Work continues to go really well. I find myself extremely busy which tends to make the days fly by. It is a perfect situation in that I am very busy, but not overworked. I leave at decent hours, and my commute is an easy trip against traffic across the turnpike. The work I have been doing has also been very interesting, and I feel like I am learning a lot. I have recently switched from working with Josh to being under another guy within the same team. I am anxious about this as I loved working with Josh, but hopefully I will find the new assignment just as rewarding. And hopefully, Staples is enjoying me as well.
This past weekend, I had the wonderful pleasure of hosting Jim and Joe from Philly and New York, respectively. In addition, Odom was hosting Craven, Josh Glass, Hiegl, and Clarke from the ATL. So all in all, a great crew for a wonderful Independence Day weekend in Boston. Joe and Jim rode the train in and were scheduled to arrive in South Station around 12:45 am. As a result, it gave me time to head to Marblehead for a Great Gatsby-like party up by the coast. It was great to see the cousins (Charlie/Monica & Katie) and of course it was great to watch the old people put away wine while ripping on the tax code. Having to make the drive later, I had nowhere near enough wine to handle the playful flirting these ladies put out there. All in all, a lot of fun, but after a couple hours there, I had to hit the road to meet up with the fellow KFBSers.
Since these guys arrived so late the first night, we just hit up a small pub for a drink to catch up a bit and get the ball rolling. After a pint, we headed back to the apartment to hit the sack and get some rest for a great weekend ahead. Friday morning, we woke up and hopped on the bus to head towards the Freedom Trail. I was very excited for this, as I had been looking forward to seeing some of the historic pieces of Boston. Along the trail, we got to see the graves of some of the true American heroes (Sam Adams, John Hancock, Paul Revere.....) along with some of the amazing places that the Sons of Liberty and other patriots met hundreds of years ago. The only thing along the trail we didn't get to see was the U.S.S. Constitution as there was predictably a huge line for that tour. At the end of the tour, we grabbed a pint and some food at Dick's and then I got myself my first Boston t-shirt (complete with a shamrock on it).
After the tour, we headed back to relax and have some drinks at my apartment. 7s,11s, and doubles predictably broke out as dice games cannot be avoided. We packed as many as we could into 19 Turner Street and good times were had by all. Without the "we must go out girls" (Rebecca and Amy) around, everybody was content to enjoy each others company and hilarity ensued.
The next morning, we got up early and headed down to the Fenway area. After watching the Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest, we decided we might as well investigate the Red Sox ticket situation. We were able to secure some pretty good seats, and we headed into the game. We watched the Red Sox lose a close one, 3-2, in what was absolutely gorgeous New England weather. Also, during the game, I was able to secure myself a John Smoltz shirt, which was a huge victory in and of itself. After the game, we headed to Bleacher Bar underneath the stadium, and I fit right in with my Red Sox Smoltz shirt on.
Being pretty beat after a long day outside, we headed back to my apartment to shower up and chill out for a bit. Later on, the Odom crew headed over for some drinks and then to head out on the town. Brighton Beer Garden was the spot for part of the crew, and part of the crew stayed in. Those of us that went out had a blast. Overall, a great Independence Day!
It was so nice to get an Atlanta connection and a UNC connection in the same weekend. Of course I am loving Boston, but at the same time the mind still drifts to Atlanta and Chapel Hill, so it was great to see those guys. Also, in getting to talk to Jim and Joe about our upcoming residential situation in Chapel Hill, I am definitely excited to get back and settled into our new house. At the same time, I know I will be sad when this experience is over, as I am having a blast up here! Who knows what comes of it all. All I know is I am soaking it up for now.
Playing a lot of tennis up here too. Although they put me at the highest level, and while I have had very competitive matches....I am not winning too many. Might request to move down one spot, but at the same time I do feel that it is helping my game. not sure....just want to keep playing! Lastly, Sierra is doing well. She struggled to get settled at first, but I think she is into a routine, and I have been taking her to the park everytime we get a dry day. She is such a great companion to have up here, that is for sure!
Pictures to come later
Drew
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Third Week
The exciting part of my third week here is that I will get to go to Fenway three times this week! Last night, I hopped on the 57 bus about 6:00 to head down to meet Shawn and Brian (UNC friends) for the Red Sox-Marlins game. Walking into Fenway, it is hard not to be at least slightly overwhelmed. I did indeed get some goosebumps, and I of course took some pictures. It isn't that the stadium itself is overwhelming, it is just pretty neat to think about how old the stadium is and just how much history it holds. I couldn't help but think about Yaz, Fisk, Ortiz, Mo Vaughn....anyways, the history is so great, and it really is a cool stadium. Tingly sports feelings are pretty sweet (like when I think about Coach Paul Johnson).
We have seats in the RF bleachers, and they are perfect. While the seats are small, the view is great. I got some good pictures from our seats that I will post later on. Shawn was actually able to get Odom and myself the same seats for Friday night, so that should be perfect. The Red Sox score 5 in the 4th to pull away including a Big Papi homerun that lands about 8 rows in front of us. I believe this was also the first Big Papi homerun of the year that did not receive a curtain call (kind of embarrassing). I of course had to get a beer and a Fenway Frank to complete the experience.....both delicious. The bus ride home sucked due to traffic, but overall an amazing first experience at Fenway. Also, I hear that Smoltz is gonna be a starter, so I will be able to go to games in the future knowing that I will definitely see him play. That is good news, as I am in love with that man regardless of the color of his jersey. Also, the bus ride home was a nice mix of young red sox fans and 55 year old women as the Earth, Wind, and Fire concert let out at the same time as the game. Awesome
Randy comes in town Thursday morning. We are heading to Fenway to see the Braves on Friday. I get to go back to Fenway on Sunday to see the Braves again, which is awesome. Other than that, just gonna enjoy the amazing weather and hopefully catch some of the Open. Also, gonna head down early on Friday so that we can go to Game On and/or Baseball Tavern before the game. I want to get on the roof at Baseball Tavern.....
