Find your Passion

I am thrilled that CareerApple has invited me to present two online courses entitled Crafting a Killer Elevator Pitch and Networking 101. CareerApple is a website dedicated to help people discover their passion and these courses are an expression of my passion and experience with Branding and Marketing. I invite you to attend these webinars so I can hopefully bring you one step closer to finding your career passion!

Below is info from the CareerApple launch email from its founder, Sunita Sayana:

Do you wish you were doing work that you loved? Are you going through a career transition and want to explore new options but don’t know where to start? Hi, I’m Sunita Sayana and I am the founder of CareerApple. CareerApple is focused on helping people find passion in their career. Our services can help sharpen your skill set, pave the way for a promotion or provide you with the resources to take your career in an entirely new direction. We can guide you toward your ideal career.

Having gone through this journey myself, I have found that the path to finding the right job can be a long and arduous one. The right job inspires you to get up in the morning. When you are doing what you love, it never feels like work. But take it from my experience and the experience of the hundreds of people whom we have interviewed who have all found their career passion: Finding the right job for you and doing work you love IS possible.

Where do I start? The process of reviewing all your options and discovering your new career path can be overwhelming. Our goal is to bring focus to and simplify the process.

Step 1: Discover what you want to do. Take CareerApple’s flagship course on career discovery. This is a one-of-a-kind course that uncovers the core of who you are, what you are passionate about, and which career options will best utilize your skills and talents.

Step 2: Get inspired and informed by people who have done what you want to do! We have met hundreds of people who have found work that absolutely inspires them. Visit CareerApple online to see the profiles of people who have discovered how finding the right job can lead to both fulfillment and success.

Step 3: Take action on your new goal. Finally, regardless of whether you are interested in expanding your professional options or going down an entirely new career path, CareerApple offers the tools and expertise to help you get there.

Thinking about a career in Cleantech? Take our Cleantech course to get a complete understanding of the space, the market forces impacting the industry, the technology, the economics, the key stakeholders and opportunities within the space.

Want to enhance your personal brand? Take our personal branding course along with our course on creating a killer elevator pitch. Meet with one of our career coaches to work out an action plan.

Learn how to leverage the internet to find your next role by taking our course on using social media to network. Whether you are exploring career options or ready to make a change, CareerApple is committed to helping you find a job you can be passionate about. Now, we need to hear from you! Go to Careerapple.com – tell us what you think of our site and what resources you would like to see in the future.

Dave and Maya

Last night, my husband and I, tired of the the exploits of political idiots on The Daily Show (most days it's funny, but some days I find the stupidity and hypocrisy downright depressing) caught Sundance Channel's Iconoclasts. This smart show pairs up two unlikely figures and let's them just talk, debate and get to know each other. Pairings have included people like Ashley Judd + Madeline Albright; skater Tony Hawk + director/actor Jon Favreau; activist Desmond Tutu + entrepreneur Richard Branson.

We watched as comedian Dave Chapelle met with poet, activist, and general inspiration Dr. Maya Angelou. What a pairing! It was a poignant meeting of a wise older soul passing life lessons onto a 30-something man who has been through a lot but is still on his journey. As some of you may know, Dave walked away from his hit TV show and $50 million dollar contract at Comedy Central a few years ago just to get away from it all and save his soul. Maya seemed to understand this act, while many others have not.


You could see in Dave's eyes he wanted to just soak up as much knowledge and insight from this woman as was humanly possible. And she was eager to share, teach, praise and comfort. It was just awe-inspiring to watch so much love pass between two souls right in front of your eyes.


I am a huge lover of independent film and adore many of the selections on the Sundance Channel. Having attended the Sundance Film Festival 5 years in a row (2009 was the first year I'd missed it in a while), I love the energy of storytelling and community that permeates Park City for 10 days out of the year. But I often have a hard time with some indie film that is avant-garde for the sake of being avant-garde, rather than in pursuit of the story. Sometimes shocking is just shocking and it doesn't work. I will never forget an interview I saw back when Melanie Griffith was promoting the film Working Girl in 1988 (not that I would ever confuse that film with an arthouse classic, but bear with me on this point...). She was justifying a scene where she is vacumming the house topless because she's in a rush as "central to the story and what my character would do" or something like that. Seriously? That was pivotal to the entire plotline to have you vacuum topless and was not just a shameless attempt to sex up a late 80's film? I love non-cerebral entertainment just as much as the next guy, but let's call a spade and spade, shall we?


But I digress. Often Sundance Channel carries over some of the best films from the festival, ones that never got full distribution in the light of day. And original, smart, compelling, and eye-opening series like Iconoclasts actually help me regain some of my brain cells back from shows like I wrote about last time. True, honest, insightful storytelling is why I love film so much and showcases its potential to change minds, hearts and the world.

Hate, Inc.

What's with all the shows about people being so horrible to each other?

I am overwhelmed by all the TV series showing women being nasty and fake, men being boorish and rude and generally just celebrating conflict of all kinds. Can't we all just get along, people?

While many people are all about the escapism and drama of reality TV, I've gotta say I think the end of civilization as we know it is finally upon us. Before you judge me, hear me out.

