'gatelife 2.0

Happy Colgate Day!

It's Friday the 13th, June 2008-- COLGATE DAY!

As the story goes, Colgate was founded by 13 men with 13 dollars, and 13 prayers.

We're celebrating at The Buccaneer in Russian Hill, and I'm looking forward to seeing many of my classmates there.  I even was quoted in a release by Colgate-- check it out!

Bay To Breakers Recap

More than a week late, but it needs to be said how awesome of a time I had at Bay to Breakers.  I met up with Erik Dombrowski and Chris Woodyard for an 8-year-old pool party themed float.  Needless to say, there was an abundance of swimmies, squirt-guns, swim trunks, inner tubes, and pool toys to go around.  We trekked pretty far through the city, starting from Howard and 2nd St up to Stanyan and Fell... and we didn't even make it to Golden Gate Park-- I think we walked about 4 miles through the city.

People were decked out in some pretty elaborate and creative costumes, and I've never seen the city's streets so packed with people-- it was quite the sight to see.  I'm already looking forward to B2B 2009.  Check out the photos!

Also, congrats to the Colgate Class of 2008!  It sounds like Hilton Head and Commencement Weekend were awesome.  Who's venturing out to California?

Paradise City

You know, it's really nice to come back from a trip in a warm place to weather in San Francisco that nearly matches it. It's 90 degrees in San Francisco today. That's pretty awesome... I can't remember the last time its ever been this warm in the City... Its one of those days you wish you could pull a Ferris Bueller's Day Off.  My lunch will be spent in Yerba Buena Park maintaining that Cabo tan.

Speaking of which, Cabo was a lot of fun. We stayed at a hotel called the Me Cabo. Close to downtown, this hotel was on the beach, had a few pools and its own nightclub. It was pretty busy there and they even gave us earplugs to drown out the late-night music and party-goers.

We went fishing early one morning. Getting seasick was not something I considered would happen but let's just say the rolling of the boat as we tried to fish made for one really bad ride.  A few of us had to go in early since the water was that choppy.

I am looking forward to this weekend. Two of my buddies that moved into an apartment in Potrero Hill are having a house warming party... Evan and Adam, I except big things from this shindig.  It's Bay to Breakers on Sunday.  If your not familiar, it's a marathon that everyone seems to partake in even if they're not running. Its like San Francisco's Mardi Gras and people get dressed up in some pretty elaborate costumes. The course is through San Francisco, and thousands of people show up to run (or walk).  Should be fun.

Speedway Meadows and Cuatro de Mayo

I've only recently ventured into Golden Gate Park.   Its so close to my house, its one of those gems in San Francisco I can't believe I haven't checked out earlier.  On Saturday, I went to Speedway Meadows for Allie Nichols' 24 birthday party.  If you've been to SF in May, you'll know that it's not particularly warm, but the sun was semi-shining, and we got some good games of Bocce Ball going-- team Green was unstoppable. Being in Golden Gate Park makes you forget that you're in a city (for the record, Golden Gate Park is 174 acres bigger than New York's Central Park).

On Sunday, my roommates and I had a Cuatro de Mayo fiesta (a get together during the working week seemed out of the question) and invited friends over to watch the Sharks playoff game.  For anyone that didn't watch, it was a pretty intense game, and went into quadruple-overtime.  I'm not an avid pro-hockey fan  (I went to my first Sharks game last weekend), but I really enjoyed the game, despite the Sharks' loss.

It's a short work week for me-- I'm going to Mexico on Thursday for a long weekend, and looking forward to some serious sun, swimming, R&R, and fishing.  Looking forward to that (much needed) tan.  I've never been to Mexico and I'm looking forward to being down in Cabo-- any recs on places to check out?        

Here It Goes Again

Even though I've graduated from Colgate nearly a year ago, there's still something about that place that draws me back.  Maybe its the picture-perfect campus, a personable student body, its small yet close community, or all the memories and experiences I fondly look back on when I'm there.  It's really all those things.

While I only spent a mere 28 hours on campus, I made the most of it-- saw college friends, had dinner with Professor Kaimal and her family, went to John Knecht's Video Arts II class, toured around campus and saw the new science center, stopped by the Admissions Office, hung out at Theta Chi, did work at The Barge, had lunch at Parkside, and made it to Nichols and The Bacon.

