Vacation, two SAP role outs, and the Next Project

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)

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...

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

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

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

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

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

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

Paco's Bachelor's Party

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

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

"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

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.