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Monday, June 29, 2009

Zoo Trip

Yikes - 1 month since our last posting. I blame it on summertime - that's what happens when the weather's warm and the living's easy.

Our second quarter MBM outing took us to the Richmond Metro Zoo, followed by a delicious lunch at Hot Tamale Cafe featuring a smattering of Mexican beer brands. Not sure what the highlight was - feeding a Giraffe or feeding myself with 3 baskets of chips and salsa.



Also, if the orangutans or the chimps are freed from captivity and send back to the wilds of Africa, we swear it wasn't MBM.


Wednesday, May 27, 2009

A little summer revamp

Nothing makes you feel more like part of an office team than the ability to redecorate. Stamping your personality all over your desk/cubicle/computer/area helps make you feel more comfortable and at home. From time to time, the "stamp of personality" can mean way too many cat calendars and ridiculous amounts of Kermit the Frog paraphernalia (I've seen both in action), but for the most part, family photos, a plant, or small nick-nacks seem to do the trick.

When you are actually allowed to take your desire to redecorate office-wide, that's really something. Jason (designer dude) and I, along with input from the rest of the team, are spearheading the MBM design project.

Now, we're pretty lucky to already have a cool space. It's open and bright with cool art and modern furniture. We only had small tweaks we wanted to make. Mainly, we wanted to paint some accent walls and replace a desk space with a seating area for brainstorming meetings.

We're currently deciding between this color palette:

Wall #1 - some sort bright but not too bright green:
Either GECKO GREEN or GREEN TEA

Wall #2 - bright blue (already in action in a couple other spots in the office)
PEAK-A-BOO BLUE is the official chosen color

Wall #3 - some sort of golden neutral/orange/yellow
We are looking at TOASTED HONEY, GOLDEN MOON, HOMESTEAD RESORT GOLD, or DEL CORONADO AMBER

Who comes up with these names? Must be in cahoots with nail polish namers.

Next week is the painting week (mainly cause the boss lady and second-in-command boss lady are out of the office - we're going to wow them upon their return). I'll be sure to post before and after photos next week.

The search for furniture for our seating area hasn't really hit full swing, but if you see any nifty, comfy, modern furniture, let us know.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Ghost?

Recently, I moved into a new apartment over in the Fan. It's super convenient to MBM - on nice days, I can easily walk. Aside from being convenient, it's also full of 1920s charm, as the building was built in 1926. I live in the apartment with my two cats, collection of hand-me-down family furniture, and too many shoes.

When lounging in the apartment, I typically sport my comfortable ballet-flat style slippers. They're pink fabric slip-ons with a safety-first rubber sole. When the time comes for me to put normal shoes back on, I just rip off my slippers and carelessly toss them on the floor in my bedroom.

Recently, I noticed that my slippers seemed to keep ending up in the hallway just outside of my bedroom. I didn't think that much of it, figuring that my cats were maybe bored and knocking the slippers around.

However, as the slippers continued to migrate from bedroom to hall, I wasn't able to catch a cat in the act. Also, it seemed a little bizarre that the slippers kept moving to the same one spot in the hall and never any further.

One weekend recently, it really began to sink in how often the slippers mysteriously moved themselves into the hall. After finding them in the hall 3 times within a 16 hour period, I opted to deliberately place them for tracking purposes (as any good marketer would do).

I left the slippers sitting on a bench in my room, stacked neatly on top of each other, and went to work.

When I came home at lunch and opened the front door, the slippers greeted me silently from the hall. They were neatly stacked on top of each other, just as I'd left them 3 hours prior.



Quickly, I processed the possibility of one of my cats pulling the slippers OFF of the bench, into the hall, and leaving them perfectly stacked. Determining that this was NOT very likely, I embraced the more likely possibility - my bedroom was haunted!!

After a brief freak-out phone call to my mother, I left the slippers in the hall and went back to work.

Upon leasing the apartment in January, I had been "warned" by the previous tenant that the downstairs apartment was haunted by a 1920s man in a bowler hat. As I replayed the image of my neatly stacked slippers in my head, I was annoyed at myself for foolishly thinking that ghostly occurrences would be limited to the first floor.

Over the rest of the day, I wondered about my next steps. Do I tell my landlord and hope for discounted rent? Does ghostly activity allow one to break a lease? Should I be contacting FX to schedule a ghost hunt television show to come by? Did my ghost have issues with my feet? Would a pedicure fix everything? Is my bedroom the gateway to hell?

