Back from assignment

I just got back a few days ago from Bangkok. It was a hectic week but rewarding as the application was deployed and the users trained. It will still take awhile before the users get used to the application. Weening them away from MS Excel will be difficult because of the ease of use. But the benefits cannot be denied since it will cut out a lot of work. The weather was good in Bangkok and we had a good time in the evenings having dinner and drinking beer. I felt sad leaving especially with the warm and accommodating team. But I wanted to see my family.

I am off again this Sunday for a 3 week training on ERP. It will be a good three weeks although I expect some people in the boss man's company like Philip to create trouble. Working in that company is getting to be surreal. It's like common sense and logic do not rule. The boss man seem to be grasping and struggling. The princess is not cooperative and it's affecting our integrity. It is difficult to move fast when people really see no value in being aggressive. I am caught in the middle and I cannot seem to move. I hope to convince the princess to work in the direction I want.

I am sad that the business project leader is leaving next month. It was a good and exciting project that we worked on and I learned a lot from him. I had the feeling that I was lifted from mediocrity and worked in another plane. He is really a superior being in the best sense of the word. I often wondered how I allowed myself to muddle my own thinking with reading too much books and believing on to many theories. Learning from actual experience and being less bookish is the way to succeed in the real world.

I especially admire that way he uses his computer like a tool. It's like a samurai welding his sword. He is not really a great wizard but his facility with simple tools like e-mail, word and excel allows him to put words and or actions to reality with a few deft manipulations of these applications. HE manages to marshall the perfect amount of effort and thought to produce the correct memo, spread sheet calculations or work plan. He treats his computer like a mere instrument to wield his management magic.

On the other hand, I look at my computer with reverence. As if the slightest touch would destroy it. So I am careful and reverent and sometimes seldom use my own computer at hand. But now I am emboldened to use it the way my friend does - like a crude instrument such as hammer. It is this speed and efficacy of using the computer that make him very effective. While in Thailand I filled an application to join the writer's mentor program. A very good initiative by the government. I hope I get accepted to develop my writing skills. Like a second career in my middle age as explained by Peter Drucker. I attach a mind map on being a film director as my second career dream.