Debacle at Work

The day started well, swimming in the early morning at the gym, afterwards sweating in the steam bath, then coffee and my usual breakfast of yogurt, boiled egg and green tea plus some chocolates and cookies left over from yesterday’s sharing event. After working on a few things, getting to my cube half an hour late, I received a chat message from a customer representative regarding a matter in the warehouse, so I walked to the delivery manager and discussed the subject, but unfortunately, he was busy fighting raging fires like the rest of his team here in the front office and back in India, addressing an avalanche of problems that tumbled out of a major piece of software delivered to production recently. All hands on deck, everyone except me and a few colleagues spared from this debacle, the development and support people working late into the evening and during weekends to fix multitudes, painstakingly one by one, the unsung heroes of the technology world, striving to solve the technical crisis, stretching their mental prowess (or more like hitting their heads against the wall) while their western overlords long gone to their huge homes, talking about the setback existentially as if it does not concern them.

Amid this backdrop, I walked to the area manager’s office to talk about my concern that the delivery manager is fully booked, unable to work on other problems like the warehouse boo-boo to the consternation of the customer representative.  But I walked straight into a witch hunt with me as the scape goat. A project I worked on has just been completed successfully, and the final milestone meeting was completed in the morning. But a crucial piece of the software was not delivered despite continuous assurance to the contrary, the area and project manager looking like fools in the committee meeting, emerging angry and looking for someone to blame and here I come, the analyst of the project ready to be slaughtered.  Why did I not test the software fully? Why did I not alert them that more time was needed? Protesting I said they rushed the project to completion, trying to achieve a year-end success, cutting corners everywhere so testing quality suffers. At the end of the day in my view, it was a failure of management; I think they realized that there was no escaping responsibility, with myself sharing equal blame but these two stooges, bereft of any decent backbone to accept their end wanted to put everything on my shoulders.

Nevertheless, I did keep my cool, exchanging barbs and accusations, trying to rise above the petty finger pointing and be a man, which I think these guys can never be, rather mediocre like those overlords shifting blame and hard work to the poor peons of the world. It was not a good way to start the Christmas holidays, so we spent a couple of minutes trading barbs, discussing shortcomings and lessons learned, that we finally ended the close door meeting, emerging with the feeling that I have lost respect for these guys.  I think I have done well in the verbal exchange, able to say my piece and give my opinion. Now one needs to be mature and get on with the work. I kept cool after returning to my cube, mildly surprised that I was not seething; remembering the outcome would be different in my youth especially with the coarseness and stupidity of the exchange, but instead focusing on completing the work for the day. At noon, I had lunch with a nice French colleague, exchanging views on Europe, America, French leaders and history plus French food; enjoying the banter in the gleaming new modern canteen. I realized it was better to talk to expats than overlords engrossed in their exceptional ism.

Reno Nightmare

Yesterday’s problems continued into the early evening when the Reno office called. Yes, the contagion hit Nevada, too. But it was not as bad as I thought. In fact it was a self-inflicted wound as the user locked themselves out of their account by signing in with a wrong password too many times. But the damage was done. The call came in while I was driving home and from the time it took me to reach home, set up my computer and called the help desk to check and unlock the Reno account, was just too long for the users to wait. By the time I got everything ready and called the Reno office, the users had reversed their work and created a new transaction. Possibly about 30 to 45 minutes have elapsed from the first instance that they could not log in. It was not a good day as they wasted a lot of time due to the network delay that hit all the users. Nevertheless, the Reno folks could do their work despite the irritation unlike the other warehouse near head office where nothing could be done without our intervention.

The big honcho in Reno made his usual love letters – thinly disguised contempt in email reports to the gods here in head office. But it was courteous as one sees there is no turning back to the old system. I read thru one of his mail yesterday evening and preferred to read the other one the next day. I knew what it contained which was the day’s misadventure. It was a good thing I prepared my usual cocktail of orange juice and vodka while I worked on the Reno problem. It was a combination of technical and interpersonal skills that saved the day. Musing over the remains of the day, I called my friend - the support staff but he did not have time to chat. He was having supper and one guesses that the day troubles had tired him out. After the episode with Reno, I had supper myself while watching a DVD.  I finished an Italian classic film by Roberto Rossellini called ‘General Del Rovere’ and a Russian film called ‘Nostalghia’ made by the acclaimed director of ‘Stalker’ – I film I liked due to the visual artistry that evoked surreal scenes of a nuclear incident.

