Eurotrip with the Bambino

Last week we returned from a week-long trip to Switzerland and Italy - with baby in tow - and it was quite an adventure!

We began our trip with two days in Lausanne. My IMD MBA Class of 2008 was celebrating our 10-year reunion, which means I've now been blogging for more than 10 years too! The reunion was fantastic with well organized activities - social, professional, and educational - and the weather was idyllic for enjoying the beautiful locale outside of the scheduled events.

~40% of our class (plus families) showed up and it was wonderful to see so many dear friends at the site of the "crucible" where our strong bonds were forged. For the first time, though, the joy of our reunion was tempered by those who could not be there. Our class suffered its first loss this year as a classmate died suddenly and several classmates could not attend the reunion due to treatments for cancer or other afflictions. They were dearly missed and it was a reminder to us all of the fragility of life and the need to prioritize the things that really matter.

The reunion continued for four days but we departed after two in order to visit relatives in Italy. We flew to Napoli, rented a car, and drove to Lucera, the small Pugliese town where my relatives live. When we stopped along the highway to pick up a couple of bottles of water for the road, we were pleased to discover that the gas station was offering extremely fresh mozzarella and locals were coming from kilometers around to purchase some. The father-son team who ran the station prepared a couple of sandwiches for us with that fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, and freshly baked bread - not bad for gas station food and definitely #onlyinitalia!

Our three days in Lucera were joyful. We hadn't seen these relatives since our wedding seven years ago so this reunion was long overdue. Additionally, it was a particular joy to introduce them to the next generation of our family since it had been nearly half a century since the arrival of the most recent addition on their side. Our Italian relatives have always been incredibly welcoming of us but, with a bambino now upping the ante, they went into full-on doting mode! Our kiddo was a little off of his usual schedule but there was no shortage of family members lining up for a turn to hold him and settle him down.

We spent some time touring around Lucera - walking around the castle, visiting local churches, and taking pictures at the house where my father was born - but, frankly, most of our time in Lucera was spent eating. I, of course, wouldn't have it any other way! It was a short trip but certainly enough to keep the relationship going between our side of the family and theirs.

I don't know if our son will identify with the Italian side of his family as I have or if he will ever learn Italian; that will be his choice. I am pleased, though, that he spent some days feeling the Italian love and being surrounded by the beautiful, undulating language - not to mention the amazing food - such that the culture will always be at least a small part of him.

We had two full days of travel to return to the States - one day back to Geneva and then the next day back to NC. I'm really, really glad we did this trip, though. It is easy to be intimidated by the prospect of international travel with a little one but we have many friends who, to borrow a popular tag line, just do it. We have been inspired by them (And certainly we have been beneficiaries of their advice!) and now we are pleased to have moved down the experience curve ourselves a bit, hopefully laying the foundations for more adventures in the future! Bon voyage and buon viaggio!!!

A Few Days En Suisse

After the grand weekend in Paris I took a detour of just a few days in Lausanne, Switzerland before returning to the States. The trip on the TGV was wonderful as always. There is just something so civilized about traveling by train: plenty of space, Wifi, more than decent meals, and the gorgeous French countryside streaming by at more than 300 kph (200 mph)! Oh how I miss this option when I am in the US.

Upon my arrival I was met at the station by my IMD classmate and host, Mathieu. We wasted very little time before heading up the mountain for something canonically Swiss: fondue! As I have blogged before, Le Chalet Suisse offers not only an authentic "chalet" experience and delicious fondue but incomparable views of Lac Leman as well.

We arrived around sunset and were treated to gorgeous views, a crescent moon over the lake, and a magical twilight in the land of fairy tales before dinner. The magic only intensified as several other IMD classmates joined us for fondue. It has been nearly seven years since I met them all and nearly six since we finished the program but meeting them again makes it seem like it was only yesterday!

As I have blogged before, I have eliminated grains and starches from my diet, which has had a positive effect on my body composition. One doesn't exactly go into a fondue dinner for his health but I at least intended to stick to my nutritional guns. My willpower wore down quickly, though, and it rapidly devolved into a cheat meal. This began with the bread I dipped into the fondue pot, continued with the potato I took along with Mathieu's raclette, and then really hit a new high when I helped Allessandra finish her rösti. It's too bad no one had any spätzle as I would have devoured it since I was already breaking my rules! It was a very Swiss and very perfect way to start my brief trip.

Monday morning I had breakfast with another classmate - one who is trying to launch a startup, incidentally. We had a nice breakfast in Ouchy right along the lake. Unfortunately most of the menu items had grains in them and I was trying to return to my strict diet so guess what I had for breakfast: more cheese - because a huge fondue dinner the night before wasn't enough! Well, there are worse places in the world in which to find yourself eating a metric ton of cheese!

I spent the day at IMD, which was a refreshing homecoming. In the morning I met with many of the MBA staff. I must have looked famished (Not!) because they took pity on me and invited me to lunch at the famous IMD restaurant. It was just as good as I remembered and offered plenty of excellent vegetables and fish so that I could dilute my cheese consumption a little.

After working from the IMD cafe all afternoon, I went back up the mountain and did some trail running. The previous several days of perfect weather were finally at an end and the mountain slopes were shrouded in a misty fog. This made for another fairy tale experience picking my way first through the Parc de l'Hermitage and then the Bois de Sauvabelin - truly magical!

My hosts and I joined another IMD classmate for dinner at a local Italian restaurant. It turns out that on Monday nights they only have pizza available so it became another [delicious] cheat meal for me! Much as my breakfast classmate was launching a new venture, so was this other classmate at dinner. I'm beginning to notice a trend! I suppose alumni of the IMD MBA class of 2008 are nearing their seven year itch at their corporate jobs and starting to explore more entrepreneurial opportunities. It was quite rewarding to learn that my classmate had actually followed my online entrepreneurship lectures and found them very beneficial - glad to help!

Tuesday I began the day with a run along the lake. The fog over the lake and the Chateau d'Ouchy recalled visions of the mists of Avalon. In order to make it back to my apartment, shower, and then return to Ouchy for meetings at IMD in time I took the metro up and back. On the way up I received lots of stares as someone who was clearly out of place. Dressed in Under Armour and wearing Vibrams Fivefingers shoes, I was looking very un-Swiss!

However, on my way back down to IMD I received even more stares - this time because of my Google Glass, which is even less common in Europe than it is the US. Being so blatantly stared at was a really interesting sociological experience. Even as extroverted as I am, even as much as I enjoy the spotlight, I felt uncomfortable by the unapologetic gawking on the metro. I can only imagine how uncomfortable women feel when they are gawked at in public or, worse, catcalled and harassed.

Clearly this wasn't as much of an epiphanous experience as, for example, Dustin Hoffman's character experienced in Tootsie, but it still opened my eyes somewhat to how people in the minority feel when they are clearly out of place within the majority. As a white American male I am more often in the majority in the US so I will try to be more sensitive to those who are not.

