Interesting Innovation

3.31.2010

I saw this article on Fast Company's website about a new innovation in the coffee shop world.



Pretty interesting.

I think the stuff that will hold it back will be that companies will be reluctant to give up their brand image being so clear. As much as Starbucks likes you to save the environment by bringing your own mug in to use, there is limited to no brand value in hoarding of people parading around with travel mugs.


Personally, the minute I see someone with a distinguishable Starbucks cup or Dunkin Donuts, I'm craving coffee. (Sorry Pete's Coffee... its just not the same with you). Companies use the additional coffee sleeves for advertising dollars and delivering messages to their customers.

 I'm sure that the innovator behind this product can come up with a way to meet the needs of the environment, cost savings, and merchants with a little more money in the R&D budget.

The World is all a Twitter

I find the concept of Twitter to be a bit confusing at times to be honest.

I joined Twitter originally last Spring (2009) and was so freaked out by my lack of control over the information flow that I quit. I like to manage my digital identity and I felt like I couldn't get a grip on what I needed to do to feel comfortable with Twitter.

This Winter (2010), I decided that I was ready to give it another go. So that's what I'm doing. I've realized you don't have to post things you don't want to - I know shocking right? I don't need to include my social activities or whereabouts. I don't need to include my latest friendship revival. None of those shenanigans that Kim Kardashian or Sam Ronson seem to be up to these days.

So, I post links and sometimes make connections with those silly @ and # signs. I'm constantly mystified by this weird language that pops up when I refresh my twitter feed. Last week, I tweeted to a popular Boston twitter-er (is that a word?) a link to a local sushi place. I got 100+ hits on my website that day. The power of Twitter is pretty crazy ... which brings me to my actual point.

Today I elected to "follow" the Boston Police. Not that I was ever really reckless, but I guess this is a testament to getting older. I never would have followed a police department in my younger years. I was pretty intrigued by the stuff they had to say this morning.

In addition to the messages you see here, they also followed up with someone who lost a wallet. I've heard of Comcast writing to people on Twitter, but the Boston Police? Really? 

I was really surprised when I got this direct message from the Boston Police in my email last night. My first thought? What did I do? Did I post something? Did I leave something somewhere? Then I realized that despite my Twitter name BPD has no idea who I really am (or at least so I think). Upon reading the note, I was initially appreciative of the fact that they sent a thank you note for something so simple... and then perplexed by society when they indicated you shouldn't tweet emergencies.... you still need to call 911.

Really America? Who is "tweeting" emergencies instead of picking up the phone?

Small thoughts...

3.30.2010

I've blogged recently about my new found love of Greek Yogurt. I've also admitted that I have no preference and little to zero knowledge about how to buy yogurt. You'd think after stating this twice (if not more), I would have done some research. Nope.

Well today, I'm in Philadelphia and I stopped at a 7-11 on my way to my boyfriend's apartment. I like to have an afternoon snack and I didn't want to risk that in the middle of the current rainstorm I'd be forced to leave the comfort of my afternoon nap for yogurt. So, I just pick up 3 yogurts for the time that I'm here.

So far in my yogurt explorations, I've been minorly critical of a few brands - but haven't really developed any allegiances. This brand though - Oikos by Stonyfield Farms - is not on my shopping list anymore. Not only do I not like the taste as much as the others.... I find the packaging terribly annoying.

Let me elaborate.

This container looks normal - right? Yes, you are right. See, here I am with the container. Yes, I know the words are backwards... that's what happens when you use your webcam to take pictures.

My complaint is that ... Oikos decided to get fancy with their container... and they made some weird Greek letters - or some other pattern... on the rim of the container. This would be fine if you didn't like to leave your containers spotless like I do.

Because of this pattern, I feel like I left some precious little bits of tasty (moderately tasty), over-priced yogurt behind. This embellishment on the container clearly costs money to do, and I bet that nobody would care if it was missing.

I know I sound crazy. I know this is a bit ridiculous - but if they had asked me as a product tester what I thought about this, I would have told them their yogurt was fine and their container was annoying. Too many nooks and crannies.

(and now I sound like a granny...)

