Not entirely sure why we're at The Taj; lovely hotel but not really used to the recruiting we do. We thought we'd have suites to use for interviews, but actually we've got (very small) rooms and one meeting room. Nice location, though. Apparently Newbury Street is kind of like 5th Avenue; lots of FuFu brands and a decent Thai restaurant. Not sure what event we missed out on last night, but the gentlemen in full Scottish kilt were enjoying the piano bar immensely.
More interviews today and then off to NYC.
pod
Had dinner in Pod.
When Branson builds his Space Tours lounge, this is probably what it will look like.
The coolest thing was the large 9 button panel on the wall of the "pod" tables. Press the button and the lighting in your pod changes color. Slick. Very uber-modern and trendalicious. Can't see why there isn't ten of these in Manhattan and LA already.
Other than that, the "Asian" food was typical but good, and the modern plastic furniture surprisingly convertible. Conveniently located across the street from UPenn, the bar is apparently where all the beautiful people hang out.
When Branson builds his Space Tours lounge, this is probably what it will look like.
The coolest thing was the large 9 button panel on the wall of the "pod" tables. Press the button and the lighting in your pod changes color. Slick. Very uber-modern and trendalicious. Can't see why there isn't ten of these in Manhattan and LA already.
Other than that, the "Asian" food was typical but good, and the modern plastic furniture surprisingly convertible. Conveniently located across the street from UPenn, the bar is apparently where all the beautiful people hang out.
taxis in LA suck
Stood around UCLA for an hour waiting for our taxi to arrive.
When we went back for the evening presentation, I gave the driver an extra 20 and specifically told him to come back at 7:30 so that we could make it to the airport in time for our Philly flights.
So I'm on the curb at 7:30 and there's no cab. I ask the parking lot attendant and she's all "Oh he just left. He was here since 7." DUDE, did I not give you twenty bucks and say 7:30? My kingdom for a common language spoken by both taxi drivers and riders.
So we called for another cab and it showed up in 15 minutes. LA 15 minutes, which is closer to 45.
And the Russian (?) dude driving (whose car was absolutely infused with a painful garlic odor) proceeded to lament about "the conspiracy" to move people around and rob locals of jobs. And what am I doing in LA? Uh, recruiting. I am the enemy. I work for the man.
Managed to make it to LAX in one piece and had an uneventful flight to Killadelphia.
Got checked in to Rittenhouse Hotel about 6am and slept until noon, then did interviews all afternoon.
Nice suite, btw. Jacuzzi bathtub, full kitchen, and FREE WIRELESS. Thank you, finally.
When we went back for the evening presentation, I gave the driver an extra 20 and specifically told him to come back at 7:30 so that we could make it to the airport in time for our Philly flights.
So I'm on the curb at 7:30 and there's no cab. I ask the parking lot attendant and she's all "Oh he just left. He was here since 7." DUDE, did I not give you twenty bucks and say 7:30? My kingdom for a common language spoken by both taxi drivers and riders.
So we called for another cab and it showed up in 15 minutes. LA 15 minutes, which is closer to 45.
And the Russian (?) dude driving (whose car was absolutely infused with a painful garlic odor) proceeded to lament about "the conspiracy" to move people around and rob locals of jobs. And what am I doing in LA? Uh, recruiting. I am the enemy. I work for the man.
Managed to make it to LAX in one piece and had an uneventful flight to Killadelphia.
Got checked in to Rittenhouse Hotel about 6am and slept until noon, then did interviews all afternoon.
Nice suite, btw. Jacuzzi bathtub, full kitchen, and FREE WIRELESS. Thank you, finally.
sfo
NOT free wireless. And not free at the Mandarin Hotel, either. OK, at the airport I can sort of get it; let tMobile or whomever charge 10 bucks for people sitting around at the gate bored so that they can get some good internets lovin'.
But what is it with the Mandarin, and in fact most reasonably nice hotels, charging $12.95 a day for wired (not even wireless) internet? No problem charging $7 for the Snickers in the minibar; I certainly don't have to eat it. But I'm on bid'ness (you did notice the corporate rate and the corporate Amex card?) -- it's all about teh internets, man. Get me some work done. Check me some emailses. Surf me some websiteses.
So anyway yesterday I landed about 10am and got to the hotel at about 11am. No check-in until 3pm. And there was no request for early check-in (note to self: remind desk assistant to request early check-in when my flight lands anytime before 3pm.)
So I grabbed the blackberry charger an hit the local Starbucks rip-off. Nice Chai lattes, free eletricity, good comfy chair for napping.
After I checked in I got dim sum with the ladies M & E and parentals, then crashed early.
This morning I had some Peets (again a quality soy Chai latte) and a killer brekkie burrito (chicken and bacon: soul mates from the dawn of time) with Petey LongShort and Jensui.
