Bring It

So I'm hitting this P90X training regime as part of my new goals for 2009. It's rough, I'm feeling it all over the place!

As to the reasons why I'm doing it? One is for the challenge of seeing if I can maintain this exercise discipline over 90 days. Two is that I had done some personal training before and got told by the personal trainer that it actually is quite good. And looking good isn't too bad a side benefit!

So how have I been going on it? Out of 3 weeks, I've missed probably 2 or 3 sessions. I'm replacing the plyometrics with my normal volleyball game (although I would probably say that volleyball is a lot easier than that plyometrics session!). It's a good mix of weights + using the body as the weight + stretching and ab work. I had one awesome week where I was waking up early to do this stuff, but that kind of ran out of steam pretty quickly :)

I'm quite enjoying doing yoga for the first time in my life, some of those moves are super difficult! I'm sure balancing on one leg whilst twisting and, as Bec puts it "turning into a pretzel" will do something for me flexibility.

Let's see how it goes for another few weeks. Next week is rest week, than goodness!

South Africa

So I'm back from South Africa, straight to the chills of New York. It was a magnificent trip. South Africa top ten:

1. As the picture above shows (you can click through to the Flickr photos), there were a ton of animals to see. For those that care, I saw four of the big five, missed out on the leopard (apparently they are quite rare in the area I was staying at).
2. Things only in the wild, including baby hyenas and dead elephants.
   
3. The lodge was fantastic, and there were days when I was the only guest at the lodge. Plenty of time to relax and think things through on what I want for next year and beyond.
4. Catching up with Chester and Ka in Cape Town, who were wonderful hosts. Thanks to Chester for lending me a pair of pants (that actually fit me better than him :)) and t-shirts when my luggage got misplaced for two days.
5. Realising I had 30 min to spend US$200 of "delayed luggage allowance" before the luggage arrived! Only got time to buy one t-shirt. Unfortunately Ka was not able to find some sandals.
   
6. Table Mountain and Camps Bay are pretty spectacular, and Cape Town in general. Check out the pics here.
7. The lack of Crackberry access in the safari lodge made it very difficult to think about work, which was a blessing.
8. Interesting converstations about how the country is trying to address the inequality of the past by pushing for "positive" discrimination in all areas (business and government). However, the lack of education of those lower classes makes it quite difficult for blacks to fill certain technical roles, even though they have to allocate it to them. Hopefully continued education will address this issue.
9. Strangely enough, Asians get to benefit from this "black empowerment" policy (as we are considered a minority), so if I needed a job, I should go to South Africa!
10. Yes, I did see lions having sex.
    

Safari Ready!

In two weeks I will be heading off to South Africa for the first time, to do a safari (Kruger National Park) and to visit two of my friends doing their bible college and mission work in Cape Town.
I have to admin that my preparations for this trip were haphazard at best. I had booked my flight to SA early (check) but the whole safari thing was relatively last minute.

Going to stay in one of the lodges inside the park, named Kambaku, for a few nights. I was planning on doing the safari tour, with the sleeping in the tents experience, but the thought of not being able to go to the toilet in the middle of the night was too traumatic to think about. The other option (lodges outside of the park) meant that even if the tracking of the animals was good, we would still have to leave the park at a certain hour.

Getting my vaccination shots was even more last minute. Got my Hep B, yellow fever, typhoid, tetanus/diptheria/something starting with "p" shots last week. I ashamed to admit that I had absolutely no idea what shots I have had, and having doctors in the family means that my medical record is so not up to date, as nothing gets written down. I have a feeling that the polio shot last week was probably redundant.
A word of advice for anyone doing this kind of trip, make sure you add to your budget the medical expense, those shots aren't cheap.

I think everything is all good now. Just have to pick up the malaria tablets this week, and get my photography stuff all sorted (just bought a new 70-300mm lens, woo hoo!) and I should be ready to go. It's going to lots of fun!

Sydney Visit Oct

People at work were saying to me, "didn't we just see you?"
However, being on different work projects meant the people I interacted with were quite different. I believe it is always worthwhile to have the face-to-face meetings, things just done so much faster. The economy ticket I got was super cheap too!

What was also great was to catch up with everyone who had come back for Stu's wedding, as well as my family. Wonderful to see the kids still as cute as ever, and so touching to see that my friends still are as goosey as ever (both at the bucks and at the wedding). There is something to be said for 12 guys going to Karaoke and belting out Bon Jovi.

Having stayed at Yvonne and Jase's place, I am now totally familiar with the Wiggles, and can quite competently sing a few of their choice hits. Has anyone else (who has nieces/nephews that are fans of the Wiggles) noticed the drastic change in Anthony?? He's become super lean and mean!

Sydney doesn't disappoint with the scenery, as I visited Balmoral with family and Collaroy for the wedding. Ah, miss them beaches.

Congrats Stu and Yve, it was a fantastic wedding, enjoy the Maldives!
Photos for the trip can be found here.

As a intro, my fave kiddie shot from the trip (my nehpew Jono).

Back to Back...to Back

It's always fun to have friends visit, and we welcomed Boges with open arms. There were also other visitors from HK (Joe) who came along at the right time, as well as some new transferees from Sydney (Steve).

