I had other things I wanted to discuss today - how similar people find each other, people being jailed for defamation, interesting trends, capacity of humans to adapt. The arrival of a large, 40lb box of gifts and food from the US compels me to delay those discussions to a later date.
The long awaited care package and birthday gifts arrived today with much excitement. I finally have cinnamon gum and no longer need to languish with such flavors as "blueberry mint", "sweet mint", "strawberry" and "orange". To my disappointment, my wife informed me she, too, wanted cinnamon gum, so I think we have enough to last us through the end of July. We also now have an abundance of Mexican food and bagels - enough to last us through the end of June, anyway.
More importantly, we also received many gifts for our daughter, who was absolutely delighted to open as many gifts today as she had received at her party on Saturday - and she still hasn't received the gifts from us! We decided we are not giving her anything for Christmas - she has too much already.
With every package she opened, she became more and more thrilled. "Look mom, another train set!" "Ooooh, dress up!" She loved it all, and she immediately recognized Thomas the Train. As I had feared, she also now has three different types of trains - Lego (normal and Thomas), wooden (that I bought) and the plastic version of Thomas the Train. We have more track than space, and we've already dedicated a room to her trains. She loves them all, though, so we'll have to figure something out.
The biggest gain for all of us in the gifts are the ones that will keep her entertained in the car in the packed Jakarta traffic. Her mind needs constant activity or she whines and fidgets, basically making the life of all other passengers (and restaurant guests) miserable. She's not quite old enough for "20 Questions" or to read quietly, and "I spy with my little eye" only entertains her for about ten minutes, so the water-based, reusable coloring books, magnetic dress-up books and etch-a-sketch like toys should work wonders in the car. If none of those work, we'll have to resort to the portable DVD player that we've been trying to avoid.
One other item to note for future shipments - every single item had been opened. All of the wrapped gifts had been opened - but not unwrapped - inspected, and put back in the box. All of the food had been opened and inspected. What I need to find out tomorrow is if that was done by my company, or by customs in Indonesia - or possibly both. I have learned, however, that packages sent with an itemized, detailed shipping invoice - especially if it is direct from the supplier - both breeze through customs and tend to be left alone.
Thanks to everyone who sent the food and gifts. They are a much appreciated reminder of home. (Pictures of our daughter enjoying the gifts will be posted later this week).
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
The Birthday Party
Today was the big event. A day that required weeks of preparation, hours of investigation, a night of consternation, and a morning of concerned frustration, so we could enjoy 2 hours of joyous celebration. From 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM, our house transformed from an oasis of uncluttered quietude, to a raucous, frenzied chaos of little humans running amok. Today was my daughter's 3rd birthday party.
After much debate and review, we settled on hosting it at our house, and hiring Gymboree to coordinate activities and entertain the children. My wife informed me they would need space to setup. I was not expecting them to bring the entire facility with them.
The kids started pouring in right at 10:30, with the last arrival making his appearance 30 minutes before everything finished. People came from all over the city - North Jakarta, CBD, Kemang, Pondok Indah - to attend the party. We gave invitations to everyone in her class, all her friends from the neighborhood, and a few of my colleagues from work who also had children. Personally, I had spoken to about 3 of the 40 people who showed up prior to today.
The kids had a blast, the parents were glad to have someone else watch the kids. One gentleman dropped of his kid, asked when he had to be back, and walked out the door! Others asked if their kid could stay for a few more hours. Regrettably, our daughter's "boyfriend" had already left for Singapore and was unable to attend.
For those unfamiliar with Gymboree, they are a global organization - franchised - that focuses on edutainment - educational entertainment. They do music, art, and fun activities - often all combined. For us, Gymboree sang songs, created rides, and kept the kids active and busy with several, 5-minute activities.
Sorry, no video of this event. We also had the entire upstairs setup with trains, including a fairly elaborate multi-table track with loops and tunnels. Somehow, we didn't get a picture of it before we took it down.
After much debate and review, we settled on hosting it at our house, and hiring Gymboree to coordinate activities and entertain the children. My wife informed me they would need space to setup. I was not expecting them to bring the entire facility with them.
The kids started pouring in right at 10:30, with the last arrival making his appearance 30 minutes before everything finished. People came from all over the city - North Jakarta, CBD, Kemang, Pondok Indah - to attend the party. We gave invitations to everyone in her class, all her friends from the neighborhood, and a few of my colleagues from work who also had children. Personally, I had spoken to about 3 of the 40 people who showed up prior to today.
The kids had a blast, the parents were glad to have someone else watch the kids. One gentleman dropped of his kid, asked when he had to be back, and walked out the door! Others asked if their kid could stay for a few more hours. Regrettably, our daughter's "boyfriend" had already left for Singapore and was unable to attend.
For those unfamiliar with Gymboree, they are a global organization - franchised - that focuses on edutainment - educational entertainment. They do music, art, and fun activities - often all combined. For us, Gymboree sang songs, created rides, and kept the kids active and busy with several, 5-minute activities.
The day finished with the presentation and consumption of the birthday cake. Our daughter insisted on having a Princess cake to go with her Princess dress. We found a cakery in Kemang to create exactly what we needed. After everyone had a piece, we had only eaten 1/4 of the cake. We had to give half of it to our maid and driver so it wouldn't go to waste.