Drew
We have seats in the RF bleachers, and they are perfect. While the seats are small, the view is great. I got some good pictures from our seats that I will post later on. Shawn was actually able to get Odom and myself the same seats for Friday night, so that should be perfect. The Red Sox score 5 in the 4th to pull away including a Big Papi homerun that lands about 8 rows in front of us. I believe this was also the first Big Papi homerun of the year that did not receive a curtain call (kind of embarrassing). I of course had to get a beer and a Fenway Frank to complete the experience.....both delicious. The bus ride home sucked due to traffic, but overall an amazing first experience at Fenway. Also, I hear that Smoltz is gonna be a starter, so I will be able to go to games in the future knowing that I will definitely see him play. That is good news, as I am in love with that man regardless of the color of his jersey. Also, the bus ride home was a nice mix of young red sox fans and 55 year old women as the Earth, Wind, and Fire concert let out at the same time as the game. Awesome
Randy comes in town Thursday morning. We are heading to Fenway to see the Braves on Friday. I get to go back to Fenway on Sunday to see the Braves again, which is awesome. Other than that, just gonna enjoy the amazing weather and hopefully catch some of the Open. Also, gonna head down early on Friday so that we can go to Game On and/or Baseball Tavern before the game. I want to get on the roof at Baseball Tavern.....
Drew
Third Weekend
The BBQ was a lot of fun. The really good news was that I decided to take a shot in the dark and see if dogs were allowed on the T, and indeed they were during off hours at the drivers discretion! This allowed me to take Sierra to the BBQ with me. So Sierra and I hop in Will's car and head over to Russell's. Russell has a very nice setup, with a nice fenced in backyard. He also has a pretty scary 5 pound chihuahua that immediately tried to show Sierra whose house this was. It took Sierra all of about 4 seconds to set Chavez straight and ordered was established. They actually became pretty good buds pretty quickly. Sierra even let him drink from her water bowl.....that is big time in Sierra's book. I guess when you weigh 14 times more than another animal, you make some concessions.
The food at the BBQ was so good. I myself had a couple burgers and some steak tips. Sierra found some suckers to give her a fair share of meat as well. She spent the afternoon doing laps around the yard, finding shade to lie in, and finding young ladies that she knew she could puppy face into marinated meat. Flip cup again broke out, and the natural order of the Southern boy at the top was quickly established. The BBQ started winding down around 9, and plans were formulated for going out. Sierra and I of course had to head for the T to get her home.
We get on the T and we are getting all kinds of looks. Sierra is exhausted and immediately lies down at my feet. She doesn't move the entire ride, including when people pet her. I get three main types of looks. 1) That is a cute dog, can I pet her? 2) What the....you can bring dogs on the T? This kid is crazy 3) Holy crap look at the person killer. She is terrifying. Look how she lies down and sleeps!!! Run!!
We get off the T and Odom and I decide I will walk Sierra home and then potentially meet up. Little did I know that the stop we chose to get off on was about 2-3 miles from my apt. Sierra is not really in the mood for a 3 mile walk, but off we go. I arrive home about 45 minutes later, Sierra goes immediately to her place and crashes. I sit on the couch and wait for Odom's call. After a while, I decide it is probably best to just call it a night. My dog and I are both exhausted, and it is like 11:30. A wonderful day! Meats, beverages, my puppy, and good company....can't ask for much more. I get up around 2:30 to greet the girls as they come home. Sounds like I didn't miss a whole lot.
The food at the BBQ was so good. I myself had a couple burgers and some steak tips. Sierra found some suckers to give her a fair share of meat as well. She spent the afternoon doing laps around the yard, finding shade to lie in, and finding young ladies that she knew she could puppy face into marinated meat. Flip cup again broke out, and the natural order of the Southern boy at the top was quickly established. The BBQ started winding down around 9, and plans were formulated for going out. Sierra and I of course had to head for the T to get her home.
We get on the T and we are getting all kinds of looks. Sierra is exhausted and immediately lies down at my feet. She doesn't move the entire ride, including when people pet her. I get three main types of looks. 1) That is a cute dog, can I pet her? 2) What the....you can bring dogs on the T? This kid is crazy 3) Holy crap look at the person killer. She is terrifying. Look how she lies down and sleeps!!! Run!!
We get off the T and Odom and I decide I will walk Sierra home and then potentially meet up. Little did I know that the stop we chose to get off on was about 2-3 miles from my apt. Sierra is not really in the mood for a 3 mile walk, but off we go. I arrive home about 45 minutes later, Sierra goes immediately to her place and crashes. I sit on the couch and wait for Odom's call. After a while, I decide it is probably best to just call it a night. My dog and I are both exhausted, and it is like 11:30. A wonderful day! Meats, beverages, my puppy, and good company....can't ask for much more. I get up around 2:30 to greet the girls as they come home. Sounds like I didn't miss a whole lot.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Saturday Morning Wicked Weather
Woke up this morning with an extra kick in my step. I took Sierra on a walk around the block and came to the conclusion that the weather literally could not be any better. I would not tweak it in any way if I was able to. It is about 74 degrees, with a nice breeze, not a cloud in the sky, and the sun is shining bright. Sierra was an absolute saint on the walk. A little girl came up to pet her and pretty much ride her, and Sierra was amazing with her. I took a couple pictures of our street and the main drag. We got a BBQ planned at Russell's house (Will's coworker) in Sommerville. A bunch of TJX invitees and me. I really have enjoyed Will's group so much, they are so much fun.
