My last day at the UN.
We are handing in the report today and I must say I feel a big sense of accomplishment. The story of our report has been picked up by some papers and it is exciting to think that something I have been a part of might make a real, visible difference in the way one of the world's major institutions works. Here is an excerpt from the New York Sun:
"Two other outside consultant firms, Epstein and Fass Associates, and Eriksen, Faulkner, Foster, were hired to review staff outsourcing. Three options were suggested to enable the United Nations to farm out some in-house functions to private companies, specialists, and nongovernmental organizations. Undersecretary-general Jian Chen has already asked member states to relax U.N. rules that make outsourcing almost impossible."
http://www.nysun.com/article/27479
It is also a bit scary to think that the work we have done here might be used to change the UN for the worse, but I think we did as good a job as we could and helped them to outline where the real risks and opportunities are. They could have done a lot worse by going with dogmatic outsourcing consultants.
On another note, I am sad to leave New York. I realise now that making it in New York is not that easy, it requires a lot of hard work and a good deal of luck. Mostly, it invovles some sort of support throughout the process. For me, even though I would have parental support and could concievable live with them until I am able to move out on my own, the lack of American citizenship adds another level of complication to the whole issue. Not only would I have to find a job, I would have to find an employer who would be willing to go through the hassle of getting me a working permit. I think that at this stage, moving here is still somewhat unrealistic.
I am going to Ottawa tonight. I have not been there for a few years now and I am looking forward to seeing my relatives there. Of course, I am dissapointed that Rae will not be able to join me because I think we would have had a very good time together and that she would have gotten a lot out of seeing Ottawa and Montreal (which I will not visit). The reason that she is not coming is because her brother and her brother's girlfriend are coming to visit her in Vancouver, they are actually there right now. Because of my schedual, I will only be able to see them for one day, which is a shame when I think about the hospitality they showed me when I went to Taiwan.
I saw Roger last night. His nationalism and narrow minded view of the world scare and repulse me. I hope that he is able to move beyond these small thoughts. Maybe being so near China will give him the exposure he needs in order to see that the Chinese government is not the brilliant and benevolent institution that he believes it is.
I saw Jesse and his girlfriend Shera yesterday. It was a very pleasant visit. Jesse is going to try his best to make it in New York as a financial blah blah and I think he has a pretty good shot of making it. He is Jewish enough to network with the Jews, and secular enough to get along with everyone else, which are both important traits in New York. On a more selfish level, I am very happy that he is going to be living in the city because it means that I will have a place to stay when I come back to visit, or if I ever want to move here. Shera is a very nice, easy going person. I think the two of them get along well and are quite happy together. I wish them the best.
I will see Vincent this afternoon. As with Jesse, he is going to try to make it in New York. However, becuase he is still a student, his life is still very much about his studies at Columbia. I am very happy to have experienced a slice of this life with its inteligent people and international atmosphere. I hope he is able to find something good here because that would mean he is closer to me and if I were to ever move back to the city, we could hang out more.
As sad as I am to leave New York, the capital of the world, I am still exiced to go back to Vancouver. The prospect of starting again, but not from scratch is appealing. I am also looking forward to living on my own in Canada for the first time. At 22, it is really about time. I am also looking forward to being near Rae. Being with her makes me happy, and this is a good thing. In addition to her, I still have some friends, and a larger set of aquaintances and associates to keep me socially connected. My hope is that I can integrate her further into my social circles and that I will integrate into her social circles. Even though there are a few obvious problems with this, for a long term relationship to work, this is important.
Finally, I know I have said this before but it bears repeating, I need to find a decent job in Vancovuer. I know I will not be able to find anything as interesting as what I have been doing here, but in a fundamental way, my happiness will depend on what I spend most of my time doing in Vancouver. I also hope to be able to save some money to travel this summer. Unfortunately, it looks like Europe is out of the question, but there are still other places within the continent, that are fun and interesting to visit. This, of course, requires money...
I will be back in Vancouver soon... and maybe later back in New York too.
