So time goes by in a fast paced swirl, and all of a sudden this Wednesday things start to feel like a normal weekday, every day life sort of thing, "vardag" in Swedish.
Not in a bad way though. I still think it is interesting, I'm still surprised every now and then of how things are: not like home and just like home. But I guess I'm beginning to settle in.
Yesterday I played RPG in English for the first time. It was somewhat limiting to the imagination but more so to my extrovert behaviour. But that can also have something to do with not actually knowing anyone around the table and also their strange playing style that was more scene built and almost always ended with some kind of skill check. The Game master, who was good in several ways, knowledgeable, inviting to co-create and with an eye for epic storytelling actually at one point said something like: 'I want it to be quantified by a roll'. Unexpected for me. And also players that argued with the GM. That I have never understood.
Anyway at the office work is progressing. It is kind of hard to know if the things you make are good or bad in the eyes of your bosses. I don´t know them so I can not evaluate the word they use in a context of are the disappointed or not? Probably very Nordic to think like this: I´m very bad, but so are all of you... instead of the American version: You are very good, but so am I... Just read that in a book about Google. I Finn who quit there had the same perspective. Although he was very good...
Rant ends here, just going say that since it is soon 4th of July the American Independence day we will be free half Friday afternoon and both Monday and Tuesday. Apparently we have a new boss in the building and he wants to make a good impression I have been told. He impresses me anyway, I had been told people mostly work here and are seldom on vacation. I think this has been proven wrong to me now.
NY
onsdag 29 juni 2011
måndag 27 juni 2011
Monday!
After this weekends celebration of tradition (Midsummer) and the breaking of tradition (Pride) I came to the office ready to work hard. I was soon made aware that we had a meeting with the whole D2C. It was a somewhat interesting affair and to further my happiness no one seemed to be the kind that just had to ask questions for the sake of it. After that it was back to my first project since the design work I did last week was deemed ready and my own project needed my attention. I worked with that for most of the day and just as the clock was getting near that time when you leave for home an emergency in another project landed me the possibility to do something completely different. I got briefed on some mock-ups for a sale that needed to be ready at one o´clock tomorrow. So I dug in to that, and worked until ten downing my first four (4) doughnuts in the process. Interesting work, I´m far from done yet but I think that I can make it in time before lunch tomorrow.
Getting home tonight I found a letter from the the social security administration with my card, yey!
I´m sure there was more thing I should have written here, but it is late and I can´t remember anything more.
Getting home tonight I found a letter from the the social security administration with my card, yey!
I´m sure there was more thing I should have written here, but it is late and I can´t remember anything more.
torsdag 23 juni 2011
Midsummer
So today was midsummer. I celebrated with pancakes. Yey! I love pancakes. Although these where not the best I ever had or done. My kitchen is not very well equiped. But they where good enough. Tomorrow will be the american midsommar: We have all been invited by the Swedish Consulate to attend a midsummer picknick in Battery Park. Most of my Hypers will come I have been told. Hope it will be fun and that the weather stops being so Swedish. Yes, it rained today. And yesterday which lead to a major flooding at the office. So there was something good with me being placed in the other end of the building without internet.
I actually had quite an exciting week. I have changed seating several times, including last week I have had five different desks. I´m working on 2 different projects. I can write a bit about one of them, the other is of course secret. The first mentioned I will come back to, don´t you worry, and the second one will be published and then I can bragg about my insignificant contribution. At some time I must also rant about interning. Not that I actually want to complain. My situation is completely acceptable. It is the other interns and the conditions they work under. But that is a story for later. There are som things to get back to...
Not wanting to sleep gives you some perspective on things. I just realized that almost the whole week has passed. I wrote this Monday but it feels like yesterday. And still although time is rushing on I feel lonley several times a day. That are other topics for discussion, have to get back to that as well.
Looking at the watch tells me 2 things: 1 I should sleep now and 2 this post is also written on Friday as well as Thursday. Not the 2 most interesting observations I have ever done, but none the less... time has come to say good night!
I actually had quite an exciting week. I have changed seating several times, including last week I have had five different desks. I´m working on 2 different projects. I can write a bit about one of them, the other is of course secret. The first mentioned I will come back to, don´t you worry, and the second one will be published and then I can bragg about my insignificant contribution. At some time I must also rant about interning. Not that I actually want to complain. My situation is completely acceptable. It is the other interns and the conditions they work under. But that is a story for later. There are som things to get back to...
Not wanting to sleep gives you some perspective on things. I just realized that almost the whole week has passed. I wrote this Monday but it feels like yesterday. And still although time is rushing on I feel lonley several times a day. That are other topics for discussion, have to get back to that as well.
Looking at the watch tells me 2 things: 1 I should sleep now and 2 this post is also written on Friday as well as Thursday. Not the 2 most interesting observations I have ever done, but none the less... time has come to say good night!
