The Desert of My Dreams

I spent a few hours fiddling with Wordpress today and I seem to have fixed the issues with my blog template. I installed the new 2.5 RC1 over my old 2.3 installation (that solved the duplicate entry issue) and switched to a new template (that solved the about page not showing up). After trying a few WP templates, I finally settled on Hemingway - simple, classic, minimalist. I actually loved my old template but change is always good.

Fray is currently accepting submissions for stories along the theme of “Geek: Stories of People Taking Things Too Seriously.” Admittedly, I’m a geek about a lot of things but my obsession with Sarah McLachlan probably sets me apart from other geeks. In any case, here’s the story I submitted to Fray.

It all started when I was a sophomore in college. I was listening to Sarah’s (we’re on first name basis) Mirrorball CD and Fear came on. At the time, I was going through a deep depression, unsure of who I was or the purpose of my life.

“But I fear I have nothing to give.”

That was it. As soon as I heard that lyric, it was almost like Sarah was speaking directly to me. At that moment, I was no longer an average music fan. I became obsessed. I needed to get my hands on anything and everything Sarah. I started listening to all of her previous releases and conducting as much online research about her as possible. What was the meaning of each lyric? Had I interpreted them correctly? Was she really talking about what *I* was going through? What is she up to right now? When is the next CD coming out? What do you mean she’s on a hiatus between records?!?

At some point, I discovered that there was lots of Sarah merchandise to be had on eBay – autographed photos, magazines with Sarah on the cover, t-shirts, magnets, posters, singles, and rare CDs. I had to have it all! I started bidding on all sorts of items, only bounded by my limited college student income. Items started coming in from all over North America, and with each bringing me a bit of joy as I learned more about Sarah and her music. After a few months of serious bidding, I became an eBay snob of sorts. Not any item will do – I had my standards. Some items were clearly put together for eBay consumption – such as the framed CDs and signed posters/photos. My standard became that it had to be an original authentic item, not one fabricated for the sole purpose of eBay auctions. Plus I already had one of those framed CD/signed photo combos and how many could one possibly need? I started focusing mainly on collecting her singles and any CD where she appeared, including compilations and soundtracks. My collection of Sarah-related CDs grew to well over 50 CDs. According to iTunes, I have 297 songs by Sarah – that’s 1.51 GB and 23.4 hours of Sarah. I have six versions of Fear, which is impressive except when compared to the 16 versions of Possession I own in my digital Sarah collection.

While looking for Sarah information online, I stumbled upon the Fumbling Towards Ecstasy email list, a community of Sarah fans named after one of her major releases. I subscribed to the list and found people even geekier and snobbier about their obsession of Sarah than me. I became a “Fumbler” and learned even more about the subtleties of Sarah’s music. I argued about the best CD, the best track, the best version of a certain track, and the length of Sarah’s hair. Looking back on it all, I’m amazed how much stuff we found to discuss given that Sarah wasn’t actually doing anything newsworthy.

During the height of my obsession with Sarah, I even traveled to Canada to see Sarah perform at a couple of benefit shows. Both experiences were amazing and I’m glad I put forth the extra effort to attend.

Eight years after the start of my Sarah fandom, I’m still subscribed to the Fumbling Towards Ecstasy list and I still passively follow her news online (she’s on another hiatus between records). I can’t remember the last time I bid on a Sarah item on eBay and it has been about four years since I last saw her perform live. I still listen to a lot of Sarah – my CD alarm clock wakes me up every morning to the sounds of Plenty, my shower CD clock radio blares Sweet Surrender as I get ready in the morning, and my favorite Pandora station shuffles through Sarah and other related artists as I work every day.

Oh and my small one bedroom apartment has three framed Sarah posters hanging on the walls.

This post has a double purpose - first, if you don’t read my blog through RSS, apologies for the mess around here. Wordpress started acting up a few weeks ago and I can’t seem to fix it. If you can’t tell what’s wrong, my WordPress template for some reason isn’t showing the button for the about page, the mini about in the sidebar, and displays the same post twice in the blog post page. The second purpose of this post is to see if anyone has any idea how to fix this. I posted the issue to the WP forums but got no response. :( I feel like I’ve tried everything that I know given my limited knowledge of WordPress and PHP. It is driving me crazy!

I just started a new blog focused on social software and collaboration. I figured the occasional post about my professional interests shouldn’t be interspersed with my rambles about my boring life or photos of Mulder.

I suppose it could be argued that photos of Mulder are more interesting than my professional musings. :)

In any case, I’m hoping having a dedicated space will energize me into putting more effort into writing down my thoughts about social media - as opposed to just having them float in my head. It’s a work-in-progress thus far so the content is minimal but feedback is always appreciated.

then take my survey!

(oh and pass it on to your friends - thanks!)

Sorry, Mulder, they’re actually going to Dubai

One of the benefits of attending SI is the school’s strong alumni network. You can find alums working at some of the hottest companies and in almost every industry. This aspect of the school was a major draw for me when I was applying to grad schools. If others who attended the school could get a good job, I figured I could too. Later when I learned more about social networks and Granovetter’s work on weak ties, I realized that having that network could be important for my career. Admittedly, when I was looking for a job after graduation, I didn’t directly use those weak ties - it just sort of fell in my lap. I learned of the position opening for my current job and was able to interview for it through an alum (via a classmate). And when I got my summer internship in 2005, a second year student who had held the position the summer before offered invaluable advice about what to expect and how to get the most out of the experience. In short, SI alums helped me along the way and I like being able to help others. At the same time, I think there is a right way to contact alums and a wrong way to contact alums. Here are a few painfully obvious tips:

