who might make commentary, introductions--that kind of peripheral content addition that adds credibility, but doens't change my work. So, back to the drawing board.

These photos are from a week and a half ago... Holian came up for the Fordham football game, and coincidently, Brian and Tim, along with their Brooklyn crew came out to the same bar that night. Claire, Suzie, Carlie, and Kathleen came, too. It was more people that I knew at one place than I think I've ever had before.