Why did the Tofurkey cross the road?

To prove it wasn't chicken !!!!

Speaking of chickens, some words of wisdom from my dear friend The Philosopher Chicken. (This is my new favorite funny website)

In honor of the thanksgiving holiday and given that I am a vegetarian, I thought it would be nice for me to comment on my lack of understanding around the "tofurkey". The concept is nice, but in principal the purpose is really stupid. Of course it depends on WHY you are a vegetarian. Some are drawn to vegetarianism for health reasons, an interest in preserving the world's natural resources, an opposition to eating animals, or perhaps religious/spiritual reasons. Regardless of the motivation, the basis behind it is not eating animal meat, so I asked a few questions to help me understand the rationale.

- Why do people have this urge to eat a FAKE turkey?
- If you want to eat something that looks, tastes, and feels like meat, why don't you just eat the real thing?
- Do you eat tofurkeys because because everyone else is eating turkey? (some desire to fit in?)

There must be vegetarians out there like myself that are vegetarian for a combination of the above stated reasons and because I simply don't enjoy it anymore. I used to eat lots of meat - steak, chicken, lamb, pork, fish etc... you name it, I ate it. At a very young age, I suffered a severe migraine headache after eating a steak. I took it as God's sign to me that I should no longer eat red meat, so I never ate steak, pork, or lamb again and I never craved it again. I still ate chicken, fish and turkey for a while, but by the time I was 16 it was not a significant portion of my diet. Next thing I knew, I wasn't eating it anymore and I didn't enjoy it.

Once in a while, I would revert to eating chicken or fish to taste something that was so well prepared and delicious OR to get more protein back into my diet. However, I still didnt enjoy it, so I just cut it out of my diet completely when I was in my early 20's. I don't remember the date/time because it wasn't like I woke up one morning and said, "I am going to be a complete vegetarian!" It was an eventuality for me.

So, when I see all these meat substitute products (not just the tofurkey), I cannot comprehend the need to eat something that looks, tastes, and feels like meat. I truly, honestly, and sincerely believe that if you want to eat something that looks, tastes, and feels like meat, you have not let go of the desire for it and you should just eat the real stuff.

Just eating a "tofurkey" because the world is eating turkey is not exactly rational train of thought. Do vegetarians show respect for Thanksgiving by eating a fake turkey? Somehow because we do not eat turkey are we inferior to those that do? No, I don't think so. Most vegetarians do not become so with the intent of being mainstream and there are several options for vegetarians to eat even at Thanksgiving if you put in the effort. We should not be embarassed by the fact that we do not eat meat and replace it with the fake stuff.

Anyway, I love turkeys and I love vegetarians, but can we please stop eating fake meat?

To wrap this up... thought it would be nice to share this Turkey begging for survival in this Thanksgiving Day e-card from American Greetings on Yahoo.

Shaving it Off

So it was a really long week this week and I must admit that I needed a drink by Friday morning. I had been talking to some guys from Manufacturing that I never really hung out with much before, but for some reason, we were seeing each other in more meetings. Their names are Gary and Ashley - yes, Ashley is a guy and we call him Ash. I was also getting to talk to both them more frequently in the hallway conversations. You know how you "know" people but don't really "know" them... so that's how it was. Ash and Gary are the two people you always associate with each other - kinda like twins.

Well, last week I was waiting for another meeting to start and I was talking to my old boss' admin, Alma. We were laughing and talking about work-related stuff and the Christmas luncheon that Alma was helping coordinate. Ash stopped by and we were having a great time just talking - starting talking about having more fun at the company cuz we are so burnt out... "We need to have a happy hour"; hahahahahaa, yeah... we should. Of course, none of us were very serious about it but I guess Ash got pretty stressed out and pressured Alma into setting up the Happy Hour for Friday. It was just Alma, Gary, Ash, me, and Steve at El Burro.

I must say I was glad that it was scheduled. I needed it by Friday and we ended up having a lot of fun hanging out at the bar and getting to know each other. A few Margaritas, Coronas, and Patron Tequila shots later, the guys were agreeing to shave their heads... why? no reason, because it would make for good fun.

