Indiscriminate Idealist

Hello again

2007-12-20T05:52:50Z

Some of you may or may not know that I have a bit of a shoe ummmm... fetish? Anyway, as a kid growing up I always wanted a pair of Florsheim Royal Imperial longwings. I figured having a pair was a sign of having made it in the business world. Anyway, by the time I entered the business world the Florsheim brand was a shadow of its former self and the Florsheim Imperial line was no longer the wonder that it was so I thought I'd never be able to enjoy a pair of those long admired shoes from my boyhood. Enter eBay! I found a pair of new old stock (NOS) Royal Imperials that had been sitting in a storage room for 20 or so years. How cool is that? They had just a few issues from having been in the box that long, they were a little stiff, had a couple of spots on them and some marking from where the tags were on the insoles all those years. I was very worried abou the rather slick soles, I wanted these to be daily drivers, so I took them into the cobbler and had some work done on them, new rubber heels and sole guards to extend the life of the soles and give me some grip on the ice and snow. The guy who did the work was amazed by the shoes, he said he hadn't seen a pair that well made in years. Now, these aren't the nicest shoes I own from a dressy perspective, but fuck if they aren't just what I wanted. My Mantellassis will come out to play when it is nice and dry and safe outside, but the Imperials can have all the winter fun. I've included a picture for your edification, I didn't get the new shoe trees I ordered for them before I left on my trip, so I'll repost when they're properly treed.

Interesting little quiz results. . .

2007-09-16T00:08:55Z

So I was cruising through the LJ flora and fauna and came upon a post from someone tangentially connected to me about a Career Quiz that asks you a bunch of questions and recommends careers based on your answers. It is located at Career Cruising under their MatchMaker quiz. Interestingly enough my #3 career happens to be the one I am in, I guess that's a good thing. The number 4 career just so happens to have been my father's and the number 11 career was my mother's. Now that's a little more interesting. Hmmm... nature vs. nurture?

1. Bank Manager
2. Operations Research Analyst
3. Management Consultant
4. Health Care Administrator
5. Money Manager
6. Logistics Specialist
7. Association Manager
8. Certified Public Accountant
9. Investment Banker
10. Research Analyst (Financial)
11. Actuary
12. Interior Decorator
13. Retail Buyer
14. Corporate / Commercial Lawyer
15. Economist

Good music. . .

2007-09-14T04:51:13Z

It's been awhile since I posted about albums that are currently in heavy rotation in the soundtrack of my life, so I thought I'd update with my rating on a scale of four stars:

Maps - "We Can Create" - ***
Interpol - "Our Love to Admire" - ****
Cold War Kids - "Robbers & Cowards" - ***
Low - "Drums and Guns" - ***
Spoon - "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" - ***+1/2
The National - "Alligator" and "Boxer" - ***
David Dondero - "The Transient" - ****
Wilco - "Sky Blue Sky" - *** (it's a little uneven or it'd rate higher)
Schubert - "String Quintet in C Major" the Adagio - ****
Bruckner - "7th Symphony" - ****
The Chemical Brothers - "We Are The Night" - ***
Daft Punk - "Human After All" - ***+1/2
The Killers - covering Romeo & Juliet on Live from Abbey Road - ****

That ought to give you something to listen to. . .

Ethan Hawke is a pretentious moron

2007-09-12T17:41:06Z

Now normally I don't rant about stupid celebrities because, well, it would take too many hours out of the day. I am making an exception in the case of Mr. Ethan Hawke, fucking moron. First of all I read his shit novel The Hottest State which was wannabe hipster schlock. But that's not the reason for the rant. He was interviewed recently by Entertainment Weekly because he's turning his shit novel into what I am sure will be a shit movie. As a part of his interview they asked for his "Must List", things that he believes people should check out because he really enjoyed them. I was excited to see Wilco's Sky Blue Sky was one of those things as you all know I am a big Wilco fan. Then I read his comment, the fucking twit:
Hawke, a fan of frontman Jeff Tweedy, loves Wilco's latest. ''It starts with a happy little guitar riff and the line, 'Maybe the sun will shine today.' I felt like, 'He's happy!' And I thought, 'I am too!' Corny, but I love him.''