(I hope you noticed that I rhymed that last part)

Ponder this...

I'm sitting on the train right now and they have just passed out snack mix. I know for certain that that woman across from me does not like almonds or the little weird nutty cracker strips. I also know that she likes all the parts of the mix that I don't like. Thankfully, we both like the peanuts.

Imagine how much less snack mix would be wasted if instead of getting these mass snack mixs, we could pick what was in them. I know that this is totally inefficient and more expensive considering the low cost of snack mix .... but still.

Here is my snack mix after I picked it clean of all my favorites:

Everybody needs goals

I have a significant soft spot for statistics.

Wait, let me be clear. I have a soft spot for reading and reporting statistics - not the statistics that tormented me my sophomore year of college.

So, when you have access to the code of a website you can get install Google Analytics code on the website to see info on the traffic coming to your website. I have become moderately addicted to checking the stats on my website (hopelesslytechie.com).

As I've been blogging more, its been exciting to see visitors pop up in different states and to see the patterns of returning users. (Don't worry, I can't see who specifically returns or when... just the frequency of traffic). The picture below shows the states that visited the site (the darker color signifies increased traffic)



So my goal is to have a visitor from each state by September 1st - with the hopes of having more than that of course. It'd be great to have some international traffic too ... but perhaps my interest in videotaping broken elevators, dogs, and talking about my afternoon snack only interests Americans. There's also the potential that not even Americans find me entertaining ... and all of this traffic is a fluke :)

... and then my friend came to visit

Yesterday I was lucky enough to have a special visitor at my apartment for a few hours. My friend's Dave and Lara have this incredible dog named Dwight. He was an awesome dog when I first met him more than a year ago, and an even better dog now that he has only 3 legs.

For no really good reason, Dave let me play with Dwight for a few hours yesterday and it was awesome. The day was super rainy and gross. I was having a really hard time motivating to do anything that I should be doing (laundry, cleaning, reading, etc).  I can't say that I got much done yesterday even with the renewed energy from playing with a puppy ... but it was definitely a worthwhile day.

Here's some flip video I shot when Dwight was visiting. It's embarrassing how much video we took ... as a result you can consider this 1 minute and 50 second video short :)

Lost Kitty :(

3.27.2010

I'm sure you'll tired at some point of me talking about my building and the daily events.

But I probably wouldn't stop, even if you told me.

Yesterday there was a lost cat in my building and I was so taken aback by its presence that I went and got my flipcam so I could capture the moment. Shocked I know?



Building maintenance did nothing about it  - surprise again! But when I got home from dinner, the cat was gone. The optimistic side of me wants to believe that it was with its rightful owner. I'm sure it was.

What really?

3.26.2010

This girl makes me feel like an underachiever.



I need to work on learning to balance 15 books on my head, solving a Rubik's Cube, and reciting the pi bizness.

Don't worry. I'll continue to post videos of home fix-it projects, lost cats, and broken elevators...

My afternoon snack

In the past few months, I've become a fan Greek yogurt. I love it. I'm a novice - so I'll eat just about any kind ... but its fabulous. The other day I saw this delicious recipe in Women's Health mag for a yogurt parfait. I can't find the recipe online ... otherwise I'd share the link.

Unless you are my aunt (who hates fruits / vegetables), you can't tell me that this doesn't look good.
Essentially, it is:
  • one serving of plain Greek yogurt (I buy them by the individual servings)
  • 1/4 cup of diced orange
  • 1/3 - 1/2 cup of diced strawberry
  • a handful of walnuts
  • 1 tsp honey
I mixed the honey with the yogurt to give it a little kick. Dropped a dollop in the glass, and followed it  layers of the fruit/nut mixture and more yogurt. Then I drizzled more honey on top.... As you can tell by the next picture, I didn't enjoy it at all. Lies. I loved this and it was a filling and tasty snack.





Yum. I can't wait to use the rest of my orange tomorrow.

My lovely abode

3.25.2010

Some of you may be familiar with where I live... others not.

Well, I currently live in graduate housing - but essentially its just apartments that the apartment leases and then leases to me at a rate that can only be a loss for them. Whatever.

