Work calls are done for the night. Bags are efficiently packed. Transport to the airport is set. iPad is fully charged with some Curb Your Enthusiasm ready to go. Also have some Bachelor Pad on the queue. Don't judge, the show is TV gold. Egos, booze and hormones makes great television.
Seriously, watching chicks cry over their TV boyfriends who will cheat on them 3 months after being back into the real world never gets old. Don't kid yourself fellas, if you aren't watching this show, you are missing out.
13 hours of flight (Bangalore to Paris, Paris to Lisbon) awaits on Air France (with zero flight status) so wish me luck.
I know I've been MIA but that's what happens when you work for a global company where a lot of the activity generates out of the U.S.. You work your day job then begin a second shift in the evening of calls (probably because of my inability to manage work/life balance as of yet). I'm not whining and what this has done is given me more of an appreciation and sensitivity for my team members that do this every day for much longer than the 6 months I'm here.
This past week was particularly busy so that has definitely affected the frequency of blog postings. When I started this adventure, I thought I could get a post everyday, but that is tough to do especially when you want to provide some content worth reading to friends and family.
The big event for me this week was checking out Pizza Hut with one of my work colleagues. I have to admit, I was really looking forward to this lunch. When I was over here in January 2011 I had the fortune of dining at a Pizza Hut in Bangalore and it certainly did not disappoint. In fact, my memory was that it was better than the U.S.. After the visit this week, that opinion has not changed.
The first thing that makes Pizza Hut in India better than the U.S. is the price. For 179 rupees and tax I can get a personal pan pizza, 2 pieces of garlic cheese bread and a soda/water. Not bad really since that equates out to like $3.50ish USD. Not bad at all.
And getting back to the food, call me crazy, but the quality just seems way better here in India. The food actually comes out looking like it does in the menu or on advertisements (not like in the U.S. where consistency of product isn't exactly a strength of the Hut). There is the anticipated mix of local flavor but then you also have the usual suspects. I had the spicy chicken personal pan which is Indian spiced chicken, green peppers and onions. I'd order this back in the U.S. no doubt and this will be my go to while here in country.
The food quality and presentation is great, the price is undeniable and from the video you can see it's a pretty nice atmosphere. It's no wonder whenever I talk to my colleagues about Pizza Hut they say they love it. It's like back in the 90's when I was growing up when Pizza Hut was at it's best in the U.S.. HR is hard at it here too. I can only imagine the work the HR people responsible for field operations in India have to do.
Anyways, this week is going to be just as busy but I'll be heading off to Portugal for the weekend which I'm ecstatic about. I get to see the first lady, we are doing a ton of fun activities (go carts, bull fighting, biking tour) and I get to get a great steak. Excited doesn't even begin to describe it.
And I better come back with a euro look like this guy. Those shoulder pad things are fire.
Reviewing some preseason games today in preparation for a slew of upcoming fantasy drafts. This is going to be one of the hardest pills to swallow while here in India: no live NFL games.
Anyways, I was watching some highlights from the Giants vs. Jets and man was it ugly. As far as Tebow goes, the guy just can't get it together (which makes his streak of wins last season even more of an act of divine intervention). I mean, look at this (click here for the link to the play)...
Even Drudge Report can't lay off the headline...
I really don't know how I'm going to survive missing nearly 90% of an entire NFL season.
Today was pretty cool in that it was the 2nd national holiday of independence that I was able to experience this year. July 4th back in the good ol' USA and August 15th for my host country, India. I think it's pretty cool.
The weather couldn't have been better with temps in the mid-70's with little to no humidity and endless sunshine. India really takes pride in this celebration being a relatively new free country (about 65 years since separating from the British) and it was fun to catch on the TV all the various festivities going on around the country, particularly in Delhi.
Now ironically enough, playing to my last post where I took jabs at foreigners being overly boisterous about ditching their roots for their new country location, here is a perfect example of what I was talking about below...
Now I'm not going to argue about the sense of pride the Indian population has for its country, it really is something. But something about this post just rubbed me horribly wrong (especially considering the US upbringing). To imply Americans do not respect the blood, sweat and tears that went into developing a democracy that is over 265 years young is ridiculous and insulting in my opinion. And the line about "our" heritage is classic. Umm sorry sweetie, zero percent of your bloodline fought for the Indian independence.
Are Americans a bit jaded these days? Yes absolutely, but when it comes down to it, I think most understand and have a level of respect for what was sacrificed (Except for those MoveOn.org whack jobs. Those people are just nuts and living in bizarro world. Kidding, but not really).
Now is this a bit of an overreaction on my part or does this rub you a bit wrong?
I can't believe I'm going to admit this but I think have a legit excuse. Last night I watched Eat Pray Love. Why? Well prior to coming over here I knew of the film and the basic plot but that was the extent. My mother was one of the many mothers that saw the movie, read the book and vowed to partake in her own journey also (you did mom). It's almost like a less provocative Sex and the City. You'd be shocked how many times that movie was interjected into the conversation when my move was mentioned. The conversations would typically go like this...
Person: "So what are you doing now?"
Me: "Working/surviving, getting ready to head to India."
Person: "OH MY GOD! Have you seen Eat Pray Love? That country looks amazing! I'd like to visit."
Now this conversation would skew depending on the demographic and sometimes Slumdog Millionaire would replace Eat Pray Love but you get the idea.
So back to my point, I watched the movie and the persona Julia Roberts depicts in that film has to be craziest person ever and exactly the reason why societal norms are so drastically shifting in the U.S.. Now I could do a deep dive psycho-analysis on why I'm saying that, but that's an entirely different topic (which Business Insider covered oh so well earlier this week).
