Happy Xgiving everyone!
Xgiving was always my favourite holiday in the US - all the good things, friends, family and lots of food, without the stress of Xmas and Xmas shopping. So it's a little sad here where they don't celebrate it. But fortunately there're enough Americans in my class to comfort one another. :)
And Dollar, a restaurant just around the corner (of course) is having a Thanksgiving menu tonight and I am going with Natasha and some friends. And it's gon' be good! Dessert: pumpkin pie with Jack Daniels cream - YUMMAY! Looking very forward.
So have a great holiday, all of you in the US; and the rest, well, enjoy your day at work. ;-)
Cheers,
Shaun
--
Shaun Coley
scoley@gmail.com
Clerkenwell, Islington
London, UK
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Life of Shaun" group.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to The-Life-of-Shaun-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/The-Life-of-Shaun
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
Thursday, 23 November 2006
Wednesday, 15 November 2006
[The Life of Shaun #80] 24 v. 9.0
You know, forget all the hubris, what's so bad about getting older? Life just seems to be getting better and better.
Thank you to all that helped me celebrate in body and in spirit. Here are a few pics of the night in the flesh. (Thank you, Eugennie!)
Cheers,
Shaun
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Eugennie Chang
Date: 15-Nov-2006 00:17
Subject: Pictures from Eugennie
To: scoley@gmail.com
--
Shaun Coley
scoley@gmail.com
Clerkenwell, Islington
London, UK
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Life of Shaun" group.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to The-Life-of-Shaun-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/The-Life-of-Shaun
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
Thank you to all that helped me celebrate in body and in spirit. Here are a few pics of the night in the flesh. (Thank you, Eugennie!)
Cheers,
Shaun
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Eugennie Chang
Date: 15-Nov-2006 00:17
Subject: Pictures from Eugennie
To: scoley@gmail.com
 | ||||||||||||
|  enjoy!
 (1 of 9 pictures) | |||||||||||
If the 'View album' button doesn't work, copy and paste this link into your browser: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=1AcsWTluzaMXFA Questions? http://www.shutterfly.com/support/form8.jsp |
--
Shaun Coley
scoley@gmail.com
Clerkenwell, Islington
London, UK
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Life of Shaun" group.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to The-Life-of-Shaun-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/The-Life-of-Shaun
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
Friday, 10 November 2006
[The Life of Shaun #77] VOTE VOTE VOTE!
Hi all,
Just your friendly reminder to go out and VOTE today! It'd be so nice to have the first nice first Tuesday in November in years, wouldn't it?
As the brilliant auditor MD wrote (sic):
Here is your horoscope for Tuesday, November 07, 2006 (Happy Erection Day!
(What? Oh…really? Never mind.) But seriously, people, get out and vote.
Because if you don't vote, you can't b1tch. And l0rd knows if I my ownself
personally couldn't b1tch, I'd never get any exercise at all. And if the
races wherever you are are uninspiring, come vote with us in Pennsylvania…we
are on the verge of flushing out once and for all the frothy mixture of
f3cal material and lube that is sometimes a by-product of @nal s3x,
otherwise known as santorum. And this particular fetid turd has been
clinging to the @sshole hairs, avoiding being swept away by the sewers of
life for far too long. (Can I paint a word picture or what?)):
Have you ever read a more fitting metaphor?
Now VOTE VOTE VOTE*!
Cheers,
Shaun
*I sent in my absentee ballot a couple weeks ago with my happy votes for Hillary & Spitzer cast - this is going to be a wonderful day in New York**!
--
Shaun Coley
scoley@gmail.com
Clerkenwell, Islington
London, UK
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Life of Shaun" group.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to The-Life-of-Shaun-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/The-Life-of-Shaun
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
Just your friendly reminder to go out and VOTE today! It'd be so nice to have the first nice first Tuesday in November in years, wouldn't it?
As the brilliant auditor MD wrote (sic):
Here is your horoscope for Tuesday, November 07, 2006 (Happy Erection Day!
