Easter Sunday Dinner this year could have come out of a Disney script about newly weds. At least that is what it reminded me of. My incredible wife spent the entire weekend with me in England. Actually I was incredibly lucky because she stayed with me for 4 days, quite a treat. She made me two home cooked meals. While she is not a super experienced cook, she is actually pretty good at it. She finds relatively complex recipes online and normally cooks them correctly (or close to it) on the first try. The first dinner she cooked for me was a lemon chicken with a kick (snow peas and Dijon mustard), along with mashed potatoes, and garlic bread. It was to say the least a triumph. Expecially since it was the first time she had used that kitchen and we don’t really have all the required items (such as measuring cups).
The second meal, Easter Dinner, was also quite good. Garlic Lamb cutlets in cooking wine with various garnishes, roasted potatoes with cheese in olive oil, roasted asparagus with a rub, and garlic bread (I must be honest we bought 2 loaves pre-made for the weekend). It was quite delicious. So why was this situation worthy of entry into a Disney movie? Well the meal didn’t start out as Lamb cutlets. Instead it was originally envisioned and the recipe was for, a lamb roast. Unfortunate there were some difficulties in the cooking process that cause us to look for last minute changes.
So to start the movie scene off imagine the new husband only paying half attention to his wife as he watches an automotive show on the teli. The kitchen has been used to create only one meal, and one that was not as complicated, and contained less items to be prepared. Now watch as the wife finds that she is missing the measuring devices and must instead gauge visually how much of each ingredient to use. Of course she calls out to her husband, who obligingly comes in and proceeds to only get in the way. So he is sent out. Once all the preparation is completed the items are put into the stove to cook, unfortunately it didn’t get preheated because the British stove require extra steps to get going.
After an hour of cooking the lamb is checked, one end is cooked through the other seems raw. Apparently the oven also cooks uneven, very uneven. So what then is the best solution to speed things up? To DOUBLE the temperature of the oven of course. Well I know this part of the scene is over played in movies but how could we resist the smoke and noise from caused by the smoke alarm from charring the outside edge of the lamb. Here of course the husband must use a towel to fan smoke away from the alarm as the wife pulls the roast out of the oven. But of course we had just pulled out other items from the oven and there was no place to set the roast down. So after a few minutes of awkward dancing in the kitchen, and the wife slightly burning her finger, the roast is out of the oven and dinner seems to be ruined.
With a mess all over the counter, a smoky apartment, and two befuddled newly weds it looks like going out to dinner may be in the cards. But this was no ordinary new bride. This one is known for quick thinking. So after a few minutes of damage control the lamb was cut into slices and re-marinated, the kitchen was cleaned a bit, the finished items were placed on plates in the microwave, and the couple was back on there way. After another ½ hour of cooking the lamb was finished.
So that was basically the scene that we played out over the holiday. One I think most new couples must go through at least once and in the end though we had a great meal and a little domestic adventure.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
I’m not doing my job unless someone is unhappy
I realized something the other day. I am not doing a good my job unless someone is unhappy. Normally this isn’t me or anyone at my firm. Instead it is usually someone at the client company. Luckily for me people are unhappy with me because I am not playing by the client’s internal politics or because I am putting someone under pressure, I’m certainly not making people unhappy because I am acting as one of the Bob’s from Office Space interviewing people to layoff. Even if the new systems I put in do reduce head count over the long run, I have talked to people in my firm that have had the role of eliminating jobs and it is one I certainly do not want. Generally I just make people mad because I follow marching orders that they can not control, and I do not wait on them for anything. If we did this we would never hit deadlines. The funny thing about this is that it makes the people that actually do my reviews very happy. My manager always tell me not to worry about the client people that are less than satisfied, it is normally because they aren’t used to being driven to produce to others schedules and they don’t like it.
