Rice Football

And speaking of football, my Redskins weren't the only team to do well this weekend. Saturday after the Association of Rice Alumni board meeting, I had the pleasure to attend a Rice football game against the University of North Texas.

My Owls didn't disappoint me in a record-setting, 77-20 demolition of the Mean Green. With four TD receptions in the first half alone, Jarrett Dillard tied the NCAA record for career TD receptions (50). He and QB Chase Clement broke the NCAA record for TDs between a QB-WR pair (40).

It was a beautiful day too--great football weather. I can't believe it's been 11 years since I stepped onto the field in Rice Stadium as a player. My freshman roommate and I took some time the day before to throw the ball around, run some patterns, and get some sprint exercise. While it was a lot of fun, the subsequent soreness in my hamstrings reinforced that I am not in the same shape I was in back during my playing days--go figure!

Over a decade later, though, the lessons I learned on the field are still paying off: teamwork, leadership, discipline, integrity, and a relentless thirst for victory even in the face of the most daunting of challenges . . . fortunately, the field of business doesn't require quite so much exertion from my hamstrings!

NFC East

The mighty Washington Redskins beat division rival Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium AGAIN yesterday. I missed most of the game while I was flying back to Switzerland, but I did see part of it during my layover in Newark. Hail to the Redskins!

Moreover, hail to the NFC East! With the Giants (3-0 and defending Super Bowl champs), Redskins (3-1), Cowboys (3-1), and Eagles (2-2), is there really any division that can compare?

BBQ, Blues, and Football

Yesterday was very productive. I met with a former US Deputy Secretary of Energy to discuss which companies had the most potential for global impact. He was very helpful and provided several interesting leads, especially around companies that specialize in the IT side of the energy world.

Then the evening was wonderful. I sat around with 10 of my best friends in Houston, dining on Goode Company BBQ, and talking about everything ranging from politics to Ayn Rand to football. One player was conspicuously absent but he was the topic of conversation frequently enough that he was at least represented in spirit.

Through a miracle of chance, my brother is in town this week so he joined us for dinner and will crash at my house. The opportunity to see him--and my nephew, his son--was the icing on the cake. This is a great trip.

Texas Burgers

Now that the beach volleyball season is essentially over in Lausanne, it feels good to be back in a place where it is still going strong. Tonight I played coed 4s at Third Coast Volleyball, my old stomping ground. It was good to see a number of familiar faces and to get in a couple of hours of play.

Afterward we picked up buffalo burgers at Bubba's Texas Burger Shack, a local legend. A couple of days after listening to Buffett perform Cheeseburger in Paradise, this was just what I needed. Huge buffalo meat patties, fresh wheat buns, gooey cheddar cheese, smoked jalapenos, and grilled onions, oh how I missed thee . . .

Yesterday I had Cajun (Treebeard's) for lunch and tomorrow I will have BBQ (Goode Co.) for dinner. If I can add some Tex Mex to the mix, I will feel complete from a culinary perspective.

There is still no Internet at home, which is making my career pursuits harder than anticipated.

Houston After Ike

After sustaining days of hurricane-force winds and torrential rains, Houston has held up pretty well. I wish I could say the same for the rest of the Texas gulf coast, much of which may have been dealt a fatal blow. In Houston there is still debris all over the streets--mostly fallen trees/limbs, but also a significant amount of glass from shattered windows and material from signs and buildings. Many traffic lights are still without power and that is causing serious traffic congestion.

Still, the city stood up well to a direct hit and for many it's almost back to business as usual. We have power at my house, although unfortunately still no Internet. The Rice alumni office is letting me camp out with them during the daytime so I can check in online every once in awhile. One thing that has NOT changed about Houston is the heat (90 degrees F today) and humidity (70% today) so I'm thankful that we at least have A/C at home.

It's fun driving a car again for the first time in 9 months. Directing the 270 horses in my convertible feels somehow very . . . empowering. It's a nice feeling of control after 9 months of feeling more reactive to everything the professors throw at us--not to mention the complete ignorance of where my career search will lead!

I had lunch today with Vanessa Kellogg, a Rice alum at Horizon Wind Energy, to discuss the particulars of the wind generation industry. She was very, very helpful so I think the least I can do is plug her book on wind energy: Wind the World Over. Talking with people like Vanessa renews my faith that we WILL find a solution (or solutionS) to the world's energy woes.

Meanwhile it feels good to be back. As I look out the alumni office window onto the grounds of Rice's Lovett Hall and main academic quad, I'm pleased to see that the old live oaks survived the storm well and that the campus is as beautiful as ever. I feel at peace and I feel at home. Now I need to stop feeling so peaceful and get my career search into gear!

Back in the USA!

I just spent 10.5 hours on the flight from Paris to Houston. Continental, which has always had a great product, has upgraded its 777s with power plugs at each seat—very helpful for laptop-minded travelers such as myself. However, I really didn’t take advantage of the new feature as I was distracted by the entertainment system, which had been upgraded as well.

With a selection of 300+ movies to start, stop, pause, and fast forward as I please, I had the chance to catch up on American movies that had been released while I was abroad. I saw The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Iron Man, Leatherheads, and, running out of new movies I wanted to see, Rear Window. It made for a very pleasant flight and now it’s good to be back in the US of A for the first time since early January!

Paris

Today was another lovely day walking around Paris. Yesterday we spent time in the Luxembourg gardens and Pantheon. Today we wandered around the Latin Quarter. We capped it off with dinner at our favorite restaurant, Aux Charpentiers, where we stuffed ourselves full of great food and wine. What a pleasant reprieve from my career search!