Poem: I have been woke

Poem: I have been woke

I stand woke at work
In the present state of pantless mediocrity
Observing others with far greater aspirations and means

In my wakedness
I understand our days to be
Brightly elucidating
Until I am born the meekest
And have completed my final trip around the Sun
To become the dream that is shared.

How many others? Rebel and Empire?
A trinity? A majority? All?

Must I wait.

Cold at my feet.
Sun on my face. Warmth.
Complacency less an option

Clothes would be nice, but...

My ego is yours and you know it.

Has it really been over two years since my last post?

BOSTON:  Apparently it has.

Not that there hasn't been any excitement - I just haven't documented it for the world to see.  Allow me to bring you (and future me) up to speed:

Sarah moved to Michigan where she spent some time as a career advisor in Ann Arbor.
I switched positions at Tutor.com to a Client Services Manager where I had library clients initially, then K12 and Higher Ed institutions.

Our company purchased The Princeton Review and my role switched to working mostly with K12 institutions.

A wild ride ensued with a lot of work, and a flirt with fame as I moved to California to part-time manage my cousins' music career. That is a story that could easily be made into a screenplay and I'd be happy to tell you it someday. I maybe even document it on the Internet for the world to read one day.  Maybe.

All of those events, plus many more lead me to where I am now, which is in Sierra Madre (Southern California) living in an apartment above my Aunt Kathy and Uncle John's place.  Sarah moved recently to Santa Clara (Northern California) where started working last month in a consultative training position with Adecco for Google Express.

Oh, and we are engaged to be married.

So yes, eventually I am going to move the 5-6 hours north to be with my future wife, but until then, I am pretty content having a place to call my own. It's right at the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains and I have the unique luxury of waking up to a view of the mountains and backdoor access to some pretty breathtaking hikes. It doesn't feel like the Greater Los Angeles area until I get on the freeway at least.

Lately, I've been focusing on work, organizing a wedding and an impending move north. Last week I was offered a new position "Director, Institutional Sales Operations - The Princeton Review & Tutor.com" which I accepted on Friday.  I am currently en route to Boston where I will be learning more about what that means. I feel good about that new position and look forward to making our contracting and sales processes more efficient.

I hope to pick this back up as I enjoy reading some of these older posts. 

Until next time,

Steve

I am a curse to the Tigers

Guys.

My curse of the Tigers is real and I now have the data to prove it.  The following statistics are representative of all regular season games since 1984 (the last time the Tigers won the World Series) where I have either been living in the state of Michigan or out of state.

The difference in my W/L ratio is almost 35%!  That's like saying the Tigers are likely to win 56 more games every year with me OUT of state than with me in state.   Since I moved home they are 4-6 which is almost exactly in line with my current trend rate (small sample size on the return, but the rest of the data speaks for itself).

Furthermore, here are my playoff stats:

Who wants to chip in to put me up in Florida for the next two months?

My analysis attached.

Goodnight.

I got a new camera (part deux)

Hello world,

Thanks for tuning in again.   I have exciting news to share which can really serve to benefit this blog.  Yes, I got a new camera.  As my old one is now five years old and my sister recently made me jealous by getting a new one for her birthday, I decided to invest in one for me.

I also got a new computer.  And guess what?  I am writing this from the air again.  Yup, I am currently on a plane from Charlotte, NC to NYC.  I have been traveling since noon today and it is now 9:49 pm. Needless to say, it has been a long day.

Why do you need a new camera, Steve?  Well, there are a couple of reasons.  First off, I don't need a camera, I want one.  I like to take pictures and my phone camera just wasn't cutting it.  Call me my father's son, but dag-nabbit, there is something great about capturing the world around you and sharing it with others.  Also, it will certainly keep me busy and productive and that's never a bad thing.

What are you going to use it for?  Another good question. I hope to use it to take quality pictures of my friends, family and anyone who gets in the way - that is going to be my main purpose with it.  Next, I hope to shoot a few creative videos.  I think I may have mentioned this in a previous post, but I have been wanting to stimulate my creative side a little bit more.  Keep that side of my brain working.  And while I did have the tools before, now I have awesome tools to create things on the level that I want to create them.  We'll see what happens.

Do you even know how to take pictures?  Ehhh... kinda.  But I'm learning and I'm learning quick.  It hasn't even been a week yet and I am already working on the manual setting and getting it to take pictures that I want it to take.  Obviously it is going to take a lot of practice, but I am really enjoying it and I think that enthusiasm will carry me to fun places.   A friend of mine who traveled to Italy with me once told me that she didn't know a person who used all of the functions of their electronics like I did.  I anticipate that quality of mine will carry on into learning how to shoot.

Are you going to take any classes?  Actually, yes.  I signed up for a Living Social deal on framing shots and I will likely take another one or two once I have a better idea of what I want to learn.  There is so much to learn about the camera, lenses, light, portait pictures, landscapes, etc.  I want to learn it all but I will take it one step at a time.

And you got a new computer, too, huh?  Yes.  Yes, I did.  And she's a beaut.  Nice and thin like a MacBook Air, but a little more powerful in the processing department.  She also has a SSD and a touchscreen with Windows 8 which I like for the novelty of it.  I will call her Schragacer. And she is gender neutral so if I refer to her in the masculine in the future don't be alarmed.

So that's that.  I guess I should name my camera, too.  I am working out a system to name, edit and share my photos.  I think it's going to have to be a multistep process.  I like the Flickr community the best, but Picassa makes it easy with the desktop app to upload and share pictures. I think I might go with that.  Maybe save Flickr for my pro-shots (hah.).

