Category Archives: Old Journal Entries

Spring Break was fun.  Robin, Donelle, Francie and I drove up and down the coast, visiting my hometown L.A., sightseeing Monterey and S.F.  The driving was considerable – and I got really tired.  We walked everywhere: Santa Monica Pier; S.F. Chinatown; Old Town Pasadena; New Town Alhambra; Monterey, etc.

Got to get groovy on the dance floor.  Still lack a steady salsa partner, though.  Was checked out like the hottest new Prada purse on Beverly Hills when I went through the Castro District.  I never felt so sexy in my life.  Too bad I don’t bat for that team… I would never be lonely (ha!)

I’ve been recuperating the past few days.  Finished reading Simmons’ Ilium.  He’s always the master of speculative science fiction.  Too bad I’ll be out of here when Olympos comes out in July.  I read it’s going to be about 1,300 pages.  Crazy-cool.

Got Queen Latifah’s phenomenal jazz album.  Awesome.  Also got some Alicia Keys.  Hot ladies/musicians with killer voices.  If only…

She knew.  Who wouldn’t?  At least she didn’t disagree.  It just… weirded her out.  All those caresses can’t be platonic.  Anybody could tell there was some attraction, chemistry.  She says we have chemistry.  But, compatibility?  No.  I’m too business… too ambitious.  She has ambitions, too, but not über-gungho like me.  So, in sum, we wouldn’t work out. 

I agree.  I’ve known for quite some time.  But, attraction is attraction and I couldn’t avoid our proximity.

Besides, I’m fleeing the country.

“Lead entrepreneurs and team members who understand team building and teamwork have a secret weapon.  Many with outstanding technical or other relevant skills, educational credentials, and so on, will be at once prisoners and victims of the highly individualistic competitiveness that got them where they are.  They may be fantastic lone achievers, and some may even “talk a good team game.”  But when it comes to how they behave and perform, their egos can rarely fit inside an airplane hangar.  They simply do not have the team mentality.

“While there are innumerable blends and variations, most likely the teams fo those firms that succeed in growing up big will share many of the following:

• Cohesion
• Teamwork
• Integrity
• Commitment to the long haul
• Harvest mind-set
• Commitment to value creation
• Equal inequality
• Fairness
• Sharing of the harvest

 

Professor Shi’s “Global Business Strategies” course last semester was fantastic.  It was my favorite class.  So, I decided to take his “Designing Global Organizations” course this semester.  Bad idea.  Book is great, but the subject material is boring.  It’s basically a course in organizational theory.

Sigh…  I can see why he wants to teach this course: the subject matter was his doctoral thesis.  But, as he fairly admits himself in class, it’s complicated and boring.  I feel sorry for the professor.  He must feel our pain.

So, we’re discussing a case on Phillips Electronics and Matsushita.  Upon what framework are we supposed to analyze this case?  There is no instruction to read certain articles or to be familiar with specific theories.  As a result, we are all fumbling for some coherency, struggling to articulate a nebulous problem.  And this makes for a bland experience.  It’s intellectually frustrating.

Phaw!

I stayed up utnil 3am last night.  Just to prove how big a nerd I am, the time was spent reading.  Robin Hobb’s The Assassin’s Apprentice is just so engrossing.  It was like reading Dicken’s David Copperfield with more political intrigue and violence — a story of an orphan/bastard overcoming tough odds and devious enemies.

Of course, I should be doing more academic things, like study Mandarin or brush up on my Spanish before leaving in May.  Ah… but books are my vice.

Leann.  I saw her come into the McGowan this morning.  She stayed at the front part of the lobby.  So, I walked over and started chatting with her.  We talked for almost an hour.  I admit that I have an awful crush on her.  Her Southern accent and Meryl Streep-charm is so alluring.  And, I don’t know, there’s definitely some physical chemistry.  And we learned so much about her:

She has three siblings.  Leann has a sister whose two years younger than her.  The sister has a five-year old son, is separated from her military husband (because of infidelity), and wants to get a divorce but needs her husband’s military health insurance due to her fighting cervical cancer.  Leann also has a brother whose two years younger than her sister.  He’s only 20-years old, but is getting married this May.  No one in the family really approves of the woman whom he’s marrying.  But, he’s going ahead with it anyway.  Leann jokes how the wedding is going to be stereotypically red-neck.  Poofy, satin gowns with rhinestone jewelry, “stripper” clear heels, curly Marge-Simpson hair… etc.  She doesn’t no why she’s going.  She’s missing her own graduation to go to a wedding she’s not excited about and a marriage that she doesn’t completely approve.  Her own parents are divorced.  Her father has long sinced remarried, and her mother remarried multiple times.  Yes, she has quite a colorful family history.  She is the only one in her family with a four-year college degree.  She isn’t married and doesn’t plan to marry so early.  She also managed to slip into the conversation that she’s single.  (How my heart fluttered!)  And, given the ages of her siblings, she’s about 25-years old.  I thought she was at least two years my senior; she has such a mature demeanor.  I fancy her.  Maybe I’ll get a chance to ask her out tomorrow for lunch?  Oh, that would be grand.

One of my roommates knocks on my door.  I had just spread myself on the papasan to read my new book, so the interruption irritated me.  But, it’s Ben.  So, it must be important.  And important it is: I’ll be homeless in 30 days.

And life was going so well…

Fortunately, the situation is not hopeless.  Ben is actively seeking another place to rent, and he would be happy to keep me on board at the same rate until I leave in May.  Nice guy.  If he’s successful, his efforts would save me a lot of headache.

Bummer that the landlord decided to sell this house at such an inopportune time (for me).  It sucks for both Ben and Josh since they’ve been living here for several years now.  And the landlord is so quick about it, too.  Apparently, he wants to apply the tax savings on this property to his Pebble Beach residence.  Rich bastard.

In other news… I am taking up Tolstoy.  His War and Peace is surprisingly engaging.  It’s kind of like watching “90210” or “The O.C.”, except the richly problematic folks are the Russian aristocracy during the Napoleonic Wars.

I tried to take up the guitar.  Even brought my old baby up to Monterey with me.  But, it still lies asleep in its carriage.  I must set a schedule to play with her.

I need to brush up my Spanish.  And work on my Mandarin.  Damn… I think I may have too many languages on my plate.

There’s this dance instructor in Santa Cruz who is very interesting…

I went salsa dancing this past weekend.  My goodness it was fun!  Oresta was a blast to dance with.  And, although Eva displayed (deliberately, I think) nice cleavage, she wasn’t as fun as one would expect.  My regular partner, Nina, was getting a bit tipsy from her drinks and failed to really follow through with some moves.  But, all in all, she was still a pleasure to dance with.  It’s really great to get back into the groove.  There were some smooth moves on the floor, too.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t pick any of them up.  Some the armwork was really amazing!

I worked a lot on my finance homework.  It’s awfully masochistic how much I enjoy slaving over the problems.  Lordie…

My dentist ought to have my x-rays and forms filled out by this Saturday.  One last thing to send off to OMS, I hope.  Gawd!  When am I going to receive the invitation?