Posted 5:35 PM by Blah blah

Life has been really busy. Swam 50 laps yesterday evening before soaking in the jacuzzi. Met this Singaporean neighbor of mine, in sales, who invited me to play tennis tomorrow. Stayed up till 7 am this morning with my housemate, installing some software for our little IT business, and now I have a headache. No news yet to report there. This morning, I dropped by a class training people to get their real estate license. This girl I know invited me. She is taking it at a local realty and loan place, and her program and benefits sounded attractive. Classes are free, and the whole training is practical and interesting, both financially and for your future if you decide to buy a house. People here in Silicon Valley tend to be extremely pragmatic. With the lousy economy, a bunch of people I know are throwing off their past and studying for a job as a real estate broker. You get sales experience too during the training, which is something I really seek, since I want to prepare for an MBA.

Women and Age

RBJ people have been talking about this topic: What's the largest age difference you've ever had in a relationship?

Shocking fact about Raymond: I've been involved with women both ten years older and ten years younger. Physical age means little to me compared to chemistry, maturity, and playfulness (yeah, I still have that kid in me).

Posted 2:52 AM by Blah blah

True Passions

THE JOB MARKET: Lack of opportunities may benefit graduates (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution):
___________
What graduates have in common is a desire not for money, but to please their parents, their classmates, friends and mentors. They have spent their lives primarily living up to the expectations set for them --- at home, at school and by peers.

So it shouldn't be surprising that when they are finally introduced into the job market, they should gravitate toward whatever is viewed as most indicative of success at the time.

It would seem to be in our collective interest to ensure that graduates put their talents to uses that they may actually enjoy. If this view is correct, then the best career planning text may well be "Letters to a Young Poet" [read full text here] by the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke. Rilke writes the poet of the title to warn him of the hardship involved in his chosen profession and counsels deep introspection. "[A]sk yourself in the stillest hour of your night: 'must I write ?'"

If you pause for an instant, Rilke argues, choose something else: "[If] it is enough to feel that one could live without writing, then one must not attempt it at all."

At first glance it might seem extreme to apply Rilke's stringent standards for poets to job selection more broadly. But how many recent graduates would really have taken that coveted "hot" job had they first engaged in a little Rilkesque introspection?

Which brings us back to the potential benefits of the current economic downturn. The opportunity to really pause, maybe for the first time in a young person's life, and face a world where the expected next step has not been preordained, can be both a profoundly liberating and learning experience.

If the paucity of available jobs actually forces graduates to take the time to reflect about what it is that they actually have a passion for, it might not be such a bad thing in the long run.
___________
Hmmm...I'll read Rilke carefully after I start my next job. What kinds of things are TRUE passions for me? What would I gladly do for free? If anyone can hire me for some of these, be my guest:

- Being Charlie Rose and hosting a deep, intelligent, talk show where I can interview anyone I want.
- Writing chatty, thoughtful, sparkling letters and essays day after day. Writing an advice column.
- Solving math puzzles like those by Martin Gardner in the old Scientific American.
- Writing for National Geographic or the New Yorker.
- Being a TV, film, or drama critic.
- Working on the scriptwriting team for a TV comedy like Frasier or a drama like The Guardian.
- Being involved in the business side of the entertainment industry. International marketing.
- Helping people with their love lives and psychological problems (which I already do). Dok-torrrrr Ruuuuuth!---I mean, Raymond, anyone? (Dear Dr. Ruth-mond...)

Note that none of these involves science or technology. And I used to really enjoy it, too. It's rare for me to feel that excitement any more about science/technology in the business world, because the joy of discovery and creativity has been sucked out and replaced by "business requirements." Developments in technology are scheduled years in advance and limited by customer demands. People are conservative copycats. I don't feel any sense of "playing" with science, which I still enjoy but never do. For me now, creativity and discovery lie elsewhere: art, politics, business, and relationships.

What are YOUR true passions?

Posted 9:09 AM by Blah blah

IBM began a huge round of layoffs last week nationwide, in various divisions. IBM has said it will lay off up to 9,500 people, but who knows when this slide will end?

Later on this year, since IBM is selling off its poorly performing Storage (hard drive) division, the rumors are 15,000 people from Storage and related technologies will be forced to leave the company. They will have the option of joining a new joint venture, based here in San Jose, controlled by Hitachi. That's a total of up to 24,500 people leaving IBM.

Here's the talk on FuckedCompany about our layoffs. One of our main competitors in IT services, EDS, is cutting now too.

Latest internal job cut news from Alliance@IBM, the IBM Employees' Union. It's really bad. Read these personal layoff stories.

Posted 5:30 PM by Blah blah

Prabhat just sent me some of his photos from Sunday. We went up north to Clear Lake and went jet skiing. Two guys in his group overturned their jet ski in the middle of the water, turned it upright, but couldn't start the engine. They were rescued by a passing fishing boat and came back to shore just before Prabhat and his gang called 911.

Posted 11:10 AM by Blah blah

Have a good long weekend? More news and photos coming soon. Thanks for caring. I will get to you and try to answer some of those emails! By the way, I see Christina posted lots of pix from her camping trip.

I feel very energetic and focused today. Swam 40 laps last night in our pool and soaked in the jacuzzi for a while. I have tension around my neck and hands and gotta knead it out. After a soak, I feel like the Pillsbury Doughboy.

Posted 12:43 AM by Anonymous

Joke:DAY OFF
ÏëÏóһϵ±ÄãÏòÀÏ°åÇë¼ÙµÄʱºò£¬ËûÕâÑù»Ø´ðÄ㣺

--So you want the day off? Lets take a look at what you are asking for....

--There are 365 days per year available for work.

--There are 52 weeks per year in which you already have 2 days off per week, leaving 261 days available for work.

--Since you spend 16 hours each day away from work, you have used up 170 days, leaving only 91 days available.

--You spend 30 minutes each day on coffee break. That ccounts for 23 days each year, leaving only 68 days available.

--With a one hour lunch period each day, you have used up another 46 days, leaving only 22 days available for work.

--You normally spend 2 days per year on sick leave. This leaves you only 20 days available for work.

--We are off for 5 holidays per year, so your available working time is down to 15 days.

--We generously give you 14 days vacation per year which leaves only 1 day available for work and Ill be Damned if you're going to take that day off!!!