Sorry, no video of this event. We also had the entire upstairs setup with trains, including a fairly elaborate multi-table track with loops and tunnels. Somehow, we didn't get a picture of it before we took it down.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
A need to feel productive
I spent only three hours in the office this morning before returning home sick. I've been sick with a head cold for a little over two weeks. My wife and daughter have both caught it, fought it, and moved on while I'm still fighting it. Struggling to speak finally did it for me. After three solid hours of meetings: 6 AM - 9 AM, I called it a day. When I arrived home I took a single Benadryl, and then slept for 5 hours straight. I'm updating my blog so I feel productive.
JOB
I'm two months into the job and I already feel like I've accomplished 80% of what I need to in my two year assignment. The remaining 20% requires repetition and time. Recognizing that I may be overly optimistic on the progress, I'm still pleased with what the team has accomplished in the last three months (I officially took over one month before my arrival). I knew this team was better than they were performing.
The big question that usually follows such a statement is: "what did you change?" The honest answer is: "Not much". To borrow terminology from the book "From Good To Great", we already had the right people on the bus, we just needed to point the bus in the right direction. I made three changes:
1) I modified the roles and responsibilities of the three section leaders. We were too matrixed in how we managed resource assignments and we were underutilizing one of the best analytical minds on the team. I made each section lead responsible and accountable for the resourced in their area of focus, and I put the person who was managing that effort in charge of solving our production support issues. The net result - less resource churn, higher productivity, and a 20% reduction in production support backlog.
2) I changed the focus. Demand management is one of the most difficult jobs a technology manager faces. We support every department in the business, who all report to a different VP, so negotiating which projects take priority often falls to the IT department - and at least one VP is always upset that they are not considered a priority. When I arrived, we had 35 people working on 30 projects. We were trying to do everything and really accomplishing nothing. Something needed to change. As we began finishing projects and starting new ones, we allocating two to five resources per project, instead of one. Over a 6 month period, we'll complete the same number of projects, but we will complete each individual project faster, so the illusion is higher productivity, and the team feels like they are accomplishing more. Delaying the lower value projects will provide the additional benefit of them dropping off the list as people find other ways to accomplish their objectives without technology.
3) I changed the measurements. We were very focused on delivery and schedules. The end result was releasing non-functioning product on time and creating a mess for the production support team to clean up. There was talk of implementing a "project warranty" - a period of time that the project team would support any issues. Instead, I borrowed from Deming and built quality into the process - better estimates, better design, better testing - and started holding people accountable for the quality of the product, not how fast they completed it. At this point, we are delivering a few weeks late (our estimates haven't included the learning curve associated with better quality), but our applications do not generate production support issues after they release. I'm willing to face my management, and my customers, with delays if I can guarantee a quality product at the end.
FAMILY
This is my daughter's final week of school. End of school in Jakarta, for expats, means return to the home country. For us, it means everyone we met has already or is planning to disappear for the next two months. Per my contract, I don't get a vacation for my first six months, so we won't be going anywhere. It will almost be like our first day here all over again where we didn't know a soul.
Next week is my daughter's birthday, and we've been concerned that there would not be anyone around to attend her party. My daughter even expressed this concern quite poignantly the other night when she lamented "I'll be in my princess dress and there will be no one here to see it." Hoping to avoid that emotionally scarring trauma, we decided to celebrate her birthday this Saturday, betting that her classmates would not be leaving the day immediately following the last day in school.
Our bet paid off - larger than we had anticipated. We went from thinking we'd have no one, to an event that looks like we'll have over 40 people including about 25 kids. We still have not received the majority of our belongings (though I did receive word they are in Indonesia's customs), so we're a little concerned we won't have enough in our house to keep everyone entertained. We have hired Gymboree to host the party, so hopefully that will be enough.
JAKARTA LIFE
In 2000, I had my first job that allowed me to connect to the company network from home. In order to do so, I had to contact the host computer and provide my credentials and a security token. The token was a randomly generated number that changed every 30 seconds. I had to carry a small, pager-like device that would provide me the appropriate number to use based on the time I was attempting to gain access. Today, technology has advanced to a degree that instead of randomly generated tokens, we use SSL or VPN or a reverse-proxy server. Well, except for here in Jakarta.
I have utilities to pay in Jakarta - cable, electricity, water, cell phone. I don't have checks, the utilities don't do auto-deduct, and none have the ability to pay online. Thankfully, much like my bank back home, I can do online bill pay through my bank. I registered with my bank - BCA - to have this feature (which cost me 10,000 Rupiah - $1) and they gave me....a token generator. Yep, in order to pay bills online I now have to use a randomly generated token like I did over 9 years ago to access a network. I guess SSL was too difficult to implement on their website.
Online banking isn't the only financial service that required me to take a few steps back in time. I'm finding that for many of my transactions, cash is the only acceptable form of payment. This is especially true of services - the Gymboree party, tennis lessons, many restaurants. Often, business that do accept credit cards pass on the 3% transaction fee to the consumer - so, cash is the cheaper way to buy goods. I prefer the US approach of including the 3% fee in the list price and charging the dinosaurs that use cash more so that I can have the convenience of my fraud protected credit card.