(What? Oh…really? Never mind.) But seriously, people, get out and vote.
Because if you don't vote, you can't b1tch. And l0rd knows if I my ownself
personally couldn't b1tch, I'd never get any exercise at all. And if the
races wherever you are are uninspiring, come vote with us in Pennsylvania…we
are on the verge of flushing out once and for all the frothy mixture of
f3cal material and lube that is sometimes a by-product of @nal s3x,
otherwise known as santorum. And this particular fetid turd has been
clinging to the @sshole hairs, avoiding being swept away by the sewers of
life for far too long. (Can I paint a word picture or what?)):
Have you ever read a more fitting metaphor?
Now VOTE VOTE VOTE*!
Cheers,
Shaun
*I sent in my absentee ballot a couple weeks ago with my happy votes for Hillary & Spitzer cast - this is going to be a wonderful day in New York**!
--
Shaun Coley
scoley@gmail.com
Clerkenwell, Islington
London, UK
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Life of Shaun" group.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to The-Life-of-Shaun-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/The-Life-of-Shaun
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
Thursday, 9 November 2006
[The Life of Shaun #79] And we have it...
...finally! Obviously I'm joyed. An election day that doesn't leave me in tears of desperation. Could it be? Could it be things will start to get better? Well, Rumsfeld and Santorum are gone, so that's two giant YESES right there.
But, no, I am not ignorant or overoptimistic about the situation. Bush still has the veto pen, and the Democrats have had such a special knack at incompetence for years, so there's no guarantee. What's done and dusted, though, is that Bush no longer has a rubber stamp, and that's brilliant. All I can hope is that this will be a catalyst to break the Democrats out of their paralysis.
First up, raising the minimum wage -- will Bush be willing to veto that now that he no longer has complacent underlings to do it for him in Congress?
Doing a happy dance,
Shaun
--
Shaun Coley
scoley@gmail.com
Clerkenwell, Islington
London, UK
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Life of Shaun" group.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to The-Life-of-Shaun-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/The-Life-of-Shaun
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
But, no, I am not ignorant or overoptimistic about the situation. Bush still has the veto pen, and the Democrats have had such a special knack at incompetence for years, so there's no guarantee. What's done and dusted, though, is that Bush no longer has a rubber stamp, and that's brilliant. All I can hope is that this will be a catalyst to break the Democrats out of their paralysis.
First up, raising the minimum wage -- will Bush be willing to veto that now that he no longer has complacent underlings to do it for him in Congress?
Doing a happy dance,
Shaun
--
Shaun Coley
scoley@gmail.com
Clerkenwell, Islington
London, UK
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Life of Shaun" group.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to The-Life-of-Shaun-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/The-Life-of-Shaun
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
Thursday, 2 November 2006
[The Life of Shaun #75] Endings
Block 1 of school is over - woo woo! Last Thursday was actually the last day, but I've lacked the mental energy to write much, so getting to it today. The last week wasn't lectures, but a pretty intense series of group projects on a tight deadline. The last day we had to make a poster (?) and a short commercial (??). Odd, yes, but it all came together well. This week is "career development", then block 2 starts Monday -- economics, finance and marketing - oi!
I've also reached another ending today - with my apartment in New York. I sent off a letter today to terminate my lease. It was time; I made the emotional cut long ago. I've grown forward enough that if I went back to New York, going back to the same apartment would feel like a step backwards. I would want a new place in a new neighbourhood, a new experience. Still, despite all that, it is a big step giving up my Chelsea lease - I'm now totally committed to London.
On that note, off into the night in my city - meeting a friend out in South London since I actually have a Friday off. Good times!
Cheers,
Shaun
--
Shaun Coley
scoley@gmail.com
Clerkenwell, Islington
London, UK
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Life of Shaun" group.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to The-Life-of-Shaun-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/The-Life-of-Shaun
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
I've also reached another ending today - with my apartment in New York. I sent off a letter today to terminate my lease. It was time; I made the emotional cut long ago. I've grown forward enough that if I went back to New York, going back to the same apartment would feel like a step backwards. I would want a new place in a new neighbourhood, a new experience. Still, despite all that, it is a big step giving up my Chelsea lease - I'm now totally committed to London.