I´m back!
20/6
So it is monday. Today was my first day of unwanted vacation. And then like a lightning strike I got called in to the HR office to show my letter. I did and the letter did not contain any useful information so then I headed back to the Social Security Office and asked them for a reference number, again. They did not give it to me this time either, but instead they actually gave me my social security number: That was to easy. The rest of the day I have been doing on-boarding as it is called, in a less formal tongue I would just call it paperwork. It had me read several documents of legal texts. I do not know if there actually was a meaning to it. I read it and could not find anything stating clearly how I should fill out my W4-form so I went for as little as possible: no deductions and no allowances. I might be totally wrong on this, but as far as I know I do not have kids, here or elsewhere.
So now I´m waiting to meet Laurie who will get the headache of getting me somewhere to sit, right now I put my ass on her chair since she is not here.
No vacation for me, just as I had started to adjust to that thought... and all the food I bought yesterday. Well I guess I will just have to eat in these coming nights. It will be nice, I don´t have any friends anyway. ;-) Let´s go to work!
Now all I actually need is a internet connection.
So it is monday. Today was my first day of unwanted vacation. And then like a lightning strike I got called in to the HR office to show my letter. I did and the letter did not contain any useful information so then I headed back to the Social Security Office and asked them for a reference number, again. They did not give it to me this time either, but instead they actually gave me my social security number: That was to easy. The rest of the day I have been doing on-boarding as it is called, in a less formal tongue I would just call it paperwork. It had me read several documents of legal texts. I do not know if there actually was a meaning to it. I read it and could not find anything stating clearly how I should fill out my W4-form so I went for as little as possible: no deductions and no allowances. I might be totally wrong on this, but as far as I know I do not have kids, here or elsewhere.
So now I´m waiting to meet Laurie who will get the headache of getting me somewhere to sit, right now I put my ass on her chair since she is not here.
No vacation for me, just as I had started to adjust to that thought... and all the food I bought yesterday. Well I guess I will just have to eat in these coming nights. It will be nice, I don´t have any friends anyway. ;-) Let´s go to work!
Now all I actually need is a internet connection.
Kicked OUT!
17/6
Coming to work today became something of a great disappointment. I had a meeting with HR to do what is called on-boarding. And when it turned out that I do not have a social security number yet I was informed that there are rules that say that I can´t be on-boarded, meaning that I can not be at the office. So I immediately went to the social security office to apply for said number, but it can take up to 2 weeks to get it so now I have even more vacation time, up side of this is that it is time spent in NY, instead of Sthlm. So I asked my networks for ideas and some have been coming in: I don´t think that I will be bored this coming week, but I think that I would rather work. I know that the money could be put to use...
Coming to work today became something of a great disappointment. I had a meeting with HR to do what is called on-boarding. And when it turned out that I do not have a social security number yet I was informed that there are rules that say that I can´t be on-boarded, meaning that I can not be at the office. So I immediately went to the social security office to apply for said number, but it can take up to 2 weeks to get it so now I have even more vacation time, up side of this is that it is time spent in NY, instead of Sthlm. So I asked my networks for ideas and some have been coming in: I don´t think that I will be bored this coming week, but I think that I would rather work. I know that the money could be put to use...
Second day in NY, first day at Sony
16/6 A strange feeling of being alone in a city /that never sleeps/you do not know/that is unknown...
Second day in NY, first day at Sony. I´m a bit early, it was much faster to go by the subway when you knew how to. So I have taken a seat in the so called Sky Lobby. Here there is a security check where you are to present a photo id to get past the two suited guardsmen. And of course a very pleasant receptionist who scanned my business card and took my picture before he called Laurie and found out that she wasn´t there yet. That I told him that I was early did not mean anything to him until he noticed that she was not at her desk. Any way, it is no problem at all. It gives me time to write my first thoughts. Although I can not help noticing how some people just don´t listen. And with some people I would have to mean most of the population of humans.
There is a lot of people passing through the Sky lobby on this Thursday morning. The guardsmen are kidding around with people and being very friendly. I would like to see whet happens if someone tries to slip by without the id. Should I try? Of course not. Looking at the people passing by it seems any clothes are good. I´ll be in t-shirt tomorrow.
Everyone seems to be on such familiar basis, you would almost think that you are in the Cosby-show some such super friendly TV-series.
Ok so what happened yesterday? After landing I was admitted into the states after a digital fingerprint scan. It took maybe 30 minutes of queuing. Then I was told that I could not buy any phone or sim card at the airport which to me looks like such a business opportunity?!
I managed to get to the first apartment and I found it agreeable. So I decided to take it, but I had some problems getting enough cash so it took some time and before I was done with that and had made my way to the Sony building the clock had passed five. Somehow everything moved in slow motion yesterday. Maybe just jet lag?