They have a company softball team that is 0-5. They have been mercy ruled every game until Wednesday. On Wednesday, I went out to watch them, and they played by far their best game this year. They went up 4-0 in the first inning. The bad news is that they didn't score another run all game. The good news is that they actually played a bit of defense, and they were playing the nerds from "data control." About half of these guys were playing in denim of some sort....jean shorts, jean jackets, jeans....When a man walks up to the plate in denim, I do not really fear him. The TJX team has a ridiculous amount of girls on the team, which isn't exactly the key to co-ed softball. However, it is the key to really funny trash talking. It was 4-4 in the bottom of the 7th with two outs and guys on first and second. In this league, you get 5 balls before you walk. The douche at the plate took 7 straight pitches and walked.....on top of that, since there was a girl behind him, the guy on second got two bases. A walkoff walk....we waited for him in the parking lot. You don't walk in softball. Data control....clavin. Oh well, the team was ecstatic. 25 cent wings at Fridays quickly healed any wounds they had.
Work is still kicking ass. I got to build a huge compensation model from scratch this weekend that I presented to my boss and a lady in HR. They loved it, so I get to present it next week to the VP of Copy and the VP of HR. I am very anxious....but it should be awesome, and it will be great exposure. Overall, everybody at work has been great, and I am really enjoying what I am doing. Hope all is well in the dirty south! Gonna go enjoy the wicked aahsome weather.....retahded aahsome.
Drew
They have a company softball team that is 0-5. They have been mercy ruled every game until Wednesday. On Wednesday, I went out to watch them, and they played by far their best game this year. They went up 4-0 in the first inning. The bad news is that they didn't score another run all game. The good news is that they actually played a bit of defense, and they were playing the nerds from "data control." About half of these guys were playing in denim of some sort....jean shorts, jean jackets, jeans....When a man walks up to the plate in denim, I do not really fear him. The TJX team has a ridiculous amount of girls on the team, which isn't exactly the key to co-ed softball. However, it is the key to really funny trash talking. It was 4-4 in the bottom of the 7th with two outs and guys on first and second. In this league, you get 5 balls before you walk. The douche at the plate took 7 straight pitches and walked.....on top of that, since there was a girl behind him, the guy on second got two bases. A walkoff walk....we waited for him in the parking lot. You don't walk in softball. Data control....clavin. Oh well, the team was ecstatic. 25 cent wings at Fridays quickly healed any wounds they had.
Work is still kicking ass. I got to build a huge compensation model from scratch this weekend that I presented to my boss and a lady in HR. They loved it, so I get to present it next week to the VP of Copy and the VP of HR. I am very anxious....but it should be awesome, and it will be great exposure. Overall, everybody at work has been great, and I am really enjoying what I am doing. Hope all is well in the dirty south! Gonna go enjoy the wicked aahsome weather.....retahded aahsome.
Drew
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Dog Jumping
Just watched the Dog long jump. Simply amazing...my favorite thing on TV. Sierra still has work to do, but I know she can get there. However, a summer with very few trips to the lake won't help. Anyways, I highly recommend watching. Off to meet a friend for a drink before another work Friday! Bostonians...I have my eye on Murphy's Law for something this weekend. I have heard it is great for genuine Irish pub style brew/music.
Monday, June 8, 2009
The Social Week
First two items on the postwork schedule once settled were to find a way to play tennis up here and find a way to play golf up here. After doing a bit of research, I am able to find a tennis ladder league to join up here. They ask for a level, and I assume that this means they want a USTA level. I email the coordinator and tell him I am between a 4.0 and a 4.5. He then says "well, we don't have as many 4.5s this season, so hop into that division." I soon find out that 4.5 is the highest level they have. The first match has the potential to be embarrassing I fear, but we shall see. Luckily, I can move around divisions during the season. Josh then sends me an email with public courses all over the boston proper area, so I am now set on both fronts.
Monday, I somehow end up in front of the TV for a full hour while the Bachelorette is on. I am given a stern warning by Amy that no talking is allowed during the Bachelorette. This is an hour I will never get back.
Meanwhile, my GIE paper looms large over my head. I am all set to work on it Tuesday night, but Rebecca is pounding her head against the wall over her work slideshow, and since that seems like more fun to work on, I volunteer my assistance. Luckily, Macs are awesome, and we are able to Kraft (horrible pun) a pretty nice presentation. Wednesday 19 Turner St. decides to brave the perils of watching Marley & Me. Sierra is the star of the apartment on this particular evening.
Thursday is "trivia" night at Roggie's according to Will, so 8 of us head over there on Thursday. It is Will, myself, and six ladies. After chatting with Will for a while, he says "I know this may seem great, but imagine this without me here, because that is what I deal with" Fair enough. Roggie's is great, because they have these super pitchers of beer that are about 15 pints worth. Although you do find out pretty quickly that they are cool in novelty yet those last couple pints are right around 70 degrees. When trivia has not started at 10 oclock, we inquire as to why. The man promptly tells us that we are actually about 25 hours late for trivia.....thanks Will. So instead of trivia, we decide as a table to play kings. Will doesn't fare well in this game....
On Friday, I am determined to find myself an Irish pub in which to enjoy a nice, cold Guinness. I coordinate to meet my cousin Katie and her boyfriend at the Greenbriar in Brighton. Meanwhile, the roommates are drumming up plans to head to a new bar in the fenway area. Before these roads diverge, a group of us decide to play catch phrase. I have never enjoyed watching somebody attempt to play this game the way I did watching Amy. Combine that with the fact that we have paired her up with Will, and this is quite entertaining. At one point, I think she guessed the same answer 12 times for the same set of hints before Will's head almost exploded. Good times. Greenbriar was fun. It was certainly great to catch up with Katie and meet her boyfriend. They had a band, but it was playing 80s music.....not the most Irish feeling atmosphere, but a good start. Apparently, I must head to South Boston to really find some good Irish pubs. My night ends pretty early, and I head back to the apartment. I get a text from Will about 2:00 saying that he has just sent me two ridiculously drunk girls. Amy is the first to storm in. She seems to have liked this bar they went to quite a bit. I am then standing by the door in time for Rebecca to literally fall into the apartment and into my arms. I carry her over to the couch where she will spend the next 7 hours. Had I not been standing there, I am not sure where she would have ended up sleeping....the floor seems likely.
