23 NOVEMBER 2010 :: SMARTER THAN YOUR AVERAGE CAL BEAR
I suspect it’s becoming a little obscene, even by my standards, but the
continued celebration of my new job has brought me to
California. It’s just for a weekend mind you, but I honestly don’t know
if that makes it more or less outrageous?
I flew out for The Big Game – Stanford vs Cal. The rivalry dates back
to 1892 with the winner taking “the axe” along with bragging rights for
the next 12 months.
This year the game took place at Cal and while walking through campus
towards the stadium, I ran into the Cal Golden Bear mascot, Oski. (I
wasn’t looking where I was going and literally ran right into him) The
result was a shove from the big fluffy bear followed by pointing and
mocking of my Stanford Cardinal jumper. I can’t condone bear-on-bear
violence so I took the abuse with good humour and walked off thinking,
we’ll see who’s laughing at the end of the day.
I found my seat amongst Stanford students and alumni just time for the
bands pre game performance. There was no point travelling this far to
not sit amongst your own fans! As the Stanford band took the field the
announcer proclaimed "Instead of our usual highbrow entertainment,
we’re obliged to bring you four minutes of schadenfreude as you openly
mock…. The one, the only, the truly incomparable, Leland Stanford JR…..
University Marching Band."
Ohhhh it’s on Cal, it’s ON!
From the moment the game started Cal’s teamcouldn’t come close to
backing up the emotion of the day. Every time
Stanford had the ball they scored. It was 45 – 0 before Cal finally
figured out a way to score points. The game was essentially over at
half time.
Speaking of half time, the Cal marching band burst into life
with ‘tonight’s gunna be a good night’. Having watched such a
dominating performance you couldn’t help but smile at the music
selection. Sure, it’s going to be a great night, but not for you guys!!
You suck out there!
After the game with “the axe” firmly in the hands of Stanford players,
thousands of fans swarmed the field to congratulate the team. The
Stanford band broke into our victory song ‘feeling all right’ and for
good measure managed to mash in 1980’s Madness classic ‘our house’.
This was met by roars of approval and chants of “who’s axe? OUR AXE.
Who’s house? OUR HOUSE.”
I’ve now returned home to my wonderful
co-conspirator, Fiona, who’s made moussaka and red wine for dinner. I
should note that she’s not only made this wonderful meal for me to come
home to, but also encouraged this outrageous trip in the first place. I
should also say that she’s a Cal Bear alumni and while I’m officially
required to hate her during the big game, I do not feel it in my heart.
17 NOVEMBER 2010 :: ONE "ART" PLEASE
As most of you know I’ve been offered a fabulous new job with a very
successful company. It’s clearly a huge opportunity for me and one I’m
keen to dive in to. While the job itself is reason to celebrate,
something comes with it that’s more important to me. A sense of
equilibrium.
I’ve never regretted leaving my job in Ad Land all those years ago, but
the decision certainly caused a radical upheaval in my life. During
some of the tougher times that followed I’ve caught myself thinking “I
use to be a bit of a big deal, what am I doing with my life now?”
Someone I once knew summed up my old lifestyle very succinctly, “Luke’s
not a Londoner, he’s a citizen of the world. London’s just his
playground.”
When I start my new job at the end of this month I’ll be able to
reclaim my old lifestyle, while still having the increased job
satisfaction that my IT job allowed. The last 4 years will have come
full circle and I can’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of relief
at the balance this will bring to both my career and my lifestyle.
The occasion really needs to be marked by something lasting. Not just a
weekend break (although that is happening as well) but something
tangible. Something I can see on a daily basis to help re-tain this
sense of accomplishment and relief. I decided to mark my return to the
realm of “a bit of a big deal” with artwork. Because, let’s face it,
nothing says “I’m a bit of a big deal” like a 19th century painting in
an ornate frame.
I’ve attached a picture for you. It’s by an English artist who you can
read about
here:
if you’re so inclined. It’s proudly hanging in our lounge room and I
can’t stop glancing at it. Of course, that could be due to the fact I
feel like I’ve stolen something from the national gallery!
Luke
x
It takes two to lie. One to lie and one to listen.
Homer Simpson