The building is an eclectic bunch and I feel like I've learned a lot about human nature since I've been here. It must be nice to be in a business where customer service / satisfaction has little to no impact on the profitability of your business. For example, once last year I did not have power for four hours while I waited for someone to come and open the fuse box ... no apology.

So it is not really a surprise to me when the elevator breaks on a weekly basis. This normally happens whenever its been a particularly active social evening in the building... so needless to say I'm surprised that on a Wednesday night the drunk people broke the elevator. Now, to be fair... I don't know that they were drunk this time, but I feel I've accumulated enough evidence in 18 months to say that.

So when the elevator breaks, the door just opens and closes repeatedly until a repair person comes. I happen to live directly behind the elevator on the 2nd floor. I can hear the elevator on a normal basis so when its broken and slamming open and shut... I hear it even more clearly. In the event you had a hard time visualizing what I am talking about.... here is a video:



I also have excellent things to say about fire alarm system and trash removal... feel free to hold your breath cause those blog posts are coming your way shortly.

Its embarassing ...

3.24.2010

... the amount of shows that I TiVo.

For a long time, I fought adding new shows to my weekly list. I kept it nice and simple. Don't add a new show until its been on tv for a year. I was scared of having my heart broken by canceled shows. The last time I loved a show that was canceled was in 2007 with Studio 60.

There are a few shows this year that I opened my heart to and I have not been let down. To be safe, I don't start watching them until mid-season. I consider that safer. Modern Family and Cougar Town are definitely on my fav list from this year...

In the spirit of full disclosure, here is the entirety of my Season Pass Manager (in no particular order).
  1. The Office
  2. 30 Rock
  3. House
  4. Heroes
  5. Two and a Half Men
  6. The New Adventures of Old Christine
  7. Grey's Anatomy
  8. My Boys
  9. Jon & Kate Plus 8
  10. The Big Bang Theory
  11. Friends
  12. The Rachel Zoe Project
  13. Top Chef
  14. So You Think You Can Dance
  15. Glee
  16. Community
  17. Parks and Recreation
  18. How I Met Your Mother
  19. Modern Family
  20. Kell on Earth
  21. Cougar Town
  22. The Ellen DeGeneres Show
  23. Pretty Wild
In the past when I've volunteered the contents of my TiVo, I've skrimpted on telling the whole truth... but since I'm not giving anything up for Lent this year I figure I might as well tell the truth about something... and I pick TiVo. You can tell its the truth, since I kept in "Jon & Kate plus 8"and "My Boys" which have both been canceled. In my defense, I liked JK8 in the earlier seasons when Kate was just a demanding, controlling housewife and not a publicity hog.

My life is hard

My life these days is pretty hard. I pull myself together a few days a week for class and then rest of the time I spend savoring every experience I can get out of my last few months of school.

Some of you may know that I've taken up morning tv as a hobby recently. I have little in common with the rest of the people that watch morning tv (Ellen, Regis & Kelly, etc). I know this because of the stuff they talk about. Sometimes the segments on the Today Show does are pretty ridiculous ... and it you find yourself with endless amounts of time I wouldn't ever waste any of it on Hoda & Kathie Lee - otherwise known as the 4th hour of the Today Show.

I even went so far as to become a fan of Ellen last night on Facebook.

I'd like to even admit that I will TiVo "Ellen" for when I can't watch it in the morning... in fact as I write this I'm watching Ellen torture people playing blindfolded musical chairs with weird character masks ... all in the name of a trip to Florida.

the POWER of the internet

3.22.2010

Its amazing how powerful the internet is... and isn't.

I should bring this up with the inventor.

Sometimes I feel like I need to know the answer to something and the answer is instantly in my hands. Case in point, the time that my brother and I debated about how fast a manatee swims. Answer.... 3-5 mph.

Other times... the internet is not helpful. I have two specific and recent examples.