Saturday is Harpoon fest day! I wake up early and excited. Sierra and I go for a nice run to start the day, as it is absolutely beautiful outside. I get back, and of course the girls are still sleeping. They both wakeup right as I am walking out the door to head to Will's. We then head to Cristina's place for mimosas and prep for this Harpoon Fest that I have now heard so much about. Harpoon Fest does turn out to be pretty awesome. The Harpoon Brewery is located along the water, and they put up a huge tent and block off a huge parking lot out behind the Brewery. You then buy tickets for drinks and food and listen to live music. There are tons of people there including a lot of people that Will works with. I get to meet way too many people to remember their names, but I remember the important ones. Sure enough, a game of flip cup breaks out. I warn people that I tend to hurt people's self esteem when I play flip cup, but they encourage me to play anyways. Sure enough, the South wins again. Somewhere in there, a joke is made about Ga. Tech and the binary code (this is the default math joke apparently.) I then whoop out my 2004 Final Four story about the posters we made including, everybody's favorite, the Bynumary code. The look this kid gave me suggested that his brain actually shutoff for a couple seconds after hearing this.....I love it.
After Harpoon Fest, we went to a bar along the water, but everybody was pretty beat at that point. I did get another "you must be from the South" from a bartender. And there was a girl trying to get a drink, but she couldn't get close enough so I cleared the way for her to which she says "I assume you are from the South, cause nobody from up here would have done that." So I haven't completely blended in yet. Still working on it. On the way to get a cab, Russell is jogging backwards while trying to keep up a conversation with us only to completely eat it over a huge potted plant....in front of a restaurant with tons of people on the patio. This is quite possibly the funniest thing I have ever seen.....tears are streaming down my face. It was a perfect end to a great day. The girls have to get home and go to bed, as they have boldly signed up to run in a 5k(marathon) the following morning.
The roommates do indeed complete the 5k Sunday morning. Label me impressed. Sierra and I went on about a 5k....walk Sunday morning, so that is kinda close. A group of us then head to Castle Island Beach. Dogs aren't supposed to be on the beach after May, so I have to keep Sierra leashed, but we still go swimming. The water is absolutely freezing....the things I do for her. We are then sitting in a group with Sierra in the middle when all of a sudden a group of birds lands right outside the circle. I see it in her eyes and dive for the leash at the same time she is leaping over Will to exit the circle. I am able to grab the very end of the leash, and I eat a faceful of sand in the meantime. Awesome. We all head back, tired and ready for the work week ahead. I watch Tiger finish an absolute domination at the Memorial, grab dinner and ice cream with Brittany, Christina, and Will, and then head home to sleep very well. Another awesome weekend in Beantown. Can't wait to see what week 2 at Staples has in store!
Drew
Monday, I somehow end up in front of the TV for a full hour while the Bachelorette is on. I am given a stern warning by Amy that no talking is allowed during the Bachelorette. This is an hour I will never get back.
Meanwhile, my GIE paper looms large over my head. I am all set to work on it Tuesday night, but Rebecca is pounding her head against the wall over her work slideshow, and since that seems like more fun to work on, I volunteer my assistance. Luckily, Macs are awesome, and we are able to Kraft (horrible pun) a pretty nice presentation. Wednesday 19 Turner St. decides to brave the perils of watching Marley & Me. Sierra is the star of the apartment on this particular evening.
Thursday is "trivia" night at Roggie's according to Will, so 8 of us head over there on Thursday. It is Will, myself, and six ladies. After chatting with Will for a while, he says "I know this may seem great, but imagine this without me here, because that is what I deal with" Fair enough. Roggie's is great, because they have these super pitchers of beer that are about 15 pints worth. Although you do find out pretty quickly that they are cool in novelty yet those last couple pints are right around 70 degrees. When trivia has not started at 10 oclock, we inquire as to why. The man promptly tells us that we are actually about 25 hours late for trivia.....thanks Will. So instead of trivia, we decide as a table to play kings. Will doesn't fare well in this game....
On Friday, I am determined to find myself an Irish pub in which to enjoy a nice, cold Guinness. I coordinate to meet my cousin Katie and her boyfriend at the Greenbriar in Brighton. Meanwhile, the roommates are drumming up plans to head to a new bar in the fenway area. Before these roads diverge, a group of us decide to play catch phrase. I have never enjoyed watching somebody attempt to play this game the way I did watching Amy. Combine that with the fact that we have paired her up with Will, and this is quite entertaining. At one point, I think she guessed the same answer 12 times for the same set of hints before Will's head almost exploded. Good times. Greenbriar was fun. It was certainly great to catch up with Katie and meet her boyfriend. They had a band, but it was playing 80s music.....not the most Irish feeling atmosphere, but a good start. Apparently, I must head to South Boston to really find some good Irish pubs. My night ends pretty early, and I head back to the apartment. I get a text from Will about 2:00 saying that he has just sent me two ridiculously drunk girls. Amy is the first to storm in. She seems to have liked this bar they went to quite a bit. I am then standing by the door in time for Rebecca to literally fall into the apartment and into my arms. I carry her over to the couch where she will spend the next 7 hours. Had I not been standing there, I am not sure where she would have ended up sleeping....the floor seems likely.
Saturday is Harpoon fest day! I wake up early and excited. Sierra and I go for a nice run to start the day, as it is absolutely beautiful outside. I get back, and of course the girls are still sleeping. They both wakeup right as I am walking out the door to head to Will's. We then head to Cristina's place for mimosas and prep for this Harpoon Fest that I have now heard so much about. Harpoon Fest does turn out to be pretty awesome. The Harpoon Brewery is located along the water, and they put up a huge tent and block off a huge parking lot out behind the Brewery. You then buy tickets for drinks and food and listen to live music. There are tons of people there including a lot of people that Will works with. I get to meet way too many people to remember their names, but I remember the important ones. Sure enough, a game of flip cup breaks out. I warn people that I tend to hurt people's self esteem when I play flip cup, but they encourage me to play anyways. Sure enough, the South wins again. Somewhere in there, a joke is made about Ga. Tech and the binary code (this is the default math joke apparently.) I then whoop out my 2004 Final Four story about the posters we made including, everybody's favorite, the Bynumary code. The look this kid gave me suggested that his brain actually shutoff for a couple seconds after hearing this.....I love it.