I have to admit that there has been a perfect storm of events to lead us to last weekend's mammoth efforts. Bec and I meeting some party-goers recently, the rekindling of my dance party days, and the above mentioned visitors, hungry for some NYC outings.

So we stayed out till 2am on Friday morning, 6am on Saturday morning, and 5am the Sunday morning, and made it out to our local haunt on Sunday night for a nightcap. I don't recall having had this big a weekend in a long time. And it was wonderfully enjoyable. There was even some pre-game drinks at our place before we hit the clubs on Friday and Saturday nights! Good to have friends around who fire up and go hard.

So as one friend (Joe) leaves, another (Mary-Ann) comes to visit. I think I definitely need some more sleep in the next two days!

Success and Failure

Success and Failure

I had my first trapeze class today. Two things about trapeze classes stuck out
1. The fact that they give you a 10 min information session and then staright away you are using the trapeze and doing tricks
2. The climb up to the launch platform is on one of the most unstable ladders I have come across! It makes the first attempt even more of a scare than it already is.

I have to admit that my heart was racing when I got up to the launch platform the first time. But there wasn't too much hesitation before I jumped off and started swinging, annd doing what they taught us. And it is exhilarating, as I'm upside down, doing a "catch" where I move from one swing to another (just like in the acrobatics shows! Of course, on a very VERY simple level), and generally having fun.

It was a success in my eyes, to have conquered that initial fear.

Contrast that with my failure the night before to play a proper wingman for a single friend of mine when we went out to a club. So there's a group of 4 girls who are dancing near us, and I'm with my friend (who's single) and another guy (who's not). I'm told to step up and approach those girls. Of course, having watched this series you would have thought I would have some kind of ablity here. Unfortunately, after 12 years of going out to these clubs, I still have nothing...no approach, not even a "hello". It was an utter failure to launch.

This surely begs the question, why am I quite willing to risk life and limb, but have stage fright to talk to random women, in which the outcome of that talk I really couldn't care less about?

To paraphrase the instructor for the trapeze, "it's just time on the trapeze, that will be what will make it easier for you. Of course the first time you do this, you'll freeze up and have panic/fear/trepidation, just keep doing it until it doesn't".
I think the ease of cold talking to new people is something that comes with practise. And I'm not just talking about talking to random girls at a club. It's more about being able to go into a room and starting engaging with people, and make it interesting.

Vow to myself: just do it! And to my single friend last night, I vouch that I'll be a better wingman next time!

Cayman Photos Up

Stingrays feel like velvet!

Personal Trainer

There was a special on for personal trainer hours at the gym in my building. It's my first time with a personal trainer, and the guy is brutal. He was especially brutal the other day, after a big night out.

Exercise regime that just occurred:
30 x jumping jacks
25 x squat and press with weighted bar
20 x side jumps across bar [2 sets with above exercise]
8 x long jumps
10 x push ups [2 sets with above]
3 x lunges
3 x side squats
8 x dips [2 sets with above 2 exercises]
12 x curl + reverse press with weighted bar
20 x cross over hops on weight bench [3 sets with above]
5 x side lifts (10 lb each arm)
5 x side drops (arm starts at shoulder height and drops half way) [3 sets with above]
8 x front lifts, swing out to side, and back down (10lb each) [3 sets]
20sec plank
20 x plank with leg extension out to side + 5sec plank (now that 5 sec was rough)
10 x plank with knee up (each leg)
20sec plank
20 x swiss ball crunches
12 x back lifts face down [2 sets]
30 x jumping jacks

Total exercise time: 50min
No wonder people get such better results with trainers :)

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day weekend was pakced with quality expereinces:

Drinks night at K-Town (with special guest Nick Seeto). I'm down for those soju shots!





Tennis at the US Open. Tennis is so much better live, the ball goes so fast. Got to see Federer and Roddick, in picture perfect weather. More photos here:


Labor Day dinner, to sample Nick's cooking skillz. Am mightily impressed, Nick should do Top Chef :)


And in three days time, Cayman Islands!!

Value of Time

Even though I had said earlier that my 30th birthday seemed to have come and gone without much impact, I'm starting to think of the value of time with slightly more seriousness.

Previously, given my current transfer situation, I knew I was committed to working in the company for another year, and after that, it's not much of a stretch to be around for two more years to hit my 10 year mark and enjoy the fruits of my labours. But suddenly I'm thinking that there could be other options and those extra two years seems like a long commitment.

Now don't get me wrong, I think the company is great, and the people there are wonderful, the question nowadays is "where next"? Staying a bit longer, there should be a managerial spot for me. Is this what I want? Can I see myself being the nurturing type for my minion employees? I think I've said before that my strengths seem to be on focusing on a deliverable and hitting the target ie project management. Trouble is, will there be many more interesting projects to deliver in the next few years, with the financial climate as it is?

Perhaps extra schooling might be the answer? Funny thing is the first question they ask on those MBA forms is "what position do you seek after graduation?", and I'm already stuck! I need more thoughts on the matter...

