The Pangea Project

New Project About to Begin

2012-01-03T07:30:00.000-08:00

We are about to kick off a new project. This one will be bigger than all of the previous. In preparation, I will be going to Mexico next week. The week after, I will make my first trip to El Paso, Texas. And the week after that, I'll be in Peru, Indiana. Updates and photographs will be coming soon.

Nashville Food Bank

2012-01-03T07:28:00.000-08:00

In December, part of our team met in Nashville to help out at a local food bank. Our job was sorting and repacking. After, we had dinner together to celebrate the upcoming holidays.

A Busy Week

2011-08-25T15:45:00.000-07:00

I spent the first half of this week in Pennsylvania doing a site assessment of a distribution center that might be a future ERP deployment. We wrapped up early and spent part of the afternoon touring Gettysburg....

After, we traveled to Tennessee for a manufacturing plant site assessment. Behind this plant is a rather impressive solar farm that generates electricity. What is not used by the plant is piped into the electric grid. I'm not exactly sure why it's there as the company does not produce solar cells... I think it's more to show that we are a green company doing creative things with electricity.

Santa Claus Indiana

2011-08-25T15:38:00.000-07:00

In July, I took the family to Santa Claus, Indiana, home of Holiday World. For years, people have asked me if I've ever been to this amusement park. And, I have to say it's a pretty good one.... The kid stuff is scattered about rather than being isolated in a single part... speaking of kids... here's my two:

Travel to Fresno and a New Project Canceled

2011-05-26T12:24:00.000-07:00

My most recent project has interesting cultural dynamics. The VP's of the subsidiary we are bringing into our ERP system are accustomed to being like kings with a great deal of autonomy. Being pulled into a huge global company is going to be quite an adjustment. Also, instead of using consultants, we now have our own company's "fly team" which is to assist with deployment projects around the world. Our new fly team is from China and communication is extremely difficult. Any new development will be done mostly by a team in India. Our project's core "solution" and international project management team is in France. We have our own North American project management team as well.

But with all of these different groups from around the world it is sometimes difficult to know who really should be the decision makers. And to make matters worse, there is absolutely no good time for conference calls that need to include China, France, US East Coast, and US West Coast. It seems I often end up on the phone with France in the early morning and with China late at night. I'm finding that I keep winding up with 12 to 14 hour work days simply due to the scheduling of meetings and workshops. Something has to give as we can't all be working these extreme hours for a long period of time. The work-life balance is way out of whack.

I have just returned from a two week trip to Fresno, California. I didn't want to fly home Friday night only to return Monday morning so I just stayed over the weekend. On Saturday, I went hiking just South of Yosemite. I hit several short 2 to 3 mile loops that went by giant sequoias and waterfalls. I went by myself and loved having the time in nature to simply clear my head and relax. One of the trail heads, had a sign warning about mountain lions. I'll admit that walking along this trail, I was a bit uncomfortable as there were many rocky cliffs with overhead crevices that would be the perfect place for mountain lions to hang out in. Luckily, I didn't actually encounter any while there. The trees in the picture below were in or around the Nelder Grove area.

The Bull Buck Tree reaches a height of 246 feet (75 m) and has a ground-level circumference of 100 feet (30 m).

The Bull Buck Tree

On Sunday, I decided to drive into King's Valley. It was about a two and a half hour drive from Fresno. When I got there, I was surprised to find myself in the middle of a blizzard. There was about a foot of snow on the ground so hiking wasn't practical. I just drove around a little bit and then went back to Fresno to eat dinner.

Shortly after returning home, I was informed that my project was canceled. Well, actually I think the term they used was "postponed". So, I don't anticipate any more trips to California in the near future. There are many reasons for canceling it few of which had really anything to do with our project and most that had to do with other changes taking place during the same time period. I won't go into the details here. But, for now, the North America team is regrouping in Nashville. I think that my next project is going to be in Dayton, Ohio which is only an hour and a half drive from my home in Northern Kentucky. But, it could also entail travel to Salt Lake City. Perhaps I will know more in the coming weeks.

These barks are not from Sequoia but I was strangely drawn to the coloration and pattern.

Project Kickoff in Nashville

2011-03-29T21:35:00.000-07:00

This week, we kicked off a new sub-project to implement SAP at a company that we have acquired. Even though the subsidiary is located in central California, our kickoff was held in Nashville, Tennessee. We have team members here who flew in from China, France, Canada, Mexico, and all around the United States. The total team probably consists of around 50 people. In addition to plants in California, the scope could include distribution centers in Singapore, Holland, China, Kentucky, and Southern California.

This evening, we took the entire team to the Wild Horse Saloon, a large country western place with live music and line dancing. The alcohol didn't flow as freely as usual, probably because it's a new team and people are still afraid to let their hair down. I'm guessing that in another month or two when everyone is feeling stressed that there will be more heavy drinkers.

Mexico City & the Virgin of Guadalupe

2011-02-05T20:02:00.000-08:00

I have just returned from a week in Mexico City where I was working at a manufacturing plant and a distribution center. Throughout both facilities near the end of most assembly lines and shipping doors were shrines dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe. The company has allowed workers to build these. I am told that the intention is for the Virgin to watch over the workers and protect them. The Virgin of Guadalupe is a powerful symbol in Mexico. She seems to be a cross between the Catholic Virgin Mary and the native mother-goddess Tonantzin. Her features are not quite indigenous and not quite European, representing the modern Mexican. You see her everywhere in Mexico City... on clothing, buildings, cars, key chains, everywhere.

Working in the Cave

2011-01-28T07:33:00.000-08:00

Go-Live #3 went quite well. Every implementation is smoother than the last. I worked locally and mostly supported the local plant. During the middle of hyper-care, I moved my family from Lexington to Florence, a suburb of Cincinnati.

In December, I took my family on a long road trip through Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma. The primary objective of the trip was to visit family members scattered throughout the central part of the United States. It is the first time that most had the opportunity to meet Kaden, my baby son.