• Don’t send me a generic email. Nothing says tacky than getting a one-liner that simply says “I’m interested in your company.” OK, why? Show me that you really are interested. Why do you want to work in UX and why at Microsoft? Be specific about your request - what sort of advice or feedback do you want? Simply sending me your resume and expecting me to somehow get you a job or plaster your resume isn’t going to cut it.
• Don’t spam all of my friends with that same generic email. Guess what? I still keep in touch with other SI alums, especially the ones who live in the Bay Area. Some of them are even my friends! And I even work with an alum! We talk! Spaming a large number of alums with the same email doesn’t make me want to help you - it says that you’re lazy, unprofessional, and rude.
• Don’t send me a generic LinkedIn request. If I’ve never met you or communicated with you before, don’t send me a LinkedIn request, and worse yet don’t send the generic LinkedIn request! “Noor, I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.” Um, ok, but why should I add you? I don’t know you. Why would I want you to see my network?
• You’re not entitled to anything. I don’t have to help you. I don’t have to get you a job. Don’t send me an email with that attitude. First of all, I can’t believe you’re so naive as to think that I’m somehow capable of getting you a job - when I’ve only been out of school 1.5 years myself. Again, ask direct questions about what sort of help and feedback you’d like. Try to build a relationship. Asking me to plaster your resume isn’t building a relationship.
• Say thank you. If I’ve sent you a response to your email, say thank you! How much effort does it take to say, “Hey Noor, thanks!” OK, so I probably didn’t get you a job, but if I’ve offered tips on your resume, passed you somebody’s contact info, or given you advice about interviewing at Microsoft, say thank you! It takes time and effort for me to respond to you so send a quick note that says you appreciate it. Not saying thank you doesn’t make me more willing to talk you up to my colleagues. Again, it sends the message that you’re lazy, unprofessional, and feel entitled to that feedback.
• Be prepared/show you care. Have somebody look at your resume (umm, like Career Services?) and portfolio before contacting me. Attaching a sloppy resume is bad form and again won’t make me want to pass it around. Again, you’re sending the message that you’re lazy and just don’t care. If I recommend you to one of my colleagues, my reputation is on the line - I’m less likely to do that when your resume is unpolished and sloppy. It is also a waste of my time (and yours) for me to send you basic feedback about your resume.

I don’t want this post to make it sound like I’m grumpy and don’t want to help people. Because I really do. I enjoy getting emails from current students and like sharing my experiences with others. But nobody likes feeling used. The bottom line is - when contacting alums, seek advice and try to build a relationship. After all, only you can get yourself a job.

“Will I have to switch my Yahoo! email address to Hotmail? ‘Cause I don’t want to change my email address.”

1. I canceled cable. Specifically, I canceled my TV service through Comcast. Since moving to California, I’ve gone through 4 or 5 set-top boxes. Every time this happens, I have to unplug my old box, go to the Comcast service center (mind you making sure that I get there before they close), wait in line, return my old box, get a new box, and plug in my new box. And every time that this happens, I lose the recordings on my DVR and have to re-setup all of my series recordings. If you’ve used Comcast’s DVR, then you know how much of a pain it is to do this (especially when their search/program data sucks - like when it can’t find The Biggest Loser or American Idol). I started having problems with my set-top box last week and it finally died on Sunday. Comcast’s solution was the usual - return it and get a new one. I think I would have had more patience with them but I just went through this whole process in November! And I was so angry with them that I even ordered DSL, which will be installed next week. After that, I’ll be Comcast-free (and saving about $70/month)! Netflix will now be my sole source of video entertainment. I have to admit that it has been a little weird to come home from work and not turn on the TV to some mindless reality program. At the same time, though, I’m looking forward to spending more time watching movies (which I actually enjoy far more than most TV programs), reading, and playing Xbox games. So far, I’ve just been spending more time online.
2. I’m taking a statistics class. Through some sort of self-imposed punishment, I decided to take a statistics class. I begrudgingly took one as an undergrad (because I was required to) and was elated in grad school when I was able to get the stats requirement waived because of said class. I now sort of regret the path I took (although I know that doing so afforded me other things - like taking more exciting classes in grad school). Even though most of my work is qualitative, I figure that as long as “researcher” is in my title I should make a serious effort at improving my quantitative skills. I’ve only had one class session but so far the workload is manageable. The only things that suck is that it meets for 3.5 hours every Wednesday evening until May (and a few Saturday mornings) and that I have to do homework. Other than that, it has been kind of cool to take a class just for the hell of it and not to meet a degree requirement. It’s funny how much more motivated I’ve been without the added pressure of “OMG! This is going on my transcript!”
3. I’m wearing Invisalign. I’ve actually been wearing them since October but somehow managed to not blog about it. I’ve had a gap in my front teeth for as long as I can remember. It is the sort of thing that most people probably don’t notice but always bothered me about my teeth. To fix the gap, I’ve been wearing (almost) invisible plastic aligners on both my upper and lower teeth. I have to wear them all the time (they say a minimum of 22 hours a day) and have to take them out when I eat. Every two weeks, I get a new set of aligners. Overall, it has been really easy to live with and I’m pretty impressed with how far my teeth have moved. My entire treatment is going to take about eight - nine months so I’m about halfway there. There is a considerable amount of pressure on my teeth (it can be painful) when I first put in a new pair of aligners but that goes away after a couple of days. Aside from the expense, I’d highly recommend it.

How do I make my profile private/friends only? Why is this so difficult to figure out? Grrr!! There should a big check box “make private!” Continent list? Huh? What does that mean Friendster??? I don’t want to read! I want to check one box and be on my way! GRRRRR!!!!!!

UPDATE - OK, I’m an idiot. Just found “Who can view my full profile.” The continents are still confusing me, though.