I then headed off to Berkeley to have a chat with the kiddies about life and gainful employment. A summary: remember all those morons you're linked to on Facebook as one of them is gonna give you a job some day.
Next stop: El Lay.
But what is it with the Mandarin, and in fact most reasonably nice hotels, charging $12.95 a day for wired (not even wireless) internet? No problem charging $7 for the Snickers in the minibar; I certainly don't have to eat it. But I'm on bid'ness (you did notice the corporate rate and the corporate Amex card?) -- it's all about teh internets, man. Get me some work done. Check me some emailses. Surf me some websiteses.
So anyway yesterday I landed about 10am and got to the hotel at about 11am. No check-in until 3pm. And there was no request for early check-in (note to self: remind desk assistant to request early check-in when my flight lands anytime before 3pm.)
So I grabbed the blackberry charger an hit the local Starbucks rip-off. Nice Chai lattes, free eletricity, good comfy chair for napping.
After I checked in I got dim sum with the ladies M & E and parentals, then crashed early.
This morning I had some Peets (again a quality soy Chai latte) and a killer brekkie burrito (chicken and bacon: soul mates from the dawn of time) with Petey LongShort and Jensui.
I then headed off to Berkeley to have a chat with the kiddies about life and gainful employment. A summary: remember all those morons you're linked to on Facebook as one of them is gonna give you a job some day.
Next stop: El Lay.
the asswipe chronicles
So Brad wrote about this guy who left the retreat early without even telling anyone: asswipe.
The guy gets into a back-n-forth with Brad via email, and Brad writes about him again.
Seems Mr.Wipe is also posting to a thread on BigDaikon where they take Brad apart.
I find this whole thing amusing on so many levels.
First there's just the basic joy of the teh internets, where shredding people is a sport honed to a fine art and everyone's an expert.
Second is the whole expectation vs. reality argument, and I should know because I'm the disciple in the video they discuss. I guess it was one of those you-had-to-be-there experiences. We didn't really practice at all, and Brad had never done a precepts ceremony before, and like I said before it's really quite boring. So we bumbled through it. I guess it "should" have been more sacred and humble and servile and holy and serious so that it meets everyone's expectations about what a "real" Buddhist ceremony is...or something, who knows.
I guess Brad should shave his head, too, and end all his emails with "In Sangha" or "Gassho" or "Asala malekum" or something too.
Third is the Big Question About Zazen: what is "real" Buddhism? Brad has as pretty clear idea, which he got from Nishijima-sensei. Other Buddhist and so-called Buddhists have other ideas. Soto vs. Rinzai. Tibetan vs. Korean. Blah vs. blah.
Bottom line is: you come to a Dogen Sangha retreat, you should expect to do it Dogen Sangha's way.
Forth and final is the general asswipiness of the situation. And I quote:
And that is easily the most fundamentally asswipe thing he did. The year before there were a couple of participants who had misgivings about participating and they had a long chat with Brad and finally decided not to stay until the end. Courteous, honest, and manageable. This guy just walked out and didn't even tell his friend.
So for anyone thinking about coming on the retreat sometime, here's a hint: there is one way to do it: Dogen Sangha's way. It is not a vacation. You are an active participant, and not fulfilling your basic responsibilities (cleaning, meal service, set up, etc.) is just a basic asswipe thing to do.
But what do I know? I'm just a mindless Brad worshiper after all!
The guy gets into a back-n-forth with Brad via email, and Brad writes about him again.
Seems Mr.Wipe is also posting to a thread on BigDaikon where they take Brad apart.
I find this whole thing amusing on so many levels.
First there's just the basic joy of the teh internets, where shredding people is a sport honed to a fine art and everyone's an expert.
Second is the whole expectation vs. reality argument, and I should know because I'm the disciple in the video they discuss. I guess it was one of those you-had-to-be-there experiences. We didn't really practice at all, and Brad had never done a precepts ceremony before, and like I said before it's really quite boring. So we bumbled through it. I guess it "should" have been more sacred and humble and servile and holy and serious so that it meets everyone's expectations about what a "real" Buddhist ceremony is...or something, who knows.
I guess Brad should shave his head, too, and end all his emails with "In Sangha" or "Gassho" or "Asala malekum" or something too.
Third is the Big Question About Zazen: what is "real" Buddhism? Brad has as pretty clear idea, which he got from Nishijima-sensei. Other Buddhist and so-called Buddhists have other ideas. Soto vs. Rinzai. Tibetan vs. Korean. Blah vs. blah.
Bottom line is: you come to a Dogen Sangha retreat, you should expect to do it Dogen Sangha's way.