Tuesday I got a little work done at IMD but spent most of my time catching up with former professors. I even went to dinner with one (Fondue again - the diet was on full pause by this point!), who was on the verge of taking on a new challenge as dean of another business school. He has been a professor, a mentor, and a friend to me so it is thrilling to see him leave a very comfortable situation at IMD for a new adventure.

Wednesday I followed the path I still know all too well from my time in Lausanne: down to the train station, the train to Geneva Airport, and then the flight back to the US. Wednesday happened to be seven years to the day that I received my call from IMD's fabulous alumni director notifying me of my admission - how poetic!

It was a very short trip but it was wonderful to see so many friends and familiar places. It was a productive trip as well - in more ways than one! Shortly after my departure, my hosts gave birth to their first child (Congratulations!!!!). No need to thank me; I just seem to have that effect when I am a houseguest.

Now I'm back in the US and working hard to complete Smart OES's funding round - big news to report about on that front soon!

IMD MBA 2008 Reunion in Lausanne, Switzerland

Six years ago I first set foot in Switzerland for what would ultimately become a life-changing trip. Shortly after my exhausting, exhilarating day of interviews at IMD, I received my acceptance and decided to attend the intense, transformative one-year MBA program. And shortly after that I made my very first post on this blog! This weekend 56 members of our 90-person class (plus families) reconvened in Lausanne for our 5-year reunion.

My flight over was uneventful but was the first time I've ever flown to Geneva airport from a departure point other than Houston. On the train from the airport to Lausanne I met a delightful Australian couple who had just arrived for their first tour of Switzerland. It was fun sharing their compartment and, upon our arrival, they told me I was an excellent representative of American culture - quite a compliment for this extrovert!

Once settled in my home away from home in Lutry, I became more and more excited for our reunion kickoff dinner at Watergate along the lake. Several other classmates were also keen to get started, so I trained into Lausanne early. Despite my jet lag and lack of sleep, the thought of seeing everyone infused me with so much energy that I chose to run from the train station down to the lake instead of taking the metro.

The first classmate I was able to meet was none other than Sergei, my Belorussian teammate from my very first IMD team. What a joy to reconnect with someone with whom I shared so many significant - and often painful - leadership development experiences! We were both nearly six years older and he had with him his wife and 13-month-old son - and yet it was as if we had only been toiling away in the IMD study rooms yesterday.

Once we arrived at the restaurant it became evident that many other classmates were in a similar situation as well, joining us with partners and recently born children - apparently the IMD MBA is pretty good for fertility! Incidentally, one of the interesting side effects of attending such an international program is witnessing parents speaking baby talk to their children in 20+ different languages! We closed down the restaurant but, exhausted as I was from travel, I opted for bed in lieu of a wild night out.

Friday we spent all day on campus at IMD. It featured presentations from some of our favorite professors as well as IMD management about the status and direction of the institution. The class's four entrepreneurs were also asked to make a brief presentation about our startups so I was pleased to have a chance to catch everyone up on what I've been up to. I was somewhat surprised by how much interest my presentation generated as the rest of the day classmates kept engaging me with their ideas, feedback, offers to make useful introductions, and even a few offers of investment!

The highlights of the day were lunch and dinner, both served at IMD's famous restaurant. The food is just as amazing as I remember it - as is the post-food ping pong with classmates! After dinner several of us went out to a bar in Le Flon and, once we closed it down, then proceeded to a nearby club (L'Atelier Volant, the very first Lausanne club I ever frequented!). It has been a long, long time since I stayed out until 4 AM but, as much fun as I was having catching up with classmates, I could have stayed out indefinitely.

After the late night, morning came much too soon. Once again, though, the collective energy of the class was infectious as we boarded a morning bus for the Parc Aventure in Aigle. The adventure park is a large wooded park with ropes courses of varying difficulties between and among all the trees. We arrived, suited up in our harnesses, and spent the day challenging ourselves to make it through one obstacle course after another many meters above the forest floor (and the most difficult courses even had parts that extended out over a river!).

Much like the IMD MBA itself, it was a LOT of fun in hindsight. While I was out there grappling, tight rope walking, and zip lining, though, it was actually quite stressful - anyone who knows my [lack of] command of balance will understand why!

Saturday night we had dinner at a new restaurant started by an IMD alum from the class of 2007: Eat Me. Although we started early, we still closed the restaurant down after more than seven hours of eating, drinking, and making merry with dear friends we hadn't seen in awhile - some not since graduation.

Sunday there was a soccer match between our class and the current MBAs (which we won, of course) followed by a closing lunch at our favorite class hangout, Le Pinocchio. The weather, which had been gorgeous all weekend, continued to impress, so I took a slow jog along the lake to the park where soccer was being played and then another jog back to Lutry after lunch. Sometimes I wonder if my memory of living in Switzerland - perfect weather, beautiful views of lakes and mountains - is somewhat idealized, but days like Sunday remind me that it really is a fantastic place.

And there you have it: after a three-day sprint, our reunion is over. The reunion itself actually seemed like a microcosm of the IMD experience: late nights, intense days, and much joy in being together. Even as much time as we spent together, though, there are some people with whom I regret not catching up more.

Much has changed since we underwent the MBA journey together five years ago. Jobs have changed, families have grown, and both accomplishments and disappointments have been realized. That which has remained constant throughout the five years, however, is the bond that we all formed first by choosing to undergo (and being selected for) such a unique program and then by traveling that unique journey together.

In fact, that bond is so strong that, even though the reunion is over, those of us still in Lausanne are meeting up every chance that we get. Five years out is a good time to reflect on the IMD experience. I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to attend IMD but, as this reunion really drove home, the most tremendous blessing that IMD provided is the addition of all these great people in my life.

Traveling Recommendations for Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland

Recently I've had several requests from friends who have been traveling to Geneva on what to see/do. To avoid repeating myself, I've coalesced my responses into the following recommendations:



Geneva
Geneva frankly isn't that much of a destination - it's more of a place to live than it is to visit. While you're there make sure to walk around and see the jet d'eau, some old/important churches, etc. but I think your best bet is to get out of town.

Lausanne
Lausanne is awesome. Check out the Olympic Museum along the lake, the Chateau d'Ouchy nearby, Place St-Francois further up the mountainside, and the cathedral / canton hall (an old castle) even further up.  The train from Geneva to Lausanne is only ~45 minutes. Ouchy, at the shore of the lake, is a former fishing village that is now the summer destination of many of Europe's and the Middle East's rich and famous. Featuring a long promenade, this area is great for strolling and people watching.


