It is only now, working as a Marketing Coordinator for a company of six people and delegating tasks to four interns, that I realize I should have taken better advantage of my situation.

It can be a full-time job for me to delegate tasks to the interns. So without even thinking about it, I find myself giving them bullshit, clerical-type jobs — this is where I find out the difference in my interns’ drive and personality. I think it is a given that you have to put in your time doing crappy work to get ahead, but it is refreshing to have them ask me to teach them things or have them shadow me.

My favorite intern is genuinely interested in learning new aspects of the business and knows I would never said no to teaching him something. His enthusiasm has gone above and beyond so much so that we hired him on part time.

I wish I would have been more like this intern. Instead, what I have learned from my internship is that I need to speak up, ask questions and leave a place not regretting that I could have gotten more out of the situation.

So our current interns don’t look back four years down the road wondering why they were here, I am going to make an effort to find out what they are interested in and find more ways to get them deeply involved in the department.

I really hope they take me up on my offer, but sadly I think they are just going to want to go through the motions.

Honestly, I haven’t made enough time to write well-thought out blog posts. In its absence, I am going to take my ADHD over to the new Tumblr blog. Stop by and tell us what you think. I’ll be back here when I think of a new concept for this whole thing.

This is long overdue!

The Knew finally came out with their first full-length album, Pulperia, which I have been feverishly anticipating. Their Boom Bust EP has definitely not worn out its welcome in my playlist; in fact, the track “By Yourself” advises me to “slow down on days I’m dead” every morning, courtesy of my iPhone’s custom ringtone as an alarm.

I’ve been to half a dozen of The Knew shows during my time in Denver so I may have a different perspective when listening to this album. Unfortunately, the energy of their live shows is nearly impossible to bottle up in a studio album. On the other hand, there is a genuine raw feel to the album.

Listening to this album really makes me miss my time in Denver, especially discovering the local music scene. And for the record, it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to say that The Knew put on one of the best shows — makes my Top 3 list, for sure. I haven’t heard any of these songs live yet, but I get a feeling that their energy and enthusiasm will make the transition to the stage seamless.

I absolutely love how their sound makes no apologies and follows no formula — it as if they are just doing what feels right. This is the kind of band and album I want to hear in a local bar if purely for their authenticity. Pulperia turns back the clocks and breathes life back in to what most would consider rock music. Their sound can only be described as what I call twang! Love it.

The two tracks that stand out most for me are “Neckbreaker” and “Still on Fire,” which I can only assume is a follow-up to Holladay’s “It’s on Fire.” I highly recommend you give them a listen. In fact, just go buy the album. You aren’t going to find an album for $10 anymore. I ordered two, had it shipped to Chicago and only paid $23 total. Bargain.

I’ve never been good at reviewing music, so tell me what you think of the album.

My favorite chapter, by far, was “the cool nerd: superficial reflections on the hipster.” I earmarked the page with my favorite passage from the book:

“I love things I love because I am guided by some untamed voice within me that causes me to have random obsessions. I will follow my individualized obsessions, not trends and be transparent about those obsessions, even when those obsessions tell me to like things widely considered ugly and cheap.” It’s the cultural capital of quirk.

Living in Chicago now, I find it wildly amusing that he used Wicker Park as an example. The only thing that would have made me happier is if he would have mentioned hanging out at Sputnik’s in Cap Hill (Denver) drinking a “The Professional” (Pabst Blue Ribbon and a shot of espresso).

Back to the quote. His ideas behind hipster culture are remarkably funny and ironic because his theory probably creates a market for books just like this. I mean, nerds are too busy being engrossed in their obsessions to read a book about nerds. Hipsters on the other hand, when not reading books like this, are too busy shopping for vintage “I Love Nerds” t-shirts.

This gets me in the mood for more non-fiction. Any suggestions?

Hely’s character Peter Tarslaw tackled the formula needed to grab the attention of “serious readers” and make The New York Time’s Best Seller list all to humiliate his ex-girlfriend at her wedding. Being a famous author screams “Look! I’ve made it,” clearly. His mockery of both authors and readers alike kept me laughing (and awake) page by page.

Peter’s formula for becoming a famous novelist falls under the “funny because it’s true” category, and just as absurd as having a formula for analyzing books. Admittedly, analyzing literature is not a strength of mine. But if someone wants to sound intelligent and “in the know,” tossing around descriptive words, metaphors, and referencing famous authors seems to be the entry point. I’d settle for “That book was great [good, terrible]!”

Just like all other art, who is behind what we consume? Why is their analysis and opinion the correct one?

My unfortunate conclusion is that major executives (or Oprah) tell us what to read. This is a sad day, Harpo. Then again, someone has to make the lists and someone has to decide what goes on the end caps at Barnes and Noble, right? I don’t know the major players in the “book world,” but in comparison, the music industry’s list contains the likeness of Clear Channel, Universal and Sony. (Side note: American Idol is on in the background. This is puts a stamp on my point or makes me terribly ironic.)