After Harpoon Fest, we went to a bar along the water, but everybody was pretty beat at that point. I did get another "you must be from the South" from a bartender. And there was a girl trying to get a drink, but she couldn't get close enough so I cleared the way for her to which she says "I assume you are from the South, cause nobody from up here would have done that." So I haven't completely blended in yet. Still working on it. On the way to get a cab, Russell is jogging backwards while trying to keep up a conversation with us only to completely eat it over a huge potted plant....in front of a restaurant with tons of people on the patio. This is quite possibly the funniest thing I have ever seen.....tears are streaming down my face. It was a perfect end to a great day. The girls have to get home and go to bed, as they have boldly signed up to run in a 5k(marathon) the following morning.
The roommates do indeed complete the 5k Sunday morning. Label me impressed. Sierra and I went on about a 5k....walk Sunday morning, so that is kinda close. A group of us then head to Castle Island Beach. Dogs aren't supposed to be on the beach after May, so I have to keep Sierra leashed, but we still go swimming. The water is absolutely freezing....the things I do for her. We are then sitting in a group with Sierra in the middle when all of a sudden a group of birds lands right outside the circle. I see it in her eyes and dive for the leash at the same time she is leaping over Will to exit the circle. I am able to grab the very end of the leash, and I eat a faceful of sand in the meantime. Awesome. We all head back, tired and ready for the work week ahead. I watch Tiger finish an absolute domination at the Memorial, grab dinner and ice cream with Brittany, Christina, and Will, and then head home to sleep very well. Another awesome weekend in Beantown. Can't wait to see what week 2 at Staples has in store!
Drew
Work Week Wrap Up
The rest of my first week goes as well as the first day. I spend most of the week just wrapping my hands around Staples as an organization, their strategy, and just how they make money. In addition, I am trying to get more acquainted with the specific financials behind the piece of the business I will be working on.
On Wednesday, Josh asks me to put together a presentation on the Q1 financials that we will be presenting to the customer service team. This is just a high level overview of how Staples did in Q1 to present to a non-financial team as the customer service team wants to know if the sky is falling or not. This is a great opportunity for me to dig in to Staples Q1 financials release and see for myself just how they are doing. On Thursday, Josh and I spend about an hour presenting the information, and the CS team seems to really appreciate it. Also, they like the fact that we are destroying Office Depot and Office Max at this point.
On Friday, we have the quarterly "Town Hall Meeting" for everybody who is on the retail said of the organization. The head of all the retail stores leads a meeting that is held in our auditorium and is also broadcast to every store in the chain. The focus of this particular THM is to talk about Staples' Back To School strategy. Obviously, this is an important time of the year for school supplies companies, and this year is especially interesting since everybody is now poor. After that, Josh and I head out "into the field" to check out some of our stores and the competitors' stores to put some tangibles behind the numbers. Also, I have never seen a Staples Copy & Print Store, so we are gonna check one of those out since I will be dealing a lot with their financials.
Luckily, our last stop is very close to home. Especially since there is a home Sox game tonight, so traffic would have been miserable. Not sure what my plan is on Monday when there is again a Sox game, but for now it is Friday, and Monday seems so far away! First week done, and I get a reminder of what the work Friday afternoon feeling is like. I did kinda miss that
Drew In Boston
On Wednesday, Josh asks me to put together a presentation on the Q1 financials that we will be presenting to the customer service team. This is just a high level overview of how Staples did in Q1 to present to a non-financial team as the customer service team wants to know if the sky is falling or not. This is a great opportunity for me to dig in to Staples Q1 financials release and see for myself just how they are doing. On Thursday, Josh and I spend about an hour presenting the information, and the CS team seems to really appreciate it. Also, they like the fact that we are destroying Office Depot and Office Max at this point.
On Friday, we have the quarterly "Town Hall Meeting" for everybody who is on the retail said of the organization. The head of all the retail stores leads a meeting that is held in our auditorium and is also broadcast to every store in the chain. The focus of this particular THM is to talk about Staples' Back To School strategy. Obviously, this is an important time of the year for school supplies companies, and this year is especially interesting since everybody is now poor. After that, Josh and I head out "into the field" to check out some of our stores and the competitors' stores to put some tangibles behind the numbers. Also, I have never seen a Staples Copy & Print Store, so we are gonna check one of those out since I will be dealing a lot with their financials.
Luckily, our last stop is very close to home. Especially since there is a home Sox game tonight, so traffic would have been miserable. Not sure what my plan is on Monday when there is again a Sox game, but for now it is Friday, and Monday seems so far away! First week done, and I get a reminder of what the work Friday afternoon feeling is like. I did kinda miss that
Drew In Boston
First Day at Staples
Needless to say, the work morning came early on Monday given that I haven't had to wake up for work in almost a year. However, it came with an air of excitement as it would be my first week at Staples, and my first week as a big bad MBA.....
The first half of the first day was spent in an orientation session with all the other interns. There are seven MBA interns and about 18-20 undergrad interns. We went around the room introducing ourselves and giving a "fun fact." Low and behold, intern #2 at this game uses the fun fact that "I will be turning 21 in two weeks." Awesome....I remember that happening.....6 years ago. All the older interns feel sufficiently ancient, but at least we don't have to fill out timecards.
After orientation is over, we all have to wait for our managers to come get us. This feels a lot like elementary school when you waited on your parents to pick you up. I am very nervous that my manager will be last...luckily, somebody shows up to grab me very early on the in the process. Josh, a coworker on my team, has been assigned to buddy up with me this week and show me the ropes.
