...2nd Annual NSBE BBQ!...

The second annual BBQ of the Silicon Valley Chapter of the NSBE Alumni Extension was another great success! If you were there, you’d know that already. This time around we were in East San Jose, taking a reprieve from last year's location in super-South San Jose. For this year’s BBQ, we partnered with three other local organizations: The African Network (TAN), the Black Recruiter’s Network (BRN), and Onyx - Bay Area Black Professionals. The purpose of this event, as was the purpose last year, was to promote the recognition and existence of the Silicon Valley Chapter of the NSBE Alumni Extension. Every now and then, in the hustle and bustle of daily life, it's very refreshing to stop, take a deep breath, and say hello to those around you. As such, one of the most memorable aspects of this year's BBQ was the reuniting with familiar faces from events past.

The BBQ was held in the beautiful park known as Emma Prusch Farm Park. Why is it called a Farm Park? Because it's an active farm!! (Go figure, right?) The wild chicken, roosters, and the occasional roaming peacock certainly set the tone for the vibe of a farm. And those were just the animals that wandered over to our area. Additionally, inactive (active...?) barns dotted the park, and a fully functioning community garden served as the park's reception area to all park entrants.

Chapter Vice President, Alex, took one for the team and spent most of the morning and some of the afternoon absorbing and inhaling the heat and smoke of the grill. If only he had thought to bring a "Kiss the Chef" apron, perhaps he would have be better rewarded.... Ah, there's always next year.

Much of the day was spent hiding out from the heat. Though not oppressively unbearable, the warmth of the Sun was rather energy-zapping when one was exposed beneath it for a long period of time. Those who arrived the earliest, near the start time of NOON (yeah, I was late too...) took the brunt of it. Thanks, guys!!

Shockingly, given the amount of Africans/Caribbeans in attendance, a soccer game did NOT result. Perhaps it was due to the field being out of site of the eating area? We'll note this for next year. Instead, there was a makeshift Ultimate Frisbee game on the massive field. I think this game is gaining in unregulated popularity....

Since everyone was hiding out from the sun, card games unfolded. (Get it? "Unfolded"... that's original comedy right there.) The poker junkies huddled at their table, while another non-poker card game took place at an adjacent table. It's up in the air as to which was more riveting, but I'll just say that games involving real money are just a tad more enthralling. Personal preference.

People kept trickling in throughout the afternoon, which was great since we had so much food! Good food, too. (Wow, lots of double o's PROVE how good the food was! Ok, I'll stop now.)

A great time was had by all. If you were there, we -- NSBE Alumni and all partnering affiliate groups -- were glad to have you. If you weren't there, you'd better come up with a good excuse when we interrogate you under a bright light at the 3rd Annual NSBE BBQ!

Enjoy!

On a final note: Engineers should not be allowed on clean-up crews. See below.

... NSBE Happy Hour at Pedro's ...

Thursday night saw the return of the NSBE-AE-SVC Happy Hour!! Set for 6pm on one of the hottest days in 2008, a small group met at Pedro's Restaurant & Cantina in Santa Clara. The muggy air made the concept of Happy Hour all the more appealing. Best of all -- we had a guest who heard about our Happy Hour social from Elvis!

Let it be known that Pedro's is always packed. It has the presumably enviable status as being the only restaurant available on its little street to cater to the business and tech professionals that work in the buildings nearby. Being that there's very little competition, the restaurant tends to get full rather quickly. This is something we (the first four to arrive) quickly realized as we took in the standing-room-only scene of the Happy Hour location. We roamed around a bit looking for a table, but there were none. Instead, we chose to embrace the heat outdoors and sit at one of the patio tables.














Here's where things begin to get interesting. After introductions were made, "happy" drinks were ordered, and the heat of the day was becoming more and more comfortable as the evening set in, we realized that our waitress (or is it "server"?) was lacking the essential skill of the let-me-be-nice-so-I-can-get-a-good-tip work ethic. "Susana" had a bit of a ... shall I say... attitude problem? She shockingly wasn't very interested in attending to our requests or even getting our orders right! (A virgin margarita was substituted for a strawberry daiquiri. Wait...aren't these the same thing?) And, yes - I know what you're thinking - we were being SUPER nice. One of us even referred to her by name (let's excuse the fact that it sounded a bit condescending), but she still didn't break a smile or look any less annoyed with us. She generally looked PO'd. Perhaps someone gave her some bad news before or during her shift. Perhaps, her boss didn't give her the raise she so clearly (note: sarcasm) deserved. Perhaps she had had enough of the day's heat and was suffering from a mild heat stroke before our eyes. We'll never know. And I couldn't tell you if this was happening at any other table. Susana can be seen "waiting" in the picture below.

Drinks and appetizers set in and our little group expanded to nine by the end of the evening. Conversations got louder and more boisterous, and split into two factions at any given time. Somehow, one of the guys had the great idea to poll the women's responses to questions he came up with. All I recall from his question pertaining to dating/marriage was that he ended up with three women staring back at him with a hint of anger in their eyes. Good times - you had to be there!

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The next event is the general body meeting on Saturday, May 24th. Please come and hear those who were nominated for Executive Board positions attempt to convince you (the voter) of why they should be chosen to be on the Executive Board in the 2008-2009 year.

... April General Body Meeting ...

Saturday's General Body Meeting was a reunion of sorts. Our chapter had not held a general body meeting since February due to the NSBE National Convention in March. Before that, we met in January after two months off for holidays in November and December. All in all, it's been quite sporadic trying to see one another.

Saturday brought about a new room. Due to Santa Clara University campus tours (I think...) and other events, we met in a room reminiscent of a high school science lab instead of our usual one with individual seating. But the long desks of the science lab much more easily facilitated the workshop hosted by our guest speaker (more on that later.) Oh, and…science is awesome!!

