Thanks-what?

Well, this ranks up there as one of the most un-eventful Thanksgivings for me, and overall just a really 'meh' day.

What megativity you ask ...?

--Only 1 person in office said Happy Thanksgiving to me ; and one guy actually asked why I didn't want to be in the US with my family for the holiday. Gee, that made me feel better.

--I don't know if it's from stress or sleeping but I've pulled something in my neck. Not serious, but just an annoyance.

--Lunch in the canteen was worse than usual and the best option was a small-ish salad with two melba-sized pieces of toast each with half a soft-boiled egg and a sliver of smoked salmon. I thought I'd make up for that by taking what I thought was raspberry mousse for dessert. It was strawberry - ick. And the mini baguettes were stale. And, one guy from the office sat at our table and he has chronic severe halitosis so that was what I was smelling/breathing in while eating.

--I had several pointless meetings today, in which nothing was accomplished or I felt we took a few steps back. And I had to explain to a 4th set of auditors/consultants some of our business processes - don't they all talk with each other? I could've found a better use of my two hours. And in another meeting it was me and several men (as is usual) and of course the other three were more sprawled out in their chairs, assuming the 'cocky male stance' so to speak ; and one of them was perched on his desk, assuming an air of authority he gave to himself.

--I had bell choir rehearsal (fine) but that means I didn't get home until 22:30.

--I left work a tad early so I could get to the drycleaner to pick up a suit I had cleaned and a pair of pants I had the hem redone on - 35 Euro for that. That's FIFTY TWO DOLLARS. For cleaning a pair of pants and a suit jacket and stitching the hem on a pair of Eddie Bauer pants.

--I called my grandmother and my parents. They had a nice lunch together today but I was sad talking to my grandma because she was sad / disappointed that Lauren & Heather were sick and thus they couldn't come up, too.

--It is now 23:07 and I haven't had dinner (and won't at this point).

--And my day started at 9 a.m. when I felt something poking me in my side / under my arm. Yep, the wire on my bra was coming out so that was the proverbial 'thorn in my side' all day long.

MBTI

Yet again, I am the same Myers-Briggs type. Yet again, no change in my type since I first took it 16 years ago. Seriously? (I’ve taken it 4 times ‘officially’ (either with the official-official test, or a very good summary one ; and several times, as today, with a 70-question test from a book I have on the subject.)

I thought people were supposed to change? I thought I had. While answering the questions I thought that I certainly had changed, or was close to changing in two categories. Or at least I figured I had since living in Paris as everything is so crazy and I’m doubting so much about myself. But even if I alter my score based upon the questions next to which I put a question mark, my results barely change.

When at Thunderbird, my professor of Supply Chain Management took one day to give us a version of the test and show us ways to analyse results in the context of an organisation. For example, showing us that all types are necessary for successful project implementation and what types of people to employ on projects at what time ; how to balance one type with another ; what questions to ask when hiring to help determine one’s type ; etc.

My results, this and every time, are that I’m the dull one who likes thinking ‘how can we do it within this organisation’ and ‘what needs to be done’ àI’m management, not leadership.

I’m to like factual details, micro issues, control and certainty, work roles and organisational goals. I like goals that are realistic, down-to-earth, and based upon efficiency (all true). I should value ‘tough minded people who can get others to accomplish the job.’

This last part troubles me ... when I read books where characters are like this, I love them, want to be them. But when I’m confronted by such people in real life, I see them as cold, unfeeling, mean bitches/bastards and I just want to crawl back into the cave from whence I came.

It’s just when I read over the descriptions and differences for Extrovert/Introvert, Sensing/iNtuition, Thinking/Feeling, and Judging/Perception, I know what I am for E/I, but for the others I think I could be in either category, have a bit of both ; but then my results are usually 80% in one box. And when I think on conversations I have, it seems to me others might perceive me as being different from my results ; or is that just wishful thinking on my part? Am I really as cut-and-dry as 16 years of taking this test has determined?

