Dancing on the Ice

We dance nicely,
We enjoy the turns and twists,
Skating on the ice,
I jump up and down,
Just to test your limits and that of the ice!
"You are walking on thin ice"
You warn me!
Your version of Do not play with fire.
And I love you,
For caring about us and the ice,
For wanting to save our dance!

Career choices

When do you know it is time to introduce a change in your career? When is the time to look for new positions and opportunities outside your own organization instead of trying to move up internally? Is change for the sake of change good enough? What are the criteria you need to have satisfied to know you are a good fit for your career? Is being passionate about your organizations' goals and objectives, having good pay and benefits enough to make you overlook the slow pace of progress and growth? The convoluted system of bureaucracy that you have mastered maneuvering in? What if you join another organization, where you grow technically, work in a fast pace, get things done, but those achievements simply do not mean much to you? How should one balance these different needs? What would call for a change?

I love my job; I like what I do. I once in a while get frustrated over some organizational rules and processes. Once in a while I am approached by recruiters of different well-known companies. On a bad day, they are tempting to act on. But should one pursue all options just because they exist?

Capitalism!

You know you live in a capitalist country when you receive a letter from a commercial company suggesting you buy frames and plaques to honor your patent award before you hear its news from the patent office or your employer! Or maybe you are just reminded what is meant by a bureaucratic government!

دوران جنگ

وقتى كه حتى كارتهاى عيد، موقع سال نو، باز ميشن و ترميم شده و چسب خورده ميرسن دست دوستان و خانواده ات توى كشورت، ميفهمى كه باز دوران جنگ است!

Perspective

I was having a nice dinner with a friend who was on travel in my area. We were almost finishing. Her phone rang. "yes dear,... having dinner with my friend, .. talk to you later", and she hung up a little upset! "He is checking on me!", she claims. "It is interesting", I say. If I were traveling and he did not call, I would complain "do not you wonder if I am dead or alive? If I arrived fine? Do not you think of me?".

Ok guys, you have my sympathies in this one. I guess there is no right or wrong behavior; It just depends on what is expected of you by your partner and if you meet those expectations or not!

p.s. This was just a simple observation and generalization. The context of the call, what is going on between the couple, and the information and feeling one receives matters too (among a zillion other things I guess). A kind caring call is easily distinguished from a controlling doubtful one by smart ears.

ترس

خدا رحم كرده من پزشك نشدم، حتما تا الان ديوانه ميشدم و با مطالعه و يادگيرى درباره هر مرضى فكر ميكردم خودم شايد دارم بهش مبتلا ميشم. يه زمانى بچه كه بوديم دل درد كه ميگرفتيم فوقش ميگفتيم مال اون همه گوجه سبز يا گيلاس يا توت فرنگى بود كه هى تند تند خوردى. اما الان... كافيه كوچكترين دل دردى بگيرم... بهترين فكر ممكن اين هست كه نكنه اپانديس گرفتم؟ بعد هم فكر زخم معده و هزار جور سرطان معده و روده و غيره به ذهن مياد! از كى انقدر ترسو شدم؟ چطور؟ چرا؟ خيلى بده!

ACM

If ACM only means Association for Computing Machinery to you and you cannot think of a more important association or conference with such a name, you are wrong. To some people, computing ACM means nothing. People interested in other worlds, think of the ACM conference as one about the Asteroids, Comets, and Meteors!