For night life the major hub is the Flon district, a filled-in river full of restaurants, bars, and clubs. For good food my absolute favorite is Beau Rivage along the lake - the cafe, not the full restaurant. The full restaurant is Michelin starred and obscenely expensive. The cafe offers the same food and costs 1/3 as much - still not cheap given the damned exchange rate. Further up from Beau Rivage is the Croix d'Ouchy, a little less elegant but just as nice. For authentic Swiss fondue I recommend Cafe Romand near St-Francois or Cafe du Vieil Ouchy on the water. 


Other Ideas
Take the ferry across the lake to Evian.
Take a day trip to Gruyeres and see how cheese and chocolate are made.
Take the train or bus to Lutry and hop on the Lavaux Express, a mini-train that winds through the vineyards and stops for several tastings. Swiss wine is so-so and overpriced, but, when the weather is nice, this makes for a lovely outing.
Nyons and Montreux are particularly scenic with their chateaux right along the lake.  If you go all the way to Montreux (another 15 minutes by train beyond Lausanne), you can see the iconic Freddy Mercury statue near the Jazz Festival location. He, Audrey Hepburn, and some others are buried there.
If you really want to take in many of the towns/chateaux along the lake, take a sunset dinner cruise, which will take you by each one.


What do you think, have I captured it or missed the mark? Any other recommendations to add?

A Swiss Day in Houston

Today was a very Swiss kind of day! OK, OK, let me explain, because Houston, Texas is a pretty far cry from "Swiss!" What I mean is that today really felt a lot like my Swiss/IMD experience even though it was a Saturday in Houston.

To start, the weather was gorgeous. Not a cloud in the sky and the high temperature was mid 60s F (high teens C). There was a breeze that made it a little chilly when staying still or in the shade. Taking Max for a walk in the sun, though, was paradise on earth. And the breeze was very, very welcome during my run at Memorial Park this morning. Despite the very, very different scenery, I almost felt like I was running along Lac Leman in Lausanne. In the evening we had a long, lingering twilight with a dark blue sky, prominent stars, and crescent moon. There you have it: Houston in January is Lausanne in June!

Unfortunately my experience today did not include excellent food outdoors with great friends as it surely would have in Switzerland. After my run and Max's long walk, I spent most of the day inside PowerPointing in front of my laptop. Even this felt very Swiss, though, because it's exactly how I spent many a Saturday at IMD!

Ah, Suisse, vous me manquez! It will take more than ideal weather to recreate the Swiss experience truly, though. After all, the best thing about Switzerland is all my wonderful friends there. Hopefully there will be a chance to visit soon but, in the meantime, back to work!

Ah, Summer in Switzerland

I've just returned from a week in Lausanne, Switzerland that was both productive and refreshing. The original purpose of my trip was to attend IMD's annual meeting for presidents of its global alumni clubs. As the founder and president of the Houston alumni club, I was invited this year for the first time. As this is a great time of year to be in Lausanne and a terrible time of year to be in Houston, I extended my stay a bit to work from a different location.

I flew out Wednesday evening, arriving in Geneva early Thursday morning. Instead of sleeping on the plane, I got on a real roll of catching up on some work, which was great for productivity but less great for feeling rested upon arrival! Still, I knew that I couldn't sleep during the day Thursday if I hoped to synchronize my body clock with the new time zone.

After checking into my "hotel," the exquisite house of a former IMD professor and mentor of mine, I spent the afternoon at IMD, attending a session of OWP. OWP, Orchestrating Winning Performance, is IMD's flagship event every year, featuring a full week of cutting edge research presentations to the 500 execs who come in from around the world to stay up-to-date. It was my first time attending a session and it didn't disappoint!

Thursday evening I had dinner with another IMD professor / mentor and a new colleague of his. The three of us will be presenting together at the Academy of Management's annual conference in August so it was a great chance to coordinate our goals, content, and logistics.

Friday and Saturday I spent at the Alumni Club Presidents meeting. Many of the presidents come from much larger markets than Houston (where we have 500+ alumni) and have been running their organizations much longer than I have. Therefore it was interesting to hear about their challenges, successes, and ideas.

Many of the discussions reminded me of the same discussions we have in Rice University alumni leadership meetings - philosophical questions about the purpose of school-alumni relations, metrics of success, debates about best practices, etc. Hopefully I can bring some of our good ideas from the Rice community to IMD and vice versa!

Sunday was a relaxing day as I met a high school classmate (who now works in Geneva!), showed her around Lausanne, and went out on the lake with one of my IMD classmates and his family. The weather was absolutely perfect, the lake was gorgeous, and the company couldn't be beat - what more could I ask??

Monday we hosted a 4th of July party at the "hotel." They have a great house for entertaining - big yard, nice patio, great pool, amazing view - so we BBQ'ed out, lit up some fireworks, and celebrated American independence. What a blast!

Tuesday and Wednesday I worked from IMD as my "remote office." This afforded me the opportunity of catching up with several contacts for lunch or coffee and it felt good to be back in the setting where I worked very hard not so long ago. It helped, of course, that the food at the restaurant is still AMAZING!

Wednesday evening I attended the Euro Tech Tour Cleantech Summit's gala dinner in Geneva. Well, at least we *met* in Geneva but the dinner itself was on a big boat lake cruise. Meeting other cleantech entrepreneurs to learn about their innovative ideas, networking with European cleantech investors, and fine dining on the beautiful lake - what a fantastic way to wrap up the trip!

This morning I left for the airport WAY too early and the trip was over WAY too soon, but it was a welcome change of scene even if just briefly. Although there are many things I love about being back in Houston, there are many things I miss about Lausanne as well. I feel fortunate to have developed a good network there which makes it still feel like a second home. I hope this will always be the case!

IMD Times

Last weekend was very much centered around IMD. It began when two awesome classmates rolled into town--one from the Netherlands, the other from Zurich--with their partners. We had dinner at Le Pinnochio, an IMD standard, and then spent the night just talking and catching up back at our place, where both couples were staying with us. For one of my classmates, it was his first time back in Lausanne since graduation!

Saturday was a glorious weather day--typical for Lausanne in the summer. While most of the household had a lazy morning, one of my classmates and I got up early and headed into IMD. Saturday was Mock Interview Day, during which alumni return to campus to give the current MBA students experience interviewing with real hiring managers. It is also a great chance for us to get to know some of the students, reconnect with the school, and partake in the famous IMD lunch!

In addition to the mock interviews, I gave a presentation to the class on using social media for their own professional branding. We live in an ever more connected digital world and your online presence can either help or hurt your career--but you have the power to control which! The presentation went very well and I have posted the slides on SlideShare. Take a look and I welcome any feedback!

