The Tree

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Anticipation...

It's about 1:30 AM Mountain time (where we're spending this Christmas with family) and--although I've been very tired because of our travel out this way--I woke up to get a drink, and check on Christmas' progress. There's a light new dusting of snow outside, and a plethora of presents resting under the Christmas tree!

It's a white Christmas (regardless of your definition), and now I must figure out something to do until the little kids wake everyone else up ...

I'll keep you posted as things develop, but for now, Merry (early) Christmas!

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E.R.B. Annual Report: 2008

We tried to email this out to everyone -- but just in case you didn't get it:

Read/download our Annual Report here.

And, send us your email to be included in future updates =)
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year!

We made the A-List/Politico ???

So this post is horribly belated. After much procrastination and some neglect/forgetfulness, we wanted to tell you about a fun evening we had a few weeks back.

We spent part of one evening searching for ugly sweaters, and then wearing those sweaters to a holiday party hosted by some friends of ours. There was quite the turnout of style, including some shout-outs to Hanukkah and a full Santa suit (complete with beard).

...but little did we know that the group was being watched...

Turns out, the gathering made Politico's/Mike Allen's "Playbook" for the day. (Relevant passages quoted below, taken from its permalink (be sure to click "Read All" if you visit this page.))

--The A-list GOPosse showed strong for the “5th Annual Crappy-Christmas & Heinous-Hanukkah Sweater Party” in a white tent in an Arlington yard, with part of a Santa costume tossed on the roof. (One of the Santas was swilling Korbel through his rented white beard.) Mike Neal, who’s among the founders (11 hosts this year), gets the RECIDIVISM AWARD for his annual zip-up red holiday vest that would be a hit in any bingo parlor. Special category: “3-D Sweaters,” festooned with ornaments and such [[ed.note: just sayin', but we think we were the only ones with ornaments attached to our sweaters.]] By the time we got there, Jay was down to a T-shirt promising, “Nice Jewish Boy!” Actual Nice Jewish Boy Rob had a hooded red, snowflake-bedecked number that he planned to burn in order to determine the “fiber” composition. Ryan Haddad sported antlers. When we left in the wee hours, Brian was closing but the party wasn’t. There was talk of rallying to Atlantic City, but debate about who would drive.

SPOTTED: April “The Goldstein” Goldstein, asking Santa for a Playbook shout-out.

OVERHEARD: Sarah Sendek, explaining her brother’s failed Uncle Eddy costume to his buddies when he was inside.

ALSO OVERHEARD: “You won’t bring jobs to unemployed Republicans? YOU’RE not the real Santa.”

So there you go!

some TEDTalks Videos

Pick "Player 7" or "Player 8" to bring up the video.


Just.Darn.Amazing.


If you can get past the wheezing and the comedy, some interesting thoughts on education and creativity.

A Letter from Jill

From: Jill
To: You
Subject: At this season of giving, a personal request

Dear Friend,

As you may know, I work for the American Red Cross and I'm writing to ask for your help, but I want you to know why I have fallen in love with this great organization and maybe help you fall in love too.

Within days of joining the American Red Cross, I heard firsthand accounts of our work in China, and I saw the efforts to help people rebuild and recover from a powerful earthquake that impacted millions of lives. Nothing could have prepared me for the images and stories. The most heartbreaking sight was at a primary school, where a young girl described the terror of losing her brother and friend. It hit me at that moment that I wasn't just looking at pictures of destruction; I was looking at broken lives. Lives we can help to rebuild.

Since I joined the Red Cross in July, I have watched employees and volunteers respond to a multitude of disasters. In addition to a barrage of hurricanes (Dolly, Fay, Hannah, Gustav and Ike) we've had widespread floods and devastating wildfires.

Volunteers have staffed our shelters and provided meals, mental health counseling, and community outreach into disaster stricken areas. I've witnessed the impact that we have as we work to restore dignity and a sense of hope for the victims of these disasters. I've never been so proud to be part of an organization.

This year, an unprecedented number of disasters has taken its toll on our Disaster Relief Fund. Although we utilize a volunteer force, the expenses associated with meals, supplies, and transportation for our volunteers has depleted our funds. This year alone we have served more than six million meals and opened thousands of shelters. We have coordinated the work of more then 50,000 volunteers. Thousands of individuals have benefitted from the services of the American Red Cross.

The cost of responding to these disasters has been enormous, but the Red Cross has been there to answer every call. In order to make it possible for us to continue this life-saving work, we have launched a $100 million dollar Campaign for Disaster Relief to replenish the Disaster Relief Fund. I'm proud to announce that we have reached the midway point and raised over $60 million.

As we approach the home stretch, I've been asked to help raise funds by reaching out to family and friends. Jeremy and I personally want to demonstrate our commitment to this campaign by participating.

Our goal is to raise at least $10,000. I hope that you'll consider making a gift to the Disaster Relief Fund so that we can continue to help those in need.

I know these are challenging economic times for every one of us. Those same economic factors will increase costs that impact the Red Cross and the people we serve - some in their darkest hour of need.