Uhhhh... wow... what an utter misunderstanding of that song. Do you know anything about Jeff Tweedy you jackass? How about you listen to the second line? Here is the first verse for your edification:

Maybe the sun will shine today
The clouds will blow away
Maybe I won’t feel so afraid
I will try to understand
Either way

There's nothing happy about that song twit, it's hopeful, but not happy. The song is about accepting the situation you are in, hoping for the best, but working to understand and live with the fact that the best might not be what you get. It is a beautiful song filled with hope and longing and some self realization, but happy? Happy?

Boston Pictures

2007-09-09T04:27:48Z

I was recently in Boston for a company all hands meeting. It was quite interesting. I rarely get to spend time with my peers, so that was nice, and it gave me an opportunity to meet everyone who works in our organization, we've really grown in the last 15 months since the previous meeting. I had to give several presentations to the entire group, about 250 people, and felt like I spent most of the three days up on stage. I got to bond with my boss's new boss and spend some time with with boss as well. Always good to make sure people know your name and your aspirations. They are very interested in bringing me over and giving me a job that would make me a peer, or slightly higher in the organization than my boss. She's fighting the move, imagine that. There is a lot of drama and politics going on in the organization at the leadership level right now, and I'm actually still interviewing with the local consulting company, who knows what will happen in the next few weeks.

In the meantime,

Our hotel. . .

An entrance into the Big Dig with our hotel in the background. . .

A yacht moored behind the hotel, the flag is from the yacht that belongs to the owner of the Red Sox, I couldn't get a picture with that 110' monstrosity in it.

The restaurant we ate at one night, excellent seafood, duh!, and a great view of the city at night.

The Coast Guard building by the hotel.... Semper Paratus!

Once a rescue swimmer, always a rescue swimmer! I added several to this tally I am proud to say :)

I liked the way the sunlight caught on the accents of this building. . .

Southern Wisconsin

2007-08-05T17:18:36Z

So Friday afternoon I left for my first actual go-away on vacation type vacation in quite some time. A week at the Grand Geneva Golf Resort and Spa is just what the doctor ordered. The main building of the resort is a very nice take on prairie style, or as they refer to it Frank Lloyd Wright inspired. The resort itself is very nice, the room is wonderful with a great view of the golf course. (I'll post pictures later) It's serene, quiet and comfortable. I can feel the batteries recharging already. Definately need this after all the nonsense dealing with a particular account team for the last six weeks. I'm seriously contemplating a new job.

8:30 tee time tomorrow morning!

Southern Illinois

2007-08-01T05:44:00Z

I've driven through southern Illinois twice in the last few weeks on brief trips to StL. Tonight as I drove in the moon was hanging low in the sky, big and yellow and orange. Same as last night as I was awaiting a friend in the movie theater parking lot before seeing Harry Potter. It never fails to amaze me watching the moon rise through the sky, changing from an orange, to a pale yellow to a stark white as it does, quite peaceful really. Last time I drove down I stopped to take a conference call and grab some lunch at this gas station/Quiznos off the highway. As I was sitting in the car waiting for the call to start I saw an older guy on a bike ride up to the Quiznos. I looked closer to see the bike was a Trek 5200, a rather expensive road bike. I thought the guy looked a little familiar, and the bike was the right model, and really, how many people in Southern Illinois are there riding around on a $2000 - $3000 bike? I bugged out on my conference call and hoping to talk to the guy, but wasn't able to catch him quick enough. I wonder if it was Mike Magnuson, author of Heft on Wheels a favorite book of mine. Too bad I didn't catch him! That would've been a cool coincidence.

Omaha... who knew?