In January, I was asked to help support our Columbia, MO plant. They have an off-site storage facility within an old rock quarry. They had often mentioned storing material "in the cave" but I hadn't realized until now that it was really a cave.

The Cave

On Monday, I leave for Mexico City. We have a plant and DC in Rojo Gomez. Due to travel restrictions in countries labeled as "red", I will probably not get to see and do much outside of work. My hotel is inside the airport. They will shuttle us in armored cars from the hotel to the plant and back again at the end of the day. I'm not allowed to go out in the evenings and will likely eat dinner at the hotel or inside the airport.

Vacation, two SAP role outs, and the Next Project

2010-10-24T20:18:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a long while since I have posted. I have spent many weeks in Nashville and a few in Iowa. I didn't even think to take pictures in Iowa... There was not much to take pictures of there.... just lots and lots of corn fields. I did however find an interesting section of Cedar Rapids which was settled by people from Czech and Slovakia. I had a very nice Czech meal there at a place called The Blue Toad.

Recently, my family went on vacation at Sanibel Island near Ft. Meyers Florida. My parents rented a house on the beach and we all had a good time. Skylar, my four year old son was very excited to be riding an airplane again. It was my other son Kadens first time flying.

SAP Go Live 2 happened back in July. It consisted of 2 plants in Mexico and 1 plant in Lincoln Nebraska. The three plants had very few issues and in no time at all was back up to their old production and customer service levels.

Go Live 3 will happen this week. There have been more last minute data changes related to warehouse management than what I am used to. This could impact my loading of inventory balances. However, I expect things to go okay. This go live consists of three plants. I am based at my home in Lexington this week but supporting all three locations.

My next project will likely be for an affiliate based out of Fresno, California. I'm thinking about taking my family with me for a month in the Spring or Summer. It would be a great base from which to do mini weekend vacations to San Francisco, the beach, and giant redwoods, skiing, etc.

Druryvention: Convenience Store Suppers (Drury Hotels)

2010-05-21T07:56:00.000-07:00

This is a commercial from Drury but it pretty much describes the Pangea Project lifestyle. This is our hotel of choice in Nashville.

Going Live...

2010-03-03T13:34:00.001-08:00

Almost 5 years of work is coming to fruition. Our first 2 North American plants are going on the new ERP system. One in Indiana and one in Mexico. There are a few bumps but generally everything is going well. No pictures nor anything exciting to share at this time.

Life Changing Event

2009-09-09T07:50:00.003-07:00

It looks like another life changing event is taking place...

Yes, my wife is pregnant. I am expected to be in Monterrey, Mexico for about a Month in March, just before the due date. But, there is no way I will be out of the country during the third trimester. Nashville is only a few hours away so I can be there.... even so, I hate to be away, just in case.

Virginia Beach Vacation

2009-06-12T07:34:00.000-07:00

Vacation this year was nothign too exotic. We just took it easy at Virginia Beech and surrounding areas... Here's my son Sky:

Wild horses on Assateague Island:

Dolphin watching boat ride:

Battleship:

The Swine Flu Scare of 2009

2009-05-08T06:18:00.000-07:00

The company has banned all travel to Mexico and El Paso due to the recent swine flu scare. Because of this, our good buddy's down south are having to join our meetings by phone. Here is a picture of our team from the Monterrey plant.

St. Patty's Day on the Edge

2009-03-19T09:55:00.000-07:00

Here is me and Jules on the "edge". Jules is whacked. You never know what she's going to do or say. And, I have no idea why she was playing with Richard's bananna in this picture.

BB Kings in Nashville

2009-03-06T08:22:00.000-08:00

The Wendesday night team activity was to go to BB King... Everyone had a good time.

Paco's Bachelor's Party

2009-03-05T08:54:00.000-08:00

Paco is getting married next week. So, we took him out on the town in Nashville.

@ Hooters

@ Coyote Ugly's

Can you guess what this fine young lady is holding? Ha, ha... Paco knows what it is.

Mardi Gras in the Office

2009-02-18T07:46:00.000-08:00

I opted to work from home this week instead of going to Nashville. Not all of the team was to be present and every one of my meetings was to be a conference call anyway.... The downside is that because of the time difference some of my conference calls don't end until 7:30 PM. This is all the more reason to work from home rather than drive to the office. On Tuesday, I missed out on the office Mardi Gras party where everyone was supposed to wear masks... here is a picture that they sent me... "The Edge" is what we now call the collaboration area where around 100 of us sit together at huge tables in a giant room.

A Wild Night at the Olive Garden

2009-02-18T07:37:00.001-08:00

"Sri", one of our consultants is getting married in India next month... In Huntington last month, we told him that we should throw him a bachelor's party. Because he is very conservative, we thought he'd shy away from the idea. Instead, he suggested we do so on February 10th which is also his birthday. Now, if you'll recall Sri had never had alcohol until we corrupted him on our Huntington trip... In Nashville, on February 10th, he had quite a bit to drink. He kept his cool the entire time, but I couldn't help feel a little guilty that we had corrupted him. Imagine if he became an alcoholic and we were the gateway.... He made it all of the way through college without drinking and then he met us... Anyways, Sri's a vegetarian so we started the night with a hardy meal at the Olive Garden. For a veggie-head, pasta beats salad any day... Afterwards, we had the traditional American bachelor's party. And, we made it home well before midnight... a promise that we made Sri.

This week we're in Kentucky

2009-01-30T12:07:00.000-08:00

Finally, I get to bring some of our project team back home. However, they couldn't have chosen a worse time to visit. This week, Lexington experienced an ice storm which has cut off power to most of the city. The plant had power (pictured above) but very few locals showed up to work. We completed our objectives earlier than expected.

My home has no power, and there is a big tree down in my front yard. The power company says that it will be two weeks before my street is turned on so I have moved the family to my parent's house in Northern, Kentucky. There, we'll wait out the storm. I'm working from their house this Friday.

