Argentina - Light at the end of the tunnel?
Another long break since I posted. But, as I stated before, the projects in Asia were consuming me.
I am now back in Buenos Aires. I have just moved back into my apartment, the same as the one from the end of the last visit. I’ve been here three days, and I don’t think I’ve ever had jet lag affect me as badly as this. But I am sure that the reason is that I was pushing myself very hard the last four months, and it definitely affected my health. So, when you’re not in the best of health, and you embark on an extraordinarily long trip such as this, I guess extreme jet lag is to be expected. Even though they did have new planes on the Doha to Buenos Aires leg – brand new Boeing 777 with Q Suites in Business Class. Wonderful seats. The best flight I have ever taken anywhere (except for the falling sick part 😊).
But I’m here now, it’s a gorgeous day out. The porteños are telling me that this is the coldest January that anybody can remember (but of course, there’s no such thing as climate change right?). But I’m not complaining. It’s cool in the morning (15 – 17C), warm in the afternoon, but not blisteringly hot (24 – 27C). And a little bit of rain now and then to clear the air. Buenos Aires is very uncrowded; many people leave the city at this time of the year. I like it, except that a couple of my favorite restaurants are closed until later in the month.
I noticed that moving into my apartment, the same that I lived in before, in the same neighborhood, knowing the agent, and knowing the environment … Almost a no stress situation. What a huge difference from my last visit.
I’m noticing a bit of cognitive dissonance from the time zone change in terms of how I communicate with people in Asia and the US. I’m used to speaking to people in my morning when it is afternoon in the United States. Now it’s reversed. And vice versa for my contacts in Asia. Of course, this is always been true before, I just seem to be noticing it more now. Makes me feel more disconnected.
I had some good news. I’m renewing my Argentinian identity card (DNI), here in Buenos Aires this time, instead of having to fly up to Salta. Early indications seem to indicate it will be far easier here. And my lawyer told me that they’re going to start my citizenship proceedings in February. That is 7 months earlier than originally planned. I hope this is true. Can it be I am seeing light at the end of the tunnel? This is my 2nd year of residency that I need in order to apply for my Argentinian passport, but it seems as if certain aspects of this process can move very quickly. We shall see.
I discovered two things since my last posting which I thought are worth sharing.
The first is a website called Farnam Street (https://fs.blog/ ). It’s run by a guy called Shane Parrish, and it basically is a collection of information about things that people have already discovered. Good things. About how to lead life, how to learn, well, take your choice. There is a portion of the site that is paid, but there’s a good deal for free. Farnam Street is the address of Berkshire Hathaway. And much of the material on this site comes from the principles of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, the powerful duo behind Berkshire Hathaway.
I’m putting here the link to their five basic principles, which very closely parallel things that I had dimly realized myself already. I especially like number 3. And I have written about number 5 several times.
Through this website, and their podcast (the Knowledge Project), I discovered a lady called Barbara Oakley. And there is a course that she and others developed called “Learning how to learn”. I have started to take this on Coursera, and, provided you don’t want a certificate, it is free. I think this is well worth taking. The basic precepts I knew already, but there are some additional facets to this process which I did not know about. So, if you have time on your hands, it’s hard to turn down doing a free course.
https://www.coursera.org/ - And search for “Learning how to learn”
This is going to be a year of big changes for me I believe. And I’m looking forward to it. The thing I have to concentrate on is not get sidetracked by minutia. Maybe following the five principles of the FS blog will be a good way to go.
Odd occurrence. I was trying to order a computer from HP online. They denied my order, then when I called their Sales Support hot line, LIED to me about it being an issue with my credit card, interrogated me about why I was buying the PC, then refused to countenance my order at all. And they also refused to tell me why they were doing this and would not allow me to speak directly to the person making the decision. I am FedExing a protest letter to the CEO. And, just to show how stupid this was, within an hour after they denied my order, I had the same server purchased from Amazon and on its way to the intended recipient. What a bunch of morons.
Despite the recent bombing in Colombia (allegedly by the ELN), I plan to head up there for a long weekend as soon as I can. Either Bogotá or Medellín. Can’t let idiots like that dissuade one from leading one’s life. Of concern is scheduling it around citizenship proceedings and renewing my U.S. passport.
I’m going to publish this post before my jet lag hits me badly 😊 … It is about noon here and I can tell I’m starting to fade already.