On that note, off into the night in my city - meeting a friend out in South London since I actually have a Friday off. Good times!
Cheers,
Shaun
--
Shaun Coley
scoley@gmail.com
Clerkenwell, Islington
London, UK
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Life of Shaun" group.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to The-Life-of-Shaun-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/The-Life-of-Shaun
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
Monday, 16 October 2006
[The Life of Shaun #74] The City of Knowledge
Bulgarians do not breath - they smoke. I have never taken in so many bucket-fulls of smoke, and I lived in Paris in the 90s. But once I learned to adapt to not needing my lungs to survive, things got looking up.
So, wow, Sofia! Bulgaria! Who'd'a thunk it, eh? I am fascinated with Eastern Europe, always have been, especially since I took German and our teacher, Frau Ranz, would tell us stories about growing up in East Germany. I'm sad I didn't get to see the divided Berlin, but I loved seeing East Berlin a couple years back when I went and after that I wanted more exposure to less-changed ex-communist states. And Sofia delivered in spades.
True, it's not communist anymore, but you'd be pretty hard pressed to notice if you fell into a coma in 1990 and just woke up. It's full of the prototypical expanses of concrete residential developments, crumbling older buildings, odd local brands that would never make it outside Bulgaria, insanely crooked & cracked sidewalks, sometimes with holes covered with a slab of concrete, sometimes just open to rebar wide enough for you to fall into the sewer below if you're not paying attention. In general in really, really poor shape. But there are some exceptions, of course. Oddly, the metro is gorgeous and spotless, and there's a mobile phone signal throughout.
There's an amazing dearth of things to see for a capital city. There are some churches, some government buildings, but nothing "wow" at all. But for me this was all part of the fascination, this city the old government basically neutered and whose spirit they did their best to destroy. And the poverty is rampant, which leads to nice prices for foreigners, a hard life for Bulgarians.
But what's so odd is, I went to Prague, which was also communist, but it's much richer than Sofia, and it's also gorgeous and thriving, and the people there are downtrodden and depressed. In Sofia, where it's much worse, they are just the opposite - everyone's optimistic and happy and just purely golden. Down to the last one, every single person we met was exceedingly friendly and went out of their way for us. The Bulgarian people are beautiful.
There's a small but respectable gay scene, even a couple genuinely good bars. And again, chock full of friendly, smiling people. It makes such a difference to a holiday, and we had correspondingly great nights out. The Friday we just started talking to someone in one of the bars, Exit, and he ended up taking us around in his car (with driver) and we found out the next day he's a top TV personality in Bulgaria - very cool. :) We also met up with a friend of a classmate of mine who's from Sofia on Saturday and hung out with him, which was great. And I did well - I only knocked over two drinks all weekend!
BTW, eight beers, £5 - Sofia rocks!
We had a really hard time navigating at first because Bulgarian uses the Cyrillic alphabet, not Roman, so we're looking at road signs and such that look like "ΠΠ° ΡΠ°ΠΉΡΠ° ΠΌΠΎΠΆΠ΅ΡΠ΅ Π΄Π° Π½Π°ΠΌΠ΅ΡΠΈΡΠ΅ ΠΈΠ½ΡΠ΅ΡΠ΅ΡΠ½ΠΈ ΠΌΠ°ΡΠ΅ΡΠΈΠ°Π»ΠΈ ΠΎΡ Π°ΡΡ ΠΈΠ²Π°" - not easy for Westerners (but also part of the exotic charm!).
But it was hilarious because we had our little gay guide, which has been transliterated to the Roman alphabet so Westerners can read the bar descriptions and addresses. Great, right? Well, no, because since the street signs are in Cyrillic, the listings you've printed out are useless. We thought briefly about buying a map in Bulgarian, but then we realized since our listings were in Western script, the map would be useless. It was an auspicious start! Fortunately Nick noticed the sign for Exit and from there we just counted streets to find another bar. Then we met Evgeni Minchev (the TV personality) and it was smooth sailing from there.
