Monday, September 29, 2008

Go Community

How exciting to watch (and be part of) the evolution of Clif's 2080 program--from the early days of contributing the equivalent of one full-time employee (2080 hours) to our local community (no small vision) to a multi-company venture combining the energies, people power and good of several companies and extending our reach even further. In Good Company New Orleans--what an excellent way to embed ourselves in the idea and practice of community.

My first visit to New Orleans was in 2000. I was competing in TaeKwonDo at the national AAU tournament. I decided to make a vacation out of it, extending my visit and bringing mom along. We had a fabulous time exploring the food and music scene. One of my favorite days was spent walking the Garden District--I'm a big Anne Rice fan and had to see the neighborhood depicted in so many of her novels first hand. We had a great lunch in a little cafe focused on natural food (can't remember the name). I was thrilled to hear that our In Good Company lodging would be in nestled in the heart of the Garden District!

Friday, September 26, 2008

The Big Easy!

I was thrilled to learn that I was picked to visit New Orleans with the "In Good Company" group in early November. I thought about our group and the good that we can bring to the city of New Orleans and it's community, and how we can lend a helping hand to all we have contact with. I am excited to visit "The Big Easy" even though I know there will be nothing easy about our trip as we will be working hard for the bettermeant of New Orleans. New Orleans has a lot to offer and I am truly excited about a couple of things. I look forward to helping out the people and community of New Orleans while visiting Bourbon St, listening to Music, eating Gumbo and Muffaleta Sandwich's and seeing the SuperDome. I will be posting blogs in the future about the very distinct and popular New Orleans style cuisine and what foods we will be tasting down in the "Big Easy".

Monday, September 22, 2008

It's All Good

I am so moved to be part of the innagural year of In Good Company. What a special opportunity we have to meet good people, to hear good music, to eat good food and of course do good things. Can't wait to meet every one. See you in about a month!!!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

books books books

One of the many things that I am most looking forward to about living and working in New Orleans for two weeks is being immersed in one of the richest, most culturally inclusive musical environments in our ginormous U.S.of A.

I have to admit, aside from a few famous names like Louis Armstrong, Fats Domino and a love for Blue Music, I don't have much knowledge about this cultural medium of New Orleans.

So, where oh where to start gleaning?

At the first meeting Caron and Jennifer mentioned that one of our New Orleans veterans, Tom V., had some great insight to share. On top of that, being one of the most experienced members of our company band made soliciting him for coffee a no-brainer.

Yesterday, I headed out with Tom to hear some stories and reap some musical inspiration. The more he spoke the more I wanted to hear. He loaded me up with CDs, a couple of books and I walked back to my desk with a stack of material I only hope I can make a dent in before we leave.

I've already cracked into one of his favorite books called "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?" It's a collection of speeches, essays, stories, poems and recipes that provide a detailed (or as detailed as you can get about something so esoteric) account of the side of the city that most tourists never experience. One of the things Tom mentioned is that there is a soul to New Orleans that you can feel when you navigate the smaller, more local music venues. Even though I've only read the preface and part of the first story, "Do You Know..." seems to have already solidified his sentiment.

I haven't gotten very far in this book yet, but I highly recommend at least the first 10 pages :-)

If you're interested in learning a bit more, here's the link:


Next on my list is "1 Dead in the Attic"

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

A Teachable Moment

NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE August 17, 2008 A Teachable Moment By PAUL TOUGH Hurricane Katrina wiped out the New Orleans public schools. It also created a rare chance to build a system that might solve the biggest problem in urban education -- how to teach disadvantaged children.