Workshop in Huntington, Indiana

2009-01-14T19:08:00.000-08:00

Today, I'm in Huntington, Indiana. This morning, my co-workers, who were staying at a different hotel, spent 40 minutes driving through the snow on the one mile trip from their hotel to work. I'm not sure why it took them so long but they say that they got stuck twice.

On this trip, I'm travelling with Enrique from Mexico, Srineva from India (living in Chicago), Rohit from India, and Anoukone from Indiana. We wrapped up our workshop in the afternoon. Enrique had never seen snow before so we thought it'd be nice to take him sledding. We ran to the local General Dollar store and bought 5 sleds... Yes Indiana is pretty flat, but there is one big hill in a park in the center of town....

It's a shame that Enrique, the Mexican, has missed out on so many happy youthful days playing in the snow... but, I guess at 28 he's still not too old to have a little fun.

After sledding, Anoukon brushed us off to avoid excess snow in the rental car...

After sledding, we went out for dinner at a Chinese buffet followed by drinks at the local buffalo wing place....

Srineva, our consultant is 25 but has never let alcohol touch his lips. We delighted in corrupting him. This is a picture of his first time ever drinking alcohol.

So, all in all po-dunk Huntington has turned out to be a really fund trip. I guess it doesn't really matter where you go if you make your own fun!

Day 3 in Monterrey, Mexico

2009-01-07T23:00:00.000-08:00

Last night, we had a wonderful low-carb meal at one of the most famous restaurants in Monterrey, El Rey del Cabrito (The Goat King). This restaurant's speciality is cabrito (baby goat). And yes, we ate baby goat. It was greasy and flavorful, like a cross between lamb and pork. There were essentially no side dishes, just a plate of peppers and a few garnishes of boiled broccoli and cauliflower... As an appetizer before the goat, we had "dried shredded meat" (apparently beef). This restaurant is a low-carber's dream. My camera batteries were dead but co-workers took pictures. The staff let us into the kitchen and my buddies took a wonderful picture of myself surrounded by baby goats on sticks roasting over open coals.
Breakfast at the hotel was eggs with warm spicy salsa and a small side of refried beans.

Lunch today, at the office was a large hamburger. I gave away the fries and stripped away the bun. There was plenty of meat, avocado, and cheese to keep me happy.

It is currently after 9:00 PM and we haven't left the office. Yes, I'm posting from work as my ability to attention in the meeting is beginning to wane. They ordered pizza. The only non-pizza items were salads. A no-no in Mexico. But, everyone assured me that Monterrey food and water is not as risky as other parts of Mexico and that eating their lettuce wasn't all that dangerous. So, I ordered a chicken Caesar salad. About half way through the salad, I found a rat turd. Argh!!! This sucks. I just hope I don't get sick. I didn't make a scene... I just quietly threw my salad in the trash and ate the cheese off of a few slices of pizza.

It's past 10:00 PM my home time. I'm ready to get the heck out of here but it looks like we may be here for a while...

I'll be going home tomorrow arriving on the last plane into Lexington, Kentucky. I'd love to see more of Monterrey but am getting rather tired of the conference room inside the plant.

Day 2 in Monterrey

2009-01-05T19:30:00.000-08:00

Today is the second day at the Monterrey plant in Mexico. For some unknown reason, were were greeted at the front door by a bunch of clowns...

I think it had something to do with safety and health awareness.

Off for the holidays...

2008-12-20T14:05:00.000-08:00

I'm enjoying two weeks at home over the holidays! January will be a busy month. On the 5th, I leave for Monterrey, Mexico. After that, it's off to po-dunk Huntington, Indiana. And then back to Nashville. The last week of January I will be working close to home at the Lexington plant.

Project coming along.

2008-10-27T10:16:00.000-07:00

I've not posted in quite a while. It just seems that Nashville is not exciting as the rest of the world. But, I guess that's just a matter of perspective. I will be working in Nashville 3 weeks a month for the next year. I might take a couple trips to Mexico but will not likely be going back to France any time soon.

We have just added about 50 new people to the project team. These people are only on board until the first North American deployment, one year from now. Our office in Nashville has been re-arranged into one giant room with about a dozen large tables. We no longer have cubicles to work in. They say that this is to foster collaboration but really its the only way they could fit over a hundred people into the space available. The project is finally picking up some speed now. Next week, we begin conducting "business transformation" workshops. Essentially it's a fit analysis to insure that the core solution can work in North America.

As for the social life while in Nashville, it's rather droll. We wrap up work around 6:30 PM central time and meet up at the hotel around 7:00. Everyone groups up and heads out to eat. Mostly we go to large chain restaurants. Occasionally we venture downtown. Rarely we hit the bar strip in country music city USA. Next time perhaps I'll bring back pictures.

North American Team in Nashville, Tennessee

2008-09-12T05:47:00.000-07:00

For the remainder of the year, I expect to be in Nashville probably 4 days a week, two weeks a month. This week in Nashville was rather dull. Meetings during the day consisted of topics such as our documenting our current reverse logistics (returns) processes, mapping master data, and identifying potential system interfaces. Between the boring content and my cold medicine, it was difficult to stay focused.

The first night, a large group of us went to Hooters. I've not been to Hooters in many years. Most of the guys in our group were quite rude and crude to our waitress. It was somewhat embarrassing. But at the same time, I think anyone who wants to be a waiter at Hooters is just begging to be hit on and picked on. It sort of goes with the territory & the uniform.

On day two a different group of us went downtown to the Flying Saucer. This is a huge bar with over 200 beers on tap. While there, I ate some white goat cheese pizza and had a few obscure beers.

