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Company

Recently, I think I can say that my existence has been characterized by two extremes of the word company .

The following are the first three relevant definitions from Dictionary.com :

com·pa·ny
n. pl. com·pa·nies

1. A group of persons.
2. a. One’s companions or associates: moved in fast company; is known by the company she keeps.
   b. A guest or guests: had company for the weekend.
   c. The state of friendly companionship; fellowship: was grateful for her company; friends who finally parted company.
3. a. A business enterprise; a firm.
   b. A partner or partners not specifically named in a firm’s title: Lee Rogers and Company.

Essentially, company meaning either work or people. In which case, 100% of my time can be classified into the following matrix:

More specifically:

I. At Work with People – This involves interacting with co-workers and clients, whether in person or by phone. May involve actual work or can be time spent in small talk as during meals, etc.

II. Outside of Work with People -  The most valuable and memorable moments in life probably happen under this category. This is the time of fellowship, building relationships and when the growth of community occurs.

III. At Work without People – This time is often spent at my desk listening to music while working.

IV. Outside of Work without People – Solitary time. Most often experienced when traveling with evenings passed in hotels. Airplane flights and sleep are under this category as well.

And as I’ve been  on the road  a great deal for work in the past few weeks, I’d have to say that most of my time was spent in categories III and IV (III – Working at the client site; IV – Downtime at the hotel).

In a typical week of 168 hours, my time is probably distributed as follows:

I. 5.9% At Work with People -  10 hours (an estimated 25% of a 40 hour work week).

II. 4.8% Outside of Work with People – 8 hours (church and small group).

III. 17.9% At Work without people – 30 hours (an estimated 75% of a 40 hour work week).

IV. 71.4% Outside of Work without people – 120 hours (16 hours for 5 day during the week + 20 hours during the weekend) including sleeping time of approximately 50 hours.

And so, when I suddenly got to spend somewhere between 30-40 hours in category II in the past seven day period, I think I was just reminded of how I’d gotten so used to not being around people that I think I’ve forgotten how to interact with people! Terrible. And to think that I probably spent the most time in category II during my college years. Such drastic change!

So, not too long ago, another branch of my extended family tree moved to Princeton, New Jersey from Korea bringing the total number of direct family members not in Korea into the double digits from 9 to 12. =)

Anyway, as my uncle was scheduled to go back to Korea last Sunday, I headed out to the home of our college rivals to spend some time with my relatives.

In addition to the three pictured above (minus my uncle), I have another cousin who also recently moved to Jersey… why are we all converging on the East Coast near NYC? I don’t understand!

It was a good time of spending time with my cousins with whom I also played Settlers of Cataan   for the first time. Fun game! Oh my. I just discovered the online version. And I rocked my opponents. Haha. =)

But seriously, it was so nice to get out of the city and back into the ‘burbs. The green grass and trees. The blue sky. The sound of crickets and other critters chirping away. The stars shining in the evening sky. Everything you don’t see or hear in New York City. It was fantastic! =)

A stark contrast to skyscraper life !

It seems so peaceful out there. So many trees lining all the roads. Princeton is like a little forest! It’s nice. =)

You don’t get much greener and bluer than this. I would love to see this sight every morning when I leave my place to go to work instead of the concrete and steel that I see on a daily basis!

And so, I think I want to move to New Jersey. (Given that I’m still in exile and it doesn’t look like I’ll be heading back to California anytime soon…) Not that it’s ever going to happen… =P

And after going up to the Rockefeller Center’s Top of the Rock observation deck, I was reminded that  NYC is an island prison of concrete and steel. It’s like Alcatraz… except much bigger! =)

The southern view from the Rockefeller Center. A sea of high rise buildings with the Empire State Building piercing the skyline. I suppose you can see sky from on top of buildings… but who’s ever on top? =)

The northwestern view up the Hudson River. Nice views of Central Park and the Time Warner Center (to the left).

The northern view of Central Park imprisoned by the city of concrete and steel stretching across the horizon. Madness!

So after having been up to the observation decks of both the Empire State Building and the Rockefeller Center, I’ve decided that the view from the Top of the Rock is better for it’s clear view of Central Park (even though it’s shorter than the Empire State).

My roommate wouldn’t believe me that the view was better so here’s the proof from a photo I found online that the Rockefeller Center (and others) obscure the view of Central Park from the Empire State Building: =)

Image from http://www.saunalahti.fi/wpoet/nyc/nyc41.htm

Anyway, a good week overall. Got to meet up with a few people I haven’t seen in months and years and also met a handful of new people from RWC so I feel like I’m starting to make up for the past few months of being isolated from the world. =)

Finally, a short story from the past weekend.

So, last Saturday, on our way to New York City from Princeton, we happened to stop by a Wendy’s to quickly grab some food before continuing with the rest of the day’s plans.

Given that everybody was ordering combos, I made sure to order the “small” size for my uncle, aunt, myself and the older of my two cousins. I guess I didn’t catch that the younger of my cousins had ordered the “medium” size which I guess is what she would usually order in Korea.

And so, even more proof that American portions are out of control ! =)

Welcome to America! Where the “medium” drink is much bigger than the “large” in most other countries and can be bigger than your head! =)