Here are a few:

Montauk Lighthouse, commissioned by President George Washington

 I was in Amagansett and East Hampton this past weekend visiting Sarah's cousins and attended the Am O'gansett St. Patrick's Day parade.  Pretty funny. They were billing it as the world's shortest parade as it went one block and ended at a pub.  You can see me in action here:

That's all.  Time to land.  Thanks for stopping by!

Winter Update

Winter Day at Bryant Park

9:54 AM ET, 6:54 AM PT

Hello future self and anyone who might be peeking.

As I am currently crossing into Nebraska from South Dakota on my way to Los Angeles, I'm back in the air with some time to write again. As usual it has been a while.  What's new? Well a good amount I would say.  Work has been busy which is a good thing. I have been traveling quite a bit already this year - I have been to Costa Mesa, CA (where I got to meet up with Smash!), Washington DC (twice), Hershey, PA, and now to Los Angeles.  It's not even March yet!  It almost feels like my days working for Free the Children. Almost.

Anyway, as of the beginning of the year our company has been acquired by another company so there has been a lot of work to do.  I feel good about the acquisition as it should allow for us to expand our product and really help bring added support to students.

As for me, I keep truckin' right now. Things are starting to click with my piano playing (did I tell you I started taking lessons?) .  I am about a year in now and can play many chords and scales if not many songs yet.  Unfortunately, all of this traveling has kept me from the keys and being able to practice.  I have tried using GarageBand on my iPad, but as you can imagine it's not the same.

What else is going on?  Well, the Harlem Shake videos are pretty popular at the moment.  I am a big fan. I wanted to create one with some friends over the weekend but no one was interested.  C'mon man!  You know you are getting old when the prospect of doing something just for the sake of it doesn't sound appealing anymore.  Sure I guess we are busy, but I really don't want to lose contact with that fun and creative part of my brain.  Related thought: I'd like to invest in a good camera and a new personal computer so that I can make stuff (videos, images, websites, etc) on the go just for the fun of it.  Alas, work takes a majority of my time and that equipment is not cheap! I hope future posts have more video/images/side projects attached to them.

I think that's about all I have for the moment.  I have to start thinking about our 10 year reunion.  My goodness. 10 years is a long time, but I can honestly say that the majority of friendships and people that I met during those four years have been the most stand-up group of people I know.  Our class was particularly awesome in that we minded our own business and got our work done.   I am excited to put something together to see everybody. Who wants to help??

Last thoughts before I sign off: 
**The latest Jack White album is incredible (listen to "Take me with you when you go")
**Technology is awesome - possibly as early as this year I will be able to control a computer without a mouse and Google Glass looks sweet
**And I want to see a few more concerts this summer.

That is all.

Mid Journey Mo Bro

As most of you probably don't know, I have embarked upon a journey to full upper lip foliage with a few of my coworkers this Movember.  As is customary, we are doing this to raise awareness and funds to combat prostate cancer.  

Besides reporting on the status of the unpredictable follicle growth, I would also like to take this time to encourage you to contribute even a dollar to the cause.  It may come back and benefit you in ways that you may never realize.  If you are like me, you probably believe in paying it forward and good karma.   Consider this a sure-fire way to earn some of that. 

Now: mustache time.   Click on my MoSpace page to view my progress report. 

A big Thanksgiving Thank you to all of my family and friends for their continued support. 

Best, 

Steve

Movember Journey

Hi Friends,

For the month of Movember, I will be joining a couple coworkers on a gentlemen's journey to a respectable growth of hair on the upper lip and prostate cancer enlightenment. I anticipate a humbling experience.

First fact of the journey is brought to you by the National Cancer Institute:
1. By age 80, more than half of all men have some cancer in their prostate.

Shoot.  That's like betting your all your marbles (pun intended) on black at a roulette table with 00's.  I don't like my odds.

I like to think that my odds of growing a respectable mustache in a month are are a little bit better, though I am already dreading the extremely awkward first couple of weeks.  Thanks for joining me for the mustache ride.  Keep up with it here: http://mobro.co/schragoo

Here grows...

Light the Night - Manhattan 2012

Hello friends,

Every so often a worthwhile cause comes along that I feel is appropriate to share with you and ask for support.  Please consider parting with a coffee and a beer this weekend in exchange for some good karma.

----

As a kid I remember deflecting fears of cancer by proclaiming proudly "I can never get cancer and even if I do, they'll have a cure for it when I'm older".

It was a silly thing to say and in my heart I knew that it was a tall order. It was hope, however, that hijacked my thoughts and made me utter those words. It was much easier than thinking about the alternative.

Years later I still want to believe it, and despite cynicism trying to override that hope, I see that progress has been (and will continue to be) made - thanks in large part to organizations like the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

A few reasons why I am supporting the LLS and walking in their Light the Night event:

- Since my childhood (early 1990s) the survival rates of all ages and all types of leukemia have risen from 45% to 57%, thanks in large part to funding and awareness by the LLS.

- In all five blood cancers the LLS works with, the incidence rates are statistically higher in males than females

- My good friend April has worked for the LLS for some time and she works hard and speaks highly of it.

- I have family and friends who have been diagnosed with a blood cancer, It's scary and not fun.  The LLS provides a ton of support materials for families going through a battle against blood cancer.

-  Karma. It feels good to pay it forward.

Please consider donating to this group.  It's as easy as clicking on that red "donate now" button to the right.  

If you need any other reasons, give me a call I'd love to hear from you.

Thank you all, you all rock,

Steve