04/30/08: Color me Scarlet
No matter how nice the airlines make business class, flying from Singapore to LA is a long time. I had received an invite to the opening night for what I thought was this new TV mini-series “Scarlet”. I was looking forward to it since it was supposedly directed by “Sopranos” director David Nutter.
I initially wasn’t going to make the flight, but during my business in Singapore, I saw a number of billboards for Scarlet. After seeing a trailer online, I asked to have my plans changed and RSVP’d the event. I couldn’t wait to see the new series.
So my assistant meets me at the hotel with my tux. After a quick change, we head over to the Pacific design center in LA. For the red carpet opening night. My assistant was head over heels for sitting next to Tila Tequila during the event.
So the lights go down, and the stage lights up. the curtain pulls back and a the show is about to start. But instead of the mini-series I flew in to see, I am watching a commercial for LGs new line of TVs named ‘Scarlet’.
The lights came up to reveal a bunch of flat panel TVs and LG’s North American point person. A collective sigh and then applause erupted from the packed house as they explained how the campaign promoting the mini-series was all just a hoax to promote the new line of LG tvs.
While I enjoyed the evening and didn't even mind the long flight for a hoax, I still really wanted to see the new Mini-series!
So my assistant meets me at the hotel with my tux. After a quick change, we head over to the Pacific design center in LA. For the red carpet opening night. My assistant was head over heels for sitting next to Tila Tequila during the event.
So the lights go down, and the stage lights up. the curtain pulls back and a the show is about to start. But instead of the mini-series I flew in to see, I am watching a commercial for LGs new line of TVs named ‘Scarlet’.
The lights came up to reveal a bunch of flat panel TVs and LG’s North American point person. A collective sigh and then applause erupted from the packed house as they explained how the campaign promoting the mini-series was all just a hoax to promote the new line of LG tvs.
While I enjoyed the evening and didn't even mind the long flight for a hoax, I still really wanted to see the new Mini-series!
While many of you read about the American Airlines flight cancellations, I had the distinct pleasure of living it while connecting through DFW. Once I was able to get another flight established a few hours later, I was able to relax at the airport.
Airports are great places to people watch. During Grad School, I took a number of anthropology courses as a way to better understand how people live. This has proven extremely helpful during I found myself a seat at an airport pub, ordered a Makers and Coke and began my people watching. Drawing on my Anthropology classes, I like to try and build a story around the people and their situation. Occasionally, I’ll even get to talk to the person to validate (or invalidate) my conclusions.
One thing I noticed was how many people were on their phones. But they weren't talking on their phones, instead these people were checking email, texting, playing games and surfing the web. All valid tasks, but none involving the core purpose of a phone, which is to make and receive calls.
On my ride home, I plugged in my cell phone charger and started thinking about just how similar the phone and lighter were. My car is full of cigarette lighters, labelled as ‘power ports’. Their shape is defined by the legacy of the push lighter that every car had. That legacy form factor continues to this day, even though I would imagine that few are used for lighting cigarettes. In fact, my car doesn’t even have an ashtray!
Airports are great places to people watch. During Grad School, I took a number of anthropology courses as a way to better understand how people live. This has proven extremely helpful during I found myself a seat at an airport pub, ordered a Makers and Coke and began my people watching. Drawing on my Anthropology classes, I like to try and build a story around the people and their situation. Occasionally, I’ll even get to talk to the person to validate (or invalidate) my conclusions.
One thing I noticed was how many people were on their phones. But they weren't talking on their phones, instead these people were checking email, texting, playing games and surfing the web. All valid tasks, but none involving the core purpose of a phone, which is to make and receive calls.
On my ride home, I plugged in my cell phone charger and started thinking about just how similar the phone and lighter were. My car is full of cigarette lighters, labelled as ‘power ports’. Their shape is defined by the legacy of the push lighter that every car had. That legacy form factor continues to this day, even though I would imagine that few are used for lighting cigarettes. In fact, my car doesn’t even have an ashtray!
04/13/08: Skiing without the Snow
Skiing is one of my great loves and something I try to do when my schedule allows. I was invited to visit Toronto to sit in on the shooting of Mark Wahlberg’s film, Max Payne. Figuring it was close enough to the mountains, I had my ski gear packed on the plane just in case.
