Slow Down for Slow Turtles

Beware for turtles crossing the streets and highways. I've seen 3 turtles crossing highways in one week! One didn't make it, and it wasn't me. The other two I took photos of, and my friends moved them out of harms way. I can only hope the turtles didn't go back into the roads.

This is a Lake of the Ozarks turtle. It had lots of pretty colors.

This turtle was crossing the highway. It was a big one too.

One day, the turtles will get their revenge.

Build-A-Bookcase

Today was the delivery day for my new bookcase. A friend graciously helped me design and build this oak bookcase. It took us exactly one and a half weeks to complete with three additional days for it to completely dry.

The first two photos show the shelves drying from the wood glue after we had cut the wood and installed the shelves.

This is after the back board and top and bottom of the bookcase were installed.

My friend did an amazing job of finding stain colors that matched my existing furniture. He even made a sample palette for me. We decided to go with the sample in the bottom right corner of the photo, which was one layer of ebony and one layer of bombay mohogany satin.

This is the bookcase going for a drive in the back of the pickup truck. I remember those days. Riding in the back of the truck is always fun. It even has a blanket and pillows! I'm so jealous.

Here it is... resting in its new home. The shelf looks black, but it's not (as you saw in the sample palette photo).... and yes, I do own books to put in the shelves.

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art

Contemporary art is more than just finger painting. I went to the Kemper Museum for the first time this weekend expecting to see circles and triangles on canvas, but I was surprised to see art work that was tangible for the amateur art critic like myself. I had the misconception that contemporary art was abstract art. In fact, it simply refers to art that has been currently produced.

Below is the Crying Giant. I like this one. My friend thought the giant was crying because his feet are swollen. I can understand that.

Below is a rendition of various views of the Grand Canyon. I wasn't as crazy about this one as the Crying Giant, but it was interesting.

The art exhibit that changed my view about contemporary art was Jennifer Steinkamp's video/audio exhibit. At first, I was not impressed. I walked into a near empty room with about 4 or 5 projectors on the floor. Each wall had psychedelic visualizations on them. I felt like I was walking inside a Windows Media Player visualization. As I walked out of that room, a lady working at the museum explained to me that the artist's intent is to have the audience play with their shadows. So, I went back and gave it a try. It made sense now! The next room was even better now that I know to manipulate my shadows. This room had walls of flowered vines. By watching my shadows, it looked like I was walking into and disappearing into a garden only to reappear on the other side of the foliage.

I only wished the museum was larger with more art work. However, the Kemper Museum complements the Nelson-Atkins Museum across the street very well. It also seems the Kemper Museum changes out art work more often than the Nelson-Atkins. I will definitely check on upcoming exhibits at the Kemper Musuem.

www.kemperart.org

Babies "R" Us, Not Me

I learned something today. Babies "R" Us is not as fun as Toys "R" Us. Not even close. My ten minute experience in the store was quite surreal. It's like in Texas Chainsaw Massacre when the car breaks down and the characters go into a town that just doesn't feel right. I didn't feel right in Babies "R" Us. It was a bit eerie to be surrounded by so many pregnant women and couples. I did take a moment to laugh. I thought about how single men go to Hobby Lobby Friday nights, single women go to Lowe's Friday nights, and it hit me that couples probably go to Babies "R" Us Friday nights.

I'm not anti-baby. I am very happy for those couples, and there's obviously a need for this store. I just realized how foreign all this is for me. How little I know about it, so I find it intimidating. I also realize that while a good portion of my twenty-something peers are getting married and popping out babies, I don't at all feel left out. I feel that I am far from being ready and happy where I'm at. I am on a different path as Robert Frost might tell me to take the Road Not Taken. So here I am, taking the road out of Babies "R" Us and heading straight to Lowe's.

To my dear friends who read this, please register to other stores (I recommend Target) when your time comes for a baby shower.

Marketing

Three articles, a group presentation, and a final paper later, I have finally completed my spring semester of Marketing. I have had a tough time maintaining focus throughout the eight weeks of this course. Now that it is over, I have lots of great things to say. Life can be great in retrospect.

Do you remember the excitement of the first and last day of classes? I am wrapped up in the last day excitement. I am proud of the work I put into the course and satisfied with the material I learned. However, my excitement is wrapped around a bigger thought, idea, and feeling. It is how impressed I am with a handful of my classmates. Everyday I hear people have meaningless conversations (i.e. radio shows) and see people who are rude (i.e. drivers). Unfortunately, this is what the general population hear and see on a daily basis. I am so fortunate to be exposed to people with innovative ideas and who are passionate about what they do. It is truly motivating. Only if people can show that side of themselves more often...

I was not impressed with my professor. She is my least favorite out of all the professors I have had in the M.B.A. program. I will, though, give her credit for selecting excellent resources. I already talked about The World is Flat in a previous entry. I find Faith Popcorn's Popcorn Trends as very accurate marketing concepts. My professor also did an excellent job of selecting cases to review in class.

The most beneficial assignments were the portfolio articles. The difficult portion of those papers is the marketing consultation. This required me to give suggestions on alternative marketing methods. This allowed me to think like a marketer.

My biggest take-away of this course are the concepts I have learned through reading The World is Flat and listening to lectures on Popcorn Trends.