Shane Life

In an undeniable act of God, this year’s 2006 underachieving Chiefs made the playoffs thanks to some gutty playing by the Steelers, Patriots, and 49ers. And I have to give the Chiefs credit as well…they played their hearts out today and really took it to the Jags…showed them why only one team in the last 5+ years has won in Arrowhead in December.

I got the news as I was walking out of seeing Blood Diamond (awesome movie, by the way) and I informed everyone in the hallways at Olathe AMC 30 that “WE’RE GOING TO THE PLAYOFFS, BABY!!!” I’m pretty sure my whole family slunk into a corner and thought to themselves, we do NOT know him.

What a day. We’ll see how we do against the Colts potent offense and terrible run defense. Could be a fun Saturday.

So, now that the year is coming to a close, I figured I would give you the status of my book project for last year. I reached my goal of reading 25 books in 2006 (just barely), but I didn’t complete all the ones that I set out to read a year ago. I got to most of them (most significantly, all 6 Harry Potter books), but I didn’t complete 5 on the list. Those were supplemented with 5 others.

So here’s my list in all its glory. I had a great time reading all the books (still will have a review on Skylar in Yankeeland) and I’m quite proud of accomplishing my goal, considering how busy I have felt this whole year. You can see where I really had lapses in pace that slowed me down (DWWS, particularly), but overall, I’m pretty happy with the project.

1. A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby - FINISHED 27 DEC 2005
2. How to Lose Friends and Alienate People by Toby Young - FINISHED 6 JAN 2006
3. Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy - FINISHED 24 FEB 2006
4. Silent Bob Speaks by Kevin Smith - FINISHED 11 JAN 2006
5. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova - FINISHED 29 JAN 2006
6. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - FINISHED 20 JULY 2006
7. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling - FINISHED (BY LISTENING) 5 FEB 2006
8. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling - FINISHED 8 FEB 2006
9. Son of Fletch by Gregory McDonald - FINISHED 16 NOV 2006
10. Fletch Reflected by Gregory McDonald - FINISHED 28 NOV 2006
11. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell - FINISHED 23 MARCH 2006
12. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling - FINISHED 13 FEB 2006
13. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling - FINISHED 4 APR 2006
14. The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom - FINISHED 24 JUNE 2006
15. Dinner for Two by Mike Gayle - FINISHED 5 JULY 2006
16. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling - FINISHED 25 APR 2006
17. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling - FINISHED 4 MAY 2006
18. On the Road by Jack Kerouac - FINISHED 9 AUG 2006
19. Skylar in Yankeeland by Gregory McDonald - FINISHED 27 DEC 2006
20. Alli’s Choice - Since Alli and I are both doing reading lists this year, we agreed to each read a book that the other chose. We haven’t yet chosen for each other, but this is a placeholder for when we do. Alli picked 52 Projects by Jeffrey Yamaguchi, which I finished on October 22, 2006.
21. Creepers by David Morrell - FINISHED 28 FEB 2006
22. Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln - FINISHED 15 JUN 2006
23. Radical Careering by Sally Hogshead - FINISHED 7 JULY 2006
24. Designing with Web Standards by Jeffrey Zeldman - FINISHED 18 OCT 2006
25. The Cheese Monkeys by Chip Kidd - FINISHED 8 NOV 2006

Books I Meant to Read this year, but didn’t get to:

• Sacred Marriage by Gary L. Thomas
• Songbook by Nick Hornby
• Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
• The Power of the Praying Husband by Stormie Omartian
• Shopaholic Ties the Knot by Sophie Kinsella

So this is my final list. I’m pretty proud of it. I just reached my goal of 25 books, but I missed some that I didn’t get to. Obviously those will be on my list for next year (which will hopefully come out soon…I’ve already got a few that I got for Christmas that I’m intending to read). I’m hoping to read 25 again this year, but who knows what 2007 will bring.

I’ve got some planned already, but would welcome suggestions. Put your suggestions in the comments and hopefully I will have a final intended list sometime soon.

So I don’t know how many know this (obviously Scott & Susan re: their comment), but I turned 30 on Saturday, December 23. It’s a monumental birthday and one that I’ve been looking toward with much trepidation since I turned 25.

I didn’t really want to think about what we were doing for my birthday so I told Alli that I was relying on her to plan everything. The only thing I knew when I went to sleep on the 22nd was that I was to be ready by about a quarter-to-9. I even had Alli tell me what I was to wear for my birthday since I had no clue what we were doing.