The plan for Saturday was to raffle off an iPhone, participate in an interactive Toastmasters workshop, and nominate candidates for the 2008-2009 NSBE-AE-SVC executive board.

Let's just put it this way: it pays to check (and read!) your e-mail! Diego, our President Emeritus, somehow managed to get his hands on a brand new, still-in-the-box, iPhone. Why an iPhone? It was the best way to coerce the membership to submit their resumes to the chapter to be included in a resume CD as a thank you to our Banquet sponsors. If you're thinking, "Man, I don't want an iPhone!" or "I already have one!", you're dumb...or a liar…or both. SOMEONE would have bought it off of you, I guarantee it. I'm just stating a fact here. The lucky winner of the iPhone is pictured below...gloating at us. For what it's worth, please continue to send your resume to Diego.

Do you get nervous speaking in front of an audience? At staff meetings or at club (NSBE) meetings? Do you have trouble overcoming nerves when trying to express or convey an idea? Joining Toastmasters may be a way to improve your technique and calm your nerves, thereby preparing you for ANY (well, almost any...) public speaking event. Our guest speaker (whose name escapes my memory) is a chapter president of the Fair Oaks Toastmasters club. Toastmasters, an organization that began in 1924, has about 12,000 clubs internationally, all with the goal of helping its members enhance their ability to speak under various circumstances.

The guest speaker provided examples of the typical situations that nervousness creeps in when it comes time to speak. As it turns impromptu speeches are the most difficult ones to prepare for, the guest speaker provided a GREAT practice lesson. Brown paper bags were distributed to everyone in the room. The premise: Our chapter will be leaving for a year-long undersea research study. The activity: Talk about your item in the context of an undersea research study. The contents of the bags: Various office supplies!

Having just gotten riled up from our activity, we deposited all of that energy into nominating individuals for the 2008-2009 executive board. At the May General Body Meeting, the nominees will be given an opportunity to present why they believe they are the best candidate for the position they’re running for. Sounds like a great way to improve those speaking skills!

...NSBE (Literally) Saves the Bay!...

On Saturday, the NSBE Alumni Extension took its power and influence to the streets and participated in a tree planting event hosted by the Save the Bay organization. Our planting location was the marshy area east of Palo Alto…or in East Palo Alto. Apparently, it doesn't take very long to drive to a natural wildlife environment because it was only within a few short turns off of Highway 101 that we reached our destination.




Roughly 25 people braved the mild winds and overcast conditions to populate the soil along an unpaved road with foliage, and of the group, six people represented the NSBE alumni chapter on a cold Saturday morning.







The next time you're out on a friendly/romantic walk (you know, whichever), be sure to ask which plant was put in place by the Silicon Valley NSBE Alumni Extension. It'll make you proud.

...Thursday Night Pub Quiz Smackdown...

If you're like me, you hadn't heard of a Pub Quiz before Thursday. But, if you ARE like me, that would not be a surprise. Essentially, a “pub quiz” is literally a quiz that takes place in a pub. Go figure, huh? Suspicion leads me to believe that pub quizzes were created by pub owners looking to increase patronage in the middle of the week, instead of just on the weekends. Throw in a “Happy Hour” and you’ve got attendees drinking in the middle of the week!


It turns out that Pub Quizzes are all the rage (well, they were as of the mid 90s, according to Wikipedia…) in Britain. Several years later, the game has crossed the pond (a.k.a. the Atlantic Ocean), jumped over much of the entire United States, and landed at Loft Bar and Grill in downtown San Jose. Teams are formed among the pubs attendees, and several rounds are played where a host asks various teams a series of questions. The teams work together – while still getting served dinner and drinks – to submit their answers for each round. If you like trivia, this is the game for you! Questions are pulled from a broad spectrum of topics, and the more teams involved, the more competitive it can all get.


A Pub Quiz outing is the perfect social event because you can invite lots and lots of people to participate, and all you’re simply doing is spicing up the staid dinner and post-dinner chit-chat. This is great for those who fail at social conversation. (Looks around sheepishly…) It forces you to open lines of communication with someone with whom you may have not yet spoken. See? It’s GREAT for NSBE-AE-SVC.


Thursday’s Pub Quiz brought out a large number of NSBE-AE-SVC members and quite a few guests. Meals and drinks were ordered, and a team name was decided upon. (“The Lofty Travistas”…no, not my idea, and the host couldn’t pronounce it. We’d have been better off being called the “Square Losers”. Sigh.) Microphone in hand, the game-show-ready host introduced all the teams (four, in total) and presented a series of questions. Round 1 challenged our retention of random-yet-useful knowledge (“What’s the capital of New Hampshire?” Don’t judge; you don’t know the answer either.). Round 2 challenged our recollection of famous movie lines. Round 3 gauged how much educational and trash TV we watched. (Who memorizes a picture of John Wilkes Booth?! My sister.) Round 4 tested our auditory absorption of current events.


All in all, there was a question for every single person – all twelve of us – to answer. Clearly, the more people you have on your team, the higher the winning potential. But one thing we learned is that the larger your team, the more challenging it is to communicate. You can’t yell, “Hey guy-on-the-other-end-of-the-table, what’s the name of that country next to Venezuela?”


Next time around, development of strategy will be our focus. For despite having twelve people at our table, we STILL LOST THE GAME!! Yeah, you heard that (read that…) right. A bunch of really loud guys (maybe there was a girl in their midst, who knows) at the bar beat our table by 3 or 4 points. And they got to have $30 taken of their bill as a reward! We only got $20 off of ours. *tear*

So now you know what a Pub Quiz is. Next time you see it on the NSBE-AE-SVC calendar, be there! (Or be square.)