The film set was impressive. I am always impressed with how many moving parts there are on the set of a movie, from the lighting to makeup to even catering. A collection of freelancers and small businesses all working together for a common goal of making a major motion picture. Sure it can be a bit like watching sausage being made, but it always amazes me.
I was invited up by my dear friend Tie Domi. While Tie earned a justifiable reputation as an enforcer on the ice, he is a lot of fun off the ice. We were introduced to each other during my quest to get some hockey questions answered. I was helping coordinate a financing drive to build the a new hockey arena and wanted to know what amenities were needed to make the arena first rate for players. We wanted to attract an NHL hockey team through the creation of this stadium. The plan fell through, but my friendship with Tie remained.
Anyway, I’m walking through Toronto with Tie and Mark after the day’s shooting and our conversation turned to Skiing. All the years that Tie was in Canada, he was either contractually not allowed to ski or just not available to join me. I was pressing on him again, with Mark helping by telling Tie that he could find some snowboarders to fight with on the slopes.
As if on cue, we turn the corner to see an outstanding ad for skiing in Alberta. The took a park bench and dressed it up to make it look like a ski lift. There was a guy sitting on it that made it look perfect. I even asked him if he was part of the ad, which he wasnt.
Tie looked to me and said, “OK, you win, lets go.” I got the flight plan updated on the jet and started putting the plans together for Tie and I to head to Alberta for a few days of skiing!
The film set was impressive. I am always impressed with how many moving parts there are on the set of a movie, from the lighting to makeup to even catering. A collection of freelancers and small businesses all working together for a common goal of making a major motion picture. Sure it can be a bit like watching sausage being made, but it always amazes me.
I was invited up by my dear friend Tie Domi. While Tie earned a justifiable reputation as an enforcer on the ice, he is a lot of fun off the ice. We were introduced to each other during my quest to get some hockey questions answered. I was helping coordinate a financing drive to build the a new hockey arena and wanted to know what amenities were needed to make the arena first rate for players. We wanted to attract an NHL hockey team through the creation of this stadium. The plan fell through, but my friendship with Tie remained.
Anyway, I’m walking through Toronto with Tie and Mark after the day’s shooting and our conversation turned to Skiing. All the years that Tie was in Canada, he was either contractually not allowed to ski or just not available to join me. I was pressing on him again, with Mark helping by telling Tie that he could find some snowboarders to fight with on the slopes.
As if on cue, we turn the corner to see an outstanding ad for skiing in Alberta. The took a park bench and dressed it up to make it look like a ski lift. There was a guy sitting on it that made it look perfect. I even asked him if he was part of the ad, which he wasnt.
Tie looked to me and said, “OK, you win, lets go.” I got the flight plan updated on the jet and started putting the plans together for Tie and I to head to Alberta for a few days of skiing!
Greetings from UCLA!
My good friend Jack Black invited me out as his guest at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice awards. Of all the awards shows that I have been lucky enough to attend, this was the first one with Green Slime. Jack was the host and seemed to be actually looking forward to getting slimed on stage. Despite the mess, it was a fun night nonetheless.
Afterwards, Jack and I went to have dinner at a nearby burger joint he knew about called the Apple Pan. The place looked like it had fallen out of the fifties, but had the best burgers. Jack refused to clean up after being slimed, so I got a few towels from the waitress to cover Jack’s booth.
Jack and I go way back to his days in the rock band, Tenacious D. One night while we were out in LA, Jack seemed excessively interested in my business and a new team member, Lee. A few weeks later I get this disc from Jack in the mail. All it said on the label was ‘Lee’. Little did I know that Jack wasn’t really interested in what I had to say, he was just writing a song. I chuckle now when I see the video:
Back to the Apple Pan - Jack and I were getting into a very heated argument about the 80s hit tv show, ‘The A Team’. Jack was convinced that there was a woman on the early A-Team. While I couldn’t recall every episode, I was pretty sure that Mr. T, was the only one wearing jewelry.
Jack made me go out to my car and get my laptop. I wouldn’t let him type with his slime fingers, so he started belting out a web address in song. Luckily the site was a short named one, Hulu.com, and he sat down after I keyed it in.
Hulu.com is a great video aggregation site of TV shows, movies and more. Run by NBC Universal, this site offers thousands of shows and movies, all sponsored with advertising. In a few short clicks, I had the first episode of the A Team on my screen. Jack sat on my lap, slime and all, and we watched opening of the pilot. Sure enough, Melinda Culea played a reporter who tagged along with Mr. T and team. After Jack took a bite of my burger, he moved back to his side of the table.