Finally, while service levels in general are superior to those in the US (or any western country, for that matter), repeat service is not. I like to be a regular. When I find a restaurant, a barber, a mechanic, a brand, even a car dealership, that I like, I give them all my business and am very reluctant to change - my econ professor would say I'm a 'sticky' consumer. In exchange for my loyalty, I expect them to recognize me, throw me a freebie now and then - basically, reward my loyalty. In the US, businesses do that. One place I frequented for lunch ended up buying every 3rd meal for me - so I went there a lot (until my wife said I was not allowed to be a regular at Hooters).
We've been to the Hacienda restaurant every Saturday for dinner since we found it - the last 5 Saturdays in a row. We arrive before most people have dinner (around 5 PM), so we're often the only people in the restaurant. I would think by this point they would be saying "welcome back", or at least know that we always like extra chips (that they charge us for). Nope - we're like any other bule to them. It's the only place in the city to get our Mexican fix, so I don't see our habits changing anytime soon. For now, I'll just have to live with my disappointment.
JOB
I'm two months into the job and I already feel like I've accomplished 80% of what I need to in my two year assignment. The remaining 20% requires repetition and time. Recognizing that I may be overly optimistic on the progress, I'm still pleased with what the team has accomplished in the last three months (I officially took over one month before my arrival). I knew this team was better than they were performing.
The big question that usually follows such a statement is: "what did you change?" The honest answer is: "Not much". To borrow terminology from the book "From Good To Great", we already had the right people on the bus, we just needed to point the bus in the right direction. I made three changes:
1) I modified the roles and responsibilities of the three section leaders. We were too matrixed in how we managed resource assignments and we were underutilizing one of the best analytical minds on the team. I made each section lead responsible and accountable for the resourced in their area of focus, and I put the person who was managing that effort in charge of solving our production support issues. The net result - less resource churn, higher productivity, and a 20% reduction in production support backlog.
2) I changed the focus. Demand management is one of the most difficult jobs a technology manager faces. We support every department in the business, who all report to a different VP, so negotiating which projects take priority often falls to the IT department - and at least one VP is always upset that they are not considered a priority. When I arrived, we had 35 people working on 30 projects. We were trying to do everything and really accomplishing nothing. Something needed to change. As we began finishing projects and starting new ones, we allocating two to five resources per project, instead of one. Over a 6 month period, we'll complete the same number of projects, but we will complete each individual project faster, so the illusion is higher productivity, and the team feels like they are accomplishing more. Delaying the lower value projects will provide the additional benefit of them dropping off the list as people find other ways to accomplish their objectives without technology.
3) I changed the measurements. We were very focused on delivery and schedules. The end result was releasing non-functioning product on time and creating a mess for the production support team to clean up. There was talk of implementing a "project warranty" - a period of time that the project team would support any issues. Instead, I borrowed from Deming and built quality into the process - better estimates, better design, better testing - and started holding people accountable for the quality of the product, not how fast they completed it. At this point, we are delivering a few weeks late (our estimates haven't included the learning curve associated with better quality), but our applications do not generate production support issues after they release. I'm willing to face my management, and my customers, with delays if I can guarantee a quality product at the end.
FAMILY
This is my daughter's final week of school. End of school in Jakarta, for expats, means return to the home country. For us, it means everyone we met has already or is planning to disappear for the next two months. Per my contract, I don't get a vacation for my first six months, so we won't be going anywhere. It will almost be like our first day here all over again where we didn't know a soul.
Next week is my daughter's birthday, and we've been concerned that there would not be anyone around to attend her party. My daughter even expressed this concern quite poignantly the other night when she lamented "I'll be in my princess dress and there will be no one here to see it." Hoping to avoid that emotionally scarring trauma, we decided to celebrate her birthday this Saturday, betting that her classmates would not be leaving the day immediately following the last day in school.
Our bet paid off - larger than we had anticipated. We went from thinking we'd have no one, to an event that looks like we'll have over 40 people including about 25 kids. We still have not received the majority of our belongings (though I did receive word they are in Indonesia's customs), so we're a little concerned we won't have enough in our house to keep everyone entertained. We have hired Gymboree to host the party, so hopefully that will be enough.
JAKARTA LIFE
In 2000, I had my first job that allowed me to connect to the company network from home. In order to do so, I had to contact the host computer and provide my credentials and a security token. The token was a randomly generated number that changed every 30 seconds. I had to carry a small, pager-like device that would provide me the appropriate number to use based on the time I was attempting to gain access. Today, technology has advanced to a degree that instead of randomly generated tokens, we use SSL or VPN or a reverse-proxy server. Well, except for here in Jakarta.
I have utilities to pay in Jakarta - cable, electricity, water, cell phone. I don't have checks, the utilities don't do auto-deduct, and none have the ability to pay online. Thankfully, much like my bank back home, I can do online bill pay through my bank. I registered with my bank - BCA - to have this feature (which cost me 10,000 Rupiah - $1) and they gave me....a token generator. Yep, in order to pay bills online I now have to use a randomly generated token like I did over 9 years ago to access a network. I guess SSL was too difficult to implement on their website.
Online banking isn't the only financial service that required me to take a few steps back in time. I'm finding that for many of my transactions, cash is the only acceptable form of payment. This is especially true of services - the Gymboree party, tennis lessons, many restaurants. Often, business that do accept credit cards pass on the 3% transaction fee to the consumer - so, cash is the cheaper way to buy goods. I prefer the US approach of including the 3% fee in the list price and charging the dinosaurs that use cash more so that I can have the convenience of my fraud protected credit card.