But I did not pay too much attention on these films which were actually boring despite their reputation in art house circles. I was surfing the internet, updating my blog while watching the movies. In a previous life, I would have enjoyed these ‘art’ films but now seems a waste of time. I still enjoy Japanese films especially the classic samurai films but anything contemporary will do. I particularly liked the Japanese contemporary comedy ‘Shall We Dance?’ which I watched last weekend.  These films are the remaining link to my life in Asia.  Food is another memory. I plan to make sushi this weekend having bought the ingredients the other day. Last weekend was Thai salad and Japanese sake (but made in California). The sake was quite good, close to the real taste. The film ‘Nostalghia’ was about a Russian poet exiled in Italy. The poet could not get the Russian country side out of his mind. Similarly, I have begun to think of my past life, my trips to Thailand and Japan and my life in Singapore, eating good food and watching classic movies. Now only the classic movies remain, easily borrowed from the public libraries.

Now the Asian food is all gone but one can still try to make them but without the authenticity, taste and variety of the Singapore food stalls, without it’s sounds, smell, people and general atmosphere; the rain, heat and humid evenings of the tropics.  Today I tried to search for old friends in the company Intranet, to find out what has happened to them. Some have remained in Singapore while others have scattered the earth. Some have moved to India, Dubai, Philippines and Australia. One does not realize the loss immediately, only during times of alienation and solitude. My recent project and subsequent problems have kept me busy and focused on the issues. But despite being able to solve the problems, there is an emptiness that one feels as one cannot share the exhilaration of the challenge with a fellow Asian. One must keep busy in order to survive the loss. I guess it is the same thing that my family feels being jointly uprooted from the past.

There is still free time, a lot of it when compared to Asia. But one fills the time with books, movies, magazines, travel and new experiences. But now is the time to be still and centered so one can finally write. There is always the urge to fill up the space when it’s free; when the best solution is to be comfortable in that space. Space meaning silence, inactivity and solitude. But it is not emptiness as the thought of emptiness is man-made. Being comfortable in emptiness will result in creativity and freedom. Perhaps that’s the environment needed by the mind to write and be creative. Mental churning stops and silence reigns. But the mind is addicted, to activity and stimulation, so one succumbs to insomnia, intoxication, self-abuse and mindless activities in the guise of enjoyment. It’s a trap that one can only escape by recognizing the addiction. Strangely, it’s a strength recognized by books as having an open mind, free to accept unlimited input and stimulation.  But awareness is a start and maybe combined with activities like Yoga and meditation. Now that’s a plan.

Merry Go Round

The bugs came out again today. Similar to the episode in mid-August, no one seems to know what happened. It came like a soft rumbling in the ground, like a coming earthquake. Luckily the scale did not tip over. The first inkling came at dawn when the support staff called me at home as I was getting ready for work. My mobile phone rang at about 7:30 am when I was dressing. Earlier, he received a call from the warehouse at 6:30 am and tried the usual next steps to get it running but the program just didn’t work. So he called me an hour later after his futile attempts. I did not check my laptop right away, thinking I had time to have a quick breakfast and drive to work. My plan was to have everything fixed by 8:30 am; not too bad a delay for the warehouse. But as I got to my desk at 8 am, it looked like something had changed. It was acting strangely. We were in for a wild ride today.

We got to work checking everything in the server, logging into systems and making phone calls to the warehouse. The support staff walked over to my desk as we fiddled with the keyboards, looking at the computer screens for any sign of a logical solution. But it was a mystery. The system was hanging in the warehouse, stalled by some invisible barrier that we could not find. It seemed like some malevolent virus was stalking the network, mischievously delaying the packets of data whizzing by, creating havoc at the warehouse. We just could not find what was wrong. We tried the usual steps again which the staff had done earlier. It seemed to have stopped working but suddenly it started to work, sending down the reports from head office down the wire to the warehouse.  We had beaten the bug. Or so we thought. We called the warehouse and asked them to try again. But the fellas got the same erroneous response. The program was not working at their end.