Afterwards, Jack and I went to have dinner at a nearby burger joint he knew about called the Apple Pan. The place looked like it had fallen out of the fifties, but had the best burgers. Jack refused to clean up after being slimed, so I got a few towels from the waitress to cover Jack’s booth.
Jack and I go way back to his days in the rock band, Tenacious D. One night while we were out in LA, Jack seemed excessively interested in my business and a new team member, Lee. A few weeks later I get this disc from Jack in the mail. All it said on the label was ‘Lee’. Little did I know that Jack wasn’t really interested in what I had to say, he was just writing a song. I chuckle now when I see the video:
Back to the Apple Pan - Jack and I were getting into a very heated argument about the 80s hit tv show, ‘The A Team’. Jack was convinced that there was a woman on the early A-Team. While I couldn’t recall every episode, I was pretty sure that Mr. T, was the only one wearing jewelry.
Jack made me go out to my car and get my laptop. I wouldn’t let him type with his slime fingers, so he started belting out a web address in song. Luckily the site was a short named one, Hulu.com, and he sat down after I keyed it in.
Well it feels great to have my computer again and be able to return to blogging. I almost did the same thing my friend Steven Levy did over at Newsweek. He got a loaner ultra-light MacBook Air from Apple for reviewing and proceeded to get it caught up with the Sunday Newspapers and thrown out. My experience was almost identical, except that I bought my MacBook Air and, after four hours in the recycling bin, I was able to find mine. Steven wasnt so lucky.
Steven and I are here in Washington coming back from a great afternoon of basketball for the NCAA tourney. There have been some great games, and I almost certainly lost my voice during the Duke-WVU game. The only negative was the fact that I had to miss a great event back at the office known as ‘mArcher Madness.’ From all the notes from the team, it sounds like they had a great event.
In between games Friday, we went out to grab a bite to eat in the city. Steven and I both had our MacBooks out to check email at the bar. Either the elegance of the machines or the constant joking we were doing to each other was causing quite a few heads to turn. That is until another friend sat down next to us with a cute new device, called a Chumby.
The Chumby is a small, internet connected device that brings all the information and power of the internet to a well designed device. It connects wirelessly to the internet and displays information specially formatted for the small screen. Its simplicity is its elegance.
Steven and I plugged it in and immediately closed our MacBooks. You could have it display weather, traffic cams, or even David Letterman’s monologue from the night before. Its perfect for those who are tired of waking up to harsh alarms and bright red numbers.
We were so impressed with the Chumby, that we took it over to a corner of the bar to continue playing with it. That is until we both looked over at waitress cleaning up all our trash and almost sweeping our MacBook Air’s into the garbage can. I tossed the Chumby to Steven and made the fastest break ever to get back to the table and prevent another MacBook Air tragedy.
In between games Friday, we went out to grab a bite to eat in the city. Steven and I both had our MacBooks out to check email at the bar. Either the elegance of the machines or the constant joking we were doing to each other was causing quite a few heads to turn. That is until another friend sat down next to us with a cute new device, called a Chumby.
The Chumby is a small, internet connected device that brings all the information and power of the internet to a well designed device. It connects wirelessly to the internet and displays information specially formatted for the small screen. Its simplicity is its elegance.
Steven and I plugged it in and immediately closed our MacBooks. You could have it display weather, traffic cams, or even David Letterman’s monologue from the night before. Its perfect for those who are tired of waking up to harsh alarms and bright red numbers.
We were so impressed with the Chumby, that we took it over to a corner of the bar to continue playing with it. That is until we both looked over at waitress cleaning up all our trash and almost sweeping our MacBook Air’s into the garbage can. I tossed the Chumby to Steven and made the fastest break ever to get back to the table and prevent another MacBook Air tragedy.
03/06/08: Bob Featured in the Wall Street Journal
Bob's travels go big time - read about in the Wall Street Journal!
Join in on the discussion about Bob on a business blog going on over at the Wall Street Journal
Join in on the discussion about Bob on a business blog going on over at the Wall Street Journal
Greetings from the TED Conference in lovely Monterey, California!