Deep

"Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand is about celebrating what the author sees as the epitomy of man, a person who is "utterly selfish" and selfish in that every motive is internally driven.
Rand slams the concept of selflessness, claiming that if selflessness (or the sacrifice of oneself for others) was the best virtue, then we would necessarily need another's suffering to heighten our sense of selflessness. If everyone was selfish, everyone would be able to treat each other as equals, as two parties in a trade.

Of the characters, there is on by the name of Peter Keating. Peter is shown to be someone who finds their values based on the judgements of others and who does not have the ability to make it on his own, relying on another's skill to make him famous. He reflects other people's opinions and concepts, to a point where he has none of his own.

Disturbingly, or perhaps with clarity, I feel that I have a lot in common with Peter Keating. I think I am easily persuaded of an idea, and whilst I don't take on other people's ideas as my own, I would reflect their thoughts.
I remember a phrase that a project manager is a "conduit of other people's dreams" and I may have taken that to an extreme level (which may be why I am good at PM'ing!).

I did one of those personality analysis tests and from the strengths they listed I see myself as someone who tries to bring in others to the group and "win them over". The fact that I tried so hard to please would logically not make me as forthright in my own judgement and opinions.
However, there is a fear in me that I may look inside one day and come to the realisation that there isn't much underneath the surface...

So is this what the word "shallow" means? Do opinions make the man? Or is it something else that makes a person "deep"?

Should I balance myself out and start sprouting some more opinions? Or should I focus on my strengths and realise that this is who I am, and find what is best for me? Or maybe I should just think things through and whilst I don't have to sprout the opinion, know in my heart what I feel?

Yay for Go-Live!

I like when projects go-live.
There is a certain satisfaction to be had when all the hard work comes together and a product is rolled out to the users.

Of course there are issues, I don't think any project goes to the users without something that someone would complain about. However, as long as the issues are not too many, or too severe, I would consider it a success. The comms out to the business was terrible (side note: I really do think that people in the business do not understand change management) but the usability of the system was enough that most people were up and away.
Funniest part: an email from one of the business units that said "Tomorrow is the dawning of a new era in internal communications" when in fact the system was already live today.

There is some really bad statistic that says that 40% (or is it even more?) of ICT projects don't see the light of day. So I have to make sure that the team celebrates. Think I might have to buy some thank you items!

Let's kick back, relax for a bit and savour the moment.

Memories From Last 3 Weeks

Got some photos up.

Sydney was only a week ago, but it already feels far away. Great to see family and friends, and the best thing was to see that everyone was healthy, happy and enjoying life. And the kids are unbelievable! I just glad that our M&M shirts all fit :)

Toronto was great to see my Dad's side of the family. Mama looked like last time, but was even less responsive to our presence. It's sad for me to see her in this state, I'm sure it's even harder for her children to. However, I'm glad I got up there, I realise that I really should see my family here more often. My cousin is going to be studying in Chicago which makes it only a hop, skip and jump away.

A New Beginning

It's been great to come back to NY. Resting in the apartment, feeling the summer heat, smelling those random odours, there's a feel to NY that can't be replicated elsewhere.

I think I'm also coming back to the city with a purpose to get out there and do more stuff. It was a semi-shocked feeling to think that I have already been here for almost 10 months, which means I'm nearly halfway through our secondment here. Work-wise the trip to Sydney was great in renewing old contacts and getting some global work. I should have charged the airfare!

Of course there is an option to extend, and I think we will probably take that option (if it's given to us). Even then I still have more of a realisation that the time here is not long at all.

Things on the immediate list:

• US Open (tickets booked in baby!)
• Trapeze class (thanks for the gift babes)
• Bryant Park movies
• Jones Beach out in Long Island
• Caribbean trip

Enjoy this fleeting summer while it lasts!

Sydney Work Review

As sad as this is, given I'm back in Sydney with family and friends, I'm writing a post about work.
Coming back to Oz I've been reminded how difficult it is to properly manage a project, especially a large enterprise one.

The amount of people to manager, issues to fix, risks to watch over and general grief counseling that is involved could make any PM insane. The problem is exacerbated by poor requirements, leading to one of the biggest scope creep issues I have ever seen. I'm coming here as a viewer of the storm, as opposed to being in the middle of it, so it makes for quite a learning experience. Time is a factor, and as crunch time nears for project delivery, communication really doesn't get the loving it deserves.

Thinking of the up and coming project on my radar, where I'll be trying to herd two quite different business units in all three regions of the globe will be quite a challenge. I need to make sure that I keep everyone engaged, or else there will almost a guarantee that things will be coming out of left field.

Of course, it's not like I was the best PM when I was here in Oz. Having talked to the guys that are now supporting the project I ran, I would have to say that there was a real lack of quality analysis on the work that was produced, and whether that is due to poor developers or poor BAs, the ultimate responsibility comes back to me. I'm just lucky that I have a PM friend in Sydney whom I handed over to, who is very good at working through these knotty issues. For someone who doesn't swear much, even he says that the solution I produced was "fucked", to use a technical term :)

In other news, it was wonderful to catch up with family and friends. I miss everyone here! Looking forward to XBox night on Wednesday hehe. Some things never change!

