Monthly Archives: September 2009
My lunch lady from grade school passes
| September 29, 2009 | Posted by Angela under Random |
Just got word that my lunch lady from grade school, Ms. Raoul, just passed. She was such a special lady and I remember her vividly growing up. She managed the school kitchen and made sure there were enough lunches for everyone. She collected the lunch tickets and often times, she’d let us get a lunch even if we didn’t have the lunch ticket. Quiet as she was, she had a positive impact on the kids coming out of St. Paul’s Catholic school.
Jason took this shot of me infront of one of the nicest paintings in San Antonio
| September 28, 2009 | Posted by Angela under Random, The Arts, Film, Music, Fashion, Why I like San Antonio |
The Twitter Conference in LA | 140TC – Yes, I saw Pee Wee Herman’s 1st Tweet!
| September 24, 2009 | Posted by Angela under Business & Technology, The Arts, Film, Music, Fashion |
I had the opportunity to attend the Twitter Conference in LA this past week. You may not get Twitter so you may wonder, what the heck is a 
Twitter conference? People come together to talk about this disruptive platform Twitter – how does one use Twitter, why does one use Twitter, best & worst practices on Twitter, tips and tricks for Twitter. It’s a Twitterathon and it’s lots of fun!
A Twitter conference in Los Angeles is a bit different than any other Twitter conference, I’m sure. We had celebrity guests such as Tony Hawk, Chamillionaire, Dr. Drew, Levar Burton (my childhood idol), Tyrese and yes, even Pee Wee Herman (Jason’s childhood idol) himself made a guest appearance. I actually got to witness Pee Wee Herman do his very first Tweet. I took a photo and here is also a video that Scott Beale of Laughing Squid took:
Twitter is making a lot of noise and it can be overwhelming to keep up with. I really liked Tony Robbins speech and he said that he likes to think of Twitter as more like a “Trigger.” It’s an opportunity to initiate a connection but doesn’t substitute for a human relationship. And it’s easy to get so consumed with all the noise but he said “Don’t let technology use you; you use technology.” This sat really well with me. You may have read my previous post on Twitter but if not, I’d like to just reinstate why I use Twitter. I think it’s an opportunity to help, inspire and connect with others. Often times, we get so consumed by the negative coming out of the media that it overshadows the good in the world. Yes, many do use Twitter to spread negativism but because I can choose who I follow and what I want to hear, I see more positive than negative. And for me, I can now influence others even outside my own local community. The way we communicate is changing and we are able have an impact others at an exponential level. However, the fundamentals of human relationships remain the same.
Recap on TechCrunch50 2009
| September 21, 2009 | Posted by Angela under Business & Technology |
I attended TechCrunch50 in San Francisco last week to represent The Rackspace Cloud. TechCrunch is a technology news website covering new technologies from start-ups and existing companies making an impact in the technology world. This is the third year they have put on an event where selected start up companies can come pitch their product idea to a panel of experts where the winner gets funding from a venture capital firm. This year, 50 companies were up and the prize was $50K – TechCrunch50.
My role there was to meet potential customers, after all, each of these start-ups need a place to host their website right? And the PR they receive from the event will increase their web traffic to amounts they might not have planned for. The other part of my role there was to meet existing customers and hopefully get a success story out of them. Although I didn’t have the opportunity to meet every customer, I did get to speak with LocalBacon, Ecycler, CrowdFlower and RedBeacon (winner of TechCrunch50). I also got a photo with guest panel expert, Chamillionaire himself.
In addition to the 50 presenters, TechCrunch has a Demopit where starts ups can have a table to do product demos. There were lots of interesting ideas out there. With the economy in the state that it is, it’s very inspiring and motivating to see these start-ups be bold and innovative.
Are these products going to change the way we do things? It’s hard to tell when a company is just starting off. Sarah Lacy of TechCrunch interviewed Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos and TechCrunch50 panel expert, and he had a comment for these start-ups, “Why aren’t you trying to change the world?,” and Lacy countered with, “To be fair, is selling shoes changing the world?” Good point. I’d say it doesn’t necessarily have to be an innovative product but the way it’s deployed has to be innovative. I think what makes Zappos a success is the technology they have in their warehouses to be able to select shoes and ship them quickly – which enables Zappos to deliver excellent service.
Although I didn’t capture every start up’s pitch, here’s a few where I like the concept and could potentially find useful in my personal life:
Udorse.com –You can tag your photos with the brands that are in the photos. If someone sees your photo and likes your shirt, they can click on the Udorse tag and it will take you to that brand’s website for purchase. They already have partnered with big brand names. I think this will be really cool for start up designers trying to get their names out there. You know how you read those Style magazines and in the sub title, the brand the celebrity is wearing is always quoted. Now you can see what real people are wearing via the web.
Ecycler.com – It’s almost like an eBay/Craigslist for recyclables. These guys want to help all those that don’t have curbside pick up but have a whole lot of recycables. It’s time consuming to try to find a place to take them. It’d be nice if they could be picked up right at your doorstep. If you’re like me, I actually do have curbside pickup but they don’t pick up everything. I can sign up on Ecycler and chances are, there is somebody that wants my recyclables.
Duffelup.com – Are you traveler? Do people ever ask you “Oh I am going to be traveling here, what did you do, where did you stay, where do you eat when you were there?” And then you have to go search your old emails and hopefully remember everything. Now, you can save all your travel itineraries on duffelup and share them with whomever you want. That’s convenience.
Kooaba.com – You can take a photo of an image (newspaper article, magazine article, an ad you saw somewhere) and upload to your Kooaba library for your reference. Why I like this idea? So I can take snapshots of only the magazine articles I want to read instead of stacking up on a big pile of magazines! Especially useful when I am traveling.
That’s a wrap.
A Perfect Wedding For The Perfect Couple
| September 20, 2009 | Posted by Angela under Family Stuff |
My brother finally married his high school sweetheart! Well, they were “just friends” in high school but I think everyone had a feeling they would end up together in the long run. They married on September 12th – which is the date they became boyfriend and girlfriend. My brother proposed Labor Day weekend at the beach in front of all their family and friends.
My parents hosted a fun rehearsal dinner at Acenar and as favors, they had beach towels embroidered with Layla & Wayne’s name & wedding date. I was in charge of making a slide show with photos of them. I added some video footage for a surprise. Tears filled the room which let me know it was a success.
They married at the historic San Fernando Cathedral, had the bridesmaids & décor pretty in pink, had the reception catered by local favorite True Flavors and had a rockin’ band out of Austin, Texas (where they reside now). We love Layla and are so happy to have her join our family. She is definitely a girly girl and if it were possible, she would have been born with a wedding veil atop her head. We were all so nervous because we wanted the wedding to go as she planned. I think it did and if it didn’t, she didn’t notice 
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