Imagine my surprise when we pulled into my parents house and I saw this:

A 15-passenger van waiting for us to whisk us off to where ever we might be going. I think my exact words were, “What the heck is a 15-passenger van doing in the driveway?” Either way, my level of excitement went up a notch. My presents were packed into the van and my family (Jake, his girlfriend, Mom & Dad) hopped in with the Arnold family, which had picked us up at our house and drove us here. I looked around and saw trivia questions and some random games here and there and I thought to myself…we might not be very close to the place we are going. I had no idea what was going on and I loved it.

My dad drove us all over creation and we finally emerged in the Northeast of Kansas City near Worlds of Fun. I thought that we might be going out to play in a poker tournament at the casino, but as I thought about it more, I figured that couldn’t be right.

When we merged onto I-35 North past I-435, I had a decent idea of where we were going.

And I was right. The 9 of us drove 2 hours north of Kansas City to have lunch at my favorite place in the world, the place where Alli and I first became friends when she worked in the front and I was a cook in the back, THE PIZZA SHACK, the small hole-in-the-wall pizza place by our alma mater, Graceland. It was a great lunch. We at a TON of pizza and I got to open my presents. Here’s a picture of me texting my college friends to rub it in where I am eating:

I got some great stuff. Alli got me a sweater and some shirts from Express, my parents got me these really cool storage boxes for my office, Jake and Kelly got me a great Chiefs hat that I’d been wanting, Ashley got me Season One of How I Met Your Mother (awesome show), and Tom and Carol got me the leather jacket I’ve been wanting. It was a blast. I even had an awesome cake that Alli made me.

Then we piled back in the van, gave a small tour of the town of Lamoni, then headed back towards Kansas City, our bellies full of pizza. Once we returned, everyone planned to come over to our house to watch the Chiefs game when it started at 7. Alli and I returned the 15-passenger van (thanks Doug & Shauna!) and waited around for everyone to get there. Alli seemed anxious for everyone to get there and it made me think that she might have something else in store for me.

I was right.

Once everyone arrived at our house, Alli had us all sit at the kitchen table. She went into her studio and returned with a large box and a letter that she began to read to me. The letter talked about our trip to Santa Fe last year and how we had just spent time together exploring the city’s many art galleries. It talked about one evening how we had come upon a place called the Andreeva gallery that featured the work of an artist named Erin Cone.

What I didn’t expect was this:

Alli had been using extra mural money to send to Erin for a commissioned portrait of the two of us, using my favorite picture of the two of us that I self-took when we were in Santa Fe last year. It was the best gift, one that was totally unique and one that I will be grateful for forever. Not only that, but we’ll have it forever, hanging over our bed as a constant remind of that great trip and a great birthday that really wasn’t that scary after all.

Thanks to my family for participating in my great day and thank you so much to Alli, who planned the whole thing, even working in my ability to watch the Chiefs game. I love you. For your 30th, let’s go to ITALY!

Last year, I posted a list of my year in cities, an idea I got from uber-blogger, Jason Kottke (who just posted his 2006 list). So, without further adieu, here is the official 2006 Shane Adams Year in Cities (not super exciting, but it’s fine by me).

Seattle, Washington
Long Beach, California 1 2
Las Vegas, Nevada* 1 2
Islamorada, Florida
Kirtland, OH
San Francisco, CA
Council Bluffs, IA *
Olathe, KS

One or more nights spent in each place. Those cities marked with an * were visited multiple times on non-consecutive days.

Next year, we will be going to Italy sometime in late summer. It should be awesome. I can’t wait for the trip.

What was your year in cities?

There’s been some recent flutter of activity on a post from two years ago regarding my favorite Christmas songs. I felt that it was necessary for me to update the list and add some new ones and take away some others.

Here’s the deal: I was a little rash in picking my favorites and I perhaps jumped to a few conclusions. I still maintain that these are my least favorite holiday jingles:

• Wonderful Christmastime - Paul McCartney
• Happy Christmas (War is Over) - John & Yoko and the Plastic Ono Band & the Harlem Children’s Choir
• Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town - Bruce Springsteen
• Santa Baby - Kylie Minogue
• I Want a Hippopottamus for Christmas - Gayla Peevey
• Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer - Elmo & Patsy

There’s one I would like to add…the “Christmas in Kansas City” song on Star 102. I HATE that song…only because it is tailored to the city and it is sung poorly. I imagine that some dude is holed up in a cabin in Idaho taking orders from radio stations across the nation…”Honey, we got an order from Little Rock! Fire up the synthesizer!”

