I woke up early to get ready for the MBA interviews. I got dressed in my new blue Burberry polo shirt and khakis and some okay shoes. My stomach wasn't feeling good, so I eschewed the granola and yogurt I normally have for breakfast. My slight nausea wasn't from nerves, because I'm never nervous when it's game time--only in the in-between time leading up to the game. I hopped in the car and buzzed into Seattle.
Traffic was surprisingly heavy for quarter after seven on a Saturday morning, but I still arrived in the U-District half an hour early, so I decided to explore Wedgewood. I listened to Jay-Z and Danger Mouse's Grey Album the whole way over--particularly "Dirt Off Your Shoulder"--and found that to be satisfyingly ironic given my whiteness and the fact that I was driving to an MBA interview. I finally rolled in ten minutes early and struck up a conversation as I was walking in. As I struck up a conversation with a complete stranger, something I generally deplore, I knew I was going to be okay. Despite what most people here might think, I have charm to spare when I want to. Sometimes, like today, I couldn't not have charm it I wanted to.
While milling around and meeting people, I heard several people murmur about my polo, and I smiled that in that sea of bad suits, I was the one people talked about. By my quick straw poll, I was the tallest person there and the second most casually dressed--behind the brotha in a Budweiser cap.
After the welcome speech, I went to my assigned room and did my evaluation exercises. Not to jinx myself, but I think I did well. In a five minute introduction speech, I had everyone laughing and following me raptly. During the case discussion and consensus exercises, people naturally deferred to me and followed my lead. I was on.
The only sadness was a paucity of sexy business women. Can't have everything, can you?
After that, I visited the Wedgewood Broiler, on recommendation, and I discovered what I'm sure will become one of my favorite restaurants. It was one of those places that you can imagine your grandparents going to, a place that's retro because that's the way it's looked since the fifties. They served me a good, honest American meat-n-pototes lunch, and the waitress called me "hon" without the faintest trace of irony. It was great.
They I saw An Inconvenient Truth at Pacific Place. If you have the time, I can't recommend this movie enough. It was a documentary that kept me attentive for over an hour and a half, and I think it might be the call to arms my generation has been waiting for.
I had a bit of a race with a canary yellow GTI while coming through Bellevue in heavy traffic, but after seeing the movie, driving the race car didn't seem so cool any longer. I did something sort of revolutionary for me then: I stopped at the Honda dealership and sized up a Civic Hybrid. I'm not going to trade tomorrow, but I think looking at getting a car with better fuel efficiency is a good idea.
After that, I stopped at my favorite sushi place, and the chef produced something I can never get enough of: toro. "Toro nigiri," I said. I chatted with the sushi chef and the owner while I relished the treat they'd given me. Then I had some miso and went home.
At home, I polished off some Olympic Mountain Creamery Madagascar Vanilla Bean ice cream and watched Les Rendez-vous de Paris. I also hatched the idea of compiling a DVD of all my favorite movie driving scenes. Seems like a good idea. Bullitt, The French Connection, the afore-mentioned Rendez-vous, and a few more, I'm sure will make the list.
But right now, I've got a comic book and Kenny Rogers is singing about a gambler, so I think it's time to know when to walk away.
Tomorrow, I think I may do some mini-golf.
Traffic was surprisingly heavy for quarter after seven on a Saturday morning, but I still arrived in the U-District half an hour early, so I decided to explore Wedgewood. I listened to Jay-Z and Danger Mouse's Grey Album the whole way over--particularly "Dirt Off Your Shoulder"--and found that to be satisfyingly ironic given my whiteness and the fact that I was driving to an MBA interview. I finally rolled in ten minutes early and struck up a conversation as I was walking in. As I struck up a conversation with a complete stranger, something I generally deplore, I knew I was going to be okay. Despite what most people here might think, I have charm to spare when I want to. Sometimes, like today, I couldn't not have charm it I wanted to.
While milling around and meeting people, I heard several people murmur about my polo, and I smiled that in that sea of bad suits, I was the one people talked about. By my quick straw poll, I was the tallest person there and the second most casually dressed--behind the brotha in a Budweiser cap.
After the welcome speech, I went to my assigned room and did my evaluation exercises. Not to jinx myself, but I think I did well. In a five minute introduction speech, I had everyone laughing and following me raptly. During the case discussion and consensus exercises, people naturally deferred to me and followed my lead. I was on.
The only sadness was a paucity of sexy business women. Can't have everything, can you?
After that, I visited the Wedgewood Broiler, on recommendation, and I discovered what I'm sure will become one of my favorite restaurants. It was one of those places that you can imagine your grandparents going to, a place that's retro because that's the way it's looked since the fifties. They served me a good, honest American meat-n-pototes lunch, and the waitress called me "hon" without the faintest trace of irony. It was great.
They I saw An Inconvenient Truth at Pacific Place. If you have the time, I can't recommend this movie enough. It was a documentary that kept me attentive for over an hour and a half, and I think it might be the call to arms my generation has been waiting for.
I had a bit of a race with a canary yellow GTI while coming through Bellevue in heavy traffic, but after seeing the movie, driving the race car didn't seem so cool any longer. I did something sort of revolutionary for me then: I stopped at the Honda dealership and sized up a Civic Hybrid. I'm not going to trade tomorrow, but I think looking at getting a car with better fuel efficiency is a good idea.
After that, I stopped at my favorite sushi place, and the chef produced something I can never get enough of: toro. "Toro nigiri," I said. I chatted with the sushi chef and the owner while I relished the treat they'd given me. Then I had some miso and went home.
At home, I polished off some Olympic Mountain Creamery Madagascar Vanilla Bean ice cream and watched Les Rendez-vous de Paris. I also hatched the idea of compiling a DVD of all my favorite movie driving scenes. Seems like a good idea. Bullitt, The French Connection, the afore-mentioned Rendez-vous, and a few more, I'm sure will make the list.
But right now, I've got a comic book and Kenny Rogers is singing about a gambler, so I think it's time to know when to walk away.
Tomorrow, I think I may do some mini-golf.
Did you really go see a movie by Al Gore?