Mark (Florida), Daron (Kentucky), and Cedric (France) at Nashville's Flying Saucer

On day three we went to a restaurant called Caney Fork fish camp. The atmosphere there is quite unique. It's rustic with stuffed animals everywhere you look. These animals range from a large moose to an assortment of coyotes and foxes. There was also a live blue grass band. I didn't think to bring my camera but could have taken some interesting photos if I had. My meal consisted of wonderful corn fritters, fried pickles, fried catfish, white beans with ham, and hush puppies. Yum, yum.

Tijuana Trip

2008-08-29T11:16:00.001-07:00

The business trip to Tijuana went great. The Mexicans were very intelligent, knowledgeable, and excited about working with us. Mission accomplished.

Apparently, Northern Mexico is no longer safe for American business men and tourists. Our driver told me that tourism is down 90% as compared to previous years and that the government is desperate to get tourists back into Mexico.

Due to security concerns, our company required us to stay in a hotel in San Diego, California and to commute daily. We were provided with a driver and an armored vehicle. The first day, the car was a modified Jeep Cherokee. It had bullet proof glass and armored plates inside the door panels. It looked like any other Jeep Cherokee but weighted around 9000 pounds. The car was a bit small since there were six of us counting the driver. On day two, they upgraded us to a much larger armored car which also looked like any other SUV on the street.

Each day, we went directly from the U.S. hotel to the Mexican factory and then back across the border. So, I didn't really get a chance to experience the real Tijuana. This is the only picture that I was able to take inside of Mexico:

We were told that if we reached the boarder after 5:00 PM that there would be a three hour wait. So, we left the office at around 4:00 PM each day to avoid the traffic bottleneck. This gave us the evenings to explore San Diego. The next picture was take just in front of the restaurant "World Famous on the Beach" where we ate a nice sea food dinner.

On Wednesday, we decided to hit Target, a store near our hotel, to buy swim suits. We spent a couple hours at the beach before going out to dinner.

Here's Mac & Chad showing off their new swim-wear:

Status Report

2008-08-04T14:01:00.000-07:00

Sorry for not posting during the last couple of weeks. Last week, I worked in Nashville, TN. I don't have any pictures.... nothing much worth taking pictures of. Evenings consisted mostly of typical American chain restaurants.

This week, I am working from home. It is suggested that everyone take vacation this week. Due to lower seniority, I have half the vacation of most of my team. I don't want to burn my vacation yet as I hope to visit relatives in November. The result is that it's hard to get much work done as I can't seem to reach many people for calloboration. I might take a day and bring Sky & BJ to a water park depending on the weather. Next week I'm back in Nashville with the data team.

The upcoming trip to Tijuana is on. Don't expect many pictures. I can't take photos during work. And, they'll have an escort (possibly armed) to drive us each morning from San Diego across the border to the plant. Then, they'll take us back at the end of the working day. So, no exciting evening jaunts in Mexico. And for dinner, I suspect we'll wind up at a steakhouse chain.

Working from Home & Future Travel

2008-07-14T11:09:00.000-07:00

I have been back in the States for a little over two weeks. It feels like a month has passed already. Skylar, my two year old son, keeps asking to go back to places in France. It's amazing how often pictures of key Parisian landmarks are shown in advertisements and product packaging. And, each time Sky sees one, he says, "I wanna go there again."

Now that I'm home, my role is changing once again. Instead of testing the core global system and reports, I'm starting to coordinate the mapping of data for logistics objects. My Lexington plant office is being moved to the other side of the building. Not that it matters since I mostly work from home when I'm not traveling.

Things I like about working from my house:

My home office / guest bedroom is so much more pleasant than a drab cubical.
Internet access is faster than in the office.
My Internet access is not monitored as long as I don't use the company laptop.
During conference calls, I can put the phone on speaker. In an office cubical, this is disturbing to others.
I can get more work done with fewer distractions.
I can cook lunch instead of always eating out.
My wife is a school teacher and has summers off. So, during the summer, I can eat lunch with family.
No dress code. I can even go to work in my PJ's or boxers if I want.
My morning commute now consists of simply rolling out of bed. With inflated gas prices, this saves money not just time.
I can bring my dog to work.

Next week, I go to Nashville for the official kick-off of "work ahead" data mapping for standard product plants in the U.S. and parts of Mexico. I'm likely to be required to travel to Nashville two or three weeks a month from now on. The schedule will be arrive Monday afternoon, leave Thursday afternoon. It's only a three and half hour drive from Lexington. And, unlike working in France, I get to have all of my weekends at home! If I gained anything from all of my travel abroad, it was a growing appreciation of family and my time spent at home.

Next month, I am planning a 4 day trip to Tijuana, Mexico. But, the trip may not happen due to increased security measures due to current unsafe conditions in parts of Mexico. I've been invited to Monterrey and other Mexican locations but don't have time to visit them all personally. Tijuana is the least safe of all but is where my key subject matter experts reside.

More of Paris...

2008-06-22T12:24:00.001-07:00

While I work, the family plays. But on the weekends, we get enjoy Paris together....

On Saturday, we visited the catacombs beneath of the streets of Paris....

While roaming the streets of Paris, during tourist season, we found this appropriately named street.

Luxembourg Gardens has a section that houses bees. I'm not sure of the significance but thought that it was interesting to have such a thing smack in the middle of a public park.

My wife is taking lots of pictures of our son's stuffed animal "RJ" (Raffe Junior)...

Here's another pic from today's visit to the Rodin museum. This one's the famous "Gates of Hell". And here I am, walking up the steps...

This is likely my last trip to Paris. My involvement in "core" work has come to an end. Next week, I start working on North American projects and will be spending a great deal of time in "Honky Tonk" Tennessee.

Eiffel Tower at Night

2008-06-20T15:28:00.000-07:00

Family in Paris

2008-06-19T06:52:00.000-07:00

Once again, I'm in Paris. But this time, I brought family: My wife, our child, and my wife's 15 year old sister. We're staying sixteen days. While I work, they play. Last weekend, we hit Euro-Disney together. Euro-Disney reminded me an awful lot of Dollywood in Tennessee. It's even smaller than Six Flags. Regardless, we had a great time.

