I've been meaning to put up an update of what's been going on at work, but I've been putting it off until something really big happened. The good news is, that's getting closer all the time. The bad news is, I've been saying that since October.
A bit of a recap: I've been a bit vague about what I'm actually doing in Singapore, mainly because I shared a bit more than I should have about my internship back in Luxembourg and I don't wish to make that mistake again. (Then again, maybe it's just that the company back in Luxembourg was one messed-up place all around and I should have shared more stories about how that was the case. But I refuse to dwell on that false start now that I've successfully moved on. Anyhow.) Also, there wasn't a whole lot to report at first. It's a software company, and I'm doing marketing and strategy. I'm hoping to branch off into finance eventually, and for the time being I get to handle that too as there isn't a lot to report as far as finances are concerned. Our flagship product has been in development stages since before I started, and the original release date was set for October. Since startups never run too smoothly, that date got pushed back to the end of February. I'm slated to oversee our official release event at a road show at a local department store here, which was going to happen this coming weekend.
That event has now been pushed back one more week. The good news is that it looks like this delay really will be the last one. It's really just as well, as preparations for the big event hadn't been going as smootly as they could anyway.
Frustrating? Sure. But with all the stories in the news about sky-high unemployment, I don't dare complain. I really don't want to complain much anyway. There's a lot of creative work in this job that I've enjoyed so far - everything from writing scripts for commercials to market research on exotic locales where I think we might be able to sell the software. So, yeah. No complaints. It's not what I wanted to be doing when I finished my MBA, but several of the companies where I did want to end up are now out of business.
More updates as they come!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Wish I'd thought of that
As my earliest readers might remember, my very first trip to Singapore ended with me getting stranded in Hong Kong for several hours. It wasn't a very pleasant experience, but I didn't let it bother me nearly as much as this woman did. By sheer patience (okay, and spending a bit more money), I ended up with a first class flight back to Taipei. Maybe this is the way to make that happen faster?
By the way, I have seen it suggested that maybe she had a legitimate reason for being distraught, such as having a sick relative she was desperate to see. If I find out anything like that was the case, I promise to remove this. But if not...okay, it still wasn't in very good taste to put this on YouTube either way. But as millions of people have said by now, "If you don't want it posted on the Internet, don't do it."
By the way, I have seen it suggested that maybe she had a legitimate reason for being distraught, such as having a sick relative she was desperate to see. If I find out anything like that was the case, I promise to remove this. But if not...okay, it still wasn't in very good taste to put this on YouTube either way. But as millions of people have said by now, "If you don't want it posted on the Internet, don't do it."
Monday, February 2, 2009
Suburbs, Asian style
In almost ten months in Singapore, I haven't had many occasions to visit what the locals call "the heartland." That's basically the northern half of the island, far enough from downtown that it almost feels rural in some places, but never too far from an MRT stop. Before this weekend, I'd been through the heartland on the MRT once, at night, so I couldn't see much of it because it was dark outside. The fact that I've only had that one trip through and I was only passing through speaks for itself, I think.
Yesterday, I finally visited it for real. The reason why is fairly odd (visiting a branch of the health club I joined to see if we could identify the branch from a picture in a contest set up by the club...yes, really), but I did look forward to seeing a corner of Singapore that had up to now held some mystique in the form of spots on the MRT mapp that I had never ventured very near.
Wow. I thought I had seen cookie-cutter housing back in the DC suburbs. I hadn't seen anything! Block after block after block of square apartment buildings all over the place, and construction of a few new ones here and there, and a shopping center at nearly every stop, looking more or less the same as the other ones, which look more or less the same as the one at my stop. But I'm glad I got to see it. As things continue to look promising for our company, I'm beginning to give some thought to where I want my next apartment to be once I can afford to choose a place rather than having it choose me. Up to now, I thought there might be a trove of lovely and cheap places out in the heartland that I hadn't even seen yet. There are a few that I could see from the train, but nothing to measure up to what's available downtown (and will probably be in my price range if current trends continue - prices are dropping everywhere). So at least I can mark a lot of places off my list now.
The health club branch wasn't the one we were looking for, by the way.
Yesterday, I finally visited it for real. The reason why is fairly odd (visiting a branch of the health club I joined to see if we could identify the branch from a picture in a contest set up by the club...yes, really), but I did look forward to seeing a corner of Singapore that had up to now held some mystique in the form of spots on the MRT mapp that I had never ventured very near.