I took some photos with my mobile phone, you can check them out here:
http://tinyurl.com/yfdhlt
or the full URL:
http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/shaunec1/album?.dir=/24bescd&.src=ph&.tok=phscpqFBrD.tB0y0
My favourite's the "canal". :)
So had a lovely time, and give Sofia high marks. Go see it! I am excited to see more of the East - it's good I've found a friend who wants to see these places as much as I do! Next we're thinking Bucharest or Kyiv. But with school and all it won't happen for some time, but it will definitely happen.
Cheers,
Shaun
--
Shaun Coley
scoley@gmail.com
Clerkenwell, Islington
London, UK
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Life of Shaun" group.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to The-Life-of-Shaun-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/The-Life-of-Shaun
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
So, wow, Sofia! Bulgaria! Who'd'a thunk it, eh? I am fascinated with Eastern Europe, always have been, especially since I took German and our teacher, Frau Ranz, would tell us stories about growing up in East Germany. I'm sad I didn't get to see the divided Berlin, but I loved seeing East Berlin a couple years back when I went and after that I wanted more exposure to less-changed ex-communist states. And Sofia delivered in spades.
True, it's not communist anymore, but you'd be pretty hard pressed to notice if you fell into a coma in 1990 and just woke up. It's full of the prototypical expanses of concrete residential developments, crumbling older buildings, odd local brands that would never make it outside Bulgaria, insanely crooked & cracked sidewalks, sometimes with holes covered with a slab of concrete, sometimes just open to rebar wide enough for you to fall into the sewer below if you're not paying attention. In general in really, really poor shape. But there are some exceptions, of course. Oddly, the metro is gorgeous and spotless, and there's a mobile phone signal throughout.
There's an amazing dearth of things to see for a capital city. There are some churches, some government buildings, but nothing "wow" at all. But for me this was all part of the fascination, this city the old government basically neutered and whose spirit they did their best to destroy. And the poverty is rampant, which leads to nice prices for foreigners, a hard life for Bulgarians.
But what's so odd is, I went to Prague, which was also communist, but it's much richer than Sofia, and it's also gorgeous and thriving, and the people there are downtrodden and depressed. In Sofia, where it's much worse, they are just the opposite - everyone's optimistic and happy and just purely golden. Down to the last one, every single person we met was exceedingly friendly and went out of their way for us. The Bulgarian people are beautiful.
There's a small but respectable gay scene, even a couple genuinely good bars. And again, chock full of friendly, smiling people. It makes such a difference to a holiday, and we had correspondingly great nights out. The Friday we just started talking to someone in one of the bars, Exit, and he ended up taking us around in his car (with driver) and we found out the next day he's a top TV personality in Bulgaria - very cool. :) We also met up with a friend of a classmate of mine who's from Sofia on Saturday and hung out with him, which was great. And I did well - I only knocked over two drinks all weekend!
BTW, eight beers, £5 - Sofia rocks!
We had a really hard time navigating at first because Bulgarian uses the Cyrillic alphabet, not Roman, so we're looking at road signs and such that look like "ΠΠ° ΡΠ°ΠΉΡΠ° ΠΌΠΎΠΆΠ΅ΡΠ΅ Π΄Π° Π½Π°ΠΌΠ΅ΡΠΈΡΠ΅ ΠΈΠ½ΡΠ΅ΡΠ΅ΡΠ½ΠΈ ΠΌΠ°ΡΠ΅ΡΠΈΠ°Π»ΠΈ ΠΎΡ Π°ΡΡ ΠΈΠ²Π°" - not easy for Westerners (but also part of the exotic charm!).