Finally, while service levels in general are superior to those in the US (or any western country, for that matter), repeat service is not. I like to be a regular. When I find a restaurant, a barber, a mechanic, a brand, even a car dealership, that I like, I give them all my business and am very reluctant to change - my econ professor would say I'm a 'sticky' consumer. In exchange for my loyalty, I expect them to recognize me, throw me a freebie now and then - basically, reward my loyalty. In the US, businesses do that. One place I frequented for lunch ended up buying every 3rd meal for me - so I went there a lot (until my wife said I was not allowed to be a regular at Hooters).
We've been to the Hacienda restaurant every Saturday for dinner since we found it - the last 5 Saturdays in a row. We arrive before most people have dinner (around 5 PM), so we're often the only people in the restaurant. I would think by this point they would be saying "welcome back", or at least know that we always like extra chips (that they charge us for). Nope - we're like any other bule to them. It's the only place in the city to get our Mexican fix, so I don't see our habits changing anytime soon. For now, I'll just have to live with my disappointment.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Proud Parent
Somewhere I'm sure someone has compiled a list of parental milestones. I have an idea it looks something like this:
1) Having a child
2) Changing diapers
3) Getting vomit on you
4) Dealing with late-night crying
5) Having someone else watch them
6) Enrolling them in school (may coincide with #5)
7) Attending a school program
8) Parent-teacher conferences
9) Summer camp
10) Losing them to friends
11) Losing them to the opposite gender
12) Child starts puberty
13) Child loses mind and impulse control
14) Child attends college (if they have lived through #13)
As of this Saturday, we have made it to step 7. For the last several weeks, our daughter has come home and regaled us with her singing of the song "A better you, a better me" that she was learning in school as part of their year-end performance. We finally got to see the completed product.
I must say, I was extremely impressed. This is a school for kids from about 2 years of age until around 7 or 8. The program started at 8:30 on Saturday morning and the auditorium - as it were (really just the school's large entryway) - was full by 8:15 with parents, digital recording devices locked and loaded.
Shortly after 8:30, all levels of students marched down the aisle in their costumes, clambered up on the stage and sang a musical number - and it was intelligible! Not only did they all sing, it was choreographed! So far, this is what I was expecting. I remember the school recitals I participated in during grade school, and this was similar. Then, it got interesting.
Each of the grades had their own numbers to perform. What amazed me is that, other than the youngest group - which included my daughter - these other groups had costume changes! The oldest group - 7/8 year olds, learned a poem in Chinese, a song in Indonesian, and played TWO musical instruments while dancing. Many also had to recite platitudes about character, manners, self-respect, and thankfulness. Rodgers and Hammerstein have nothing to worry about, but Leonard Bernstein could learn a thing or two!
My daughter participated in three separate numbers - two with the whole group, and one just for her age group. She appeared to be the only one in her age group who knew all the words to the songs in which she participated. For the age-group specific number, the kids all walked down the aisle with different cleaning supplies. The theme was "Helping Around the House". My daughter was center stage with two other children who had mops and pretended to mop the stage. At the end of the final, all-school number, my daughter's age group turned back-to-back with the person next to them, leaned back, and folded their arms.
Seeing my daughter participate in such an event made my wife and I both beam with pride. She is a remarkable little child and is growing up very fast. We both eagerly anticipate who she will become over the next year of her life.
The good news for those of you for whom the above, somewhat rambling description is insufficient - I have everything with my daughter in it on tape. The bad news, my new computer's operating system is not compatible with my camera. My work laptop should be compatible, so I'm going to try that this week and see if I can get a copy to upload to this site.
One other thing of note - falling asleep one night my mind went off on a rant against unions. I don't know if it is a result of the fact that one of my initiatives is delayed because we are currently negotiating the Collective Labor Agreement, or because I'm tired of all the unions whining about the demise of the auto industry. In any event, if you are interested, you can read my rant here: http://nuclearfather.blogspot.com/
1) Having a child
2) Changing diapers
3) Getting vomit on you
4) Dealing with late-night crying
5) Having someone else watch them
6) Enrolling them in school (may coincide with #5)
7) Attending a school program
8) Parent-teacher conferences
9) Summer camp
10) Losing them to friends
11) Losing them to the opposite gender
12) Child starts puberty
13) Child loses mind and impulse control
14) Child attends college (if they have lived through #13)
As of this Saturday, we have made it to step 7. For the last several weeks, our daughter has come home and regaled us with her singing of the song "A better you, a better me" that she was learning in school as part of their year-end performance. We finally got to see the completed product.
I must say, I was extremely impressed. This is a school for kids from about 2 years of age until around 7 or 8. The program started at 8:30 on Saturday morning and the auditorium - as it were (really just the school's large entryway) - was full by 8:15 with parents, digital recording devices locked and loaded.
Shortly after 8:30, all levels of students marched down the aisle in their costumes, clambered up on the stage and sang a musical number - and it was intelligible! Not only did they all sing, it was choreographed! So far, this is what I was expecting. I remember the school recitals I participated in during grade school, and this was similar. Then, it got interesting.
