If you gave me a list of 1000 possible events to happen this year, that would have been the last one I would have picked.
It appears that you can't run away from things that are running after you.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Work gripe
We've had some people from India in the office for the past few weeks. We've always worked with the offshore team, but it was interesting to work with them face-to-face.
They've been on the project for the past 3-4 years, so I thought they would be very well-versed in it and know it backwards and forwards. I was wrong. They seem to know less about it than me!
My sister has mentioned this before - that Indians in general will pretend to understand what you're saying and agree with you, but in fact will walk away with a completely different understanding of the conversation.
It's actually been very frustrating working with them. I'd like to say that it's mostly a cultural barrier, but our project manager, who's also Indian and has been working closely with them for a much longer time, seems to get frustrated as well. I don't know how he has the patience to deal with them. They've only been here for a few weeks and I'm already done with them, yet he's had to deal with them every day for years.
It's also hard to get mad at them, because on top of constantly agreeing with you, they also work much longer hours and never complain about the amount of work.
I was excited when I heard they were coming onsite, but I've been disappointed overall. I also wonder what they do for much of the day, since it seems to take them an inordinate amount of time to finish some tasks.
They've been on the project for the past 3-4 years, so I thought they would be very well-versed in it and know it backwards and forwards. I was wrong. They seem to know less about it than me!
My sister has mentioned this before - that Indians in general will pretend to understand what you're saying and agree with you, but in fact will walk away with a completely different understanding of the conversation.
It's actually been very frustrating working with them. I'd like to say that it's mostly a cultural barrier, but our project manager, who's also Indian and has been working closely with them for a much longer time, seems to get frustrated as well. I don't know how he has the patience to deal with them. They've only been here for a few weeks and I'm already done with them, yet he's had to deal with them every day for years.
It's also hard to get mad at them, because on top of constantly agreeing with you, they also work much longer hours and never complain about the amount of work.
I was excited when I heard they were coming onsite, but I've been disappointed overall. I also wonder what they do for much of the day, since it seems to take them an inordinate amount of time to finish some tasks.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Leprechaun Lap!
St. Patrick's Day was my favorite holiday back in Dallas (not counting my birthday, of course).
They have a parade on one of the main streets downtown, and it's a huge block party starting at like 10 am until 4 or 5 in the afternoon. A bunch of organizations have kegs in the parking lots and everyone's in a really good mood by the time the parade starts at 11am.
I went to the official parade in DC last year, and it was pretty lame. Half of the organizations didn't even have any sort of Irish affiliation and there weren't any politicians, plus there wasn't any alcohol allowed on the parade route.
But this year I found something sorta similar in spirit to Dallas' celebration called the Leprechaun Lap. It's basically a bar crawl of 9 bars in midtown DC. I'm not sure why they had it this weekend instead of next, but it was pretty fun and a good way to see of the lesser-know bar in the area.
The official bar for the after-party was incredibly sketchy. You'd think that since there was only one bar for it, it would be big and prominent. But we actually walked by it a couple times before even realizing we passed it. The only signage for it was a small paper printout on the door. We had to take an elevator and the entire bar was a small room that could barely fit 50 people.
The main reason I wanted to do the Lap was for the beads. We missed our chance at the first bar to get some, and we soon realized that the only way to get any was to ask someone else for theirs. I'm actually shocked that asking a big white guy for his worked. I half-expected him to either cuss me out or just say no. But he willingly gave his up.
My favorite part of the night was when a black guy offered some patrolling cops beer.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
They have a parade on one of the main streets downtown, and it's a huge block party starting at like 10 am until 4 or 5 in the afternoon. A bunch of organizations have kegs in the parking lots and everyone's in a really good mood by the time the parade starts at 11am.
I went to the official parade in DC last year, and it was pretty lame. Half of the organizations didn't even have any sort of Irish affiliation and there weren't any politicians, plus there wasn't any alcohol allowed on the parade route.
But this year I found something sorta similar in spirit to Dallas' celebration called the Leprechaun Lap. It's basically a bar crawl of 9 bars in midtown DC. I'm not sure why they had it this weekend instead of next, but it was pretty fun and a good way to see of the lesser-know bar in the area.
The official bar for the after-party was incredibly sketchy. You'd think that since there was only one bar for it, it would be big and prominent. But we actually walked by it a couple times before even realizing we passed it. The only signage for it was a small paper printout on the door. We had to take an elevator and the entire bar was a small room that could barely fit 50 people.
The main reason I wanted to do the Lap was for the beads. We missed our chance at the first bar to get some, and we soon realized that the only way to get any was to ask someone else for theirs. I'm actually shocked that asking a big white guy for his worked. I half-expected him to either cuss me out or just say no. But he willingly gave his up.
My favorite part of the night was when a black guy offered some patrolling cops beer.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Will Ferrell!
I went to New York City this weekend to see Will Ferrell's George W. Bush impression on Broadway (two out-of-town trips in one month!).
He's probably one of the funniest mainstream comedians out there today (Ferrell, not Bush), and I thought it would be an awesome opportunity to see him live.
It was a hilarious show, and I would highly recommend watching it when they show it on HBO later this month. When you combine the great comic abilities of Ferrell with the wealth of material that Bush provided over the past 8 years, you get a great show that had me laughing from the beginning to the end.
I don't want to ruin it, but I will say that one of the more bizarre (but brilliantly performed) moments was Bush's recounting of his relationship with Condolezza Rice.
I'm always in awe of people who can command an audience for that long without missing a beat. Although there were a few other minor characters, Farrell was the only one who had a speaking part and he completely carried the show, leaving most of the audience laughing throughout the entire show.
He's probably one of the funniest mainstream comedians out there today (Ferrell, not Bush), and I thought it would be an awesome opportunity to see him live.
It was a hilarious show, and I would highly recommend watching it when they show it on HBO later this month. When you combine the great comic abilities of Ferrell with the wealth of material that Bush provided over the past 8 years, you get a great show that had me laughing from the beginning to the end.
I don't want to ruin it, but I will say that one of the more bizarre (but brilliantly performed) moments was Bush's recounting of his relationship with Condolezza Rice.
I'm always in awe of people who can command an audience for that long without missing a beat. Although there were a few other minor characters, Farrell was the only one who had a speaking part and he completely carried the show, leaving most of the audience laughing throughout the entire show.
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