No more burning the midnight toil (Mar 20th)

or the last six weeks, I've been working the most insane schedule.  Thanks to a graveyard shift, I’ve been sleeping during the day and working the entire night since early February.  Not that I mind working graveyard, but my scheduled days off (Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays) made it impossible to return to Los Angeles or have a life without weekends off.  Sparing the details, this arrangement occurred because of a schedule miscommunication between myself and HSBC's Human Resources department.  And for the last six weeks, I've been trying to fix it with the situation exerting a lot of stress and distraction on my life.

Fortunately, it's finally been resolved and I'll be returning to a more traditional schedule tomorrow thanks to my managers who’ve been understanding about my situation.  I'm so relieved since I was prepared to resign if I couldn't be reassigned.  In addition to the pain of finding another job and undergoing weeks of training again at another company, I really want to stay at HSBC.  This is one of the rare moments in my short career where I'm very proud of the organization where I work (thanks to their Hong Kong connection).  In addition, a traditional schedule means it would feel like I’m working at a real office again.  During graveyard hours, the huge building is so quiet and deserted, it felt a bit creepy and surreal.

So yeah, I'm excited about the prospect of having a life again!  Not only can I return to Los Angeles, but I'm looking to volunteering and perhaps return to graduate school someday.

A sprinkle of winter (Mar 18th)

he other night, as I left work, snow was falling!  Yeah, it's lame getting so excited about it since it's not like I've never felt snow before.  But my contact with it usually occurs during vacation, not in the city where I live and work. 

That evening, it wasn't plowing down heavily -- just light snow flurries.  Still, it was a new experience nevertheless.

A tale of two states (Mar 7th)

fter several months of life in the Nevada desert, I've realized there's good reason why cost-of-living in California is so expensive.  It's because California is a nice place to live.  Sure, there are state income taxes, traffic snarls and higher unemployment.  But in California, there are also beaches, temperate climate and a boundless and diversified international economy for one to pursue their dreams.

But by far, California's most valued asset is its people and culture.  I'll probably get flamed for being an elitist, but I can keenly sense the difference between a college-educated population from a non-college educated one.  I can tell them apart in their demeanor, their sense of ambition and their acceptance of different people and cultures.  It's no wonder why many recent residents complain about the lack of culture and diversity here in Vegas.

Of course, California also has its share of undesirables, flunkies and criminal elements.  But on the education and diversity podium, the Golden State stands steps above the Silver State.  Living in Vegas city is like flying on Southwest: you get the basics without the extra nonsense. The basics may be more than enough to live on, but the nonsense are what makes life worth living.

Despite the difference in demographics, things are improving for Sin City.  As California refugees pour in, Las Vegas is slowly adopting California ways of life, whether it's reflected in the construction of Fry's Electronics or the rapidly growing Chinatown along Spring Mountain Road.  For myself, though, life in Las Vegas may never be as comfortable or interesting as California.  But this a good and interesting city to hang out before venturing towards another destination someday.

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (Mar 5th)

oday, I saw the best documentary ever! It was called Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room.  Regardless of one's political views, it's hard not to get intrigued, angry and emotional while watching it.  Of course, being a documentary about Enron, it's impossible to remove all political bias and overtones.  But the producers kept the political grandstanding to a minimum, making it a reasonably fair piece which attacked politicians on both sides of the aisle.

My only complaint was that the movie didn't show exactly how Enron, through its complicated corporate structure and dealings, orchestrated one of the biggest scams in history.  But of course, the intrigue was probably too complicated for laymen's eyes and certainly beyond the scope of a ninety-minute film.  Still, it gave a thorough picture of the personalities involved, a general explanation of what happened, why it happened, and the political and financial institutions who willingly helped construct Enron's house of cards despite obvious impending doom.   Showcasing human's lust for greed, it may even dim your view of human nature a bit.

Coincidentally, the Oscars were tonight.  Unfortunately, Smartest got beat by a film about penguins for Best Documentary in 2005.  Still, the film piqued my interest in this subject and I'll be following closely the trial of Jeffrey Skillings and Ken Lay which started only a few weeks ago.