So the rest of the day was spent helping the fellas remotely, printing their reports and doing the other stuff that they normally do. Otherwise, work would stop and the product will not be delivered to our loyal customers. So we continued helping throughout the day, and the fellas did not show any irritation except for that sweet old lady, a grandmother actually, who displayed a brief flicker of contempt like a flash of a steel blade sinking into your flesh. A problem ticket was created in the help desk so the root cause could be found and fixed. But like a bumbling idiot, we watched the ticket make its way around the globe, first to the warehouse support staff in Bangalore, India. After chatting with him, he went to check their application, found nothing wrong and transferred the ticket to IBM. But not before alerting his boss here in South Carolina, so we got into a short group chat to make sure it was not caused by their application. So the ticket made its way towards a different group of folks.

Soon the hardware folks were chatting me up on the problem. A person I worked with in past based also in India. So we exchanged screen captures, information on the problem, possible avenues to check and so on. But it was an exchange of polite accusation, trying to point the blame towards each other with civilized courtesy. But we would not budge, sticking to our logical constructs in our minds until another path was found to divert the problem to the application team in Cleveland, Ohio. So sent these folks an email with screen captures of the server errors. So far no reply yet as of this moment. Soon a head honcho from IBM called me, a nice guy actually, with a good reputation and respected by the department. It looked like the wire was not upgraded as planned and the bandwidth was not increased. I was skeptical since I suspected something was adjusted in the back end and were not told. Some confidential security measures were applied to prevent any virus or malware attacks and affecting our program. But it’s my old paranoia, my suspicion that there is some secret conspiracy happening behind my back.

In the meantime, we were still getting phone calls from the warehouse as they tried to get on with their work.   A problem came up at the end of the day and I had to get assistance from another Indian colleague beside my cubicle. I walked over to him and explained the problem and he worked on fixing it. Meanwhile, no word from the folks in Nevada. They seemed to have no problem working with their program. It a strange world indeed when two parties are using the same program but only one party having problems. One assumes it is the size of the transactions. But that is the nature of the ‘cloud’ where problems strike in the ether and one does not know where the glitch is.  The merry go round with continue tomorrow if the problem is not fixed. But the head honcho said that the bandwidth will increase tonight. We shall see. I had planned to go to the gym tonight but just felt tired. The merry go around is getting to me too. After a while, the folks in Ohio replied to my email and found no problem at their end. The problem ticket remains open in the ether with no ownership.

Indian Democracy

 One understands democracy intellectually, gained from political science classes and history lessons. But one never really understands it but one sees it in action in every day life. It is not the political conventions of the democrats and republicans or even the independents or tea party folks. It is not the primaries and all those noise about elections and talking heads filtering down from television and movies. It is in the way people interact to one another and the way ordinary folks get about organizing themselves and doing the every day business of living and solving problems. It’s actually a very amazing and subtle thing to see that it often escapes notice. Some people would say it all boils down to being an American which connotes a pioneering, can-do spirit.

It’s a concept that’s not fully understood with the head, in various intellectual permutations. It can only be understood with the heart, with the emotions, in the way people empathize with other people, to accept others the way they are with their weaknesses and strengths and to collectively overcome individual shortcomings to achieve a greater goal. One can equate democracy with elections and representation but the greater description is respect for others. Of course, it can be an exasperating experience where the noisy and prejudiced and the extremists are allowed an equal seat in the table. But it’s the collective that always win but without turning away those elements of dispute. They are allowed to live the way they wish in pursuit of their own happiness. 

There is a real danger of hijacking the collective will with fear and demagoguery and plain lies. So free press and education and good citizenry are important for democracy to work. There is a big difference with the Asian experience which is less democratic. Earlier this week, an Indian supplier made a crazy plan which one normally thinks would be laughed out by any sane person. But a meeting was held to discuss the crazy plan, to give every person a chance to have his say. Time was wasted but arguments were made, ideas where exchanged and everyone had his say. Now that is the most important thing to do – to speak up and be heard. It’s the foundation of living in a democracy to make sure your rights are protected – by simply speaking up.

