Lox - Archived Entries for 2009 / 7

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Afro Cuban percussions: [Monday 27th July 2009]

I kept this detail hidden for some time, I do not know why really. Well it has been two months now that I joined a band to play Afro-Cuban percussions, nothing really major, and despite people tells me that I can play well I think that they are actually saying it because otherwise I would go away... :P

The whole thing came out with one of Chiara's friends, she had got a Cuban boyfriend who happens to be a maestro in dances and music, so he started a little school and soon after we made a small group.

Coppello is in Italy to start his own school of Cuban dances and music, and he's part of this association called Cubaila that had some shows planned for the summer.

Well to make long things short, although my skills are rather rough, I found myself in the band having to play the instruments that are used to give the basic tempo to all the band and dancers... Well you can imagine the pressure..

Anyways there are good sides of being a superstar in the "green".

First of all we drink a lot, and trust me, alcohol helped me a lot to get on stage and play (and sing sometimes). Secondly the world of music, practice sessions, and the very good feeling that there is among the members of the band it's a very nice experience.

Then of course there is the fact that we are so small that we can only get better, and another good point is that I got in touch with a type of music that I did not know and that it's very interesting.

The negative side is now, Copello went back to Cuba for 1 month, and I think that the activities will die out a little and now I realize how much I liked to play and to get my mind off things, because the situation at work is getting rapidly from dire to totally crap and I needed some release valve...

Oh well, we'll see. For sure I am getting totally disillusioned with the world of business and work in general. I have had my fair share of experiences around the world and here at home, but it always seems that you have to settle for less than acceptable standards and that is something that I am getting tired of.

Maybe it's just because once again (and we are at take n.3 in 4 years) I feel that I have to start looking for another place, and this game is starting to get on me a little because no matter how hard I try and how well I perform the outcome seems to be always the same... :(

I even considered to find a job at McDonalds, but even that would not be good because I know myself and I just can't seem to settle and be happy with what I have if I feel I can do better/more...
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Tales from a lost PDA - Sales on the move: [Monday 20th July 2009]

Mr X is in a very strange position, his company is asking for a reduction of his wage that cannot happen automatically unless he voluntary does it.

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I was away somewhere lost in Asia, trying to make things work, jumping from client to client as usual and discussing mostly quality issues. A crappy trip already.

In the night a phone call...

Mr.Jack "Ehi Mr.X, today we have had a meeting with the president!"
Mr.x "You what?!"
Mr.Jack "Well he told us about the terrible period that the company is facing, that we will have to shed a lot of jobs. All the high ranking officials, clerks and directors were there..."
Mr.X "As if we don't know how shit things are right?!"
Mr.Jack "Well there is more..."
Mr.X "Such as?" in a slightly enquiring tone, knowing that some turds were already flying all over the place in search of a fan to die on.
Mr.Jack "Well, basically he said that as an ACT OF RESPONSIBILITY, he would be pleased if we voluntarily cut our wages of around 5% to 10%, with the promise that in one year time the wage level will be restored, maybe with some bonuses..."
....silence....
Mr.X "Ah!" ...more silence...
Mr.X "Well, it doesn't sound all this bad, after all if we stay in we need to prove something, it could have been worse and we could have lost our job..."
Mr.Jack "I guess you are right..."

Three weeks after back in the company we received a summoning to go and sign the document, in the meantime the 5% to 10% become a fixed 7% and only after having asked the document several times, we were given it with a lot of legal jargon splattered all over it, where no mention to any time line was done, and with a lot of other points that were obscure at the latest.

Mr.X "This is unacceptable!"
Mr.Politician "It's totally crap I am never going to sign anything like that"
Mr.Guitar "This is terrible they want us to sign a paper where we voluntarily cut our wage FOREVER and with no mention on when this is going to be reinstituted..."
The sales team was going to move, all together, to get things changed..

Still I ask myself, why do companies think of workers just like stupid drones that would sign anything they are given? Why the need of tricking people like that? What's to gain apart from internal conflict and total dissatisfaction in a very grave moment for the firm?

It really saddens me a lot...

[...continues]
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Check out the older Chapters in the Tales from a Lost PDA series:

I - The Lesser Damage
II - Good Times
III - We Need to be a Team
IV - Sledgehammer
V - Tonight?
VI - Bokki
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Pictures from Asia: [Tuesday 10th June - Saturday 4th July 2009]

Again a very quick post, the trip is finally over and I am posting the pictures, most of them are from Myanmar because I could spend some time there, then we have Indonesia, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Malaysia and two from Kyoto.

All in all the trip lasted almost 1 month, saw me taking 13 planes, 1 boat and 1 bullet train in Japan, on the top of countless taxies!

Enjoy!

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Take Two: [Saturday 4th July 2009]

Last time I had a problem in Narita was Christmas eve 2006 (see HERE), and of course pretty much as the injuries to my knee, every 3 years it seems that I need to have another small adventure.

Let's say that as usual it's my fault, once again I cannot believe that I was so naive when I made the reservations for this trip (13 planes to book, 1 bullet train and 1 boat), everything was ok but I left the best part for the very last leg, the one that takes me home.

Well imagine me coming to the check in counter, passport in my hand (will never happen anymore that I leave it around like it happened in 2006), the lady starts doing her bidding and all of a sudden tells me in perfect Japanese:

".... eeerrrr but the flight was booked for YESTERDAY!!!!"

The world crumbles, I cannot wait to be in Florence and as you can imagine this major setup must have made me go completely pale because I could see that she was a bit concerned...

I came up with some bullshit that I changed the reservation from Hong Kong, anyways she was very kind and after 20 minutes of terror I went from:

1. Better find an hotel for the night
2. Mmmm maybe we can get you to Munich but after that you must stay there until Sunday
3. Oh no, we managed to get you on the plane!

So in the end they found the place that I needed, the shorter leg is in economy class but I really cannot give a shit about it, anything below 8 hours for me it's like drinking a glass of water...

So I was lucky again, my Japanese got me through the problem again, pretty much like last time.

Oh well, can't wait to be at home, a month around Asia is quite hard, especially on the brain, and I am feeling totally tired...
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What happened to you?: [Friday 3rd July 2009]

And so what happened to you?

When we met you were beautiful, mysterious, exotic and lively. The very first year spent with you was probably the best of my life and I cannot forget the time together!

And now?...

Now you have become like an old man, depressed, slow and bitter.

I really cannot understand what happened during these twelve years, I guess that I have seen your decline towards the present state, but I never thought that it could reach such a bad point.

I guess that periods in life bring you up and down, after all it's normal, but to see you like this is quite saddening and there is something I wish I could do to change things... Unfortunately I cannot do anything about it, apart from hoping that you will be able to recover a little sometime soon in the future.

I have to hope that, or that will mean that we might not see each other in the future anymore, and that would be really hard to swallow.

That's it really, I hope that in a way or another you will make it,

Hope to see you soon!

GAMBARE NIPPON!! (try your best JAPAN!!)
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Lox, Lorenzo... ME!!: A little introduction about the author and the blog itself. Plus contacts and CVs... You never know!
Pictures: A Selection of the best pictures that I have taken all over the world during the years, all nicely indexed by year and geographical area. Jolly good!
History of this Blog: A collection of all the articles that I have wrote so far, divided by month/year.