I always have to apologize to anybody I have dinner with in March after I attend the Technology, Entertainment and Design (aka TED) Conference. I come away so full of ideas and inspiration that I seem to steer any conversation to what we just covered at TED. Last year was no different. Being on the West coast already, I caught up with my longtime friend, Robin Williams. Many probably don’t know this about Robin, but he is an amazing technologist. After 3 hours discussing the TED conference, he made me promise to bring him this year. For those who don’t want to suffer through my diatribes, learn more about TED at Wikipedia.
The demo demons struck the TED conference this year and stopped the World Debate discussion hosted by the BBC. Without missing a beat, Robin filled the silence with his normal humor. You never know where Robin will go, but you know it will be funny. He jumped on stage and kept the crowd in stitches while the technical difficulties were resolved! A great description of the events are on the Wired news blog.
Afterwards, we went out to dinner with a friend of mine, Erick Schonfeld of TechCrunch, at my favorite Monterey eatery, La Giostra. The owner, Massimo Sartorio remembered me from last year and quickly took us to a quiet corner table. I’ve found that dining with Robin is enough of an adventure without everyone asking him for an autograph or to say ‘Nanoo Nanoo.’
Over dinner, Robin and I were chatting about a great new financial management site, Mint, that Erick told us about. Robin was pointing out (in much more colorful language than I should use here) how the site minimized the pain associated with filling out all the security forms that online financial services put you through.
The simplicity of Mint to a user is no accident. The user experience highlights what is possible when sites are designed with equal doses of technology and information architecture. I know first hand how much effort is required to create an exceptional experience such as the one you get from Mint. Mint’s success highlights the payoff in taking the time to get it right.
During dinner, Robin took a mint leaf out of my Mojito and stuck it on his head. He then proceeded to ask the waitress the name of the street she grew up on, her mother's maiden name and other financial questions. I quickly asked for the check and took back my mint leaf.
I always have to apologize to anybody I have dinner with in March after I attend the Technology, Entertainment and Design (aka TED) Conference. I come away so full of ideas and inspiration that I seem to steer any conversation to what we just covered at TED. Last year was no different. Being on the West coast already, I caught up with my longtime friend, Robin Williams. Many probably don’t know this about Robin, but he is an amazing technologist. After 3 hours discussing the TED conference, he made me promise to bring him this year. For those who don’t want to suffer through my diatribes, learn more about TED at Wikipedia.
Afterwards, we went out to dinner with a friend of mine, Erick Schonfeld of TechCrunch, at my favorite Monterey eatery, La Giostra. The owner, Massimo Sartorio remembered me from last year and quickly took us to a quiet corner table. I’ve found that dining with Robin is enough of an adventure without everyone asking him for an autograph or to say ‘Nanoo Nanoo.’
Over dinner, Robin and I were chatting about a great new financial management site, Mint, that Erick told us about. Robin was pointing out (in much more colorful language than I should use here) how the site minimized the pain associated with filling out all the security forms that online financial services put you through.
The simplicity of Mint to a user is no accident. The user experience highlights what is possible when sites are designed with equal doses of technology and information architecture. I know first hand how much effort is required to create an exceptional experience such as the one you get from Mint. Mint’s success highlights the payoff in taking the time to get it right.
During dinner, Robin took a mint leaf out of my Mojito and stuck it on his head. He then proceeded to ask the waitress the name of the street she grew up on, her mother's maiden name and other financial questions. I quickly asked for the check and took back my mint leaf.
Hola from South Beach!
I just left the wonderful South Beach Wine and Food Festival. While I try to make it every year, this one I had to make. My dear friend Danny DeVito was having a great party at his new restaurant, DeVito South Beach. He asked me to help him come up with a name while he was designing the place, but after 4 bottles of wine, we settled on the ultra-original DeVito South Beach. He also calls it DSB; I said he should call it Hangover, since thats what I had after the session.
Danny and I have become very close since our days on the set of Get Shorty. Being a North Easterner, he loved the irony of playing the part of a Californian trying to act like he was from Brooklyn. We played a lot of cards and drank of a lot of Limoncello drinks, which he ended up coming out with his own line of Limoncello after that.
Over a great steak dinner at DSB, we were discussing the NCAA March Madness brackets and who was organizing it this year. It reminded me of this great Facebook app that CBS Sportsline just rolled out. You can build your bracket right in the app and post it to your facebook page. It automatically updates with info to show how you are doing. There are also opportunities to compare brackets with friends, along with other social networking features. It also has just the right amount CBS branding to promote their message.
