I made it through the week...but only barely. I had a lot of residual exhaustion built up because...
....drum roll...
I went to NYC last weekend.
The plan was to fly up on Thursday to surprise Hannah for Valentines Day. As soon as she knew she was going to be working and living on Staten Island, I bought a ticket: leaving Thursday after work and coming back late Monday night. That would give me 4 nights and 4 days to see her. It was going to be the most epic, Hollywood-esque surprise ever. I made up this elaborate story about how I was going to get her a package that would arrive late Thursday night. She had sent me something too. Our plan was to talk on the phone and open each other's gifts. I specifically made her block off a time frame on Thursday night late in order to do this. But really, I was going to show up. It was all so perfect...in my head.
Then about a week before, while evading Hannah's questions about her gift, she talked about leaving her housing to go get WiFi so maybe we could video chat Thursday night. I panicked and told her that she had to...really must...be at her housing Thursday night. It was all downhill from there. She knew. And she continued phishing. And eventually I was clued in that she suspected. So I began to talk non-stop about plans that I had for the weekend. Which of course was obvious if you were looking for it. And of course confirmed what Hannah suspected.
So, then she decides to make me sweat. I'm in the airport and she is talking about not being home Thursday night. So, at that point I knew that she knew, and so I let her know that I knew that she knew what I was about to do. And we laughed via text message at each other. And then we got excited.
It actually worked out for the better. Laguardia is about 1 hour and 5 minutes from the Staten Island Ferry. So, I had to spend an extra 25 minutes waiting for the next ferry. And she was staying in a church another 30 minutes from the ferry on Staten Island. So, all in all, it took me about 2.5 hours to get from train to the arms of my girl. It was about a 1.5 hour flight, so it seemed funny to take so long to get there after I was already in NYC. I would have been 30 minutes late for our phone date. Glad I didnt have to try and cover that up. Instead, we texted the whole way from Laguardia to SI. Play by play. And eventually, I got off the SI rail, walked up the hill, walked up to the church where they were staying, and texted her a picture of the outside. She ran down the stairs and we hugged and kissed. Queue the classical music. Her teammates watched from the window above, giggling. I went inside for a bit, met everyone, and gave out the gifts I had travelled with. Most of my packed bag was candy, letters, and PPE for the coming weekend of work. It was late, so I didn't stay long.
I rode the rail back towards the ferry. Getting off one stop short, I began to walk up the street I thought was towards my housing. It was past midnight. It was a little strange too. Then I began to think I was in a bad neighborhood. Then I began to gain ground on some people who appeared to be drunk. And it was clear I was not in the right neighborhood for someone concerned about safety. So, I walked slower. And I started checking the map. And I put my head on a swivel. And eventually, I came to the solid waste department. My room was across the street from where they kept the garbage trucks. I made it inside, figured out where my key was, and quickly fell asleep in a bed in a new world I had never before visited. It was going to be a good weekend.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Friday, February 08, 2013
Charlotte Startup Weekend
Two weekends ago (yes, I am a bit behind in my chronology), there was an event that catered towards entrepreneurs and tech-types called Charlotte Startup Weekend. The premise is that, similar to a hackathon, people come together and experience many of the elements of business creation all in a single 2.5 day period. Now, its hard to really create a full business in that time. It is hard, but possible, to create some tech product or service in that time period, so the event draws in programmers, developers, and all the tech-based people in between. But the ideas don't have to be tech-based.
So, Friday night, everyone gets together and pitches their ideas. They call them fast pitches...because you only get 60 seconds to describe a need, a solution, and the types of people you want to partner with to make it happen. Quick is an understatement. Then you vote, form teams, and by sunday night you present a plan.
I pitched my idea. I want to create a simulator that allows you to preview a presentation you're going to give through the eyes of the audience. Nothing makes me more annoyed than being at the back of a room and not being able to see projected text. Even sitting in the front sometimes doesn't fix it if there is too much light and you don't pick the right colors. So I pitched. So did 40 other people. Only 7 got picked. Mine wasn't one of them.
