From March 8th, 2005 Zermatt

ordered for Anna :-)

Cousin Luisa

Obituary here

Today

Wrote this to SW today:

This is hard. In fact, it's just awful news. But I want to clarify, this isn't all on you. We made this investment as a team, based on everything we knew at the time, and we weren't the only ones who believed in it. We did our due diligence, and so did others. Sometimes things just don't go the way we hope, no matter how well we prepare. Have you ever seen the movie Run, Lola, Run? Chance & unpredictability can lead to totally different outcomes and all actions are interconnected showing a shared responsibility when things don't work out.
 
This is tough news, but you don't have to carry it alone. We're in this together, and we'll figure out the next steps as a team (including the rest of the IC). And of course, we can use this as time of learning to adapt and reassess while continuing to move forward. We can do this!
 
Appreciate you, always.
 

11/10/22

Calling All Cute Guys! | The New Yorker

I set my alarm for 6am every morning. I get up - put on my coffee and let the snooze go 3 times. Sorry if that bothers you but not sure I can change that anytime soon. I drink my coffee in bed and can get out of the house in less than 5 minutes from being in bed to being in my car. I brush my teeth but don't touch my hair or face. Most mornings I have my pillow creases still on my cheek. Just don't get in my way. I run a tight morning ship.

I head to Mt. Philo every morning. I like to run it - and plug in my airbuds so if you want to join you can either go in front of me or behind me because this is my alone time with my music, stairs, Philo fam and views. One thing you don't have to worry about is that even though I am a ridiculous Instagram poster - I don't post anything really personal unless it's in secret format just for us. So if you don't have an account - suggest you get one. I only share my location with one person so if you want a general idea of where I am, Instagram is your best bet.

F

…and be careful if you walk into my kitchen at night with the lights off. At least 3 cabinet doors are open, but it's Russian Roulette which one  will give you a black eye😍

And, I have enough nuts on hand to feed an army of squirrels 

All my seltzer is pineapple 

 MY candy stash is from Halloween, mid 2000s, because I can stop after only one piece 

FUNIONS have consequences and I don't care

Expect there to be a very large Christmas tree and Christmas is a long season

I makes lists and stuff get shit done 

A

And I go out a lot with my girlfriends… those nights I won't be seeing you.

So fun! And let's not forget about the white sunglasses!!! Love the pictures!❤️❤️❤️

Me

And don't touch my cheese doodles or cheezits. They are off limits - I do not share. 

Funyons are reserved for hangover and road trips 

When I travel for a min of 2 nights I always bring my single sleeping bag to save my hosts from having to change/wash sheets. So if you what to come - bring your own sleeping bag. 

I am a creative person and have many unfinished projects. Get used to it. They all have names so familiarize yourself with them. Here's a sample: the Christmas stocking project, at least 3 Shutterfly projects, the cardboard box project, ten WORD book project, operation Goodwill etc. and NEVER ask me when they will be done. EVER.

Another one: I like my fried egg whites crispy. So please refrain from removing the frying pan from the heat just because you think they are done. They are not. 

Michelle 

Gotta put something in there about work schedule and multi job juggle

Gotta put something in there about always seeing the bright side of things 

Gotta put something in there about never giving up on people and family.  

And the JUST FUCKING DO IT attitude. 

David Honig on Trump

This was shared on Facebook by someone in 2018:

The best, most cogent and elegantly simple explanation into the inexplicably destructive negotiating processes of the president,by Prof. David Honig of Indiana University.

Everybody I know should read this accurate and enlightening piece...

"I'm going to get a little wonky and write about Donald Trump and negotiations. For those who don't know, I'm an adjunct professor at Indiana University - Robert H. McKinney School of Law and I teach negotiations. Okay, here goes.

Trump, as most of us know, is the credited author of "The Art of the Deal," a book that was actually ghost written by a man named Tony Schwartz, who was given access to Trump and wrote based upon his observations. If you've read The Art of the Deal, or if you've followed Trump lately, you'll know, even if you didn't know the label, that he sees all dealmaking as what we call "distributive bargaining."

Distributive bargaining always has a winner and a loser. It happens when there is a fixed quantity of something and two sides are fighting over how it gets distributed. Think of it as a pie and you're fighting over who gets how many pieces. In Trump's world, the bargaining was for a building, or for construction work, or subcontractors. He perceives a successful bargain as one in which there is a winner and a loser, so if he pays less than the seller wants, he wins. The more he saves the more he wins.

The other type of bargaining is called integrative bargaining. In integrative bargaining the two sides don't have a complete conflict of interest, and it is possible to reach mutually beneficial agreements. Think of it, not a single pie to be divided by two hungry people, but as a baker and a caterer negotiating over how many pies will be baked at what prices, and the nature of their ongoing relationship after this one gig is over.