So one participates in these meetings and so-called democracy comes into action. Letting each one have his say and let the mechanism of discussion, debate and critical thinking shape and filter the arguments and positions until a compromise is reached. It’s in these occasions that one understands the ‘concept’ of democracy. In Asia, the closest one can think of is Japan and the consensus reached by salary men in their endless meetings. One cannot make a decision in isolation, as someone would say, and all opinions have to be elicited and discussed and each one should speak up. It will not be in the marble halls of the Congress where democracy will survive but in small town halls and meeting rooms were ordinary folks meet to solve problems.   

Weekend Flow

During the weekend I watched most of the DVDs I borrowed from the library as well as finished reading overdue books by Rummler-Brache and an excellent tome on old houses. I watched a documentary on the Khumb Mela festival in India, inspirational videos from Dr. Wayne Dyer, Paul Newman’s movie ‘Hud’, Robert Altman’s ‘The Prairie Home Companion’ and an excellent Mira Nair film, ‘The Namesake’ adapted from the book by Jhumpa Lahiri. I have read Lahiri’s previous book, ‘The Interpreter of Maladies.’ I liked her work initially to learn about India and its people. But I now read her to understand the life of immigrants adapting to their new country. A lot of spiritual truths in the weekend ranging from the exotic spiritualism of Khumb Mela to insights from Dr. Dyer and home truths from ‘The Namesake’ and ‘Hud’.


‘The Namesake’ movie portrays both India and the immigrant life in America. Lahiri is a good writer and I think she just wanted to express her daily reality but critics now talk about her vision. I am not sure if writers intentional come and have a vision before starting their work. But it’s a good work and helpful for me and my family having moved here recently. I think she is a rare Indian writer who writes with sensitivity and skill. She is authentic and refreshingly lacks the fireworks and brilliance of Salman Rushdie. The last book that remains in my mind is ‘The White Tiger’ – an original work about life in India. The book was entertaining, structured around a letter written by a Bangalore entrepreneur to a visiting Chinese premier.


‘The White Tiger’ provides a subtle comparison between India and China by telling the story of a rag to riches tale of a criminal. The book tells of an honest worker who finally kills his master and steals his money to start a business and new life in Bagalore. I wonder if such crimes still exists in China where there is less distinction between rich and poor when compared to the huge disparities in India. One wonders if the writer is proud of Indian democracy or China’s socialist experiments with capitalism. The book remains in mind although I finished reading it a long time ago. Perhaps its the performance of the reader – John Lee. The Indian Diaspora is widespread in the Americas and seemed to be centered on technical white collar jobs. The Chinese Diaspora on the other hand seemed to be centered on wealthy merchant entrepreneurs.


I think India is starting to get accepted culturally because of the outsourcing. Success of popular films like ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and ‘The Namesake’ plus the rise of Indian writers indicate this acceptance. It’s the ancient traditions, food and lifestyle that intrigue people. I guess the British colonial experience has also advanced their internationalization. But the Chinese experience is quite different as internally focused and it’s boldly embracing the new, quite like the Meiji Restoration in Japan. In my mind, China seems to provide a more collective hero tradition with Mao Tse Tung, Deng Xiopeng and Chao En Lai. A lot of terrible mistakes where made but one wonders if events like the Cultural Revolution had a subtle purpose like to eradicate ancient superstitions in an ancient land in order to boot strap their rise to superpower status.

India had a more restrained history with the great example of Mahatma Gandhi. He had reacted to the colonial powers in a uniquely Indian manner such as Satyagraha and non-violence and his example paved the way for the country’s next generation of leaders. But the colonial powers did succeed in partitioning India, creating Pakistan and Bangladesh. Can we say this historical mistake of the English eventually led to the Taliban and Osama Bin Ladin and the rise Muslim extremism of today? Fortunately, the communist under Mao prevented any partition of China although wisely settling on a peaceful coexistence with Taiwan under the Nationalist. Nevertheless, with the return of Hong Kong and Macao, I think Taiwan is not far behind in returning to the motherland.