I guess I’m just one of ‘life’s natural organisers’ and partly ‘committed to getting the job done.’ Me and Harry Truman and QEII.

It’s good to remember, as I learned at T-bird, ‘type watching is only an explanation ; it’s never an excuse.’

Bordeaux

Map of wine regions in Bordeaux

Wine making process

Last weekend (Nov 13-15), Marissa (friend / co-worker) and I went to Bordeaux for the weekend. We found a good weekend deal, either on the Air France or SNCF (train) website, so figured, what the heck. The weekend deal, sponsored by the Tourist Bureau, included hotel for 2-nights, 2-hour walking city tour, 1/2-day tour to two wineries outside the city, free museum passes, a bottle of wine, and vouchers for a wine bar.

We left work in the afternoon and took the TGV getting to Bordeaux about 19:30. Because we had been sitting for 3.5 hours, we decided to walk around and see some of the city.

Saturday morning : we got up and headed to the tourist bureau to get our welcome information packet and then walked around the city, to some of the churches, window shopping, etc. We had lunch near the tourist office (love the goat cheese salad with honey!), which was right next to a Relais d’Entrecote (steak place, where that is the only thing on the menu, and only 1 kind of steak). The line literally wrapped around the building!

Saturday day : we did a 1/2-day tour on a bus to two wineries and the woman leading the bus group was very good, saying everything in French and English, talking about the history of the region, the wine growing areas, the small towns, and some of the wineries. Our first stop was at Chateau Maucailou, then to a photo-op stop at Chateau Margaux, and our 2nd tasting was at Chateau Giscours (with quite an interesting history).

Winery tour thoughts : I was expecting more from the tours, I think because the tours of Champange houses in Reims and Epernay were so great. Chateaus in Bordeaux just do not market themselves the way Champagne houses do. While covering the technical aspects of the wine making (in French and then English), it wasn’t thorough, the women at each Chateau did nothing to make me feel connected to their wine, their brand. In fact, when talking about it at work on Monday, I couldn’t remember the names of the two Houses! Even the tasting of the wine was impersonal - they didn’t tell us how to taste, or what tastes we should expect in what they poured (oak, vanilla, spice, etc.). I didn’t feel connected with the wine and thus found it quite easy to walk out without spending 50 Euros on a bottle. Also, I was surprised that most (all?) of the wineries do NOT age their wines once in bottles. Once the wine is bottled, the wineries sell it to distributors and such and they age it for another few years. I think to them it is wine, it is France, it is Bordeaux, so it doesn’t need marketing or fancy language or talk. (Even though the French on the tour asked a bizillion questions, with the arrogance of being experts.) As Bordeaux has been renovated, I imagine the region will get more tourists and maybe then they’ll step up their touring and tasting lectures?

Saturday evening : we stopped at the wine bar and used our vouchers, walked down to Place de la Bourse to get pictures of it at night, and then just meandered back to the hotel.

Sunday : we did a two-hour walking tour, led by the tourist bureau. It took us many of the places we had been on our previous walks, but this way we learned about the history, the new development, etc. Well worth it. I wish I could remember the description about the Girondins Monument!

What impressed me the most : the city of Bordeaux itself. It has undergone major renovation (in fact, if you look it up on google maps and go to satellite view, the view of the river front is of dirt and heavy machinery working to make it into an esplanade). The whole downtown city centre is mainly pedestrian streets ; there is an extensive new tram car system, powered by wires placed underground so as to not detract from the view above ground ; majority of buildings have all been power washed, so the stone is no longer black (literally) but back to original granite / sandstone look.

What surprised me about the city : (1) lack of wine bars and wine paraphernalia stores - no where to buy random wine stuff like tea towels, dish towels, bottle openers or stoppers, wine glasses, etc ; (2) lack of wine bars - there was 1 tasting bar across from the tourist bureau, but that was about it ; (3) the sharp contrast between the renovated city centre area and the rest of the city.