You can use the link at the bottom of this note to go to my personal fundraising page for the campaign and make a donation to help disaster victims. Please forward this note to your friends and family, encouraging them to join with you in helping save a life.

If you have any questions or would like more information, please feel free to contact me.

Thank you in advance for your generosity and support. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and a happy New Year.

Best Wishes,

Jill E.
Office of the President & CEO
American Red Cross

Click here to visit my personal page.
Or, visit this web address: http://american.redcross.org/site/TR/DRFCampaign/DisasterReliefCampaignTeamChallenges?px=5398750&pg=personal&fr_id=1184&et=zBcywdRCtIJy2r155Rxk_Q..&s_tafId=1808

Holiday Memories

I found this while trying to figure out how to watch Jim Henson's "The Christmas Toy" online. When I was a kid, we had a great selection of movies to watch (that we had taped in the years before, and kept labeled on our VHS cassettes that came out of the attic around Christmas time), which included this one and many others. I was feeling nostalgic and wanted to see if I could find some of the old movies. While I didn't find a streaming version this in the few minutes I took to search (you can buy an edited version--without Kermit!!!--on iTunes for $10), I did find the commercials that came on during the show. I still remember all these Kraft commercials. Crazy, huh?

Anyway, enjoy a little trip down memory lane, and see what holiday party hosts were setting out on the table for their guests in the 1980's:

It's a What?!

So, I found this while watching the commercial above, and just had to post it.

The Job Search

As most of you know, I'm in the hunt for a job, and evaluating three different routes:

(1) A return to consulting. I've looked at some places around town, but I'm not sure how I feel about this. I was excited, however, about the prospect of working in the "Public Safety & Homeland Security" sector (where I interviewed with one group), since that ties into my long-standing interest in things defense-related.

(2) Continuing with Fundraising. I have some interviews and meetings scheduled related to corporate/non-profit fundraising (or "development," if you will). This seems interesting--especially if the non-profit works with some good issues--and builds upon my experience and contacts of the last (nearly) 2 years of doing political fundraising.

(3) A move to research. I've met with some "think tanks" and analyses groups here in town. This would move me back towards my research and writing strengths/skills, but would entail a fairly significant shift in subject matter. I happen to be interested in the broad picture subject matter (some are defense-related, another covers many--especially social--issues), and may have the opportunity to get a clearance.

In summary, the development would most likely be the more lucrative position, even at my experience level, but the research positions may bring me back to some of my initial interests that got my studying International Studies and Political Science in the first place. The tough thing for me as I think about these opportunities is that I just don't know where each of these paths lead for me... not that you ever really know, but I'd like to think I realize the ultimate implications of the choice I make.

Anyway -- what do you think?

Thanksgiving in Washington

Thanksgiving always comes around a special time of year -- Jill's birthday! We celebrated early this year because it fell on a Sunday, and we wanted to try to restaurant out on the GW Pkwy called Indigo Landing. (Good thing we didn't read all the reviews accumulated by Google before we left, otherwise, we may not have gone. But we had an amazing dinner and really enjoyed our experience there. We did have to wait a little bit to get our coats back from the coat check...but the rest of the service was good.)

Then, for Thanksgiving, our friends - the Hunts - decided that they would come out to visit. Since we've both been out on the east coast, we have gotten together on various breaks and holidays -- despite living about 6 hours apart.

We had a great meal with some friends, and lots of their friends. Usually, my journal is replete with descriptions of food eaten and gifts received on holidays (or pretty much any day when I was in elementary school), but I'll let Crystal do the T-Day feast description here.

We spent the rest of their time talking, watching videos, and playing Jeopardy (which we always do when we're together), and running around seeing the sights in DC.



We had a great time. Enjoy the other posts and our pictures! Thanks for coming to visit =)

Mom and Linds Visit

E-Day +1, I was flying home at the same time my mother and sister were coming out to visit us for about a week.

Jill had spent the previous 2 1/2 weeks doing everything to get the house ready -- including furniture shopping and interior decorating. She did an amazing job.

I flew back with Alex L., Morgan M., and John C. -- but our destination was BWI instead of DCA. Thankfully, John had a rental car there, and offered to drive us all back, so we wouldn't have to take the train. It was dark and raining, but we made good time. Jill picked me up from HQ and we headed home, dropped my bags off, and then drove out to IAD to pick up mi familia.

We did all sorts of fun stuff while Mom and Sis were here, including a trip to Chincoteague Island, a White House tour, high-end thrift store shopping, and other tourist-y things -- not to mention, eating at Johnny Rockets.


Some Pics

We had a great time. Thanks for visiting!

E-Day 2008

I'll try to be brief...

Worked in Colorado in the morning. Got a group of our volunteers off to the airport. Found out last-minute our flight had been bumped up several hours, so madly packed, threw everything into the rental car, and drove to the airport.

Flew to Arizona. Grabbed a cab and drove to the Biltmore. Checked in, went to my room, cleaned up (had to go from "political" back to "finance") and went to the staff briefing.

Quick tour of the goings-ons. Played bouncer. Ate chips and guac, quesadilla bites, and other hors devours. Watched The One sweep across the nation.

