We do something else entirely on the week-end. Well, first we spend a day drafting papers in the World Bank’s country office, which is different only in that we don’t have to interview people and can concentrate on drafting (and that there’s a stable, if slow, internet connection ( Read more... )

After sleeping through the night like a rock (the bed is quite agreeable), I am woken by the sun streaming into my room at seven. Why the alarm didn’t go off - I don’t know. But I’m in time for breakfast. This would also be a good time to connect with home via Skype, but the WiFi signal I managed to get last night for a moment doesn’t seem to help ( Read more... )

Sometime later someone comes out of that “Paradise Lounge” and I slip through the doors as they close and talk my way past the lady guarding it. Snacks, a drink and an internet connection (though not for my laptop, I have to use the installed machine, which doesn’t have Skype on it). It doesn’t get much better than that. Around here ( Read more... )

is about Saturday very very early morning DC time - I feel somewhere in between. Not quite sure how that whole diurnal cycle thing is going to work out. I remembered to take my Malaria meds on time, though. Though on time is difficult to do when you’re switching time zones willy-nilly (and the date line, did I mention the date line? Let’s not ( Read more... )

Friday, December 04, 2009 (EST ( Read more... )

I find that back at home, things are proceeding apace. My wife is working on all fronts. On top of the usual tasks involved in maintaining the familial infrastructure (not made easier by living between boxes), a million things need to be prepared for the move, Manou is no longer in daycare, Renée needs glasses (this is the result of a medical ( Read more... )

Working here is again different than it’s been in the past. Sitting away from the translation booth means sitting closer to the (open) window, which provides a very welcome, though slight, breeze of (slightly) cooler air. It’s really nice for a change - until a car with a bunch of loudspeakers mounted on it stops outside and blasts music and what ( Read more... )

To Brasilia ( Read more... )

This is a placeholder. I distinctly remember writing more about Singapore (quite a bit, really) but it must be on the *other* laptop. I'll upload it here when I get my hands on it.

Singapore is hot. We’re one degree north of (meaning practically on top of) the equator, so the weather is a very humid 30 degrees C or so, with little seasonal variation. Not my cup of tea. Particularly when wearing a three-piece suit. I soon notice that jackets are frowned upon by bankers around here and will happily leave my jacket at home the ( Read more... )