Mom's Art Show, Meeting Johnny Pesky

A piece of my mom's art was shown at Fenway a couple nights ago. I am so proud of her! It's a gorgeous plate. She was given a color palette with which to produce something, and I have included a picture below.

My mom, dad, and I were lucky enough to attend, thanks to my mom's friend and classmate, Shelly. Part of the festivities included meeting Johnny Pesky, of Pesky Pole (the right field foul pole at Fenway) fame.

What a great guy! He signed autographs and flirted with all of the women. He really could not have been more pleasant, and seemed like a genuinely happy person. I told him that I had a great picture of him on a certain Duck Tour in 2004 (the Sox Victory Parade), and he said, "I was pretty happy that day." It was awesome. Pictures are around.

Lani and Pesky
Originally uploaded by ilanad.

Moms piece 2
Originally uploaded by ilanad.

More thesis procrastination...

So I finally checked on my fantasy teams. Not looking so good, boys:

1. spike sharpeners (Atlanta friends baseball) are out, having lost to Nole Control! in the consolation round.
2. Dirt Dogs Plus One (Boston friends baseball) have advanced into the game for the bronze model (yes, also consolation round)
3. Studmuffins (Atlanta friends football) won their second game on Peyton Manning's 31-point performance.

Okay, back to the thesis. =)

College Football

Just got back from a weekend including watching the Clemson-Florida State game. It was amazing. Everybody should see a big-time college football game. There is nothing like the energy of the crowd, either before or after the elaborate tailgating.

I'll write more soon, when I'm not writing my thesis. (what a great excuse that is =D)

Traveling by Air?

Here is a good list of what you can and cannot bring on airplanes.

Sorry, kids...still no meat cleavers allowed on planes. You can bring pointy nail files and blunt scissors, but your defrizzer? Fuggedaboudit. Your hair will be HUGE.

Thesis

I have started work on my thesis. It's not that I'm not writing on this blog because I'm always writing the thesis, it's because I feel guilty writing on this blog instead of doing the thesis. =) I therefore have effectively avoided doing both...yay!

I know you're all thinking, geez! I wish Ilana would write more. I wonder what I can do to help...

Well, folks; here it is: you can go fill out a survey for me. Nine multiple-choice questions, that's it! Please?

Click here to take survey

Thanks, all!

Sigh...

Seems like just yesterday we were debating if Manny would be traded or not. Now it looks like the season is over. Sigh...

Red Sox vs. Yankees Towns

The Red Sox and Yankees play a five-game series this weekend. Katie sent me a great link about the division of fans in towns in Connecticut. Here it is. =)

Where is the Quickie going?

It seems like ESPN's Daily Quickie is going in the same direction as this blog...way less writing! They are ending it on August 31. Needless to say, I'm distraught. All the sports highlights with a definite East Coast bias in one page. So sad!

(See here for what the Quickie is if you don't already know)

LucchinoLogic

Those of you who know me know that I have my own special breed of logic: we call it "IlanaLogic." Now it seems that the Red Sox have *their* own special kind, which I have summarily dubbed "LucchinoLogic." Seems that they have decided that paying $75 to get on a season ticket waiting list is worth only three shots at semi-season tickets. They are now forcing people on this waiting list to take an offer of 10th man passes. If said season ticket list person does not accept the tickets three times, they are OFF the list. NO season tickets, no nothing.

It's absolute crap. I'm sure I'm not the only one upset about this. I already have a 10th man pass (about which I am not complaining; I LOVE that plan), but had really wanted the shot at season tickets...hence joining the wait list. Grrrr....

Here is the email from the Red Sox:
Thank you for your continued support of Boston Red Sox Baseball. The commitment and patience you've shown as a valued member of our Season Ticket Waiting List is truly appreciated. Our records indicate that you joined the list on 04/13/04.

With a season ticket renewal rate of nearly 100% each of the past few seasons, we had been unable to accommodate anyone from the waiting list since it began.
As you are likely aware, Fenway Park was under major construction this past off-season. The additional capacity created by the new State Street Pavilion Level enabled us to upgrade some current season ticket holders to better seating locations and larger season ticket plans. This created an opportunity for us to offer season tickets to many waitlist members. The process began with those who joined the list in December 2003 and progressed all the way through August 2004.

