Dobedobedo

A couple of notes I wanted to add to the last post.

The 'do' vs. 'be' thought is completely plagiarized from my friend Mike (though I really didn’t do it justice). When he first mentioned it, my reaction was that I’d like to be able to 'Do' things, but still manage to just 'Be'. In fact, that's what I was going to Do. He looked at me as if I'd told a joke, and I let him think that it was, but the truth is I had said it completely unconsciously. See why I worry? Dobedobedo was actually also put in print by Hazel after reading my last post, but I didn’t actually steal that one – in fact, it is my increasingly appropriate nickname for Dubai.

The Seattle riots image is something that's been a crystal clear image in my head since '98, symbolizing how I changed when my dad died. Not that I (or my sister) would have been likely to be involved in the protests, but I am certainly idealistic, was following what was going on, and the image stuck.

It was later that I decided that doing a PhD in international relations and joining the UN would be less likely to help than doing an MBA and learning how to 'do' stuff in the heart of capitalism (London and New York at first, now Dubai – and then applying it where it’s needed. Making that switch was easy – its making the switch back that can be hard. Business school was fantastic, but it sucks you in. Soon I was running around like all the kids on campus trying to sell myself to name brand companies for not quite all the wrong reasons, but certainly some. Since then I’ve been afraid of getting lost in the capitalist world and forgetting who I really am. Hence why I ask my sisters to keep me honest, and why I'm afraid to leave what's one of the most notoriously bad projects in my company - not just because it's closely connected to development, but because I might end up being happier on my next project, whose ultimate aim might be making some Saudi Sheikh richer.

As it turns out, the corporate world has taken care of the dilemma for me – I was mistakenly released from my current project and immediately snapped up by the other. The two are now engaged in a tug of war over my services, which I have been advised to stay out of. It’s great – it’s like outsourcing a moral dilemma. I should market the concept. Facing a tough decision in your life? Don’t suffer through the heartaches and waking nights – we at Epiphany.com (i.e. me and a few enterprising young men in Bangalore) will make the decision for you within 10 minutes for just $29.99 ($49.99 if it’s a really important decision).