Business is still moving slowly. We're working on testing. Our North American implementation partners have now been on boarded and were here in France this week. We ate dinner on the river at a place that was depicted in one of Renoir's famous paintings.

This Week in U.S.

2008-06-04T11:22:00.000-07:00

I was in Nashville Monday and Tuesday. We were working on ironing out details for our U.S. project to implement SAP in standard product plants. Today, I'm working out of my house. When working at home, the majority of my time is spent collaborating via conference calls. Tomorrow, I'm going into the local plant. Part of the day will be spent helping them with stuff related to a job I held over three years ago. On Sunday, I leave for France. I'm taking family with me this time...

English as the official language...

2008-05-20T08:03:00.000-07:00

This article was in today's global company news...

To speak English still makes debate in firms

English has today become the language of the business world. Most French enterprises, which are present on the international stage, have chosen to use English in most of their everyday communications. This is notably the case of (company a) and (company b, my company), which has more than 120,000 employees in about 100 countries. However, HR Managing Director (Mr X, company b) regrets this decision as the use of the English language reinforces the hegemony of the British culture.
France, May 20th 2008

It's interesting that Mr. X's primary concern appears to be about re-enforcing the domination of British culture as opposed to doing what would best facilitate collaboration in a global company. Considering that probably 1/3 of the employees speak English as their native languare and that English is one of the most prevelent 2nd languages globally makes it one of the only viable options. I also find it a bit ironic that the article was published in English rather than French.

Note: As of May 26, 2008, Mr. X has moved on to another position within the company.

Another Day in Paris

2008-05-19T03:46:00.001-07:00

Sunday, some of us went to the Museum D'Orsay where they have on display numerous famous pieces by Degas, Van Gogh, Whistler, Monet, Rodan, and others. This is now one of my favorite museums in Paris.

The following are a couple of pictures of billboard ads in train stations.

Normandy Invasion

2008-05-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

Today, Mac and I did a tour of Normandy. I'm glad that I have had a chance to stand on the very same beaches that my grandfather invaded over sixty years ago. If it weren't for soldiers like him, the world would be a very different place and I probably wouldn't even allowed in France.

It's good to be home!

2008-05-02T10:29:00.000-07:00

I was asked to go to Nashville this week. They told us that we didn't absolutely have to go if we'd been traveling extensively. Politically, I probably should have gone. But sometimes you have to put family first. I've seen very little of my two year old son over the last month. I even missed his birthday a couple of weeks ago. Sure, we had a party for him when I got back but it's just not quite the same.

Usually, when not traveling, I work from home. Yes, I could drive across town if I wanted to. But, I share a large office space with two other people and am on conference calls most of the day. I can't exactly put the phone on speaker and I feel that my talking on the phone all day would be a bit bothersome to them. I haven't been into my Lexington office for several months. I'm going to go in on Monday as I have a meeting to attend. It'll be nice to see old faces and meet the new hires. So much has changed this year at the plant. It'll be fun to walk around and see the new plant layout in action.

I return to France on Mother's day. I'll be there for two weeks. Then in June, I'm back for 2 1/2 weeks. But in June, I bring my family. Am I crazy to be bringing a two year old on such a long airplane ride? I imaging it'll be hard to keep the kid in his seat. Oh well. At least I know I'll have someone small in the seat next to me... more room to stretch out!

Going Home & Coming Back

2008-04-24T04:55:00.000-07:00

This three week stay has seemed to go much faster than I would have expected. I think that the weekend trip to Munich really helped break-up the extended stay in Paris. I'll be on my way home tomorrow! Yeah! I'm looking forward to my son's 2nd birthday party on Saturday. I'll be home for two weeks and then come back to France.

As soon as travel is approved for June, I'm buying tickets for my wife, child, and wife's sister. We're all going to stay for two and a half weeks. That will give me two weekends with them in Paris. We're hoping to also go to Euro-Disneyland during the trip. I'm actually looking forward to coming to France in June. It'll be very nice to show my family around and let them experience some of what my life has been like for the last six months.

Weekend in Germany

2008-04-21T04:09:00.001-07:00

This weekend, we went to Munich... a beautiful city with wonderful beer.

Another Weekend in Paris

2008-04-14T02:47:00.001-07:00

Today is Monday, a travel day for most people on the project. The other Americans will arrive this afternoon. The Europeans who went home for the weekend will arrive tomorrow morning. So, there are very few people on the "platform" and there is very little core work available to work on individually. It's days like this that frustrate me the most. I come half way around the world to sit and twiddle my thumbs. The result is... time to post to my blog.

Friday night, I walked two miles to try a seafood restaurant & Jazz club near the Chateau Malmaison. The menu was very confusing. I hadn't realized the French had a dozen different types of shrimp all with different names. I ended up with a huge slice of white fish, the species unknown. Thankfully, they had German beer to wash it down. The Jazz band got set up just before I left. They were okay but not great jazz musicians.

K., an American from the services domain, was also in Paris this weekend. Unlike me, he stays downtown near Charles de Gaulle Etuille (Arche de Triumph) and commutes. We met up on Saturday and went inside Notre Dame. Afterwards, we visited the Musee des gouts de Paris (the museum of the guts of Paris). This is a tour of the sewer system. If you can get past the smell, the tour is quite interesting.

On Saturday, I went to the modern art museum at the Centre Pompidou. I'm not usually very fond of modern art. Too often the pieces are sloppy and thrown together with very little in the way of refined skills. But, I must say that the majority of works on display were quite good. There were only one or two pieces that I felt were a bit insulting. Such as the 3 white canvases. This goes well beyond the concept of minimalism and is, in my opinion the epitome of laziness. I can just picture the artist laughing his ass off about getting paid to hang up blank canvases!