Saturday night we had some of my IMD classmates over to the house for a pool party. Hmm, summer, pool, good friends . . . sounds like the perfect recipe for . . . SANGRIA! We made up a big batch of French-Swiss sangria (using French wine instead of Spanish, and using Kirsch instead of Triple Sec - and all local, organic fruit, of course!) and served it along with mojitos, bellinis, beer, and wine all night. It turns out that Katie and the rest of the gang weren't idle while we were at IMD all day. By the time the party started they had whipped up tables and tables of delicious, healthy, and mostly vegetarian food.

The party was a lot of fun! We had about 30 people over the course of the night and we didn't turn out the lights until about 3 AM. Several little groups formed and people just kept switching between them, talking, and catching up. Another IMD couple stayed with us Saturday night as well, so Sunday morning we had a four-couple breakfast reunion.

It would appear too that my sangria hasn't lost its touch: as one of my classmates came down the stairs Sunday morning, another one said to him, "Oh wow, you look how I feel." Mission accomplished!

Monday Katie and I trained into Zurich, where I had lunch with the sponsor of my IMD ICP. Here again it was great to catch up with someone from the IMD world. It was excellent chatting with him and he still contends that our supply chain strategy project helped them through the difficult financial times of the last two years.

It has been a great, IMD-filled four days. This is why I came back for the summer! (OK, also for the perfect weather and gorgeous lake/mountain views!)

Engaged!

Nearly 9.5 years ago, Katie and I took our first steps down the long (and not always straight or clear!) path that has brought us to where we are today. Where the path is ultimately leading we still don't know, but last Wednesday we took a major step and committed to continuing the journey together.

Several people have asked for details about the proposal and I must disappoint; there really wasn't anything clever or creative or exciting about it per se. That's something I love about being with Katie, though. When we are together I don't feel the need to be "on" or performing; everything is just very natural and easy. Accordingly, so was the proposal. Perhaps I can make the story a little more exciting, though, by filling in some of the history leading up to the proposal:

March 21, 2009: after more than a year of living on separate continents, Katie was visiting me in Lausanne again. Because her flight left before my actual birthday, we did an early birthday dinner at La Suite, which we chose explicitly for their very underpriced 2003 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino. We were a bit chagrined to learn upon our arrival that they were actually out of that bottle--and then we were elated when the waiter returned to our table having found their last bottle of it hidden away somewhere. It was way too young, of course, but we took our time and it really opened up. The evening blossomed into wonderful discussion about wine, food, nutrition, healthcare, careers, the future, and everything else. I blogged about that evening shortly thereafter. At some point I distinctly remember looking over at Katie and thinking to myself, "Who am I kidding; my future is sitting across the table from me," if she would have me ,of course!

April 14, 2009: While on the Amalfi Coast with my mom, we broke away from the group and spent a day on our own in Capri. The weather was gorgeous and we found a little hillside restaurant along the sea to have some local wine, insalata caprese, and seafood (which I blogged about shortly thereafter). During that meal I first announced my intentions to propose to Katie, which thrilled my mom.

June 1, 2009: On another visit to Lausanne, Katie capitalized on a gorgeous summer day by taking me out for a picnic in the park of the Palais de Justice, which offers amazing views of the lake and mountains (also blogged about). Perfect weather, wonderful food, champagne, a lazy afternoon . . . I was sorely tempted to propose to her then and there but I wanted the chance to talk with her parents about it first.

July 12, 2009: On a visit to spend some time with Katie's family in Minnesota I faked a conference call to weasel out of a lunch obligation that Katie had planned. Instead I spent time with her parents talking with them about my intentions over Swedish pancakes with fresh berries out on their deck. Again the weather was gorgeous and we were accompanied by an awesome golden retriever. After initially giving me a hard time, they offered their blessing and encouragement. The next day I submitted my resignation to Poken (blogged about) and began planning for a life with Katie, not thousands of miles away from her.

So finally I had lined up all the right elements; now I just had to find the right place and time! I wanted it to be somewhere special for both of us and somewhere really nice that we would remember (and to which we could return) indefinitely. While we were wine touring in Tuscany, there were many opportunities, but I lived in Tuscany for half a year before I ever even met Katie so it wasn't as much "our" place.

There were some other opportunities in London, Sedona, San Francisco, and even in Houston, but nothing that ever felt just right. After nine years of dating I figured waiting until it just felt right would be OK.

Despite the fact that Katie didn't live with me in Lausanne, I still very much consider it "our" place as our relationship grew much stronger while I was here. My favorite memories of Lausanne by far are when Katie was here with me and it certainly has its share of picturesque locations! So when Katie came out to join me in Lausanne for this trip, I had an eye toward making the move.

Unfortunately she brought lots of rain with her! July 23 would have been a good date for a proposal as it is Katie's half birthday, but the weather gods had other plans. Finally last Wednesday, July 28, there was a break in the clouds and I suggested that we celebrate with a picnic back at the park of the Palais de Justice. Again we packed a picnic lunch and again we brought some champagne--Dom Perignon 2000 this time. I thought that might have tipped her off but she claims that it didn't raise any flags for her. Fair enough; it's not the first time I've gone a bit overboard with wine!

Again we spent the afternoon lounging on the grass, talking about the future, and agreeing that life was not so bad--especially not when we are together. At around 2:23 PM, I got on one knee and asked her to marry me. After some initial shock she enthusiastically said yes and we spent the rest of the day, week, month (and it's still ongoing) in a sort of euphoric bliss.

People ask how it is being engaged and I jokingly respond that, "Oh wow, it's so different!" as if it has somehow radically changed our 9.5-year relationship. It actually is different, though. In the business world we would call this a "credible threat." We've made a move that says this is where we're going and we are no longer considering other options. We no longer hedge discussion about the future with, "If we got married..." or "If we stay together..." or other conditionals. Now we are officially committed to that vision and that feels really, really . . . right.

I'm not sure how exactly I managed to persuade someone like Katie to spend her life with a scoundrel like me, but I'm definitely not complaining! Many thanks to everyone for the tremendous outpouring of support we have received since announcing our engagement. It really means the world to us and we love you all!

The Next Chapter Begins--Sort Of

This week was really amazing. It began with my last day at Poken on Monday. After working all day to ensure that every last bit of my responsibility had been successfully transferred, we all went out for a drink (well, several). The team bought me a fondue set with which to remember Switzerland, which was really thoughtful. I was kind of hoping for a Patek Philippe, but this will do! :-)

Tuesday through Friday I spent catching up on administrative details related to my impending move and taking the the first steps down the green career path. This included participation in the GoBeyond Innaugural Cleantech Forum in Geneva and many, many Skype calls with potential investors, partners, and clients in the US. Due to the time difference, most of these calls happen late at night, which is unfortunate. I usually finish the calls very wound up and excited about the future, which makes it difficult to sleep. I think it's a very, very good sign, though, that this is the right move: the more I work on this, the MORE energy I have, not less. Bring it on!

