Adventures in Telecommuting - Week 1

Last Monday was my first day at TFA, and it's been a pretty busy week: all kinds of trainings, visiting the SF office for an afternoon, getting my computer and internet phone set up, making my own lunch. A couple things that have struck me about working from home as a permanent arrangement:

* I haven't yet gone all Emily Dickinson on everyone (although it's only been a week)... I think my 9 months of living alone in Tucson have prepared me well for not talking for long stretches of time.

* There are TONS of stay-at-home moms and round-the-clock landscaping activity at our complex. The landscapers and most of the moms are very friendly; the UPS guy, however, does not say hi back.

* I need to figure out how to translate my in-person personality into my phone personality. I nod a lot when I'm talking to people; it's my way of showing them I'm listening and following along. Can't nod over the phone. Makes me nervous.

* I've been eating waaaaay too much kaju barfi. :-(

A conversation with Eli

It's been a long, long time since the blogosphere has heard from Eli. While he's always been a rather private man who shuns the glare of the public eye, rumors have been circulating as to his whereabouts, ranging from the mundane (doesn't like to blog) to the fanciful (running off with Falkor in search of the Southern Oracle). But we caught up with the reclusive financial associate in his suburban home, where he granted us an exclusive interview. Sheena reports.

S: So tell me... what exactly have you been up to?

E: Studying for the CFA exam.

S: How's that working out for you?

E: It's working out okay so far. I've budgeted my time well and just need to make it through the final week and a half.

S: Any big plans for after you're done?

E: Exercising and watching television.

And there you have it. Tune in next time when we catch up with yet another errant blogger -- IS there a new Thurgood Jenkins in town? Don't touch that dial...

Reply hazy, try again

It has been a secret goal of mine for oh, the past twenty minutes, to win the New Yorker caption contest at some point in my life. I don't think it's going to happen unless I take up golf and stop changing the channel on NPR's weekend offerings, but here's hoping.

Posh Nosh on YouTube

Posh Nosh is a fake cooking show from the BBC, hosted by the Honorable Simon and Minty Marchmont. It's hilarious and I was really excited to find it on YouTube.

Episode 1


Bon appetit!

Cell phone bed

From Geekologie:







The concept is totally ridiculous, but I love the image of a cell phone walking around in pink slippers.

Stream of consciousness

- Back on another fitness kick, although my prediction is that Ben & Jerry's Cinnamon Buns ice cream will be the death of me

- The thing I am most allergic to, according to my allergy test: dust mites. And in the process of detoxifying my bedroom and closet, I found a horrifying, unspeakable centipede

- Tonight is my penultimate evening meeting with my offshore development team, and therefore the penultimate time I will have to miss the first half of Heroes, second best show ever

- I've only read two books in the past three months, unless you count cookbooks (I've probably read about four of those), and I feel like a bit of a slacker, especially since Eli continues to study for CFA Level II with serene, monk-like devotion

- I stopped running the air conditioning in my car, opting to open up all the windows instead and deal with the heat... got really awesome gas mileage

- Found an Ambiance outlet in Noe Valley... oh dear.

On quitting

Ronni's most recent post got me thinking... I'm not very disciplined in keeping up with most of my online pursuits.

Witness Yelp, where I wrote 13 reviews, added a few random friends to my list, and... pretty much fizzled out. Or what about last.fm, which made me feel like I was being thrown under the hipster bus every time I hit Play? I had a decent run with goodreads and enjoyed seeing what books my friends had recently read and enjoyed, but I really don't read enough anymore to make frequent updates...

Netvibes is about the only thing I use religiously to organize my feeds and stay on top of my gossip, foodie news (Tastespotting was a great recent find), and friends' blogs when there are updates. :)

And speaking of quitters...

* Snoop Dogg looks uncommonly sober at the Warriors game tonight. Seriously, I don't think I've seen his irises since 1995. Good for him!

* I'm leaving my current job on May 18 and joining Teach for America on May 21. I've never quit a job before--usually it's just time to pack up and go back to school--and I've found it to be awkward, delicate, and sad on a lot of counts. But I'm really excited to start my new job and explore some new possibilities.