4th Meeting - Novell Rooftop

1 - slice of pizza, 1 - 16-oz beverage, and a whole lot of sunshine on the secret Suicide Deck for $1.79, make for a wonderful lunch break and fabulous FTC meeting.

As usual, we got down to business. Two out of three of us has finished a Song for Summer, and we are waiting for the third member to do her work (Cough*KATI!*Cough) so we can start on the next great read.

There was a lot of debate on what type of pizza to order and who would do the ordering; but we went with plan B, which allowed us to all have what we wanted - and what was cheapest. It really worked out for the best, but just in case, the FTC has now been fully educated on how to order a pizza from the Hard Disk.

The exclusiveness of our club was also discussed. In an effort to be more inclusive, it was proposed that we make an announcement to the MarCom team when FTC meets. We will be trying to include more people from now on so as not to be labeled "clique-y". We invited Mary to join us and hope that she will be a frequent visitor to our club.

Plans for next week are already in discussion as well. "Operation: Rescue Meghan from Boys Nights" will be in effect later this week, after Shelli returns from Ohio. The club will miss her terribly, but it will be good practice for when Kati leaves for Indiana next month, and Meghan the month after. Summer is upon us, but we will not let vacations hurt the progress of the FTC.

The view off of the Suicide Deck

Meghan in her cool shades.

The whole gang - with Mary.

3rd Meeting - Indiana Jones and Red Robin

Sometimes Novell really likes to take care of us. So on May 22, the FTC decided to take Novell up on the offer and meet with most of the MarCom department (and various others of the 8th floor... and whoever Troy decided to invite) and spend the afternoon at the theater watching Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. -Has anyone noticed that Indiana Jones has major trust issues? As in, he trusts people he shouldn't? And ALWAYS the main girl is obnoxious? Not sure why they felt the need to make every girl in the Indiana Jones' series absolutely ridiculous.

This meeting was particularly exciting because we were able to meet and introduce the men in our lives. Meghan was able to bring Jared. Leo came, despite his being under the weather, accompanied Kati. And even Shelli invited a friend, Dave. Sadly, Shelli left the camera charging under her desk and no pictures were taken to document this momentous occasion. We are going to have to invite the boys again sometime.

After the movie, we all headed to Red Robin where we enjoyed our meals and great conversation about things like American Idol, basketball, and other culturally stimulating topics.

It was discussed that A Song For Summer be read over the weekend so that it could be discussed on next Tuesdays meeting. We'll see what happens.

Overall, meeting #3 was a great success!

Book #1 - A Song for Summer by Eva Ibbotson

For the FTC's first attempt at a book club, we will be reading one of Shelli's newly discovered, favorite authors. (Mostly because she didn't feel Meghan and Kati were ready for the talents of Marcia Lynn McClure.)

Eva Ibbotson [this is where I would post a link to her website. Alas, she does not have one. SMA] is a talented writer, whose lush imagery is beyond comparison. Her extensive knowledge of geography, biology, zoology, and history makes the read all the more fascinating and descriptive.
Her books generally take place (from Shelli's experience) between 1920s-1950s, and are some how linked to London.

A Song for Summer was a darker novel, for all that it starts off like the Sound of Music. Good-hearted Ellen travels to Austria in the 1930s to take charge of a bunch of wild children, in this case the boarders at Hallendorf, a progressive school for the arts. In no time, she imposes order, good cooking and high standards of domestic science on the school’s neglected children and its unruly staff of anarchists and Marxists.

Meanwhile Ellen falls for the groundskeeper, a mysterious Czech-of-all-trades who is smuggling Jewish musicians out of Germany in his off hours. No one’s supposed to know that he’s the Marek Altenburg, promising young composer and conductor, a musical genius who can whip the Vienna Philharmonic into shape overnight.

Austria in the late 1930s is no time or place for Ellen and Marek to fall in love, but of course, they do. Hitler invades, and the plot becomes a melodrama of just-missed chances and too-noble sacrifices that seem destined to to leave everyone miserable. There’s enough of a mix of romanticism, irony, nostalgia, and realism that I really wasn’t sure how this one would turn out.

Review by: Blogging for a Good Book: A suggestion a day from the Williamsburg Regional Library, by Charlotte.

Other books by Eva Ibbotson, recommended by Shelli, include: A Countess Beneath Stairs, A Company of Swans and The Morning Gift.

2nd Meeting - Stan's Diner

In the mood for ghetto? Well, Stan's Diner on 9th East is the perfect place to go! Their fries... I mean, fried food (which is nearly all of it) is AMAZING! And they fry in oil with zero trans fat! The owner is Indian, and we have named him Apu - even though he could be Stan?? We don't really know.

Really, if you are looking for a good burger and fries, this is the place to go. We like the homemade onion rings and fries, the milk shakes are good, etc. etc. We could go on.

You're sure to run into Meghan and her husband Jared on occasion.

The motion to move from one table to another one in order to create distance between the party and the wasp passed unanimously.


The wasp... notice how it just lazily sits there?

1st Meeting - El Gallo Giro Mex Grill

The Finer Things Club met officially for the first time by going to lunch at a local authentic Mexican restaurant. The meeting started with a motion to require pictures at each meeting. The 'yeas' took the 'nays' 2:1 and the motion passed.

Holly Olson was our first guest.

The food was very delicious. The service was fantastic...what with the awesome Mexican manager running around refilling drinks and everything! We definitely recommend it.

Overall a complete success.