2007-07-30T17:44:42Z

So, a week and a half ago I made a sojorn to Omaha, only the second time I've been there. Previous trip lasted less than 24 hours, as this one was supposed to. I got trapped there by the very nasty storms that swept over the plains, but that's neither here nor there. I was pleasantly surprised by the city. You fly in, quick taxi to the gate and then by the time you get in the rental car you are practically in the city proper. The east side of the city has a bunch of new buildings, including the Qwest Center which they're hoping will lure a hockey or basketball team to the city. It's very nice, not at all what I expected. They have an area on the east side called the Old Market that has a bunch of pubs and restaurants with outside seating and cobblestone streets and it was relatively bustling for a Wednesday night in Nebraska. Pretty cool. The building I had my meetings in was definately an extension of the Mies van der Rohe school of design, which impressed me. The city was much more expansive than I thought, with clusters of buildings in three areas across the expanse of the city itself, spread over about 15 miles across. I couldn't help but think to myself that this wouldn't be a bad city to kick around in for a few days.

Ugh . . .

2007-06-27T02:46:29Z

Hell week is here, and well, it's hell. St Louis, Dallas, Chicago and then Minneapolis this week before returning to Chicago again friday night. One slight problem, fucking Dallas decides to have Old Testament rain tonight. No hotel rooms in St Louis, no cars to rent, no flights out to Chicago tonight. Fah Q!

Had to get that off my chest. Last thing I needed right now was this sort of nonsense. I am liable to maim a few deserving people in Minneapolis on friday.

On an interesting and almost related note, I'm interviewing monday with a consultancy that "guarantees" in-town work for their consultants. How timely.

With my mighty Teddy sound. . .

2007-06-18T20:02:56Z

Had to drive to Detroit last night so that I could handle someoneelse's problems today. Let me just say that hiring/promotion quotas in consulting should be outlawed as a matter of course. The meeting today was just insane, that people in senior positions could have a complete lack of understanding of how to position something based on value versus price astounds me. The only good thing is that I have nothing on my calendar for tomorrow as my Dallas trip got postponed til next week. I'm going to take a leisurely drive back tomorrow. Wednesday through Friday will be meetings with the leadership team so I can tell them what they should be doing only to watch them promptly go in the opposite direction! ;)

In golf news I cut my putter down 2.5" and took .75" off my driver. Club customization is so much fun! I've got a tournament this weekend, hopefully all this hard work will pay off. Supposedly I should be able to legitimately get down to low teens handicap with my current swing. Chalet Hills here I come!

Aural bliss...

2007-06-17T00:41:04Z

I don't normally effuse about power products but if you are looking for the one thing to make a huge difference in your high-end audio system check out the parallel power delivery systems from Richard Gray's Power Company. I recently acquired an RGPC 400 Pro and it's made a world of difference in my two channel system that I use for my turntable. It filters out every last little bit of noise from the circuit and completely eliminates any choke that the previous line cleaning system I had in place introduced. The difference in power is palpable, it's like I have a whole new amplifier, and the clarity and detail of sound has improved dramatically. I currently have a Monster HTS 3600 on my main system with the flat panel and I will definately replace it with an RGPC.

Sitting here listening to my Sufjan Stevens Illinois LP I felt compelled to share.

Nothing much...

2007-06-16T05:01:36Z

I picked up a little pocket portable digital camera to be able to take some pictures of where I go to share with the girls. Should be interesting. It's a cool little thing, a Canon PowerShot SD1000. It's quite small and takes very good pictures. I'll try to post some of the more interesting pictures as time goes on. Given the number of cities I work in that shouldn't be too hard.

Getting to the end of the quarter crunch, that's never fun. I've got to figure out how I can balance out my schedule to be all the different places I need to.

Never ceases to amaze. . .

