The stress of being nice
Oct. 20th, 2010 05:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
luckycanuckI spent a good portion of today visiting Independent MPs and having to be nice to people. It wasn't so bad. I didn't have to do it for too long in any one place and people were generally pleasant. Also, I didn't really have to convince them to support us. I just had to tell them in a professional tone what we were planning. It's much easier when you know you will almost certainly lose but that it doesn't really matter if you do.
I also visited some of the new crop of Liberal MPs and their staffs and gave them a hand with some of the demographic analysis that I do. Some of them didn't really seem to get it, but most seemed to be switched on enough for it to be useful. One of them gave off a bit of a creepy vibe and I came away with the feeling that I had just visited a used car lot. Another one, the youngest MP in Parliament, seemed to be pretty solid. It struck me that at the age of 20, if he were to go on a Parliamentary delegation to America, he couldn't drink. He is a Member of Parliament, but he's not old enough to drink overseas.
I had a look at some of the candidates in California and Florida and prepared some background notes. (OK, I copied and pasted from wikipedia.) There are some very interesting races with some interesting candidates. An e-mail was sent aroud today asking us not to blog or tweet or post on Facebook about the conversations we have in America. It's fair enough I suppose. We want people to be frank and knowing whatever they say in private is likely to be broadcast online will compromise our ability to have free and open conversations. Still, I suspect this doesn't mean I can't talk about the people I meet in broad terms.
I may be staying in my current desk after January when our new adviser starts. Apparently CoS knows who it is but is keeping quiet on the matter because this person's current employer doesn't know. While I'm away we will have a temp around (not in my job) who is the son of a fairly notable journalist, and who is legally blind.
I filed my taxes late last night, and I reckon I should be getting about $300 back. The ATO is one of the most helpful bureaucracies I have ever encountered. Also it looks like I might get my $168 visa fee that I mistakenly paid back from the American Embassy. Hooray for money!
I have had this song stuck in my head for the past few days. Now you can have it stuck in your heads too.
1, 2, 3, FOUR, 5, 6, 7, 8, NINE, 10, 11, 12. Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo. TWELVE!!!
Yes, I learned to count from a psychadelic pinball machine.
I also visited some of the new crop of Liberal MPs and their staffs and gave them a hand with some of the demographic analysis that I do. Some of them didn't really seem to get it, but most seemed to be switched on enough for it to be useful. One of them gave off a bit of a creepy vibe and I came away with the feeling that I had just visited a used car lot. Another one, the youngest MP in Parliament, seemed to be pretty solid. It struck me that at the age of 20, if he were to go on a Parliamentary delegation to America, he couldn't drink. He is a Member of Parliament, but he's not old enough to drink overseas.
I had a look at some of the candidates in California and Florida and prepared some background notes. (OK, I copied and pasted from wikipedia.) There are some very interesting races with some interesting candidates. An e-mail was sent aroud today asking us not to blog or tweet or post on Facebook about the conversations we have in America. It's fair enough I suppose. We want people to be frank and knowing whatever they say in private is likely to be broadcast online will compromise our ability to have free and open conversations. Still, I suspect this doesn't mean I can't talk about the people I meet in broad terms.
I may be staying in my current desk after January when our new adviser starts. Apparently CoS knows who it is but is keeping quiet on the matter because this person's current employer doesn't know. While I'm away we will have a temp around (not in my job) who is the son of a fairly notable journalist, and who is legally blind.
I filed my taxes late last night, and I reckon I should be getting about $300 back. The ATO is one of the most helpful bureaucracies I have ever encountered. Also it looks like I might get my $168 visa fee that I mistakenly paid back from the American Embassy. Hooray for money!
I have had this song stuck in my head for the past few days. Now you can have it stuck in your heads too.
1, 2, 3, FOUR, 5, 6, 7, 8, NINE, 10, 11, 12. Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo. TWELVE!!!
Yes, I learned to count from a psychadelic pinball machine.