Honestly I have never worried about it much. I guess this is a little abstract so a quick example may help. Recently I have been doing work to migrate data from legacy systems to their new SAP system, specifically financial data. It is important that we don’t wait on this process because it is critical to the company running once they complete switch systems. I was given direction to get my work ready for a test run by a certain date. The client personnel had not decided yet that they agreed with that date. In fact a few days (yes after things being scheduled for months) they objected to my work being included in the test. We went ahead anyway. The test was a resounding success and we learned a lot from it, but it pissed off the client personnel that we did with out them being able to look at all the work before the test; to bad for them that their own management was on my side of the situation. So when the started sending nasty emails, they were the ones actually called out on the carpet.
I have always found this amusing. People that are part of projects that cost hundreds of millions of dollars think they can hold things up because the used to be in control of a very small part of the overall scope of the project. They have always made the rules now in the bigger system they will only be a cog. They are actually to gain much more marketable skills from playing along, but instead they fight it. Many times these people are let go and replaced by will participants. But there has yet to be a project where there weren’t a significant percentage of people that were unhappy with me. In the end they always get over it, or I deflect their anger towards management, or they tend to disappear. But I think in any other profession the amount of upheaval that I personally cause in my current job would be looked at as a negative, but here it gains me praise. It is actually something that has endeared me to this type of work. We get to break through the politics and focus on goals and process. Because of the impact of our work on the clients in general we get the backing (usually) of upper management. It is certainly different world to play in than most people in the corporate world that is for sure.
FYI if you are drafted into a large project at work run by consultants, your better off going with the flow and picking you battles than to generally trying to control everything yourself.
Honestly I have never worried about it much. I guess this is a little abstract so a quick example may help. Recently I have been doing work to migrate data from legacy systems to their new SAP system, specifically financial data. It is important that we don’t wait on this process because it is critical to the company running once they complete switch systems. I was given direction to get my work ready for a test run by a certain date. The client personnel had not decided yet that they agreed with that date. In fact a few days (yes after things being scheduled for months) they objected to my work being included in the test. We went ahead anyway. The test was a resounding success and we learned a lot from it, but it pissed off the client personnel that we did with out them being able to look at all the work before the test; to bad for them that their own management was on my side of the situation. So when the started sending nasty emails, they were the ones actually called out on the carpet.
I have always found this amusing. People that are part of projects that cost hundreds of millions of dollars think they can hold things up because the used to be in control of a very small part of the overall scope of the project. They have always made the rules now in the bigger system they will only be a cog. They are actually to gain much more marketable skills from playing along, but instead they fight it. Many times these people are let go and replaced by will participants. But there has yet to be a project where there weren’t a significant percentage of people that were unhappy with me. In the end they always get over it, or I deflect their anger towards management, or they tend to disappear. But I think in any other profession the amount of upheaval that I personally cause in my current job would be looked at as a negative, but here it gains me praise. It is actually something that has endeared me to this type of work. We get to break through the politics and focus on goals and process. Because of the impact of our work on the clients in general we get the backing (usually) of upper management. It is certainly different world to play in than most people in the corporate world that is for sure.
FYI if you are drafted into a large project at work run by consultants, your better off going with the flow and picking you battles than to generally trying to control everything yourself.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Mule again!
I don’t know if people generally have heard the term ‘Mule’ used before. And I don’t mean the animal, and I don’t me someone’s nickname, nor do I mean a term for someone who is stubborn. No the term Mule is used to identify people that transport illicit goods into a country for a larger organization. Usually these goods are narcotics, but it could really be anything. Now that I am making cross Atlantic trips on a regular basis I am beginning to feel like a mule. The goods that I have been transporting on a regular basis however are not illegal. Instead they are mostly everyday objects. In fact a lot of it is very boring stuff. But that is what my lovely wife and sister in law need. Things they like, need, and normally can’t get in Russia.
