The Big Cut Day (in Eng)

It is a story which occurred on the Thursday, February 12th, 2009.

It was a humdrum February Thursday. The groundhog in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania has seen his own shadow and said the spring was coming within a few weeks. (Please see the detail here.) The sky which covered New York City looked deep and dark blue, and the temperature seemed to have already risen a little bit. The topics in the air everywhere was Valentines' Day which was just around the corner. Oh, right! And the Friday the 13th which would come tomorrow. Before 9 o'clock, as I usually do, I squeezed in the crowded subway train for an hour and then walked into my company's headquarters which was located in downtown Manhattan. It was not news that my company was facing financial and credit crisis. The friends who had contacted me lately knew my company has already started various downsizing and layoff. As usual, after I stepped into office, before I entered my cubicle, the colleague Efren who sits beside me always asks the same question. "Good morning! Have you heard any news, Sam?" And I was doing the same thing as always, looking at him, smiling, and shaking my head. It is a humdrum Thursday morning to me.

If you have ever received a pay check in a financial firm, typically you will get its pay check on Thursday morning. So people usually regard Thursday as Pay Day. In Melbourne, Australia, the retailers, such as department stores or the street vendors, would provide different kinds of promotion on Thursday, and even prolong their business hour to 9PM (they usually close at 5PM on other weekdays) to stimulate the customer demand. On the other hand, during this terrible economic situation, companies would choose Thursday morning (or Monday morning sometimes) to announce its downsizing or layoff action. After you get the last pay check, you can start to pack and leave the company. One of my close friends, Ben, used to work for Morgan Stanley, got his last pay check on a Thursday last year. Some friends at JP Morgan Chase had received a similar email on Thursday last October as well.

And today, it seems to be the "Big Day" for my department!

The Big Cut Day

一個發生在 2009.02.12 Thursday 的故事：

這是一個不起眼的二月天星期四，賓州的土撥鼠已經看到自己的影子 (詳情請看這裡) ，而且說春天只要再過幾個禮拜就會來了。紐約的天空一碧如洗，氣溫也似乎漸漸回升了點，大家談論的逃不出再過兩天就到了的西洋情人節，喔！還有隔天的十三號星期五。一大早九點不到，我像平常一樣地，擠了一個多小時的地鐵，走進位在紐約金融區的公司總部大樓。公司面臨財務和信用危機的威脅與震撼已經不是這一兩天的新聞了，近來跟我連絡的朋友們也都知道我的公司早就已經開始了不少大小規模的改組與裁員了。一如往常地，在我進到辦公室、走到我的座位前，坐我隔壁的菲律賓同事 E 君，都會問我同樣的問題：「你那邊有關於公司的任何消息嗎？」我也是一如往常般地，對著他笑一笑、搖搖頭。對我來說，這是一個不起眼的星期四早上。

有在美國領過薪水的朋友們都知 (據我所知，澳洲也是這樣) ，一般的工作都是在星期四早上發薪條的。大部分的年薪工作 (或是顧問工作) 都是隔週發薪的。所以每個禮拜四又叫做 Pay Day ，零售業大部分會在星期四開始促銷活動，比如說在澳洲墨爾本，百貨公司或是一般的店家在星期四晚上甚至會延長營業時間到晚上九點 (平常五六點就關門了) ，來刺激買氣。另一方面，在這種經濟環境下，公司行號也都會選在星期四一早 (或是星期一) 宣布裁員。員工收到最後一張 Pay Check ，然後就打包離開公司。之前跟我很熟捻的朋友 B 君，在 Morgan Stanley 服務的時候，就是在 Pay Day 的那一天被解雇的。之前 JP Morgan Chase 也是在星期四向員工發出了一封信，告訴收到信的人是可以留下來繼續工作，還是再過多久就要打包離開了。

而今天，似乎就是我的部門的 "Big Day" ！

Let's Green

"Green" is not only a simple adjective to describe a lime, an olive, or a piece of jade's color right now; or a noun to illustrate a color which is a mixture of yellow and blue; the color of Shrek or the color of New York Jets. The word, green, becomes a verb to express that someone is doing something which can protect the environment, as well as a noun to categorize someone who has capability to care for the environment. Nowadays, furthermore, the word represents an investment and a future trend in the business field. When you open any investment guides or business magazines you found on streets, the "Green Industry" always stands as the hot topic in their suggested list. However, I think to achieve "Green" in the United States will be a long journey.

From the Day Lehman Fell Down to Work Philosophy

Although all of us have already known the financial industry is heading to an incredible crisis, no one has expected that day would come in a hasty and astonishing way.

It was a regular Sunday night to me. I poured the last of bottle of wine and randomly browsed TV channels from my comfortable cheap coach. Suddenly, the breaking news on CNN showed a shot at the front of Lehman Brother’s home office in Time Square and reported, "The employees of Lehman Brothers are packing their stuff on this Sunday night, since the company is already full of rumors of bankruptcy. You can see the people are coming in and out right now." The next second, I was dialing my friends who work for Lehman but no one answered. I was shocked!

Oh Ya! Summer Time!

Despite super duper god damn busy working lately, despite running projects, writing reports, or endless meetings until extremely late in the nights, after seeing a bright sunshine, my heart feels refreshed and recharged without any reasons. And YES!! It is SUMMER TIME!

有在夏天來過美國的朋友就會知道，在美國夏天有所謂的「 Daylight Saving (日光節約時間) 」，這是從一次世界大戰當時的一位英國人 William Willet 規劃出來而且倡導的政策。所以在美國也就因為實施日光節約時間，所以在夏令時間太陽都可以到八九點才下山。還記得我剛來到美國的那年夏天，雖然沒什麼時差問題，可是對這麼晚下山的太陽還是有點不習慣。記得那個時候常常都會打球打到太陽下山才回家吃飯，每次吃飽飯都十點、十一點了，沒多久就要睡覺了。哈！這對當時生長在亞熱帶台灣、從沒出過遠門的我來說，還真是個難忘的記憶呢！不過阿，我倒是滿喜歡這樣能享受日照的好日子。就算五六點下了班，還有三四個小時天還是亮著的，這種感覺真好！

Concerts in the Parks

It just likes clock turning back to my childhood. The park nearby my family's place used to hold some outdoor traditional Taiwanese drama events a few days each summer. Under a still-bright-sunset, with feelings of delight and excitement, people around the neighborhood carried folded chairs and light food to the park. Children chased each other and followed by their barking puppies. Food vendors rolled their carts near the entrance. Those nearby could breath in many delicious aromas - grilled sausage, grilled squid, cotton candy, ice cream, and many of others. People dressed comfortably in T-shirts, shorts and cheap flip-flops. Their hair was still damp after a shower and they carried a light hand fan. I didn't really care what the performance was on the stage. Having family and friends around is the most important thing to me.

Last night, the Concerts in the Parks awakened my memory. After just one visit, I am sure you will love the music and the atmosphere there.