The Pascagoula Run

I’m on a plane heading home from Los Angeles. It was my first trip to California. Very interesting place. I didn’t see much of LA, but what I did see reminded me of Miami if it were in a desert. I think Miami is a toilet, so that isn’t a flattering statement for Los Angeles.

The part of town I was in is supposedly known as the porn capital of the world. I was expecting to see lots of attractive people, and I did see a few, but DC still gets my vote for best-looking city.

The landscape we’re flying over is fascinating. I’ve flown over the top of the country in my travels to Seattle, but this was my first trip over the southwest. Incredible. Desert extending for hundreds of miles, rugged mountains, canyons, mesas. It’s a wasteland down there. It looks like another planet. I’m sure I’d be dead in a matter of hours if I were down there instead of safely ensconced up here at 38,000 feet in my shiny metal phallus.

Traveling is one of my least favorite things to do while hung-over. I went out to dinner last night with a Microsoft buddy who had budget approval for 9 people, but could only scrounge up four. It was a trying circumstance, but we saw it as a challenge and felt ourselves up the task. Of course the easiest way to succeed in such situations is with copious amounts of expensive alcohol.

One of our party was an Indian contractor from Convansys. Nice guy, but I’m afraid he didn’t pull his weight. I’m flying on Song, which has several nice features. I’m not sure what time zone I’m in at the moment, but I am sure that it’s time for a therapeutic martini.

I’ve met lots of Indians, but he’s the first who works for an outsourcing firm. These are the guys who are the recipients of our technology jobs that are going overseas. I don’t judge them for that; it’s just how capitalism works. And now I understand why. Covansys is charging our mutual client $35/hr and paying my Indian friend only $4/hr. I’ll not share what I’m being paid, but you could fill a bus with Indian contractors for a comparable cost.

However, their quality isn’t always the best. I’ve had several clients tell horror stories about their outsourcing experiences. Communication barriers, exactly opposite time zones, and conflicting interests have led to many failed projects. I’ve heard that Convansys has been the target of many lawsuits from dissatisfied clients.

I know next to nothing about the Indian economy, so I can’t judge how much that $4 is to them. I know the exchange rate is about 45 rupees/$1, but this is more a cost-of-living difference. They say a nice hotel in Bangalore would run me $5/night. They must have been shocked to pay $199/night for a mediocre Marriott in LA. My friend has a life insurance policy with a $2,000 benefit.

Still, I’m sure these guys are somewhat taken advantage of by their own companies. He said he was on a $35/day per diem, but the IRS’s published per diem rates for LA are $51/day.

He’s currently here on a “business visa”, but he’s going home next week for a month. He’s hoping his parents can find him a wife during that month. Then he’s coming back to the US on an H1-B visa sponsored by our client and will stay for a year.

I was originally scheduled to take the redeye tonight. But the trip wrapped up a little early and there is a hurricane approaching Florida, so I decided to scoot home rather than hang around. I’m pretty happy with the decision. That redeye was packed. Instead, I spent the night in the hotel and caught a mid-morning flight. Usually, I leave for the airport after working all day. It’s nice to travel a little more casually during the off-peak.

I’ve met a lot of commuters on this TPA/LAX route. There seems to be more camaraderie between the stewardesses and the passengers than usual. The guy in 2C (B is empty, thankfully) is a regular on tomorrow morning’s flight, but is coming home early like me. We shared the concern that the Tampa airport may close due to weather. He’s sleeping, which I find odd. I’d figure that you’d want to sleep going East-to-West, but not the other way in order to minimize the jet lag.

My laptop is too big to use comfortably on an airplane unless I can get an exit row or first class. Unfortunately, the exit rows are tough on these flights and Song doesn’t have a first class. So I’ll wrap this up to save my wrists.