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WoLF

Best Buy has several Employee Business Networks (EBNs) to help its employees connect with each other and the community. One of the EBN’s I am a part of is WoLF – Women’s Leadership Forum. Last week WoLF held it annual conference in Boston. It was a powerful and moving experience. Many of the company’s executive leadership were in attendance, which was pretty cool.

WoLF resides on a firm foundation of company support and grows through its three pillars: commitment, network and give back. Throughout the world, there are WoLF packs and dens comprised of groups of passionate women and men who, to paraphrase Gandhi, want to be the change they wish to see in the world. For example, I am passionate about increasing female recruitment and retention, and WoLF has helped by supporting my efforts.

Without knowing it, WoLF was a great gift that Best Buy gave me (and many other individuals). I have been with the company for just less than two years. Yet through becoming involved with WoLF, I was able to meet people, network and build solid partnerships. This work helped pave the path to my current position.

Therefore, I would like to say a deep thank you to Julie Gilbert who founded WoLF in 2004. You didn’t know me, but you knew me. You saw the struggles of those who work tirelessly but achieve slowly - those who are stray wolves, but rise each day to challenge a world full of preconceptions. I found a home at Best Buy in part because of you. Thank you. You started a movement. I am happy to devote my time to help it grow and prosper.

To learn more about WoLF, please check out their website: http://wolfinspires.com/.

I thought I was losing my mind

I have worn the same shirts for probably about a decade. Okay, so fashion isn’t my thing. Tech-toys are. A few weeks ago I noticed my shirts were fitting a bit tighter. I thought this was odd. Occasionally, my pants have felt a bit tight, but my shirts? Then it got more severe. I was having difficulty buttoning some of my shirts. Frantically I rushed to look at my upper body in the mirror. Sadly, I had not become buff overnight. I kept craning my neck to see what the problem was. Did my shoulders suddenly get wider? Days later it happened again. If I could manage to button a shirt, gaps of skin were being revealed. I hadn’t gained weight; as far as I could tell, my shoulders weren’t any wider. What was going on? I assumed it was the first stage of madness.

Then a light bulb went off in my mind, the dryer! I’ve only been in my new place a few months and every time I dry clothing I have to keep them in the dryer for at least two full cycles. Ah, ha! I rushed down to the basement to glare at the culprit. The dryer sat there lazily and a bit dusty as it has for the past twenty-five years. Upon investigation, I determined that yes; the dry was the guilty offender who shrunk my shirts.

Well, at least I know what my first major upgrade for my new home will be. I’ll start saving up and checking our financing offers for a washer/dryer pair. Too bad Best Buy™ doesn’t sell shirts; I am in need of several.

The Power of Steam

The carpets in my new place are a bit dirty so I decided to buy a carpet steam cleaner. Since I am allergic to carpet cleaning solution, I was a bit hesitant to use the sample cleaning solution it came with it. So I began by just using water. That worked okay. The power of the steam was able to extract a bunch of dirt from my carpets. But my dog had made a few boo-boos on my carpet so I decided to increase the cleaning power by using the cleaning solution while wearing a face mask to protect me. The cleaning solution did result in a better cleaning job, and it was able to remove the boo-boos. So far I have done one room, and it looks remarkably better. I’m off to clean another…

Koeksisters

Although I love to use technology to help make my life easier, every once and a while it is nice to roll-up my sleeves and get my hands dirty by doing something the old-fashioned way. A friend of mine is originally from South Africa. I like to help her make original South African food. Today we cooked koeksisters. They are a traditional doughnut-type desert that is coated in syrup. They are very sweet and sticky.

Instead of using an electric mixer or food processor, we decided to make them the traditional way. We sifted the flour, then added butter and mixed the ingredients by hand. This was a slow, but fun process. We then added water and continued to stir the mixture by hand. Again, it was slow and messy, but also fun and relaxing.

After the dough had risen, we did return to using modern conveniences to deep-fry the koeksisters. She has a gas stove and they fried up very nicely on it. We coated them with syrup and chilled them. Then it was time to reap the rewards of our efforts – they tasted delicious! The syrup left my fingers sticky, but what’s life without a little mess.