So normally when I get back to my house in the states I see half a dozen or more boxes in the entryway. From all sorts of stores: Amazon, Anne Taylor, Kohl’s, JC Penny’s, and more. Then I normally get 3-7 emails with items that they would like me to go shopping for. Normally I only have to make a stop at Walgreen’s (don’t ask), Target, and the grocery store. The most common items you may ask, well Reese’s PB cups, Hershey’s with almonds, tea, Ziploc bags (these are hard to get in the UK too), pain killers, a few new movie DVDs, a new CD or two, and girly books. I would say on an average trip I bring at least 20 pounds worth of stuff back and forth. Of course none of it is for sale it is all for there personal use but I still wonder what TSA thinks when my bags get scanned!
So this last trip was not really that different. Except that most of the things I brought this time were books; six or seven of them actually. And books are not that light to be honest. In fact I had to leave some of the books I wanted to read at home because I ran out of room. Can you believe that. I thought the handle might rip off of the bag for a second time. Thanks again Mom and Dad for letting us use the big bag BTW. It has upped the amount of booty I can bring in a trip. Now I am dragging some of my co-workers into the game. We needed a part for my sister in-law’s computer. It was too hard to get in Russia or the UK so I ordered it to his house and he is bringing it to me when he comes over for work. I find that a bit rich.
I really don’t mind being a mule though. Now that I have spent more time outside the states, and in a much more capitalist developed country, I understand that we get a lot of good things in the states that for some reason aren’t sold in other places around the world. Seriously, why aren’t Ziploc bags available everywhere, they are probably the most useful thing to have in a kitchen. Now though I have to bring stuff for myself and for my extended family.
So normally when I get back to my house in the states I see half a dozen or more boxes in the entryway. From all sorts of stores: Amazon, Anne Taylor, Kohl’s, JC Penny’s, and more. Then I normally get 3-7 emails with items that they would like me to go shopping for. Normally I only have to make a stop at Walgreen’s (don’t ask), Target, and the grocery store. The most common items you may ask, well Reese’s PB cups, Hershey’s with almonds, tea, Ziploc bags (these are hard to get in the UK too), pain killers, a few new movie DVDs, a new CD or two, and girly books. I would say on an average trip I bring at least 20 pounds worth of stuff back and forth. Of course none of it is for sale it is all for there personal use but I still wonder what TSA thinks when my bags get scanned!
So this last trip was not really that different. Except that most of the things I brought this time were books; six or seven of them actually. And books are not that light to be honest. In fact I had to leave some of the books I wanted to read at home because I ran out of room. Can you believe that. I thought the handle might rip off of the bag for a second time. Thanks again Mom and Dad for letting us use the big bag BTW. It has upped the amount of booty I can bring in a trip. Now I am dragging some of my co-workers into the game. We needed a part for my sister in-law’s computer. It was too hard to get in Russia or the UK so I ordered it to his house and he is bringing it to me when he comes over for work. I find that a bit rich.
I really don’t mind being a mule though. Now that I have spent more time outside the states, and in a much more capitalist developed country, I understand that we get a lot of good things in the states that for some reason aren’t sold in other places around the world. Seriously, why aren’t Ziploc bags available everywhere, they are probably the most useful thing to have in a kitchen. Now though I have to bring stuff for myself and for my extended family.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Three weeks across the pond
Well I have been back in the states for the last week or so, but I did just spend 3 weeks in the UK and I am heading back Saturday. I feel like I am getting a to be a little old hat already on this whole transatlantic thing. In the last six months I have flow across the pond 11 times. I expect to do double that in the next six months. Someday I hope I get a chance to travel to Asia, South America, Australia, and even some parts of Africa. I have to admit that I really like spending time in England. Some of my first memories from Kindergarten are in England. I remember our row house, the school, traveling around ruins with my dad – I love castles, still do, I remember plastic dinosaurs and what was probably my first rollercoaster (at 5 way to go dad!), I remember being told there was a hedge hog in our back yard – though I never could find it, and remember other such flash back clips from my life. This time though I am 6 times older… er 30 forget – a –bout – it. And I am a traveling consultant, a job I still don’t know how I ended up with, but that seems to fit so far.