I don’t know what it is about that song that grinds my gears, but I just can’t stand it.

On a happier note, there are some songs I would like to single out as some of my recent favorites. First, if you haven’t heard Sarah McLachlan’s new album, Wintersong, you should check it out. Her take on these timeless classics (particularly Gordon Lightfoot’s Wintersong and the remake of River…beautiful) is so great and she brings her unique voice to songs I had really lost hope in (mostly Happy Christmas/War is Over, which opens the album).

Past that, I’ve got some other new favorites:

• Guster’s “Donde Esta Santa Claus” is a great fun pop Christmas Song from Nettwerk’s Christmas compilation
• Anything off the John Denver & the Muppets album
• Coldplay’s version of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” on the NBC Sounds of the Season album
• The Christmas Song by The Dave Matthews Band (can be found here or here)

I’m sure that I could think of more if given time, but I just wanted to put this post up to get you in the Christmas spirit. I hope that you’re enjoying this time of year.

I just wish it would snow.

*sigh*

The Kansas City Chiefs are a poor excuse for a mediocre football team. And I blame Edwards. His poor game planning has single-handedly ruined one of the league’s most potent offenses over the last 5 years and turned it into a team that loses to THE CLEVELAND BROWNS.

I really thought that with the death of Lamar Hunt this week that the team would come out inspired and perhaps win one for the MAN WHO NAMED THE SUPER BOWL, but alas, it was the same old crap on the field. Our offensive line looking very old and very porous against a much better San Diego team wasn’t nearly as bad as some of the play calling executed by Mike Solari and Herm Edwards.

Our season really ended in overtime against the Cleveland Browns, but the truth is that we should have beaten Miami and we should have beaten Denver at Denver in game 2 of the season, but we didn’t because we have the most average coach in the world.

I would be fine with these last two losses if not for the above. San Diego is CLEARLY the best team in the NFL right now and they have perhaps one of the greatest players in the history of the game playing on their team. Baltimore is also a better team, but DEFEND YOUR HOME FIELD. We stink on the road and we stink against the AFC. Even if we were to win the last two games of the season (@ Oakland and vs. Jacksonville), we would still probably miss the playoffs even if people backed up into us because our AFC record is so abysmal.

The game yesterday was just so disheartening. It was made abundantly clear to me that the players don’t care nearly as much about winning as the fans of Kansas City do. They really don’t have a lot of heart. The death of a visionary like Lamar Hunt would have made me play extremely inspired, but they came out flat…so flat, in fact that I almost turned off the TV before the first quarter was over because I didn’t want to see it get too ugly. Still, except for the two big plays, the defense held their ground OK. I think if we get rid of some of the elderly players we have (Knight, Wesley, Law, Bell) and replace them with some halfway decent, somewhat FAST players (Pollard, Page, Bennie Sapp, Key Fox), we can even improve more.

Now, if we could just figure out how to fix the offense…

I was all set to write a post about the Golden Globes and the glaring snubs, but as I looked at the list further, I couldn’t really find a ton that I disagreed with.

One of the greatest things about the Globes is that they award for both comedy AND drama in the movie department. I’ve always felt that the Oscars might be better if they did something like that. The Academy always seems so stuffy…it’s been so long since something that made me smile won (Shakespeare in Love, maybe?).

One of the most impressive things about the Globes this year is that it looked like they really tried to make choices that were based on merit, not necessarily buzz. The sheer inclusion of one actor and one director being nominated twice in the same category…that’s amazing.

Things I really liked about the nominations:

