Temper temper

 So I came across this article and felt compelled to share it.

"A student at NYU's Stern School of Business sent a complaint email to a hard-headed professor about his class's lateness policy. The professor emailed back, eviscerated the student David Mamet-style, and now it's gone viral. Welcome to internet immorality."

Personally, I believe this student felt self-entitled:

Sent: Tuesday, February 9, 2010 7:15:11 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific

Subject: Brand Strategy Feedback

Prof. Galloway,

I would like to discuss a matter with you that bothered me. Yesterday evening I entered your 6pm Brand Strategy class approximately 1 hour late. As I entered the room, you quickly dismissed me, saying that I would need to leave and come back to the next class. After speaking with several students who are taking your class, they explained that you have a policy stating that students who arrive more than 15 minutes late will not be admitted to class.

As of yesterday evening, I was interested in three different Monday night classes that all occurred simultaneously. In order to decide which class to select, my plan for the evening was to sample all three and see which one I like most. Since I had never taken your class, I was unaware of your class policy. I was disappointed that you dismissed me from class considering (1) there is no way I could have been aware of your policy and (2) considering that it was the first day of evening classes and I arrived 1 hour late (not a few minutes), it was more probable that my tardiness was due to my desire to sample different classes rather than sheer complacency.

I have already registered for another class but I just wanted to be open and provide my opinion on the matter.

Regards,

xxxx

—

xxxx
MBA 2010 Candidate
NYU Stern School of Business
xxxx.nyu.edu
xxx-xxx-xxxx

The Reply:

—— Forwarded Message ——-

From: scott@stern.nyu.edu

To: "xxxx"

Sent: Tuesday, February 9, 2010 9:34:02 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific

Subject: Re: Brand Strategy Feedback

xxxx:

Thanks for the feedback. I, too, would like to offer some feedback.

Just so I've got this straight...you started in one class, left 15-20 minutes into it (stood up, walked out mid-lecture), went to another class (walked in 20 minutes late), left that class (again, presumably, in the middle of the lecture), and then came to my class. At that point (walking in an hour late) I asked you to come to the next class which "bothered" you.

Correct?

You state that, having not taken my class, it would be impossible to know our policy of not allowing people to walk in an hour late. Most risk analysis offers that in the face of substantial uncertainty, you opt for the more conservative path or hedge your bet (e.g., do not show up an hour late until you know the professor has an explicit policy for tolerating disrespectful behavior, check with the TA before class, etc.). I hope the lottery winner that is your recently crowned Monday evening Professor is teaching Judgement and Decision Making or Critical Thinking.

In addition, your logic effectively means you cannot be held accountable for any code of conduct before taking a class. For the record, we also have no stated policy against bursting into show tunes in the middle of class, urinating on desks or taking that revolutionary hair removal system for a spin. However, xxxx, there is a baseline level of decorum (i.e., manners) that we expect of grown men and women who the admissions department have deemed tomorrow's business leaders.

xxxx, let me be more serious for a moment. I do not know you, will not know you and have no real affinity or animosity for you. You are an anonymous student who is now regretting the send button on his laptop. It's with this context I hope you register pause...REAL pause xxxx and take to heart what I am about to tell you:

xxxx, get your shit together.

Getting a good job, working long hours, keeping your skills relevant, navigating the politics of an organization, finding a live/work balance...these are all really hard, xxxx. In contrast, respecting institutions, having manners, demonstrating a level of humility...these are all (relatively) easy. Get the easy stuff right xxxx. In and of themselves they will not make you successful. However, not possessing them will hold you back and you will not achieve your potential which, by virtue of you being admitted to Stern, you must have in spades. It's not too late xxxx.

Again, thanks for the feedback.

Professor Galloway

The Rulers have made contact

The rulers of The Kingdom of Work have looked down upon me and decided to maybe possibly have me do some stuff for them. Remember that interview I went on earlier this week? Well, the ruler of that Kingdom called today and wants me to go in tomorrow to chat about a freelance project.

I like this idea. It gives them a chance to check me out, and me a chance to see if I would like to join this Kingdom. And it means baskets of green stuff.

We like that green stuff. It helps keep the lights and heat on.

Um, sorry, what?

Advertising here in the U.S. is very different to what they do down in South Africa. In deepest, darkest Africa, they still create beautifully originally print ads, and masterfully-directed TV commercials, and radio commercials that make you giggle like a 9-year old girl. But here in the U.S., it's all gone digital. You can't have a media plan if it doesn't include some (or mostly) digital stuff.

And today I will be interviewing for a Web Copywriter position.

So my interview is for someone who can do fun digital stuff. They need to be able to have knowledge of IA, UX and the role of information architect. Know I'm by no means a pro, BUT I do know that UX is some fancy way of talking about "use experience" - it's got something to do with the design of a website and how easy (or difficult) it is for a guy like me to use. As for IA and the whole information architect thing, I'm clueless.