Forth and final is the general asswipiness of the situation. And I quote:
"And then there was me, the Philosopher King, who was invited by a friend. I didn't have any expectations going into the event. I just wanted to take a holiday, travel and profit from the experience. I did all three."Not sure why anyone would think a zazen retreat is a holiday, but whatever I am honestly glad he profited from the experience, got his holiday and did his travelling. I certainly do NOT think Mr.Wipe had no expectations. In fact he could have confronted his expectations if he spent some more time sitting staring at the wall, alone with his thoughts. But that didn't happen, because by the time I showed up, he had already taken off.
And that is easily the most fundamentally asswipe thing he did. The year before there were a couple of participants who had misgivings about participating and they had a long chat with Brad and finally decided not to stay until the end. Courteous, honest, and manageable. This guy just walked out and didn't even tell his friend.
So for anyone thinking about coming on the retreat sometime, here's a hint: there is one way to do it: Dogen Sangha's way. It is not a vacation. You are an active participant, and not fulfilling your basic responsibilities (cleaning, meal service, set up, etc.) is just a basic asswipe thing to do.
But what do I know? I'm just a mindless Brad worshiper after all!
midnight oil
No, not the Aussie band, the stuff one burns when one stays at work all evening into the wee hours. Been cranking hard lately at work; taking on more and more as the empire expands. Also I'll be out of the office from next week for several weeks; recruiting and then some much needed vacation, so I'm trying to get caught up before I get buried. And of course it's the end-of-the-year budget and planning time when all hell breaks loose, so I do not lack for work, surely.
carolina blue fire engine
carolina blue fire engine
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Papa is experiencing massive south-of-the-mason-dixon culture shock. Apparently locals are such rabid fans of UNC, even the fire engines are "Carolina blue".
Americans is some strange people...
brunch then bbq
Never let a little rain stop a good plan for some quality eats. First we headed to Suji's for their most killer brunch; hugemongous omlets, eggs benedict, Canadian bacon, fresh pancakes...we were asked some soon-to-parents advice, and since we're no pros all of 10 months into it, we had plenty to review.
After that The Eng called and we headed to his place for a bbq. After napalming the coals we did some proper fleshy animal sacrifices and Tonchan even took a nap as I held her. I think she's getting used to me, or at least tolerates me when she's really tired.
After that The Eng called and we headed to his place for a bbq. After napalming the coals we did some proper fleshy animal sacrifices and Tonchan even took a nap as I held her. I think she's getting used to me, or at least tolerates me when she's really tired.
urahara
P had an appointment at 2 to get her haircut, so we cruised to Aoyama and a did a wee walkabout; had lunch at Crayon House and then did some Tonchan shopping at the Gap where she picked up some warmer long sleeved stuff and a mad cool camo jacket.
Then we hussled up the Harajuku backstreets to UR. I had Tonchan securely strapped in and it was getting on nap time, so I walked over to the X-Large store and the thumping hip hop beats lulled her right to sleep.
After P's cut we went back to the shop so I could fulfill my autumn jacket need with a sweet blue reversible jacket.
Then we hussled back to the home territory and I got myseld a pedicure and manicure. I would to claim I got the extremities treatment because I'm a raging metrosexual narcissist. Sadly the truth is that I have weak nails, dry skin, and seriously skanky toes. They went to work on me with tools I recognized from wood shop class in junior high, and after a couple hours with the belt sander I was looking fine.
Then we hussled up the Harajuku backstreets to UR. I had Tonchan securely strapped in and it was getting on nap time, so I walked over to the X-Large store and the thumping hip hop beats lulled her right to sleep.
After P's cut we went back to the shop so I could fulfill my autumn jacket need with a sweet blue reversible jacket.
Then we hussled back to the home territory and I got myseld a pedicure and manicure. I would to claim I got the extremities treatment because I'm a raging metrosexual narcissist. Sadly the truth is that I have weak nails, dry skin, and seriously skanky toes. They went to work on me with tools I recognized from wood shop class in junior high, and after a couple hours with the belt sander I was looking fine.
i am brad warner's brain-washed zen drone
DSCN6824-s
Originally uploaded by renfield.
Brad loves this photo, for obvious reasons. This and other photos are now available from my jukai ceremony.
There is also a video. But this is just the end of the ceremony, it doesn't show the part where Brad goes "Do not live by selling liquor...didn't even know her!"
Also note that we are so amazingly serene, holy, enlightened beings we had to...use the script. Because Brad had never done the ceremony before and I'd only seen it once.
loverly saturday
Had a late end to an hellatious week at work; finally left the office at 10:30 on Friday and walked home, attempting to short cut through Roppongi down Toriizaka and instead discovering many a dead end in that heretofore unexplored neighborhood.
