Leadership woes

Lately at work I'm managing a project to revamp our Manufacturing Partner's technical training/certification program, test line yield metrics & audit process, as well as various sustaining processes. I've been working in a team of six to come up with and define the implementation strategy/plan using PMI best practices. While I enjoy the PM work, the biggest frustration so far has been the lack of input & initiave from half of the team. During conference calls, you ask for feedback or an opinion and you can only hear crickets in the background or the person is typing away and not even paying attention. Very sad. This experience so far had led me to self doubt while also wondering if it's something that they are not telling me... My attempt at a fair appraisal of the situation so far...

Them:
They didn't sign up for this project but were assigned by the mighty Powers above.
They are simply not interested.
They are swamped with other obligations (I doubt this one though cause I've observed these guys and know a few things).

Me:
I'm not a cheerleader.
I'm not one of those "high on life" motivational speakers.
I'm not a comedian (but half those guys are ESL and wouldn't get my jokes anyway).
I do not have an official "manager" title so I'm in a lesser position of authority.
My influencing skills are not up to par.

..Then I happen to remember that I am also a member of another concurrent project where that PM is just as "dry," not funny, and harder to understand..yet the whole team rallies behind him!

I don't have any answers yet but I hope to figure this out someday and benefit from the experience.

Pay Pal convert

I now officially like Pay Pal. I don't know why all these years I have been afraid to use it. I have no qualms purchasing things online. However, when I am in the reverse position to sell something, I traditionally prefer "cash on the barrel." I finally sold a ticket online today to someone in the bay area. The person paid via credit card and it's going directly to my checking account. While I was not too pleased that I had to upgrade to a "Premier" account to recieve payment in this manner, I was happy that the process was so easy and painless.

I can make spinach now baby

I am not a man who expects his wife to cook for him. On the contrary I should be the one to cook since I am at home all the time working while my wife has to get up much earlier to drive to work and is often on overnight call. Unfortunately, I simply have no interest in cooking. Just ask my college friends what I use to eat for dinner (and the number of times I would eat in their apt ;-) ). The truth is I have a fear of knives and I don't like the feeling of cutting into cold meats. Viks genuinely enjoys cooking much more than I do. But alas, we sometimes all need to do things that are not in our comfort zone. Since Viks has been really tired as of late but was craving vegetables, I volunteered to learn how to cook spinach (I think korean style). It turns out it's not so bad..In fact I am going to document what I learned here (before I forget tomorrow).

1) Use 1/2 bag of prewashed spinach (from Costco...I don't consider this cheating..it's fresh, prepared, clean for the most part and just so convenient!).
2) Rinse thoroughly with water in strainer
3) Place as much spinach in nonstick pan
4) Heat medium to medium-high (depends on your stove) and cover with lid for about 5 min
5) Mix in serving bowl: 3 tablespoons of soy sauce & 1 tablespoon of sugar. [Edit 11/8: Actually it's 2 tablespoons of soy sauce & 1 tablespoon of sesame oil and 1 teaspoon of sugar]
6) Check spinach after 5 min or so and when it's all shrunk & shriveled (amazing how much it shrinks), flip over like a pancake and cover for another 1-2 min.
7) Turn off heat and drain water spinach in strainer.
8) Mix in serving bowl with three teaspoons of sesame.

This post is not a "pat-myself-on-the-back" but I am happier that I can at least cooking something other than pasta and ramen.

Victoria Gardens

"Ok, my feet don't hurt as much..I just want a picture by the water.."

"My feet still hurt." 

The back of the F430 Spider.

Golly, another Ferrari? This F430 Spider was quite an attraction and had valet parking right in front a fine burger establishment.

I can't explain my fascination with Ferraris :-) The 360 Modena is still a head turner after all these years. Check out the Top Gear video of Porsche vs Ferrari with Jeremy Clarkson

"Stop...rest...my feet hurt."

Viks and I went to Victoria Gardens today to walk around and peruse. It features a really lively outdoor shopping experience...a lot of trendy stores and eateries. With a good number of people there today I can only imagine what it will be like as the holiday season kicks off.