HOLIDAY RUN-UP

Well, the holidays are upon us (the Judeo-Christian holidays anyway…. with our group “the holidays are upon us” is probably always true in one corner of the world or another). So, now, instead of writing about how many problems we all have, I am making a schizophrenic leap to writing about how fucking lucky we all are.

I, like probably all of you, have a fairly complicated and conflicted attitude towards philanthropy, all the more so having made the transition from social entrepreneur/NGO director to MBA (going from “business is the enemy” to “business is the answer” and now finding myself taking a bit from column A and a bit from column B). Nonetheless, there is no denying that we are all among the most fortunate people in the world...even those of us unemployed/saddled with debt. Think of how few people are even CAPABLE of piling up that much debt? Hehehe.

There was a fascinating article in the New York Times Magazine this week by a professor of philosophy from Princeton (Peter Singer) who was advancing a theory about how much of their worth people in the developed world should donate to help alleviate poverty in the developing world and all of the death, disease and all its other resultant tragedies. As a jumping off point, it used the same position that is the guiding principle of the Gates Foundation: “All lives- no matter where they are being led- have equal value.” From there, he examines certain actions to see how well they support the acceptance of that assertion. For example, if you are walking by a drowning child, even if you didn’t push him into the water, do you have a moral obligation to save him, assuming it would be easy to do so? Most of us would say yes. Well, what about if saving him would ruin a pair of $200 shoes (he used $90, but I know you guys)? Still, the answer would be yes. Well then, if there is an inoculation that would save the life of a child in a developing country that costs LESS than $200 and there is a way to ensure that by supplying the cost of that inoculation, the child would receive it, are we any LESS obligated to pay for that inoculation than we are to save the drowning child and ruin our shoes?

I'm not going to try to answer that question for anyone but myself, but no harm can come from each of us considering it.

Needless to say, there’s a lot more in the article, and you can reads the whole thing here if you like: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/17/magazine/17charity.t.html?_r=1&oref=slogin .

I just thought I’d throw that out...we should always be aware of how good we have things, and always be on the lookout for ways to make the world a better place, but now is traditionally a time for this sort of reflection, and, well, what can I say. I’m a sucker for tradition.

WEEKEND REPORT

I’ve realized pretty quickly that one of the worst things about being unemployed is the same as one of the worst things about having a job. When you are either employed or unemployed, that’s what people want to talk about. And the only thing more boring to talk about than your job is your lack of job/job search.

I’m getting tired of answering the “so, what are you going to do now?” “Oh, I sending stuff out…I applied for this one thing, talked to some people, thinking about a few different areas…” I have NOTHING against the people who ask these questions…they only ask them ONCE, but I answer them 500 times.

So, today, just so I could have something different to talk about, I responded to a request by a good friend of mine (she just had a baby). So, today, if you asked what I did, instead of saying any of the above, I would have answered you “well, I recorded an ambient-electro-lullaby cover of “When Doves Cry” by Prince with a good friend who I was in a band with when I was 11.”

Really?

“Yeah, well, I hadn’t done much music work since I shut down my record label, and, well, I’ve had some free time, and so when my friend asked me to record a version of that song, I said sure.”

So there it is…that’s now how I’m killing my time. Actually, truth be told, when you are used to doing things, and all of a sudden have nothing to do, it’s nice to have a tight little project, and finish it. It makes you feel good. And gives you something else to talk about for a while…well, a day anyway.

If you want to check it out, here it is, but I’ll warn you in advance, I sing on the track.


When Doves Cry....sort of

The Unemployment Report: Week 3

First of all, thanks to everyone for your expressions of support, sympathy, well wishing and everything else. It really has meant so much to me, and helped me keep my resolve.

I was amazed by how many people shared similar frustrations about their own jobs (isn’t it funny, no matter how many times we learn it’s not true, we still feel like we’re the only ones with the same problems) and were contemplating a similar move (or already had made one). Job frustration is not something that shows up on the post-INSEAD employment surveys we all get fed, so I think it came as a shock to many of us. For those of you who love your jobs, congratulations and continued happiness. Yours is a rare gift it seems. For those of you who don’t, I’m sorry. I hope things come right…and trust your instincts.

Well, I’m starting to get vaguely excited about job search 2.0. As I’m fond of [only half-sarcastically] saying recently, being single, unemployed, living with my parents (well for another 4 days), and turning 30 this month, SOMETHING needs to change. Many people like to tell me that persistence is crucial to solving life’s problems. I think for the job, that’s probably true….more effort yields more results, but as all of us who found our first post-MBA jobs to be not what we expected now know, it needs to be an elegant, sensitive persistence, not a beating-on-doors persistence.

As for persistence being the cure for single-hood, my mind is mixed. I do think most people end up with the person they end up with either because they chase after them and wear down their resistance, or are chased after and likewise worn down. You need the supreme effort on behalf of one party to establish the weight that ultimately anchors the relationship (the one side is unwilling to give up their hard-won prize, and the other, once won over, realizes how much effort went into the courtship). In my case however, I don’t think persistence is the answer. I’m not really one of those people who slowly let their personality out (as Chris Rock puts it, in most cases when you go on a first date with someone, you’re not meeting them, you’re meeting their representative). If you like me on day 1, you’ll like me on day 1000. On the other hand, if you don’t really like me on day 1, it’s not gonna get any better no matter how hard I try to convince you.

Anyway, I’m not looking for an immediate desinglization. With my luck, I’d meet someone who didn’t like snow and ruin the only concrete plan I have right now.

As for turning 30, well, I’ve explored the alternatives, and I’ve decided to just go ahead with it.