Reality TV can be really fun. I enjoyed the first season of Survivor, before people figured out how it worked and used it to launch their own acting/modeling careers. I even loved The Mole, which used to show people figuring out different challenges in romantic locations like small villages in Italy. It was actually a game of wits, and I dig that. I also love Top Chef and Project Runway because, even though these shows can get a little "meow" at time, they require real skill and talent in order to win. Everyone loves a good competition. And I admit, I really like Millionaire Matchmaker becaue she's so ballsy and speaks her mind without hurting anyone. I've also heard great things about Amazing Race.

But when did shows like The Real Houswives become acceptable? They don't even DO anything. I don't even watch any of the show's incarnations (Orange County, New York, New Jersey) but just from the ads on Bravo, my skin starts crawling. Wealthy women getting upset about not getting invited to a dinner party, or being catty about another "friend" behind her back but sweet as pie to her face. Every teaser ad seems to show some sort of immature remark, backstabbing comment, or whining debutante. I'm really sorry you are pissed that she didn't invite you to her dinner party. But can't you put this much energy into doing something about global warming or animal abuse? Geez....

I seriously just think that entire franchise is disgusting. I won't even eatch it because I don't want to contribute one ratings point to this behavior. I struggle enough with my own inner demons and childish behavior - do I really need to encourage yours? What does this say about us as a culture? Fans tell me, "I love that show! It's like my release to watch all their antics!" And I get that. But it's just people being horrible to other people - and we make these people celebrities as a result. People who are so egocentric, they don't do anything but let cameras follow them around as they whine about whose husband got their wife a bigger diamond for Christmas.

I have to admit I melted some brain cells yesterday: I actually watched 15 minutes of Prais Hilton BFF over lunch. I admit it. I was curious. The entire 15 minutes consisted of these pathetic people vying to become best friends with a woman they don't even know (and when someone figures out what she's famous for, other than being brilliant business woman who has snowed us all into thinking she is a celebrity - which I do kind of admire in a warped way - just give me a call). There was a bachelor party and one young woman obliged the groom-to-be's request for a kiss (and not a peck). Apparently, this gal is the goody-goody in the group so it was not like her at all. The next day, she was forced to confront Paris and the other contestants (who Paris had ordered to "look at her shamefully when she comes out.") as well as the groom -to-be and his fiance. It was horrible. And as fake as Pam Anderson's breasts. The groom actor pretended to be all upset; the bride actress pretended she would call off the wedding and said, "We need to talk." And the poor girl who was goaded into all of this fake drama in the pursuit of being someone's "friend" apologized profusely and looked like she was about to cry.

These are the role models my nieces have to look forward to? They are 3 and 1 years old. God help us. After I saw that show yesterday, I needed a shower. I think we're seriously 2 steps away from Running Man.

I'm not a prude and I'm as pop culture junkie as the next person (probably more so), but this has got to stop. It's not like we have to be highbrow all the time, but seriously. We are influencing a generation of people who want to be known for how awful they are to each other, rather than one working to make this world a little bit better. And God knows, we need some help in that department right now. And I don't even have kids!

I have this awful feeling that when civilized society does implode, people will just stare at each other, dumbfounded, wondering what the hell happened. I'll give you three guesses, my friend.

La Dolce Vita Lives Up to Its Name

My hubbie and I decided to be a bit adventurous Saturday night. Craving Italian food (maybe it's all the research I'm doing for my new book proposal) we decided to try a new place. We were both in the mood for more traditional Italian cooking, not nouveau/gourmet nonsense. Don't get me wrong, that has its place but I was looking for comfort food and a nice solid glass of wine.

Booking through Open Table (we love getting the points), we came across La Dolce Vita in Lower Queen Anne. There were some lovely reviews and the menu looked right on - lots of pastas, bruschetta, even this amazing pinwheel pork loin stuffed with ricotta and served with green beans and a root beer and stoned ground mustard reduction. Yummers.

Che bella! This place is a true gem. The owner, Chris, waited on us, as it was a slow night. They are a little off the beaten path but so close to Queen Anne Ave, it's ridiculous. The decor is classic Italian bistro, with burgundy banquette seats accented by a simple floral fabric pattern, tasteful Italian landscape art on the walls and just a few faux collonades that stop way short of being cheesy. Chris was friendly, amusing and attentive. We opted for the bruschetta sampler - one of them had roasted garlic galore (My husband made me try some, too, so I couldn't refuse to kiss him for 3 days) - and the Insalta Girasole: mixed greens salad with sunflower seed vinaigrette. Simple. Lovely.

Our mains were tortellini alla'amatriciana and pappardelle alla bolognese. All I can say is "WOW!" This dished were made with love. I'm a huge fan of the pancetta and onion marinara that is Amatriciana, but had never had it with anything but bucatini before. It was lovely with the fluffy, fresh tri-colored tortellini. And Paul's pappardelle was some of the freshest pasta I've ever had, ful of meaty ragu goodness with a little bit of a kick.. I always think it's a good sign when I can see the olive oil residue in the plate after I've had a sauce dish, as it reminds me of my mother's sauce. We cleaned our plates. We both agreed we hadn't had Italian this good since Incanto in SF.

For dessert, we ordered the Dulce de la Torat di Leche: Shortcake soaked in spiced sweet milk, sweet macarpone, raspberries, caramel, and nuts. It was rich, sweet and delicious.

Wines were a Barbera for me (which Chris let me taste first, always a classy move) and a Montepulciano for Paul. I thought the Barbera might be too complex for me, but with my heavy meal, it was perfect.

It was one of those adventurous evenings that works out just perfectly. This is our new neighborhood gem and we're definitelu going back!