Tuesday, May 31, 2005

craig newmark

craig newmark is the founder of craig's list. he was a software contractor who started an email list in 1995 to help his friends find out about cool events happening around their town (san fran). ten years later craig's list covers 100 cities and offers jobs, furnitures, event listings, personals, you name it. i am a huge fan and sold a bunch of furniture this year on it.

the coolest thing about craig's list is how focused it on its users. posting or buying doesn't require divulging my family history to build a user profile or creating yet another user name and password. and the posting technology works with flickr. it's so user-friendly!

although craig's list is actually a for-profit company, it maintains a very bohemian, community-minded ethos. i love that craig himself demoted himself to bring in a professional CEO and is now just a regular emplyoee there.


click here to read more about why craig's list works.

Saturday, May 28, 2005

T minus 4 weeks

holy shit it's officially four weeks until the bigday.com!

everyone keeps asking me how i feel, or if i'm having cold feet, as if i'm going to say, "aww shit, you're right. i'm not sure if i'm cut out for this. could you give me a lift to the bus station?"

i'm excited. this is going to be awesome. yeah, the to-do list never seems to end, but we've got all of the major things done. can't let the little stressors interfere with the big picture. for example, last night the woman from the string trio we hired for the ceremony informs me that they cannot sit in sunlight. she has known for EIGHT MONTHS that we're having an outdoor wedding at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. NOW she's decided it's an issue? She suggested that the trio sit inside and have the music piped to the Rose Garden (where the ceremony is). Is she kidding me? I might as well have a tape and boom box.

Saturday, May 21, 2005

arsenal win FA cup

my favorite club team, Arsenal, won the FA cup over Man U yesterday in a penalty shoot-out. Arsenal goalkeeper Lehmann made an incredible save during the shoot out:

lehmann_saves_penalty

and dutch national team star and my overall favorite player denis bergkamp had a great run in what may be his last run with the team.

bergkamp_FA cup

read the whole story here.

thanks to bbc online for the pics.

Friday, May 20, 2005

sexy cheerleading

apparently, cheerleading has gotten out of hand in texas.

great clip from the daily show that interviews the sponsor of the bill to ban sexy cheerleading.

Thursday, May 19, 2005

you were the chosen one

last night proved that 21 years was worth the wait for lucas to make a great finish to the greatest move series of all time.

we headed to the theater around 10 to get in line and enjoy the freakfest. however, there was only one girl in our theater dressed to kill
leia outfit

we had all kinds of time kill since they let us into the theater right away. hunter played with some kid's lightsaber
hunter with light saber

eventually, katie showed up and proved why i'm the luckiest dude on earth, as she sported princess leia hair buns:
sahil + katie at premiere 2

that's right, i'm wearing my han solo empire strikes back jacket.

on the the film: it lived up to the billing of being dark, tragic and thrilling. anakin is believable as a tormented jedi. obi-wan shows why he kicks ass but misleads anakin. and palpatine is defines machiavellan. i love natalie portman, but she is the only drag on the movie. the 'tender moment' scenes suck donkey balls. fortunately, there are only a few and they are mercifully brief. awesome action sequences. nice cameo by chewbacca. yoda kicks some serious ass. and darth vadar is the ultimate tragic hero. go see it. i've been waiting since i was five years old for this movie and it was a dream come true. sure, a few bits could have been better, and it still doesn't make sense why obi-wan seem ignorant of leia's existence in empire strikes back, given that he is in the delivery room with padme. but it is a stunning piece of work, worthy of your $8, if only to tell your kids that you were there.