Another Week in France

2008-04-11T05:14:00.000-07:00

This week, we continue testing our SAP system which is to be implemented globally. The process is slow and very few scripts have succeeded on the first pass. While this is a bit frustrating, I am finally getting my hands on the system and learning how it works. This is great as the last three years, I have focused mostly on standardized business rules and data mapping with only an abstract concept of how these would be applied in SAP.

Right now, I am just about the only American on the team who is staying in Ruiel Malmason, France. Almost all co-workers who are here this week (mostly non-Americans) are staying in downtown Paris. I'm looking forward to Monday when the rest of my American team arrives. Eating alone hasn't made for the most exciting evenings. Plus, this week I have started back on my low-carb diet. It's a bit difficult knowing what to order while I still can't read half of the French menu descriptions. Breakfast is also a challenge. I'm cooking breakfast in the hotel microwave, alternating days between bacon & eggs and quesadillas (I brought my own low-carb wraps with me). Last night, I simply walked along the Seine river (pronounced "sin"). I took this picture (right) of myself standing on a dock.

This weekend, I think that I will be on my own. I'm going to finally hit Notra Dame and maybe Pompidou, a modern art museum. Or, I may just do whatever strikes my fancy at the time.

Yuck! Andouillette Sausage!

2008-04-08T04:19:00.000-07:00

I have arrived in Paris. This time, I am staying for three weeks. I'm now determined to do low-carb even while abroad. Today, in the office cafeteria, I carefully selected a low-carb meal consisting of a large salad, green & yellow wax beans, and two plump sausages. The sausages looked like good 'ol German brats. But, when I cut into one, it crumbled into a pile of greasy, gristly chunks. I didn't know that andouillette sausage was made of pig stomachs and colons. I ate two bites and couldn't handle any more of it. I simply ate my beans and salad while trying not to breath the sausage's feces aroma. Yes, that's right, it literally smells like shit. I suppose this is because it is made out of intestines. I only hope that the two bites I ate doesn' t make me sick. Apparently this dish is very popular in France and considered a local specialty. Lesson learned: don't eat sausage in France!

Vacation Time...

2008-04-04T10:00:00.000-07:00

My co-workers are jealous because I've been on a Caribbean cruise while they were stuck in Paris, France...

Sunday Evening

2008-03-09T12:56:00.000-07:00

Today is my 10th anniversary with my employer. It's hard to believe that I have stuck around this long. But, it's a good job that keeps my interest. And the compensation has improved quite a bit over the years.

Today is also Mac's 60th birthday. Mac has been my boss off and on since I started. We are now the same level, in essentially the same job. We searched all afternoon for a bakery that was open on Sunday from which to buy a cake... The one we bought is really more of a big round brownie.

Several on my team have "Sling Boxes" that allow them to watch their home TV's via the INTERNET. A few are really into Nascar. So, here we are in France watching Nascar on U.S. TV. I find it rather boring and left early to post here and to read a book.

Sunday Afternoon

2008-03-09T10:40:00.000-07:00

I don't recall who's house this is.... In the courtyard are numerous special police with brightly colored uniforms. The grounds are treated as a big park that is open to the public.

I thought that the duck houses on the pond were a pretty good idea. It give the ducks a nice safe place to nest away from people and predatory animals (i.e. dogs).

This church was near by. I forgot the name of it. It's one of the churches in the DaVinche (sp?) Code movie (and book).

On the way back, I saw this double rainbow that ended right at our Suitehotel where we are staying. I guess this is a good omen? The hotel is on the left side of the road lit up by a ray of sunshine.

International Projects and General Ramblings

2008-03-07T07:59:00.000-08:00

During the first two trips, I was working with French "tutors" or what I would call test leads. They would say start at 9:00 but not start until 10:00. Then after 30 minutes they'd say "lets take a 5 minute break" and not come back until a half hour had passed. Progress then of course was slow. And, I was beginning to wonder if we'd ever get anything finished!

This week, I was working mostly with a female Hungarian "tutor" and a Chinese man. We stayed much more focused and were able to accomplish most of our tasks in half of the allotted time.

I prefer the latter as I'd rather work hard and get this work done as apposed to letting it drag on for several months beyond the plan.

Tonight, my boss, Richard is taking me out for dinner to celebrate my 10th year anniversary with the company which is Sunday. I think we're going to a high end French restaurant. This week I have eaten more French food than all of the previous trips combined. Usually we eat quite a bit Italian, Chinese, and Mediterranean. I actually like the French food. But, I've not yet worked up enough guts to try the raw steak tartar. Maybe I'll try it tonight... or maybe not.

This weekend, several of the Americans are going to Versailles. I'm leaning toward just venturing out alone to see where I end up. Versailles, I am told is better done when it warms up as much of what there is to see and do is outdoors. Plus, the weather isn't supposed to be very good today. If I don't stay out too late tonight, I may try to hit Notre Dame as soon as it opens in the morning.

Next week, I'm likely working with a French "tutor" rather than the Hungarian. But, as we learn more and more about the SAP system, we will likely start working more independently only calling for help when we get stuck.

I used to think that I wanted to do expatriate work. But, I don't think that I'd like it as much now as I would have when I was younger. I'm coming to really appreciate Kentucky and my family back home. Even with everything to see and do in Europe, I'd much rather have my weekends at home. Plus, it'd be nice to have the company of my wife more frequently.

D.

The Metro

2008-03-07T02:44:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, the metro was almost deserted. I've never seen so few people on it. With the metro system, each route has different types of trains. I think that this one is my favorite design. It's flexible, long, and open; much like being in the belly of a worm. Watch as the train twists and turns.

Horse Meat

2008-03-06T05:42:00.000-08:00

Translation:

"How do you like horse, as a friend or as a steak?
Don't put horse on your dinner plate. "

I thought my friends in Kentucky might like this bill board in the train station.

While in Paris, I can literally say, "I'm so hungry that I could eat a horse!"

