World Population: Just under 1,000 and climbing (Part 2)

I have to admit, when I published World Population: Just under 1,000 and climbing (Part 1), I did not expect much. Little I knew that my post was going to be read by people from Canada, United States, Germany, Denmark, India, Sweden, Spain, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Netherlands, Philippines, Namibia and Ukraine. Wow, what an honour.

Many of the same readers wanted to know why I chose this title. As I promised in my previous entry, it will all make sense at the end.

“Security Cameras” (couple of weeks ago)

This must have been my lucky day… I found a parking spot in the busy lot of my gym. Bag on my shoulder and still dressed in my work clothes with a name tag hanging off the side of my pants and my BlackBerry humming away on my belt, I began walking towards the main entrance of the gym when I noticed a young woman with designer glasses walking towards me.

Now, as my wife would tell you, I approach most situations cautiously. It’s been a personal trait that has helped me with making better judgement calls.

Back to the story… the young woman tried getting my attention but I pretended that I neither saw nor heard her. I tried to figure out who she may be: Was she a former colleague or a long-lost cousin of my wife? Was she someone that I have graduated with or was she trying to sell me something? Nope, I couldn’t locate her in my drained brain! Immediate conclusion: She can’t be trusted and I have to watch my back.

In the meantime, from the corner of my eyes I tried to locate the security cameras in the parking lot and watch those that are around me.

The lady got closer to me… darn it, I could no longer ignore her as she was now standing right in front of me. I could pull the “I don’t speak English” trick but that wouldn’t go too well given that my work badge screams the department that I work for. Surly, no one would hire an “HR” professional if he or she doesn’t speak English good (just kidding!).

I decided to hear her out, so I said: Yeeesss? (it was a stretched yes!)

She asked: “I’m sorry but are you going to the gym?”

I was a little confused… I’m in the gym parking lot, with a gym bag on my shoulder… walking towards the gym entrance. For a moment, I thought I’ll give her a smart-ass comment but then I thought better of it. I simply answered: Yes!

Her right hand quickly stretched out and tried to hand me something. All my senses began to work overdrive… my brain said don’t touch anything… back away… count the number of witnesses… oh no, tunnel vision… can’t focus on anything else except the outreached hand.

All I heard at that point was, “someone must have dropped this in the parking lot; since you’re going in, could you please give this to the lost and found?”

I took a deep breath! Looked down and it was a “wet” and polka-dotted yellow swimsuit.

Sheepishly, I agreed and did as I was asked.

Thank you for reading,

Armin

PS. It’s amazing how “In God, We Trust” but not so much in “God’s” creatures!

PPS. This is not the same swimsuite... just one that is yellow with white polka-dots. :)

Picture: Courtesy of "I don't know... found it on Google Images"; I'm sorry!

World Population: Just under 1,000 and climbing (Part 1)

So this blog entry is the first part of many that will follow periodically. It will all make sense once I’m done, I promise. But here’s a story to kick things off.

My wife and I lived in a beautiful waterfront building in downtown Vancouver. One late afternoon, I got off the bus about a block and half away from our building and was about to cross the street when a group of teenagers caught my attention.

They were loud and dressed in puffy jackets, loose jeans, brand name runners that were pricier than my whole outfit and wore “fake” diamond stud earrings that were brighter than the sun. They were wearing their baseball caps sideways and smoking cigarettes.

There were warning alarms going off everywhere in my head telling me to avoid eye contact, even though they were across the street and about 400 feet away. Suddenly, I felt a chill down my spine. I knew this was going to be trouble.

My brain was telling me to stay calm: Breath deeply and don’t show fear.

After about a minute or two, the cross walk light changed and it was time for me to cross the street and walk towards the teens. In the last second I changed my mind and decided to walk in the opposite direction.

That’s when I heard the laughter, which was followed by the sound of rapid footsteps getting closer and closer. My heart started to pound and I broke into sweat. Every martial arts move that I learned in my Jujitsu and self-defense classes ran through my head.