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

it is your destiny

tonight is possibly the cinematic highlight of my life. in 1983, my parents took my brother and me to see Return of the Jedi. it's the first movie i remember seeing in the theater and it changed my life. at the time, i had seen star wars but not empire strikes back, so i didn't understand all of the story line. my dad explained why han solo was in carbon freeze and how vadar was actually luke's dad.

growing up, my cousins and i would re-enact star wars during family get-togethers. at one point, my brother and i could recite every single line of episode iv, in order, from every scene, from memory. my older cousins raised the urban myth that 'someday' george lucas would make the first three episodes that explain how anakin became darth vadar.

and tonight it arrives. it goes without saying that episodes ii and iii grossly disappointed me. however, revenge of the sith promises to be everything those two episodes were not. the nytimes review claims that lucas 'redeems himself.'

i'm going to the local premiere at midnight tonight with a group friends. i wish i had a better outfit than my empire strikes back han solo jacket. i think i've convinced katie to wear princess leia hair buns.

here's a funny spoof pic.

stars wars--the last supper

Sunday, May 15, 2005

it's skyline time

i spent last week in my hometown, lovely montgomery, oh. one of the highlights of every visit is dining at the greatest restaurant on earth, skyline chili. i'm seriously addicted--i display many of the physiological symptons, including craving, shaking, and ritualistically eating my meal. it starts as soon as the delta pilot says "please lift all trays and raise seatbacks as we are beginning our initial descent into dayton, ohio" and must be satiated within 12 hours of arriving in montgomery.

ask anyone in from southwest ohio and they'll have an opinion. if they prefer skyline's
garbage competitor you know you are talking to a first-class asshole.

skyline not only provided me with many, many meals of godly food, but my first job as well. at the age of 15 i spent the summer chopping onions, cleaning dishes, mopping the floor and making chili as a kitchen boy. i got one free meal per shift. i was in heaven. what's great is that the three managers who i worked for (corky, dan, and dave) all still work there.

Sunday, May 08, 2005

set your controls for the heart of the sun

well, two years have gone by and i'm about to graduate. classes are done. finals are done. all that's left is a crappy speech by john lithgow at commencement and walking across the stage. past speakers here have included kofi anan, ali g, and will ferrell. we get 3rd rock from the sun. sweet.

my last weekend in boston has been a great send off: currently 33 degrees and raining outside. yup. 33. farenheit. had sox tix tonight, but the game was canceled. i bitch about the miserable weather all the time, but it bears repeating: why the hell do people live here? i came here to get a degree and i'm leaving as fast as i can. it speaks volumes about how much religious freedom meant to the pilgrims that upon landing here in november 1609, they said,"the place looks great. let's stay." didn't even bother to send a search party southward for a sunnier climate. even when they started freezing and starving to death (fewer than 50 of the 110 survived that winter).

for the record, i will miss boston and cambridge. it's treated me well. i have no complaints about harvard. here's what i'll miss most:
  1. reconnecting with my cousin raj. we're the same age and grew up together and have always been close. the last two years have really showed me how great and important it is to have family nearby.
  2. charlie's kichen. a harvard sq. institution. bad beer selection. greasy food that tastes like it's been seasoned on the floor. wait staff that insults you. i love it.
  3. the sox. call me fairweather. i've come to love them.
  4. beacon hill. thanks to my cousin raj, a beacon hill resident, i've gotten to know the coolest neighborhood here.
  5. my bachelor pad. futon + mini fridge + stars wars & matrix posters + sharing a bathroom with two dudes = feels like sophomore year again.
  6. akbhar. the best room mate i could have asked for. quiet, considerate, respects my privacy, and always there to listen to me.
  7. king friday. over the last year-and-a-half we've gone from orchestra pit band playing cheesey show tunes and pop covers to a serious group that writes our own music. i've had a blast having some gigs this spring. marius, i don't know why you settled to play with us but i'm glad!
  8. living three minutes from class and the gym.
  9. some great eats: the paramount, darwin's, pinocchio's pizza, tanjore
  10. my section. yeah, i don't like how some people treated it like a fraternity at the beginning. but it was a good way to create a sense of community and i met some great people.
  11. some outstanding professors: hamermesh, mcgovern, sahlman, wheeler, ton, piper, davis.

