Thanks to those of you who have written asking where I have been. All is well in this neck of the urban San Francisco jungle. Just busy as all get out. Seriously, I haven't had this much on my plate in years. So a quick update post to let you all know I still have a pulse.
First and foremost, I went skiing yesterday at Squaw. Living in seasonless Northern California I don't feel the traditional build up to the ski season that begins with smelling fall leaves, heightens with the first few flakes, and approaches frenzy with the arrival of free new ski gear. Instead, I find myself in the heart of surf season and suddenly realizing the lifts are open up in Tahoe. A three hour drive later and I am on the Gondola at Squaw. Surreal transition. So, there I was yesterday ripping turns, popping jumps, and deep carving on November 13th.
Speaking of surfing, I guess I haven't mentioned here that I got really into surfing this summer. My colleague Minnie's dad took me out for a day of hydro-abuse on a Santa Monica beach in June. Not sure what I found so particularly appealing about packing the Pacific into my sinuses that day, but I was hooked. Two weeks later, Min and I went out and bought our own boards, and we have been surfing at least four days a week now ever since. We mostly hit Linda Mar beach in Pacifica before work. Serena got a board for her birthday and she is into it now too. All told, surf culture is not unlike ski culture , I am finding. Thus, I am feeling right at home on the water and I feel like my gills are drying out if I miss a couple of days in a row.
On another note, I was supposed to be seeing some of you in Europe this next week, but as you likely heard, my trip was cancelled. Due to the upcoming vote on Barroso's cabinet, scheduled for this week, the Dutch Prime Minister called off the conference I was to attend. Though the was the core purpose for my trip, my itinerary had me tearing through Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, London, and Dublin without a lot more to do than visit our local offices for important strategic, umm, nights on the town.
That said, never one to sit still, it looks like this week will take me to Seattle and Portland. Thus, I will keep the streak alive of not having to have visited a 'red' state since the election. Drop me a line if we should get together while I am in town.
By the way, it looks like I will be speaking to a big group of business school students, faculty, and alumni, at the University of San Francisco on November 30th. Trying to scratch out some notes now. Working title: "Two to the third ways by which to ensure a climate of creativity, innovation, and kick ass results without making any forward looking statements."