Scott Van Vliet : Personal

こんにちは東京から / Hello from Tokyo!

skillet — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 12:48:00 GMT

This is my first time visiting Japan, and it's already been an incredible experience. Dinner tonight was an interesting blend of Japanese fare, most of which tasted completely unfamiliar. And the long ride from Narita to the Westin Tokyo allowed me to view some of the city's multifaceted beauty.

Tokyo is the start of my mini World Tour of client meetings; I'm off to Hong Kong in a couple days, then to Mumbai only a day later. Stay tuned for more interesting musings.

Mumbai Recap & Photo Journal

skillet — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 13:12:00 GMT

After a good 10 days in Mumbai, India, I'm back in the US and getting acclimated to cooler weather, cleaner air and wider, faster and much quieter roads.

It has been a truly unique experience working with our offshore team on this project, and visiting them in their office afforded me the opportunity to observe project triumphs and pitfalls from their perspective. Often in offshore delivery models, you loose a sense of the person at the other end of the horizon. Working with these folks one-on-one -- them traveling to the US -- definitely helped build the relationship between Architect and Developers; however, I feel this trip to India really underscored the importance of clear and concise communication in the successful delivery of offshore projects (which really requires travel to the offshore location, wherever it may be...)

I took so many damn pictures, but rather than make you suffer through all of them, I consolidated the good ones into a photo journal at the link below:

Mumbai Trip Photo Journal

If you are working on an offshore project and have to opportunity to travel to such a location, I would strongly recommend you take it. It's an enriching experience, both professionally and personally.

Namaste.

Buddhist Caves at Kanheri

skillet — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 16:03:56 GMT

Over the weekend, our driver took us on a whirlwind tour of Mumbai. Starting out in South Mumbai, we stopped off at the Gateway of India, Taj Mahal (the hotel) and all of the other typical tourist spots. However, it was on Sunday that we experienced some real Indiana Jones action -- the Kanheri Caves.

From Wikipedia:

The Kanheri Caves are a number of rock-cut Buddhist caves located in Mumbai, India. The caves date back to the 1st century BC when the area was under the rule of the Maurayan and Kushan empires. The caves lie deep inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, a National Park in northern Mumbai at 19.205° N 72.907° E. The caves are at a height of about 450 metres (1,500 feet) above sea level and command a panoramic view of the surroundings. The Arabian Sea, and the Vasai Creek can be seen in the distance.

All I could think of was Anthony chanting, "cover your heart, Indy!" It was such a cool feeling to be standing at the stairs of history (literally.)

Oh yeah, the monkeys were cool, too!

I almost forgot... whilst checking out the caves, a group of Indian teenagers were following us around, recording us on their camcorder. Not sure if they thought we were celebs, or if they'd never seen Westerners in person, but it was nevertheless humorous. They eventually approached and asked us to pose with them, after which I asked to take a picture of them (below):

Considering we were pretty tired of being sold things every five minutes, this was a great end to a long, tiring weekend.

Powai Lake

skillet — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 14:59:03 GMT

Today was the first day it wasn't rainy, and the sun actually broke through to say hello. Here's the view from our hotel lobby, overlooking Powai Lake.

It's interesting, in such a vast urban sprawl lies immense natural beauty.

Pizza Hut - Great Indian Treat!

skillet — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 14:41:20 GMT

So Anthony and I decided to visit an American eatery for lunch yesterday, and found a Pizza Hut in a mall nearby in Thane... and this wasn't your ordinary American Pizza Hut! We were greeted by a host, who sat us at a table and offered menus to select our choice of the "Great Indian Treat." After getting over the initial shock of a sit-down Pizza Hut we ordered a Chicken Tikka Pizza and some Chicken Satay Sticks, and I must admit -- it was fantastic! They need to bring this combo to the states!

Check out the fancy Pizza Hut dishware:

Ganesh Chaturthi (Festival)

skillet — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 18:31:42 GMT

Our trip to Mumbai just so happened to coincide with Ganesh Chaturthi, a festival celebrating the birthday of the Hindi deity Lord Ganesha. As part of this celebration, the entire city is adorned with vibrantly colorful banners, elaborately decorated vehicles and effigies of the deity, which are immersed in the sea at its end.

From Wikipedia (link):

Ganesh Chaturthi (Ganesh Festival) is an occasion or a day on which Lord Ganesha, the son of Shiva and Parvati, makes his presence on earth for all his devotees ... It is the birthday of Lord Ganesha. The festival is observed in the Hindu calendar month of Bhaadrapada ... [and] lasts for 10 days, ending on Ananta Chaturdashi.
Ganesh, the elephant-headed son of Shiva and Parvati, is widely worshipped as the supreme god of wisdom, prosperity and chance.

Unfortunately, we were unable to witness the immersion; however, we were able to capture some video of the city as decorated for this occasion.

Indian Road Block

skillet — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 16:28:39 GMT

Driving in India is such a unique experience (not that I'm actually driving, but just being a passenger is nuts!)

Greetings from Mumbai!

skillet — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 16:24:47 GMT

So, not only is this my first posting using Windows Live Writer, but it's also my first post from India... we arrived shortly after midnight, and jetlag is finally hitting me. Talk about sensory overload! I've seen many things which I've not seen before... will post more musings (and pictures) soon. Here's the view from the front of the office in Thane.

Our liaison here took us to a very good North Indian restaurant, and I'm now stuffed to the gills! Time to try and get some work done.

Cheers.

Updates: WPF Book, Capgemini, London and Mumbai

skillet — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 05:22:00 GMT

It has been some time since I've posted on this blog (apart from my entry from earlier today, of course,) and it is with good reason – I've been busy! So many things happened over the past couple months, so I thought it'd be good to catch up :)

Back in June, and after a few cycles with an relentless executive recruiter, I accepted an Senior Manager position within Capgemini’s Media & Entertainment practice. In this role, I’ll be (and have been) leading up Architecture and Development for projects across the globe. It’s a very exciting, challenging opportunity, and has thus far been quite fruitful. It has also given me the opportunity to work on worldwide engagements – already seeing me in London, and off to Mumbai next week.

I wish that I had some good pictures from London, but I was so busy working that I didn’t have time to do much sightseeing! Thus, enjoy this picture of Picadilly Circus, one of the few iconic landmarks I was able to see.

My Daughter, the Kindergarten Valedictorian

skillet — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 15:01:00 GMT

Yesterday was my daughter’s Kindergarten graduation. It was indeed a momentous occasion; however, it was a bit more special than we had thought. Our daughter – who usually cannot keep a secret – sat poised and quite in her little cap and gown as she and her teachers surprised us all. They announced the class had a valedictorian – someone who had been awarded the best reader award and the best speller award (by the State of California). Then, Chloe was called up to read an entire book in front of everyone (~60 people, which is TOUGH for even some of my colleagues!) She read flawlessly, and made me quite proud!

Sorry for the OT, but as a proud father, I want to tell random strangers J I’m working on so many things right now, but will be posting some technical articles soon. I promise!