QOTD: "Earnest people are often people who habitually look at the serious side of things that have no serious side." - Van Wyck Brooks
Reading: Daniel Defoe, Colonel Jack
Listening to: Orchestra Baobab, Pirate's Choice
Decluttering accomplishments: unpacked more books and CDs, filed away some papers
I should point out that I'm unlikely to write more than the weekly update for the next several weeks, as I am still in the midst of getting unpacked and organized. I'm down to the stage where my busy-ness is routine. Which means I am likely to start going out and doing things around town a night or two each week.
Towards that end, I went to a story swap in Crystal City last night. This group, Voices in the Glen, meets at various people's homes and was more informal than the open mike I'd gone to last week. I told a Chelm story, which was well received. Interestingly, one person told me he only knew Chelm via Isaac Bashevis Singer. While I think Singer's versions are dreadful. I pointed him to Solomon Simon's collections for the best written versions I know of.
Most of my time during the week was occupied by a trip to California. We had a major meeting in Sunnyvale. The meeting was largely a testament to the value of setting low expectations. However, it provided a good opportunity to hear what other people are thinking about the program. And, of course, there was a significant social aspect. A lot of my job is communication so maintaining my networks is important. One interesting thing I heard was somebody else's description of me as being "high data rate." I do think fast and absorb information quickly, but I'd never thought of it that way.
There were a few annoying aspects of the trip. It takes longer to get from the parking lot at Dulles to the terminal than it does to get from home to the parking lot. The company routed me via Los Angeles, which is not really the most direct way to San Jose. This was a particular issue for the return flight, since weather had potential to divert the puddle hopper to Palm Springs, which would have meant missing my connection to Dulles. I later found out that I probably could have gone directly into Oakland, instead. The more annoying thing was traveling with a laptop. It was useful, to some extent, but the laptop bag the company provides is just too heavy and awkward. I did take collapsible wheels for it, but they were a pain to deal with on the planes. Suzanne is going to send me the info on the bag the company gave her (which has built in wheels), because this is just too awkward. And I have at least two business trips in the next month so I'd like to get this solved quickly.
By the way, we had another excellent meal at The Banana Leaf, a Malaysian restaurant in Milpitas. The melaka eggplant is simply outstanding. I got together with Elliot for dinner on Friday night. We had okay, but unexciting, Mexican food. His house was far neater than I've seen it in a while, so he has made some good use of the free time unemployment provides. And he's had a few job interviews.
Finally, I am still working on the Papua New Guinea travelogue. I've got the first section done and really just need to buckle down on the rest. So perhaps I shouldn't start going out and doing things around town quite yet.
Copyright 2002 Miriam H. Nadel