Job Security

All of this rancor about the economy and how horrible the last few months have been got me thinking about jobs in general, and my own job in particular.

I know I'm a hard worker and I'm doing what I can to bring glory to my department and my company, etc. However we all know that when it comes to layoffs, you never know what might happen.

So, I've decided I'd approach this concern in the following way: if you're a hard worker, just keep working hard. Don't work harder or less hard than you would if you weren't worried about the whole economic situation. If you do good work, then either a) you'll be fine because you're ahead of the curve anyway or b) you'll get canned for whatever inexplicable reason, and you'll move on to another job because, since you're a hard worker, you'll find a job pretty quickly anyway.

If you're not a hard worker, you can either a) work as hard as you _believe_ someone in your position should because you want to do at least enough to keep your job (whatever that means), or b) keep up the status quo because you're better off spending the time between now and when you get laid off without the stress of worrying about whether or not your job is safe.

Hmm, not very optimistic, I guess ... but unfortunately optimism is over-rated.

Drinks at Chloe for Scott's Birthday

Tonight was Scott's birthday and Lucy and I headed over there around 11:30PM to celebrate.

I love Chloe - it's a great little bar with a French brasserie feel (and although they do serve food, it's not something I've tried yet). We were able to score a corner area with a few couches and plopped ourselves down for drinks and conversation.

All in, it was Scott, Courtney, me, Lucy, Nate, Kyle and Cory. We closed the place down ten minutes before 2AM and had a great night overall.

This weekend is going to be pretty hectic, with meeting with florists for the wedding, a barbecue in Malibu, drinks with friends, grocery shopping (all Home Depot and BB&B jokes aside), lunch with the family for Korean Thanksgiving, and dinner at Pizzeria Mozza and likely drinks afterwards.

In any case, check out Chloe, either for drinks or food. It's a cool place with a laid-back vibe and definitely something to hit up for a relaxed night out.

Chloe

1449 2nd St.

Santa Monica, CA, 90407

http://www.barchloe.com

Westwood vs. Culver City

So, we're moving.

My company is moving from Westwood to Culver City.

Not the "good" part of Culver City where there are now awesome restaurants, wine bars and art galleries. No, we're south of "Ladera Heights" (which I just learned is the name of that hill-y part of La Cienega Blvd.) in a sort of commercial zone.

If I sound annoyed, that's not the case at all. The building itself is actually really nice and I have a cool little office with enough space for potentially a small couch and a dorm-sized fridge. It's just leaving the awesomeness that is Westwood Village and all of the cool restaurants, necessity stores (like Rite-Aid, banks, etc.) and the like.

I'm sure it will take a bit getting used to, like if I forget to bring food it either means I starve or I'm forced to take an hour and a half lunch break OR the fact that my gym is no longer across the street from my building (and from what I've heard, 24 Hour Fitness is no Equinox).

In any case, tomorrow is a short day due to the move and this weekend is pretty jam-packed with things to do and take care of ... so Monday might prove interesting with all of the discombobulation from having to go to the new building, getting set up and exploring the area. I'm sure at least one of my employees will get in late simply from getting lost.

Here we go!

Bacon Flow Chart

This is amazing.

Working Late

I don't know about you, but my work day is filled with distractions: meetings, questions from the team, meetings, calls with business partners, meetings, and ... you guessed it, meetings.

Let's take today for example. I had eight meetings totaling 5.5 hours from 11AM all the way to 6:30PM. WTF?! I realize that it's something I can change (block out my calendar, be an ass and just decline, etc.), but many of these meetings are either a) actually important or b) require me being there to answer any questions.

In any case, I find that the morning hours are usually unproductive when it comes to actually getting "work" done since I'm usually responding to emails and catching up on today's headlines. Since apparently I'm in too many meetings to actually get work done during NORMAL business hours, I'm at my best when I'm working late.

It's really quiet in the office right now, and if my boss saw this post he'd be wondering, "why isn't he just doing work so he can get out of there rather than blog?" and frankly, I don't know either ... but let me just say that having no one in the office besides the cleaning ladies is somewhat soothing.

Real men start work at 8PM.

Redsalt Malibu Dinner: Spring

Re-post from 2006.

I think I'm going to try maintaining this blog again. Let's see how long this lasts. Anyway, I haven't cooked a lick of food since our last seven-course extravanganza at Zai's place. Is there such a thing as a "binge cooker"?

The food turned out pretty well. Here are the best-formed pictures from the event:



1st course: marinated shrimp with charmoula, lime and shallots

2nd course: spanish tomato-bread soup with saffron and basil oil (not pictured)



3nd course: grilled lamb and zucchini skewer with cranberry-almond couscous and tzatziki



4th course: ras-el-hanout-crusted chicken with minted carrots, potato hash and medjool dates



5th course: lemon and mint tea sorbets

6th course: trio of truffles - dark chocolate-pink hawaiian salt, white chocolate-suntory whiskey, milk chocolate-honey (not pictured)

All in all, a great event. Mike was stressed but held himself together, serving some great wines with the meal. From the view in the kitchen, it seemed like everyone had a great time.

Restaurant Review: Grace

We had the "Close to Home" tasting menu which sources 90% of everything in the entire meal from a 400 mile radius.