After scouting the location, and buying a severely more expensive tube-card than stated by people I asked I had all the cash I needed to pay for security and my first half month rent.
After that I had the experience of trying to go shopping for food. I was really disappointed and I can clearly see why there is an obesity problem in this country. Most of the foodstuffs that you can buy in normal every street stores are processed, and by processed I mean to the point where only the microwave can make the food appear in a eatable state. And the sugar-coating of things... I did not do the math myself but judging from the colourful packages my appraisal, take out of thin air is that about 30% of everything eatable in that store was sugar. It seems like it will be hard to find good food here, or at least in my neighbourhood.
Now the guards are kissing another female guard with orange hair and an ill fitting suit. She was big that woman, but still there has to be someone in this city who can sew a good suit for her?
It seems that there are some people here who can not get in before someone vouch for them. They sit here opposite me and wait for something. I hope that I will not have to sit here tomorrow like them. But we will see. The time is now ten and I should be picked up any minute now. The telephone of the reception sounds like the one CTU in 24 has, but not exactly, it is probably not a coincident, but rather a normal sound for office phones here.
Will I also be doing high fives with the guards in a couple of weeks? It seems a little forced: are they really such good buddies? Do they go to BBQ-parties together, play softball or do some sailing? Maybe they went to the same school and... no. They see each other everyday and maybe just maybe they even know each others last name. That is the extent of it. Time is now five minutes or even six minutes past ten and people are still pouring in. I guess this place is not strict on the work hours. And starting at ten! Then you can take a jog in the morning or commute from really far away. Now we are 7 people sitting in the waiting area and another five or so at the reception. Many visitors... But I understand that this is a big workplace.
Second day in NY, first day at Sony. I´m a bit early, it was much faster to go by the subway when you knew how to. So I have taken a seat in the so called Sky Lobby. Here there is a security check where you are to present a photo id to get past the two suited guardsmen. And of course a very pleasant receptionist who scanned my business card and took my picture before he called Laurie and found out that she wasn´t there yet. That I told him that I was early did not mean anything to him until he noticed that she was not at her desk. Any way, it is no problem at all. It gives me time to write my first thoughts. Although I can not help noticing how some people just don´t listen. And with some people I would have to mean most of the population of humans.
There is a lot of people passing through the Sky lobby on this Thursday morning. The guardsmen are kidding around with people and being very friendly. I would like to see whet happens if someone tries to slip by without the id. Should I try? Of course not. Looking at the people passing by it seems any clothes are good. I´ll be in t-shirt tomorrow.
Everyone seems to be on such familiar basis, you would almost think that you are in the Cosby-show some such super friendly TV-series.
Ok so what happened yesterday? After landing I was admitted into the states after a digital fingerprint scan. It took maybe 30 minutes of queuing. Then I was told that I could not buy any phone or sim card at the airport which to me looks like such a business opportunity?!
I managed to get to the first apartment and I found it agreeable. So I decided to take it, but I had some problems getting enough cash so it took some time and before I was done with that and had made my way to the Sony building the clock had passed five. Somehow everything moved in slow motion yesterday. Maybe just jet lag?
After scouting the location, and buying a severely more expensive tube-card than stated by people I asked I had all the cash I needed to pay for security and my first half month rent.
After that I had the experience of trying to go shopping for food. I was really disappointed and I can clearly see why there is an obesity problem in this country. Most of the foodstuffs that you can buy in normal every street stores are processed, and by processed I mean to the point where only the microwave can make the food appear in a eatable state. And the sugar-coating of things... I did not do the math myself but judging from the colourful packages my appraisal, take out of thin air is that about 30% of everything eatable in that store was sugar. It seems like it will be hard to find good food here, or at least in my neighbourhood.
Now the guards are kissing another female guard with orange hair and an ill fitting suit. She was big that woman, but still there has to be someone in this city who can sew a good suit for her?
It seems that there are some people here who can not get in before someone vouch for them. They sit here opposite me and wait for something. I hope that I will not have to sit here tomorrow like them. But we will see. The time is now ten and I should be picked up any minute now. The telephone of the reception sounds like the one CTU in 24 has, but not exactly, it is probably not a coincident, but rather a normal sound for office phones here.
Will I also be doing high fives with the guards in a couple of weeks? It seems a little forced: are they really such good buddies? Do they go to BBQ-parties together, play softball or do some sailing? Maybe they went to the same school and... no. They see each other everyday and maybe just maybe they even know each others last name. That is the extent of it. Time is now five minutes or even six minutes past ten and people are still pouring in. I guess this place is not strict on the work hours. And starting at ten! Then you can take a jog in the morning or commute from really far away. Now we are 7 people sitting in the waiting area and another five or so at the reception. Many visitors... But I understand that this is a big workplace.
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