Well, it's Friday night, and for many the start of the weekend has lifted hearts across the country. For me, ten minutes' respite to grab some Thai takeout and type this in my office will have to do. The work left to me is not terribly exciting, and if you knew what i was doing, you would probably question its relevance towards alleviating global poverty and saving the world. Well, I'd like to think it's contributing something in that direction at least...otherwise this is not a very motivational way to spend a Friday night. A pig dumb? Let's hope not, Cicero. Little worthy of report has happened since I last posted - I am still waiting for my first set of pipes to practise with, the wheels of bureaucracy continue to churn at the Bank.
Although, I almost forgot my awesome weekend with Whan. Syracuse is...lame. Meeting up with one of your best mates from college definitely is not, and we had a blast. I don't even want to think about how many brain cells I may have damaged, but suffice to say that it is probably time I took a break and gave my body a chance to recover. I think the point of no return was reached when we cracked open two 1.5 litre anniversary-edition bottles of Heineken. Ah, beer.
Friday, October 14, 2005
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Some people never learn
Like me. Especially when an open bar is involved. But what can you do? If anything, it's better that I'm having a few too-late nights as I get to meet more people and see more of DC - the analyst crowd at IFC and our counterparts at the bank are amazing people, full of drive, extremely intelligent, and with interesting life stories to share. Time really is starting to fly by - I feel like this week has just begun, but it almost coming to an end. For the long-term habits are going to have to change though...I need to find the time to seriously dedicate myself to learning the pipes (once I get a set, hopefully by the end of October) as it is going to be an extremely difficult instrument to tackle.
My first month of adjustment in DC has also been bizarre in that I have not been in contact with the people I care about as much as I want, or need, to be. My Angel and I haven't spoken to each other for close to three weeks now, but at least we can stay in touch over email. I miss her a great deal. All the guys from college of course...I was just looking at Mehal's blog and I am convinced that I've got to go out and see him - he is hiking the Rockies every weekend while I am stuck in DC! Ah well...I'm sure I'll be able to stop by and see him on the way to Hawaii to see Reid...there are some advantages to your friends moving all over the place after college, you know. I don't know what Matt is up to these days, Pedro is working for Google, but we have missed each other by days going through Calgary over the last year or so. And of course, my family. My sister is the person I need to speak with the most now, as she galibants around Europe and then is off to Kenya for 3 months...jealous? Me? Never. Might get the chance to see Whan this weekend if US Airlines lower the level of ridiculousness on the prices they are charging.
Since I came to DC, I have spent more weekends outside of the city than I have in it...weird eh?
My first month of adjustment in DC has also been bizarre in that I have not been in contact with the people I care about as much as I want, or need, to be. My Angel and I haven't spoken to each other for close to three weeks now, but at least we can stay in touch over email. I miss her a great deal. All the guys from college of course...I was just looking at Mehal's blog and I am convinced that I've got to go out and see him - he is hiking the Rockies every weekend while I am stuck in DC! Ah well...I'm sure I'll be able to stop by and see him on the way to Hawaii to see Reid...there are some advantages to your friends moving all over the place after college, you know. I don't know what Matt is up to these days, Pedro is working for Google, but we have missed each other by days going through Calgary over the last year or so. And of course, my family. My sister is the person I need to speak with the most now, as she galibants around Europe and then is off to Kenya for 3 months...jealous? Me? Never. Might get the chance to see Whan this weekend if US Airlines lower the level of ridiculousness on the prices they are charging.
Since I came to DC, I have spent more weekends outside of the city than I have in it...weird eh?
Sunday, October 02, 2005
It's just pipes
Apparently, people actually were reading this - thank you, by the way - and so I have been remiss in failing to post for the last month. Well, it has, indeed, been busy. In case anyone in the ether is wondering how I am, I am ok. The move to DC was successful, although to be honest, I still feel like it is my first weekend, because of how busy I have been. This is definitely a good thing, as I was worried initially that I would have exactly the opposite problem. Let me explain.
College ending is undoubtedly a "suck's ass" phenomenon, and apparently not just for me, but for everyone (yes, every single one) of my graduating class. At least we can sympathize with each other. The most frightening and painful part of college ending is the fact that you are very much alone - relatively speaking at least. College is this incredible network of interesting, profoundly intelligent and party-capable people, and you are all stuck in the same place with nothing to to but learn and drink beer. I mean, c'mon. So upon my move to DC, the most pressing issue for me was ensuring I had at least soem measure of a social life.