Friday, May 06, 2005

Beth in Baghdad

my college friend beth works for the dept. of defense (as a civilian) and was deployed to baghdad this winter and spring. while she can't talk a lot about the details of what she did, she writes:

from an email in late march:

  • I am still having an excellent experience and learning so much. Boy has my brain been stressed but I love what I am doing. I have never worked in such an intense environment and I love the fast pace.
  • I am staying safe and staying in shape. Basically the gym is my only outlet here. The weather has been so nice so I have enjoyed getting some sun and running outside when I can take a break (which is not too often). It hasn't been too hot yet...lots of warm sunny spring days. Although sometimes the dust is so bad I feel like I am running through a wall of dirt!
  • Anyhow, not a whole lot to update on as my days don't vary too much--still working 16 hour+ days. I have been staying motivated and although frustrated at times, ultimately am truly enjoying this work and experience. Although I am certainly looking forward to some good food and spending time with good friends.
upon Beth's return this week:
  • Just got back into town this week. I had an awesome experience. I can't really talk much about the work (this kills my family!) but I supported an awesome mission and honestly had the most rewarding work experience of my life. I was able to feel like my efforts made a direct impact and in my small way made Iraq a safer place. It is good to be home safebut has definitely been an adjustment
here's a picture of beth at the cross swords in baghdad:

Thursday, May 05, 2005

never tell me the odds

shoobie (circa '01 with ex) just posted a ridiculous, heretical post on his usually worthwhile blog. he claims that the greatest movie franchise of all time sucks. i won't dignify his mind-altered
post with a direct response. instead, i'll offer ten counter-reasons why stars wars is great.

given that shoobie is one of my fraternity brothers, i'll spare him the personal attack that other bloggers have provided.
  1. the music. most recognizable ever. and it will be played at my wedding ceremony.
  2. the great lines. "never give me the odds." "die, rebel scum." "may the force be with you." "no, i am your father." "war does not make one great." "these aren't the droids you're looking for." it goes on and on.
  3. princess leia's braids.
  4. specials effects that blew everything else out of the water.
  5. empire strikes back is the best sequel ever. it's dark, it's tragic, it deepens the characterization while furthering the story arc, and has the best father-son confrontation ever. yes, it even beats godfather II.
  6. lucas killing everyone's career? come on. lando. he went on to make ads for colt 45.
  7. chewbacca. finally, a movie star hairier than i am.
  8. the fan fiction. luke marries mara jade. han and leia have twins.
  9. episode III will complete the cycle on a dark tragic note, redeeming the first two crappy episodes.
  10. the great fan base. go anywhere in the world. yes, we are geeks. but the passion and enthusiasm is genuine. yeah, we know lucas is just out to make a buck. what we care about is an adventure that was a big part of our childhood and changed movies forever.

go speed racer go

google continues to amaze. the google accelerator greatly speeds up web browsing AND makes it anonymous. click here to get the download.

Wednesday, May 04, 2005

job decision

well, it's official, i'm headed to MedAssets. i am excited as hell--a great technology company in a high-impact industry (healthcare) with a great leadership team that's already taken a few companies public. i'll be reporting to a couple of hbs alumni, working with the senior managment team. first six months is in business development and the second six months is in an operations role. in the city i wanted, industry i wanted, role that i wanted, pretty much ideal in every way.

and here we are in 1984


xmas84
Originally uploaded by Dee Sanchez.
here is the same crew (without me, who knows where i was) at a family gathering, christmas 1984. From left to right, Shena, sunir (on her lap), ankan, shan, henrik, rajul. big thanks to sunir for digging up and scanning these pics.

but which one is mr. pink?


7sharplydressedpatels
Originally uploaded by Dee Sanchez.
here are my cousins on my dad's side. they're like siblings to me and we all grew up together and are still very close. from left to right: ankan, henrik, sunir, shena, me, rajul, shan.

done done done

i just uploaded the last final exam of my graduate school career.

i'm offically qualified to send shipping packages now

Monday, May 02, 2005

stylish veil


jenniferwilbanks1
Originally uploaded by Dee Sanchez.
hopefully katie's veil won't look like this

Beth in Baghdad

why i love springtime in boston

i've really had enough of boston. granted, i only have six days left.

here is reason numero uno: according to weather.com, it's 40 degrees right now.

and it's may.

may means spring time. it means baseball. it means enjoying sunny walks in wearing shorts and sandals. it should not mean digging through my closet for a sweater, going outside, then coming back in to get a WINTER jacket.

tomorrow night the forecast predicts a balmy 39 degrees.

some people claim they like the 'four seasons,' or that they 'need winter to remind them to appreciate the summer.' this is like saying that i need to be kicked in the mouth to appreciate having all of my teeth.