Lucky for me, Staples has their quarterly financials wrapup meeting today as their Q1 is February - April. As a result, I will get to meet the whole finance team here on my first day. In addition, the CFO actually shows up to sit down and rap with us for about an hour. He lets us ask questions about anything we are interested/concerned about. He is really engaging, and very intelligent. I get the chance to introduce myself real quick (and let him know I will be in his seat in about 15 years). I am very impressed already. Senior management in this company is extremely accessible.
We then head back to my desk to talk about what I will be working on this summer. It seems like a very interesting and exciting project in which there will be results that I will be able to actually see in the Staples retail chain. Retail is very new to me, so there are a lot of things I have to learn, but this project will give me an excellent chance to do just that. It definitely will be a great thing to speak to in the future.
All in all, a great first day! I really like everybody I have met, and the culture here is great. My time in Boston so far, and specifically today, has revealed an unfortunate personality trait. I am a sense of direction autistic. I remember with amazing accuracy how to retrace routes I have seen before, but I am straight up retarded with new routes. I have gotten lost in Boston a couple times already. If that isn't bad enough, I actually got lost in the Staples building about 4 times on my first day. In all fairness, it is one of the biggest, most complicated buildings in the northeast, but still.....not good. People on my team see me wandering and grab me to point me in the right direction. There are 3,000 people in this building, so I guess it is understandable......
Loving Staples!
Drew
The first half of the first day was spent in an orientation session with all the other interns. There are seven MBA interns and about 18-20 undergrad interns. We went around the room introducing ourselves and giving a "fun fact." Low and behold, intern #2 at this game uses the fun fact that "I will be turning 21 in two weeks." Awesome....I remember that happening.....6 years ago. All the older interns feel sufficiently ancient, but at least we don't have to fill out timecards.
After orientation is over, we all have to wait for our managers to come get us. This feels a lot like elementary school when you waited on your parents to pick you up. I am very nervous that my manager will be last...luckily, somebody shows up to grab me very early on the in the process. Josh, a coworker on my team, has been assigned to buddy up with me this week and show me the ropes.
Lucky for me, Staples has their quarterly financials wrapup meeting today as their Q1 is February - April. As a result, I will get to meet the whole finance team here on my first day. In addition, the CFO actually shows up to sit down and rap with us for about an hour. He lets us ask questions about anything we are interested/concerned about. He is really engaging, and very intelligent. I get the chance to introduce myself real quick (and let him know I will be in his seat in about 15 years). I am very impressed already. Senior management in this company is extremely accessible.
We then head back to my desk to talk about what I will be working on this summer. It seems like a very interesting and exciting project in which there will be results that I will be able to actually see in the Staples retail chain. Retail is very new to me, so there are a lot of things I have to learn, but this project will give me an excellent chance to do just that. It definitely will be a great thing to speak to in the future.
All in all, a great first day! I really like everybody I have met, and the culture here is great. My time in Boston so far, and specifically today, has revealed an unfortunate personality trait. I am a sense of direction autistic. I remember with amazing accuracy how to retrace routes I have seen before, but I am straight up retarded with new routes. I have gotten lost in Boston a couple times already. If that isn't bad enough, I actually got lost in the Staples building about 4 times on my first day. In all fairness, it is one of the biggest, most complicated buildings in the northeast, but still.....not good. People on my team see me wandering and grab me to point me in the right direction. There are 3,000 people in this building, so I guess it is understandable......
Loving Staples!
Drew
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Sunday
I went to the grocery store today to grab stuff to make dinner for the roommates. I promised spaghetti and Egyptian gifts this evening. I fear that I have set the bar too high for Sunday evenings, but hopefully it is known that Egyptian handmade gifts are not a weekly thing. I made a pretty awesome dose of spaghetti and allowed the roommates to pick the huge brain that i possess. We then watched Swingers and talked about how awesome Sierra was. She has been so great these first couple days, and I very excited about the roommates falling more and more in love with her. She is a dog that is unparalleled in awesomeness. Heading to bed as I have work tomorrow. I haven't worked in 11 months, so I hope I remember how to do it. More than anything, i just want an Easy Button. I can't wait to use that whilst at work.
I don't plan on blogging each day in Boston, but I figured I would write about my first weekend. This will most likely bore the average man, but feel free to read whenever you feel like killing time. Hopefully it will at least be slightly entertaining. I can't talk too much trash about my roommates, because I gave them the link, so I will say only good things about them on here :) Boston rules so far!
Drew In Beantown
I don't plan on blogging each day in Boston, but I figured I would write about my first weekend. This will most likely bore the average man, but feel free to read whenever you feel like killing time. Hopefully it will at least be slightly entertaining. I can't talk too much trash about my roommates, because I gave them the link, so I will say only good things about them on here :) Boston rules so far!
Drew In Beantown
Day 2 Sidenote
In the cab on the way to the bar, Will was in the front seat and Amy, Christina, and myself were in the back. Will took a picture of the three of us, and I was able to live a Seinfeld moment. I looked at the picture and made the comment "I'm not sure, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I see.....a nipple." The quote itself was lost on the crowd, but the point was made. Christina very quickly deleted the picture, and another (PG-rated) picture was taken.
Day 2
So at the Liberty, Will talked about all these glorious plans for Saturday. We were gonna wakeup, go to the beach, hit up Neiman Marcus for Russell's free beer/fashion show party, a party that one of his work friends was throwing, and then out on the town. Instead, Will got out of bed around noon, called me to tell me the beach was off (I had been up for three hours and had already made that assumption whilst watching TMNT 1 followed by TMNT 2....amazing), and then headed over to take me to lunch. We went to the Sunset Grill which is apparently Bostonian for "Huge Portions." This place as about 4oo beers to choose from, but Will throws me off by ordering a Diet Coke, so I then order a Miller Lite. I feel like kind of a tool ordering a ML at a place with 4oo beers, but I was flustered by changing shirts gel haired guy ordering a Coke Lite. I order buffalo fingers (shocker) on a stick. They are delicious and the weather is just immaculate.