We are handing in the report today and I must say I feel a big sense of accomplishment. The story of our report has been picked up by some papers and it is exciting to think that something I have been a part of might make a real, visible difference in the way one of the world's major institutions works. Here is an excerpt from the New York Sun:
"Two other outside consultant firms, Epstein and Fass Associates, and Eriksen, Faulkner, Foster, were hired to review staff outsourcing. Three options were suggested to enable the United Nations to farm out some in-house functions to private companies, specialists, and nongovernmental organizations. Undersecretary-general Jian Chen has already asked member states to relax U.N. rules that make outsourcing almost impossible."
http://www.nysun.com/article/27479
It is also a bit scary to think that the work we have done here might be used to change the UN for the worse, but I think we did as good a job as we could and helped them to outline where the real risks and opportunities are. They could have done a lot worse by going with dogmatic outsourcing consultants.
On another note, I am sad to leave New York. I realise now that making it in New York is not that easy, it requires a lot of hard work and a good deal of luck. Mostly, it invovles some sort of support throughout the process. For me, even though I would have parental support and could concievable live with them until I am able to move out on my own, the lack of American citizenship adds another level of complication to the whole issue. Not only would I have to find a job, I would have to find an employer who would be willing to go through the hassle of getting me a working permit. I think that at this stage, moving here is still somewhat unrealistic.
I am going to Ottawa tonight. I have not been there for a few years now and I am looking forward to seeing my relatives there. Of course, I am dissapointed that Rae will not be able to join me because I think we would have had a very good time together and that she would have gotten a lot out of seeing Ottawa and Montreal (which I will not visit). The reason that she is not coming is because her brother and her brother's girlfriend are coming to visit her in Vancouver, they are actually there right now. Because of my schedual, I will only be able to see them for one day, which is a shame when I think about the hospitality they showed me when I went to Taiwan.
I saw Roger last night. His nationalism and narrow minded view of the world scare and repulse me. I hope that he is able to move beyond these small thoughts. Maybe being so near China will give him the exposure he needs in order to see that the Chinese government is not the brilliant and benevolent institution that he believes it is.
I saw Jesse and his girlfriend Shera yesterday. It was a very pleasant visit. Jesse is going to try his best to make it in New York as a financial blah blah and I think he has a pretty good shot of making it. He is Jewish enough to network with the Jews, and secular enough to get along with everyone else, which are both important traits in New York. On a more selfish level, I am very happy that he is going to be living in the city because it means that I will have a place to stay when I come back to visit, or if I ever want to move here. Shera is a very nice, easy going person. I think the two of them get along well and are quite happy together. I wish them the best.
I will see Vincent this afternoon. As with Jesse, he is going to try to make it in New York. However, becuase he is still a student, his life is still very much about his studies at Columbia. I am very happy to have experienced a slice of this life with its inteligent people and international atmosphere. I hope he is able to find something good here because that would mean he is closer to me and if I were to ever move back to the city, we could hang out more.
As sad as I am to leave New York, the capital of the world, I am still exiced to go back to Vancouver. The prospect of starting again, but not from scratch is appealing. I am also looking forward to living on my own in Canada for the first time. At 22, it is really about time. I am also looking forward to being near Rae. Being with her makes me happy, and this is a good thing. In addition to her, I still have some friends, and a larger set of aquaintances and associates to keep me socially connected. My hope is that I can integrate her further into my social circles and that I will integrate into her social circles. Even though there are a few obvious problems with this, for a long term relationship to work, this is important.
Finally, I know I have said this before but it bears repeating, I need to find a decent job in Vancovuer. I know I will not be able to find anything as interesting as what I have been doing here, but in a fundamental way, my happiness will depend on what I spend most of my time doing in Vancouver. I also hope to be able to save some money to travel this summer. Unfortunately, it looks like Europe is out of the question, but there are still other places within the continent, that are fun and interesting to visit. This, of course, requires money...
I will be back in Vancouver soon... and maybe later back in New York too.
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