Katie arrived early Saturday morning and we spent the day lazing around Lausanne. The weather was gorgeous so we packed a picnic and set up at a park overlooking the lake. The bottle of champagne lasted us most of the afternoon and we really, really savored the beauty of this wonderful country.

Today we took a trip to Gruyeres with my coworker, Bogdan, and his girlfriend. The quaint medieval castle town was absolutely charming and I will post pics soon. Naturally we tarried for fondue in the town square--anything less would have been inappropriate.

It was a great Swiss weekend but tonight Katie and I take the night train to my favorite September location: Tuscany! We'll spend the week touring about and enjoying the local wine festivals--la dolce vita!

Reunion

The last week has been absolutely wonderful. Building up to the IMD MBA 2008 reunion here in Lausanne, I spent most of my non-working hours catching up with those whom I haven't seen since our graduation last year. It began on Tuesday when my Swedish classmate, Jesper, arrived in town and crashed at my apartment for a few nights. We went out for drinks with the other Laussanois classmates as well as some others who had made it into town early but we also had great opportunities just to catch up between ourselves. I found this particularly valuable as Jesper is working on a project to bring distributed solar energy to the developing world. I know he will be wildly successful and perhaps some day we will have the opportunity to work together.

On Thursday, Jesper's family arrived so he moved into a hotel with them. Then Friday my Slovakian classmate, Tomas, arrived to take over the Jesper suite. Friday was fun. The reunion began with lunch at IMD followed by a full afternoon of presentations from IMD faculty and staff about the school, the program, and the like. After our back-to-class sessions (No case preparation necessary!) we moved to the IMD restaurant for a cocktail and dinner. For those of us who traditionally spent most of our lunch time playing ping pong, this meant that we first played ping pong all evening until the sun went down and it was no longer feasible. Oh what glorious memories!

That same evening the Class of 2009 had organized a Latin Party so we stopped by for some dancing and catch-up then wrapped up at MGM, one of our favorite lakeside watering holes from last year. It was a great kickoff to what was sure to be an exceptional weekend.

Saturday morning most of the class loaded onto buses for a day-long hike in the mountains. The four of us who frequently played beach volley last year, though, embraced the gorgeous weather and returned to the sand courts of Vidy. Mario (Brazilian), Martin N. (Czechoslovakian), Tomas, and I were the only ones playing so we enjoyed several games and a dip in the lake before a relaxing lunch at Le Carousel.

It is amazing but the weather here is clearly tending toward fall already. The high on Saturday was in the mid-60s (F) and there was evidence of many fallen leaves on the ground. Furthermore there was that particular autumn smell in the air that indicated warmer clothing would be necessary soon. It seems that just about the time that it becomes too cool for beach volley in Lausanne I will move to Houston where I can keep playing for another two months--good planning!

After lunch we returned to the courts and played against locals, who had finally begun arriving. A dip in the lake and a nap back home prepared us for the evening's festivities. What seemed like the entire class gathered at Le Pur for dinner and followed up at Red Club afterward. It was wonderful to see everyone but it was apparent that everyone was dead tired after a full day of physical activity in the sun. By 3 AM only Peter (the Great Dane), Ian B. (Canuck), and I were left at the club so we decided to call it a night.

Sunday morning began early as I met up with Sergei (Belorussian) and Martin N. for a mini-reunion of our first building block bbb7 group. We decided to allocate some time to discuss the weightiest issues on our mind. I therefore expected to be talking about career issues, professional challenges, etc. but, instead, we spent the whole time talking about the women in our lives! Hmm, maybe that's dangerous to refer to our women as "weighty" but they know we love them! :-)

Although we could have tarried for hours, we wrapped up our discussion and made our way to Parc du Milan for the final Class of 2008-vs-Class of 2009 soccer match of the year. 2008 won 2-0 to take the series decisively. The Class of 2009 will forever cry foul that some of their players were unavailable due to ICP travel requirements but, well, a win is a win. :-)

All Sunday afternoon was spent at a relaxing picnic along the lake. We grilled out, ate, drank, and took hours to say all of our goodbyes. It was a wonderful weekend and many thanks go out to the organizing committee--especially our fearless Chair, Irina (Russian), for pulling it seamlessly together. Those who were unable to attend were sorely missed but we will all hope to see them soon.

Pictures are in my facebook album.

On the subject of tearful goodbyes, today is my last day at Poken. I have a great deal to accomplish in order to enjoy a farewell drink this evening at Les Brassieurs. What an intense ride it has been! I will definitely miss the Poken team and just as definitely I will continue to foster Poken adoption wherever I go.

Back in Lausanne

After a HOT week in Houston (albeit one that was bookended by gorgeous weather in Minnesota and Virginia), it feels great to be back in Lausanne. It is also very nice to be reunited with my team at Poken, although half the team is in San Francisco right now so I won't catch up with them until next week.

My time in the US was very productive. Although I spent all of my days working for Poken, I also managed to catch up with family/friends in the evenings and coordinate some major renovations to my house. I'm very excited about these renovations as they are expected to reduce my energy consumption by almost 50%. This includes installation of a solar-powered attic fan, creating a better, insulated seal between the attic and the rest of the house, sealing all of the house's air leaks (around doors, windows, and exterior wall power outlets, for example), servicing the HVAC system, solar film on all the windows, installation of switches to shut off power to standby equipment "vampires," and replacement of all light bulbs with low-energy CFLs. This is a full-system approach that addresses not just the efficiency of equipment itself but also the efficiency of the way that air moves throughout the house and reduces the load on that equipment. In fact, when I replace my A/C unit next year, instead of just getting a more efficient version of the same cooling power, I should actually get a lower-power version--although still more efficient too!

Even with the rising cost of energy in the US, these renovations aren't likely to pay for themselves for several years. However, as most of you know, I try to live my life with at least a double bottom line and I believe the cost of energy inefficiency is much greater than just the price I pay per kilowatt-hour on my monthly electric bill.

My flight trip back to Lausanne was good for a couple of reasons. First, I achieved Gold Elite status on Continental. This is the first time I have broken the gold barrier and, with only 20k more miles this year, I may even arrive at Platinum. Hooray! Also, Matthew McConaughey was on my flight from Newark to Geneva, two seats in front of me. He was coming in to support Lance Armstrong at the end of the Tour de France. He seemed really laid back (as one would expect) and pleasant to everyone who came up to talk with him. I also give him major props for being so ripped at 39--almost 40.

Since I've been back I've been filling my non-Poken time with catching up with those whom I've missed--both IMD classmates and Poken coworkers. Friday night I went to see Bruno with some friends--outrageous as expected. Tonight I will attend my first Swiss music festival at Paleo, which I'm looking forward to. It probably won't be the typical massive-crowd-drunk-mosh-pit scene during Beethoven's 5th Piano Conerto, which is just fine by me. :-)

Bella Firenze

Lausanne . . . Heidelberg . . . this weekend it was time for me to visit another old European town of a few hundred thousand population: Florence! My favorite Wingman was going to be in Tuscany anyway for a wedding (Not his!) so he came in a few days early, giving us a chance to do things up right.