Third World Living

I met with the 2 contributors helping me in the project. Both belong to different organizations but both are from India. One is from Utter Pradesh (North India) while another is from Tamil Nadu (South India). I also witnessed the general saying that North Indians are generally more aggressive while South Indians are generally kinder and soft spoken. They are both sharp technical people but sometimes they miss the big picture. I see the big picture but sometime I am lost in the details. It was an interesting meeting and I tried to understand what they were trying to say. I think Indians are more like Americans than anything else. They seem to have the same characteristics of a people living in a large country.


I notice the same characteristics in some Chinese. I guess it is this awareness of living in a large land that gives them this expansive feeling. A feeling that does not succumb to pettiness most of the time; also having a big heart with a tendency to look at the large picture. But it does not mean that all inhabitants have the same expansive view but having the tendency towards this expansiveness. I guess I come from a small land where people have a limited perspective and susceptible to a narrow view. But I guess poverty plays a big part and people who are not living below the poverty line may be exempt. I mean being poor in a large country will also give that person a narrow view. I guess a good education may sometimes elevate the people.


India and the Philippines have extreme cases of poverty and the quality of life is not good even in most cities. For example, I used to travel 4 hours every day to get to work. My wife usually brings me to the train station where I ride to another train stop to take a bus. Then I take a jeepney or a tricycle to the office. The same routine is repeated when I go home but this time I take an additional jeepney and tricycle to reach my house. I used to bring my car but the traffic and the multiple accidents that I have due to tiredness and drink forced me to take public transportation. Moving to Singapore changed all that and I now had the luxury of spending only about 1 ½ traveling to work while riding probably the most efficient subway and bus system in the world.

Nevertheless, despite the relative wealth of my adopted country, rising to the first world ranks in one generation, has not removed the narrow world view of living in a small country. Its leaders of course are a different story because they really are a broad and far sighted leadership but its people remain small hearted and narrow. So moving to a large country like America or China or India changes one’s perspective when one comes from a small country. I guess reading also broadens minds and well read people may not need to adjust much when moving to a large country. Still the actual reality of living in an expansive land is a better experience than just reading. Nowadays people read less and less so the challenge exists more and more today to rise above ones petty and narrow viewpoint.

Peer Review Completed

We finished today the review of the business requirements of the project. I will be working on a small but significant part. There are many players and I like the way people work here. There is mutual respect and I think I was able to hold my own with the 'veterans'. They defer a lot to the outsource agent from India. He is a very nice and intelligent person and he knows a lot about the system and the way things work. I am the new guy and I have to observe how things work around here. I think I can make an impact by just keeping quiet and holding my tongue. It is important to show respect especially with the people who spent many years on the project than me.

I guess by holding my comments and show that I can listen and understand how things work around here. In Asia, when I am not included in the discussions I feel that I am dis-respected. But here I don't feel the same way because it is not personal. I mean they do include me in meetings even if I don't need to be there. But the people here do it to show respect. So I am glad about this atmosphere and it's really a place where you can grow. I am glad that the company is based here in the American South than in some other state. More modern cities will have arrogant and snobbish people. I remember the people I met when I was here 20 years ago in Los Angeles, California and the nice people I met here in the past few days.

I do not feel the same pressure to prove myself. I think people are willing to listen you but you have to talk sense. Otherwise you will be labeled as a 'blow hard'. So there is a price to the time people give you to say your piece. My inspiration is actually Barack Obama and they way he talks and explains things. I guess he is in a delicate position where he needs to explain more and be more competent because of the prevailing circumstances. His victory and the rise of outsource companies in India and the Philippines and their significant role in Western economies is a wonder to watch. It is a significant trend that only happened recently and one that I am lucky to watch and experience and even benefit. The key I think is communication which both countries have a natural ability.

It's amazing that I am also nearly completing the purchase of a home. It can only happen here in the United States. I started reading about the value of purchasing a townhouse as compared to a single detached house. I guess I made the decision already. I think that a new single detached house is beyond my budget and the only thing I can afford is the townhouse. Anyway the mortgage payments is the same or even less than rental payments. But I can also claim tax credits. I plan to sell the house and the good thing about it is that it's near a well known high school. I think that area will boom in a few years when more developments like malls and subdivisions get built in the area. The area looks and feels like an up and coming place.