Tonchan woke me up this morning in standard face-slapping fashion and all three of us headed to the dentist so that P could get her teeth cleaned. Ton was in a good mood and I carried her the whole time. She fell asleep right on schedule and napped nearly an hour, waking up just when P was done.
We all cruised home and then I dropped off the dry cleaning before hitting zazen.
On the way back I stopped by the dentist again to pick up Ton's toys that we forgot, then I took the Big Laundry (sofa cover, etc.) to the laundromat down the street. There was an (American?) kid doing laundry reading a Dungeons & Dragons book and since I was a mad D&D freak when I was his age we got into some deep discussions about the merits of halfling thieves versus half-ork berserkers, multiple weapon wielding, the new bleed-to-death rules and the magic of inanimate objects. Plus we both agreed that flesh golems are just stupid.
Tonchan woke me up this morning in standard face-slapping fashion and all three of us headed to the dentist so that P could get her teeth cleaned. Ton was in a good mood and I carried her the whole time. She fell asleep right on schedule and napped nearly an hour, waking up just when P was done.
We all cruised home and then I dropped off the dry cleaning before hitting zazen.
On the way back I stopped by the dentist again to pick up Ton's toys that we forgot, then I took the Big Laundry (sofa cover, etc.) to the laundromat down the street. There was an (American?) kid doing laundry reading a Dungeons & Dragons book and since I was a mad D&D freak when I was his age we got into some deep discussions about the merits of halfling thieves versus half-ork berserkers, multiple weapon wielding, the new bleed-to-death rules and the magic of inanimate objects. Plus we both agreed that flesh golems are just stupid.
maid cafe and homecoming
It has been a truly and royally hellatorius* week. The newly implemented Financial Instruments and Echange Law has been making my job complicated. Like most things implemented by the Japanese governmental bureaucracy, the intentions are wonderful and the execution atrocious. It seems there are not too many folks in the Ministry of Finance who actually have any clue how the professional, international banking and trading world works. It is not hard to imagine why there is no significant hedge fund presence on shore, for example. Lesse, here's your options:
Establish fund onshore, pay obscene taxes, be held to deleterious disclosure obligations, and be subject to patently xenophobic regulation by at best incompetent authorities whilst bearing the brunt of one of the most expensive cities in the world. Oh yeah, and there are no where near enough accountants and lawyers.
OR
Establish fund in Singapore/Hong Kong, get massive tax breaks, be surrounded by an absolutely humming infrastructure chock full of English fluent, competent support services, regulated by well-behaved and experienced self-policing organizations and pro-business authorities.
At lest when work was done we decided to hit the local maid cafe, GASH. Thursday nights it's open in the evening as a bar, so we headed down there with a quorum. Sadly, it was less than titillating. Besides the fact that the waitresses were dressed in poofy french maid outfits, the place was fairly typical. Decent fried chicken, small but cheap beverages, nice bathroom. The evening was definitely made by the entertaining stories of our former British Army and Queen's Royal Guard HR representative. The best thing about going out with Human Resources is it's like partying with your lawyer; everything you do and say is protected by their oath of secrecy.
A contingent went off in search of debauchery in Shinjuku and I walked home.
HOME, as in my apartment, not that stale hovel in Roppongi I've been living in for a couple of weeks. The ladies moved in earlier in the day and after getting a bit more intensive cleaning the place is once again livable. Took a shower in my newly renovated bathroom and am happy to report a lack of general flooding, so I think the problem is solved.
Establish fund onshore, pay obscene taxes, be held to deleterious disclosure obligations, and be subject to patently xenophobic regulation by at best incompetent authorities whilst bearing the brunt of one of the most expensive cities in the world. Oh yeah, and there are no where near enough accountants and lawyers.
OR
Establish fund in Singapore/Hong Kong, get massive tax breaks, be surrounded by an absolutely humming infrastructure chock full of English fluent, competent support services, regulated by well-behaved and experienced self-policing organizations and pro-business authorities.
At lest when work was done we decided to hit the local maid cafe, GASH. Thursday nights it's open in the evening as a bar, so we headed down there with a quorum. Sadly, it was less than titillating. Besides the fact that the waitresses were dressed in poofy french maid outfits, the place was fairly typical. Decent fried chicken, small but cheap beverages, nice bathroom. The evening was definitely made by the entertaining stories of our former British Army and Queen's Royal Guard HR representative. The best thing about going out with Human Resources is it's like partying with your lawyer; everything you do and say is protected by their oath of secrecy.
A contingent went off in search of debauchery in Shinjuku and I walked home.
HOME, as in my apartment, not that stale hovel in Roppongi I've been living in for a couple of weeks. The ladies moved in earlier in the day and after getting a bit more intensive cleaning the place is once again livable. Took a shower in my newly renovated bathroom and am happy to report a lack of general flooding, so I think the problem is solved.
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