I went through the self-check process: I had my cell-phone at hand and was ready to dial 911; I had my backpack to defend against knives and other “concealable” weapons; I had my voice to scream for help if needed. But most importantly, I had to stop sweating and lower my blood pressure since my body was freezing with every passing second.

I looked back quickly to see how much ground those teens had gained on me. Oh no, there they were: Shaved heads covered by their fashionably placed sideway caps, pimply faces, and wobbly runs since their pants could barely stay on their hips. I was ready to throw the first punch (or so I thought I was ready) when one of them jumped on my back and gave me a big bear hug. Out of breath, I looked over my shoulder and there was my brother, on my back, and his childhood friends lining up behind him and anxiously waiting to say hi to me.

What a relief; I was going to live to see another day after all! Since then, I have promised not to judge others by what they wear.

Thanks for reading,

Armin

PS. This is a story from a decade ago, when my brother was in his late teens. Since then, his choice of clothing has changed from “sloppy and expensive” to “classy and moderately priced / expensive”.

PPS. For the record, my brother has always been one of the nicest, well mannered and kindest human beings to ever walk the surface of this earth. He couldn’t hurt a fly if he wanted to… but he sure knows how to break his girlfriends’ hearts.



Me and my good looking brother on the left!



“I'm late…

… I'm late! For a very important date! No time to say "Hello." Goodbye! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!” That’s what the White Rabbit said to Alice when they met for the very first time in Walt Disney’s version of Alice in Wonderland.

I could feel my blood boiling… the vein on my neck started to pulse harder. My breathing got heavier. I was holding the steering wheel so tight that my knuckles lost colour. I was pressing hard on the brake and only releasing it occasionally to inch forward. And then the news hit the radio: A five-car accident (pile-up they called it) on Alex Fraser Bridge! Stupid Drivers!!!

Argh! That explains why I have been sitting in traffic for nearly an hour without a chance of making a “legal and safe” U-turn!

I started to get mad at everything and anything that moved around me, including those crows that ever-so-freely flew overhead. How dare they? Can’t they see that I’m sitting in traffic, unable to fly like them? Are they teasing me? I totally could see it: a bunch of birds sitting on the hydro wire pointing down and laughing at me.

And suddenly, there it was; the moment my fellow commuters and I were all waiting for: Traffic was moving forward, albeit, ever so slowly! Hooray! I will get to work today!

And then it hit me hard; I was so consumed by my own frustration and anger that at no point in time did I think about those poor drivers that were involved in the accident. I didn’t care if anyone was hurt or if there were children in the cars. I didn’t care whether any of them survived the accident and if any of them said their goodbyes to their families in the morning for one last time. All I could think about was how they “made” me be late for work.

So has my punctuality taken a front seat to humanity? Have I become so consumed by my own interest that all else around me has no importance? Would I want others to think of me as an “inconvenience” should I ever be involved in an accident?

Thanks for reading,

Armin

PS. I was only 4 minutes late for work this morning!

On Your Mark! Get Set!

So there we were, at the beginning of a line that looked like it stretched for miles. Isabella was holding my hand before the start. The plan was simple, Isabella and I were going to run the 2.5 kilometres and once we cross the finish line, we were going to walk back and find Karm and Brayden and walk to the finish line again.

Bang!

There we were! Running hard and bypassing as many people as we possibly could. We knew it was going to be tough given the number of runners but we managed to cross the line. We weren’t first but we were not the last either. Yay! We walked back and caught up with Karm and Brayden, who was enjoying the beautiful day in his stroller. So we crossed the finish line as a family. There were people cheering on and shouting words of encouragement as we embraced to celebrate another success as a family.

Here we are at the finish line! Brayden looks like he ran a full marathon!

Well, the above scenario was what I had been dreaming of for a long time. And to be honest, it was far from how our first family Sun Run shaped out to be.

What? We're going for a run?
But I need one more diaper change mom!