I realize that the bar has risen here and I am in more qualified company. My advantage is my hunger to strive and work and experiences that I have. I guess my strategy is to keep quiet and work and achieve small victories. I have to observe properly and learn the local customs. I need to give respect to the Indian team and defer to them as the Americans do in the office. They have achieved significant victories I believe and they are riding an outsourcing wave that began decades ago. Thomas Friedman was right and I did not see it in Asia but it's really evident here in the United States. I guess it's a global shift in the division of labor and the English speaking facility has been the key as well as their Engineering capabilities.

Working at Home

I am reading my emails and working on a few things for work. I am using a new laptop issued to me and much better because the wireless connection works at home unlike my last one. Initially I felt that I needed to do some backup in my old laptop which I already did but felt that I needed to check each one directory and file. I am a pack rat and I still keep some old newspapers which I promised myself to read. But yesterday I threw out the box of old papers and I had a liberating feeling like when I turned over my old laptop. Life is to short to keep planning these little things for the future like reading old newspapers. Now I get everything in video and audio direct from the Internet.

Although I am on leave this week, I still need to continue working because there is a load of things to do and the year is coming to a close. I get a chance to plan better and I get to work on my own leisure pace. Yesterday morning I went roller-blading in the park and in the early evening I went swimming. Later I plan to go to the park, go to the library and attend a PMI meeting tonight. But I also need to do some work during the day. I have made some decisions to improve my daily schedule. I have been late these past many months at work which I attribute to my early morning exercises at the park. I also spend this time listening to my audio books which contribute to my lateness.

So I decided to stop my early morning walks at the park and instead switch them to the evening after dinner. So I get to work out my dinner so I can digest the food better and continue listening to the audio book. I think it will decrease my tardiness at work. I also will focus on work first thing in the morning while my mind is fresh and later do my Internet surfing and blogging in the afternoon. Bu I won't stop my morning exercise altogether as I plan to do them at least once for my roller blading. I moved my roller blading in weekdays instead of Saturday morning so I can focus on Saturdays for my writing. I started this schedule last week but could not focus on writing and instead procrastinated by surfing the Internet.

But I think I am past that because I have had my fill of what is out there. I am amazed that I could get high quality analysis in audio and video about the economy, politics, art, literature and culture so easily. So I don't need to hog my old copies of Financial Times, Economist and International Herald Tribune. Hence, I could throw out these printed papers and focus on the audio and video versions. I get to learn and absorb more but I found that I absorb better by reading instead of listening. But listening and absorbing via this medium is in fact another skill that I need to develop. It's a much faster and complete medium because it uses more senses particularly sound and sight, especially the videos.

I am completing Kipling's short stories and they're wonderful. It's very varied with stories of 2 British adventures in Central Asia, adventures of a colonel's 6 year old son in India, a match of polo in India with the ponies speaking to each other, 2 drummer's dying in a skirmish with Afghans and a story about World War I. But it's his India stories that catch the attention. While working I listen to the tape of contemporary Indian music which I bought in New Delhi. It's a good learning experience to be able to immerse yourself completely in the sights and sounds of a place and learn more about it. India was such a incredible experience for both the British and Indians.

November is Nanowrimo month where a lot of new novelist-to-be attempt to churn 50,000 pages in a month. I think that I will join in the enthusiasm of the event. My plan is to help craft the structure, plot and characters before hand. Once November begins, I will start writing out the first draft of the novel. I think Nanowrimo is a good idea and a lot of resources in the website are useful to would be novelist like me. I think at this point in time, I have diagnosed my shortcomings and areas where improvement is needed. Problem is my procrastination and my load of books and other activities to do. At least I hope to have a first draft of the novel by year end if I go forward with this schedule.

Thinking of the transfer

Yesterday evening I meet with my fellow officers of our speaking club over dinner. I mentioned casually that I may be transferred out next year. We started to talk about some ways to help my sons move out considering their obligations at school. It was a good meeting and we had an interesting discussion on how to improve the club. I like this type of sessions where we could discuss and talk over good food in a relaxed atmosphere. In the past, the discussions where almost always fuelled by alcohol. Last night was more relaxed where everyone was just talking freely. We talked about the financial crisis, those affected here, possible impact on local banks and, finally the fortunes of our club.