Feels Good To Be Home

After a marathon flight across the Pacific (with the inevitable delays at JFK airport and customs in Sydney) I'm typing this up in the family home at West Pennant Hills. I had the Qantas song going through my head as we flew into Sydney, and we were drenched with a wonderful sunny day as we stepped off the airplane.

There's been some changes, especially in the roads around Lane Cove, but I was glad that our house remains as deathly cold as I remembered it to be. My parents are in good spirits, and that's the most that I could ask for. Looking forward to seeing my sis and the kids tonight for dinner.

We talked of many things on the way home, family news, shares, work in NY, other random gossip. I gave my parents their pressies, which they appreciated :) Dad showed me his latest gadget purchase (some Motorola phone that he doesn't know how to use) and Mum regaled me on how she doesn't ever want to change the TV, as she's finally worked out how to record stuff on it.

Feels good to be home.

A Sign Along The Road

Bec asked me yesterday if I was feeling excited about my up and coming birthday. I thought about it for a while, and the answer is "meh...". It seems that I get older, the days go faster, and the birthdays don't mean as much.

Yes, I will be turning 30; yes, I will be ticking a different box on those random surveys; yes, the knees creak a bit more when I walk up some stairs. But essentially, do I feel different? A day does not maketh the man, or something like that.

I feel some of the major changes in my life were in coming over here to NY last year, to being fully committed to my relationship, to buying my new watch :) Turning 30 was not something I looked forward to, nor was it something I was scared of.

I've heard that men are in their prime during their 30's, as they have got their shit together and are really making a decent contribution to themselves and to society at large. Perhaps this birthday milestone is just a sign along the road that I am traveling, an acknowledgment that things are now coming together and that I am finally starting to be a wise man.

Consumption Over

So it's finally done. The arduous journey that my grandma started me on is complete, and I have the ticking watch to prove it. It's strange how much time went into this purchase, and all the trials and tribulations that came with it (trying to get a watch ordered in, couldn't find the ones I wanted, haggling with the sales person etc etc). I wish I put this much effort into buying shares (and the worse thing is that the share purchases are much more than the watch!)

Still, it's all good now, and I have a sense of completion. Next step is to send a picture of the watch on the wrist to grandma.

I've never had a mechanical watch before, and I have to say that they ticking they make when it put it next to your ear is quite cool. I also like the fact that the second hand sweeps, and doesn't flick from one second to the next.

Yay for new goodies. Hoping this watch will last a lifetime :)

Opening A Set

One thing that I've seen recently is this series called the "Pick Up Artist". Now, some people, when they first saw this series and told me about it, said that they automatically thought of me. Why?? :) Perhaps when I was a young turk I had many theories on relationships. Having watched the series, perhaps I should have taken some of those notes instead of making my own! Ah, water under the bridge.

What I did find interesting was the transformation of the guys themselves. To see them from when they first started to where they ended up at the end of the series was quite remarkable. True, the lines are hammed up, and sound a bit strange, but it all boils down to the confidence and belief of the guy in himself. I did like some of the moves, one where the guy spins the girl around, and in the process takes the seat she was sitting in. Gold!

So single guys, if you want some quality education in approaching girls, check it out. The series itself doesn't give that much material, but it's fun to watch.

Girls, if you ever hear the line, "so did you see the fight outside with two girls?", tell them "you mean the one where on of the girl's breast popped out?", that will stop their opening :)

Photo Update

Washington photos are up on Flickr. Enjoy!

Week(s) in Review

Ah, missed a week. Things in review:

1. Washington DC with Bec, Des and Jen was fantastic. I loved the spaciousness of the city, and the fact that all the museums were free! We had one seafood dinner (at Oceanarium) which was pretty good. Getting out of Manhattan added another 1.5hr to our trip, but for $40 for a 4-hour trip to a new city, it can't be beat. Oh, yes, I bought myself one of those space pens, the ones used by the astronauts. Now I can write upside down!
2. Poker night at a friends place, first time playing with them. Tournament style, came third out of 7. Annoying thing was second place got their money back, so I got nothing! Got beaten by a pair of 7's, when I had the flush draw and two overcard pair draws...not impressed. Will be going again, that was fun.
3. Some perfect storm of visitors to NY. We had Tax, Bei, Dex, Alan, Dave, Jo, Andrea, Gordon all coming to visit at once! Lots of drinking at our fave establishments, with a steakhouse and Korean fried chicken wings to supplement the alcohol. Good visitors are the ones who have done the touristy stuff already, are willing to go to new places and provide some service to us (thanks Dex for the BitTorrent setup :))

To top it all off, summer is definitely here. I'm walking around in my flip flops!

Good Friends

*I'm getting later and later on my Sunday post!*

We've had the privilege of having Jen and Des over for a few days before they embark on their "Across the USA" tour. It's been great to catch up with them, and once again reminds me how hard it is to establish good friendships in a foreign city.

I was comparing with Des what it would have been like to move to UK instead of US, and the amount of events that I would get to go to with friends would have been quite high from the start. Whereas here in NY, there are times where we wouldn't have that much to do on the weekend. We would sometimes have to think hard about things to do. Whilst that gives us a great level of freedom, there are time when it's just the two of us.