But it was hilarious because we had our little gay guide, which has been transliterated to the Roman alphabet so Westerners can read the bar descriptions and addresses. Great, right? Well, no, because since the street signs are in Cyrillic, the listings you've printed out are useless. We thought briefly about buying a map in Bulgarian, but then we realized since our listings were in Western script, the map would be useless. It was an auspicious start! Fortunately Nick noticed the sign for Exit and from there we just counted streets to find another bar. Then we met Evgeni Minchev (the TV personality) and it was smooth sailing from there.
I took some photos with my mobile phone, you can check them out here:
http://tinyurl.com/yfdhlt
or the full URL:
http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/shaunec1/album?.dir=/24bescd&.src=ph&.tok=phscpqFBrD.tB0y0
My favourite's the "canal". :)
So had a lovely time, and give Sofia high marks. Go see it! I am excited to see more of the East - it's good I've found a friend who wants to see these places as much as I do! Next we're thinking Bucharest or Kyiv. But with school and all it won't happen for some time, but it will definitely happen.
Cheers,
Shaun
--
Shaun Coley
scoley@gmail.com
Clerkenwell, Islington
London, UK
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Life of Shaun" group.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to The-Life-of-Shaun-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/The-Life-of-Shaun
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
Saturday, 14 October 2006
[The Life of Shaun #73] Wow
I cannot believe I am less than three hours from London. You should have to fly at least eight hours to be this far away. It is so different here. This is the East.
More to come when I get home.
Cheers,
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Life of Shaun" group.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to The-Life-of-Shaun-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/The-Life-of-Shaun
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
Wednesday, 11 October 2006
[The Life of Shaun #72] Come live in England with me!
Ah, a moment! Breath in... hold it... savour it... release!
It's been quite the whirlwind since school started four-and-a-half weeks ago. From saving the sinking ship to our first two projects, I've been pretty busy - and loving it! After my mind-numbing year at St. Ives it feels so good to use my brain again. I love being a student, and love this program. Though the topics of this four-week block aren't my favourites, I can see the end in the near distance and us moving on to more interesting things. (Well, *I* consider macroeconomics very interesting - someone's gotta!)
I was really lucky with the team I've ended up on as well, cassian. On the first day of orientation we were asked to get into groups, and since we really didn't know anyone it was almost random. But there were rules in forming teams - no more than four men and no more than three people from the same country. I attached to a group helmed by two Portuguese guys, but it quickly grew to too many men. As I was seeing the team form I was less excited about being on it, so I volunteered to leave. I swapped with a girl on a team with too many girls and it turned out to be a huge boon.
My team is awesome! I definitely think it's the best team, and so does everyone else! We get comments from other classmates all the time how they wish their teams were more like ours, how they admire how well we all get on and how we hang out together. We mesh well, and there're no alpha egos. Perfect. I hope it stays this copacetic as the grind wears on, but it's certainly a great place to start.
Two very cool things about my program! In February I will be going to Gdansk, Poland for a week for our group's strategy project. Never been to Poland, so that will be great. And how interesting it'll be to work for a week for a Polish company. Then at the end of June I'll be going to Beijing and Shanghai for an International Business Symposium elective! How cool is that?! Add in to that my trips to the West Coast in December and East Coast in April and this is gonna be a great year.
So that's an update from me. Hope everything's going well where you are.
Oh, almost forgot - regarding the subject of this eMail. If anyone wants to move over here and has had any inclination to do an MBA, apply to my program here at Cass. When you graduate you are guaranteed a Highly Skilled Migration visa which will allow you to stay indefinitely. So c'mon over! I'll have a pint waiting for you.
Cheers,
Shaun
--
Shaun Coley
scoley@gmail.com
Clerkenwell, Islington
London, UK
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Life of Shaun" group.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to The-Life-of-Shaun-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/The-Life-of-Shaun
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
It's been quite the whirlwind since school started four-and-a-half weeks ago. From saving the sinking ship to our first two projects, I've been pretty busy - and loving it! After my mind-numbing year at St. Ives it feels so good to use my brain again. I love being a student, and love this program. Though the topics of this four-week block aren't my favourites, I can see the end in the near distance and us moving on to more interesting things. (Well, *I* consider macroeconomics very interesting - someone's gotta!)