The problem with Trump is that he sees only distributive bargaining in an international world that requires integrative bargaining. He can raise tariffs, but so can other countries. He can't demand they not respond. There is no defined end to the negotiation and there is no simple winner and loser. There are always more pies to be baked. Further, negotiations aren't binary. China's choices aren't (a) buy soybeans from US farmers, or (b) don't buy soybeans. They can also (c) buy soybeans from Russia, or Argentina, or Brazil, or Canada, etc. That completely strips the distributive bargainer of his power to win or lose, to control the negotiation.

One of the risks of distributive bargaining is bad will. In a one-time distributive bargain, e.g. negotiating with the cabinet maker in your casino about whether you're going to pay his whole bill or demand a discount, you don't have to worry about your ongoing credibility or the next deal. If you do that to the cabinet maker, you can bet he won't agree to do the cabinets in your next casino, and you're going to have to find another cabinet maker.

There isn't another Canada.

So when you approach international negotiation, in a world as complex as ours, with integrated economies and multiple buyers and sellers, you simply must approach them through integrative bargaining. If you attempt distributive bargaining, success is impossible. And we see that already.

Trump has raised tariffs on China. China responded, in addition to raising tariffs on US goods, by dropping all its soybean orders from the US and buying them from Russia. The effect is not only to cause tremendous harm to US farmers, but also to increase Russian revenue, making Russia less susceptible to sanctions and boycotts, increasing its economic and political power in the world, and reducing ours. Trump saw steel and aluminum and thought it would be an easy win, BECAUSE HE SAW ONLY STEEL AND ALUMINUM - HE SEES EVERY NEGOTIATION AS DISTRIBUTIVE. China saw it as integrative, and integrated Russia and its soybean purchase orders into a far more complex negotiation ecosystem.

Trump has the same weakness politically. For every winner there must be a loser. And that's just not how politics works, not over the long run.

For people who study negotiations, this is incredibly basic stuff, negotiations 101, definitions you learn before you even start talking about styles and tactics. And here's another huge problem for us.

Trump is utterly convinced that his experience in a closely held real estate company has prepared him to run a nation, and therefore he rejects the advice of people who spent entire careers studying the nuances of international negotiations and diplomacy. But the leaders on the other side of the table have not eschewed expertise, they have embraced it. And that means they look at Trump and, given his very limited tool chest and his blindly distributive understanding of negotiation, they know exactly what he is going to do and exactly how to respond to it.

From a professional negotiation point of view, Trump isn't even bringing checkers to a chess match. He's bringing a quarter that he insists of flipping for heads or tails, while everybody else is studying the chess board to decide whether its better to open with Najdorf or Grünfeld."

— David Honig

With this photo

On smiling..

I had a wonderful interaction with Imo and it reminded me of these stories:

Dear Imo,

 

Just following up on our convo below and you writing that you go around putting smiles on people's faces. I love that and can totally identify. I lived in Zurich for many years (1990-2002) and as much as I love the Swiss and how efficient the country is – they can be pretty grumpy people. At one point, I was on a running thing and ran the same route every day at the same time so I'd pass some of the same people every day. I used to pass this elderly woman who at the same point and I'd always say hi to her (well, "Greuzi", which is what they say in Swiss German). And she wouldn't reply, acknowledge, or even LOOK at me. So, I decided that my goal was going to get her to not only say hi back to me but to make her smile. So day after day I said hello and then flashed her a big smile…..it took about a week but she finally said hi back to me – BUT she still wasn't looking at me. Well, I'm sure you know where this story is going – but after several weeks – I had her. I made her smile every morning and I could tell that I altered her frame of mind when she went on her walks. She even would say hi to me first and smile every time. Made me SOO happy!

 

Oh this is reminding me of another similar story. I was at the grocery store with my three young children, also in Switzerland and there was an elderly man in front of us in line. He turned to me and said Hello in English – he could hear me speaking English with my children. So, I smiled and started a conversation with him – asked him how he learned English etc etc – just small talk. We both finished up and had our bags packed and he looked at me and said he had been shopping in this store for decades and I was the first person to ever talk to him!!! Isn't that CRAZY???

 

And now I live in Vermont and hike a mini mountain every morning before work. It's called Mt Philo – and randomly I also met my boyfriend John there (had a horrible divorce from my wasband who I was married to for 27 years). It's a magical place with an amazing view. So every morning when John and I hike up – we say good morning to everyone that we pass – something I've been doing all these years. And you can't believe how many people don't reply or even look at us. We continue to say hi every morning and slowly, we crack them and they reply. Just this morning, one of the grumpier women who we have been saying good morning to for at least 2 years – said good morning to US first before we had a chance to say good morning to her. We were soooo happy! Our perseverance paid off and she was happy and smiling.

 

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on smiling…it brought back these wonderful memories for me.

 

Happy Sunday and happy week!

 

p.s. my lunch was so good and that brioche was amazing.

 

p.s. here is the view from Mt Philo yesterday morning: