Chilling out

It has been very hot in Oxford lately. Uncomfortably so at times. So it was with great relief that I finally managed to get myself into Edamame on sushi night. (Edamame keep wierd hours which have thwarted my previous attempts to eat there).

Believe me, when its hot like this there is nothing quite like fresh sushi, cold Ashahi beer in little frosted glasses and chilled Edamame beans. Thursday night is Sushi night at Edamame, I thoroughly recommend it.

To the barricades!

In best Oxford tradition Queens college have just announced rent increases well over the rate of inflation, at the time of year when the students are least well placed to respond. (its summer, and most people are elsewhere). As an undergraduate I was heavily involved in trying to organise rent strikes, demonstrations and other such resistance. Its worth pointing out that it only came to such desperate measures because the college in question (LMH) was extremely reluctant to explain how it worked out its numbers, what else it had considered and so on.

Hopefully Queens will be more accomodating. All I want to see is the business case they've got for these increases and an explanation as to why nothing else they've considered (like cutting costs or raising new funds or selling stuff) is appropriate.

Failing that I guess we'll just have to protest. And I'll be doing it for you kids, since I'll never actually pay any of these new prices. (I've paid my last rent cheque, these are for next year)

SBP picks up steam

Phase one of our SBP is essentially a benchmarking exercise. That means conducting a lot of interviews, and giving people marks across a whole range of criteria. (24 according to the sheet in front of me). We've now finished our first two interviews and we've got another ten in the pipeline. We're targetting 30, so I think we're more or less on track for now.

We're also getting used to Cisco's welter of IT infrastructure. They are very very wired indeed, with everything conducted via outlook exchange, instant messaging services and a few more esoteric bits of kit. The techie in me likes to see this lot in action, the pragmatist is yet to be convinced of it's value.

Job hunt begins in earnest

A month ago I trawled monster.com for marketing jobs and found *none* that were interesting. Yesterday I turned up ten in the right salary / responsibility bracket, and two were ones that really got my attention. I'd reckon that most of the jobs I'm looking at are long shots - 10-1 or worse odds, but those are winnable odds.

I'm also of the opinion that companies find jobs for people who impress them. So even if organisation x decides I'm not the man for the top job I may get offered something else - perhaps with a view to later promotion. Either way its a good way to go at the market.

All I want is a brand, you know, one to look after and call my own. One I can take over the world with. That kind of thing.

Opening thoughts on summer projects

So what's an SBP like? Well so far the summer business project with Cisco has been a lot like doing a consulting job, but with extra academic theory and a less punishing schedule. My groups in favour of a steady 9-5 schedule (or 10-6 when we have to commute to London) and that's working out well.

Can't say too much about the details of the project, but so far it's been pretty interesting and it's an interesting return to the world of work.