From that perspective, Bec and I have come to rely on each other a lot more. It has been said that NY can be a lonely place if you're here by yourself, so I'm very happy that our relationship has gotten stronger with this increased "togetherness", for want of a better term.

Slowly, we're making better friends, and I'm glad to say that I actually have one or two decent American friends. It really is about effort and time to establish that bond with people. Perhaps that is why it takes a year to really settle down into a place.

Playing volleyball definitely helps with the socialising, and now that Bec is "in" with these funky bars we go to, perhaps we might finally get some free drinks!

Truly Settled

I was asked by a colleague the other day about what I had done on the weekend, and I believe we have truly hit the settled phase of our New York stay by saying to her "oh, nothing much".

No trips to Miami, no big shows. But doing a regular weekend things, things that I could very much see myself doing in Sydney. I did some volunteer work delivering meals to elderly, dinner with friends, karaoke, lazy brunch, playing touch football, afternoon drinks with friends and late ramen Sunday dinner.

It's relaxing and enjoyable to walk around in the spring weather, and when I feel tired to go for an afternoon snooze at home.

New York, with all the glitz and glamour, still has a time and place to be worry-free.

For your enjoyment, some more flower photos.

Changes

My company went through some major management changes this week. People who were replaced had been with the company for over 25 years. Whilst the announcements were sugar coated with "mutual agreement to leave" and "he's done a fine job" etc, the fact of the matter is that the main US guy for our company was removed.

As an outsider who had been here in NY for only 7 months, the employee meeting to discuss the departures was one of the most interesting things I have been to from a work/career perspective.
I have no affinity with the guy, but there are people who have been working with him for the last 20 odd years. I couldn't imagine the shock of it to those other senior managers.

There was a lot of "the board members are only concerned with the stock price, but we're concerned with a place for people to have a job and support their families" seems very us vs the big bad corporation. In the end, I believe we're all here so that we can make money, and if the guy is not performing or he's not the right guy to implement some improvements, then it's time for some new blood.

The strangest thing was the message the other senior guys were saying, that "things around here won't change much", and "NY is what we want the company to be". Given that the main guy was removed, you would think that change is in the air, and that if you don't toe the corporate line (as a regional business) you'd better watch out. The message from corporate was none too subtle.

As the financial controller said to me (again, he's a new guy to the company), this is just the beginning. Who knows what other changes are coming through.

I heard that when he was leaving, the main guy said that "I'll be back in a year to take this company". It's definitely an interesting time to be in the US!

Consistency Is Key

I've come to the realisation that in relationships, consistent behaviour helps stablise a couple.

Think of it like a stockmarket. I would argue that consistent quirks (sometimes a bad behaviour, maybe something that annoys one partner) would not break a couple down. Perhaps consistently bad behaviour will break up a couple, like some death by a thousand cuts. Everyone has their own quirks, and each couple will have their own rules and behaviours. However when one person strays from that expected response, it casts doubt on their other areas.

It is the "inconsistent quirk" that has the potential to threaten an otherwise stable relationship. The inconsistent quirk could be not standing up for your partner, or attempting to split a bill when usually we don't. That's the volatility that puts the relationship outside the normal bounds and makes people think more about whether this person is "really right".

Of course, all this does not change the fact that a bad behaviour is something that needs to be addressed, for a relationship to become better, not just stable. On that point, a unexpected surprise in good behaviour takes the relationship to the next level. And we all love surprises :) 

Court Sense

We recently had a friend try out for our volleyball team, and we decided that one of the issues he had was a lack of playing time and "court sense". I didn't know if that was being too harsh and whether people can pick that up quickly.

I'm now in the process of trying to answer my own question. I'm now playing some touch American football, and it's so hard. Skills-wise, I can catch ok, run ok etc. But positioning and anticipation are just terrible.

We play one-on-one marking, so I'm usually up against a guy. I'm constantly being outrun or outdodged (and the no-stud sneakers with are definitely not helping with gripping the ground) when I'm defending. When we're attacking, I'm not getting many passes, most likely because I'm not "in motion", and passing to a stationary target makes it a lot easier for the other team to intercept.

Will I learn in the next 4 games before the season finishes? Probably not. So was I too harsh in the "court sense" judgment for volleyball? Probably not, it does take a while to pick up.

Will I keep playing touch football? I'm a maybe on that one, dodgeball seems a lot more interesting!

Book Review: Speed Reading

I just read a good book about how to read faster and the key point is to realise that most things you don't have to read every word. A quick skim of the contents, then the first paragraph, the first sentence of each paragraph and conclusion will garner about 70% knowledge of what the article is trying to say, especially if it is well written.

The other point is that your mind subconsciously understands and recalls more than what you think it does, and that you can read faster than you can hear. Hence if you are talking to yourself when you read, usually it means that you're reading too slowly.

They have some smart suggestions of how to read faster, with grouping of words together (so you don't read every word), stopping your eyes a few cm before the end of the line (to maximise what your eyes are seeing), and doing the white card thing (but pushing down the pages so that you eyes are forced to move on).

