Madison, Wisconsin
August 27, 2007 | by brett | Permalink
You know when you receive an out of the blue birthday gift from that aunt you haven’t talked to in a few years? That’s what Madison, Wisconsin was to us.
We had little expectations when we rolled into Madison on late Thursday night. We were going to stay with Noah’s nephew who he hadn’t seen in seven years. Noah didn’t even know his nephew lived in Madison until twenty-four hours prior, when Noah’s elder half brother submitted a story and recommended we stop by his son’s new college apartment.
On Friday we had our first official campus visit, where we were all set to stop by the University Research Park at four o’clock. At three fifty-five, with dark clouds in every direction you looked, it began to rain. It rained hard. As we pulled into our designated parking lot, we saw people scampering and sprinting to safety, hardly noticing our often conspicuous RV. Determined to make the most of the event, I braved the rains and bolted to the University building, where I checked in with our contact person.
We ended up talking with three women who were all incredibly intelligent scientists who recently turned bio-tech entrepreneur. One of their companies was in the fourth year of research on how to create skin for burn victims. With Madison’s reputation for being a bio-tech hotbed, it was a cool stop for us because we got an inside look at what was really going on besides cheese production.
Penelope Trunk, a brazen careerist, met us at a happening breakfast spot called Lazy Jane’s to talk with us about everything career related. I felt like the interview was something like Kahlil Gibran’s well known book The Prophet, where a prophet was asked by a group of ordinary community members of what his thoughts were on topics like love, time, and wealth. Instead of asking about ultimate life questions, I asked of topics like networking, the importance of the city you live in, fear in careers, uncertainty…and Penelope handled each question beautifully. It was a genuine interview, and it was great to get some candid answers to some honest questions.
We interviewed Kim & Jason, founders of the disease “adultitis,” which essentially affects all adults (ages 21-121) who take themselves too seriously. Over chocolate milk and cookies, we heard about how this energetic and ambitious couple has started a business based around the concept that as adults, we need to stop taking ourselves so seriously and get back in touch with the inner child in us. Kim, a former kindergarten teacher, and Jason a cartoonist had great things to say, and it translated very well to the camera.
Then there was State Street, the famous University of Wisconsin hangout that attracts everyone from beautiful college girls to local Madisonians. Ian’s Pizza put my favorite pizza spot to shame (No Anchovies in Tucson). Monday’s was a bar that was poppin’ on a Friday. The farmer’s market exposed us to Wisconsin’s main claim to fame, “the cheese” (after hearing about this so called “squeaky cheese,” we bought a bag from a guy with a beard that called himself Farmer John. The cheese squeaked in your mouth, hence the name). We went into the second largest state capital in the U.S. (next to D.C.’s capital). I bought a red shirt with the word “WISCONSIN” imprinted across the chest in bold white lettering for $10.99. And I rocked it hard when we went out on Saturday night.
Now we are in Chicago, two and a half hours away from the city that was a pleasant surprise. Thanks Madison for the memories.
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Kelly G Says:
August 28th, 2007
Kim and Jason . . . I love your philosophy! I had a poster in my teens that said “don’t take yourself so seriously”. I think I need to find another one!!! Keep on spreading your message.
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