• The return of Lost to nominations status, including the rewarding of Evangeline Lilly for her role as Kate. Say what you will…she’s the heart and soul of that show (argue with me all you want…the only reason that Sawyer is interesting is that he is a part of the love triangle focusing on the hobbit’s girlfriend).
• Another nomination for both Entourage and Jeremy Piven - Best. Character. On. TV.
• Affleck getting the nod for Hollywoodland - I’ve not seen the movie, but I heard he was great in it. I think that people have finally gotten over their overexposure to you, Ben.
• Borat - Haven’t seen the movie, but with all the hype it received, it’s pretty amazing that it was universally appreciated…usually movies like that have a lot of detractors, but everyone I spoke with said they liked it.
• Thank You for Smoking - A smart and funny satire on the power of communication. Aaron Eckhart totally deserved his nomination.
• Leonardo di Caprio for The Departed - He was so good in that movie that it wasn’t even funny. Scorsese deserved his nomination as well (and should win, in my opinion).
• Will Smith - I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I’ve heard that it’s a little sentimental. I applaud the HFPA for nominating him for the performance and not necessarily the movie (that’s not saying the movie will be bad, just the reviews I’ve heard use words like “predictable” and “overly-sentimental”).
• The return of NBC Thursdays (4 of the 5 nominations for Best Actor in a TV Comedy are from Thursday NBC shows). Sure, Tony Shalhoub will probably win, but it’s nice to see Jason Lee and Steve Carrell nominated.
• Weeds nominations. Best Comedy and two people up for Best Supporting, including the very deserving Elizabeth Perkins.
• At least one Studio 60 nomination. (Sara Paulson in Best Supporting)

Things I didn’t like about the nominations:

• Zach Braff for Scrubs. Look, I like that show, but the reason I watch it is for Dr. Cox.
• No love for How I Met Your Mother. Neal Patrick Harris should have at least been up for supporting.
• Not enough nominations for Studio 60. I’ve said this before, but it is the best show on TV. Amanda Peet should be up, as should Matthew Perry. Look for Christine Lahti to win the Guest Star Emmy.
• Leo’s second nomination for Blood Diamond. I realize that they probably want to reward the work, but the trailers I’ve seen…Leo’s accent seems awfully muddled. I would rather have seen Djimon Hounsou up.
• Bill Paxton up for Big Love. I don’t care if you like that show. Bill Paxton is one of the worst actors on the planet. Would have rather seen someone from Lost or Studio 60 on that list. At least James Gandolfini wasn’t nominated.
• Patricia Arquette for Medium. See above note regarding Bill Paxton.
• No Emma Thompson for Stranger than Fiction. Meryl Streep will win the award, but Emma deserved to be nominated.
• No screenplay nod for Stranger than Fiction. So original and great. No love, save Will Ferrell.

So that’s it for now. What did you think of the nominations?

OK, so it’s Wednesday of week 3…here’s my overview of how things are going.

Meetings. Meetings. And More Meetings.

First, I’ve never had more meetings than I’ve had in the first 2-1/2 weeks here. Orientation meetings. Training meetings. Introductory meetings. Lots and lots of meetings. All necessary, mind you…just a lot of them.

Work Space

I’m getting used to having an office and not a cubicle. I never had that luxury previously and I like it so far. There will be some transition because my new company is getting ready to move half of its staff into a new office. Once that occurs, there will be some reconfiguration done. (Right now, I’m sharing an office…after the move, I should have my own. There’s something to be said about having direct exposure to sunlight…makes a huge difference in your daily disposition.

The Industry

I’ve learned more about financing and leasing equipment in the past 2 weeks and I have a pretty good feeling I could hold down a decent conversation with someone regarding the topic. It’s funny…my dad does a very similar thing, just for the airline industry rather than the heavy equipment industry.

Team Dynamics

I really like the people on my team. I think that there are really good talents balanced across everyone and I’m looking forward to contributing in every way I can. I am particularly excited about being able to contribute significantly in strategic planning. I’ve always been more of a big picture thinker and I’m looking forward to using that talent here.

Commute

I’m still figuring out my travel to and from work. It is a much different commute. I have to tackle the mess that is I-35 North in the morning and the mess that is the reverse at night. Time is a HUGE factor in how long it takes me to get there. If I leave home before 7:10, it usually only takes 20-25 minutes to get in. Anytime after 7:15 and I won’t roll in until about 8. It’s amazing how much of a difference 5 minutes makes.

Overall

It’s a strange thing changing from a job that you spent 6-1/2 years in, particularly when that was your first job out of college. Starting a new job felt like that all over again. But I’m looking forward very excited about what the future is going to hold. I’ll be re-designing their entire corporate web site…an exciting task that I am anxious to start.

I’ll try to keep the blog updated, but it is difficult this time of year. If you are interested in buying me something for my birthday or for Christmas, check out my Amazon.com wish list. You know you want to.

I’m still here.

I’ve been at my new job almost two weeks and I’m still getting acclimated, although I’m much more comfortable now than I was a week ago. With the holiday season, there’s a lot going on. Lots to talk about, just haven’t had the time yet.

I’ll hopefully get to a “How My First Two Weeks Have Been” post this weekend.

I know that all 5 of you are on the edge of your seats.