I’m excited to see how this Facebook app works for CBS. Facebook is quickly becoming the messaging platform for 20-30 somethings, with people keeping in touch over their Facebook profiles rather than sending emails back and forth. People personalize their profiles with photos, images and applications that fit their interests.
Marketers are beginning to see the power of Facebook and the need to approach it differently than normal advertising. While few people would put ads for CBS Sportsline on his or her own page, I imagine thousands will add the bracket app and check it regularly throughout the tournament, promoting the Sportsline brand every step of the way.
At the end of the dinner, Danny slid what I thought was the bill over to me. Instead of seeing a price, I saw ‘2008 NCAA Tourney’ handwritten on it. A small price to pay for such a great night!
I just left the wonderful South Beach Wine and Food Festival. While I try to make it every year, this one I had to make. My dear friend Danny DeVito was having a great party at his new restaurant, DeVito South Beach. He asked me to help him come up with a name while he was designing the place, but after 4 bottles of wine, we settled on the ultra-original DeVito South Beach. He also calls it DSB; I said he should call it Hangover, since thats what I had after the session.
Danny and I have become very close since our days on the set of Get Shorty. Being a North Easterner, he loved the irony of playing the part of a Californian trying to act like he was from Brooklyn. We played a lot of cards and drank of a lot of Limoncello drinks, which he ended up coming out with his own line of Limoncello after that.
Over a great steak dinner at DSB, we were discussing the NCAA March Madness brackets and who was organizing it this year. It reminded me of this great Facebook app that CBS Sportsline just rolled out. You can build your bracket right in the app and post it to your facebook page. It automatically updates with info to show how you are doing. There are also opportunities to compare brackets with friends, along with other social networking features. It also has just the right amount CBS branding to promote their message.
I’m excited to see how this Facebook app works for CBS. Facebook is quickly becoming the messaging platform for 20-30 somethings, with people keeping in touch over their Facebook profiles rather than sending emails back and forth. People personalize their profiles with photos, images and applications that fit their interests.
Marketers are beginning to see the power of Facebook and the need to approach it differently than normal advertising. While few people would put ads for CBS Sportsline on his or her own page, I imagine thousands will add the bracket app and check it regularly throughout the tournament, promoting the Sportsline brand every step of the way.
At the end of the dinner, Danny slid what I thought was the bill over to me. Instead of seeing a price, I saw ‘2008 NCAA Tourney’ handwritten on it. A small price to pay for such a great night!
02/13/08: Putting fun back in car buying
The web is perfect for ‘considered purchases’, such as buying a car, getting a loan choosing a college, or finding a russian bride :-)
I was asked to visit my dear old friends at Fiat in Turin, Italy. Few know that Fiat actually owns Ferrari. I was introduced to Fiat while helping my dear friend, the late Enzo Ferrari, negotiate the sale of Ferrari to Fiat. Enzo wanted to make sure that the Ferrari brand would live on with the new owners, and he asked me to help negotiate the terms as they related to marketing.
Fiat wanted to know what was the landscape for car marketing on the web. We are often asked by companies to give them a ‘lay of the land’ to understand what it will take to offer a best in class web solution. Here are two great sites that I shared with them.
Problem Playground - Honda-UK This is a cool site that promotes all that is Honda and their efforts to produce hybrids and zero emissions cars cars. While having a very ‘Ben and Jerry’ earthy and fun feel, the site lets people explore the cars and Honda’s advances. Despite being plenty of fun, the site drives to request a brochure or schedule a test drive. I’m definitely interested in the FCX, their Fuel Cell car!
Mazda took a different approach to sell their cars. Their site: ‘The Drive’ attempts to sell the emotion of driving their Miata and RX-8 through video. You get to pick the car and select from fun locations like the Pacific Coast Highway. The site then puts together a video that puts you in the drivers seat while cruising on these fun roads. You can pick the music on the radio and see it from different angles. It encourages you to turn on a desk fan to simulate that ‘wind in your hair’ feeling.
After a great meeting, Fiat’s CEO, Sergio Marchionne, let me drive his car to lunch. The car was Ferrari’s new 430 Scuderia. After ten minutes on some great country roads, I fell in love. After he shared with me the $500,000 price tag, I handed him back the keys.
