the puck stops here.

I have a long history of rooting for top-ranked college hockey teams. The Middlebury Panthers were D-III National Champs from 1995-1999, coinciding with my four years of undergrad and first year of work in the Dean's Office. So I wasn't too surprised to learn that the Wolverines were ranked #1.

Until this weekend. We got our asses handed to us by Minnesota on Friday night. Then the second-ranked Wisconsin Badgers outlasted us 3-2 last night.

standing room doesn't suck.

Nevertheless, it's great to be in a hockey town again. And I'm not talking about San Jose.

on my ipod.

Walking to and from campus everyday means I get to spend a lot of quality time with my iPod shuffle. I probably already waxed poetic about the two bands I am absolutely hooked on right now. But it's worth doing again. Maybe I'm inspired because I'm going to see a Dinosaur Jr. reunion show Monday night.

Anyway, if you haven't heard the latest from Thrice and/or A Wilhelm Scream you are seriously missing out.

my life as a scalper.

Saturday was kind of a crummy day. At least until Paige (finally) showed up.

It all started very early on Saturday morning (around 2:30a EST) when I got a call from Paige that she was stuck in LAX. It seems that those jackasses at United only gave her a 45 minute layover from SFO. And when she missed her connection because of mechanical issues, they shrugged and put her up in a hotel.

What pisses me off is this: when I booked the tickets I remarked at how tight the turnaround was in LAX and asked them to route her directly to Chicago. They assured me it would be OK. Then United changed her itinerary a few weeks ago and cut down her layover by ten minutes. I called again and asked for a direct routing. No dice. And you wonder why this industry is pouring money into that blue hole in the tiny lavatory behind economy class.

Since Paige couldn't make it in time, she missed the Ohio State game. In hindsight, this was not such a bad thing. Michigan, in spite of only -855 yards rushing, managed to hold the lead with a few minutes to play. As 111,000+ held their breath, the UM defense showed it's true colors. I haven't seen that much Swiss cheese since I visited Milwaukee. Poulan Weed Eater Bowl, here we come!

The good news is that Paige is here now. And she's here all week. Too bad she can't take my Finance midterm for me.

excuses, excuses.

This is the week every Ross student hit the wall. Well, maybe not THE wall. But many walls...of varying shapes and sizes. The "I'm so frickin' busy" chorus rang out of every classroom, corridor, study group, and bathroom stall.

My excuses? Organizational Behavior midterm and group project. Two Finance problem sets. Memo for Brand Management. Mock interview with Clorox. Band practice in prep for our after midnight gig (tonight). Oh, and Paige is coming this weekend and my apartment is a disaster. (Sorry, sweetie.)

Today we had to bring a Ross "artifact" to Org Behavior. Lot's of M's, footballs, Bus wristbands, and caffeinated items. Maybe I should have snagged that bottle of Vivarin.

It couldn't get much worse, right? Wrong. It snowed today.

my calculator is backwards.

Some crazy person told me that Fall B would be more chill than Fall A. As you can tell by the (in)frequency of my blog posts, that was some serious false advertising. Maybe it's because I'm taking an elective in addition to my core courses. Maybe it's because that elective has a thousand-page course pack. Or maybe it's because my financial calculator requires me to forget every calculator I've had in the past. Or because my Organizational Behavior course is trying to frame everything I've taken for granted all these years.

Whatever it is, I'm busy. Right now, it's all about next Monday: Finance midterm.

the 1-up machine.

So I'm playing in a rock band here in Ann Arbor and we have our first gig next week. It's one of the things I really missed from Middlebury: the chance to get together with a small group of people and make a ton of noise. Our working title is "P-Hat and the Discount Rates" (a simultaneous nod to Stats and Finance). Dorky, I know. But I think it's funny.

Anyway, one of my band members sent me the following: a crazy japanese dude playing the Mario theme song.

My band in high school, Jivation, used to dabble with this a little bit. But holy crap! This guy even makes the "coin" noises.

i think i need a blanket.

This can't be good.


We were having such a beautiful fall until this past weekend. The a big windstorm knocked all the leaves off the trees. And now I won't see leaves in Ann Arbor until I return to campus next September. Sigh.

it's good to be a social engineer.

My first job after college was in Residential Planning at Middlebury College. A group of us were tasked with revolutionizing the residential experience on campus by implementing a controversial system that encouraged community among students, brought faculty closer to campus life, and introduced the concept of "learning beyond the classroom."

Nearly a decade (and $150M later), the Commons system appears to be a success. Middlebury students live in world-class facilities, interact on a daily basis with faculty outside the classroom, and connect with each other in ways not possible before. One of the ways that social programming has changed on campus can be seen here.

In a score for Brainerd Commons, a steady crowd of over 200 turned out last Friday night for a late October pool party, complete with more than $2,200 worth of inflatable tubes and rafts and a two-story high projection screen showing "Jaws." Telling students not to worry about "rapidly paling Vermont skin," the event planners shut down the Natatorium lighting and cranked up the pool's underwater lights.

Who knew that an idea that polarized the faculty, confused the alumni, and challenged the students would end up being a hallmark of what makes Middlebury, Middlebury? I can only hope to have future responsibilities as cutting-edge as this.

find it.

I love the new "find IT on eBay" campaign. What a great way for the company to push the brand forward and become a top-of-mind retailer for the holiday season. And they have a killer microsite to support the campaign. I'm particularly tickled by the Japanese version.

Enjoy. And go find it.