Longform

Tech Layoffs, myself included:

1/28/23

Shoutout to employers making missteps

Layoffs are among the most challenging life experiences, causing more psychological stress than even divorce, according to one study. Losing a job can upend workers’ finances and their sense of self, and layoffs in the world of remote work have in many cases been especially destabilizing, with employer missteps fueling uncertainty and unnecessary unknowns.

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Felt this part a lot too:

Last year ended with job cuts across tech behemoths […] For many of these companies, these cuts followed years of free-flowing perks and flexible work arrangements that were part of what was called a “war for talent.” “That is one of the great contradictions of corporate life,” Ms. Sucher said. “All corporations say ‘People are our most important asset,’ but they don’t really seem to believe that.” “Calling someone ‘talent’ is quite different from calling them a person,” she added. “People aren’t a resource that can be depleted over time.”

Contrast being told “imma checkin with you and share your profile with my network” and never hearing back with how Nokia did it, at scale:

Actions > Words.

Nokia, when it was restructuring in 2011, gave the roughly 18,000 people who would be affected about a year of advance notice and offered them several pathways forward: The company would help them find new roles internally, get new jobs externally, start their own businesses or begin an educational program, among other options. Nokia’s success metrics were whether people had a job lined up when they left the firm, and whether they were leaving with a positive enough impression that they would be open to returning in the future. Nearly two-thirds of people who left knew what their next steps would be. “This is going to be the lasting impression that sticks with your previous employees, your current employees and all future employees,” said Tanner Hackett, chief executive of Counterpart, an insurance technology company that helps small businesses.

One of the most frustrating part is being told “what a great person you are”, “what a wonderful positive energy you bring”, “how much we value working with you”, and “if things were different we’d hire you again right away”…

But you’re still showing me the door so… 🚪💥 🤷🏻‍♂️

I do believe that good vibes/energy pay(s) off in the long term in terms of good reputation.

But short/medium term I’m yet to find a leader that values it at the point of backing someone when times get hard(er)

Watched: December 2022 / January 2023

1/12/23

Been making great use of @Letterboxd these past few weeks 🤩

⚽️⚽️⚽️

12/13/22

”Wout Weghorst briefly went supernova”

”What’s your favorite part? Mine is the bit where Cristiano Ronaldo walks down the tunnel, crying.”

”Next, Morocco gets to play its other former colonizer, France, for a chance to complete the re-enactment of its own liberation.”

“Mbappé has been romping through this World Cup with supreme Meryl Streep Doing Community Theater energy—the talent so vast, the stage so small.”

The bandwagon fan’s guide to the World Cup semifinals - The Ringer

The Athletic: Remembering Grant Wahl

12/13/22

“His raw copy was as clean as a Lionel Messi first touch, and the ideas within it always crystal-clear and refined.”

⚽️ 🕯️ The Athletic: Remembering Grant Wahl

Lime scooters lobbying efforts.

11/10/22

I just received this email and I’m unsure how I feel about this…

On the one hand it’s a bit chaotic, on the other it’s very convenient, and allows more people to find alternative transportation methods compared to the Metro/Taxis/Uber.

But emailing your customer base without giving them facts is equivalent to sharing fake news and masking ‘opinion-as-fact’ in a way that is reminiscent of US Republicans and far-right politicians.

I believe more strongly in Regulate It than in Ban It.

Plus, the real problem in my mind lies with people, not in the devices themselves. There are lots of examples of things that don’t work here in France due to people being too selfish or individualists.

Everything Everywhere All At Once

6/18/22

I’ve waited for SO DAMN LONG to be able to see @AllAtOnceMovie — such an incredible film!

"Cities" by PG

6/17/22

I tried living there for a bit last year, and the ambitions of the inhabitants are not intellectual ones. The message Paris sends now is: do things with style. I liked that, actually. Paris is the only city I’ve lived in where people genuinely cared about art. In America only a few rich people buy original art, and even the more sophisticated ones rarely get past judging it by the brand name of the artist. But looking through windows at dusk in Paris you can see that people there actually care what paintings look like. Visually, Paris has the best eavesdropping I know.