Overall, the only downfalls for me were : (1) I was so tired Friday / Saturday morning that it made it more difficult to really enjoy everything ; (2) we never made it inside any museums, so I’d like to go back to do that ; (3) the week or two before I did something to my left foot - I have no idea what. But it makes walking very painful, so I’d like to go back and be able to walk around more and do so without hobbling or wincing ; (4) I’d like to go to a different winery or two for tours, to see if the tours are any better (although I’ve heard Burgundy is better at them, better at marketing) ; and, (5) the train ride back - screaming baby several rows back, 2 fidgety toddlers behind me (one who often cried) and 1 fidgety baby in front of me who was crying, teething, and I think sick (and who’s father spent more time on his iPhone and reading his car magazine than helping his wife with his son).

Leaders, Life & Purpose

Back in October, I made the choice to go to an evening discussion/dinner put on by ‘Leaders, Life & Purpose’, a forum for business people sponsored by the American Church in Paris (ACP), St George’s Anglican Church in Paris and the McDonald Agape Foundation. The purpose is to outreach to Christian business leaders and professionals and to provide an environment to hear inspirational talks and stimulate conversation, exchanging ideas on the deeper spiritual issues of purpose, work and life. Sounds good, eh?

I’ve been trying to find something more spiritual to do in Paris, but everything the ACP offers is either (1) Thursday nights when I have bell choir – such as their new series on God and Darwin, Bible studies, etc. ; or (2) all the great programs are for the Young Adults Group (ages 18-30) – weekly meetings, movie nights, volunteering, lectures, etc. Once you’re 30, they assume you’re married and then the ACP has a slew of activities aimed at that demographic.

Anyway, I went to the LLP forum on Friday 9 October (a rainy Friday, which I would’ve preferred spending at home, in my PJs, watching a movie). The topic was ‘The Economics of Mutuality’, presented by Dr. David Young, Founder and CEO of Oxford Analytica, which provides business and government leaders with timely and authoritative analysis of world events. (Although, I’ve never heard of them before). Dr. Young served on the National Security Council Staff during the Nixon administration and as Special Assistant to Dr. Kissinger in the White House from 1969-73. Sounds good, eh?

So, I paid my 55€ for an evening of cocktails, lecture, dinner and moderated discussion.

I want my money back, and here’s why :

-- Dr. Young was a good speaker, but in no way memorable. I do not remember his voice, his looks, his message. The only reason I do have comments is because I took notes during his lecture.

--His lecture had NO talk of faith, nor purpose. There was no overarching theme. It was all touchy-feely and didn’t seem applicable to every day life. It was more super macro focused, rather than micro. It’s things like this make me want to go read Ayn Rand and 48 Laws of Power

--Side note : why are people are so impressed with themselves when they ask questions to a speaker? àshows just how self-centered they are

--The lecture was to be about 30 minutes, and it had 2 parts, the second of which had eight (8!) points.

First point in lecture : Are we at a Wilberforce moment? (a turn in the road that can make a difference). Wilberforce is from British history (1759-1833). He did much work for the campaign against slavery, as well as lobbying for better manners. So what, he gets extra points for using Wilberforce, instead of just saying Tipping Point?

Second point : 8 Propositions for Sustainable Market Capitalism. The idea that ‘you first have to have justice to have a lasting peace’. And that things must be sustainable : environmentally (LT goal) ; socially ; and, economically (ST goal).

1) Is the system broken?

a. Yes. It is unsustainable on 3 fronts : economic, social, environment

2) Do we have a correct assessment of human nature?

a. Marx had correct view of capitalism, but incorrect view on human nature

3) Can man be trusted? Is man good?

a. Founding Fathers said no, so they created checks and balances

4) How critical is freedom?

a. At enterprise level? Social? Do the two have to be same? If different, how to reconcile? Or do we need better governance?