Having the chance to see the Dalai Lama was truly an exciting and unforgettable experience.  His speech was, quite simply, on the topic of Happiness.  There was no mention of the current issues between China and Tibet, and I found myself smiling during most of his speech.  He was lighthearted, and exuded an amazing presence and calm.  Sanford Field House was packed with people, and I was lucky to be near the front, only a few rows away from him.  His Holiness sat cross-legged in an over-sized cushioned chair as he spoke, and had a translator help him when he needed clarification on a question or for saying the right word.

While His Holiness answered previously submitted questions by Colgate faculty and students, President Chopp offered him a Colgate hat.  The audience erupted in cheers.  Mark my word, the next edition of the Colgate Scene and 2008-2009 Calendar will have pictures of him sporting that cap.

I rode down to NYC with classmates Andy Potter and Brianna Ringwood and caught a 6 AM flight back to San Francisco Wednesday morning.  I was lucky enough to have an entire row of seats to myself and managed to sleep most of the flight (that never happens).

I'm glad its Friday, and I hope that everyone back at 'Gate has a really fun Spring Party Weekend.  I'm sorry I won't be there for the festivities, but I'm glad I made it to Colgate and New York, and I look forward to my next trip out, whenever that will be.

Back at 'Gate

I arrived back on campus this afternoon after taking the bus (ugh) up from NYC.  It's great to be back up here, and the weather, is well, awesome.  I'm not sure I could have come up at a better time in the Spring.  I've already run into a number of friends on campus.  It feels like I've never left, and it's a relief to be here when I don't have thesis papers to write and tests to study for.  Anyway, I need to run-- dinner time.  Seeing friends in NYC was great, and I could have easily spent a few more days catching up with friends.  I'm heading back to NYC tomorrow night after seeing the Dalai Lama and catching a very early morning flight back to San Francisco on Wednesday.  It's been a packed and busy trip, and I'm glad I decided to do this.

Idle hands are the devil's tools... I wouldn't know

I once said that at Colgate, there were never enough hours in the day to do everything I wanted to do. I find myself saying the same thing, even now.  I got home from a weekend trip to Santa Barbara around 9 last night. Exhausted from a weekend of birthday celebrations all-day Saturday, 700 miles of driving in 2 days, and a lack of sleep from the past week (including a great Jimmy Eat World concert and two art show openings), Sunday evening seemed like the first down time I've had in a while.

I've been busy at work, which of course is something one should never complain about. We launched a few new features on Cake last week, including The Cake Take and Cake Talk.  Both features add value to the user experience, and we hope both features will further engage our community. Cake Talk is essentially a free-forum found on any stock position page where members can Talk about anything relating to the stock. For instance, a member commented today about the just-announced airline merger between Delta and Northwest. Since the aviation industry is something I seem to follow, I also commented about the new merger and what it means for the future of these companies.

The Cake Take is basically a sentiment score based on the actions of our members over a particular stock- for example, in the past 30 days Cake members are selling X share. I hand it to our Product Managers and Engineers- they're creating some pretty cool features for Cake and the end-result is impressive.

I am heading to New York City Thursday afternoon and I am really looking forward to seeing some of my best college friends. There is a lot to do between now and then and I know Thursday will be here before I know it.  I head up to Colgate a week from today to see His Holiness the Dalai Lama and I am looking forward to this opportunity as well. No doubt, it'll be a memorable trip to Colgate.

I am excited to see college friends still at Colgate, and professors I've gotten to know well while at 'Gate. I am stopping by Professor Padma Kaimal's house for dinner next Monday, and will also be joining Professor John Knecht's Video Arts class next Tuesday.  I am also looking forward to seeing Dean of First Year Students Beverly Low. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there won't be any snow... It's a quick trip, and I'm sure I'll wish I could spend some more time at Colgate (I'm missing Spring Party Weekend by 3 days), but hey, I need to pay the bills.

March Recap

Sorry for the hiatus!  Quick update.  I can't believe it's almost April-- this month flew by.