What I want to focus on is the attire. I try to pay particular attention to foreigners here in India because a.) I'm one of them and b.) we stick out like sore thumbs. Personally, I really enjoy it. It's an odd feeling to have everyone staring at you while walking through some of the streets or initially in the office, but I enjoy the thought of trying to figure out what they are thinking and how they are judging. Plus it's just fun being different. Throw me into slum or tough area of Bangalore at 1:00 am and my tune might change, but you get my point. I also try to prevent myself from getting into those seriously "compromising" situations.
So back to how foreigners dress. There's really two types of individuals that I've spotted here: the business as usual person and the "I'm going to be so culturally sensitive and really maximize my experience by wearing any and every piece of country specific garment and judge my fellow foreigners who don't" individual. Julia Roberts is the latter.
Now I've been here about a month to the day and while I haven't been able to get out to explore as much I had anticipated, I have been able to see this trend and trust I'm trying to capture it on film. The worst are the Americans because I swear there is some sort of guilt to being an American when here which I don't get. Again, I have no issues with a visitor wearing a sari and sporting a bindi, but you don't have to give me an evil eye as I eat my McDonald's Spicy Chicken sandwich (which is so much better here than in the US, it has actual heat to it) in my typical business casual. I'm here to work, not find myself or purpose in life Julia. They only way you will see me in the traditional dress is if my boss says I have to or for some sort of other ceremony.
I'm guessing this comes across as insensitive but it's really not the intention. I personally don't care which way a person dresses but "embracing" the culture or experience doesn't mean you have to dress up. This clip from Mad Men pretty much sums it up. Hare Krishna my friends...
Wisconsin in partnership with Adidas just released their new alternative uniforms for the big Nebraska game on 9.29.12 and sue me for not being that impressed.
The slogan for the game, "The Quick and the Red" couldn't be anymore off base and just shows you what happens when marketing isn't done by people who know the product. As big of a Wisconsin homer as I am, I can admit they don't have the speed like the SEC or (*gasp*) the PAC-10 so this slogan really should be retracted.
While I don't mind the jerseys and the helmet is meh, the biggest flaw is in the glove design. I think it was Picasso (then Steve Jobs ironically) who said good artists borrow, great artists steal. Adidas should have stole some design from Nike on their gloves. Take a look and what do you think...
This is what they should have done...
Get it? It makes a big W and the catch is you don't see it come together unless you bring them together. Sometimes I just amaze myself and you're welcome Adidas. It's not too late to cancel that order from China.
Now if they could only get "N sucks P" to sell to the students.
I like to think I'm a pretty mild mannered and patient guy, but if there is one thing that really irks me it's when timing is off. Particularly when there is no notice or call to give a heads up. Well today I found myself somewhat hot after work.
Usually my transportation to and from my residence to work is a decent operation. The mornings are always pretty smooth and sometimes the pickup and return home can be an adventure. The longest I've ever had to wait has been 30 minutes since moving here which I think is a fair buffer.
Well today took the cake and tried the patience... 90 minutes and 2 phone calls. The fact that it's probably not a good idea for me to drive myself to work coupled with the rickshaw drivers dissatisfaction to transport me from the office to home (even when I would be paying them 6x their going rate charged to native Indians for an even shorter distance), leaving me completely at the will of the residence taxi service drives me nuts.
Today this lost time starts being monitored, every single day, and the lost time will be calculated into lost productivity at the end of my trip. Consider this my channeling of the one of my favorite movie characters of all time, Ryan Bingham...
This is how I prefer to operate. I appreciate and respect the heck out this type of mindset. So when my driver asks what time I should be picked up and I say 5:30 pm, 7:00 pm isn't acceptable.
I put the Over/Under on lost time at 45 hours for the entire assingment.
It's been a very busy week at work and it's going to spill over into the weekend but not long after getting home this evening I received a call from the front desk. My first care package in India by way of one special lady arrived today.
Getting packages shipped to you is always fun and I think it's one of underlying drivers as to why online shopping has exploded. I can't begin to express how much better it is when you are on the other side of the world, away from many of your daily conveniences.
So what did this 10 pound package contain? Just some of the most awesome stuff ever...
I don't think I could have coordinated a better care package. All the staples are here: snack foods, quick meals, medical supplies and swag.
Now if you haven't had Snack Factory Buffalo flavored pretzel chips with a side of ranch dip you just haven't lived. Pretty much the best NFL Sunday football watching snack ever. Packers finish 12-4 this year too, calling it.
Now this item was a game changer and not at all anticipated. I love me some Annie's Mac & Cheese. Annie's appeared to have the roughest trip over but I'll take it.
And then comes the Nature Valley swag. Being an elite marketer requires no shame and you have to always be on the clock. Plaster that logo on anything and everything, boyfriends not excluded apparently. That being said, if I take a photo in front of the Taj with this swag I better be featured on the Nature Valley Facebook page, plus given some compensation.
I'm not too sure what the gum and blistex is about. Maybe she's trying to tell me something...
All in all though it was an awesome package and definitely made the day a little better. Now please excuse me while I get my Carlton on...
Don’t worry, this blog isn’t NC-17. Don’t let the title fool you.
So today is Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi Purnima, the Indian holiday which celebrates the relationship between brothers, cousins and sisters. Now I have never heard of a holiday which celebrates the special bond that a brother and sister (and I guess cousins had to get thrown in) but a lot of my colleagues had plans for big meals and were quite excited to be spending time with their siblings this evening.
Apparently this celebration involves the sister giving the brother a rahki (sacred thread), which is worn around the wrist and symbolizes the sister’s love and prayers for her brother’s well-being and for him committing to protect her forever.
Then there is a feast where brother and sister feed each other sweets. The women don’t get bracelets though and that concludes my culture piece for the week.