We're ready! How about you?

I was first in the line alright; first in the line to collect our runner bibs, but that’s pretty much it. The race day started great; we woke up super early and were all dressed and ready to go by 6:30 AM. But then all the last minute stuff started: One last diaper change before we hit the road, bathroom breaks and diaper bag check.

Next thing you know, it’s 7:00 AM. J This meant that we had less than 45 minutes to get to downtown Vancouver, find a parking spot, walk for about 15 minutes to the start line and join the race. In short, that didn’t happen: We made it downtown at 8:00 AM, found a parking spot immediately but we ended up wasting 10 minutes to pay for it since our lovely city of Vancouver managed parking ticket dispensing machines were not accepting credit cards. Well, we made it to the start line at 8:20, which was about 20 minutes too late.

Although I was super disappointed (and with all honesty I couldn’t hide it) I was happy to spend a day with my family and get a t-shirt out of it.

At least Isabella got her "tattoo".

Thanks for reading,

Armin

PS.  We’ll be registering for next year’s Vancouver Sun Run. Until then, there’re many more events that we can participate in, only if we can be on time J

Hey, waking up at 5:00 isn't easy.
Would you believe it if I tell you that this is at 11:00 AM!

Interview, don’t interrogate!

I had the pleasure of attending British Columbia Human Resources Management Association Conference 2011: Complexity Made Simple. It was a beautifully organized event at one of the most picturesque settings in the world: Vancouver Convention Centre.

The highlight of the conference was Douglas Merril, the former Chief Information Officer at Google. Douglas’ great presentation skills and sense of humour made for some great moments at the conference.  He was there to promote his book, Getting Organized in the Google Era: How to Get Stuff out of Your Head, Find It When You Need It, and Get It Done Right. Just Google his name and take a look; you wont’ be disappointed.

Right after Mr. Merril’s presentation, one of my old colleagues came over and said, “hey Armin, you’ve had an opportunity to work for some big companies; what do you do that has made you a ‘hit’ with candidates”. I thought that was a very nice compliment. My response was quick and not rehearsed: “I’ve been a candidate before”. Here’s what I mean:

• Acknowledge every candidate: It’s bad enough that candidates think their resumes / applications go into a “black hole” when they apply online. At minimum, I try to send a generic email to the candidates letting them know that I have received / reviewed their applications. Today’s technology allows for that so why not take advantage!
• Research: If I am serious about a candidate, I’ll do whatever I can to learn a bit more about them so I can carry an intelligent conversation. LinkedIn is great for that. It allows me to find mutual connections and points of interest to discuss, i.e. books.
• Don’t share too much too quick: I’ve gone through interviews where the company representatives were too quick in sharing too much about the organizations’ challenges, be it financial or employees. We all know there’re challenges with every organization but is it right to deflate the excitement and turn off the candidates right off the bat? I try to save the “negatives” for the second / follow-up interviews.
• Interview, don’t interrogate: It’s very easy to doubt candidates; I have seen some recruiters question the integrity of the candidates, at which point the interview becomes an interrogation. I try to remind myself that interviews are not comfortable for the candidate and that it’s OK for them to forget minor details or be nervous enough that their answers are not fluent. Does that mean they are not qualified for the job: No! On the other hand, I have had candidates that try to get away with outright lying, in which case I thank them for their time.
• Close the loop: I let the candidates know when the position is closed (filled, cancelled or otherwise); I’ve found this last piece of communication to be the most appreciated correspondence candidates receive. It allows the candidates to move on.
• Provide feedback if and when possible!

I guess that was my way long-winded way of letting you know that I treat candidates the same way I want to be treated by recruiters.

Thank you for reading; please let me know if you want more information on any of the above bullets.

Armin

The power of a single strand of white hair

Menander once said: “It is not white hair that engenders wisdom.”

Nope, I’m not talking about my greying head; that came along a long time ago. It’s that other white hair that creeps up on you. Watch out young men, it’s coming for you!!!