Gary shaved his head when we finished a manufacturing campaign earlier this year and since he was ready for a haircut... was thinking he would just shave it off. Alma the sweet and innocent somehow convinced them that it would be cool if Steve (aka Sweetie Pie), Gary (Sweet), and Ash (Heart) all shaved their heads by Monday morning. The guys shook on it... and were doubting each other actually doing it.

Alma had a sexy date with her hubby and Ash left to go home, so it was Gary, Steve, and I at 8:30. Steve was like... I am gonna do this tonight!!! I want to shave the hair off tonight and Sandy I want you to do it!!

I was very clear that I had never done this before, but it didn't seem to make a difference to these guys. Gary said he wanted me to shave the hair off his head too. So I really could not say no... I must admit, it was intriguing to explore this new potential career in haircutting! So we paid the bill for the drinks and headed off to Steve's place in San Jose. Steve had 2nd and 3rd thoughts about whether or not he wanted to do this, while Gary on the other hand was TOTALLY committed.

So Steve pulled out the shaver and we went down to the garage. I shaved Gary's head first and he was such a good sport!!! We strategized because we didnt want it to be too short at first and we were going to put in a design. MY CHOICE... So, I cut him down to a "1" and then took the shaver down to "0" to put in the design. Guess what the design was... the heavy chain's connected to the light chain... an antibody!!! I will post pictures as soon as I get them from Gary.

It was pretty damn funny - I added in some smaller antibodies to add some FLARE to the picture on his head. So once we took our fill of pictures, I shaved Gary down to a "0"... it was pretty nice and even. Steve was jealous but nervous to shave all the hair off. Steve's was a little harder to shave - thick and wavy. But what a site - we took pics with a reverse mohawk and with patches of hair left.

Finally when it was done, I got to sit on Steve's beautiful Harley-Davidson. We just hung out in the garage for a bit longer and laughed. Good times. I have been working again today (Saturday) so I am thankful to get the opportunities to have fun when I get the chance.

Cheers!

Dear Shannon,

It was very hard to read the email that I got this morning. I still cannot believe it is true because I only remember you alive and energetic. You left us under the most dire of circumstances but your brightness continues to light the way. You have always been one of the most caring and beautiful friends from our Santa Clara days. Even though our friendship was recent, I will never forget you. Thank you for being a part of my life and sharing whatever time we had together.

Keep Smiling and Shining :-)
F/F,
Sandy

Signed the offer to accept the new job today. They gave me a little more money and I did talk to my old boss, Marie, about the title situation... I should definitely be a Senior Manager by now and knowing that she was working in that direction for me in the next promotion cycle... she talked to the VP. Looks like promotion will be eminent... so that is my reason for signing the offer at this point.

My new boss is a complainer and whiner, but he has the best of intentions. Fundamentally, he is a very nice and supportive person, just that it can get annoying to have such a negative personality around. I am learning to deal with it and in this new role I am in the position to have to manage my boss to be accountable and my direct reports to be accountable... more fun than I ever bargained for. I don't think he knows (or maybe he does) what he is getting into with me.

I went to a really cool training today on The Oz Principle. The concept is to drive accountability by unleashing positive behaviors, getting focused feedback, and building a company culture that supports accountability. I am going to get trained as a course facilitator tomorrow and I am sure that it will help me as I deal with the new group. The training is based on the book The Oz Principle by Craig Hickman and I am planning to read it this weekend.

You are probably wondering why "Oz"? Well in the story of the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and her companions were all looking to this fearless, strong leader, the Wizard, to save them and provide them with what they needed... a heart for the tinman, courage for the lion, a brain for the scarecrow, a way to go home for Dorothy. What they found out at the end of their journey is that the Wizard was a fraud... the things they wanted, they already had. Dorothy just had to click her heels in those ruby red slippers and she would have been home days earlier.

Point is... the ability to achieve the desired results is within each person, it just has to be unleashed. VERY interesting and common sense management (MGMT 501 at SCU).

