Translate

Monday, July 9, 2007

Kvetching Constructively

The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies or opinions.

Chuckle-flavored Yogurt

Reading "The Hindu" at breakfast this morning, I saw an article on an archeological dig, where the team determined that modern people were in India even longer ago than was previously known, and that they probably came from Africa, from where all of humanity originated.

"Why did *everyone* come from Africa, Pat?"

"Because that's where the aliens landed."

God, she's just what I need! Comic relief is so precious. I told our realtor of the exchange when we were apartment hunting today and she said, "That's a good one," barely laughing.

Pat said, "My humor's not as funny to anyone as it is to Sarah."

Home, Which Home?

The hunt drained us mentally, and we don't yet have a place for certain. It's between two and we'll have to see what's viable. We should know within a few days.

We rejected a third option because a) it was around the corner from where we heard the chanting on Saturday night and b) the tiny swimming pool looked more like an emerging terrarium.

A number of times during my commute to work, looking at street scenes, I've felt like I was in a time-machine, where I was part of ancient and modern eras at once.

Just now, thinking about looking for a home and about the newness of the assignment, I feel like I'm in a personal time machine, too, where I'm revisiting my past, of trying to find new shelter, which Pat and I haven't had to do since we bought our house 11 years ago, and of glimpsing my future, which seems to be wedded to helping leadership in emerging countries...I hope.

It's an exhausting and much more vivid life in parallel. I've written to some friends that either I'll age 10 years in India or become 10 years younger.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Sarah... Good luck with your home search. Am currently in Mumbai for 3 weeks and as much as I love it (my 4th trip for work), I'm not sure how I would go living here. Although I hear that Bangalore is quite different than here.

I'm really enjoying reading about your experiences - especially whilst I am in the same country. Have to admit to being a bit envious of you having Pat with you to share your experiences.

Cheers
Alex.

Sarah Siegel said...

Alex, thanks for your good wishes. I know I'm lucky most of all to have Pat here with me. Last night, we ate at the hotel next door, and I showed Pat the ballroom, where I facilitated one of our leadership development programs a couple of years ago. How neat to get to show, rather than just tell, her the places IBM has sent me on business.

Anonymous said...

Pat said, "My humor's not as funny to anyone as it is to Sarah."

Not true, not true! Pat cracks us up every time! She's truly one of the funniest people we know!

Also, some people are very stingy with their laughter, they just don't laugh out loud even if they get it. Too bad for them...