procrastination

Oh I am so royally and totally s-c-r-e-w-e-d.

Randy Pausch

Can you find a role model in someone you’ve never met before and never heard of until about a day ago?

I was randomly led to watching a speech given by Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon who has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and has realistically about several months more to live. It’s a long speech, over an hour and split across 10 different segments on Youtube, but is one of the most inspirational ‘lectures’ I’ve heard for a while, with very little of the sappiness that might be expected. I mean, he starts the lecture with -

“If I don’t seem as depressed or morose as I should be, sorry to disappoint you.”

The speech goes on to show how he has gone to accomplish his childhood dreams. He has one of these personalities that is slightly geeky and extremely down-to-earth friendly, which absorbs the audience in a light-hearted way, given the situation.

My favorite quote from him: “Brick walls are there for a reason – they let us prove how badly we want something.” Yes, like these mind-numbing application essays that make me want to tear out my hair and throw my laptop down several flights of stairs.

Anyway, the speech did effect me quite a bit. The way Randy went about living his life and his attitude about things around him were quite inspirational. I sat there for a while afterwards, thinking about where my life is at this point, where I want it to go, and whether I want it to go where I am going.

It’s good to have these opportunities to reevaluate your priorities every once in a while.

Ahmedinejad’s visit to New York

Just because I’m living on the other side of the world doesn’t mean I don’t keep up with news from home. In fact, I become even more diligent to make sure I am caught up with all the happenings. It’s like that in New York; time is warped there. You can’t never guess how much can happen within the span of a few months. Such as, closings of a few much loved restaurants and establishments. Such as, news that a recent ex has just been engaged. But nevermind all of that; today’s news about Ahmedinejad speaking at Columbia trumps them all!

Here are a few memorable quotes from the event, accumulated from various news sources:

“The truth is, the Holocaust is the most-documented event in human history. Will you cease this outrage?” – Bollinger

“Frankly, and in all candor, I doubt that you will have the intellectual courage to answer these questions. I do expect you to exhibit the fanatical mind-set that characterizes everything you say and do.” – Bollinger’s closing

“Given that the Holocaust is a present reality of our time, why is there not sufficient research that can approach the topic from different perspectives?” – Ahmadinejad

“I know there’s time limits, but I need time,” he snaps. “A lot of time was taken from me!” – Ahmedinejad

“We are a peaceful loving nation. We love all nations!” – Ahmedinejad

“I think you could answer that with a simple word, Yes or No.” – Bollinger when asking about Ahmedinejad’s plans to ’squash’ Israel.

“In Iran we don’t have homosexuals like in your country. We don’t have homosexuals. In Iran we do not have this phenomenon, I don’t know who told you that we have it.” — Ahmedinejad

“From this platform I invite Columbia faculty members and students to come to Iran and speak with professors and students. You’re officially invited.” – Ahmedinejad

“To those who believe that this event should never have happened, that it is inappropriate for the university to conduct such an event, I want to say that I understand your perspective and respect it as reasonable It is an experiment, as all life is an experiment. This is the right thing to do and indeed, it is required by the existing norms of free speech, of Columbia University and of academic institutions.” – Bollinger

mft #4: The Economist

The creator of the Big Mac index! The Economist is by far my most favorite current events periodical. Although written by an editorial team, the magazine presents a unified voice and is consistent in its support of free trade, its span of global topics, and most importantly, its dry British humor. I also love that the writers offer intelligent viewpoints supported by cold hard facts, without feeling obligated to cover middle ground to appease the masses. Such as from a recent article on Belgium:

“If Belgium did not exist, would anyone today bother to invent it?”

fantastic.

A copy of the latest issue, and a cup of coffee – these are what Saturday mornings are made of.

you can find it at: bookstores, news-stands, www.economist.com

a career woman’s closet

Hmm. Here are some interesting findings linking a woman’s wardrobe and her career, from Psychology Today:

 

• “We are less judgmental of women who wear provocative clothing if they’re doing low-status jobs…However, when people are shown a photo of a woman in sexy clothes and told she is a business manager, they say she seems less intelligent and less competent than suit-wearing execs.
• Women who wear excessive makeup are seen as trying too hard, says Sherry Maysonave, a career coach and author of Casual Power. But studies show people of both sexes rate women who forgo makeup as less committed to their jobs.
• Few workers are likely to set a badly dressed colleague straight. In fact, competitive female coworkers often relish a rival’s wardrobe faux pas, says Debra Benton, author of How to Think Like a CEO.
• Even brainy women aren’t above a little titillation. A survey of female M.B.A.’s found half had worn revealing clothing, sent risque emails or told male coworkers they look “hot” to garner favor. But such strategies tend to backfire: Studies show nonflirtatious workers earn 25 percent more and receive an average of three promotions while their brazen counterparts only earned two.
• Both sexes perceive women with long, straight, blond hair as being sexy and those with short, highlighted hairstyles as smart and confident, but not sexy, finds Marianne LaFrance, a Yale psychologist. “More hair equals more femininity, but also less intelligence,” she says. Likewise, high-maintenance hair makes others suspicious about a woman’s competence.
• When male executives are asked what holds top women back in the workplace, appearing too masculine is always in the top five, says Benton. Most men think women should be business-like, but should not try to join the boys’ club.