Each of the grades had their own numbers to perform. What amazed me is that, other than the youngest group - which included my daughter - these other groups had costume changes! The oldest group - 7/8 year olds, learned a poem in Chinese, a song in Indonesian, and played TWO musical instruments while dancing. Many also had to recite platitudes about character, manners, self-respect, and thankfulness. Rodgers and Hammerstein have nothing to worry about, but Leonard Bernstein could learn a thing or two!
My daughter participated in three separate numbers - two with the whole group, and one just for her age group. She appeared to be the only one in her age group who knew all the words to the songs in which she participated. For the age-group specific number, the kids all walked down the aisle with different cleaning supplies. The theme was "Helping Around the House". My daughter was center stage with two other children who had mops and pretended to mop the stage. At the end of the final, all-school number, my daughter's age group turned back-to-back with the person next to them, leaned back, and folded their arms.
Seeing my daughter participate in such an event made my wife and I both beam with pride. She is a remarkable little child and is growing up very fast. We both eagerly anticipate who she will become over the next year of her life.
The good news for those of you for whom the above, somewhat rambling description is insufficient - I have everything with my daughter in it on tape. The bad news, my new computer's operating system is not compatible with my camera. My work laptop should be compatible, so I'm going to try that this week and see if I can get a copy to upload to this site.
One other thing of note - falling asleep one night my mind went off on a rant against unions. I don't know if it is a result of the fact that one of my initiatives is delayed because we are currently negotiating the Collective Labor Agreement, or because I'm tired of all the unions whining about the demise of the auto industry. In any event, if you are interested, you can read my rant here: http://nuclearfather.blogspot.com/
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Expat Categories
By nature, humans like to create categories. Classifying helps us determine where we fit, helps us to remember, and defines the world around us. I am no different. Below is how I would classify the expats I have seen/met.
1) The Exploiter. This is always a male. They come here to take advantage of the cheap labor, corrupt government, and attractive women who want a better life. You'll see them in bars, high-end shopping malls or resorts. They always have a woman much younger and far more attractive than themselves. From my experience, they are typically Australian or British. To my knowledge, I don't work with any of these. They could care less about learning the language or customs. Everyone here should bow at their feet. Many have wives back in their home country, and a local "wife" here.
2) The Lifestyle Seekers. These are men - and a few women - who have come here to live lavishly in a low cost environment. They are usually older - late 40's - and in middle or senior management with their organizations. Many have a local spouse who is far better than they could attain had they remained in their country of origin and very likely married for looks. Others definitely married someone like they would have at home - someone who makes them happy. Most have decided that this is where they want to be for an extended period of time. They learn the language - thanks to their spouse (what British colonialists would have called a "sleeping dictionary") - have learned the customs and live like a wealthy local. I know several of these in my community and at work.
3) The Passing Through. This group is either a very young professional on their first international assignment or someone who, with their family, are veteran expats on yet another assignment. There are a lot more women in this group, though still dominated by men. The Passing Through group is here on a temporary assignment with no intentions of putting down roots and staying for a long time (though, some Lifestyle Seekers did start this way). I have met several, and work with a few, in this group. Embassy workers, product/brand managers, and financial professionals most commonly fall in this category. Most I've met are on their 3rd or 4th assignment and already know where they are going after this one.
The expat spouses have their own categories too: those that are happy here, those that are making the most of it, and those that are bitter and never let you forget it. We've met at least one of each of these, too.
My wife and I are in the third group. I could see myself in the second group, though I know my wife never could, so we'll always be Passing Through.
1) The Exploiter. This is always a male. They come here to take advantage of the cheap labor, corrupt government, and attractive women who want a better life. You'll see them in bars, high-end shopping malls or resorts. They always have a woman much younger and far more attractive than themselves. From my experience, they are typically Australian or British. To my knowledge, I don't work with any of these. They could care less about learning the language or customs. Everyone here should bow at their feet. Many have wives back in their home country, and a local "wife" here.
2) The Lifestyle Seekers. These are men - and a few women - who have come here to live lavishly in a low cost environment. They are usually older - late 40's - and in middle or senior management with their organizations. Many have a local spouse who is far better than they could attain had they remained in their country of origin and very likely married for looks. Others definitely married someone like they would have at home - someone who makes them happy. Most have decided that this is where they want to be for an extended period of time. They learn the language - thanks to their spouse (what British colonialists would have called a "sleeping dictionary") - have learned the customs and live like a wealthy local. I know several of these in my community and at work.
3) The Passing Through. This group is either a very young professional on their first international assignment or someone who, with their family, are veteran expats on yet another assignment. There are a lot more women in this group, though still dominated by men. The Passing Through group is here on a temporary assignment with no intentions of putting down roots and staying for a long time (though, some Lifestyle Seekers did start this way). I have met several, and work with a few, in this group. Embassy workers, product/brand managers, and financial professionals most commonly fall in this category. Most I've met are on their 3rd or 4th assignment and already know where they are going after this one.
The expat spouses have their own categories too: those that are happy here, those that are making the most of it, and those that are bitter and never let you forget it. We've met at least one of each of these, too.
My wife and I are in the third group. I could see myself in the second group, though I know my wife never could, so we'll always be Passing Through.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Signature Resumes
When did the signature line of our emails become an opportunity to double as our resume? With degrees, advanced degrees, professional organization certifications, technical certifications and everything else for which people can receive a "certification", our credentials are often longer than our names.
