After The MBA

The Best Valentine’s Date Idea

Every year when February rolls around, many guys get stressed out about what to do for Valentine’s Day. Many Guys dread February 14^th because it is so commercialized and superficial. Why should you have to be romantic and affectionate on that same date every year? Every day of the year should be Valentine’s Day in my opinion.

And then, there is the ongoing expectation that your upcoming Valentine’s Day surprise will only exceed the ones from years past.

So what is a guy to do to impress his Valentine?

Flowers and chocolates? Too passé.

Dinner at the best restaurant in town? Good luck getting a table because you waited last minute (again) to make plans instead of making reservations months ago.  

A tour of a major adult video production company? Brilliant!

If you happen to live in the Bay Area, Kink.com is headquartered in a Moorish castle (also known as the Armory) right in the Mission District. (I used to live nearby, which is how I found out about this place.) They are the largest producer of fetish entertainment and they reportedly made $20 million in revenue in 2006 and had 70 employees in 2007 (I couldn’t’ find any data that was more recent).

In other words, Kink.com is not a shady, underground porn studio and is a legitimate business that makes decent money. Despite this fact, some people are more conservative than others so the tour is not everyone’s cup of tea. So if your date’s values and beliefs are far to the right, don’t sign up for this tour and especially not for Valentine’s Day!

So how did the tour go? Well basically one of Kink’s “models” escorts you through their facilities and you get to see various sets that they use for production. While walking through dungeons and padded isolation cells, it's easy to forget that this is someone’s “cubicle” Monday through Friday (they don’t film on weekends).

So how did my Valentine’s date go?  She and I both thought the tour was fun and interesting. Sure everyone has seen porn (whether they will admit it or not) but how many people have seen where it is made? But you don’t have to wait a whole year for the next Valentine’s Day to take your date here. They have regularly scheduled tours throughout the year.

Visit http://www.sfarmory.com/tours.php for more info.

My Second Industry Conference

 

 

On January 25^th (yes, I realize this post is long overdue) I attended the Inside Social Apps summit, which was the second industry conference that I've attended during my nascent career in gaming.  

So what did the $399 registration fee net you at lunch you ask? 

 

 

Oh my! So many boxes to choose from!

Ultimately I chose the North Beach Italian Combo (sounds fancy doesn’t it?)

The Italian Combo consisted of a sandwich, bag of chips, a cookie, some pasta salad in condiment containers and an apple. Personally, I felt the lunch at the Virtual Goods Summit was better.

Facebook Holiday Present

I know this post is like 3 months overdue, which is probably because I’ve been so busy with work that I haven’t written a new post in 3 months. I sincerely apologize to everyone for not writing for so long. If it makes you feel better, I've gained 7 lbs in the past 2 months because I haven't time to go to the gym either.

Anyway, flashback to December 2010 and I get an unexpected package from Facebook at work. The box was too small for your customary assortment of chocolates, nuts and other snacks that most business partners send during the holiday season.  Plus, this box had instructions!

Step 1

Step 2 & 3

Step 4

So basically I got a Facebook ceramic cup and a $75 gift card to donate to an educational cause of my choice (unfortunately my student loans don't qualify). What a nice and novel holiday gift from Facebook! Thanks Zuck!