After work, I returned home, only to throw open the front door and discover that the slippers had disappeared from the hallway. Fighting the urge to run outside and throw a scared temper tantrum, I entered the apartment, discovering 1 slipper back in the bedroom and the other missing.

The MIA slipper was nowhere to be found. After searching the floors and various low-level knocks and crannies, I began searching inside dresser drawers and closets. Does the ghost really feel that strongly about my slippers?? Had it really sucked the slipper away to the seventh portal of hell?

Shortly after, I discovered the missing slipper under my bed, in a favorite nap located of one of my cats. My hope of an appearance on Ghost Hunters dwindling, I realized I was actually a little disappointed not to have a ghostly roommate.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Muse is Over

Well, Maggi (the boss lady) and I have been part of the event committee planning the 2009 Muse Awards. The Muse Awards are an annual award (un)gala put on by the Virginia Museum of Fine Art. The VMFA's Business Council organizes the event, which recognizes creativity in Virginia businesses. You can read about this year's winner here.

Maggi and I, along with our illustrious co-chair Karin, spent the last 6 months or so planning the gala that surrounds the awards. I've attended before, but I had no idea what went into planning the party! The Muse Awards typically is a themed party, complete with costumes, and this year was no different.

The last 6 months meant developing a theme and translating into the event. The theme was focused on 3 eras in the museums's history: the 1930s (when the VMFA was built), the 1980s (when the West Wing was added), and 2010 (when the new McGlothlin Wing will be finished). The 2010 era focused on international marketplace and world fusion, with special focus on the South and East Asian that will be housed in the new wing.

We arranged music, dancers, lighting, decorations, invitations, programs, signage, costumes, and more. Are we going to sign up for the craziness again next year? Who knows. But those themed champagne cocktails sure were a sweet reward. Check out some of the pictures below!










Wednesday, April 22, 2009

60 Seconds


I usually work on the Client Services side of MBM, but I went to a Business Development lunch today to mix things up. These lunches often involves presenting some sort of 30 or 60 second "schpeel" about your company and/or what you do - the infamous elevator speech.

First, I need to say that I hate speaking in public, even for 30 or 60 seconds. I can talk all day long with small groups or an individual, but the minute I have to stand up and have the attention of a room, my face goes beet red.

Second, clearly condensing what you do can be really challenging. Within a brief window of time, you need to clearly explain your business, but you also want to capture the attention of your listeners and be memorable. That's a lot of pressure for a minute or less!

The suggestion I've gleaned for describing what you do?

Get someone else to do it. Seriously.

An objective friend, client, family member, or professional acquaintance is perfect - anyone you don't work with. These people won't necessarily know the technical terms of your trade, so they can help you come up with more "user-friendly" ways to explain yourself.

Successfully explaining what you do is crucial, as it's often the first impression people have of you and your company.

It's also a marketing device that's free to create, maintain, and update. Doesn't get much better than that!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Thursday, April 2, 2009

MBM's favorite non-work-related websites

We may work hard, but none of us can get through the week without venturing into one of these favorite websites or blogs.

MBM's Favorite Business Sites:

Richmond BizSense
Although not as intense as CNN.com or TimesDispatch.com, Richmond BizSense has the best pulse on local and regional businesses.

GonzoBanker
Creatively provides information about technology, vendors, strategies and other things that affect the banking industry.

EMarketing and Commerce
Features various articles about online marketing, social media/networking, and e-commerce.

The Motley Fool
Various interesting financial articles.

MBM's Favorite Entertainment Sites:

CNN
Everyone's favorite news site.

People
For any necessary celebrity information.

Lost Fanatic Blog
A few of us in the office at Lost fanatics - if you are too, you should be reading this blog.

MBM's Favorite Humor Sites:

Passive-Aggressive Notes
Real life people send in photos of some of the craziest (and super hilarious) passive-aggressive notes out there.

This Is Why You're Fat Blog
Photos submitted show some of the most ridiculous food that real people actually eat. Our favorite? The meatloaf modeled after carrot cake, complete with mashed potato "icing" - be amazed here.

Funny cat sites
One of the weirdest on the web, this site takes funny cat photos and inserts funny captions.

Got anything else we should be reading? Let us know!