The other requirements are a passion for social media (does spending hours a day on Facebook count??), search engine marketing, and PR 2.0. Crikey. Are they actually looking for someone who can write copy? Or maybe Bill Gates himself?

Time to hop online and look up other equally confusing terms so I sound like I know what I'm talking about at my interview.

On the upside, they offer 100% health insurance, 100% dental, a nice pension plan, and if I get the job I'd get to work "in a cool office space" which overlooks a river.

That whole IA (I think that stands for information architect) and UX thing still confuses me. My good friend Wiki explains it as: "Information architecture (IA) is the art of expressing a model or concept of information used in activities that require explicit details of complex systems. Among these activities are library systems, Content Management Systems, web development, user interactions, database development, programming, technical writing, enterprise architecture, and critical system software design. Information architecture has somewhat different meanings in these different branches of IS or IT architecture. Most definitions have common qualities: a structural design of shared environments, methods of organizing and labeling websites, intranets, and online communities, and ways of bringing the principles of design and architecture to the digital landscape." Um, ok then.


Hell, I was a journalism major in college. What is all this stuff about? Will I get to write a nifty headline for a print ad?? THAT I can do.

Did you hear the one about ....

This year the Winter Olympics are being held in Canada because, well, Canada has lots of snow in the winter. Or so one would think. They Games started a little over a week ago but there was a big little problem. There wasn't enough snow in Vancouver. That's like saying there isn't enough sand in the Middle East, or enough lions in Africa!

So they had to haul some of the white stuff from the north of the province down to Vancouver for the Games.

Not enough snow in Canada. In the winter. Go figure.

I'm thinking about going to Architecture school. No, seriously, I am!

Way back when I was but a wee lad in high school, I decided I wanted to be an architect. I went to my art teacher and asked her, "Miss Hassan, if I want to be an architect, should I take Technical Drawing or Art?" Silly question to ask an Art teacher because we all know what her answer was. But she also added that technical drawing would be taught in Architecture school. Whereas art history included lots and lots of fun and interesting architectural studies. She was right.

But I never ended up going to Architecture school because I later learned that one has to be a mathematical and science-type genuis. I got the Art pat down, but the Maths and Physics part, not so much.

Recently I have learned that I can in fact go to Architecture school. Sure, I will need to take a calculus and a physics course, but most of the program would focus on design and the whole GREEN thing that seems to be sweeping the planet.

I like this idea. I can scrape by with a pass in both calculus and physics. Especially if it means I might be able to go to Architecture school. Just think, it's a 3.5 year graduate course, I'm 35 now, so if I started next year I'd be almost 40 when I graduated.

Sure, that's kinda old but hell, Frank Lloyd Wright only started getting his best commissions when he was in his 60s (I think - my friend Wikipedia couldn't help me on this but I'm sure I remember the age from a tour I took of Fallingwater).

Happy Valentine's Day?

Being an inherently curious little monkey, I decided to explore the origins of this lovely little holiday. Only what I discovered was not so lovely. There are three stories floating around as to how Valentine's Day came to be.

While the history of Valentine's Day itself is often debated (and I'm guessing its origins are debated after people grow bored of debating other issues like, oh I don't know, global hunger and war), it clearly links back to a Catholic saint named St. Valentine. But they say that the problem is there were actually three St. Valentine's -- one a priest, one a bishop, and little is known about the third. All were martyrs. It's always about death and martyrdom, isn't it? Fortunately, back in 469 A.D., when there were no TVs or cell phones, Pope Gelasius declared Feb. 14 a day to honor St. Valentine, one of these three men.

The first story tells of a Roman emperor who banned soldiers from marrying in the third century, but St. Valentine took issue with this. Good for him, a Saint who believed in a worthy cause. He became an advocate for soldiers and was executed as a result of his outspokenness. Hardly a tale of love, but still romantic in some twisted way.

The second says St. Valentine was executed for his beliefs in Christianity and just before he died, he left a farewell note for a loved one and signed it "From Your Valentine." Now that's more like it. Not the the execution part but the love note part. Now I can almost see where the custom of sending out cards and love notes comes from.

And the third and final belief about the holiday itself is that Valentine's Day grew out of a Middle Ages tradition of celebrating Feb. 14 as the day "the birds began to pair." No death. No massacres. No executions. I think I like this one of all three the best.

So folks, there you have it. Pick your version of the story, and stick to it.

Crikey, and there's more on the way.

This past weekend we had the mother of all snow storms. Some say we had about 3 foot of snow. In less than 12 hours. Yes, it's pretty but it's also a pain in the butt! People's cars were totally covered and it took a while for the roads to be cleared.

And the fun part is we're expecting about eight more inches this evening. Woohoo!

