My weekend was very eventful. I will write more about it tomorrow night when I have more time. Suffice it to say, I was so busy that I missed writing my blog last night. I’ll make up for lost time tomorrow and will tell you about my trip to Icheon and a few fun get-togethers.
BJJ, you asked what I do for a living that makes me so tired. Thanks for reading. It’s a really good question. I can’t say exactly what I do, because some people are very savvy online and might be able to pick me out in a lineup by reading my blog. That’s especially true in Korea, the most wired nation on earth. Sometimes I seem vague when I blog, and I haven’t posted any personal photos online. I try to blog my thoughts as much I can without posting any personal information that could make my job harder. There is a popular Korean web site where Koreans talk about my colleagues, give us easy-to-remember nicknames, and try to figure out what they need to do when they meet us in order to get what they want. Some of the nicknames are hilarious. The tell-all web site offers tips and suggestions and tries to help visitors influence the system. I try to avoid giving away too many hints and clues about myself online so I don’t inadvertantly give anyone an unfair advantage.
At work I interview many, many people every day. I typically interview about 150 people per day, sometimes as many as 200. I talk to them, ask them questions, hear their stories, and figure out if they’re qualified applicants. I have to make decisions based on their applications and the answers they give me. I must quickly make decisions that affect their future. I take each interview very seriously. I owe it to the people I interview to do a good job. I really enjoy my job, but at times it can be exhausting. Interviewees come from all walks of life, so sometimes I have to do mental gymnastics to conduct interviews and arrive at a decision. Last week was exceptionally difficult because we were going through some upgrades in the office that interfered with our workflow. Our workload is also increasing, putting some strain on our operation.
It looks like I need to post a couple of corrections to a previous posting. Astute WorldAdventurers reader Wade3016 pointed out that I incorrectly posted two critical dates in Pope John Paul II’s life—his election as Pope, and the assassination attempt on his life. Wade3016 is right. He was elected Pope on October 16, 1978, the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. He was injured on May 13, 1981. Now that people are reading my musings, I need to make sure I get my facts straight! Thanks for the catch, Wade3016.
From the “Things that Make You Go…Hmm” Department: MSN Spaces is no longer in beta phase. Microsoft wisely decided to officially launch MSN Spaces. That’s great news. I’m surprised the change happened without fanfare. I wondered whether the Redmond giant would pull the plug on its blog experiment or officially launch it as a free service. Unfortunately, MSN Spaces is running slower now than it did when it was in beta. I suspect that the techies in Redmond are busy working behind the scenes to upgrade servers and add storage capacity. I wonder whether Microsoft will eventually charge for this free service. It may have to if MSN ever hopes to make money. Although Microsoft tends to bundle free add-ons into its products (e.g. bundling Internet Explorer with Windows), it could start charging once it gains a captive audience. I hope not.
