Dinner will be in the castle, sir

As mentioned previously I am in France for three days for a sit down meeting between three major companies to discuss a joint engineering and marketing plan. The location is a corporate training center for one of those partners. It is located approximately 30 minutes outside of France in a small town few have heard of, thank goodness for GPS in the taxis. Now many companies have corporate training centers which encompass a hotel rooms, meeting rooms and of course team building supplies but there was something different here. We approach a massive solid steel gate in the taxi that has just a small name of the villa (no company logos etc) and a small intercom button. The taxi driver runs up and hits the button explaining who we are for a couple of minutes before the massive 20 foot tall gates begin to electronically open. We drive no more than around one turn in the tree lined street before meeting with huge cement barricades next to a guard house. Now it is my turn to show ID before the cement barriers recede down and we are finally able to drive up. The tree lined street is breathtaking but not as amazing as seeing the sight of a huge castle over the horizon. When I check in at a very modern looking building the receptionist informs me that my meal for the night can be taken in the castle where I will meet my co-workers for the week, I will be staying in Villa 2. Yes indeed they have separate villas, my name tag is actually also a wafer thin RFID tag that not only lets me into all buildings simply by proximity but also lets me into my room also just by proximity.

I quickly throw my belongings into the room and decide to walk around the grounds. It is the start of winter so it is about 50 degrees and quite a bit of rain, but at the moment a brief reprieve from the rain. The grounds have immaculately cared for gravel paths, almost as if the very rocks have been smoothed by hand. I was struck by how absolutely barren the grounds are without any staff ever being seen. The castle we had seen looming in the distance was around the corner and was as spectacular up close as it was from a distance. During dinner I found out it was designed by the same architect who made the Eiffel Tower but was completely rebuilt recently down to the wire frame that runs throughout. What has been preserved is an elaborate tunnel system below all the buildings including the Villas and the castle for all the workers to move around unseen by us on the surface. Even the shipping dock is located underground so as not to disturb the tranquility. I have to hand it to them they seem to have thought of everything.

It is now 3am and I think I need to try to head back to sleep, more on this place soon.

A return to confusion

It has been quite some time since I wrote and alas it is not due to lack of excitement in life. The roller coaster that we all whimsically call life continues with twists and turns. Amazing how I seem to always get introspective when on a plane at some massive height, must be the low air pressure that makes me light headed. Be that as it may, a few random ruminations to add to a page which has been lonely for new prattle.

It never ceases to amaze me how much of work seeps into our lives and begins to define who we are, or is it the reverse. There is never a dull moment where I work, between the sheer speed that we all work and the unfortunate games that are seemingly continuously played. These games are far from the cowboys and Indians played in the backyards and alleys. The stakes are higher and people play so much smarter. They can lie to your face and buy you lunch all while trying to figure out how to undermine your projects. Frankly it is exhausting watching and trying to figure out how to ensure that one can survive. I think there were recent Dilbert comics illustrating this. How key people will join teams, offer to help, do nothing thereby causing the demise of said project which of course makes key leader look both ineffectual and stupid. What is absolutely ridiculous is if we paid half as much time and energy on our key work there is no end to what I think we could accomplish for our firm. Frankly the more this has been happening the more this just drags me down. Don’t get me wrong, I know the game and unfortunately I think I can see it coming down the road, but man do I hate having to play it. Normally management is designed to minimize this as much as possible, but when they are playing their own, well things just tend to get out of control, which is exactly where we are now. I can’t even count the number of meetings or even days when I am driving home trying to figure out what the hell we are doing. I love the job, but hate the games.

With that said other things in life have caught me blindsided and have captivated me. I went through a bit of a phase a short while ago catching up with former high school and college friends, finding out where they have gone and what they have done with their lives. One such friend has become more than a friend. I have been reluctant to mention anything for fear of jinxing a wonderful thing, but she (yes relatives, although living in San Francisco still into women) ties me in knots whenever her name gets mentioned. If it hasn’t been for her keeping me sane I am not sure how I would have been able to balance all that has been going on in every other aspect of life. So just a quick thank you to her, and frankly how did I get so lucky?

Speaking of life changing events (ok not life changing, no one is even getting close to married – yikes m-word!!), I was thinking more of housing. Although I have had a great ride in San Francisco, and really I do enjoy living there, for a while I have wanted to own my own place. Five years of renting plain white apartments has just about run its course and now is time for a change. Why not look in San Francisco? Three reasons. One, the commute requiring a wake-up alarm every morning at 4:15 is getting a bit old. Two, there is no way I could afford more than a brown box on a street corner, maybe not even a brown box. Three, there is no safe parking in this bloody city! So yes I am thinking of moving a bit farther south, closer to work and back into suburbia. I love having hundreds of restaurants, two Starbucks, Jamba Juice and of course a massive grocery store all within feet of my front door. Not to mention one of the largest parks in the city, a huge shopping district and arguably one of the most amazing cities in the country. Can you see even here I have a hard time convincing myself to get out of the city. As many people have said, once you leave the city one can never go back. Maybe once I start perusing the real estate market it will solidify in my head, and lets face it I am the last in my group of friends from either high school or college who has not bought a place yet. I feel almost left behind (this is an entire subject for another flight).

Alas my flight to France has almost arrived, it is time once again to stow all electronic devices and brace for another day. Thank you for allowing yet another rant on my random ruminations. Do yourself a favor and don’t play the game for a day or two, it will make you feel better.