If anyone wants the recipe for this awesome treat, let me know.

A Few Wii Moments of Fun

While I love technology, I am not much of a gamer, although admittedly, back in the day, I was the highest scorer on the Ms. Pac-Mac arcade game at the Coral Springs roller skating center…oh, that dates me. With the exception of chasing Pac-pellets and ghosts, I lack hand-eye coordination.

While I try and warn people about this, they don’t listen. Last week I was hanging out with a bunch of friends, and I stunned them with my atrocious Nintendo Wii skills. I could see my friends inwardly cringe as I attempted to control two objects – the Wii remote and the Wii nunchuck – at the same time. Fortunately, they were all very patient. Since my hand-eye coordination is so bad, they thought I would do better with the Wii Fit, which basically turns your entire body into a game controller. Sadly, I performed no better.

But that’s okay! We had fun, and that’s all that matters. Games are meant to bring us together. They give us a few moments to slip away to another place - to transcend reality and approach upon special places in which we have magical powers or superhuman strength… places where we can live out our fantasies or just escape the harshness of reality for a few sweet hours. Come to think of it, I haven’t chased any ghosts or gobbled up any Pac-pellets lately. Maybe I should carve out a few moments from my hectic life to return to the simple pleasures gaming offers. Maybe I can play Ms. Pac-man on the Wii?

Have you ever walked in a waterfall?

Two weeks ago, a friend and I went to Wisconsin to explore Willow River State Park. I love nature, and after the long, cold Minnesota winter, it was great to get outside and enjoy spring’s mastery. In a matter of a few weeks everything went from being dark and dank to lush and green. Now that the ice in the bodies of water up here has melted, I was able to walk in the Willow River (which is pretty cool because there are shallow parts right in the waterfall). Although the sun was shining brightly, it was only about 55 degrees outside. Undaunted, I stepped into the waterfall. The ice-cold water numbed my toes. I sat on a rock and kept my feet in the freezing water…I kept looking down and counting to make sure I still had all ten toes. After a while, my friend and I dried off our feet and went for a hike.

The next day I had a cold and a sunburn. How was I supposed to know? I’m orginally from south Florida, where you can walk in the ocean year-round. I learned an important lesson: no matter how beautiful it is to walk in a waterfall, my health is more important.

The beautiful park and weather also made for breathtaking pictures - okay, I had a cold so basic functioning was breathtaking in itself!

One of my passions is digital photography. I have a few cameras – both digital and 35mm. The one I like to use the most is my twin-lens digital camera. While twin-lens reflex cameras have been around for about eighty years, digital twin lens cameras have only been on the market for two years. Twin-lens cameras have two lenses that both have the same focal length. Since I prefer to take pictures of landscapes and nature, I have found that the images I capture are richer, more vibrant and give the viewer a feeling of actually being at the location they are gazing upon.

I’m going for a walk now...don’t worry, not in an ice cold waterfall this time!

Cleaner teeth, but with drool

A few weeks ago I got an electric toothbrush. I decided I wanted to get one last year, but I generally move slowly on acquistions. Well, I am very glad I got it. It is great! After I brush my teeth with it my mouth feels all fresh and clean just like when leaving the dentist’s office after a cleaning. (At least, that is what I recall it felt like…it has been about five years since I went to a dentist. I guess I’m probably overdue). The electric toothbrush times itself so I now always brush for two minutes at night. Way cool. Being the nostaligic I am I haven’t retired the old non-electric toothbrush. A few years ago a friend gave me a great tip about how they brushed their teeth and I followed his suggestion – I brush my teeth in the morning sans-electirc in the shower while I wash my hair. I know it sounds a bit weird. But it works for me. Anyway, I think the electric toothbrush is way cool, I just haven’t figured out how to stop droolling while I use it. It’s late. Time for bed, but first I need to go brush.

To Sling or not to Sling

I am pondering how to get the best out of my television. I like to watch tv, but it seems like I am never available when the stuff I want to watch is on. For awhile I have been using my DVD recorder to record the programs I am interested in. I then watch the disks when I want at home or I sometimes take them to the gym with me and watch them on my portable DVD player. However, I am looking for a better solution.