There are exercises to do, but I have to admit I skipped most of them :)

Career Opportunities

Argh, so much for a Sunday post, been in a conference the whole week.

A work friend told me a story that in his first year out into the corporate world, the tech bubble busted and he got laid off. Ever since, he's been a big believer that no one looks after your career except yourself.

This conference last week has made me feel a little bit different to that. As per my post a few weeks back about my project getting canned, I've been operating at a fairly low capacity, and doing mostly support work. I was starting to consider "what next?" and thinking of other possibilities (even outside of the company).

I came down to Charlotte for some other work, and ended up being invited to this global ICT conference. Within this week, I have been promoted to a Project Manager again, and gotten some global work. It was good to get nominated (without any suggestion from me) in front of the bigwigs as the person to do the job.

Perhaps managers do look after their staff, at least in this company.
Perhaps this comes from being able to deliver in previous instances, and past history in the corporate world counts as something.
Perhaps no one else wanted the role!

In any case, it's project time again. 6 weeks to go-live :)

Why Ski Jumps Aren't Me

So Vail was fantastic, as I mentioned in the post last week. It's worthwhile to share some of my expeeriences there.
Spurred on by a long time skiing mate back in Oz, my skiing buddy (Waz) and I decided to hit the jumps on the last day of our trip there. The weather was perfect, bright sunny skies and I had promised my mate that I would attempt a few tricks.

I decided the trick about halfway down the slope towards the jump...



Emboldened by that success, I tried something a little bit fancier...



Sorry Kevvy, I didn't fulfill your task! Maybe next time :)

Interesting Things

At a work seminar my friend attended, one of the facilitators dispensed with the small talk introductions and asked everyone in the room, "state your name and one interesting fact about you". My friend struggled with what to say, to find something short and sharp that would impress the people around him. Personally, I think it was just an ice-breaker, and he could have said anything he wanted and people would have believed him.

It got me thinking if I would be able to draw from something in my life that others would be interested in. Yes, I have moved to New York, yes I used to hold dance parties, yes I have enrolled to do some meals on wheels for the elderly (hope my application is approved). These things may be interesting but are they things I am proud of?

There are other things that I would say make me proud; making the rep team for volleyball, becoming a better project manager, and hitting the 3.5 year mark with Bec. However, a my friend quite rightly pointed out, these things really aren't that interesting to other people. It's things that are internal to me.

Ultimately, what makes a thing interesting to me in other people is the passion and enthusiasm that they talk about it and live it. A person who is a stamp collector is a "whatever", but if that stamp collector talks about her "$100,000 1904 stamp with the Queen on it", it can make for an interesting conversation.

So note to self: get enthusiastic, get passionate, and naturally people will want to hear more.

Separate note: Vail is fantastic (again!). We've had two days of glorious sun, and now it's snowing outside. Fresh tracks for tomorrow! I have come to the sad realisation that my legs are weak, as is my back, and general fitness. I'm blaming it on the altitude sickness :)

Canned Project

I've had a project cancel on me before, but not one where I was the project manager. I think I didn't feel it as much because we were still in the pre-development stage, and everything I had done was only on word and pictures.

What's there to learn from it? A project manager should never be that fully invested into the project, and they should always be, as I learnt from one of my classes, "a conduit of other people's dreams". Any kind of change in business conditions, as witnessed these last few months, can turn a project on its head. Probably the other thing to learn is that a PM should always have contingencies and different scenarios thought through. If I'm constantly thinking "what if...?" I would probably be better prepared for what was going to happen.

However, my big boss has indicated he's keen on using ICT money to fund the project and have it ready for the business when they need it. I'm not so sure that is a good idea, but if the project gets revived, I'll be ready.

Pity, though, I now can't say I have another project under my belt. I wonder what I should write for my resume for a project that gets the shaft?

Gambling Tour

Having missed out on the Macau gambling experience when we were there (surely I looked like I was money even though I had on thongs!), I have tried and tried to find people in New York to take me to Atlantic City. However, after my flaky friends bailed on me once again, I took matters into my own hands and went down there myself.

I was telling Bec that I would have never considered doing something like that in Sydney.
It's the equivalent of going to Canberra, a 3 hour bus ride by myself to gamble. Along the way, I met a wonderful old lady who was a hardcore blackjack player; serving women at the Borgata that had some shockingly busty tops; and $500 chips (oh they feel so good to hold :))

Going adventuring alone (that is not work related) is a new experience for me, I'm usually travelling with someone(s) else. It is quite liberating, it's always memorable. Especially from a gambling perspective, it is definitely better to travel alone, as I can say when I should stop and run with the winnings, instead of waiting for friends and losing more money. I'll be the first to admit that going to Atlantic City was no major stretch in terms of an "exotic adventure", but we all have to start somewhere!

And for those who care, I did get up in craps, but lost out in blackjack (I should never play that game) and limit poker. Luckily the craps paid for the bus ride and lunch and a bit extra for the dinner that night back in New York.

The best thing is I have now found some other friends who seem just as keen to gamble, so I'm sure there will be more A/C trips to come. Plus anyone who is super keen, Vegas!