ONE. I was trying to help my sister research masters programs related to art. Now, I clearly know .... NOTHING... about art. I couldn't be farther from the art world, but I wanted to help. There is no rankings systems for masters in "art" schools and its crazy. Doesn't everything need to have a list or rank associated to it?
Result: there is a reason why I am in business... and why Kerrianne is in art. She doesn't really need rankings because she just talks to people and gets their "professional opinion". I guess this is social networking...
TWO.  My brother broke his finger this weekend playing basketball ... or I guess playing basketball with himself. Quite cute. He's trying to improve his game. I'm sure he'll feel incredible over Easter break when he schools me with only 9 fingers (4 on his shooting hand, whatever that means) and a foot less of height ... nevermind the age difference.

Back to the point, so I get the idea that it'd be more efficient for him to play by himself if he had one of those "ball comes back to you things" that goes on the hoop. I had no idea what to search for with this... but I eventually got to the search terms "basketball return". Turns out the reviews for these products are pretty mixed or non-existent... and there aren't many products out there to pick from.

So this is my social networking... here are the 3 products I found with the help of Jeff Bezos. Any feedback or ideas on which ones are better than others?














Ok Internet... do your thing... bring me the answers!

50% off sushi.... yes please

Went to sushi tonight with my friends Dave and Lara.

There is a place literally less than a quarter mile from my apartment that has 50% off sushi and $2 sapporos. You may or may not know how much I love a good deal, Fuyami for sushi is a good deal.

The trick is that that the whole menu is not 50% off. For those that are contemplating a trip, I scanned in the rolls that are 50% off so you won't be surprised.

Fuyami 50% Off Menu

I had actually done takeout from this place last Friday with my friend Meghan and was pretty satisfied. We got 20% off for some reason. I'm actually a bit unclear why in fact. But when you reap the benefits of $2 Sapporo and 50% off your fav Tuna roll .... it's pretty awesome.



Other links:
Fuyami
Fuyami Yelp

I'm a sucker....

....for a gadget.

Like you make it... I'll probably be willing to try it... or I'll at least think about it.

Tonight, I was having dinner at my friend Meghan's - she made a super tasty lasagna. (Which by the way, when I need to type lasagna, I spell it out like this "LA- ZAG-NA" just like that in my head). Meghan popped open a bottle of wine... and I'm rarely one to refuse a glass of wine. Especially one that is surrounded by homemade hummus and olives. I love olives.

Regardless. I'm off track again.

So after pouring two glasses of wine, Meghan whips out this device and introduces it as "you'd like this". I'd always been thrown off by these wine gadgets because I perceived them to be one of the following: expensive, flimsy, or useless. Apparently, this little wonder fit none of my perceptions.















Perhaps I'll buy one for myself... although I'm sure that I'll never get much use out of it... I rarely can be found with a bottle of wine around :)

Can I borrow some paper?

3.21.2010

What type of world is it we live in that everything is so computerized that my little sister doesn't even have paper? Well she doesn't - and so she came by this afternoon to get some paper so she could study for midterms.

For those of you that don't know Kerrianne... she's a bit epic ... shall we say....

She's everything that I'm not - dark skinned, dark hair, dark eyes, artistic, etc. My friend Dave likes to read her Facebook page in part because she is a wee bit ridiculous ... and has a penchant for dressing in animal print material. Her birthday party theme may or may not have been "Predator v Prey".

Regardless, her computer died and she needed to get some paper so she could "study". The interaction between her and the Apple "Genius" Bar man sounded hilarious... so I suggested she write a blog post about it... alas she can't because she doesn't have a computer. So she whipped out some of her new paper (ahem, mine) and started writing.

KMF Blog Post

As promised....

3.19.2010

Here is the evidence and result of my home fix-it project.

May 26th, 2010

Nope, that’s not graduation day …. that would be two days earlier.

May 26th is the day that I’m moving out of my apartment and putting all of my life into storage.

…insert mini panic attack here…


I can’t believe that it will all be over so soon - and we’ll all be working on our next life adventures.
I almost didn’t write this as a blog post because I feel like the majority of my recent MBA community posts have been about school being over so soon. I think the reasoning for that is because its been such an incredible experience - and it will be sad to see the party come to an end.

I feel really lucky that I have some time to transition back to the “working world”. I will not be starting my new job until mid-September and that means that I have nearly the next five months off… woo woo.