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NYT x Krugman: "How France's Economy Is Surviving the Covid Pandemic"

2/4/22

I don’t want to romanticize the French economy or French society, both of which have plenty of problems. And liberals who like to imagine that we could neutralize the anger of the white working class by raising wages and strengthening the social safety net should know that France, whose policies are to the left of U.S. progressives’ wildest dreams, has its own ugly white nationalist movement, albeit not as powerful as ours.

Still, at a time when Republicans denounce as destructive “socialism” any effort to make America less unequal, it’s worth knowing that the economy of France — which isn’t socialist but comes far closer to socialism than anything Democrats might propose — is doing pretty well.

Delivery day!

1/12/22

1. Just upgraded my running/working out gear to some T-shirts and jogging/track pants from Castore — shit was expensive but wow it feels so good!
2. Testing something.
3. Had to get the @IlkayGuendogan away kit from last season: our best goal scorer

Recent movies watched at the cinema

7/10/21

Baseball Girl

Korean Film Festival in Paris. Beyond the baseball aspects (which I love) this movie was more about societal and political issues. Highly recommend!

Annette

La La Land meets Real Life meets Greek Tragedy

A Quiet Place

Did not see the story going in this direction, and a good time at the movie! AQP 1&2 are such an experience to be enjoyed in theaters!

New Vlog

7/22/20

I published a new Vlog yesterday :) been a while!

Fary x Colors

6/27/20

Ok.

So let’s say I’m changing my first name… Would it make you look past the fact that I’m not as fair-skinned as other names? Like, if I get a “whiter” French name… What’s the idea, that I’ll whiten over time ? Oh sure, you “don’t even see color”. You have “a friend of a friend that’s even blacker than an Arab”, sorry.

If I was Asian and I changed my name, would that be easier for you to pronounce than “rice-paddy” ? What if I move somewhere else, do I have to change again? Is there like a clever bland name that can bypass your anger? You know, I think even if I got a more French-sounding name, you’d assume something’s up, and at some point in the conversation, you’d be like “…but what’s your real name ?”

And if I change my name, do I have to change anything else for you ? I wanna know that. Are you gonna decide how I should dress, or not dress… or if I’m a woman, how I should undress at the beach ? By the way, it’s not a great look these days, to criticize a woman for “wearing too much”. Just sayin'.

Okay, if I change my name, would you also want to change other words, that aren’t French enough for you? Like, in everyday life ? It’d be tough in the corporate world. They’ll be lost without anglicisms. No more “I’m sending it ASAP ! " “Let’s make a conf-call ! Why not ? Yes, let’s get lunch sometime ! "

Alright, if I change my name, what are you willing to change ? Say I’m down for the switch, what do you switch ? Are you gonna chill a little ? Maybe ease up a bit ? Because to me it looks like you’re just scared.

Scared to see your world change, at the hands of people like me, when you’re the one who wants me to change in the first place. I don’t even know what you want, actually. I can’t figure it out, because… You want me to change so I feel more integrated, but when I do, you think I’m “Great Replacing” you ?

If I change my name, will I finally not have to justify myself when someone who looks like me, commits a crime that doesn’t ? Or, since I’ll have changed my name, I’ll now have to apologize whenever Nicolas or Patrick screws up ? You know, as they do. Oh no you’re right, these names never need to apologize.

Alright, granted. Would it change anything for you, if the French soccer team won the World Cup twice, thanks to Frenchmen with not-so-French names ? See I’m being sarcastic, that’s as French as it gets. Ok.

Stop. Tell the truth. I was born here, but you’re still terrified

Stop. Tell the truth. You know I’m here, but you always act surprised

I’ll stop. And tell the truth I tell jokes, but that’s not really what they are.

I’ll stop. And tell the truth. I hate it, that you need to hear the truth

Stop. Tell the truth. Tell the truth. Tell the truth.