The area I am working in is on the southern coast of England. An area that is busy in the warmer months with people on holiday. There are profession sports teams (Cricket, Rugby, and European Football), good restaurants, some sites to see, and plenty to do. It is also a pretty area, very green with rolling hills, and the British country side is very scenic. I am also only and hour drive or train ride from London. So I can go to museums, shows, and enjoy the big city life too. My plan is to also drive and see as much of England as I can. Things you see in movies like the Cliffs of Dove, Wales, Haden’s wall, Stonehenge, and the like. Plus I think we will be able to make several trips to Germany, France, Scotland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and so on. We may even do some more exotic traveling to Egypt, the Ukraine, or far off areas of Eastern Europe. So I really do like the location and opportunity to be in Europe in general.. Though I do hope that my house is still there when I get back!
England is expensive there is no questioning that. You look at the prices in the stores for most things. Electronics, food, and such and they actually seem to be about 80% of what they are in the states. So a hundred dollar item maybe 80 pounds, the trick though is that the pound is double the dollar. So that 100 dollar item no becomes 160. So things are generally 60% except clothes. Wholly cow, do all you clothes shopping in the states before you think about going overseas for a while. Normal undergarments aren’t too bad. But if you want a pair of jeans you will pay 100-150 pounds easy. That is 200 to 300 dollars. I don’t think the last 6 pairs of jeans I bought combined cost that much, and gas is ridiculous. A lot more cars are diesel and Great Britton has the most expensive diesel in the world. About 1.25 – 1.30 GBP (Great British Pound) per litter, of which there are about 4 in a gallon (rough math). So like 5 GBP a gallon, now multiply that by 2 and you are looking at 10+ dollars a gallon of diesel. An Americans are complaining about 3.35, latterly 1/3 the cost.
Now I did have to figure out quite a few things that were a little unexpected. Believe it or not the biggest challenge was laundry! The hotel wanted like 2 GDP for sox, 4 GDP for a t-shirt or boxers, and 7 GDP for slacks or a shirt. I figured it out and my laundry would have cost me more than 120 GDP… 240 dollars, are you kidding me. So I had to find a Laundromat. Well the first time I looked I found a couple of them, but being late at night, 7 pm, they were closed. I actually went to the store and bought more boxers and t-shirts to get me by 4 more days to the weekend. Just what I wanted to do drag the wife to do laundry. Even then it cost about 15 GDP to do, insane. In fact the early closing time is a problem for doing most things. Shops close at 5:30 in general, most business shut at 5:00. So if you are a traveling consultant working from 7 to 7 your SOL.
Getting a phone was another issue. My ‘international’ or ‘world phone’ worked fine roaming at $1.35/minute. Even after I got it unlocked in the states I could not get it to work with a British network. I think it is something with either windows mobile or HTC phones, I don’t know. It sees the networks, it just won’t connect to them, even with a local sim card. Weird. So I thought I would get a pay monthly account with out a contract and buy a phone outright for the UK. Well they won’t pull you US credit, and you have to have a UK address for 2 years. 2 YEARS! So that was out of the question. Now I pay 15 pence a minute on a prepay. Fun. Funny though because with my prepay I can call Russia for 5 pence a minute. That just makes no sense, though I probably call Russia more than locally so, whatever. In fact it is now cheaper than in the states to call the wife with a phone card. However once she has a computer again I am looking forward to free Skype.
So it was also a pain to get an apartment, and figure out how to pay for it. As my current project manager doesn’t seem to like our housing people I had to set this up myself which is fine, because I had more options that way. But paying is a pain. I have to do the wire transfer or do a cash advance on a non-corporate card. That is just a pain. Period. But they pay the expenses on time so I guess it all works out. But I have to do more paper work this way. Hopefully setting up cable, internet, and house cleaning won’t be such a pain. At the end of my first 3 week trip I should be setup pretty well for living in England. I will have a decent company car, a nice apartment in an area that a lot of people vacation in, a UK phone, and all the other comforts of home. Actually since I will only be traveling every 6 weeks or so it will an adjustment.