Wow. I thought I had seen cookie-cutter housing back in the DC suburbs. I hadn't seen anything! Block after block after block of square apartment buildings all over the place, and construction of a few new ones here and there, and a shopping center at nearly every stop, looking more or less the same as the other ones, which look more or less the same as the one at my stop. But I'm glad I got to see it. As things continue to look promising for our company, I'm beginning to give some thought to where I want my next apartment to be once I can afford to choose a place rather than having it choose me. Up to now, I thought there might be a trove of lovely and cheap places out in the heartland that I hadn't even seen yet. There are a few that I could see from the train, but nothing to measure up to what's available downtown (and will probably be in my price range if current trends continue - prices are dropping everywhere). So at least I can mark a lot of places off my list now.
The health club branch wasn't the one we were looking for, by the way.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
The rich really ARE different from you and me
Among the many ways in which I'm glad Bush isn't president anymore, there are several that sound funny at first blush, but if you think about it, they're really pretty sad. One of these - perhaps the biggest one, actually - is that I can now usually tell The Onion apart from real newspapers.
Usually.
I saw excerpts from this article on Daily Kos earlier today, and before checking the link I was sure it was some kind of joke. But the New York Times isn't known for its sense of humor. (Maybe you've heard the joke about the world's easiest job: the New York Times comics editor. All you ever have to do is say "No.") After reading the article and the blog it links to, I'm persuaded that these gals are somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but also that they're somewhat serious about it all as well. For one thing, it really isn't very funny to pretend you're as shallow and materialistic as the image they're presenting. So they're probably sincere about it.
Disgusting, yes, but I found myself feeling oddly relieved after reading it. Of all the many, many times over the past several months that I've been glad I didn't end up working at a bank, this has to be the strongest case yet. The idea of ever getting anywhere near that community...ew. That's all.
The thing is, even if I did find myself on Wall Street, odds are I wouldn't have ever been mixed up with anybody like that. I'd have worked with them and perhaps gone out for drinks with them occasionally, but I'd never have actually been one of them. There's something intangible that means you're either one of them or you're not, and no, being a Yale alum does not automatically put you in the club. In fact, it marks you out in a big way at Yale - somehow, everyone can tell whose grandfather was a senator and whose grandfather was a jukebox repairman. Not everybody cares, but everybody can tell. And of course, some do care. The ones who whine about how busy their still-employed boyfriends are in the New York Times are among those who do, needless to say.
Thank heavens for my unglamorous but recession-proof job and for a girlfriend who makes slightly more money than I do!
Usually.
I saw excerpts from this article on Daily Kos earlier today, and before checking the link I was sure it was some kind of joke. But the New York Times isn't known for its sense of humor. (Maybe you've heard the joke about the world's easiest job: the New York Times comics editor. All you ever have to do is say "No.") After reading the article and the blog it links to, I'm persuaded that these gals are somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but also that they're somewhat serious about it all as well. For one thing, it really isn't very funny to pretend you're as shallow and materialistic as the image they're presenting. So they're probably sincere about it.
Disgusting, yes, but I found myself feeling oddly relieved after reading it. Of all the many, many times over the past several months that I've been glad I didn't end up working at a bank, this has to be the strongest case yet. The idea of ever getting anywhere near that community...ew. That's all.
The thing is, even if I did find myself on Wall Street, odds are I wouldn't have ever been mixed up with anybody like that. I'd have worked with them and perhaps gone out for drinks with them occasionally, but I'd never have actually been one of them. There's something intangible that means you're either one of them or you're not, and no, being a Yale alum does not automatically put you in the club. In fact, it marks you out in a big way at Yale - somehow, everyone can tell whose grandfather was a senator and whose grandfather was a jukebox repairman. Not everybody cares, but everybody can tell. And of course, some do care. The ones who whine about how busy their still-employed boyfriends are in the New York Times are among those who do, needless to say.
Thank heavens for my unglamorous but recession-proof job and for a girlfriend who makes slightly more money than I do!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
I always expected this in Paris, but here?
At the gym last night, I noticed one of the TVs was showing The Price is Right. I was watching one of the other TVs, with a talk show about the inauguration, but during a commercial I looked over at The Price is Right. They were in the midst of the Showcase Showdown, and one of the prizes was...a trip to Singapore.
I'm sure they do have some kind of backup plan for cases where a prize would be inappropriate like that, but it seemed pretty funny to me all the same.
I'm sure they do have some kind of backup plan for cases where a prize would be inappropriate like that, but it seemed pretty funny to me all the same.