I’ve used Mercury Movers (www.mercurymoving.com) every time that I have moved since I graduated from undergrad. Its almost as if I invite them along whenever I’m transitioning to something new whether it be a studio apartment, grad school, or the next adventure. They are a fabulous company (highly recommend them - and they aren’t even paying me to say so) and while it will be great to see them on my doorstep in May…. it’ll be a wee bit sad to say good bye to Brighton.

In the mean time, I’ll be trying to purge my life of all the stuff I’ve accumulated in this apartment and deciding whether or not I want to pay to move/store it…. especially all of those heavy coursepacks our professors so lovingly put together.

paper
(This picture is what 1.5 years of your MBA career looks like in paper- after a significant purge)

The Optimal Day

3.17.2010

You know how you hear people talk about their "optimal hair cut" day. Its the day that their new haircut looks "the best".

I think that today is "optimal flower" day.

I bought these tulips for myself on Sunday and although they get more beautiful each day.... I fear that today is optimal tulip day.

Note: I hope you enjoy the reflection of my hot pink gym shorts in the vase.

Thanks.... but really?

Over Christmas break, I went to Napa with some classmates and we checked out Round Pond winery.

It is gorgeous.


Next time you go to the Bay Area.... you should totally check it out. They have a patio that I have dreams of relaxing on again some day.

But to my point.... I bought some delicious Blood Orange Olive Oil from them and have been loving it.... until the cork/stopper combo broke. Round Pound came to the rescue by responding to my email within hours and letting me know they would send a replacement out right away.

So yesterday I get the package from them:

Don't worry folks.... I got the package and there was no way the replacement cork could get damaged because the box was about 50x bigger than the product. I'm guessing that they didn't have anything smaller, but really? You could have just put it in a padded envelope and tossed that sucker in the USPS instead of putting it in this big box and sending it UPS.

Whatever.

Here are the facts:
1) I have a new cork
2) I still love Round Pond
3) You don't want to hear anymore about product packaging

Ms. Fix-It

3.16.2010

I feel like we've all seen that episode of Seinfeld with the low flow shower heads. Right?

Well in the event you haven't.... here's a clip.



I myself have been experiencing less and less water pressure I feel with each passing month I live in this apartment. It became a lot more evident to me when I got home from spring break and didn't feel like I could wash my hair without the help of a firefighter's hose. Recently, I politely requested my management company check the water pressure.... they were not really interested in engaging in my issue.

So... I've decided to fix it myself. I know I am only going to be living here until May 26th - but that it just too long to go with this ridiculous problem. Thanks to Jeff Bezos, I can buy a shower head for $7.69. I am willing to fix my own problem for less than $10.
















Selling points of this showerhead? Its sub $10 and one of the reviews said: "This is by far the best shower head I have ever used. Installation...so easy a girl can do it!!"

I'm a handy person*, and so I think I should be able to do this myself. Also, don't worry I'll capture video of the flow with both shower heads so you can be the judge... and I'm sure I'll have pictures of the entire "Jen=Handyman" experience


*Don't judge me by the holes in my wall where I attempted to hang pictures in this miserable apartment. The walls are exceedingly hard - or at least that's what I tell myself.

Interesting...

3.15.2010

I was busy doing some research this morning for a case due this week (lies) ... and I saw this picture of Adam Sandler and his daughter on X17online.com.
Source: X17online.com
Don't get me wrong, all children are a blessing... but it quite literally looks like they photo-shopped Adam Sandler's face onto that little girl's body.

Just something to think about on a rainy Monday morning.

Link:
Adam Sandler article

Where did all of my pens go?

I've never really been short on pens before... usually the situation is that I can't find a pencil or a highlighter. Pens? Not a problem. You get them for free... everywhere.

Well, the tables have turned and last week I had nearly 0 pens. I say "nearly" because I couldn't find any in my bag, but I find it hard to believe that I had killed all of my pens (or lost them).