It would not be SF without the political parade. Check out all the costumes at http://mdstein.dynalias.com 

A massive part of the street was closed off as part of the crime scene. 

An intimidating sight, this was before they started to run to incidents. 

Halloween in the city

To try and describe tonight would be like trying to explain a three hour thriller. It is mixed with humor, surprise, fear and I am sorry to say sadness.

The day actually started quite early, around 11am with 12 foot fences being erected around one of the main 24 hour grocery stores for the lower part of the city. Apparently last year unruly customers were so bad they destroyed most of the liquor aisle among other areas of the store and thus the decision was made to close the entire store. Thus the police were using the opportunity to turn that parking lot into a holding and staging area. We are starting with good intentions and strong planning.

My night did not begin until around 8 when I decided to head over and start watching the festivities. Sure enough hundreds of police officers were in the parking lot having a final catered meal before the festivities truly got started. Getting into the main area required entrance through a security area that was looking predominately through bags, but a fairly cursory look. No pat downs for most people. Keep in mind the festivities closes a approximately 12 blocks of 6 lane roads. A single emergency lane was cordoned off using police fencing for easy transportation of officers and medical equipment to all areas of the event. I give you this information to try and paint a picture for what is to come.

Saturday before Halloween has a much less extreme version of Halloween day that is limited predominately for local San Francisco residents. It encompasses Castro street and is a great party with virtually everyone there to have a good time. Although small incidents do happen it is a safe fun filled event with people from all walks of life all dressed up and sharing a fun holiday. The day of Halloween is very different. We get literally hundreds of thousands of people from east bay and south bay many of which I am sorry to say do not come for just a good time. But I get ahead of myself. Around 8pm it is just starting to fill up with several families walking the area with small children. Some of the costumes are just amazing, thankfully I brought my camera and will be posting several of these pictures. As the evening progress the crowd thickens noticeably to the point where it gets a bit difficult to maneuver around, but still not terrible.

On a side note, until you have been in massive crowds of hundreds of thousands of people you can not truly understand what crowd behavior is like. It is amazing witnessing the ebbs and flowing of human waves of people. Little holes will open up and then just as quickly close as the vacuum is filled by more people. A fascinating scene in human behavior.

Unfortunately along with revelers in full costumes also comes thousands of gang members or gangster like people. This is the one time of year where they not only can come in full black but they can all wear masks over their faces and get away with it. These guys yell all types of lascivious words to the girls in skimpy outfits and usually take quite a few liberties feeling behinds and groping chests as well. Regardless of if the girls are with other guys, unless those guys are other large gangster looking individuals most are hesitant to really push back since none of these men run alone. I am sorry to say but this is not only common but in many cases expected. Many of the women arriving are at this point wearing nothing more than lingerie from Fredericks of Hollywood, but public nudity doesn’t seem to phase them. In fact there are some women who are baring their cheat (painted of course) all in the name of a costume. Up to now nothing is different than previous years.

A remarkable thing did happen early in the evening with a random girl coming up to me and saying my name. I did not recognize her but she is the daughter of a man who lives in my old apartment complex, in fact his daughter and I used to hang out at the pool for several summers together. Lucky she recognized me for there is no way I would have recognized her. We caught up for a little while and then she ran off with her other friends.

Still early in the evening around 11pm some popping noises were heard close by in the crowd. Most people didn’t think much of them as they sounded honestly like firecrackers in the unbelievable roar of the crowd and techno music. 5 officers stationed nearby took off at a run a few minutes later toward the noise but still nothing terrible unusual. Then a massive crash and all the safety barricades the police had setup came crashing down, not from the public but as literally several hundred police came pouring into the crowd at a full run. Now those of you who may not have had the experience of attending large rallies protected by police in full riot protection outfits, these officers do not run. They stay together, form walls and move slowly and with purpose. When these officers, many of whom are SWAT or ESU (Emergency Services) run best to stay out of the way. Then the waves of humanity start to push away from the affected scene not more than a few hundred feet away. Soon dozens of police bikes and soon fire trucks and ambulances start flying down the street. People are pushed to the sides of the street where they just hang out. In the confusion unfortunately some people decide to start taking advantage of the situation and start to more problems. I choose to wear a priest outfit every year for a couple of reasons, one it is easy to move around in and eaasy to manage but the second is it comes with a frock that goes from head to tail and makes pick pocketing near impossible. The amazing thing I felt no less than a dozen hands checking each area of my pants trying to gain access to pockets while the masses were at its most dense.

Soon word spreads that the event is officially shut down early and for everyone to get out as fast as possible. A feeling of panic is still thick in the crowd and the ones that are suffering the most are the kids from out of town. Many of these middle and high school kids can be heard on their cell phones crying and talking to parents trying to figure out the best way to just get out of there. A few of us locals start to help the kids pointing them to closest public transportation or exits just to get them out of the area. Eventually I work my way to the exit and take shelter at one of the medic bases, identifying myself and talking to a couple of the local medics. It turns out there were 7 shootings, 2 stabbings, 1 person thrown through a plate glass window and that was just in that thirty minute window. Several times a large phalanx of over 50 police bikes took off at full speed lights and sirens blaring to incidents in the perimeter of the event. I hazard to guess what those were all about.

All told, what should have been a fairly quiet fun filled event turned into a nightmare for many people and unfortunately something that will have consequences for events in the future. As for now they are just now turning off the sirens so it is time for me to finally get to bed.

Hope everyone else is safe and had a good Halloween