I was asked to visit my dear old friends at Fiat in Turin, Italy. Few know that Fiat actually owns Ferrari. I was introduced to Fiat while helping my dear friend, the late Enzo Ferrari, negotiate the sale of Ferrari to Fiat. Enzo wanted to make sure that the Ferrari brand would live on with the new owners, and he asked me to help negotiate the terms as they related to marketing.
Fiat wanted to know what was the landscape for car marketing on the web. We are often asked by companies to give them a ‘lay of the land’ to understand what it will take to offer a best in class web solution. Here are two great sites that I shared with them.
Mazda took a different approach to sell their cars. Their site: ‘The Drive’ attempts to sell the emotion of driving their Miata and RX-8 through video. You get to pick the car and select from fun locations like the Pacific Coast Highway. The site then puts together a video that puts you in the drivers seat while cruising on these fun roads. You can pick the music on the radio and see it from different angles. It encourages you to turn on a desk fan to simulate that ‘wind in your hair’ feeling.
After a great meeting, Fiat’s CEO, Sergio Marchionne, let me drive his car to lunch. The car was Ferrari’s new 430 Scuderia. After ten minutes on some great country roads, I fell in love. After he shared with me the $500,000 price tag, I handed him back the keys.
01/31/08: Getting on the homepage of an iPhone
Greetings from Japan! I can finally reveal why I have been traveling back and forth to Tokyo so much over the past year. The great electronics giant Mashusta is changing its name to its more visible brand, Panasonic. Changing a company name is a difficult task for any company, let alone one that reported earning one billion dollars last quarter alone.
While they have great variety in Tokyo, I wanted to take the team some place special to celebrate our accomplishments. We loaded up and flew to Singapore, to eat at Hai Tien Lo, on the 37th floor of the opulent Pan Asian Hotel. We had most of the top execs from the new Panasonic, so we took over the entire restaurant for the evening.
Those of you who have dined with Japanese business executives will understand what I mean by the ‘seating wait.’ Japanese customs specify when/where and how people sit based upon their position in the organization. Being a consultant, I was a spectator during this whole affair, but just seating took over an hour.
During my wait, I sat at the bar and enjoyed some Saki with another consultant and toyed with my iPhone. Despite being a cell phone (something Steve Jobs always yells at me for if I call it ‘just a cell phone’) the iPhone always draws a crowd. We were surfing the web and going to some interesting sites to see how they would appear on the iPhone.
I’m a firm believer that checking in on finances is something that power phone users will do, (I was able to fish a lost receipt for a purchase via my phone while in line with a cranky returns clerk) The consultant I was with surfed on the phone over to his bank’s site and started searching around. Then something neat happened, the iPhone asked to put the icon on front screen. A click later and I now had the bank’s icon front and center on my home page. Very nifty! A quick note to my creative director back i nthe states revealed that it is a fairly simple step to add this functionality to a website. As the iPhone gets in more hands, ways to make your content available to that audience will become a great way to reach the tech savvy.
Well, I was starving by the time we got seated. Having spent an hour watching the event, I memorized the menu and had appetizers right behind me. I drank so much Saki and ate so much food that I ended up sleeping on the jet before we even left the runway.
While they have great variety in Tokyo, I wanted to take the team some place special to celebrate our accomplishments. We loaded up and flew to Singapore, to eat at Hai Tien Lo, on the 37th floor of the opulent Pan Asian Hotel. We had most of the top execs from the new Panasonic, so we took over the entire restaurant for the evening.
Those of you who have dined with Japanese business executives will understand what I mean by the ‘seating wait.’ Japanese customs specify when/where and how people sit based upon their position in the organization. Being a consultant, I was a spectator during this whole affair, but just seating took over an hour.
During my wait, I sat at the bar and enjoyed some Saki with another consultant and toyed with my iPhone. Despite being a cell phone (something Steve Jobs always yells at me for if I call it ‘just a cell phone’) the iPhone always draws a crowd. We were surfing the web and going to some interesting sites to see how they would appear on the iPhone.
Well, I was starving by the time we got seated. Having spent an hour watching the event, I memorized the menu and had appetizers right behind me. I drank so much Saki and ate so much food that I ended up sleeping on the jet before we even left the runway.
