2004-08-30 - 3:14 p.m.
Wow. Nice view.
I’ve been in my new position for a week now, and so far it hasn’t been too bad. Oddly enough, I know more about some things than the people training me. The little details about internal processes and so forth are new to me, so I’ve got to learn how to read and process reports and monitor calls and finesse irate borrowers and so forth. The big thing will be enforcing discipline and making sure people do the work they’re supposed to do. Now, for years I’d been avoiding supervisory or authoritarian positions, simply because I didn’t want to be responsible for other peoples’ mistakes. I can control what I do. I can’t control anyone else, unless it’s with the threat of disciplinary action. Needless to say, disciplinary action can take a while when you’re dealing with a union and government HR departments. Ah well; they’re a good bunch all around.
Spent the weekend doing family things; Saturday we visited my mother for lunch. An old friend of hers showed up as well, so things were especially convivial. This old friend is from Ethiopia, and has a little business on the side selling coffee that she roasts herself. She’s looking to expand, so we spent some time talking about potential markets and customer needs and so forth. Coffee in Ethiopia has nearly sacred status; there’s a whole ritual involved with it similar to cha-no-yu. So she might come up with a sort of Pampered Chef thing; you go to a party, drink some great coffee, and at the end order some coffee beans, a pot, some incense and a burner, some cups, that sort of thing. Pretty cool idea.
Sunday was spent with my mother in-law’s family. They’re a large brood, given to bowhunting and NASCAR and rasslin’ and Toby Keith albums. Good people, for the most part, but they’re definitely Jeff Foxworthy material. The occasion was the first birthday party of the youngest grandchild, so I spent a lot of time sitting in the corner eating hot wings and keeping a weather eye out for the Professor. Relief came in the form of two cousins in their adolescence, one who’s into horror movies and fantasy novels, and the other who’s into soccer and music. Not that I’m into soccer and music, but the kid likes my sense of humor. So I wasn’t completely bored. When they found out about my checkered martial arts career, the conversation turned to throws and joint locks and all sorts of dirty tricks. The younger cousin is ten, and just staring to notice boys. Having a few killer moves in her repertoire certainly won’t hurt. I showed her hindu squats and told her they’d help with soccer, so we’ll see how that goes. If I can help mold her thinking about fitness and conditioning, so much the better. (I just love twisting young minds!)