Cox arrived early Sunday morning and brought perfect weather--the natural precursor to the Perfect Storm--with him. I had originally thought that we would leave immediately for Florence, but flight schedules changed such that we had some time for him to get to know Lausanne. We walked around the old part of the city, nourished ourselves, and listened to Jimmy Buffett throughout the morning.

Then we headed down to Vidy for some beach volley. Cox and I have a long history of playing beach volley together. We've done very well at several tournaments in Houston and Galveston and we've played together in five different countries. What's more important is that we're always Team Having More Fun Than The Other Guys and Sunday was no exception. We played for a full three hours, going 5-1, losing 21-15 to two very strong open players--not bad for two guys who haven't played together since Marseille last July. After a refreshing dip in the lake and hurried showers, we were off to the airport for a quick flight to Florence.

Arriving in Florence around sunset we went to pick up our rental car. When the woman at Avis advised us that she had no reservation for us, Cox pulled out his mobile phone and triumphantly showed here his email confirmation. She had the last laugh, though, when she informed him that she found his rental car reservation in the system . . . for Florence, ALABAMA!!! Thank goodness this was the only task I had given Cox for trip preparation--sheesh, consultants . . .

Fortunately Avis had plenty of cars so we picked up a Fiat 500 and made our way into town to find our hotel. This was easier said than done as Florence's narrow alleyways blocked our GPS satellites and Italy's soccer match meant that many people were partying in the streets, blocking our passage. However, between the GPS, Google Maps on my phone, Cox's great driving, and some blind luck, we circled in on our hotel, the Bernini Palace, which I had booked on hotels.com.

Once we arrived at the hotel, we were thrilled to find that it was located only a block away from the Piazza della Signoria. Furthermore, the hotel itself was really nice. In Italy I've found that hotel ratings rarely correspond with reality but this place was very deserving of its four stelle. Add to that the fact that it's bar/restaurant was named Brunello and we were off to a good start!

After checking in with the office (Just because it's a Sunday night and I'm on vacation is no reason not to be working, of course!) Cox and I headed out to destination number one: Salamanca. Salamanca was one of my favorite bars when I lived in Florence and it has the distinction of being the place where I first tried sangria. If only I had known back then what a profound impact that would have on the subsequent several years of my life!

Salamanca was still great. Cox and I shared some tapas and a pitcher of sangria while I regaled him with stories from my time there. A man at the bar was falling asleep--presumably due to sangria consumption--so the bartender shot him with the water gun. The bartender was either a bad shot or was interested in us because the stream of water went right over the sleeping man and hit Cox. Given the heat, though, and lack of A/C in the bar, Cox didn't seem to mind the cold water. With an early rise the next day and an aggressive wine tasting agenda, we called it a night and were asleep before 2.

Monday we woke up and struck out for Montalcino. After two hours of driving through the beautiful Tuscan countryside, we arrived at our first stop: Valdicava. Valdicava was the quintessential Brunello di Montalcino producer: small, natural, and 100% committed to their wine. The philosophy there is to make do with what nature gives them. No pesticides are used and the soil is not tilled because they believe the herbs and wild plants imbue their flavors to the grapes. Then vinification is very simple. There are two fermentations (separated by a pressing) over seven months but, after that, they basically leave the wine alone in large wooden casks. It seems very Italian to me: simple, natural, and accepting that good things take time--four years of aging for their standard Brunello, five for the riserva. We tasted two vintages of each straight from the barrel. They were still very raw but their potential was clear. Just as clear was the difference a year of aging made between each. Valdicava: I'm a fan.

After a lovely lunch in a villa overlooking the vineyards, we moved on to Casanova di Neri. We received a nice tour of a facility that clearly had a different philosophy. As opposed to Valdicava's 17,000 bottles/year from a small plot of land, Neri produced 200,000 bottles from several vineyards around Montalcino. They also used much more sophisticated technology for vinification. The result: good wines in a modern Brunello style but I preferred Valdicava.

After a long drive to the opposite end of the commune of Montalcino, Castelgiocondo was a huge disappointment. Their PR director had screwed up our reservation so she was able to provide a quick tour but no tasting. She claimed that their grapes were picked by hand but we called her out on the mechanized grape-harvesting equipment we had seen during our drive through the estate. At 1,000,000 bottles per year of production and as part of a large Italian label (Marchesi di Fresobaldi) they were an order of magnitude larger than most Brunello estates. I can't speak to the quality of their wine but, given what we experienced, I'm not a fan of the organization.

The bright side of a short appointment at Castelgiocondo is that it gave us enough time to swing by nearby Castello Banfi, the iconic producer that is responsible for something like 20% of all Brunello production by volume. Banfi is as close to a Napa estate as you will find in Montalcino; it is set up for a high volume of tourists to its beautiful castle estate. They have a large cantina with tasting flights and wines by the glass; we skipped the tour and made our way immediately there.

First off, the 2007 Rosso di Montalcino (sangiovese table wine) was excellent. This could make for an excellent Hassin house wine. Next we tasted the 2004 Brunello di Montalcino against the 2004 single vineyard Brunello di Montalcino Poggio alle Mure. Both were way too young, of course, but they tasted like quintessential Brunello to me. We ended by tasting the 1999 Brunello di Montalcino against the 1999 Brunello di Montalcino Poggio all'Oro Riserva. The basic 1999 Brunello was excellent and was drinking well. I had had this once before at Gargoyles in Boston and I remain a huge fan. The riserva, though, was positively sublime: rich, complex, and with a texture that made me want to carry it around in my mouth for the rest of the day. This was my favorite wine of the trip.

It's amazing that Banfi keeps the quality so high given the millions of bottles they produce each year. Clearly quality and quantity are not mutually exclusive. Although I prefer the philosophy and style of the old boutique vineyards, it is great to know that modern, smart vineyards can produce a great product as well.

Back in Florence we found a restaurant with local fare that set us right for the evening. We then found another old haunt of mine: Art Bar down by the Arno. We bar hopped a little, eventually settling in a pub with very personable bartenders. As is our tradition, much Guinness was consumed. As is our tradition, many shots were taken. When the bartender asked what we wanted for our first shot, I told her "qualcosa interesante," something interesting. She seemed to take that as a challenge and prepared for each of us a "scaldino."

It was a base layer of cointreau with a top layer of sambuca. The sambuca was lit on fire then the drinker was to cover the glass with his hand, snuffing out the flame and creating a crazy suction effect on his palm. Then the shot was taken and the glass was immediately recovered by the drinker's hand. Finally, with a straw poking through his fingers, the drinker breathed in the air trapped in the glass. I still don't quite understand it all but hey, it was weird and cool. After watching the US go ahead of Italy 1-0 in soccer and then lose 3-1, we closed down the bar and called it a night.