2007-06-13T14:19:52Z

It never ceases to amaze me just how many stupid people there are in the world. Case in point, yesterday driving from St Louis to Chicago I was stuck behind a motorcycle trooper for about 15 miles. There were five of us all biding our time waiting for this trooper to turn off into his trap or an exit or something. Well, one twit couldn't wait, so after about 15 minutes he decided he was going to pass the trooper. He got no more than a car length ahead of the guy then *bing* the lights go on and he gets pulled over. Uhhh... what the fuck was he thinking?

I'm working with an account team that is managing to step on their dick in much the same fashion. They've never been supportive of the work that my practice is performing out at the customer because they don't understand it and can't explain the benefits. How in this day and age someone who is responsible for moving about $30M in product and services a year can't understand an ROI analysis is beyond me, but yes gentles, they do exist.

I actually got some feedback yesterday that I was too emotional on a conference call because my disdain for this account team was apparent. Hrm, yeah, I'll work on that.

I'm a lazy spod

2006-08-08T08:21:44Z

Well, I'm in Pleasanton, first time in the Bay Area in 6 years? Something like that, can that even be right? Maybe only five. Six hours in a plane in coach blows. A direct flight from BOS to SFO sounds like a good idea at first blush, don't believe it. Luckily my flight back to Chicago on wednesday night is first class.

I've been laying low, contemplating things, what do I want to say, would anyone even give a shit, that sort of thing. I've really been trying to find some "voices" out there like mine in the blogosphere, so I've been doing a lot of reading and lurking I guess. Time to be a productive lil codger.

Work is going well, another promotion, this one a big leap, P&L responsiblility for about 1/3 of the country. Exciting and scary and about fucking time. I'm very lucky in a number of respects when it comes to work, but I like to think I work hard too, and a 131% utilization year to date bears that out. That's just a stupid number, I need to cut that out.

I read Nick Hornby's "A Long Way Down" on the flight tonight, yup, cover to cover. It was nice to read for personal satisfaction rather than mindless work blather. It was an interesting book, a few passages that I really liked, that were very evocative, but all the characters deserved a smack for the most part. It did really make me count my blessings and feel very thankful.

The joys of headphones

2006-03-23T06:13:23Z

What is it about listening to favorite songs in headphones? I tell you nothing sends me into aural bliss like good music in headphones. I've spent a decent amount of money on home audio systems, but Rhapsody, my laptop and my Bose QC2s bring me real bliss. Great way to shut out the rest of the world. Now if only I had a nice Eames lounge chair to kick back in whilst listening to my tunes. . .

I'm in a capital mood, I just wrapped a project successfully, which I always enjoy, delivered it 8 business days early, with a seriously improved margin and the customer is over the moon about the results. Oh, and I got the chance to make IBM look silly, a favorite passtime. Now comes the fun part, figuring out what is next. It's interesting since I got promoted a lot of the bullshit projects I might've gotten staffed on can no longer afford me, woo woo! The bosses want to keep me in NY to support the region, which would be interesting. And there's a project in Raleigh that needs a transition manager, but it would be such a waste of my time.

Adding to the mood goodness is an upcoming long weekend. PHX here I come for golf and relaxation. I'm looking forward to trying out my new Cleveland Classics attack wedge! I've been reading an interesting book on understanding the layout and characteristics of the golf course and its effect on your game. Since I'll be playing desert courses I know understand that I will need to play a ball with a higher spin so my approach shots don't keep rolling off the green like they did over Christmas. Whoa, who knew?!

MMmmmm.. Simon & Garfunkel goodness tonight. One of the few things my parents and I can agree upon. It totally blows my mind after all these years of singing along to "The 59th Street Bridge Song" to be pretty much living right near it most of the time. I guess I wouldn't mind supporting NYC for awhile. It beats Minneapolis.

Midtown Bliss

2006-03-09T16:17:57Z

Where does the time go? It just flits away. . .