I’ve found a lot of great books because they are on best seller lists or on an end cap. But here are my two major problems with the current structure:

1. I find it terribly hard to find books that interest me. Unlike listening to an album, which I can turn off after two miserable songs, I am investing hours if not days in a book. The sting is even more harsh after 400 pages of complete shit. This is probably why I have tendency to stick to non-fiction; even if I don’t love the book, I probably learned something.

Also, I hate the idea of a “books similar to” suggestion. If you’ve read one terrible, bitter, wry Sedaris book, you’ve read them all.

2. The challenge of getting a book published, I imagine, is ridiculously hard, which limits the opportunity to be exposed to a hidden gem. I find this with music so often: I’ll discover to an incredible band only to find out they have been getting nowhere for 6 years. Meanwhile record labels are pumping out albums with a tired formula, yet the masses eat it up. I want to read books that defy the “books similar to” tag.

Sorry for turning this book review in to a rant — it sprang up out of nowhere. That’ll teach you.

Being exposed to this new, healthier Colorado lifestyle, combined with my parents willingness to pick up the grocery tab (hey, eating healthy isn’t always cheap), I took a new perspective to what I was putting in my body eating (cutting out microbrew beer was out of the question).

I was thoroughly disappointed by his speech, which led to this tweet.

Being limited to 140 characters destroyed the context of my message, which I had many responses to.

I want to clarify what I was trying to sum up.

First,  I thought his speech was drab. That has nothing, or at least very little, to do with the topic. I just thought he was a terrible public speaker. With an issue so prevalent in our country, I would have liked to see a more memorable performance. I walked away feeling like he kept repeating himself while not saying much of anything.

Here is his mission statement:

I wish for your help to create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity.

How can I not be on board with this? I am extremely glad he won the $100,000 Ted Prize to get the ball rolling on this, but I think aiming his speech at awareness was a little belittling to the live audience and viewer alike.

He showed a few, brief clips of families that were being torn apart by unhealthy lifestyles, but those people aren’t his audience. Those people are the audience of his initiative, not speech. I think it would be safe to assume people that attend and watch Ted Talks are mostly educated individuals. Given this, I think he should have focused more on how to get involved as opposed to the problem.

Do you walk down the street and see fast food chains everywhere? Have you ever read the nutritional label on a box before? Are there fat people everywhere? It is blatantly obvious that we live in an unhealthy society. Does he really need to be telling us to eat more natural foods? Instead, tell us how to get involved.

I happen to love the show Jamie at Home, and I really appreciate his efforts toward a growing epidemic. I just thought this clip was a little disappointing.

What did you think? Did he bring up anything you already didn’t know? Was this a memorable speech (not issue)?

My generation is the first that has complete access to far too much information about people — mostly because the majority are so willing to divulge anything a text box asks for. For anyone that follows me on Facebook or Twitter, you’ve bared witness to many occurrences in which I should insert-foot-in-mouth instead of regretfully click “send.”

It bothers me that others have the chance to “know” me before actually (or momentarily after) meeting me for two major reasons:

1. The information found is rarely accurate. I should bring a little more professionalism to the table, but given my sarcastic nature it is hard not to keep my presence on networks edgy or light-hearted. Did I really minor in Dance? No. Do I really consider the St. Louis Cardinals my religion? Yes. Either way, what does it really matter?

Anything can be taken out of context. Even if I were to truthfully respond to questions/posts, others are still going to be on the opposite end trying to figure out what was going through my head. Chances are: very little to nothing. Regardless, I would be surprised if even 50% of the endless information compiled about me is a true representation of who I am.

Either way, I might be getting short-changed because you just learned everything you need to know about me from the interwebz, bia.

2. Exploring relationships away from technology is more difficult, yet more rewarding. Common sense, right? Then I will ask you to stop sending me Facebook messages or text messages asking me to hang out or simply saying, “Hi,” as if I am supposed to spark up the conversation. The only people I want sending me short messages through those various mediums are people I have already developed a close, personal bond with. And those bonds have always evolved from quality, personal interaction.

Here is a not-so hypothetical situation: I meet a very fun-loving, possibly interesting person while out. Phone numbers are exchanged and the commonly courteous, “Call you soon” is tossed out. The catch — “call you soon” is a phrase that has grotesquely morphed in to “I’ll add you as a Facebook friend or start a text conversation — anything to prevent from actually calling and making plans to hang out.”

Stop it.

If I ever do that to you, it means I don’t want to get to know you better — my first encounter was enough. Oh, but keep sending me texts and messages, because that doesn’t make you seem aggressively pathetic.

I think we need to turn back the clocks, before technology ruined our social skills. I know I am going to make a valiant effort to put aside my bad habits to better personally connect with those I am interested in growing a relationship.

A line needs to drawn: there has to be a personal attribution involved with using technology, which means it should supplement, not be the primary source, of our ability to connect.