I think I fail on several fronts – I don’t wear make-up at work, and I avoid extremely feminine office attire. I think the “how you dress affects how you act” concept applies to me; I notice that when I’m wearing a skirt, pink, or anything frilly, I feel like I’m acting too ‘girly.’ Plus, I’ve always felt more comfortable in shirts, blazers, and dress pants. This is especially the case here in this country, where the few women I see in the offices are secretaries, and as a culture, they come to work daily adorned in makeup, jewelry, and brightly colored fabric. In the beginning, I felt pressured to conform with the ‘local dress’ and actually bought a few pieces. But I felt ridiculous in them, and also felt inappropriate, especially given my managerial position amongst this sea of corporate males. So I went back to my power-suits, and guess what? Being in a suit rocks.

it’s been 6 years

“I would give the greatest sunset in the world for one sight of New York’s skyline. Particularly when one can’t see the details. Just the shapes. The shapes and the thought that made them. The sky over New York and the will of man made visible. What other religion do we need? And then people tell me about pilgrimages to some dank pesthole in a jungle where they go to do homage to a crumbling temple, to a leering stone monster with a pot belly, created by some leprous savage. Is it beauty and genius they want to see? Do they seek a sense of the sublime? Let them come to New York, stand on the shore of the Hudson, look and kneel. When I see the city from my window – no, I don’t feel how small I am – but I feel that if a war came to threaten this, I would throw myself into space, over the city, and protect these buildings with my body.”

Ayn Rand must have loved those towers.

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A long video clip – of images and sounds we don’t want to see but should not ever forget.

it’s essay time

I’ve been trying to put together a packet to send to my recommenders to help them put together good recommendations for me. The last two days’ worth of sitting in front of my computer and brainstorming self-gloating adjectives and descriptions is making me want to gouge my eyes out. It’s like a roller coaster ride – one minute, I feel extremely qualified and just know that I’m a perfect choice for the schools; the next, I am asking myself – who am I kidding?! I’m such a slacker!

And I’m rushing myself trying to get all this done by October, so I can start on my other two schools. Let’s revisit this – this means that I have from now to the end of the month, exactly three (3) weeks to…

• walk my supervisors through the recommendations to make sure understand the areas I’m trying to emphasize
• write an essay on my future goals
• write an essay on entrepreneurship
• write an essay on why the specific program suits my goals
• write an essay on my passions
• write an ‘optional’ essay on an ‘optional’ subject – super.

I should be tearing my hair out. But I’m surprisingly calm, hopefully in a good way. I’m basically crossing my fingers and counting on the last half of the month, because the country is celebrating Ramadan, meaning work ends at 3pm every day. But this is under the assumption that when I get home, I would actually, dutifully, sit down and write.

Augh. I need a drink. Oh wait, no drinking in this country.

my idea of buying a house

At least within the next few years, I have no plans to purchase a house. I love the flexibility and cost effectiveness of paying rent (if you are single and live in New York, it is almost always cheaper to rent than buy). I may change my mind later on down the road, but for now, I prefer the ‘communal’ feel of being in an apartment and having a doorman (you try hauling large purchases out of taxicabs and into your room by yourself, or, going home alone late at night and pulling out your keys at your doorstep).

So yes. Although many friends from other states have already become home owners, I’m satisfied with my monthly routine of throwing money down the drain.

BUT. I read an article in MH on some bargain second-home purchases around the world. Totally enticing – checking out the estimated prices:

- an acre on Bay Islands, Honduras – $39,000
- two bedroom condo in Cabarete, Dominican Republic – $100,000
- five acres in Punta Gorda, Belize – $180,000

These are all great vacation spots, centrally located, close to international airports. it’s a big unrealistic to purchase these by myself, but splitting it with a few close friends would be totally worth it. Now that our lifestyles are becoming increasingly mobile, we are already finding it a little challenging to spend time together in one location. It’s also good for weekend getaways from work. to not to mention – we’d all cash in if/when the property appreciates.
Duuude.

short term plan

I’ve been out of school and living it up in the corporate world for several years now. For the past year, I’ve been thinking about going back to school, but could never get my act together to really decide on it. Ironically, now that I’m on the other side of the world, working in a completely different country and in a completely inconvenient position to be thinking about school, I’ve somehow convinced myself that not only am I going to back to school, I will be applying. Now. I totally should have knocked myself out of it when I had the chance, but now that I’ve wasted so much time thinking and planning and daydreaming, I’m afraid I’ve already gone to the deep end.

So this means that I’ve sworn off fun for the next two months, as I will be sitting at home pulling teeth to write essays after essays about how amazing I am. Exhilarating. So the plan is:

• September – Columbia’s application essays
• October – short trip to Tokyo, then Haas and NYU’s application essays
• November – if I’m lucky, Columbia interview; if I’m not, I will probably drown my sorrows with a trip to Thailand. Not too shabby either way, i guess.
• December – Take another trip, perhaps to India to visit the Taj Mahal. Then head back home to the States to await my fate, while simultaneously over-indulging in everything sinful in the developed world.

Oh boy. Here goes nothing.

shrugged

After several failed attempts, movie producers finally decided to make a movie on the Atlas Shrugged, to be out in 2008. Angelina Jolie has been selected to play Dagny Taggart. This isn’t cause to be disappointed. What is, is that having Angelina Jolie star means that people who have no opinions of/have never heard of Atlas Shrugged will be going to watch the movie.

There’s an excerpt in the Fountainhead where Dominique Francon sees the most beautiful statue and destroys it, so that others won’t do it. This is kind of how I feel.