It's My Wedding, Too

Planet Gordon is a great blog by a groom-to-be who actually likes planning his wedding.

imagine that?

katie and i have split a lot of the work. i have to say that lately katie has done a lot of the detail work that is hard for us to share while living in different cities. however, on the whole, we've worked together on each step. we try to do things where one of has a strength (e.g. i'm good with negotiating and financial stuff, katie is good with vendors and design choices). we try to attend meetings together and consult each other on all the big decisions. then we run everything by our parents to make sure it's cool with them.

this seems to shock a lot of vendors in the wedding industry (which is an insidious, inefficient and backwards industry designed to prey on people's insecurities, but that's another topic).

many of the vendors don't talk to me, much less look at me when sitting across the table. or they explain everything to katie and then wait for her to see what i think, as if i need a translation. i think i have an idea of what it's like to shop for a car as a woman.

i really like planning the wedding, as much as i bitch about it sometimes. a lot of my guy friends said that they just showed up for their wedding. i think that when the bigday.com arrives, katie and i will feel good knowing that we actually designed what we wanted, rather than showing up having this ornate ritual happen to us.

the resources offered to grooms are insulting at best. groomsonline.com offers the best out there, but it's the only decent one i found when i googled "wedding sites for grooms." search brides, and you'll get...well, tons of stuff.

guys, am i by myself on this one?

drumroll please

i was 12 hours from accepting a job when MedAssets (the software company that i've really, really wanted) calls me late Tuesday. "Can you be in Atlanta this Thursday and Friday?"

of course i can be there.

i'm really psyched to say that they made me an offer this morning that I'm going to think about for 24 hours and then make a decision.

whew.

Sunday, May 01, 2005

What Will Really Get You Into Trouble at a Bachelor Party

How far is too far? Here are two stories that I heard recently. The first happened to one of my soccer team mates, and one of them happened a friend of his.

  1. The bachelor went out with his friends. When he is very drunk, his friends take off his clothing and tie him to a chair. They shave off all of his hair from neck to feet (yes, his pubes, too) and then dye his hair blonde. A bright blonde Argentinian is quite rare and quite a sight. This happens one week before the wedding. He gets his hair looking "kind of" normal brown for the big day after visits to two hair stylists.
  2. The bachelor passes out during the festivities. One of the "friends" (in quotes b/c I question how much of a friend this guy can really be) is a physician. He and the guys take the bachelor to his hospital. He puts a cast on the bachelor's leg from ankle to hip. When the bachelor awakens, the guys tell him he got so drunk that he fell and broke his leg. They let him go through not just his wedding, but his honeymoon, with the cast on.
I have to say, the second one is really rotten. In the US it's probably borderline illegal (then again, so is hiring Shuster's mom as the entertainment). Letting the poor guy hobble down the aisle? Letting him fly and travel on his honeymoon in a cast?

The first one is funny, but the thought of my friends ever saying, "I'd like to strip Sahil naked and shave his crotch" would really worry me. Just the sight of 5 drunk guys trying to work a razor in the region is very worriesome.

To my groomsmen: I'm looking forward to the bachelor party. I really don't want you to take a razor or any other sharp instrument anywhere near any part of my body. I don't want to be blonde, and I don't want to wake up with cast on.

Good Run...But A Bit Short


HBS Soccer Team Photo at Tuck
Originally uploaded by Dee Sanchez.
Here's my soccer team at the MBA World Cup this past weekend, moments after beating Dartmouth 2-1 in the quarterfinals. Unfortunately, we ran into a really solid Stanford squad in the semi-finals and bowed out 3-1. Earlier in the round-robin play we demolished Columbia (6-1), tied MIT (0-0, although we hit several goal posts and really should have won) and beat London Business School (2-0).

A great run on the year:
  • Yale Cup Champions
  • Austin Cup Runners-up
  • MBA World Cup Semi Finalists
  • Boston Grad League-tied for 1st place