Do I really need to care that you have your MBA, PMP, MCSD, CCNA? Or that you have an MBA and CPA? Or a PhD and Esq? If I have your email, I am either communicating to you socially, and none of that matters, or I'm communicating with you professionally, and I have already determined to work with you...so none of it matters.
Do people honestly believe that broadcasting their credentials enhances the value of their message? What's next - IQ, physical measurements, the size of the last fish you caught? Enough!
Here is the reality: the most successful people I know, including the executives of the company I work for, sign their communications with their name or, as is often the case, just their initials. No title, no credentials.
The really important people in the world don't need to tell you how important they are. You already know.
***ADDED 03 June: Here is another take from a good friend and even better person, Peter Faur.
Do I really need to care that you have your MBA, PMP, MCSD, CCNA? Or that you have an MBA and CPA? Or a PhD and Esq? If I have your email, I am either communicating to you socially, and none of that matters, or I'm communicating with you professionally, and I have already determined to work with you...so none of it matters.
Do people honestly believe that broadcasting their credentials enhances the value of their message? What's next - IQ, physical measurements, the size of the last fish you caught? Enough!
Here is the reality: the most successful people I know, including the executives of the company I work for, sign their communications with their name or, as is often the case, just their initials. No title, no credentials.
The really important people in the world don't need to tell you how important they are. You already know.
***ADDED 03 June: Here is another take from a good friend and even better person, Peter Faur.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Weekly update and the third chapter
The end of the rainy season in Jakarta appears to be the start of the pollution season. Overcast, gray skies that brought cleansing rain have given way to the nuclear winter orange of air pollution. During the "pollution season", Jakarta is bathed in an eternal dusk that migrates from sunkist to burnt sienna as the day grows older, more cars spew their exhaust, and the sun sets behind a curtain of smog.
Yesterday (Thursday) was a holiday in Jakarta as the city celebrated the Ascension of Christ. This is a Christian holiday I had never heard of. We took the opportunity to take a drive to our favorite zoo - Safari Park. We tried to leave the house around 9 AM. After a bathroom stop for my daughter and a return trip to the house to verify the pregnancy-induced-amnesiac didn't leave on her curling iron, we finally were able to leave the city at 11 AM.
Traffic was not too bad on the drive up. We bought bananas from a street vendor, and carrots from the usual suspects and headed up the hill in Puncak to visit the animals. It was crowded. On several occasions, I actually mistook the road were on as the parking lot at the end. At least three times I saw rows of cars through the trees and thought we had reached the end long before we actually had. The trip through the park typically requires 45 minutes. It took well over 2 hours.
Per usual, we had great animal encounters, though, so it made the trip worthwhile. One of the highlights was watching the zookeepers ride the elephants through the park. They've trained the elephants to pick up trash and put it in a bin on their back, collect money from the cars and hand it to the rider, and eat the food their given (like the bananas we gave them). I also learned the that animals are more than happy to come up to your car and take your carrots, but don't you dare try to touch them! I had a very large deer-like creature show me the business side of his horns when I tried to pat his head after giving him a carrot.
Due to a rambunctious child, we decided to forgo the rest of the activities at the zoo and head home. I don't know if this was a mistake or a wise move. We drove for about twenty minutes from the zoo to the main street heading back to Jakarta. We merged with traffic, went about 200 yards, and didn't move again for over an hour. At that point, they stopped all uphill traffic and made the road one-way, downhill. A drive that has in the past required 2 hours required 5. You do not know traffic until you know traffic in and around Jakarta.
The other thing that seems to be a constant for me in Jakarta is a head cold. I caught one in February on my pre-move visit. I caught one my first week here, and I have another one now. No fever, so it isn't swine flu, just a major sore throat and sinus pressure. I'm averaging a head cold every six weeks. I really hope that trend does not continue.
Lastly, I made a visit to the dentist on Wednesday because one of my teeth hurt. No cavities, no visible issues. He prescribed a toothpaste (the one I already use) and told me not to floss so hard. The interesting part was when I arrived. A mask-wearing nurse stopped me at the door, forced me to clean my hands with Purel, and I had to fill out a form indicating if I had been out of the country in the last 7 days or been near anyone known to have swine flu. They are taking it very seriously here and, knock on wood, still no cases in Indonesia.
Roger couldn’t see how things were going to come together. No matter how he massaged the numbers, high estimates on donations, low estimates on costs, he always came up short. He needed more cash and he needed it fast or the trip was not going to happen. This was not an outcome Dr. Roger Faith had anticipated. He had spent the last several years applying for every federal grant, every stipend from professional and non-profit organizations. He had endured the ridicule of his colleagues, laughing at his child-like passion pursuing a feat no one believed possible. His dogged determination and confidence in the eventuality he would prove them all wrong allowed him to ignore the surreptitious snickering, the whispered insults, the veiled condescension.
Looking over the numbers one last time – the pledged amounts and donated equipment in one column, costs of the excursion in the other – he feared he would continue to be the butt of jokes. The poor, pitiful professor who chased a phantom and ruined his career. Roger covered his face with his old, weathered hands. Hands that had logged long hours unearthing Egyptian artifacts outside Giza as an intern for the world renowned archaeologist Dr. Frederick Mochstein. Hands that had ached with arthritic intensity after spending several hours writing copious notes of his observations of the Naktu tribe in the Amazon jungle. He sighed deeply and leaned his long, thin body back in his soft, leather chair.