I am thinking about getting a Slingbox which is a device that streams your tv’s programming and allows you to watch it where you want, on your: tv, computer or mobile phone. All you need is a high-speed internet connection for it to send you the content you want to watch. An attract feature is that there is no monthly fee. However, Slingbox does not record the streaming video so I am not sure this the solution to my problem. I guess I will keep pondering. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks

Best Buy & Carphone Warehouse

Last week, Best Buy and Carphone Warehouse announced a new joint venture extending their previous partnership. Carphone Warehouse is the world’s leading cellular phone provider. According to information released by Best Buy, they are planning on having Best Buy branded stores and websites in Europe in 2009. This new endeavor will allow Best Buy to benefit from Carphone’s tremendous knowledge, which I think this is totally awesome. I look forward to seeing the two companies work together to fulfill European customers’ technology needs.

Satellite Radio: Nostalgia vs. Time-Traveling

I currently have both Sirius and XM satellite radio. I have been listening to Sirius for years. I recently bought a new automobile and it came with XM. I always assumed they were basically the same. Well, I was mistaken. They both have some nice benefits. I enjoy listening to older music. While both Sirius and XM provide this music, they do so in different ways. It appears to me that Sirius plays more well-known music while XM plays a wider selection of music from a specific genre. So for example I like to listen to the 1950s channel. On Sirius they play the major hits by the well-known artists of the period whereas on XM they play a wide assort of music from the time period that is less well-known. Listening to XM makes me feel like I am listening to a radio broadcast from fifty years ago. Great music, but I only barely recognize the artists and they play few hits. Sirius on the other hand appears to play a smaller assortment of music, but I recognize the songs and the artists. It’s cool that for right now I have both Sirius and XM so I will continue to listen to the different versions of satellite radio depending on what I am in the mode for: time-traveling with XM or listening to old familiar favorites with Sirius.

Electrolux

Best Buy recently started carrying Electrolux appliances. That is way cool. Electrolux was founded almost a hundred years ago in Sweden. I am in the process of furnishing my new place and I am totally psyched at having Electrolux appliances as an option to purchase. I am looking for a modern look in my new place and I think Electrolux products are very fashionable. I especially like their stainless steel. It looks very clean and crisp. I think when I decide to redo the kitchen in my new place I will want to go with stainless steel.

Maintaining Connections Through Technology

Relationships are the most valuable asset in life. They are the currency of emotional well-being. Too often we neglect our personal relationships due to work, stress and the demands of modern life. However, to assist me in staying connected and maintaining important relationship bonds I maximize the plethora of technology tools that are available.

Human Innovation: The Epiphenomenon of Multilayer Computer Communication

In my spare time I am working on my doctorate. I have been doing this for a long time. It is a very slow journey. Over the past decade I have witnessed how the education industry has changed. I am sure we all remember the days of going to school with pen and paper in hand ready to regurgitate whatever the all knowing teacher told us. However, that is not the world we live in anymore.

Education occurs in a multifaceted manner in a multitude of ways. While teachers are still tomes of knowledge, they are no longer the only standard bearer of it. The interactivity of the web has created the ability for people to collaborate together on a scale never seen before in human history. Technology has ushered in an evolution of knowledge transmission. Knowledge and information are no longer only imparted in a uni-directional manner, one of static dogmatism. Rather knowledge creation is a by product of the interaction of individuals who collaborate online together.

Interesting…the new manner of human relationships is an unexpected epiphenomenon of bits and bytes flying back and forth on the super-highway of human ingenuity.

A Snowy Start to Spring

Yesterday was the first day of spring. The snow had begun to melt revealing the half dead, dark green grass that had clung to life through the long, cold Minnesota winter. Being that I grew-up down south with minimal seasons, I watch this phenomenon carefully each year. Spring brings with it a renewed zest for life.

Of course, today was ushered in with a major snowstorm! Nothing says spring like six to eight inches of snow! Well, I guess that’s Minnesota for you. While driving to work this morning it almost felt like I had to use GPS to find my way out of my apartment’s parking lot! At least the drive in wasn’t that bad.

I am looking forward to the weekend. With all this snow I am hoping to take some digital pics.