Watched the concession speech. Had a few more diet Cokes while everyone else continued to enjoy the open bar with much more fervor.

Stayed up late.

Flew home the next morning.

On a more detailed note, the day was an interesting mix of excitement, tension, apprehension, and eerie calm -- at least, for me. The set-up was amazing, and people came out by the thousands. Several other E-Day parties were being held close by, and "bouncer" quickly turned "troubleshooter" as you tried to explain to someone that the reason they couldn't get into this room was because they were in the wrong spot...

Although remaining optimistic with the guests, in the back of my mind I was expecting the worst, but felt unusually calm about it. (Others didn't take it as well).

The last 16 months were quite the roller coaster -- and quite the experience. I'm glad I took the opportunity to get involved, gave my all, and stuck with it to the end.

Top 10 Worst Business Sayings

I think I've heard most of these -- but would substitute "I'll ping you later" for #10 and "Things are looking good" for #8, in my experience...

(Image from Harvard Business Publishing, Daily Stat (12/12/2008).)

(Their Source: Telegraph.co.uk http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3532338/Thinking-outside-the-box-is-most-despised-business-jargon.html)

Quick Re-Cap

I told myself I'd try to catch everyone up with our "happenings."

So--
May: Moved (out of state)

June: Brief break from work, had family reunions in
California and in Idaho


















July: A Capitol Fourth, Bowling at the White House, West Wing & EEOB Tour


















August: Jill to SLC

September: 2008 Republican National Convention





















October: Moved (across town). Birthday!, and ...

...As most of you know I was pretty heavily involved in the 2008 Presidential race, helping raise money, coordinating events, and generally keeping things in order...

I spent the last 2 1/2 weeks of this election cycle out in the Denver, CO Metro area doing Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) work. Our crack team of HQ staff recruited several hundred volunteers to come and help out in Colorado -- some staying as little as a day or two, some staying a week or more. We always had 125-150 people in our group. I'd tell you what we did (aside from making sure they were housed, fed, and had a good time), but I don't want to reveal any GOP-GOTV secrets. ;-) Suffice it to say, we knocked thousands of doors, made tens of thousands of phone calls, held rallies, waved signs, and worked from the wee hours of the morning until all normal restaurants had closed. (Needless to say, we ate a lot of bar food for dinner, if we beat last call).

Three highlights from Colorado:
(1) Getting to know my co-workers. It was hard, crazy work, and we pretty much spent every waking moment together -- but we managed to have a lot of fun in the midst of the craziness. Everyone had a specific skill they brought to the table, and great things happened.



(2) The Rallies. Definitely a different group than we're used to checking in at our finance receptions, but extremely fulfilling to pack 5- 10,000 excited and boisterous people in a fairground stadium or in an airplane hangar. A big thanks to USSS and local law enforcement that helped make sure it was a safe environment.

One of our last big "moments" as a team happened at our final rally, as the Governor's plane touched down right in front of us and taxied up to greet us with a moving theme song bringing everyone to their feet and many to tears.



(3) The Veterans Tour.. I had the opportunity to do something new (Press Advance) on a two-day bus tour around the state, and the honor of spending those two days with true American heroes. Boy did they have stories to tell!


I spent those days with (pictured at right) Ed Mechenbier, Marty Evans, Gene Cernan, Charlie Plumb, Leslie Smith, and Al Zapanta (not pictured). I heard moving stories from those who spent time as POWs and descriptions of what it was like to be (the last man) on the moon.

We worked like crazy right up through Election Day 2008 ...

Service with a Smile

So, I told myself that I'd write a few blog posts to catch ya'll up on the happenings of the past few months. This isn't that post.

Today, it's easier just to post a video and a quick note to say that we helped out at the American Red Cross' "Holiday Mail for Heroes" this past weekend, and made CNN. Keep a close watch and see if you spot us! =)


12-06-2008 National Headquarters, American Red Cross, Washington, DC

Two Interesting "Top 10s" from FP

The 10 Worst Predictions for 2008

The Top 10 Stories You Missed in 2008

Just. Plain. Awesome.

In case you forgot this about me, I love music and am pretty much a nerd when it comes to kewl tech stuff. I found this video while browsing a HD-capable video-sharing site (http://vimeo.com).

Watch this--you can't not be amazed:

HD Carol of the Bells - 2007 from Richard Holdman on Vimeo.
Awesome, huh?

I know there's more displays (and videos) like this out there. Feel free to share more with us in the comments!

[Update] You can't watch in HD from the embedded video player, but you can visit this page on the Vimeo site to get this in HD http://vimeo.com/610626

[Update] From BrianA on Facebook: "There is also a really cool house in murray. If you go to www.christmasutah.com you can see video's for the last couple of years. You should go check it out."

Cool drums

Back in middle school, I was introduced to the percussion competition called Drum Corps International (it probably helped that its initials were DCI--see #2...). Since that time, I have continued to be amazed at the cool things that can be done. In one of the many forwards (that come from he-who-shall-not-be-named) that come to our email account was the following clip. Needless to say, I was again impressed.

Watch the video yourself, and let me know what you think:

Link: