And just in time for some holiday shopping. It turns out we have a new rep at Dell for the Employee Purchase Program, and somehow we got lost in the transition. There’s a special promotion with an additional 10% off.
To take advantage of this, go to the Dell EPP web site to shop for the EPP deals. The member ID for UTMB employees is HS15211790. You can also call to order at 1-800-695-8133. Access the 10% coupon here. (The coupon is good through November 21, 2007.)
You might have noted that the Callenders issued an open invitation to members of the university community to be part of this year’s UTMB holiday card, and to take a group photo Tuesday to be used for that purpose. I thought that was a great idea and a wonderfully symbolic gesture, so I was there, as were a few hundred of you. Everyone’s favorite photographer John Glowczwski perched precariously on a ladder, where he tried his best to extract a collective “cheese” from the crowd.
I was part of the contingent that was voluntarily exiled to “the hill,” UTMB’s own grassy knoll in front of the hospital and about 150′ away from the camera. In my case, the distance was a good thing, but there were a lot of good looking people around me that would have made the shot even better, had they squeezed in with the throngs up front. People were smiling and having a good time, catching up with people they’d not seen, chatting with friends. It felt good. They were snapping pictures at 10:30 as promised, and I was back at work in 15 minutes. It was a break well spent and much enjoyed.
Below is a sneak peek at one of the photos, hijacked just for you. It’s probably not the one that’s going to be used for the card. See how many people you know. And forget Waldo; see if you can find Pep. Hint: I’m wearing a red tie. (Click on image to pull up a larger version).
For a lot of us, it was last year during the holidays, when the City of Galveston, UTMB and Strand area merchants teamed up to make it easy for employees and students to get downtown on the quaintest, if not quickest, way to get around Galveston. I heard today that the Holiday Trolley program is coming back this year. Participating merchants and restaurants offer discounts and other perks, the city increases trolley service and runs a special route to make it easy, and we at UTMB get an opportunity to get off campus for an hour, maybe to get a jump on our holiday shopping. Watch for details.
I mentioned earlier the Transplant Team and others from UTMB taking part in the Lone Star Rally. Check this out…
(Thanks to my Public Affairs colleague Raul Reyes for sharing these photos.)