We get back to my apartment, and Amy's mom has bought us beautiful patio furniture. This works out well, because I happen to love sitting outside with my beautiful dog postwork. We procede to sit out on this new patio furniture from about 4 to 11....margaritas are made and plans for the night are discussed. I enthrall everybody with the biography of Sierra's life. We decide to head to a place called The Market around 11. The cab driver drives in circles for about an hour and then charges us $40. I am pretty sure he just relocated from Tar Heel Taxi. The Market is nice. I get into buying drinks for everybody mode thinking they are at Chapel Hill prices and that stings in the end. Will and Christina split off relatively early on, so Amy and I decide to head back to Turner St. Errands must be run tomorrow, so hopefully I will be up bright and early again!
We get back to my apartment, and Amy's mom has bought us beautiful patio furniture. This works out well, because I happen to love sitting outside with my beautiful dog postwork. We procede to sit out on this new patio furniture from about 4 to 11....margaritas are made and plans for the night are discussed. I enthrall everybody with the biography of Sierra's life. We decide to head to a place called The Market around 11. The cab driver drives in circles for about an hour and then charges us $40. I am pretty sure he just relocated from Tar Heel Taxi. The Market is nice. I get into buying drinks for everybody mode thinking they are at Chapel Hill prices and that stings in the end. Will and Christina split off relatively early on, so Amy and I decide to head back to Turner St. Errands must be run tomorrow, so hopefully I will be up bright and early again!
Night One In Boston
So the next step is for Sierra to meet the girls and meet the apartment. I am very hopeful and very confident that the roommates will fall in love with her and she will fall in love with the roommates. As I am moving my stuff in, Amy and her mom show up, so Sierra gets to meet the whole 19 Turner St. family all at once. As expected, she acts like an angel and all is well....Rebecca and Amy fall in love at first pet. Then again, how could you not?
After about an hour of relaxation couch time, Will heads over to grab me to start my first evening in Boston. We head to a place near Will's called Roggies. They apparently have huge bucket/pitcher things that are about 12-15 pints worth of beer. Unfortunately, the bartender says we have to have four people to order said pitcher. Odom tries that angle of being a big dude worth a couple (even though he drinks like half a dude) and i play the angle of being Irish and having a tolerance much past the average man, but neither sticks. So we stick to just ordering a couple pints. After Roggies, we head back to Will's place for a couple drinks before we go out. Will changes shirts about 4 times while we are there. He continues to ask me what I think of the shirts he changes into. I tell him this is a flawed strategy for multiples reasons: 1) I am color blind 2) On a scale from 0-10 on fashion sense, I rank somewhere in the .5 - 1.2 range. 3) I am not a homosexual. He finally settles on the same shirt that he wore to Roggies.....so I just wasted an hour of my 10 weeks in Boston talking fashion with a dude who didn't even end up changing.
We then walk out to the T-line to head to the Liberty where some of Will's works friends are gonna meet us. Will works with Amy, which is how I fell into the situation of living with these girls. They apparently have a work softball team in which Will claims he is the best player on the team. After he makes that claim he tells me about the least shocking thing I have ever heard: "We are 0-4." However, it is a co-ed team that has 20 girls and 8 guys and they like to go out afterwards, so I am going to watch on Tuesday. After a couple years as seeing eye grounder guy on the Cleveland Steamers, it might be nice to sneak on the field of a team where I look like the badass. Anyways, the T is about the oldest public transportation system I have ever seen, but it definitely gets the job done. You can go just about anywhere on this thing. We ride it over close to Boston Commons and decide to get out and walk. We walk through Boston Commons, which is nice, and then over to the Liberty. It is a new hotel/bar that is the hip new place to hangout in Boston. It is so hip that a bourbon and ginger is $9!! I walk up to the bar and order and bourbon and ginger, and the bartender looks at me and she says "you are from the south aren't you?" so i respond "is my accent that bad?" she says "no, but nobody orders bourbon here." what a sad town. how do you go to football games without bourbon? anyways, everytime i go to the bar for my B&Gs, she makes a different comment about my southerness...I am fine with this.
I get to meet a whole bunch of Will's work buddies. They are all super nice to me and really fun. Rebecca and one of our neighbors Laura show up shortly after we get there. After talking to Laura for a couple minutes, she tells me that she is from Alpharetta....small world. I decide at this point to show Rebecca how to swing dance which we procede to do in the middle of a very non-dancing bar. Sooo much fun. Russell, one of Will's friends from work, is trying to makeout with everybody, including me, so I figure we are getting close to heading out time. Then, close to closing time, I see Rebecca getting into it with one of the guys I had just met, so I decide it is probably time to leave. Rebecca, Laura, and myself hop in a cab and head towards 19 Turner St. All in all, a great first night in Beantown! I can't wait to see what Saturday brings
After about an hour of relaxation couch time, Will heads over to grab me to start my first evening in Boston. We head to a place near Will's called Roggies. They apparently have huge bucket/pitcher things that are about 12-15 pints worth of beer. Unfortunately, the bartender says we have to have four people to order said pitcher. Odom tries that angle of being a big dude worth a couple (even though he drinks like half a dude) and i play the angle of being Irish and having a tolerance much past the average man, but neither sticks. So we stick to just ordering a couple pints. After Roggies, we head back to Will's place for a couple drinks before we go out. Will changes shirts about 4 times while we are there. He continues to ask me what I think of the shirts he changes into. I tell him this is a flawed strategy for multiples reasons: 1) I am color blind 2) On a scale from 0-10 on fashion sense, I rank somewhere in the .5 - 1.2 range. 3) I am not a homosexual. He finally settles on the same shirt that he wore to Roggies.....so I just wasted an hour of my 10 weeks in Boston talking fashion with a dude who didn't even end up changing.