First, it popped up on my chin. I proudly looked at myself in the mirror and said, “Gosh, it’s about time I’m starting to look distinguished”. Shortly after, the white hair on my face began to double in numbers. Yup, it was an invasion. Still, I thought I had the upper hand and the right weapon: Gillett!

About a year later, as I was shaving the white hair off my face, a little sparkle caught the corner of my eye. That’s odd… what could be shiny enough that causes a sparkle on my chest. Yup, you guessed it; it was a single strand of white hair. Aha, this could be a challenge to hide but I have the upper hand; it’s called the “crew neck” shirts and sweaters… no more “v-necks” for this fellow. No sir… no white hair of mine is going to show through a v-neck.

And then the unthinkable happened. A single strand of white hair showed up on my back. Ah, the horror; the shame; the dramatic arrival of the aging process!

In case you’re wondering how I found out about this ruthless intruder, it was my daughter that pointed “IT” out to me, which I replied back with a, “well, daddy is getting old”.

I did not know how much my last statement had impacted my daughter. When I arrived at work today, to my surprise, I found a message from her on my cell phone, which said: “happy birthday dada from upstairs; I love you so much; you’re my best dada ever; I don’t care if you have white hair; even if you do, you’re still gonna be my parent and my baby brother’s parent; love you everybody; bye.”

  

And this was the power of a single strand of white hair!

Thank you for reading,

Armin 

PS. Certainly, Menander would agree that the white hair on the back does in fact engender wisdom J

Coincidence? I don’t think so!!!

This morning’s news: Another earthquake hit Japan, which was followed by a meter high Tsunami… An earthquake hit Mexico… A father that killed his three children was granted a supervised day parole… A 70 year old was hit by a car; the driver failed to stop at the crime scene and left the person to die in the middle of the street… Libya and the rest of North African / Middle Eastern nations are uprising against dictators… Chinese officials jailed an artist for “crimes of economics”.

This was just part of the 8:00 AM news and did not even include what was happening to the ozone layer (in case you’re wondering, ozone is depleting at a record pace, which could mean that we need SPF 500 to cover our bodies with).

Intermission J

Ooops, I’m sorry; I was distracted by a crying baby, who did everything possible to let me know he was hungry, including bunching up the corner of my shirt and sucking on it. I guess when you’re 6 weeks old hunger takes precedent J

Back to my story: So as I was absorbing the news of “the end of the world”, I unconsciously reached over and changed the radio station, and you know what started to play? Europe’s The Final Countdown! Instantaneously, it took me back to the winter of 1986, which represented a much simpler time: I was 14, living in Istanbul, out of school, and full of teenage hopes and dreams (which I admit included having teenage boy fantasies about Farah Fawcett, Samantha Fox and Phoebe Cates).

Can someone please refresh my memory? Did we not have bad news in 1986? Get ready, here’s a quick refresher:

• Challenger Space Shuttle explodes, killing 7 Astronauts
• Chernobyl Accident (1^st Nuclear Disaster) in Soviet Union
• Iran Contra revealed to public
• Corazon Aquino assumes presidency of the Philippines deposing Ferdinand Marcos
• United States bombs Libya
• Argentina (my favourite Football team (next to Italy and Turkey)) wins the World Cup. Remember Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal?
• Oprah Winfrey show airs for the first time

Do you see the parallels?

• NASA announces that 2011 is perhaps the last year Space Shuttle Endeavour will fly
• Fukishima Daiichi’s Nuclear Disaster in Japan
• Iran is still a mess with nuclear weapons
• Egyptian people depose of President Mubarak
• United States bombs Libya, albeit with the help of many other nations
• Isabella Layegh scores a goal using the “Feet of God” J
• Oprah Winfrey has her own TV Network

Coincidence? I don’t think so!!!

Thank you for reading,

Armin

PS. What’s the morale of the story? Teenage dreams are better than what we see and hear on the news!

PPS. My pledge to myself: More music stations and less news!