For the most part, waiting list members were offered the opportunity to purchase
2 tickets for one of our 10th Man Plans. Please note that this will normally be the case - as the first opportunity for larger season plans that may become available will go to our existing season ticket holders seeking an upgrade of their plan and/or location.

Please be aware that we have implemented a "three strike" seat offer policy; fans will be given the chance to decline a seat location (or season ticket plan) being offered to them three times before losing their place on the wait list and being moved to the back of the list.

When seats do become available, we want to be sure we are able to contact you.
Please take a moment to review your account information above and call our Season Ticket Services department at 877-REDSOX9 to update any discrepancies.

Once again, we appreciate your loyal support and thank you for your patience through this process.

House on the Beach

Today, I woke up relatively early and drove up to Wingaersheek beach to enjoy a couple of hours reading at the ocean. When I got there at 11am, there were only about 10 other cars in the lot, and very few people on the beach. I decided to put my stuff down and go for a walk.

I hadn't gotten very far when I was accosted by an adorable little girl, probably about 6 years old. She asked if I "wanted a tour of their house" and gestured toward a group of rocks spanning about 50 square yards that the beach is known for. I noticed her mother there, caught her eye for approval, then said, "Sure."

She walked me over to the rocks, and her little brother (probably about 4) joined in. Together they walked me around: "this is our master bedroom...this is our guest room...this is where we pee...(you have to poop in another place). This is our fish pond (we don't have any fish yet; we still need to catch them). This is our whirlpool..oh! and here's our pool. This is the grand ballroom. It's where our mommy and daddy got married."

brother: "Show her the jacuzzi!"
sister: "we don't have a jacuzzi. (pause) Oh, wait! Yes we do. (points at rock) Here's our jacuzzi. It's new!"

The tour went on for about 10 minutes. I asked about future additions, then got the tour of "Grandma's house," which was the group of rocks next to the main one through which I had been touring. Poor Grandma; the place to poop was actually a hole in the ground dug right in the middle of her guest ballroom. Luckily, as the little boy pointed out, "We haven't used it yet. We still have to go up to her real house over there." (Points to Grandma's real house. Grandma is one lucky lady, let me tell you). By the end, the little girl was grabbing my hand and saying, "Come HERE!" It was so cute that I am smiling still as I write this.

I think the tour would have gone on for about an hour or so if I hadn't finally stopped and thanked the little girl for her time before she put too many new additions on her rockhome. Her mother in turn thanked me profusely for accepting the tour, and I said I had enjoyed it. It was great to see the brother and sister creating a house of rocks. (So can they throw glass in it? Sorry, bad joke.) It was a wonderful break from reality (i.e. writing my thesis) to be reminded of how incredible children's imaginations can be.

I ain't got no class no more

I had what most likely will be my last class from the SDM program today. I front-loaded a lot of my classes because they were directly applicable to the work I was doing for my former company at the time, so I have all of my required classes out of the way.

I am really going to miss the SDM classes. I loved seeing everybody, and many of the classes were fun and interesting. I still have my thesis to do, and am not graduating until January 2007.

After class, I had lunch with Paul B., Joe, and Biju. Mmm....Anna's burritos...

On meetings

I can't stand meetings, and therefore loved this article on meetings.

Who'sh a bad blogger?

I am!

Quick update:
In the last few weeks, I have kept very busy with my new job at Car Gurus, travel, and school. I am LOVING my job...it is so much fun.

On the travel front, I visited my dear friends Kellie and Allen and their daughter Payton down in Raleigh. I've also been to the beach up here a couple of times.

Other things sucking up my spare time have included driving in Boston. Since the tunnel collapse, traffic has been unreal. One thing that has struck me as ironic is that drivers in other sections of the Big Dig are driving more slowly than usual. Personally, I just want to get the hell out of that place as quickly as possible. Not quite sure what the slow-driving logic is, but I am trying to zip through the poorly built hole in the ground.