Let the whining begin
If you're anything like me, you might be wondering what the first round of "the Liberal Media is shilling for Obama" was going to be. (First after the inauguration, I mean - I know they've never really shut up about how the media was in the tank for him throughout the campaign either.)
I just found out. Perhaps not surprisingly, it came from one of that odd breed of wingnuts who think Bush's only problem was that he was too liberal. In any case, the issue at hand was Obama's line in his inaugural speech about being the 44th person to take the oath of office. He's really only the 43rd (Grover Cleveland was only one person, after all), and well, if Sarah Palin had said that, why, The Liberal Media would be all over her for how stupid she is!!
For what it's worth, I have always believed we should stop counting Cleveland twice. But right or wrong, that's how it's been done throughout my life and for quite some time before, quite possibly since 1893. I don't recall anybody making an issue of the frequent references to Obama's indisputably stupid predecessor as "Bush 43," or his indisputably arrogant father calling him just "43". (He also reportedly sometimes called him "Quincy," which is at least a bit more clever, but also disrespectful to the best ex-president we ever had, who really does not deserve to be compared to Mr. I-Don't-Recall-Any-Heaviness-Ruining-My-Time-At-Yale. But I digress.) If this is the best the right wing s**t machine can do against Obama, the next four years ought to be a lot of fun. It'll be interesting to see if anybody takes this the least bit seriously. Sad to say, I wouldn't be too surprised if some people do - what else do they have to work with at this point?
My comeback to the above, by the way, was to suggest that Sarah Palin probaby doesn't have the foggiest idea how many presidents there have been. It almost makes you wish someone would ask her..."Oh, well, y'know, I know about the presidents. All of them. I think it was Ronald Reagan who said 'give me liberty or give me death,' you know, and up here in Alaska we take that serious and we take our presidents serious, you know? By golly, I don't care how many presidents there were, I'm runnin' for the future and my children's future!"
By the way, Cleveland's service as president was interrupted in the first place because of a dirty trick that could have taught Karl Rove everything he knows. Somebody duped the British ambassador into endorsing him, which cost him the usually-Democratic Irish American vote in New York, and he won the popular vote but lost the eletoral vote. Lest anybody think the right wing s**t machine and its love for exploiting ethnic tension is a modern-day phenomenon...
I just found out. Perhaps not surprisingly, it came from one of that odd breed of wingnuts who think Bush's only problem was that he was too liberal. In any case, the issue at hand was Obama's line in his inaugural speech about being the 44th person to take the oath of office. He's really only the 43rd (Grover Cleveland was only one person, after all), and well, if Sarah Palin had said that, why, The Liberal Media would be all over her for how stupid she is!!
For what it's worth, I have always believed we should stop counting Cleveland twice. But right or wrong, that's how it's been done throughout my life and for quite some time before, quite possibly since 1893. I don't recall anybody making an issue of the frequent references to Obama's indisputably stupid predecessor as "Bush 43," or his indisputably arrogant father calling him just "43". (He also reportedly sometimes called him "Quincy," which is at least a bit more clever, but also disrespectful to the best ex-president we ever had, who really does not deserve to be compared to Mr. I-Don't-Recall-Any-Heaviness-Ruining-My-Time-At-Yale. But I digress.) If this is the best the right wing s**t machine can do against Obama, the next four years ought to be a lot of fun. It'll be interesting to see if anybody takes this the least bit seriously. Sad to say, I wouldn't be too surprised if some people do - what else do they have to work with at this point?
My comeback to the above, by the way, was to suggest that Sarah Palin probaby doesn't have the foggiest idea how many presidents there have been. It almost makes you wish someone would ask her..."Oh, well, y'know, I know about the presidents. All of them. I think it was Ronald Reagan who said 'give me liberty or give me death,' you know, and up here in Alaska we take that serious and we take our presidents serious, you know? By golly, I don't care how many presidents there were, I'm runnin' for the future and my children's future!"
By the way, Cleveland's service as president was interrupted in the first place because of a dirty trick that could have taught Karl Rove everything he knows. Somebody duped the British ambassador into endorsing him, which cost him the usually-Democratic Irish American vote in New York, and he won the popular vote but lost the eletoral vote. Lest anybody think the right wing s**t machine and its love for exploiting ethnic tension is a modern-day phenomenon...
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Is this heaven? It ain't Iowa...
You've probably heard at least some of the fuss about all the inagural balls in DC. I decided to stay over here in the tropical sunshine, though, because I couldn't get tickets to this ball...
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