My friend Meghan has always been a vocal fan of the Uniball Vision Elite Micro pen. I'll never forget when she announced to the class that they had changed her life. (ok, i think this happened but I can't remember really... it was in the fall). So I tried her pen in class, and was pleased but I never pay for pens, so I wasn't about to start. Recently, I got an email from someone else proclaiming their love for the pens and asking for help finding them on sale online.
uni-ball Vision Elite Stick Micro Point Roller Ball Pen, Blue-Black, (69020)
This particular friend was also really specific about the difference in blue pens, black pens, and blue black pens. I had no idea.

Again, I didn't buy the pens for myself.

So flashforward to this past week, I have ZERO pens. I need pens. desperately.

I gave in.... bought myself some Vision Elite Micro on Amazon .... and got them last Thursday.

I love them. I'm a convert. Meghan was right these pens will change your life. Also, having tried the blue pens and the black pens.... I know see why you'd want blue black pens... they might just be the best combo ever.

So to sum up:
  1. I bought pens for the first time in potentially 5 years
  2. I now know why "blue black" is the best pen color
  3. Its been raining in Boston for 4 days.... and a water resistant pen has become nearly a necessity. As evidence, here is my shopping list that got drenched in the weather yesterday... and was still totally readable.

My favorite color

3.12.2010

You know when people ask you what your favorite color is, some people have an answer and others do not.

I don't think I really have a favorite color...

or at least I didn't... until I was hanging up some stuff in my closet today.

In my closet I found that I have 5 fleeces and 4 of them are blue.


I'm not going to attempt to rationalize why I need 5 fleeces ... because each of them all have their unique advantages and selling points. The lesson I did learn today is that I have a slight preference for the color blue.

Profile of a successful Hollywood Manager

This is most certainly someone that I would hire to be my cut-throat Hollywood manager.




Nice job Heidi Montag.

Your music career is about as successful as my dance career (which thankfully my parents never took video of any recitals), and I can't see how a healer will be better than your fame obsessed hubby.

I never thought I'd defend Spencer Pratt...

3.11.2010

Apparently, Heidi Montag has ditched her husband's managerial skills in favor of a psychic's.

Spencer is a pretty big fame monger - and I'm pretty sure that while we all think he's a waste of space, I'd rather have him as a manager than some dude who thinks he can see the future.


So to keep the list going, great decisions made by Heidi in 2010:
- ditched hubby as manager
- had 10 surgeries in one day
- continuing to film the Hills

Article link:
MSNBC article

Guess what came today in the mail?

3.10.2010

Yep, my delectable little treats from Amazon.

I love these little snackaroos ... and as you can see I didn't finish all of it.... before I took the picture to share. I totally dominated this as a post-class snack.

There must be some hanging chads....

.... cause I'm unclear why America voted for there to be a "computer engineer" Barbie.

There are a few other things that I'm unclear about:
1) who was the voting population
2) what were the other options
3) I haven't seen any computer engineers dressed like this

Since I like to be thorough, let's really break this outfit down. Now, we all know that I'm no fashion plate, but here goes nothing.

- Hot pink glasses
- Bluetooth Headset
- Multicolor blazer
- Hot pink computer
- sensible hot pink shoes
- cropped speckled black pants

Now, to be honest... I'm sure nobody would buy a barbie with any of the outfits I like to wear to work ... but really? I really hope that these girls don't think computer engineers actually wear outfits like this, cause they'll be sorely mistaken when they show up for the first day of work....

On a related note: I'd like an adult size of that tshirt Barbie is sporting.

Link:
Why Coder Barbie Is Good for Women in Tech

How I spent my sophomore year

3.09.2010

I spent a significant portion of my sophomore year watching Golden Girls. It also helped that it was on a whole lot - and that it was significantly more exciting than Intro to Philosophy with my grad student professor. He was "unique" and often seemed like he was half asleep - which I'd like to blame a raging social life but I think his personality was a reflection of all the beige he wore.

I wonder what that says about me... since I wear a lot of black stretchy pants and fleece.

Anyways....

A few weeks ago a campaign was started on Facebook to get Betty White on SNL. As of the current date, the group has 488,065 fans... and it was started on 12/30/2009. 

Having spent many years as a devote fan of Blanche, Rose, Dorothy, and Sophia .... I knew she was entertaining... but who knew this woman was funny? Not me.