Panoramic Shots

I remember when we used physical film, there was a type of film that allowed panoramic shots. Nowadays, I would take three or four shots for a scene, but never found the way to easily merge them into a panoramic shot. With the Dell, I got a cool photo editing software called Adobe Photoshop Elements that actually does the merging for me. Here's a selection, they did end up something like what I thought they would!

Gold Coast Beach


Times Square


Spit Bridge


Yankee Stadium


Great Ocean Road


Pyrmont


Palm Beach


Tokyo

New XPS Laptop

It's ironic that I'm writing this entry about my new XPS M1330 Dell on an Apple Macbook in the Apple store in Soho. I got delivery of the new XPS last week, on a deal that was pretty impressive. In total, I got around $900 off the retail price of the XPS (there was a big discount on the Dell website, and my company also offer an employee discount) so definitely was a bargain, compared to the hardware specs of a Macbook.

Dell have done better with their packaging nowadays, with a swanky leather book to keep all the installation CDs that come with the system. Plus it's all originals as well.

Of course, with these originals, the first thing I did was to reinstall the system. Yes, there were lots of things that were pre-loaded with the system that I really didn't need and made the computer a bit slow on startup, but upon reinstallation, it's very snappy.

Dell have actually included some decent software with the system, I was able to get Adobe Premier Photo Elements (full version) for free, which adds another $100 to the deal. So I've been porting my pics out of iLife and into Elements, which in itself is a bit of a learning curve.

The main things that have impressed so far:

1. HDMI output to the LCD at home works like a charm, and getting a 42-inch TV to edit photos will be awesome.
2. SD Card slot, so no need to plug in the camera anymore
3. Vista I think is not too bad, but just need a few tweaks to remove so of those stupid popup notifications. Aero interface looks slick.
4. Editing photos is so fast!! The 3Gb of RAM is so good for Elements.

I want to see how the computer handles games!

So no post-purchase dissonance, Dell has done a very good job with the XPS. Vista does take a bit more work to get to a state that works well, but I think MS will continue to improve it.

It's funny that at a stage when a lot of people are moving to Mac, I'm moving back to Windows.

On another note, that Mac Air is pretty sweet as a secondary laptop to run around with :)

Fantastic Vail

Wow, Vail is enormous! I went up with a work friend after visiting Denver for the week and have two picture perfect days in the snow. Highlights of the trip:

1. The roads to Vail being closed off because of too much snow the day before we left, causing a backlog of people at Denver International airport. We got out of there one hour late
   
2. Seeing Vail (as a European style snow town) and then being disappointed in Beaver Creek, where we stayed (as a fairly industrial looking place with dive bars and the like). Still can't complain, as it was 1/3 of the price.
   
3. Booking a hotel that wasn't the one we got dropped off at. Luckily no problems getting a room at the new place. It was confusing, Comfort Inn as opposed to Comfort Suites!
4. The weather was so good. Didn't get to see/feel much powder as my friend was of only an beginner level, but the groomed runs were so easy to ski on. They even groom some of the black runs!
5. We covered only 1/4 of Vail in the days we were there. It's big. Looking forward to going back and doing the back bowls in mid-March.
   
6. Being allowed to take a day to get back home, instead of having to do a red-eye flight. I swear I did some work on the plane.
7. I can still do black diamond runs!
8. Still too scared to do trickz :)
   

Attempted panoramic shot:

Love and Memory

I watched "The Notebook" the other day with Bec. Not a bad story, it's got a few funny parts and the overall film was very endearing.

*spoiler alert, for those that haven't seen in*
One part that did strike me was the tension between Noah and his kids when they come to visit Ali, who does not remember them at all. The kids were telling Noah "come home, we miss you" to which Noah replied "this (the nursing village) is my home now."

I had always wondered why Grandpa was move into the nursing village with Grandma even though he was in fairly good health at the time. Grandma, similar to Ali, was at the mid-late stages of Alzheimer's and was in need of constant care. Perhaps in his mind he could help her remember those things that she had forgotten, to "bring her back" to a world where she knew who Grandpa was.

It must be devastating to know that your wife of 50ish years cannot remember you. And to have those moments when all the memories and lucidity comes back to them (I don't know if this is true or not) and for it to leave again was be immensely painful for him.

I think I respect Grandpa a lot more as a husband now, and that his love and devotion to his wife was something wonderful.

Love and Memory

I watched "The Notebook" the other day with Bec. Not a bad story, it's got a few funny parts and the overall film was very endearing.

*spoiler alert, for those that haven't seen in*
One part that did strike me was the tension between Noah and his kids when they come to visit Ali, who does not remember them at all. The kids were telling Noah "come home, we miss you" to which Noah replied "this (the nursing village) is my home now."

I had always wondered why Grandpa was move into the nursing village with Grandma even though he was in fairly good health at the time. Grandma, similar to Ali, was at the mid-late stages of Alzheimer's and was in need of constant care. Perhaps in his mind he could help her remember those things that she had forgotten, to "bring her back" to a world where she knew who Grandpa was.

It must be devastating to know that your wife of 50ish years cannot remember you. And to have those moments when all the memories and lucidity comes back to them (I don't know if this is true or not) and for it to leave again was be immensely painful for him.