Now I'm in Supply Chain class, the second-to-last class of my last required course here at MIT.

Quick Update

Sorry I have been slacking. When I was blogging every day, I used to think, "Why don't more people blog? It takes no time." Well, Ilana-from-the-Past, I have news for you: it does. Not once you start, but in actually finding time to start.

I have been working at my new job for the past two weeks and absolutely loving it. I really, really, really promise to fill in more details next week. I just wanted to get a post up as many people have been asking me how I’m doing. =)

Lots of News

So much has happened since last blog.

1. Atlanta
Will and I went down to Atlanta for the weekend and the Red Sox games. My friend Harry treated us like royalty: he gave us tickets about 30 rows behind home plate, passes to the 755 club (private club on the field), and even MARTA tokens. Thank you SO much, Harry!

We stopped by the CNN Center, and were able to see some of the people I had wanted to--Dennis, Yuliya, Unni, David, Firf, Greg,and of course Harry. We were unfortunately too late to see Mark, Mark,, and a few others. Never visit on a Friday! However, we did head over to Turner Field to tailgate with Lance, Laura, and Corny, before meeting up with Steve and John. The game was awesome. The Sox looked great, our seats were amazing, and it was great to be back at Turner Field.

The next day we were up early to head to Vinings for the June Birthday Trip--each year Derek organizes a party bus to a ballgame, and it happened to be to the Sox game this year. We hung out with the gang: Fronja, Radio, Mary, Chris, Larry, Jamie, the Riegers, and some fun new folks. We spent a couple of innings with them at the chophouse before heading to our seats for the majority of the game. Too much fun. Then bus it back.

Unfortunately, the game proved a bit much and we were unable to meet up with Greg and Deirdre, as we fell asleep at about 8pm. Sunday morning we were up early to have lunch with Suzanne, which was just wonderful. We spent Sunday at the pool, with a brief lunch with Blair and Pamela before heading out to the Botanical Gardens and finally the airport. SUCH a great weekend. Thanks to Will and all my Atlanta friends for making it so special.

Since then, I have started my new job at Nimalex. I am LOVING it. The first day was overwhelming (as first days usually are), but the second day (yesterday) I settled right in and had such a productive day. It's fun to sit with Yoav, and he has been doing a great job of getting me up to speed on the company.

Yesterday, I was able to have lunch with Will, and ran into Alli on my way back to the office. Dudes, I'm loving this. I 'll write more on the job later.

Last Day at MITRE

Today is my last day at MITRE. I am leaving to go to a startup (same one as Yoav). I'm SO excited for my new job, but of course sad to be leaving my current one as well. I'm going to miss coworkers and all.

Just wanted to drop a quick line. I plan to write again early next week. I start the new job on Monday.

TRIZ lives!

I was shocked to see an article on TRIZ in BusinessWeek. I remember learning about TRIZ in class, and wondering who would ever use it. Can't remember which class or when, but I definitely learned about it.

Phone Banking for Dan Ryan

How annoying are dinner-time cold calls? SO annoying, that's how annoying. Well, today I took a walk on the wild side and was on the other end of the phone.

Dude. Phone banking is tough! I volunteered to do some for Dan Ryan, who is running for Boston City Council. Dan is a great person and friend, so I was excited to help out, so I volunteered for two hours.

Some people are rude, some are rude in a funny way. ("Dorothy? Are you here? Sure? Who is this? A political campaign? Are you *sure* you don't want to speak to them?") Anyway, I was surprised by how nervous I got before placing the calls.

All this rambling means that next time someone cold calls me, I will be much more polite. =) Unless, of course, they're professionals...then they're built to handle the rudeness =D

Excellent Video

Here is an evolution of dance. I can think of only one major thing that he missed. I"ll post my opinion in my comments...let me know yours. =)

Shortness as Excuse for no Jail Time

I cannot get over this article about a 5'1" man who is excused from prison because he is too short after having sexual contact with a 12-year-old girl over a couple of months. The situation I wrote about earlier this week is cruelty; this is stupidity.

On a brighter note, everybody have a great Memorial Day Weekend! I'll blog again on Tuesday.