I've been exploring Midtown a bit more the last few nights. I walked around the Grand Central area Tuesday night and was dismayed to find a building that I really like with a competitor's logo all over it. How come our headquarters can't be that nice? Hrmpf. Last night I walked around the Rockfeller Center area, I hadn't been there since '92 when I attended the tree lighting ceremony. Ahhh to be young and in love in Midtown. . . If only. Traveling places for business can be so deceiving. You stay in a four star hotel, have your meals paid for, get to wander and enjoy shopping like a tourist. The whole while you're thinking, "Gee, I could live here" completely oblivious to the fact that the people living in the area you're in pay $450,000 for an efficiency condo.

It amazes me, my Dad grew up in NY and refuses to go back, says that he hates the city. I'm so intrigued by it, especially since it has been so long since the last time I was really familiar with the city. I wonder what it must've been like when my grandfather was working at the Seagram's Building back in the early 60s, having lunch with the other execs at Top of the Sixes on Park Ave. I wonder what would've happened had I gone to NYU instead of IIT. . .

At last

2006-02-23T19:19:05Z

Well... it's been awhile since my last posting, but things have been pretty busy. And pretty good I might add. I finally got my promotion and have been busy with a bevvy of new conference calls and assignments to get into the swing of things. I have to finish the project that I am currently assigned to before I get to do anything more fun, but at least this should be the last pissant little project I have to deal with. Thank god, I was about to jump out a window.

So far this year has been a pretty good one or me, and the majority of my friends. Positivity is abounding and I'm trying to be a lot more proactive. I've slacked off a bit the last couple of weeks, part of it is the letdown after any big accomplishment and part of it is just being tired of this project and the clients that come with it. I've got a lot of plans for the year and am pretty confident I'll be able to execute them. Lots of changes around the house, and my life in general.

Joca Bonito!

2006-02-14T17:49:53Z

I was reading an article on SoccerNet when I saw an intriguing ad in the side bar stating: "Don't let liars and cheaters make a fool of our game". Now, I really detest a lot of the nonsense that goes on these days with diving and wasting of time so I clicked on the ad, even tho it was for Nike (I am an Adidas bigot). What popped up was an outstanding ad starring Eric Cantona! Go here to check it out!

Joca Bonito!

It's only Thursday!

2006-02-09T18:24:31Z

One of the worst things about working a boring project is the way time just drags. It is ridiculous. It doesn't help that I am on pins and needles awaiting news next week about my bonus and my promotion. I was passed over six months ago, they had three slots, I was the fourth rated person in my organization at my current level. . . >damnit!< Needless to say my peers and the guys/gals who've worked for me the last two years swear up and down I am a shoe-in. I only wish I'd hear the same sort of encouragement from the level about me. Yesterday however my boss did make a comment I'd be getting a national lead position within my practice. The other national lead is the level above me, so. . . hmmmm, did he slip up and let me know I got the position? I can only hope.

A serene evening

2006-02-07T20:01:08Z

After an annoying day at work I took a walk along Park Ave and drank in the sights of the Seagrams Building by good ole Mies. It's interesting to think that he inadvertantly started a trend for architects creating public gathering spaces along with their skyscrapers. There are several buildings right around there that show the different ways that's been done since Mies first did it, the Sony plaza, the Lever House, and Citicorp/Citigroup Plaza, whatever it's called now. Hopefully someday I'll get the opportunity to visit the German National Pavilion in Barcelona. More info about the Pavilion. Just taking some time out to relax that way certainly helped me clear my mind.

Checking in. . .

2006-02-06T18:39:40Z

Things have been kind of hectic the last few weeks. For instance, last week I worked at least 1 day in 4 different states, lots of travel, and not the fun kind. I went to Atlanta for the first time last Tuesday night/Wednesday. I got in late on Tuesday due to fun weather, but it was actually nice, I got to enjoy the ride through the city without any of the often maligned traffic. The city itself was very interesting, beautiful architecture, interesting layout, it really seemed like everything was "new". After having lived in Chicago for 13 years and having worked in midtown Manhattan for the last couple of months it was an interesting contrast.

