A Day Late…
But never short. Grandad served in World War II. Although not in this particular order: he taught Women Airforce Service Pilots to fly; he put his friend, Sid (a German Jew) in charge of Nazi POWs, and he met my Grandma in Palm Springs, CA. After an inventory discussion on what, exactly, a ‘flat bastard’ was, he asked her out.
This weekend we visited the Museum of Flight, a place where it feels there are thousands of stories I should know, but don’t. A place where I almost expect to see Grandma sitting on the next bench, ready to tell me a few.
I keep looking. But it’s still quiet. So I wander and wonder and take these for him:
A year, maybe two, before I left eBay, there was a campaign called “The Power of All of Us”. It will always be my favorite representation of the company, because it showed that its specialness had nothing to do with categories or fees or cars. It was the people. Doing good things. For the launch, they took the employees to a local theatre in Salt Lake City and showed us user stories. The kind that made us all feel warm & fuzzy inside, but which I can’t remember now. Except this one. This one made me cry.
Thank you, veterans.
Out of My Gourd
We’re having a pumpkin decorating contest at work this Friday. My original reaction to this announcement was, ‘Ugh. Burnt. Out. Brain. Tired. Creativity, DEAD.’ Two weeks ago, I was perfectly content with the idea that the sum total of my responsibility for this event was a potluck bowl of rice and a giant dish of Green Chilie Chicken.
But. then. A few days ago, The Voice started meeping. From waaay in the back closet of my brain, where I keep all lonely piles of Later-If-Not-Never cares, I felt it tilt it’s head to the right, tap a fingernail on the floor and mumble, ‘hmm. pumpkin contest.’
To which I thought, ‘SHUT UP. I’m tired. I’m not doing it.’ Another tap. ‘It’s just a *little* pumpkin contest.’
Closing my eyes, I thought, ‘I. DON’T. CAA-A-ARE. And also? Hey, CRAZY. Shut uuuuuup!’
‘Huh. Looky there. Martha Stewart’s got about a bajillion pumpkin decorating clips on Comcast On Demand. But no. Don’t watch it. I DARE you.’
‘Crap!’
So yeah. Guess what I’m doing tonight? The same thing I do every night. Trying to take over the world! [insert plan for the World's Greatest Pumpkin here.] Bwah-ha-ha.
I’ve drummed up a few old entries from the Great eBay Gourd Competition I’ve mentioned here before, but am still coming up a little ‘empty-shelled’. Anyone got any bright ideas? What are your Great Pumpkin plans this year?
Swan Lake
Gourdilocks
Gourd-In-the-Hat
Lady Gourdiva
the Matrix Re-Gourded
RASCI, the MonGourd
The Gourdfather
The Gourdtrige Family
La Gourdia
UPDATE: Wow. I learn the craziest, most randomest things while reading my blog feeds. From Presentation Zen (a blog about, you guessed it – presentations) I found this awesome pumpkin carving contest gallery from Duarte Design. And, dang. Just…DANG. Their employees have been doing this for 13 years, and from the looks of the Specimen, Carved Crusader and WIIIIIILSON! pumpkins, they’re my kind o’ people.
On the Other End of the Email
Of all the things I ever read about eBay, the topic that rankles me the most is the belief that Customer Support is run by robots. That there aren’t 5,000 people there running around busting their butts trying to make a difference every damn day.
(Anyone who’s read my eBay posts may have noticed this. Along with the definite sense that I was unbelievably pissy, angry and unhappy my last few months there. But…topic for another day.)
Rather than continue to simply rant about the nineteen million ways that’s wrong, whrong, wrong-o, I’ve decided to try to show it instead. Along with my regular blog photos, I’ll be posting my eBay pictures and stories to illustrate the times and people as I knew them.
The names will be changed. The stories will be true. Hopefully, you’ll love them as I do.
Pierre, Jules and Meg
eBay Customer Support 2nd Anniversary Celebration, Salt Lake City 2001
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Wonder Walls
When visiting my cubicle for the first time, people say one of two things:
“Wow. It’s so…colorful…over here”, or
“Do you work for eBay?”
This is because my cubicle is plastered with just about every piece of event material I’ve created during the year, and a LOT of family photos.
Family that includes many, many, many eBay peeps.
I don’t do it to brag. I do it because I know I’m obsessive.
A trait that often leads to getting bogged down, stuck or just plain negative. When that happens, all I have to do is look up.
Everywhere I glance I can find a design, event or face that reminds me, “this was good”, “that was not so good”, or “think of things in a completely different way”.
