India Report: Ooty

September 23, 2008 · Filed under Entertainment, India

I’m not sure if I’ve made it clear in the last post, but I’m back in India doing a project review in Bangalore and preparing for a sales call in Delhi.  It’s been pretty busy but I feel like we’re making lots of progress towards tackling the problems we’re encountering and making effective changes moving forward.

This whole thing is nowhere near as glamorous as it seems, though.  Being in India has seriously hampered Birth Month.  And that’s a major problem.  I’m working on a strategy for making up for lost time, but all my requests to the U.S. Government for “Free Money For Being Awesome” are getting rejected saying they’ve given all their free money to “Wall Street”, whatever that is.

There has been some time for relaxing, though.  My birthday was Saturday, and together with my coworkers who are here in India with me, we headed off to one of the old British Hill Stations, Ooty.  The British used to call it, “Snooty Ooty” but I have no idea why, aside from the obvious rhyme.  There must be another reason because most British quips are clever enough that I don’t get it, and I’m assuming this is the same.  It probably has something to do with Cricket.

While I’m on the topic of crap I don’t understand, what is the deal with Cricket?  I’ve watched at least three dozen games during my two visits to India, and I have absolutely no idea how it works.  I keep waiting for the guy to hit a “homer”.

Anyway, the road to Ooty is the worst I’ve ever been on.  Potholes you could loose a herd of Mongolian antelope in.  I think I might be done with road trips in India.  On the other hand, the road passed through a wild-life sanctuary where we got to see monkeys, elephants (captive), buffalo, and peacocks.  The journey concluded by passing over a mountain pass that was remarkably steep and twisty.  If not for the certainty of death by motor-vehicle impact, it would be a perfect road for riding.  What was really freaky for me is that Ooty is so far south that the tree line is crazy high.  The pass was somewhere around 2600 or 2800 meters, and we were still well below the tree line.  In France, the roads we ride have the tree line around 2000 meters; at 2600 meters, you’re on some of the highest roads in Europe and riding through glaciers.

Ooty itself was beautiful.  Nestled into the valley, it has a very strong Tibetan presence since the government of Tamil Nadu has given Tibetan refugees permission to live and work in Ooty.  Between the scenery, the usual Indian city energy, and the Prayer Flags hanging from most buildings, it was an amazing place to visit.

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Nee hep je al, ja kan je nog krijgen

September 15, 2008 · Filed under Entertainment

I believe this is the first bit of advise I ever received: “Nee hep je al, ja kan je nog krijgen”.  Translated in a practical way that doesn’t capture it’s meaning, it means, “You already have a ‘No’, but you can still get a ‘Yes’.”  My grandmother gave that advise to me.  Given that she is Dutch, I’m assuming I didn’t ask for it.  That’s the way the Dutch roll: advise is only worth the inverse proportion of how much it’s asked for.

No matter how you spin it, it all comes down to this: Dutch people are always right.  Seriously.  It’s a little freaky.

I’ve been working on a collaborative software development effort between a team in Seattle, WA and Bangalore, India for the last nine months, and – despite our various successes -  we’ve had numerous recurring problems both in the U.S. and in India.

That recurring problem is a lack of communication.  That’s what Oma was trying to tell me all along: if you don’t know how to ask for what you need, you will never be helped.

It’s more pronounced in a dual-shore scenario, but the problem has been there in every project I’ver ever worked on.  In a way it’s funny that communication has been my biggest obstacle in my professional career – it’s funny because Oma has been whispering the answer to me my whole life.

Thanks, Oma.  I get it now.  It only took 32 years, but I got it.  And, by the way, Haap is here with me and is still wearing the green outfit you made for him when I was six.

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