I wonder what other kinds of meats they eat? Perhaps we should be more careful with the mystery meats that we get from street vendors in France!

Back again...

2008-03-04T11:46:00.000-08:00

I got back to Paris yesterday. Niels, Richard, Mark, and Mark's son Peter roamed around town, trying to stay awake until a reasonable bedtime. The highlight of the afternoon was the Picasso museum. For dinner, we actually ate French food not just French fries. And, it was pretty good. Regardless of everything I'm getting to see and do, the novelty has just about warn off. I'd rather be home with my family.

It looks like we will have a pretty busy work schedule this week and next. Our consultants apparently have finally gotten some deliverables complete that we can test. Business during the last two trips was rather slow. It was beginning to make me wonder if the work would ever really get anything done. I would rather work hard and get this stuff done by June than to keep up this intense travel for several additional months. Either way, there are some other related North American projects on the horizon that might pull some of us off of the global work. So, if I am lucky, I might not have to be here very often starting in summer.

The following photo is taken from my hotel window. I am on the highway side of the building. But, it's still very quiet. I have two windows each has two glass panels seperated by a foot of air. The two office buildings on the right belong to my company but are still under construction. We are working in a building just on the other side. The walk to the office is just a few blocks and probably only takes five minutes.

Sunday Outing

2008-02-17T12:34:00.001-08:00

I am still not feeling great. But, I am felling better. Richard (my boss) and I went to the Louvre today. It was very tiring but much better than being miserable in my hotel room. After a long day of staring at uncountable naked men and women lounging beneath hovering angels, we headed back toward the hotel.

We hopped off the train for a quick look at a part of town called "Le Defense". This is the big glass building big business part of town. We just walked around a few minutes then got back on the train.... Here's some pictures we took while there:

Status Report

2008-02-16T13:22:00.000-08:00

This week, I have not noticed the stench of sweaty Frenchmen. Perhaps it is that we are not packed in crowded conference rooms. Or, more likely it is because I have a terrible cold and my nose is stuffed up. Don't get me wrong. Not all Frenchmen stink. It's only a small minority that make them all look bad.

On Thursday, I was feeling quite miserable. I was coughing up a storm. I was wearing a heavy coat at work and still feeling chills. My boss finally told me to go back to the hotel and rest. Progress was slow. The test script we were to go over in the afternoon was 90% the same as the other two we did in the morning. So, I left. At the hotel, I slept for nearly 18 hours. When I awoke, it was Friday evening.

I then went out for dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant. This is my boss's favorite restaurant. It's not bad. But I think I still prefer the Americanized Italian back home. Regardless, it's a nice cozy little place with very pleasant waitresses. Most of the Americans were going to play Texas hold em in the hotel lobby. I really wanted to join them but was feeling like crap. I was so exhausted I thought I could go back to bed. But even though I was sick and tired, I couldn't sleep well. I don't think I finally went into full sleep until about 5:00 AM. I slept until close to noon. Upon awaking, my symptoms still persisted but I somehow felt better. And, I was sick and tired of staying in my hotel room.

So, a group of six of us made the trek to downtown Paris. We started with a late lunch in the Latin Quarter. Gyros's this time. I'm not quite sure that I know the difference between a Donar Kabop, a Schwarma, and a Gyros. I used to think I knew the difference. But in Paris, they all seem the same to me. This fountain is where we usually meet up if we don't all ride out to the Latin Quarter together.

Next, we went to the Notre Dame Cathedral. My co-workers said that there usually is not a long line. Today, the line was excessively long. Instead of standing in line, they recommended that we skip it and do the tour some other time.

The plaza in front of the cathedral had many Gypsy baggers as well as street entertainers....

Just underneath the plaza floor and possibly under part of the cathedral is Crypt Archeologique. We were able to go on the crypt tour. These are ruins of buildings some of which date back to 100 AD. It kind of makes you wonder what other ancient ruins are still buried throughout Paris.

And then, just around the corner is the "Musee National Du Moyen-Age" or Middle Ages Museum. The building was equally impressive as the displays inside. Much of the building is originally Roman. I don't have many pictures of the inside. But, I did get a snapshot of this well and interesting sun dial on the wall.

Much of this museum building and it's contents date back to before any white people were in the America's. France is old as dirt. There is a mind boggling amount of history around every corner.

By this time in today's excursion, I was pretty worn out. I'm still feeling ill. We sat for a while in a coffee shop and then headed back to the hotel. I then ran by a grocery store to stock up on breakfast items and snacks. Everyone else was going to take the train back into town for dinner, but I decided to call it a night. I'm hoping to recoup a little in hopes of hitting the Louvre museum tomorrow.

Back in Paris

2008-02-12T06:25:00.000-08:00

I arrived in Paris yesterday. This is to be a two week trip.

Richard and I had donar kabobs (Turkish gyros) for lunch and spent the afternoon shopping. At the Hard Rock Café I got Brandi a T-Shirt. While there, I also found a little Teddy Bear for my son, Sky. The bear is wearing a brae and has "Hard Rock Café Paris" written on his shirt. Later, I found an stuffed Eiffel tower that is also a giraffe. Sky's so Giraffe obsessed that I couldn't have not bought it for him.

For dinner, we met Mark in the Latin corner and ate at an Egyptian restaurant. They call the area the "Latin Quarter" because it has several Universities and many book stores. The way I understand it, long ago, Latin was the official language for education.

I forgot to bring my camera out with us so, I don't have any pictures to share at this time.

today, we've been in meetings and have begun testing our "V2" content. Everything in the office is rather disorganized and chaotic. The entire process seems very inefficient.

Sab is sad

2008-02-09T14:58:00.000-08:00

Sabastian is sad because I'm packing...

Music and Life - Alan Watts

2008-02-08T09:21:00.001-08:00

Philsophy of working...

Coming home early...