Tuesday was nice; we just walked around Florence all day. We began with breakfast at Vivoli, the world famous gelateria. Cox had raspberry; I had dark chocolate and hazelnut. We visted the leather school at Santa Croce, the Duomo, and then walked all the way up to Villa La Pietra, where I used to live. Unfortunately after the hour-long hike uphill we were disappointed to learn that the grounds are now closed without appointment. After 9/11, apparently they tightened security significantly. Oh well, next time! At least the little sandwich shop across the street as still open (and air conditioned!) so we had a nice respite before our trek back down into the city.

We walked through the market and refreshed ourselves with sparkling white wine (that came out of a tap!!!) before heading into the Accademia di Belle Arti to stand before the awe-inspiring David by Michelangelo Buonarotti. He completed it before he was 30--what the heck have I done with my life?? After that we cafe-hopped a bit and just people watched while sipping on local wines before departing for our respective desinations--Cox to the wedding and I back to Lausanne.

It was only a short trip but it was great to spend some time with my good friend in such a wonderful location. Mi manchi, firenze!

Pics are in my facebook album.

Heidelberg

Last week was pretty spectacular. Katie was in town for the week so it didn't need much to make it great to begin with. Still, the week "overperformed."

Katie arrived on Sunday and we spent the afternoon walking around the lake in the gorgeous weather. Lausanne in the summer really is paradise: highs in the 70s (F), lows in the 60s, and clear, sunny days. I had to ignore this fact purposefully last year while I was stuck in the IMD dungeons but this year I can take advantage.

Monday was a holiday so we played some beach volleyball and it was fun to play with my favorite coed 2s partner again! After a refreshing, cleansing dip in the lake, we and one of my coworkers went to a lakeside restaurant for nourishment and sangria--what a way to pass the afternoon!

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I worked but Friday too was a holiday so Katie and I left Thursday evening for Heidelberg, Germany, where her aunt lives. Heidelberg was great; although we only spent about 36 hours there, I found it to be really charming and certainly worth a return trip.

Heidelberg's most prominent attraction is its castle. As many of you know, I love castles, so I was very excited to check it out. We spent much of the day Friday just walking around the castle grounds, enjoying the lovely day, and scheming about ways to have a castle of our own!

In the evening we met up with Katie's aunt for dinner. We went to a local brewpub where I was delighted to discover that we were right in the middle of Germany's white asparagus season! Naturally we took advantage of this fact in each course and accompanied it with dark, dark German beer.

After dinner we paid a visit to Schwetzingen Castle, a much more modern palace than Heidelberger Schloss, but no less impressive. We arrived too late to walk the expansive grounds so we will just have to return some day.

Saturday we returned to Lausanne and attended an IMD MBA mini-reunion. Well technically it was supposed to be a networking event for the class of 2009. However, so many of my classmates were there that it was difficult to do much more than excitedly catch up with them. I'm not complaining!

Katie took off early on Sunday--far too soon--but it was a great week. Pictures are in my facebook album.

It Finally Happened

This weekend has been remarkable for several reasons. Chronologically:

1. On Friday it was announced that Jimmy Buffett will be performing not one but two shows in Europe this year, both in small venues. July 5th he will be in London in a theater that seats ~2,000 and September 26th he will be in Paris in a jazz lounge that seats ~900. Last year's show in a jazz lounge in Paris was UNBEATABLE. If you really consider yourself a parrothead, come join me one of these shows!

2. On Friday I finished J.R.R. Tolkien's Book of Lost Tales. It was very long and slow going but it provided amazing insight into how Tolkien arrived at the stories that were ultimately published in The Silmarillion and laid the foundation for The Lord of the Rings. It's not for the faint of heart but I recommend it for any die-hard Tolkien fans.

3. Many of you know that I have never been shat upon by a bird before in my entire life. Walking to and from IMD every day last year, I always had this fear that my streak would be broken as the paths through the woods around campus were coated with bird poop. Miraculously, however, I made it through unscathed and reached my 30th birthday still unsoiled.

Saturday morning, one of my coworkers, Bogdan, and I went to IMD to play ping pong. Bogdan is a good athlete; he was a soccer star in Romania and he has picked up beach volleyball very quickly, providing me with a much-needed partner who is consistently available. It turns out that he is pretty good at ping pong too; he beat me 5 games to 3, but most of our games were settled by 2-3 points and a few of them went to deuce.

During one game, as I was winding up for a forehand smash, I felt something on my shoulder. After putting the smash away for a winner, I looked back and was surprised to see what was obviously bird poop. On May 23rd, 2009, at approximately 11:30 AM, 30 years and 2 months to the day after I entered this world, my great streak was finally broken! It's actually kind of a relief. Bogdan and I already share a special bond because we went into the cold, cold lake together after beach volleyball earlier this year. Now we shall truly be united forever--thebrotherhood of Poken sports and bird poop!

4. After ping pong we went to play some beach volleyball and then met up with another coworker, Dave, for a late lunch. Dave and his family had arrived in their boat so they took us out for a quick tour of the lake. I'm embarrassed to say it but, after almost 18 months in Lausanne, this was my first time actually out on Lake Geneva. Crazy! Better late than never, though. It was fun looking at Lausanne from the outside in. We traced all the paths I usually run along and it felt like I was looking at them from the other side of a mirror.

5. I beat Military Madness and am now starting over, playing as the bad guys. I really don't have any time to play video games, but it really is therapeutic to devote brain cycles to strategy in a context other than Poken.

6. Rice baseball is undefeated in the C-USA tournament and will play in the championship game tonight. Go Owls!

Bogdan and I are off for some more ping pong and volleyball then this evening I'll work on a presentation for a talk I am giving on Tuesday. If anyone will be in Geneva on Tuesday, come by for the panel on new media and the future of social networking.

Pics of the above are in my facebook album.

Team Poken

Yesterday some coworkers from Poken and I played beach volleyball after work until it was completely dark out--around 9:30 these days. It had rained during the day so there weren't many other people there and we had no trouble taking the court we wanted. It wasn't exactly the highest level of play, but it was a good time. I like my coworkers; we have a good team full of smart, competent, fun people--it's a great basis on which to grow.

I've been blogging less frequently recently, partly because I've started microblogging on twitter. This helps me post those small, ad hoc musings that otherwise would need to wait for a more concerted blog entry.

The other reason I haven't been blogging much is that life has been pretty routine recently--hectic, but routine. In June my two favorite beach volley partners of all time (who also happen to be my two favorite wine consumption partners of all time) will come visit, though, so I expect plenty of bloggable stories to be generated then!