Pittsburgh has come to a stand-still

Yup, the whole city has come to a stand-still. Last night we received 24 inches of snow. In one night. It just fell. BAM! Just like that. Cars are covered, sidewalks are unwalkable, it's chaos out there.

So this morning I trotted downstairs to my building's entrance because I had to carry my skinny carcass to work. And this is the scene that greeted me. I couldn't even get the door open. And those big blocks of white ... are snow-covered cars!

I went onto the Port Authotity website to see if I could hop on a bus to get to work. It seems even they aren't running. This was the message on their website:

Bus service remains shut down Saturday morning due to weather. Only one EBA is running on the East Busway between Swissvale and Penn Station - but not beyond the end of the busway into Downtown. UPDATED 12:30 PM AM, SATURDAY

Port Authority has shut down all T service until weather conditions improve. UPDATED 12:30 PM, SATURDAY


Customer Service phone lines are not available today due to weather-related issues. We apologize for any inconvenience.


The Mon Incline is out of service due to weather conditions. UPDATED 12:30 PM, SATURDAY.


Oh dear, what now?!

Oops!

Pulling up your fly too quickly after taking a tinkle is a painful "oops". Locking your keys in your car is a silly "oops". Screwing up an order at a restaurant is also an "oops". But putting someone else's name one on an employment cover letter is tantamount to calling out someone else's name in bed. Major oops!

And that's precisely the oops I made this week. I sent off another letter to a different architectural firm in Pittsburgh. I did my best to make a good impression. I used recycled silk paper, chose a good typeface, the whole shabang. But when you put the person's name, title and company address at the top left of the page and then type, "Dear wrong name," that's not good.

Luckily, the guy I sent it to had a sense of humor and emailed me a scanned version of my mistake and said maybe I'd like to take a look at this.

I quickly replied and told him that in my haste to make a good first impression, I had made a major oops. He replied to say we're all human and that if I was interested in doing some freelance for his firm, then we should talk.

Wow, talk about lucky. Lesson learned. Write it once. Check it twice.

Check please!

If you take a closer look at this pic, you'll notice that the lovely, volumputous lady is sweating. I doubt she was sweating because she had just eaten a hot curry - because this is an Italian restaurant, not an Indian curry house - but rather she had just received her bill for dinner.

Tonight I went out to Lucca's Ristorante in Oakland - the academic neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Now Lucca's is a nice little place. A little pretentious, a little swanky, and a little big on their prices.

Take for example my Altantic Salmon dish:

Salmon. Rice. Grapes. And almonds. For $27. It wasn't the bone in the salmon I was choking over. And it wasn't that phenomenal either. No, this is a not a food review, but I have a question: Since when did going out to eat cost an arm, a leg, and the GDP of a small Italian village?

All moaning and groaning aside, the ristorante was nice. Quaint. That's why I took pics, because I doubt I'll be going back to see it again.

2.3 kids and a white picket fence

This delightful photo was snapped almost 30 years ago. That's right, three decades ago. There's my Dad, my Mom, my younger sister and myself. I was five when this photo was taken and so much has happened in the past 30 years.

My parents divorced about six years later, my Mom remarried, had another kid, got divorced, again, was then involved in a 6-year relationship that produced my younger half-brother. Most recently, my Mom had a battle with breast cancer. Thankfully, she won.

My Dad, well, my Dad is a different kind. He never remarried and continued to work every single day. Occasionally, he found time for a round of golf.

My sister grew up, became rebellious, grew out of that, married, and now has 2.3 kids of her own. Her white picket fence is a 6-foot high concrete wall with barbed wire. But they have a swimming pool, which is nice.

Me, well, I grew up - sort of - moved to the Middle East, emigrated to the United States, went to college, moved around the U.S., and am now plonked down in Pittsburgh, ready to settle down and put down some roots.

In these past 30 years, we have seen many advances and changes. We now have flatscreen TVs, microwave dinners, cell phones, the internet, global leaders have risen and fallen, terrorist attacks have increased and various epidemics of AIDS, N1H1, Bird Flu and all sorts of wonderful things have plagued the earth.

Life growing up as a kid in the 'good ol' days' was wonderful. Your biggest concern was whether or not your parents would let you stay up past 9pm to watch the next episode of "V". You were good the whole week so you could use that as ammunition when you launched your pleading campaign with all sorts of nonsensical reasons why they should let you stay up and watch it. But if they said, "No.", then that was that. No amount of pleading would change their minds.

Or you beg and plead with your Dad to drive faster on the way from Friday night shopping at Pick 'N Pay so you'd be in time to watch MacGyver.

We were still young enough to find it gross when couples kissed on TV.

Those were the days when my Mom wore her hair flipped back, when my Dad drove a Triumph, and we were content to watch a black and white tube TV.

Where have the past three decades gone?