Tuesday, September 29, 2009

the cleveland show

Did anyone else think the pilot episode of The Cleveland Show was just awful?

Monday, September 28, 2009

cleaning, why carpet is awesome

As someone who doesn't make much of a mess and doesn't spill food (anymore) outside of the kitchen, I miss having carpeted floors in the rest of the apartment. I have tile and some faux hardwood floors in the living room and bedrooms. This is regrettable because carpet is excellent at hiding dust. But here, I see it piling up along the edges of the hallway, in the corners and breeding a fluffy army under my bed. Where, oh where does it come from? It just seems to ooze through the floors. And I refuse to mop. While I will wipe down the floors with a wet rag or sponge that works well for it, I refuse to mop. Mopping s not cleaning. It's just pushing wet dirt around. Evidently, the Swiffer has yet to break into the Hungarian market.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

time goes by

That's what it does. No stopping it.

Friday, September 25, 2009

another project in another country

Some things are just very satisfying to get done. Two weeks ago, I received a relatively panicked call from a more-or-less boss that some work that they had made a sales pitch on three months ago came together. We were awarded the work. That's good news (usually). The panic was because the job was in 10 days and the location that was supposed to cover the work was too busy to accommodate the work. And all the well programs we had were in Polish. Good times to be had by all.

But we're professionals (most of the time) and classy people (maybe?) and pulled a program together, got the testing done, loaded, hauled, delivered, and were generally awesome (except for the support we had to get from the original district which I am immensely unhappy with).

Good times had by all.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

buying a house

No, not me. But I have friends who are strongly considering buying a house. A house! This is the great step into adulthood that requires (or should at least require) true fiscal responsibility. People can get married. People can even have kids. But neither of those correlates well to fiscal responsibility. They should, but not always. Regrettably, not most of the time from what I have seen.

I realize home buying did not correlate very well to fiscal responsibility for the last several years. But this minor economic correction and slight decrease in home prices should smooth everything out. Ideally, we have ushered in a new era of fiscal responsibility, though there are some examples lurking of total idiocy. Really? A crane operator and a hair stylist bought a $750K home in this climate? WTF? Even when you run the numbers under an optimistic scenario like assuming they put 20% down, it's still a ridiculous monthly payment. And factor in insurance, taxes, regular home repairs and you just want to slap everyone involved from the couple who 'bought' the home, to the person who wrote the mortgage, to the person who approved it and even CNN for putting such apparent recklessness on their website and implicitly offering it up as some achievable goal. You're all idiots. Or worse. End rant.

Back to my friends, I suppose the worst thing about them purchasing a home is how un-adult I often feel. Sure, I'm working in a foreign country managing all sorts of, um, things, but I'm not buying a house. A house? Damn. Good luck. Don't be fooled by new paint.

Monday, September 21, 2009

fresh paint

We had some high level managers come through for a visit a couple days ago. So, we painted, you know, because paint solves all problems. Why is this done? Everywhere I have been, people do this. Can management not see through a fresh coat of paint? I suspect they can. I suspect they did (or at least considered doing) the exact same thing when they were at a location.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

i know that person

Read this article about the unrest in Gabon earlier this month related to the elections they had there. About halfway through the article, there is a reference to an injured SLB employee. I know that person. And it really bums me out. So, if you want to know, they have my emergency contact information. They have your names and numbers in case anything happens. Only the worst kinds of news travel fast.