The area I am working in is on the southern coast of England. An area that is busy in the warmer months with people on holiday. There are profession sports teams (Cricket, Rugby, and European Football), good restaurants, some sites to see, and plenty to do. It is also a pretty area, very green with rolling hills, and the British country side is very scenic. I am also only and hour drive or train ride from London. So I can go to museums, shows, and enjoy the big city life too. My plan is to also drive and see as much of England as I can. Things you see in movies like the Cliffs of Dove, Wales, Haden’s wall, Stonehenge, and the like. Plus I think we will be able to make several trips to Germany, France, Scotland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and so on. We may even do some more exotic traveling to Egypt, the Ukraine, or far off areas of Eastern Europe. So I really do like the location and opportunity to be in Europe in general.. Though I do hope that my house is still there when I get back!
England is expensive there is no questioning that. You look at the prices in the stores for most things. Electronics, food, and such and they actually seem to be about 80% of what they are in the states. So a hundred dollar item maybe 80 pounds, the trick though is that the pound is double the dollar. So that 100 dollar item no becomes 160. So things are generally 60% except clothes. Wholly cow, do all you clothes shopping in the states before you think about going overseas for a while. Normal undergarments aren’t too bad. But if you want a pair of jeans you will pay 100-150 pounds easy. That is 200 to 300 dollars. I don’t think the last 6 pairs of jeans I bought combined cost that much, and gas is ridiculous. A lot more cars are diesel and Great Britton has the most expensive diesel in the world. About 1.25 – 1.30 GBP (Great British Pound) per litter, of which there are about 4 in a gallon (rough math). So like 5 GBP a gallon, now multiply that by 2 and you are looking at 10+ dollars a gallon of diesel. An Americans are complaining about 3.35, latterly 1/3 the cost.
Now I did have to figure out quite a few things that were a little unexpected. Believe it or not the biggest challenge was laundry! The hotel wanted like 2 GDP for sox, 4 GDP for a t-shirt or boxers, and 7 GDP for slacks or a shirt. I figured it out and my laundry would have cost me more than 120 GDP… 240 dollars, are you kidding me. So I had to find a Laundromat. Well the first time I looked I found a couple of them, but being late at night, 7 pm, they were closed. I actually went to the store and bought more boxers and t-shirts to get me by 4 more days to the weekend. Just what I wanted to do drag the wife to do laundry. Even then it cost about 15 GDP to do, insane. In fact the early closing time is a problem for doing most things. Shops close at 5:30 in general, most business shut at 5:00. So if you are a traveling consultant working from 7 to 7 your SOL.
Getting a phone was another issue. My ‘international’ or ‘world phone’ worked fine roaming at $1.35/minute. Even after I got it unlocked in the states I could not get it to work with a British network. I think it is something with either windows mobile or HTC phones, I don’t know. It sees the networks, it just won’t connect to them, even with a local sim card. Weird. So I thought I would get a pay monthly account with out a contract and buy a phone outright for the UK. Well they won’t pull you US credit, and you have to have a UK address for 2 years. 2 YEARS! So that was out of the question. Now I pay 15 pence a minute on a prepay. Fun. Funny though because with my prepay I can call Russia for 5 pence a minute. That just makes no sense, though I probably call Russia more than locally so, whatever. In fact it is now cheaper than in the states to call the wife with a phone card. However once she has a computer again I am looking forward to free Skype.