Well, that was second to making sure I did well at my job. Which I have, so far, for the first three weeks. The work is amazing, I am getting insane amounts of exposure to both i) advanced financial theory-in-practice and ii) international development. Keep your fingers crossed for me out there, but I am hoping that a trip to Thailand and Mexico will soon be in the works. Other than that, I have been putting in a lot of hours, but that was to be expected, and I definitely feel as though I am getting more out of it than I am putting in. My colleagues are great too, and have not only helped me settle into my job, but have also aided me in reconstructing a social life - from which I digressed a paragraph ago - my apologies.
So, my "mentor" was a german called Christoph, who is now in India, and most of whose projects I have taken over. Now, an analyst called Vera is helping me out. Both of them, are cool, and together with the other analysts I have already been to a few nights out, both at bars and house parties, so it really has been a smooth transition. Thursday was the most recent session, at a hookah bar, which was great.
Aside from that, I have aggressively broken into the Irish scene here. It's fantastic. At least once a week I am going to a session at a place called Nanny O'Brien's which gives me a chance to play some fiddle socially and, of course, to drink some Guinness. I am also very excited about starting a new instrument, and one I have been looking to begin for a long time - the Uilleann Pipes. Just this weekend, I was at a Tionol (gathering) where I got to try out a bunch, play some fiddle music, and, again, drink Guinness. To make a long story short, I am hoping to start lessons within the next month with a piper extraordinaire from DC (Mark Hillmann). This instrument is a beast, so I am no doubt going to have my hands full while impressing my neighbours with what will sound like the cries of a castrated animal.
What else have I been doing for kicks - well, I am lucky enough that Philadelphia is nearby, so I was down there two weeks ago and had a place, old-school. Also, hoping to fly up and visit Whan in Syracuse over the next couple of weeks, which will be good times, obviously. Hockey season is going to be starting soon (thank God), and so I need to start hunting down a pub that shows Flames games.
So all in all, things are going well. Miss all you guys, btu vists will be frequent and happy. Honestly, I am now hungry and tired, so need to go to Safeway and get some dinner/coffee. Ah, the working life. And I promise I will be better about posting on this thing.
College ending is undoubtedly a "suck's ass" phenomenon, and apparently not just for me, but for everyone (yes, every single one) of my graduating class. At least we can sympathize with each other. The most frightening and painful part of college ending is the fact that you are very much alone - relatively speaking at least. College is this incredible network of interesting, profoundly intelligent and party-capable people, and you are all stuck in the same place with nothing to to but learn and drink beer. I mean, c'mon. So upon my move to DC, the most pressing issue for me was ensuring I had at least soem measure of a social life.
Well, that was second to making sure I did well at my job. Which I have, so far, for the first three weeks. The work is amazing, I am getting insane amounts of exposure to both i) advanced financial theory-in-practice and ii) international development. Keep your fingers crossed for me out there, but I am hoping that a trip to Thailand and Mexico will soon be in the works. Other than that, I have been putting in a lot of hours, but that was to be expected, and I definitely feel as though I am getting more out of it than I am putting in. My colleagues are great too, and have not only helped me settle into my job, but have also aided me in reconstructing a social life - from which I digressed a paragraph ago - my apologies.
So, my "mentor" was a german called Christoph, who is now in India, and most of whose projects I have taken over. Now, an analyst called Vera is helping me out. Both of them, are cool, and together with the other analysts I have already been to a few nights out, both at bars and house parties, so it really has been a smooth transition. Thursday was the most recent session, at a hookah bar, which was great.
Aside from that, I have aggressively broken into the Irish scene here. It's fantastic. At least once a week I am going to a session at a place called Nanny O'Brien's which gives me a chance to play some fiddle socially and, of course, to drink some Guinness. I am also very excited about starting a new instrument, and one I have been looking to begin for a long time - the Uilleann Pipes. Just this weekend, I was at a Tionol (gathering) where I got to try out a bunch, play some fiddle music, and, again, drink Guinness. To make a long story short, I am hoping to start lessons within the next month with a piper extraordinaire from DC (Mark Hillmann). This instrument is a beast, so I am no doubt going to have my hands full while impressing my neighbours with what will sound like the cries of a castrated animal.
What else have I been doing for kicks - well, I am lucky enough that Philadelphia is nearby, so I was down there two weeks ago and had a place, old-school. Also, hoping to fly up and visit Whan in Syracuse over the next couple of weeks, which will be good times, obviously. Hockey season is going to be starting soon (thank God), and so I need to start hunting down a pub that shows Flames games.
So all in all, things are going well. Miss all you guys, btu vists will be frequent and happy. Honestly, I am now hungry and tired, so need to go to Safeway and get some dinner/coffee. Ah, the working life. And I promise I will be better about posting on this thing.
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