I wonder who else we could get on SNL with a "mere" 500,000 fans.

Here's her acceptance speech for the Lifetime Achievement Award:

I'm a rebel

The definition of a mullet: business in the front, party in the back.

I often feel like my nail polish has been a bit of a reflection of my "mullet".

Ok, I know that's a bit of a stretch ... but check out my logic. Before business school, I worked at a Big 4 Accounting Firm - no real place for bright red nail polish. Don't get me wrong, I like pink.... but I pretty much wore it for 3 years except when I wasn't working. So that's the business side of things, now for the party... my toes.
Essie Nail Polish The Art of Spring - Pop Art PinkversusFlight 653 From Austin

Toes are hidden inside shoes - therefore, I can put whatever color my heart desires on them. No beige, no light pink... instead, bright, fun colors.

So, what does this all mean... well, I'm starting work in September and I've started to realize that I have approximately five months to wear whatever colors I want on my fingers. So today, I painted them this color bright red color.














Check out the evidence, but excuse the claw like shape of my hand:

Extreme advertising?

3.08.2010

I'm a fairly conservative person in many capacities - but I like to think I keep an open mind. Recently one of my friend's gave me one of those coupon books that you find in the lobby of apartment buildings - specifically one's that house undergrads .... Normally, they have discounts on burritos, tanning, and haircuts - no exaggeration.

So I was flipping through it today while I was not getting any of the papers due this week completed and I stumbled upon this one in particular.
 

I am really confused how this is appropriate. 
I checked out this place on Yelp and it only has 8 reviews of which they seem to either be 1 star or 5 stars. Sketch - just like their ad.



Almost Amazon.... almost

So, as you might remember I spent all of last week sitting on a beach in the Dominican Republic. As part of that super stressful and exhausting work week.... I read a lot of magazines, and they were not always educational.

So, after seeing countless pictures of Elin Nordegren sporting a Nike sweatshirt I realized it had everything I'd ever wanted in a sweatshirt. (Note, if you know me you also know that I'm moderately addicted to apparel that comes with an elastic waist or is made of comfy cotton) Soooo, I broke out my BlackBerry and used the Amazon Remembers app function to find the sweatshirt online.

I've used the "Remembers" function many a time to find anything from hand lotion to my favorite Kashi bars ... and for books of course too.















Essentially, I had never had Amazon make a mistake or take more than 3 minutes to "find my item" in their inventory. So, I sent Amazon a picture of Elin in the sweatshirt that I took with my blackberry from a magazine ... looking like this image...
... and what did Amazon send me but a link to a Joel Francis product (ahem... Girls Gone Wild) that had literally no correlation to what I had sent them. So close Jeff Bezos, yet not at all.

Don't worry, I did find the sweatshirt online since I've been home... we'll see if I make the purchase as a present to myself.

Guilty pleasures...

3.07.2010

I have many things in my life that bring my pleasure... but buying in bulk is one that never ceases to bring happiness. Once a semester when I am home with my parents, I go to Walmart and stock up. I live alone, theoretically, I could get by without buying toiletpaper in bulk... and yet, I do this too.

Thankfully, for the items that Walmart doesn't  allow me to buy in bulk... I can often get this high from Amazon. (Thank you Jeff Bezos).

A few weeks ago, I went to the Harvard Dynamic Women in Business conference. Don't forget the dynamic part... I think they take that word pretty seriously. Regardless... in the famed gift bag they gave us the Betty Crocker Warm Delights Minis... INCREDIBLE. I'm a little embarrassed to say how much I love them because clearly they are no good for you. What could be healthy about a cake that can be made in literally 15 seconds in a microwave? Nothing.



But, in my effort to eat better before going on Spring Break... I tried these skeptical 100 calorie desserts... and loved them. Thankfully, Amazon allows you to buy them in bulk... and subscribe to buy them on a regular basis... which means you get an additional 15% off.

Long story short.... I'll be having one of these tasty treats on Wednesday evening after I get out of class. Thank you Betty Crocker for bringing faux 15 second cake into my life and Jeff Bezos for letting me have it in bulk quantities and with two day delivery.
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