5) Do we have a holistic approach?

a. Necessary for balanced government

6) We have to move from thinking of value to thinking of values.

a. Values of the system

b. Bill of Rights ; freedom

c. Order ; rule of law

d. Justice ; fairness ; equity

e. Ownership

f. Entrepreneurial

g. Individual

i. Needs of the poor (mercy, concern, compassion,)

ii. Civil society

7) 3 dimensions within sustainable market capitalism

a. Hard : financial performance

b. Soft : environment we have ; creation of things

c. Mid (spiritual) : human-to-human ; common good ; culture ; society

8) How do we build sustainable market capitalism?

a. Justice

b. Mercy

c. Humility

Seriously, those are my notes. He did not really expand upon the ideas any further. He did not really tie in faith, purpose. He did not address how we as business people, in varying levels of authority, could help enact change.

Dinner

Dinner was set up with tables of 8-10, with each having a pre-arranged moderator. To my knowledge, the role of a moderator is to lead discussion, keep it on subject, get everyone involved, bring up points from the lecture, etc. Of course, such a person should have some opinions, have a voice that can carry across the table, and exude some sort of confidence. Wouldn’t you figure I pick a table that has to have one of the worst moderators! He barely talked, when he did you could barely hear him, and he never really brought up subjects from the lecture. The rest of the people at the table were also soft talkers, and generally without opinions.

The only points I took away for further thought, and these were NOT from the meat / key points of Dr. Young’s speech, but rather were side notes.

--We ‘long for lives that count’ ; which made me think – what makes my life count?

--What purpose has my God laid upon me?

--What are the ‘common assumptions that will guide your team over the coming years’?

--NYC has a group ‘Socrates in the City’

--by 2010, 90M more in extreme poverty ; and 59M more lose their jobs in 2009

--In the US, from

1776-1781 : we won our freedom

1781-1789 : we ordered our freedom

1789-2009 : we maintained our freedom

It was a painful evening all round. But at least I tried, right?

iPod and iTunes, my thoughts

While working in Boston, and then in London, we had the freedom to download iTunes onto our work laptops. So, all music and podcasts were on my London computer. But, now in Paris, we cannot even sneeze on our keyboard without asking for administrator approval it seems. As I try to spend most of my day with headphones on listening to music, I needed to break down and buy one of the original, large storage, iPods as I only have the tiny Shuffle. I bought one when in the States in September.

After spending enough money on the iPod ‘classic’, the newest version too, I have a few suggestions :

1) Volume. I use Shure SE210 sound isolating ear buds (I love these!). Because of the noise reduction, I often turn the volume way down low and still find it loud enough. Problem with my new iPod – the volume cannot be turned down all the way to zero. So its quietest setting is still too loud when I’m walking to the Metro early morning, on the train, etc.

2) When I go to Music, the Artists, why isn’t there an alphabet that allows me to immediately jump to a letter? I hate having to scroll through everything. And, when I’m at Pearl Jam and I want Aerosmith, I might want to go PQRST...XYZA .. why won’t you let me? Why do you insist I go backwards through the alphabet?

3) On the ‘Now Playing’ screen, the song name scrolls past so you can see the whole thing, but why doesn’t the artist name, or the album?

4) I added the clock so it appears in the top left corner, opposite the battery symbol ; and it is in 24h time like I want. But why when the screen fades out does the clock on the main screen show up in 12h?

5) Why can’t I add/change a rating of a song on my iPod? I can change contacts etc in my BlackBerry and that syncs with my computer, so why not with an iPod? (And don’t tell me to get an iPhone, I want the functionality on my iPod)

5a) Same concept – why can’t I add/delete a song from a playlist while on my iPod? If I‘m using this the most and not sitting in front of my computer, what am I supposed to do? Keep a paper list of ratings and/or playlist changes?

6) This is more for iTunes, rather than iPod, but I think a feature should be added so I can see what playlists a song is in. You know, like in Gmail how a message can be in several folders and you can see that plain as day.

Am I missing something in the settings?

Remember

It is good for all of us to remember today, 20 years ago ... read about the fall of the Berlin wall.

NYT / IHT

Telegraph (UK)