Long Time, No Blog

Sorry I've been off the scene for a while. Coming back from Italy there was a lot to do at work before gallavanting off to the US for the Nolte-Rakowitz wedding. Then, once over there, there was a lot to do trying to keep things moving forward remotely.

My time in the US was very nice. The wedding was lovely and neither the bride nor groom seemed too stressed. Always adventurers, they tried their hand at making jalapeno wine, which was very interesting. A little bit of it goes a long way and I wouldn't want to have it all the time, but its mix of spicy and sweet was very good.

After the wedding it was just nice living a "routine" in Houston for a few days: work, beach volleyball, running, seeing friends, cooking dinner, etc. My last night I was taken out for an exquisite dinner at the Petroleum Club, where it was nice to sit back and enjoy the finer things for the first time in a while.

Now I'm back in Lausanne and relatively well adjusted to the time zone. I got some beach volley in today and will again tomorrow. The annual Carnaval de Lausanne is going on right outside my apartment. This means that the streets are packed, live bands are playing, and vendors are set up all over the place. Thank goodness for ear plugs at night!

Over the past couple of weeks I've had the chance to enjoy some leisure entertainment. Via the Wii Virtual Console, I reconnected with Military Madness, one of my favorite games for the Turbo Grafx-16 back in the day. It was ahead of its time in terms of strategy game sophistication but I love how timeless it has turned out to be. I have as much enjoyment out of it now as I did in 6th grade.

All the flights have also given me the chance to watch a few movies: Valkyrie (ok), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (not bad), Taken (ok--Liam Neeson was an interesting casting choice), and The Wrestler (good). I think there were a couple more in there but clearly they weren't all that memorable. All this, of course, is just a distraction while I'm waiting for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to open in July!

Coming and Going

I just dropped my week-long house guest off at the train station (where IMD Professor Dominiq Thurpin was also taking the train to Geneve-Aeroport) for a tearful goodbye. It was a wonderful week with her in town and it felt so, so, so good to cook again--really for the first time in my 15 months in Lausanne. She also helped me outfit the apartment so it finally is really liveable.

We capped off the week with a birthday dinner last night at La Suite, where I have long eyed the 95-point Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino 2003 on their wine list. For the second time in a week our restaurant turned out only to have one bottle remaining so we were clearly destined to drink it. I would describe it as good-not-great. To be fair, it was too young and should have had a few more years in the bottle. It definitely opened up after a couple of hours but, even still, it didn't bowl me over. There were good red currant flavors up front and a gorgeous, satiny texture. The tannin profile was one of the best, most gentle I have tasted and the finish went on and on. Perhaps these are clues that James Suckling uses to predict that this wine will be 95 points in the future, when it is ready to drink. I readily admit that I don't have enough experience drinking top-quality Brunello to have an exceptional feel for its aging trajectory. To quote Braveheart, well that's something we shall have to remedy, now isn't it?

The rest of the dinner was delicious, as I have come to expect from La Suite: crottin de chevre and lentil soupe to start, bone-in lamb and sea bass after, followed by molten chocolate cake that paired excellently with the last dregs of our Brunello. Of course nothing could beat the company as we plotted out ways to change the world and juggle international careers. It was a fantastic ending to a fantastic pre-birthday week.

Now it is time to return 100% of my focus to Poken. I have been taking on too many things in my three months here and, as a consequence, not doing any of them exceptionally. It's my fault for letting myself get sucked into working in the business instead of on it, which is always an easy temptation in a startup where everything is urgent. It is not too late to rectify, however, and I'm on the case, working feverishly to crank out some deliverables before I hop on a plane to Taipei this afternoon.

First Week In New Apartment

Sorry for my absence but last week kept me very busy! On top of many long hours at the office (due to our release of a new website look and feel), I also moved into my new apartment and have been dealing with all of the time sucks that come with that. Pics of the new place--such as it is--are in my facebook album.

Friday night I met up with our new Marketing Director at Bavaria to discuss our product strategy. We ate sausage and drank Berlinoise ("glass of framboise + bottle of hefeweissbier == good!")--I felt very Bavarian!

Saturday night was our IMD MBA Class of 2008 reunion dinner at the Moevenpick hotel. Many of us stayed in Switzerland so we had over 30 attendees--not bad for a class of 89!

On another note, I am loving Google Latitude. It's like Twitter but coupled with locational information. It uses your phone's GPS (or you can update it manually) to publish your location to your friends. Obviously privacy is a concern so you can hide your location from one, some, or all of your friends at any time. It uses some mobile phone data bandwidth but the possibilities of knowing when you are unexpectedly close to a friend of yours is more than worth it. On Monday, for example, I bumped into an IMD classmate as we got off the train in Geneva. Had we been using Latitude, we would have known that we were on the same train and enjoyed the ride together. Cool stuff!

Exciting times!

After a full weekend of Poken work, yesterday I moved into my new apartment! Well, sort of. I have a bed, a sheet, a blanket (Thanks, Lee and Sam!), a pillow, a shower curtain, and a water filter. Oh right, and lots of bags! I thought I would be able to leech wireless Internet access from a local cafe, but no such luck. Until my DSL is installed I suppose I'll be spending late nights at the office.

Last night I tried out the Thai restaurant next door to my new apartment. I was disappointed to learn that they don't serve Pad Thai. What kind of Thai restaurant doesn't serve Pad Thai?? Oh well, at least it's open late 7 days/week--very rare, here in Lausanne!

Our software team is killing itself with this new interface right now. The developers are getting sick, not seeing their families, and living on caffeine. We're taking a much-needed break right now to play darts--at which I am terrible--then it's back to work. But, for a few minutes at least, we're having a good time. :-)

P.S. We need a ping pong table!

My Diet

My daily diet can be summed up in two staple food groups:

1. bread

2. stuff you put on bread

Now before you think my diet is boring, let me clarify that there is a LOT of stuff you can put on bread! In the past few days alone, I have eaten bread topped with the following:

honey

cheese

smoked salmon

Nutella

chicken curry sauce

arugula

mangoes

papayas

and pretty much every combination thereof. It's nice living across the street from Globus, which has the most Whole Foods/Central Market-like grocery store that I've found in Lausanne. They have several whole grain selections and the bread is always fresh, crusty, and delicious. Until I'm moved into a more permanent apartment with the means to boil water for pasta, bread will probably remain my main source of complex carbs.

Of course, I don't eat exclusively bread-based meals. I also eat dark chocolate. :-) The Swiss swear that it's good for you and I am happy to accept that as gospel without trying to verify it.

Today was a milestone for me: I successfully responded to a request for directions from a lost couple on the streets of Lausanne--and in French!

This week will mark another milestone: on Wednesday I and some other members of the Poken team are headed to Google's Zurich office to present a Tech Talk. It was just a couple of months ago that I was there interviewing!