It was time to face facts. “Man-up”, as his father would say, to the reality that he was chasing a pipe dream. He thought back through his career. It had started promisingly enough – undergraduate at the University of Chicago, masters degree from Oxford, a prestigious professorship at Stanford where he authored several published papers detailing the findings of his research on the impact of introducing Western civilization’s ideals to the indigenous tribes across the world. He was a rising star. A burgeoning pillar of the anthropology society. Now, he was a laughingstock. All because he believed he had discovered an unknown, unstudied tribe on a remote island in Indonesia.
Roger sighed deeply, exhaling what was left of his professional pride, and prepared to type a resignation email to his boss. He preferred retirement to banishment; a quiet send-off to an ignominious departure. He would leave on his terms, albeit prematurely. His hands trembled slightly as he authored the end to his career. His final paper. A brief note:
Peter,
I have decided to retire. Thank you for my time at this prestigious institution.
Roger
He reviewed his final words. Was this really how his career would end? It seemed a waste. He felt he had so much more to give. Before he could hit SEND, Peter rolled into his office.
“How are things, Roger?”, he asked. ‘Does he know?’, Roger wondered.
Peter was the Dean of the Boise State Department of Anthropology. His large, bulbous eyes stuck out of his head like toothpaste being squeezed from a tube. He was a very large man without a hair on his head. When he was granted his first professorship, his new-found economic security resulted in him gaining five pounds per year. When he attained tenure, it jumped to ten pounds per year. Two years as Dean had added another thirty pounds. Twenty years working for scholarly institutions and neglecting to exercise resulted in the nickname “Porcine Professor”. Of course, he wielded so much power both at the University and in the community at large, no one dared utter the name within earshot.
“I’ve come to speak to you about your expedition to Indonesia”, Peter continued.
“I was just writing you an email about it”, Roger replied.
“I was wondering if you have obtained all of the funding you need?” Peter examined his fingernails with great interest.
“I’m about fifty thousand short”, Roger admitted. He slid the ledger he was reviewing across the desk for Peter to review. Peter glanced at it by looking downward with his enormous eyes but did not move to grab it.
“Then I have an opportunity for you.”
Roger minimized his email and looked at Peter expectantly.
“I received a call this afternoon from someone who is eager to fund your expedition”, Peter explained.
“That’s great!”, Roger said closing his email completely, deleting it from his computer’s memory so he wouldn’t accidentally send it. He leaned forward in his chair excitedly. Roger felt his career coming back to him. He could feel the adrenaline rush shoot through his blood. His mind began racing through all the preparations – identify eligible and worthy doctoral candidates, get appropriate immunizations, file necessary paperwork, make travel arrangements. “Who should I call to thank?”
“Don’t worry, he’ll call you directly. He has a favor to ask.”
Roger slowly sunk back in his chair again. A catch. The donor wanted to speak to him directly for a favor, which meant there was a stipulation to the donation. This was never a good sign. Did he want partial credit? Did he want to tag along with a film crew for his own documentary? Maybe he wanted ownership of the final product so he had the opportunity to censure the discovery. Every respectable academic rejected donations with strings attached. But Roger was desperate. He either took tainted money and pursued his dream. A life-changing, legacy creating dream. Or, he respectfully turned down the money, retired with what little respectability he had left, and moved to his cabin in Montana.
It took Roger just a few seconds to make up his mind: “What’s the favor?”
Yesterday (Thursday) was a holiday in Jakarta as the city celebrated the Ascension of Christ. This is a Christian holiday I had never heard of. We took the opportunity to take a drive to our favorite zoo - Safari Park. We tried to leave the house around 9 AM. After a bathroom stop for my daughter and a return trip to the house to verify the pregnancy-induced-amnesiac didn't leave on her curling iron, we finally were able to leave the city at 11 AM.
Traffic was not too bad on the drive up. We bought bananas from a street vendor, and carrots from the usual suspects and headed up the hill in Puncak to visit the animals. It was crowded. On several occasions, I actually mistook the road were on as the parking lot at the end. At least three times I saw rows of cars through the trees and thought we had reached the end long before we actually had. The trip through the park typically requires 45 minutes. It took well over 2 hours.
Per usual, we had great animal encounters, though, so it made the trip worthwhile. One of the highlights was watching the zookeepers ride the elephants through the park. They've trained the elephants to pick up trash and put it in a bin on their back, collect money from the cars and hand it to the rider, and eat the food their given (like the bananas we gave them). I also learned the that animals are more than happy to come up to your car and take your carrots, but don't you dare try to touch them! I had a very large deer-like creature show me the business side of his horns when I tried to pat his head after giving him a carrot.
Due to a rambunctious child, we decided to forgo the rest of the activities at the zoo and head home. I don't know if this was a mistake or a wise move. We drove for about twenty minutes from the zoo to the main street heading back to Jakarta. We merged with traffic, went about 200 yards, and didn't move again for over an hour. At that point, they stopped all uphill traffic and made the road one-way, downhill. A drive that has in the past required 2 hours required 5. You do not know traffic until you know traffic in and around Jakarta.