2008-01-17T14:47:00.000-08:00

I just received a call tonight from my boss. The consultants didn't come through with the deliverables required for next week's work. So, we are to go home early. I'll finish up meetings tomorrow and see if I can get a flight home on Saturday or Sunday. The trip in February is still on but looks iffy.

SAP Projects

2008-01-17T14:33:00.001-08:00

The other day, when we were at the Irish Pub, I noticed a fat man sitting at the bar. I could tell he wasn't from Paris and asked where he was from. He was Irish. And, he in turn asked if my group was on holiday. I said it was business. Then, he asked where my party were form. I explained that one was Canadian, one from Finland, several Americans, and some Australians. Immediately in response, he asked, "are you implementing SAP?". In surprise, I said yes. He then told me that he used to work for SAP. And, his final question was "Don't you think that the French are a pain in the ass to work with?". He read us like a book.

blah blah blah Paris

2008-01-15T13:01:00.000-08:00

There's not much to share... I've spent the last two days in Rueil, outside of Paris. The area is mostly office buildings with little to do after work (which ends around 7:00 PM). I spent the day in discussions about transportation and foreign trade. The Indians are giving the presentations. I'm amazed by how well everyone communicates in English. I can't figure out how the Chinese and Indians can understand each other's very different accents.

I see very few suits in the office. Most French workers in my building wear a button up shirt with a black sweater and no tie. People say that this was not the case a few years ago. Apparently the French are getting sloppier in the office and even jeans are quite common. I think that the opposite is true at home in America.

Niels keeps mentioning how French women do not shave their arm pits nor legs. I can't know for certain as it is winter and everything is covered up. It seems that the Parisian women are very high maintenance. They all do their makeup just right and wear very nice, expensive looking clothing. So perhaps he is wrong.

For dinner, we went to an Italian restaurant where I accidentally ordered what I would call a wiener schnitzel (a German dish like chicken fried steak without the gravy). You know, Paris is full of all kinds of ethnic restaurants but I've yet to see a German restaurant or a German beer. I wonder if there is still a prejudice here against Germans?

I miss my wife and toddler back home. It sucks to have to be gone so long and so often. I'm secretly hoping for project delays so that the trips will become more spread out. Regardless, it seems that they are doing okay. Being separated from them might be harder on me than them.

Sunday Pictures

2008-01-13T12:26:00.001-08:00

Today is Sunday. This morning, we were going to go on a tour of the Paris sewer system. Leave it to the operations team to want to know how the city works behind the scenes. But, when we got there, we found that the tour was closed for 3 weeks. Oh well, maybe next month.

Next, we went to a natural history museum called Musee duquai Branly. I was a bit disappointed as some of the Native American displays were mislabeled. But, hey, most of this stuff was brought to Europe 100-200 years ago so I guess it's not surprising.

Afterwards, we walked around the Jewish Quarter and ate lunch. Then, we returned to our hotel. Angela, from our Quality department team has a "sling box" that allows her to watch anything on her home TV via the internet. So, we set up a projector and everyone is now watching football and eating pizza at the hotel.

Here are today’s snapshots of Paris:

Saturday Shopping

2008-01-12T20:00:00.000-08:00

I had not brought enough clothing for three weeks. Laundry is extremely expensive here so I thought I'd find a place to buy some more socks and underwear. I found the prices to be extremely high on clothing. The same brands in Paris were often 3 or 4 times as high as at home. For example, a pair of Levi's jeans at 30% off is about $135. I spent nearly sixty U.S. dollars on a few pairs of socks and underwear. Ouch.

I do not recall the significance of the following pictures... I snapped this building near a square where artists sell their own paintings. I bought two small oil paintings there.

This picture was taken at the Galeries Lafayette, a Parisian shopping mall.

For dinner, we went back to the Latin Quarter and ate at a Morrocan restaraunt. The food tasted excellent but was very unique to me. The meats were mostly backbones, a part that we Americans rarely touch.

Friday night...

2008-01-11T23:39:00.000-08:00

Most of the Americans on the team love French wine.

On Friday night, after work, several of us went out to a Brazilian restaraunt for "tapas". At this table (front left to right) are: Toola (Finland), Kim, Mark, Daron, Brad, Angela, Sarah (Americans), Richard (Canadian), Andrea, and Sabrina (Americans).

Shortly after we got there, the Australians arrived and sat at the next table. I don't remember most of their names.

After dinner, my boss Richard wanted to go to an Irish pub.

I'm not sure why Sabrina has two beers...

The bathrooms are often unisex here. At the pub, the urinal is at the end of a hall and the toilet room is just behind it. The women seemed to think it was funny to walk by men who were pissing. I don't recall who took this picture using my camera. I think it was Niels.

After leaving the bar, we caught a metro to the RER station. But, we missed the last connection and wound up taking taxis back to the hotel.

It's not all fun and games...

2008-01-11T19:00:00.000-08:00

I am in Paris with 100 people who have traveled from all corners of the world. We are working together to implement a common system with common business processes. The scope and complexity is immense. We are working until 7:00 to 7:30 PM each evening. Even though it is winter, the conference rooms are extremely hot. The damned Parisians, Even though wearing sweaters are always cold. Even the Australians from the outback where it is summer are burning up. To make matters worse, we are packed into tiny crowded conference rooms and the French apparently don't wear deodorant. The mornings aren't too bad but by afternoon the stench is unbearable! It makes me want to vomit.

Comics related to the real project title...

2008-01-11T11:28:00.000-08:00

Dinner first night...

2008-01-07T20:09:00.000-08:00

Latin Quarter

Fondue

The fondue restaurant had several stuffed animals... this one was missing a bit of flesh on his nose.

Exploring on First Day in France

2008-01-07T16:00:00.000-08:00

Week 2 - Arrival in France

2008-01-07T11:52:00.000-08:00

For friends and family at home, I am including picutres of my new home at the Suites Hotel in Paris France:

The toilet room and bathroom are both quite small and remind me quite a bit of the bathrooms on a cruise line.