My friend Rene also came to see how this whole thing worked. She pitched her idea for a mobile or web-based platform to improve communication and coordination of animals shelters, rescue animals, and potential volunteers. Apparently the current system is awful. And she couldn't help thinking..."there has to be a better way." She didn't get picked either.
So, of the ideas that did get picked, we had to choose what teams we wanted to be on. The first team I was interested in, and the team that Rene ended up going with, was an idea called The Brush Fairy. So, imagine you are forgetful. And imagine you never buy a new toothbrush when you need to. Well, there is a service that will automagically send you a new brush every three months. This isn't that service. This is that service, but for kids! So, imagine not only does your kid get a new brush, but he or she also gets a personal story from the older sister of the tooth fairy. Imagine your kid being excited about a new brush. imagine your kid being excited about brushing their teeth. Imagine you sell 3 other brushes to the rest of the family when you are sending the kid their special package. Genius. Its no surprise they won the contest. But they only beat my team on account of the feasibility and the likelihood of coming to fruition.
The most audacious idea went to the team I ended up joining. Imagine you could create a seamless integration of parental assistance, guidance counseling, and academic recruiting that allowed kids to better know and fulfill the requirements needed to get into their dream school. Imagine it was a 4-5 year process instead of just a one time application with a win/lose outcome. Imagine you could help parents better understand the roadmap for experience outside of the classroom their kids needed for experiential education. Imagine if guidance counselors were able to help more kids finish high school and more kids get into colleges. Imagine if universities recruited and scouted smart kids from an early age. This is the big, monster of a business that we studied, designed, and created a plan for in 54 hours. Audacious is an understatement. I'll let you know if it works out. This is the kind of thing that could really be game changing. Life changing.
Stay warm out there kiddies.
DAlen
So, Friday night, everyone gets together and pitches their ideas. They call them fast pitches...because you only get 60 seconds to describe a need, a solution, and the types of people you want to partner with to make it happen. Quick is an understatement. Then you vote, form teams, and by sunday night you present a plan.
I pitched my idea. I want to create a simulator that allows you to preview a presentation you're going to give through the eyes of the audience. Nothing makes me more annoyed than being at the back of a room and not being able to see projected text. Even sitting in the front sometimes doesn't fix it if there is too much light and you don't pick the right colors. So I pitched. So did 40 other people. Only 7 got picked. Mine wasn't one of them.
My friend Rene also came to see how this whole thing worked. She pitched her idea for a mobile or web-based platform to improve communication and coordination of animals shelters, rescue animals, and potential volunteers. Apparently the current system is awful. And she couldn't help thinking..."there has to be a better way." She didn't get picked either.
So, of the ideas that did get picked, we had to choose what teams we wanted to be on. The first team I was interested in, and the team that Rene ended up going with, was an idea called The Brush Fairy. So, imagine you are forgetful. And imagine you never buy a new toothbrush when you need to. Well, there is a service that will automagically send you a new brush every three months. This isn't that service. This is that service, but for kids! So, imagine not only does your kid get a new brush, but he or she also gets a personal story from the older sister of the tooth fairy. Imagine your kid being excited about a new brush. imagine your kid being excited about brushing their teeth. Imagine you sell 3 other brushes to the rest of the family when you are sending the kid their special package. Genius. Its no surprise they won the contest. But they only beat my team on account of the feasibility and the likelihood of coming to fruition.
The most audacious idea went to the team I ended up joining. Imagine you could create a seamless integration of parental assistance, guidance counseling, and academic recruiting that allowed kids to better know and fulfill the requirements needed to get into their dream school. Imagine it was a 4-5 year process instead of just a one time application with a win/lose outcome. Imagine you could help parents better understand the roadmap for experience outside of the classroom their kids needed for experiential education. Imagine if guidance counselors were able to help more kids finish high school and more kids get into colleges. Imagine if universities recruited and scouted smart kids from an early age. This is the big, monster of a business that we studied, designed, and created a plan for in 54 hours. Audacious is an understatement. I'll let you know if it works out. This is the kind of thing that could really be game changing. Life changing.
Stay warm out there kiddies.
DAlen
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