I was really lucky with the team I've ended up on as well, cassian. On the first day of orientation we were asked to get into groups, and since we really didn't know anyone it was almost random. But there were rules in forming teams - no more than four men and no more than three people from the same country. I attached to a group helmed by two Portuguese guys, but it quickly grew to too many men. As I was seeing the team form I was less excited about being on it, so I volunteered to leave. I swapped with a girl on a team with too many girls and it turned out to be a huge boon.
My team is awesome! I definitely think it's the best team, and so does everyone else! We get comments from other classmates all the time how they wish their teams were more like ours, how they admire how well we all get on and how we hang out together. We mesh well, and there're no alpha egos. Perfect. I hope it stays this copacetic as the grind wears on, but it's certainly a great place to start.
Two very cool things about my program! In February I will be going to Gdansk, Poland for a week for our group's strategy project. Never been to Poland, so that will be great. And how interesting it'll be to work for a week for a Polish company. Then at the end of June I'll be going to Beijing and Shanghai for an International Business Symposium elective! How cool is that?! Add in to that my trips to the West Coast in December and East Coast in April and this is gonna be a great year.
So that's an update from me. Hope everything's going well where you are.
Oh, almost forgot - regarding the subject of this eMail. If anyone wants to move over here and has had any inclination to do an MBA, apply to my program here at Cass. When you graduate you are guaranteed a Highly Skilled Migration visa which will allow you to stay indefinitely. So c'mon over! I'll have a pint waiting for you.
Cheers,
Shaun
--
Shaun Coley
scoley@gmail.com
Clerkenwell, Islington
London, UK
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Life of Shaun" group.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to The-Life-of-Shaun-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/The-Life-of-Shaun
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
Sunday, 24 September 2006
[The Life of Shaun #71] I've got a sinking feeling...
Wow, what an exhausting two weeks this has been. Cass has been very good at keeping us busy - we've had two weeks of orientation & introduction, culminating with Flagship this weekend.
I was not looking forward to it - dreading it, actually. I hate these corny, touchy-freely corporate team-building type things. Also, this one's not just a retreat, it's a weekend away at a Naval base ending in a sinking ship simulation. Well, to my shock, the weekend was absolutely brilliant. The program was fantastic, I really met several more people on my course, and got to do something I would never even think to do normally.
Friday we arrived at school to be bussed down to Portsmouth where we were greeted, shown our quarters in the barracks on HMS Bristol (which fought in the Falklands war), attended some short simple lectures, had dinner and drank at the Naval bar (£2 pints!), getting acquainted, then off to bed. I have to say outright, the sleeping situation was... less than ideal. It was in authentic military triple bunks, 20+ to a room. And the showers, also not the best as they were open, but I have as a result now gotten over any hangups I have about showering naked around people I don't really know.
Saturday, after being awoken at 06.30, we were broken into teams and spent the day split between tasks, lectures and lunch. I've been so lucky with teams at Cass; my study group at school is awesome, and my team this weekend was great - it makes all the difference, the day was so much fun. This was followed by dinner at the Officer's club and, of course, drinks until the bar closed.
But today was the main even - the sinking ship simulation! This is midsection of a warship attached to hydraulic arms, capable of rotating it up to 20° to simulate waves. Then you are put inside with your team for a "hit" from an enemy and charged with doing emergency repairs to keep the ship from sinking. As you are trying to do this, on top of the wave motion, hundreds of gallons of water are pouring through the holes from the missile damage, water's shooting at high pressure from broken pipes and there is a lot of smoke. And there wasn't like 6" of water - it was at my head at its highest when the ship was level, causing it to reach near the roof on a side as it rolled in the waves.