I updated my April trip out to New York.  When I booked my flights in February, I was not aware that His Holiness the Dalai Lama would be speaking at Colgate 2 days after my departure form NYC.  I received an email from the Associate Director of the Annual Fund announcing the Dalai Lama's visit to Colgate and an invite to come back to campus to see him speak since I donated to the Annual Fund as a senior.  For me, this seemed like an opportunity that I shouldn't pass up.  How often do you get to see His Holiness the Dalai Lama speak, and at an event whose numbers won't be in the tens of thousands?  So, I extended my trip.  I am also really excited to be up at Colgate one more time-- to see the seniors who's graduation is fast approaching, and a number of professors and other people at Colgate.  I am fortunate that I was able to take the extra time off from work and change my flight no problem. Next is figuring out how I am getting from NYC up to Colgate on April 21, and back down to NYC to catch a 6 AM flight on April 23.  Any takers?  Worst case scenario is that I'll rent a car and drive myself.

Heidi Johnson '07 was out in San Francisco last week for work, and it was great to learn about what she's up to at the Urban Institute in DC.  We grabbed dinner at an ultra-trendy restaurant called Spork-- if you're looking for a fun and different place in SF with New American food, I totally recommend this place.  Adam Mitchell-Hardt '05 was also in SF last week and he stayed over at my place before heading down to LA to visit his brother.

I hear the Virginia Coalition played at Colgate this past weekend-- I hope it was a good show for anyone that went.

That's it for now.  I'll be updating more in April. Photo below is of some of us at Ocean Beach, a mere 10 minutes from our house... cool, huh?

Gone Skiing...

I only skied once while I was back east at Colgate—and that was in New Hampshire coming back from Winter break in January…  surprising, considering I really do enjoy skiing.  To that, I’ve made a point go up to the mountains more often while living in San Francisco.  I spent this weekend with my high school friend Morgan Ralph up at her place in Colorado.  It was my first time skiing in Vail and Keystone and the skiing was really awesome—Vail rivals Sun Valley.

I saw Dan Voce-Gardner ’06 in the lodge in Vail, which was a total surprise and it was good to catch up with him.  He had been out in Colorado from New York City for a few days.  Small world.  And speaking of Colgate run-ins,  I saw Carrie DeWitt ’07 while crossing the street in San Francisco last week—I hadn’t seen her since Alumni Happy Hour back in August.

We’re heading back to Morgan’s house outside of Boulder tonight and I catch a painfully early morning flight to San Francisco tomorrow.  Unfortunately, I’ll be heading right into the office from the airport, but I’m young… I can handle it.  Well worth a full weekend in Colorado.

Check out my photos from Colorado and some others from the past few weeks.

My Birthday Weekend Recap

So, a couple of things.

First off, I voted today!  I hadn’t submitted my absentee ballot in time so I went back and stayed at my parent’s house last night and voted this morning—I haven’t changed my address yet… As I learned in Tim Byrne’s America as a Democracy course, one of the groups least likely to vote are younger constituents, since many of us are busy, constantly moving and don’t have time.  Believe it or not, there are barriers to voting.  Every time you move, you need to re-register to vote.  It’s complicated, and at times confusing.  It’s beyond me why these barriers exist, other than concerns over miscounted ballots and voter fraud… but hey, this is California, not Florida.  My roommate Megan said that there was a polling booth in Starbucks this morning—brilliant!

Second, and way less political, I had a really fun birthday weekend.  Cary Reed ’07 flew out from the East Coast to visit Megan and me.  We all had so much fun, and the weekend was spent reminiscing about goofy memories at Colgate, laughing hysterically, and showing Cary our lives out in San Francisco.  I can safely say we all ended the weekend with a lot more inside jokes.  The three of us went out to dinner with my parents, my sister Senta and her fiancé, Angus.  We went out on Saturday and were joined by Russell Carter ’07, Jess Polonsky ’07, Chris Woodyward ’06 and a few other friends.  I also ran in Rhys Carvolth ’07 at The Buccaneer.  Check out the pictures!

I came home to many birthday wishes from friends, and one from Allie Weinreb ’07, who is living and teaching in Israel right now.  She mentioned that she was coming home to New York in April for two weeks and wanted to see me then.  She was on instant messenger, and within 10 minutes, I had flights booked out to New York for a weekend trip in April…  Technology and the powers of persuasion win me over every time.

On my birthday, Megan and I dropped Cary off at the airport Sunday morning after a way-too-short-trip and went to a Super Bowl party at Megan Purdy’s place (Bucknell ’07).  The shindig was packed, the food was awesome, and there was even a birthday cake for me.  I had no allegiance to either team, but I guess I was rooting for the Giants since I went to school in New York.  Overall, a really fun birthday weekend

Oh yeah, thanks Allie Grimes for the update and mention in the January 2008 Colgate Scene!