Ok enough management talk for today... next blog will be more fun!!

LifeLine and New Job
I am having my house painted right now and somehow the internet went down on Thursday. Turns out the painters re-connected wires incorrectly and when the service provider came out they had a hard time figuring it out, but finally... I am back.

Its been a rough week. I am moving into a new job next week and I left work on Friday in a state of "pissed-off"edness. I was pissed off because they told me that I was going to get a decent salary bump to take over the position and when I sat down with them to look at the offer, it was a measly weasly thousand dollars. Not exactly a great deal since I would be maintaining many of my existing responsibiliites AND taking on managing of 8 people (maybe up to 10 if I hire my open reqs). On Friday I felt that I would rather quit than deal with the crap I have ahead of me in this new job than stay with them for pennies. I already feel like I am a slave sometimes - working harder and smarter than 80% of the people there. This job is not going to be easy - there was a lot of dysfunction that created the problems AND its going to take a lot of work to fix it. I guess I feel like they don't recognize that and isn't that why they want me there? The turnaround girl strikes again!!!

I have had two people in my office frustrated/upset (at the point of tears) because of unresolved internal conflict and I have not officially stepped into the position yet. No one has been there to "manage" them for two years, so it is understandable that they have these issues. I have comforted them and started to deal with the issues they face as much as possible, but these issues are so engrained in them... it is hard to start with a clean slate. I think I have worked out a potential interim solution, but not sure how long that will last. Earlier in the day on Friday I had a 1:1 meeting with the CEO where he was encouraging me in this new role I am taking on.

I must say that it has been very cool to have the CEO invite me into his office to support me as I take on a new job and giving me advice. Sometimes I think I have way too much face time with the Execs, especially the last couple of weeks... it can be good thing and a bad thing all at the same time. However, looks like that is not going to stop. He told me to remain open and honest with my new boss and to make new mentors as I move into this new direction - not to lose the old ones, but learn from new people too. He pointed out that I have a network of supporters above and beyond my direct manager that I can leverage if I ever need it. Interestingly, he mentioned that it is obvious when you talk to an employee or manager if they are sincere or not because if they are sincere, they are true to themselves. His point was that no matter who you are talking to... CEO or a Technician, if you are true to yourself people can follow your direction and they know where you would want to go even if you are not there. (MBA friends and managers please feel free to comment on this!!)

Bill also told me an interesting story about his first experience managing people. It was his first time to manage a sales group and he was told by his mentor that about 1/3 of the folks in the group will be outstanding and you dont have to do a great deal to keep them on track. There will be another 1/3 that need guidance and have potential to grow into the top 1/3. However, there is also a bottom 1/3 that you have to dedicate the time to and if they do not deliver to the plan you have to make tough decisions. The key is being clear on expectations and communicating.

Everyone that I have talked to - especially the ones in HR - tell me I am going to have my hands full. SO, I feel justified in being pissed off about the offer... with all the challenges I am going to face and with all the contributions I have made to the organization, I deserve better. I demanded better. Lets see what I get!!!

Ice Cream
I am starting this blog thanks to my dear friend Sara in Italy. When we met, first she got me started on messenger, then friendster, now blogger. It's actually really good because I love writing and reading, so this could be the start of a great way for me to get stories and thoughts out of my head. Hopefully to hone my skills in to more advanced writing. Not sure where to start, but now that I have the forum I will think of something soon.

What's Better Than Ice Cream?
I used to think that there are not a lot of things that are better than ice cream (or gelato in Italy). But when I look at my life, I guess I feel like I already have more than I ever need, a job that is fulfilling, and wonderful people in my life from my family to friends. Yet there is so much turmoil in this world, between disasters and life drama people see their lives with the glass half-empty instead of half-full. I seek to challenge the half-empty thoughts because for most of us on this planet, we have more than enough and should not create the unnecessary dramas in our lives. Bottom line, life is Better Than Ice Cream... and in my blog, I hope to explore all the reasons and stories that make it so.