Watch this incredible piece on YouTube

NYT: "Macron Beat Back the Coronavirus. France Is Not Impressed."

6/8/20

“France has fared better than many in the pandemic, especially when compared with the United States, Italy, Spain and especially Britain. Just don’t tell that to the French, who resent Mr. Macron for it more than ever.”

This is what I refer to when I say that my French people tend to be unreasonable… Nothing is ever good enough, regardless of results! 🤷🏻‍♂️

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A few thoughts and resources about Racial Injustice & Empathy

6/5/20

This week has been draining.

It’s no longer possible to stay on the sidelines and watch the situation silently. What’s happening now in the US is a fight that also happens here in France, and in many other places across Europe and around the World.

As a light continues to shine on societal inequalities in the US and the world, these are resources I have discovered that are helping to educate me on anti-racism and systemic racism. I’d like to share them below, in the hope that it helps others learn more about the situation impacting African-Americans and the Black community as a whole.

Step 1: Educate Yourself

Books

Buy some books from a local, independent, preferably black-owned bookstore. I read some of these and ordered a few more that I’m looking forward to go through this weekend:

• Between the World and Me
• How to be an Antiracist
• So you want to talk about Race
• Hood Feminism
• Stamped from the Beginning
• I’m Still Here
• What doesn’t kill you makes you Blacker
• White Fragility
• Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race
• Anything from James Baldwin (The Fire Next Time , If Beale Street Could Talk , I am not your Negro, Giovanni’s Room, etc.)

And to my French community, most of them should be available translated in French too.

Podcasts

• Kiffe ta race (FR)
• 1619 (EN)
• Pod Save the People (EN)
• Code Switch (EN)
• Higher Learning (EN)

Movies & TV Shows

Movies

• 13th (Documentary - about mass-incarceration) ( Netflix )
• I am not your negro (Documentary)
• Just Mercy (inspired from true story)
• The Hate U Give (adapted from book)
• If Beale Street Could Talk (adapted from James Baldwin novel)
• Do The Right Thing (Classic watch — Spike Lee)
• Boyz n the Hood
• Fruitvale Station (inspired by true story)(Directed by Ryan Coogler: Black Panther, Creed, etc)
• The Last Black Man in San Francisco (More about Gentrification)

TV Shows

• Dear White People
• When They See Us
• Watchmen

Living in/Visiting Paris?

• Book a tour of Paris with “Paris Noir” to learn about how African, Caribbean and African-American culture connects the City of Lights. (Available in French & English)

Step 2: Act

Ask yourself what you can do

• Learn about the biases that you may have, identify it, and try to think past that. Just like any exercise or habit, it gets better every single time you’ll practice.

Review diversity and inclusivity initiatives at the company you work with/for.

• Talk about it with your local HR/Admin leaders & Management.
• Keep in mind that diversity & inclusivity can be about different nationalities but also about differences in terms of social, educational, cultural or even economic background.

Shop at local businesses

• Discover Black-owned businesses in Paris with “Little Africa” or this list of 50+ black-owned businesses in Paris
• Order their ‘City Guide’

For every single one of these points, a quick search online is all you need to be literally inundated with suggestions, so please don’t be lazy.

And I’d be more than happy to look into this some more if anyone wants to reach out privately too. And obviously, feel free to share this list around you and let me know if you were able to experience some of these resources!

I hope this helps, and I look forward to living in a better world with all of you!

On Kindle

8/30/19

"My Kindle could’ve been a hub for all of my reading, from newsletters to newspapers to subscription sites to books. Instead, it’s a thin electronic paperback book, and that’s all. That’s not nothing—but it could’ve been so much more."

[=]

Matt Hackett: “Traveling is a necessity for common human purpose”

4/4/19

“I believe more travel is good for humanity. The increasing availability of travel to people of every class all over the world creates far more than economic activity. Travel dramatically increases cultural liquidity. Like financial liquidity, it is a necessity for peace, prosperity, and common human purpose.”