My first job required me diving underwater to repair a blown out door portal, and then it was on to the holes in the walls and securing the portal door. After we were done & back up in our starting room, another attack happens and much more damage is done. This is when the room totally fills and your team and you are bobbing about in 6+ feet of water. And these holes were big and the water just shot through them. We were proud when the safety man gave us our review and told us we were one of the fastest teams he'd ever had with the first half of that task. Which was great since the first half we were a little less cohesive, but we pulled together for the tougher challenge.
I've attached the only picture I could find online of the experience, but of course it doesn't capture it - It was intense! And exciting and such a great team activity, and something unlike anything I've ever done or am likely to do again. And as a result, I am exhausted! It's back to class in the morning.
A great start to what I hope will be a great year!
"Navem servavi" - I saved the ship.
Cheers,
Shaun
--
Shaun Coley
scoley@gmail.com
Clerkenwell, Islington
London, UK
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Life of Shaun" group.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to The-Life-of-Shaun-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/The-Life-of-Shaun
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
I was not looking forward to it - dreading it, actually. I hate these corny, touchy-freely corporate team-building type things. Also, this one's not just a retreat, it's a weekend away at a Naval base ending in a sinking ship simulation. Well, to my shock, the weekend was absolutely brilliant. The program was fantastic, I really met several more people on my course, and got to do something I would never even think to do normally.
Friday we arrived at school to be bussed down to Portsmouth where we were greeted, shown our quarters in the barracks on HMS Bristol (which fought in the Falklands war), attended some short simple lectures, had dinner and drank at the Naval bar (£2 pints!), getting acquainted, then off to bed. I have to say outright, the sleeping situation was... less than ideal. It was in authentic military triple bunks, 20+ to a room. And the showers, also not the best as they were open, but I have as a result now gotten over any hangups I have about showering naked around people I don't really know.
Saturday, after being awoken at 06.30, we were broken into teams and spent the day split between tasks, lectures and lunch. I've been so lucky with teams at Cass; my study group at school is awesome, and my team this weekend was great - it makes all the difference, the day was so much fun. This was followed by dinner at the Officer's club and, of course, drinks until the bar closed.
But today was the main even - the sinking ship simulation! This is midsection of a warship attached to hydraulic arms, capable of rotating it up to 20° to simulate waves. Then you are put inside with your team for a "hit" from an enemy and charged with doing emergency repairs to keep the ship from sinking. As you are trying to do this, on top of the wave motion, hundreds of gallons of water are pouring through the holes from the missile damage, water's shooting at high pressure from broken pipes and there is a lot of smoke. And there wasn't like 6" of water - it was at my head at its highest when the ship was level, causing it to reach near the roof on a side as it rolled in the waves.
My first job required me diving underwater to repair a blown out door portal, and then it was on to the holes in the walls and securing the portal door. After we were done & back up in our starting room, another attack happens and much more damage is done. This is when the room totally fills and your team and you are bobbing about in 6+ feet of water. And these holes were big and the water just shot through them. We were proud when the safety man gave us our review and told us we were one of the fastest teams he'd ever had with the first half of that task. Which was great since the first half we were a little less cohesive, but we pulled together for the tougher challenge.
I've attached the only picture I could find online of the experience, but of course it doesn't capture it - It was intense! And exciting and such a great team activity, and something unlike anything I've ever done or am likely to do again. And as a result, I am exhausted! It's back to class in the morning.
A great start to what I hope will be a great year!
"Navem servavi" - I saved the ship.
Cheers,
Shaun
--
Shaun Coley
scoley@gmail.com
Clerkenwell, Islington
London, UK
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Life of Shaun" group.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to The-Life-of-Shaun-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/The-Life-of-Shaun
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
Tuesday, 19 September 2006
[The Life of Shaun #70] Dublin & London
Dublin & London
Here're some pics of Mary & me from our time in Dublin & London.
Cheers,
Shaun
http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/shaunec1/album?.dir=/8e6fscd&.src=ph&.tok=ph_2rhFBtNetRNRL
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Life of Shaun" group.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to The-Life-of-Shaun-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/The-Life-of-Shaun
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)