Tech Gal Weakness: Shoes

I don't know what it is about shoes, but I feel like I can never have enough. I don't even need to dress up for work (I pretty much wear jeans everyday) and I organized my shoes this evening and was overwhelmed by the number of pairs that I have. I mean, I totally wear all of them and (most) are very practical. Plus it's technically winter now here in SF, so I totally needed those adorable brown slouchy flat boots that I picked up today (they were on sale...I SWEAR) and the other black ankle pointy toed ones I got from zappos last week. I could write a whole post on zappos alone, between their customer service to their unbelievable selection and kick-a** free shipping upgrades, I feel like I will never look at shoe shopping the same way.

Anyways, back to root (or should I say heel...haha) of the shoe problem. I don't know a single one of my friends who doesn't love them. Even non-girly girls love shoes. What is it about them that is so appealing? I actually have a friend who has over 40 pairs stashed in her closet and almost always wears uggs, vans or flipflops. I am convinced that all women have this weakness. Perhaps it is HBO's fault or Dorothy and her fabulous ruby red slippers. HBO may take the cake due to the unbelievable success of Sex and the City, a show that references at least one pair of $500 shoes on every episode. Women lust after said shoes even though we know they are unrealistic, uncomfortable and completely overpriced. Are we that easy to please? Is the key to every woman's heart through a pair of Manolos, Louboutins or Choos? I don't think so, but they sure are pretty.

Tech Gal Baracks the Vote

I am an Obama fan and I am exceptionally proud. Tomorrow (hopefully, I'm staying VERY positive) marks the end of the Bush regime and the beginning of something new and exciting. I sincerely hope that I can post tomorrow and say that I feel the world is moving in the right direction. I know this is a little heavy compared to my usual upbeat and sassy commentary, but I want to stress the importance of going out and voting tomorrow. I will be at the polls bright and early (before my morning conference call...ick) and am going to have a hard time sitting still until a winner is declared. I wish everyone out there a wonderful election day. It's going to be fun and exciting one for sure!

Seriously? SERIOUSLY.

So as I have mentioned before, I am an overly connected person. I am constantly texting, mobile internet-ing, twittering, and facebook updating. Generally, I like to know what all my friends are doing at any given time but recently something went seriously wrong. I love twitter, I really do. Those adorable 140 character updates sometimes make my day. Today was not that day.

There once was a boy, let's call him silly tech boy 1.0, who is also overly connected and exceptionally busy like myself. Silly tech boy 1.0 (or STB 1.o for short) had expressed interest in going on a date a few weeks back, but it hasn't quite happened yet. STB 1.0 was happy to tweet when he was hitting all the tech parties, enjoying a movie, or visiting other friends, yet could not make time to call a wonderful tech gal like myself back. So, I decided to unfollow STB 1.0 on twitter because honestly I didn't need to know what he was doing 24/7.

And here comes the seriously part. Less than TWO HOURS LATER I receive a forwarded email from STB 1.0 from a lovely (and now hated) service, called qwitter. The service sends you an email every time someone stops following you on twitter and apparently STB 1.0 had signed up for the service and KNEW that I stopped following him. How embarrassing is that? How was I supposed to know that this freaking technology existed!? I had a friend who recently got called on un-friending someone on facebook, but I had NO idea that you could tell when someone stopped following you on twitter. I mean, I love technology, I really do, but what was the service's parent company thinking when they created the service? Did they know it advance that it would totally mess with my afternoon? And NOW I have to freaking explain myself to STB 1.0...Seriously? SERIOUSLY!!!!

Random Tech Gal Moment of the Week

So today at our offices, we caught the guys across the alley sneaking around taking pictures of one of my colleagues who had her feet out the window. At first we were slightly creeped out but then we reminded ourselves that tech geeks aren't really that intimidating. Being the strong tech chicas that we are, we began a paper and pen conversation across the alley followed by emailing about the situation. Turns out they are yet another tech company and we are now attending a party at their office next week. San Francisco is RIDICULOUS sometimes. I swear, there are more tech companies than pigeons. This concludes the random tech gal moment of the week.

Tech Gal Dating Rules

I have heard that SF has more singles than any other city in the U.S. and I totally believe it. I have an overabundance of smart, beautiful, driven, single girlfriends and I feel like most of the guys we meet are losers. I recently asked some of said girlfriends about their wonderful dating and bar hopping experiences (we have all done our fair share) and there are certain things that us SF gals don't stand for.

1. Being incommunicado or flaky -- The biggest turn off EVER in my mind. My time is valuable and canceling at the last minute is an excellent way to get booted out of my cellphone.

2. Cheesy pickup lines -- No, I have not been running through your head all day. And no, I do not want to attend the party in your pants. Do these really work anymore?

3. Stupid bar tricks -- While pounding a beer might have seemed cool when I was in high school, those days have long gone. I'm not going drink for drink with you either.

4. Talking smack about my friends -- Don't tell me that you think my friend is a b*tch, because I just met you and I've known her for half my life. I wonder who I will side with?

5. Bringing up an ex girlfriend -- We just met, so why are you even going there? It doesn't show sensitivity, it shows that you just want to talk about your ex-girlfriend who is the LAST person I want to hear about on a first date.

6. Looking at yourself in the mirror behind the bar -- Really? Seriously? I'm standing RIGHT HERE. I can see YOU!

Tech Gal Knows How to Mingle

Sometimes a tech gal needs to get dolled up and get her network on. Friday was one of those nights. My company threw a fabulous cocktail party (thankfully too exclusive to be on valleywag!) at a swanky flat in pacific heights and we went all out. Between makeup at Smashbox (I am obsessed!) to a fantastic cocktail dress to a killer blowout from Amy (adore her!) at Glama-Rama, let's just say I looked my best. We had web 2.0 themed drinks, killer food options, and the bloggeratti were all in attendance. It was a BLAST!

But this brings me to the larger topic of parties and how prevalent and expected they are in the valley. Networking is like a sport here and the more people you know, the greater likelihood that you will turn into a Internet celebrity (think Kevin Rose, Robert Scoble or Jason Calacanis) which is every tech geek's dream. What's up with this economic downturn that everyone seems to be talking about? While I'll note that quite a few tech companies are dropping employees like a bad habit (Yahoo, anyone?) that doesn't seem to affect the SF/silicon valley social scene. There is always some new company launch, social media happy hour, tweetup or tech panel. There are weeks when I attend 3-5 parties before Thursday which in itself is pretty disgusting. Whatever happened to having an independent work and social life? I guess I shouldn't really complain since I am constantly meeting new young tech guys and gals like myself, checking out new interesting venues in SF and learning about the hottest new web software...but a tech gal needs something to complain about, right?

SF vs. NYC -- the great debate

I am sure that at some point someone will bother me and say that SF is not THE city, simply a city. I recognize that many believe NYC to be the end-all, but as far as the silicon valley is concerned that is not the case. Yes, there is the silicon ALLEY (New York) and yes, there are several other large tech hubs across this wonderful world of ours (London, Tokyo, etc) but when it comes down to it, it's called the silicon valley for a REASON. The valley is the hub for innovation, technology, and venture capitalists. Even really large European companies often set up teeny-tiny offices to prove that they have a valley presence. So when I say city, I mean my version of THE city which happens to be a short drive away from the silicon VALLEY. This is my world and I'm not ashamed.