The other thing that seems to be a constant for me in Jakarta is a head cold. I caught one in February on my pre-move visit. I caught one my first week here, and I have another one now. No fever, so it isn't swine flu, just a major sore throat and sinus pressure. I'm averaging a head cold every six weeks. I really hope that trend does not continue.
Lastly, I made a visit to the dentist on Wednesday because one of my teeth hurt. No cavities, no visible issues. He prescribed a toothpaste (the one I already use) and told me not to floss so hard. The interesting part was when I arrived. A mask-wearing nurse stopped me at the door, forced me to clean my hands with Purel, and I had to fill out a form indicating if I had been out of the country in the last 7 days or been near anyone known to have swine flu. They are taking it very seriously here and, knock on wood, still no cases in Indonesia.
CANNIBALS
Chapter 1
Roger couldn’t see how things were going to come together. No matter how he massaged the numbers, high estimates on donations, low estimates on costs, he always came up short. He needed more cash and he needed it fast or the trip was not going to happen. This was not an outcome Dr. Roger Faith had anticipated. He had spent the last several years applying for every federal grant, every stipend from professional and non-profit organizations. He had endured the ridicule of his colleagues, laughing at his child-like passion pursuing a feat no one believed possible. His dogged determination and confidence in the eventuality he would prove them all wrong allowed him to ignore the surreptitious snickering, the whispered insults, the veiled condescension.
Looking over the numbers one last time – the pledged amounts and donated equipment in one column, costs of the excursion in the other – he feared he would continue to be the butt of jokes. The poor, pitiful professor who chased a phantom and ruined his career. Roger covered his face with his old, weathered hands. Hands that had logged long hours unearthing Egyptian artifacts outside Giza as an intern for the world renowned archaeologist Dr. Frederick Mochstein. Hands that had ached with arthritic intensity after spending several hours writing copious notes of his observations of the Naktu tribe in the Amazon jungle. He sighed deeply and leaned his long, thin body back in his soft, leather chair.
It was time to face facts. “Man-up”, as his father would say, to the reality that he was chasing a pipe dream. He thought back through his career. It had started promisingly enough – undergraduate at the University of Chicago, masters degree from Oxford, a prestigious professorship at Stanford where he authored several published papers detailing the findings of his research on the impact of introducing Western civilization’s ideals to the indigenous tribes across the world. He was a rising star. A burgeoning pillar of the anthropology society. Now, he was a laughingstock. All because he believed he had discovered an unknown, unstudied tribe on a remote island in Indonesia.
Roger sighed deeply, exhaling what was left of his professional pride, and prepared to type a resignation email to his boss. He preferred retirement to banishment; a quiet send-off to an ignominious departure. He would leave on his terms, albeit prematurely. His hands trembled slightly as he authored the end to his career. His final paper. A brief note:
Peter,
I have decided to retire. Thank you for my time at this prestigious institution.
Roger
He reviewed his final words. Was this really how his career would end? It seemed a waste. He felt he had so much more to give. Before he could hit SEND, Peter rolled into his office.
“How are things, Roger?”, he asked. ‘Does he know?’, Roger wondered.
Peter was the Dean of the Boise State Department of Anthropology. His large, bulbous eyes stuck out of his head like toothpaste being squeezed from a tube. He was a very large man without a hair on his head. When he was granted his first professorship, his new-found economic security resulted in him gaining five pounds per year. When he attained tenure, it jumped to ten pounds per year. Two years as Dean had added another thirty pounds. Twenty years working for scholarly institutions and neglecting to exercise resulted in the nickname “Porcine Professor”. Of course, he wielded so much power both at the University and in the community at large, no one dared utter the name within earshot.
“I’ve come to speak to you about your expedition to Indonesia”, Peter continued.
“I was just writing you an email about it”, Roger replied.
“I was wondering if you have obtained all of the funding you need?” Peter examined his fingernails with great interest.
“I’m about fifty thousand short”, Roger admitted. He slid the ledger he was reviewing across the desk for Peter to review. Peter glanced at it by looking downward with his enormous eyes but did not move to grab it.
“Then I have an opportunity for you.”
Roger minimized his email and looked at Peter expectantly.
“I received a call this afternoon from someone who is eager to fund your expedition”, Peter explained.
“That’s great!”, Roger said closing his email completely, deleting it from his computer’s memory so he wouldn’t accidentally send it. He leaned forward in his chair excitedly. Roger felt his career coming back to him. He could feel the adrenaline rush shoot through his blood. His mind began racing through all the preparations – identify eligible and worthy doctoral candidates, get appropriate immunizations, file necessary paperwork, make travel arrangements. “Who should I call to thank?”
“Don’t worry, he’ll call you directly. He has a favor to ask.”
Roger slowly sunk back in his chair again. A catch. The donor wanted to speak to him directly for a favor, which meant there was a stipulation to the donation. This was never a good sign. Did he want partial credit? Did he want to tag along with a film crew for his own documentary? Maybe he wanted ownership of the final product so he had the opportunity to censure the discovery. Every respectable academic rejected donations with strings attached. But Roger was desperate. He either took tainted money and pursued his dream. A life-changing, legacy creating dream. Or, he respectfully turned down the money, retired with what little respectability he had left, and moved to his cabin in Montana.
It took Roger just a few seconds to make up his mind: “What’s the favor?”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