I proposed some ideas like sending out a newsletter every month and having group evaluations instead of indvidual evaluation. I like it that I could implement my ideas in the club. In fact I set up a blog site for the club last year to have a presence on the internet. Now sending a newsletter, with the blogsite as the base, will be another interesting project. These small projects allow me to exercise my skills in a different environment. I wish I had joined this club much earlier. I especially like the social networking and the fact that I could visit many clubs and meet a lot of people. It's also a challenge to learn and solve club problems. We have a problem right now in increasing membership. So these projects are planned to improve our recruitment.

Yesterday afternoon I chatted with my old boss. He has helped me get my new posting overseas. He is at our European head office and we chatted online. He enquired about the status and I sent him the mail I had sent to the overseas team after our meeting last week. He told me to wait for their response. He seems to be confident about my prospects and said that I will be OK. He emphasized that I focus on the family and not on the money. It's more the long term benefit. I agreed with him and if this deal will push through it will be good for my family as well as my future. I can't help feeling like Kim in Kipling's book where powerful benefactors are working to further your future.

I can't help feeling that transferring to my new overseas assignment seems to be so easy. I am always wary of the easy job. I always think there is something out there to ambush me. But I guess that it may be a character flaw in my part, for instance pride or recklessness or vice that could derail any project and not an external enemy. I guess for this case, it may be more my kid's circumstances and their move to a new school that will be the key challenge. So I should strive to work towards overcoming obstacles in this path. I am glad that I was given this opportunity and I pray that all will go well. I think I have prepared myself well and that I did not waste my time.

Reading Kipling's Kim is an eye or ear opener. It is only when one reads the great books that one sees the world anew again. I now realize that Kipling is the father of John le Carre and other novelist like John Buchan or even Eric Ambler. It's not in the pop agent mold of Ian Fleming. But Kipling is more than that and his books is not also about spying and 'the great game' but also about life in general. It seems like the voice of India is well represented here; the English sahib, the mystical llama, the Hindu Babu, the Afghan Pathan trader, the ruffians in the markets, the wandering sadhus and all those amazing aspects that make up the great continent of India. It's really a joy to listen to this book.

Challenges ahead

Yesterday I attended a meeting with the Accounting team regarding the major change on functional currency. We estimated together the budget and resources that are needed to undertake the change. This is the ‘nightmare’ scenario where modifications are needed while the ‘dream’ scenario would be to replace the old application with a new ERP. Unfortunately, It may look like we may proceed with the ‘nightmare’ scenario. But the accounting head gave an interesting and simple solution that may make our jobs easier. We will look into this option when the decision is made. The fact that we are studying this option vindicated my earlier proposal to the boss man to study the extent and risk of internal changes. He severely criticized me and called me ‘dangerous dreamer’. Maybe he is eating his words now.

I have to meet the other managers to continue the consultation and communication with the boss man’s team. This is more a public relations exercise to keep his managers informed and abreast of the developments in our work. I think it will be good sign that we are engaged. Things are looking up in our work with them. Yesterday I also met with the security head and we will be fleshing out the disaster recovery plan for the S team. So it looks like we will be able to deliver the impression that we are dedicated and focused on the boss man’s company. Major challenges this year is the major accounting change and the S project.

I also heard yesterday that the India office is planning to upgrade their system. I worked in the India office for 4 months when they moved to their present system. The current proposal is to upgrade their system to the latest version. I think my rival will request me to help the India team work on this project. I enjoyed my stay in New Delhi and I have a few friends in the office. But I cannot help feeling that like last year, whenever I am starting to get successful with the S project, people tend to assign me to India. I cannot help but feel that my old boss is up to his tricks again. He was the person who first assigned me to the India project 2 years ago. I also felt the same thing when he assigned me over there, which is to dampen my earlier success with the boss man.

If this is the case, it will not be as easy as before. This project was not planned last year during the capacity planning exercise. So it is a new and sudden project. I will not agree to leave my work with the S team until I finish the major projects despite my affection to India and the team in New Delhi. There are a few problems in the horizon in the development team and I need to focus on this area. This concerns the turnover of staff and the implementation of the new process. This transformation has to be handled delicately as well as looking for another outsource company to help the internal team.