I think I respect Grandpa a lot more as a husband now, and that his love and devotion to his wife was something wonderful.

Consumption Time

One of the things my grandma thrusted onto me when we were in Hong Kong was some money to buy a new watch. I tried valiantly not to accept, but she is a spritely woman at the age of 88, there's hidden strength in her frame!

So I'm going to match her amount plus a bit and find myself a nice dress watch that I can show her when I visit Hong Kong next. The funny thing is that I've never really noticed watches before, and had no idea what was good or what was bad. Of course, being Asian, I know my Rolex (or "Roflex", as I saw them in the dodgy Hong Kong markets).
I do remember that I had known the Patek Philippe brand (I liked their ads in The Economist) but was told off by more serious watch people when I repeatedly referred to them as "Philippe Patek". I have also subsequently realised that the brand is way beyond my price range.

So now on my mission to find a watch, I have been looking at websites, buying watch catalogs and checking out watch stores. There are so many brands!! And there's such a massive price range! At least I now kind of understand the terminology of mainsprings, complications, balances, calibres, and other watch mumbo jumbo.

There's a few options that are looking good at the moment. If anyone is looking for a watch, I recommend getting the "Wristwatch Annual" catalog. It is very thorough.

My photos have been posted up on flickr: Miami, Brooklyn Bridge, and San Francisco.

New York Lovin'

Previously I had talked about my lack of involvement with New York and what it had to offer.

The new year brought about some changes in my attitude, and I'm pleased to write that I've started by joining a local volleyball team. Whilst the courts are dusty and the heating is a bit non-existent for the sub-zero temperatures outside, it's a team sport and I'm thrilled to play. I'm also doing the photography thing, with a new project to capture a photo of New York worthy of our big picture frame.

Reading www.nymag.com has shown a lot more things to do, plus my own attitude of finding out events has improved. Having just gone to Avenue Q, I would say it's the funniest musical I have ever seen and would recommend it thoroughly. NY Mag also led me to Beyond, which we saw during this weekend and visited a bar that had all these old school games ie Pac Man, Spy Hunter, Donkey Kong to play!

The city has always had these things going on. It's up to me to keep looking, and to keep experiencing.

Things To Say To The Boss

He's coming for a visit on Tuesday. Things to discuss:

What's been good?

• Get to learn about the way they do business here. Never knew much about construction until now.
• Working in another culture. Americans are quite clear in what they want, so gathering requirements is slightly easier (maybe cause I'm working with existing systems)
• Visiting different offices, meeting new people. ICT can get insulated from what happens out on the sites, it's good to get out and about.

What's been difficult?

• Working by myself. Having no team around is hard to bounce ideas and work off the energy of each other. Reporting to a manager in another office makes the relationship quite distant.
• Not working at full capacity. Could change when the project actually gets into gear, but I could do with some more work. Should I be thinking up and proposing new activities e.g. the money saved on a project using the tax exemption?

What questions to ask?

• How's the ICT strategy going in terms of being implemented, now in its last year?
• Are we addressing the business' need for ICT adding value? Have we been involved in any construction ICT work?
• Where will the New York office be in a year or two? What kind of ICT service will we be providing to them by the end of my stay here?
• How's the Sydney office going? And how are those new projects going along?
  

Family Affair

Seeing my parents in San Fran after 4 months was a great way to start the new year. They looked great, although Bec did notice that Mum was a bit skinnier. Funny stories of my dad bringing an empty suitcase to fill with the Hong Kong sales. He only had one pair of pants and a top from Sydney, and had to buy a button shirt to go out the first night. I swear he's unleashed some sartorialist within these last few years, and it's great to see.

We met up with my uncle's family as it was his 60th birthday. Great to catch up with my cousins (two brothers, and a son of another uncle), we are of the same age and roughly in the same place in life.
One of them is 6 months younger than me. The strangest thing is that given that we were raised on opposite ends of the earth, we are strikingly similar in our mannerisms, humour and outlook on life. And yes, he is especially keen on the craps table.

San Francisco has that relaxed feel - maybe everywhere is relaxed compared to New York - where the streets are wide, the people seem friendly and the Chinese food is yum. Would I live there? Maybe, it is THE place to work in my field of information technology. Pity I suck at technology and can only talk to people.

New Years Eve

It's 11 hours before the ball drops in Times Square, and we're getting ourselves ready for the big event. They are locking off our street from 2pm onwards, so we need a pass to get back into our own building.

Looking down on the street - not Times Square, but next to it - it still seems fairly sedate,
so we're hoping that it's still ok for us to get into the thick of things.

Key concerns:
a) No toilets around Times Square. Could be a lot of trouble for my weak bladder
b) The crushing crowds will be suffocating, even for a urbanite such as myself
c) Did I mention the toilet issue?

However, this is vintage New York, so when in Rome...

I'll get some pics up in the next few days of the event. Happy New Year for everyone who has already reached 2008!

Edit 1 Jan 2008:
I'm impressed by my own bladder discipline! It was a wonderful event, the atmosphere and the number of people was incredible.