We then walk out to the T-line to head to the Liberty where some of Will's works friends are gonna meet us. Will works with Amy, which is how I fell into the situation of living with these girls. They apparently have a work softball team in which Will claims he is the best player on the team. After he makes that claim he tells me about the least shocking thing I have ever heard: "We are 0-4." However, it is a co-ed team that has 20 girls and 8 guys and they like to go out afterwards, so I am going to watch on Tuesday. After a couple years as seeing eye grounder guy on the Cleveland Steamers, it might be nice to sneak on the field of a team where I look like the badass. Anyways, the T is about the oldest public transportation system I have ever seen, but it definitely gets the job done. You can go just about anywhere on this thing. We ride it over close to Boston Commons and decide to get out and walk. We walk through Boston Commons, which is nice, and then over to the Liberty. It is a new hotel/bar that is the hip new place to hangout in Boston. It is so hip that a bourbon and ginger is $9!! I walk up to the bar and order and bourbon and ginger, and the bartender looks at me and she says "you are from the south aren't you?" so i respond "is my accent that bad?" she says "no, but nobody orders bourbon here." what a sad town. how do you go to football games without bourbon? anyways, everytime i go to the bar for my B&Gs, she makes a different comment about my southerness...I am fine with this.
I get to meet a whole bunch of Will's work buddies. They are all super nice to me and really fun. Rebecca and one of our neighbors Laura show up shortly after we get there. After talking to Laura for a couple minutes, she tells me that she is from Alpharetta....small world. I decide at this point to show Rebecca how to swing dance which we procede to do in the middle of a very non-dancing bar. Sooo much fun. Russell, one of Will's friends from work, is trying to makeout with everybody, including me, so I figure we are getting close to heading out time. Then, close to closing time, I see Rebecca getting into it with one of the guys I had just met, so I decide it is probably time to leave. Rebecca, Laura, and myself hop in a cab and head towards 19 Turner St. All in all, a great first night in Beantown! I can't wait to see what Saturday brings
Arriving In Boston
Prologue: I decided to go ahead and blog my summer in the North for a couple reasons. 1) I want to remember the places I go and the experiences I have so that if I end up here full time, I will know what I liked and what I didn't like. 2) All the KFBS kids who are from Boston are gonna want to live vicariously through me for the summer, so I figure this is easier than calling them everyday to let them know what I did the night before. 3) I liked blogging the international trip and got some good feedback, so I figured I would try my hand at it one more time. This might just end up exposing me as an amateur, but I figured it was worth the role of the dice.
I might as well start with my tribulations in getting ready to leave the wonderful South. After taking my car in to get fixed and hearing that it would have to stay overnight, I get a call from Officer Joe Duncan that my car has been broken into while at the shop. This frustrates me for a couple reasons. Clearly, I don't like my stuff being rooted through, but more than anything, it is just another thing to deal with while I am trying to both pack for Boston while also leaving my stuff in a manner that can be moved to 114 South Roberson/Awesome Street. In a both lucky and unfortunate way, I don't have anything that this particular robber wanted. I am actually so poor that broke burglers don't even want my shit. In my back seat there were about 8 hanging shirts, but my fashion sense is crappy enough that this guy looked at the shirts, decided they were hideous, and moved on. The fixed cost of actually breaking my window was already sunk, and the marginal cost of grabbing my clothes is minimal, yet he found them worth less than that. Thank you. In an ironic (not the right use of that word, but who does actually use it correctly?) twist, my Turkish track suit was in there. While the purchase price of said track suit was 28 lira, the value to me is in the area of 1,000 lira. I am very glad that it was not an Ottoman that broke into my car.....or the great Muhammad Ali of the Muhammad Ali Mosque. Float like a camel, sting like a glass of Nile water. Long story kinda short, I got my car all fixed for about 700 US and hit the road on Thursday morning for D.C.
After two days, and $30 in tolls, of driving, I landed in Boston mid-afternoon on Friday. I was met at the apartment by one of my roommates, Rebecca. Rebecca works for Kraft, and was a cheerleader at UNC. It is not quite doing it justice to say that she is very passionate about UNC. I quickly moved all my stuff into my room without organizing it as I was tired from driving and just wanted to relax on the couch and have a Sam Adams (when in Boston). We of course had big plans for the evenings....not sure where the night will take us
I might as well start with my tribulations in getting ready to leave the wonderful South. After taking my car in to get fixed and hearing that it would have to stay overnight, I get a call from Officer Joe Duncan that my car has been broken into while at the shop. This frustrates me for a couple reasons. Clearly, I don't like my stuff being rooted through, but more than anything, it is just another thing to deal with while I am trying to both pack for Boston while also leaving my stuff in a manner that can be moved to 114 South Roberson/Awesome Street. In a both lucky and unfortunate way, I don't have anything that this particular robber wanted. I am actually so poor that broke burglers don't even want my shit. In my back seat there were about 8 hanging shirts, but my fashion sense is crappy enough that this guy looked at the shirts, decided they were hideous, and moved on. The fixed cost of actually breaking my window was already sunk, and the marginal cost of grabbing my clothes is minimal, yet he found them worth less than that. Thank you. In an ironic (not the right use of that word, but who does actually use it correctly?) twist, my Turkish track suit was in there. While the purchase price of said track suit was 28 lira, the value to me is in the area of 1,000 lira. I am very glad that it was not an Ottoman that broke into my car.....or the great Muhammad Ali of the Muhammad Ali Mosque. Float like a camel, sting like a glass of Nile water. Long story kinda short, I got my car all fixed for about 700 US and hit the road on Thursday morning for D.C.
After two days, and $30 in tolls, of driving, I landed in Boston mid-afternoon on Friday. I was met at the apartment by one of my roommates, Rebecca. Rebecca works for Kraft, and was a cheerleader at UNC. It is not quite doing it justice to say that she is very passionate about UNC. I quickly moved all my stuff into my room without organizing it as I was tired from driving and just wanted to relax on the couch and have a Sam Adams (when in Boston). We of course had big plans for the evenings....not sure where the night will take us
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