I admit it, I want an iphone. My dilemma? Choosing the phone and it's carrier, or remaining with my current provider who has better customer service. Customer service meant being able to call a representative at home on a Friday night around 9 pm from an archiac phone at an island airport in the Turks and Caicos island after arriving without either international coverage (or my luggage) and having the ability to make international calls within two hours of my initial, frantic phone call. It wasn't a "normal" lost luggage situation as I was due to board a sailboat for a week long diving trip and needless to say, not only were my clothes missing, all my dive gear was also missing. Several frustrating calls to the airlines that night and the following day did not result in the appearance of my luggage until an intelligent individual from customs took a look at the luggage due to be returned for non pick up and recognized my name. (It is a fairly small airport). I and my luggage made the boat with about 15 minutes to spare.
Speaking of the iphone leads me to the new employee at Apple, Mark Papermaster, who was chosen for his leadership skills, and not for his experience with a consumer electronics. IBM, Papermaster's former employer, has actually filed a lawsuit against him citing non compete terms. His defense is the two employers are not competitors, and his IBM experience was not the reason Apple sought his expertise. It was his ability to lead a development team which lead to his interview with Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO and Tony Fadell, a long time executive in charge of the Apple iPod group, and who was to be replaced by Papermaster. According to court papers: "Apple has hired Mark Papermaster because he has strong general engineering skills, is an outstanding leader, and we believe will be a good cultural match at Apple." (CNET News, 11/08/2008)
Update: A judge has ordered Papermaster to cease working at Apple until the non compete situation can be resolved!
On another subject: in class this week we discussed issues of globalization and how people who come to America react, assimilate and feel about their new country. Much of this is dependent on several factors: age, whether or not the whole family was involved in the immigration process and other reasons for arriving on American shores. The discussion involved four students: one from Croatia, one from Trinidad, one from the UK (me) and one who was born here of German and Hispanic parents. Each were here for different reasons. The student from Croatia moved here (with a couple of stops on the way, one in Germany) with his family to avoid conflict in his own country, the student from Trinidad's mother had a choice of the US or England, and chose England hoping for a better life and I moved here after meeting an American student in Spain and getting married. Each had a different story to tell about their experiences, and shared some of the difficulties arriving in another country with a completely different culture. Not wanting to feel different, the student from Trinidad was desperate to lose her Trinidadian accent, the student from Croatia immersed himself by playing football (soccer) and the student from the England attempted to deal with a new husband, a new job, a new land and often a new language, shared in part by the student from Trinidad. The student with parents from Germany and Puerto Rico regretted not being able to speak three languages, and this theme carried over to a friend of mine whose father was Hungarian and who refused to allow his daughter to speak anything but English. What I didn't share with the class was how miserable I was in the beginning. I felt very out of place, in a strange country with a new husband, (his parents actually lived in Germany so there was no real base of support). My ex had chosen VCU to complete his education and had planned on sharing an apartment with a high school friend. He ended up sharing it with me. It was a huge adjustment on my part. We also discussed the American melting pot and how there are still certain pockets of people from other countries who do not assimilate into this culture and language, and how the country of Trinidad is much more of an integrated country with no barriers when it comes to race with people from England, India, Africa, all living and working together without any thought that it should be different. Other countries can take lessons from the people of Trinidad who work together harmoniously.
I was at a beauty parlor today and am always fascinated to listen to both the adults and children who flow seamlessly from Korean to English and back, and how some English words are peppered in their speech even when speaking Korean.