Working in midtown so close to MoMA and Park Avenue has really enabled me to soak in some of that metropolitan flair I've been kind of missing out in suburbia for so long. I'd love nothing more than a nice condo on the upper East Side with oodles of moolah to continue the expansion of my art collection. Somehow, I just don't see that happening. I really need to figure out how to translate my love of moderne and bauhaus in to something workable in my suburban two story. I'm going to start in the family room I think. I've currently got all my Nierman's in the family room along with the Perez del Toro, they work great together, but I need to paint and redecorate a bit more. I've found, or in some cases rediscovered, some communities on LJ that I think can help give me some ideas. I foresee much furniture rearrangement in my near future.

More music goodness

2006-01-20T06:33:38Z

I tell you, the Real Rhapsody service has been a godsend, letting me listen to all sorts of music without having to buy it. I've recently discovered, or in some cases rediscovered the following artists: Deltron 3030, RJD2, Josh Rouse, Feist, Handsome Boy Modeling School and The Flaming Lips.

Music and Movies

2006-01-16T16:04:56Z

So I've been trying to listen to a lot more music lately and have been introduced to some really great bands, and to think I used to bemoan that no good music was being made anymore. I know it may seem like I am late to the party on Death Cab for Cutie but I initially refused to listen to their music because they were so hailed by the critics and they had what I deemed to be a stupid name, what an ass. I really liked The Postal Service and it wasn't until about two months ago when I started listening to Death Cab that I realized that they had the same vocalist, sheesh. I've recently discovered She Wants Revenge which takes me back to the 80's in a great way, Antony and the Johnsons, which has to have one of the most intriguing vocalists I've heard in just about forever, and Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine, no idea why I waited so long to listen to that one. I really liked a couple of James Blunt's songs, but the album is kind of uneven.

If you are looking for a movie that is well written, beautifull shot and is very noir I'd highly recommend Match Point. Woody is back, and with a vengeance I might add. London really seems to agree with him. The movie actually elicited cheers in the theater I watched it in at a pivotal point and applause over the credits. Not something I expected at all. If anyone has an opinion on the movie, the music, or any music or movies I should look into I'd love to hear it.

Gooood morning

2006-01-16T15:49:38Z

Last week seemed to drag and drag and drag on. I'm hoping that this week goes a bit better. Another week in NYC practically wasted. What really sucks is that I am waiting on information from my partner organization, so there is really no excuse. I had a call Friday to review my readiness for promotion, I have a new career counselor, again, and that seemed to work so well last time. This guy seems a bit more on the ball. It was very funny though, he kept asking all these questions to assess whether or not I was thinking of leaving the organization. We've had a lot of turnover lately and had only three very senior, very technical managers, now we have only one, guess who.

In other news I've determined a resort I want to go to in Scottsdale should things work out. Hopefully between United mileage, Hilton Honors points and Marriott Rewarads it'll be gratis! It'd be a really nice break, and there's some damned good golf down there.

In the meantime it's back to NYC this afternoon. I think I'm going to try to hit MoMA Friday before I go back home. I've been wandering around its campus since it is right across the street from my hotel, it's Miesian and wonderful. I need to find the Seagram's building next.

'Nother Day, 'nother dollar

2006-01-10T17:22:45Z

Work has been extremely slow since returning from the holidays. I guess that's good in one sense, not sure I am ready to return to hard core busy out of my mind 60 hours a week work, but I'd at least like 30 hours of work a week. This is a bit of a nerve-wracking time of year with taxes coming up, in the middle of the promotion cycle, assessing the damage from christmas spending and trying to plan, and pay, for three weeks of vacation this year. When putting together my resolutions for the year I took at look at how much vacation time I had saved up and decided that carrying around 30.25 paid vacation days plus earning more than 2 per month is not a good thing. I need to burn at least 15 days between now and the end of August, so I am planning a few more trips down to FL for golf and maybe either Seattle or Phoenix in April/May.

In working towards my other resolutions I took my company's advice and joined The President's Challenge to track my fitness activity. It might seem a little hokey but it can't hurt.