So it was also a pain to get an apartment, and figure out how to pay for it. As my current project manager doesn’t seem to like our housing people I had to set this up myself which is fine, because I had more options that way. But paying is a pain. I have to do the wire transfer or do a cash advance on a non-corporate card. That is just a pain. Period. But they pay the expenses on time so I guess it all works out. But I have to do more paper work this way. Hopefully setting up cable, internet, and house cleaning won’t be such a pain. At the end of my first 3 week trip I should be setup pretty well for living in England. I will have a decent company car, a nice apartment in an area that a lot of people vacation in, a UK phone, and all the other comforts of home. Actually since I will only be traveling every 6 weeks or so it will an adjustment.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
A Nice Treat
Well I have now spent 3 week in the UK on my new project role. I will be back in the States doing paper work for my work permit for a couple weeks then I am heading over for a few months. I have to say though while working in another country is very exciting, and my new role is very challenging to say the least (can we say 130 hours in 2 weeks LOL) the number one benefit is that I get to see my wife. She came to visit the first weekend I was in town and if you can believe the following weekend as well. I am certainly very lucky to have been able to spend the time with her that I could. And as always it was fun to see a new part of the world with her.
We are now about 1/3 of the way through her scholarship requirement to live back in Russia and simply put it is not a lot of fun. We are still as close as ever. I have as strong of feelings and connection with her as any time. But it is still not a pleasant thing to know that you can not just go home and see your wife. That when you get home the house will be empty. So I consider it a big treat to get to see her a couple weekends in a row. And as a bonus she seems to really like Portsmouth so she will probably want to spend more time there.
So our weekends by normal standards were really quite tame. We went out to some dinners, saw a couple America movies in the theater (Ruzana really misses American entertainment), walked all over town, I showed her the apartment I was going to get (since time I did get and will post some photos of for everyone) and did my laundry (very important because the hotel wanted more than 100 pounds to do it). Of course we slept in a bit a few of the days, so all in all they were the slowest most relaxed weekends I have in months. Though I think next time she comes it is road trip time!
I really do miss spending time with my wife. We can only fight so much over the phone so it is good to have her close for some sparing matches. Her wit is by far one of her best and my favorite features. Of course it is also good that she grounds me and brings me back to earth. I was also happy to talk to her endlessly about nothing really important. The conversation never seems to run dry and when I go off on tangents she normally calmly listens till I am done, even if I can’t always return the favor. It seems that when we are together there is just a slightly different and much better reality. I don’t completely know why but I am happy for it anyway. So I will be happy to see my wife more and more for the next year, and if the government gives more trouble getting her I may just have to sign on to go to Spain for the project next year.
We are now about 1/3 of the way through her scholarship requirement to live back in Russia and simply put it is not a lot of fun. We are still as close as ever. I have as strong of feelings and connection with her as any time. But it is still not a pleasant thing to know that you can not just go home and see your wife. That when you get home the house will be empty. So I consider it a big treat to get to see her a couple weekends in a row. And as a bonus she seems to really like Portsmouth so she will probably want to spend more time there.
So our weekends by normal standards were really quite tame. We went out to some dinners, saw a couple America movies in the theater (Ruzana really misses American entertainment), walked all over town, I showed her the apartment I was going to get (since time I did get and will post some photos of for everyone) and did my laundry (very important because the hotel wanted more than 100 pounds to do it). Of course we slept in a bit a few of the days, so all in all they were the slowest most relaxed weekends I have in months. Though I think next time she comes it is road trip time!
I really do miss spending time with my wife. We can only fight so much over the phone so it is good to have her close for some sparing matches. Her wit is by far one of her best and my favorite features. Of course it is also good that she grounds me and brings me back to earth. I was also happy to talk to her endlessly about nothing really important. The conversation never seems to run dry and when I go off on tangents she normally calmly listens till I am done, even if I can’t always return the favor. It seems that when we are together there is just a slightly different and much better reality. I don’t completely know why but I am happy for it anyway. So I will be happy to see my wife more and more for the next year, and if the government gives more trouble getting her I may just have to sign on to go to Spain for the project next year.
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