Crisscrossing the Globe ...

Over the past few weeks I have been crisscrossing the globe to manage two projects, between Mexico and India, and throw in a stop-over in Uganda and Morocco to get an update on other projects.

Was in Mexico beginning of October, to a beautiful place called Cuernavaca, to get an update on the completion of the Gap analysis phase of the project, for the implementation of a banking software. Our Mexico operations are very well run, and the project team of both IT and Operations folks has done a very good job to-date.

When you visit such places, there is no time to go sightseeing. The only sightseeing one gets is in the morning, at the small beautiful family run hotel, Hotel Vista Hermosa in Cuernavaca, the taxi ride in the morning - watching kids ambling, gravitating, laughing and making their way towards school grudgingly, reluctantly, and whilst the adults with not a smile to show scurry towards their work place; maybe a walk outside at lunch time affords one the time to take in the aromas and flavours of the lunchtime fares, and in the evening to see silhouettes and shadows as the taxi whizzes across town ... back to the hotel, with little enthusiasm for dinner but just wanting to hit the sack.

Headed back home from Mexico on a Friday, and then off to India on a Sunday evening. It is wonderful to be back home albeit for a day and a half, to see the Missus, the kids (they are no longer kids but wonderful adults - they and the missus really keep me honest and anchored, and to whom I owe a humongous (a huge, huge, huge) amt of gratitude for their patience and perseverance for putting up with my absences; and  with barely enough time to get clothes washed and ironed, and having to pack before it's too late ... to get back on the road. 

Mumbai the city is both beautiful and vexing for one sees the progress and the problems, the prosperity and the poverty, the potential and the pitfalls, and above all the people are wonderful and full of humanity. It is not news to see humanity from those who have it all, but it really is awe inspiring to see that from those who do not have much. It is a real lesson for me and one I make sure to keep front and center in my mind.

Ahh, yes the project ... have a team of approx 14 from Azerbaijan temporarily located in Mumbai for a period of two months. We are working with IFlex, an ORACLE company, with whom we have contracted to use their very good banking software. For most of the team the trip to Mumbai is a rare journey to a far distant land, but one they have handled very well despite the challenges ... it speaks volumes about their commitment to the project.

After a week in Mumbai, I am back home on Saturday afternoon, scampering to get my laundry completed before I catch my flight to Mexico on Monday evening, and onto Cuernavaca by bus on early Tuesday morning. Have to be there to meet with the team to review the Gaps, to discuss and prioritize them, and to discuss other aspects of the project.         

After a week in Mexico, I am back home on Friday evening. On Saturday evening I catch my BA flight to Uganda, via London, arriving in Entebbe, Uganda at approx 8:00am Monday morning local time (7 hrs ahead of EDT).  The service offered by BA is usually very good, and this was no exception. However from London to Uganda, the service provided by the cabin crew led by the cabin crew director, Donna Jackson, was not just excellent but offered with warmth and caring one does not normally find.    

I was in Kampala, the capital of Uganda to meet with the Africa team, specifically for the Board meeting of our Africa IT Services entity. We have created an IT entity to service all of our affiliates (operations) across five countries in the region. This centralized approach, creating an IT Center of Excellence in the region, enables us to provide excellent, timely service at a fraction of a cost to all of the operations, and where they focus on the business with not having to worry about the IT side of the house. I was in Kampala for two days, before scheduled to head bvack on Wednesday morning.

Kampala has seen a whole bunch of new hotels come into being over the course of the past 15 months, largely due to the Commonwealth meeting of the Heads of State last Nov (2007), with the Queen of England in attendance. The hotel I was staying at the Golf Course hotel in Kampala the rooms were nicely decorated and with lots of room; although they could have done a much better job of planning for how and where they would serve breakfast each morning.

On Wed morning I was headed back to London, and fortunately for me seeing the same BA crew on-board they were generous and kind enough to bump me forward, from the cattle class to the sumptuous Club World ... savoured every minute of it.

From London the same evening (on Wed) was on my way to Fez, Morocco (via Casablanca) ... arriving in Fez at midnight. Fez is a beautiful city, a cultural center in Morocco.  I stayed at the Grand Mirage, which was okay. Met with a software customer on Thursday and Friday. On Thursday evening I ventured out to the souks (the local market ... of narrow alleyways with small stalls and shops on both sides, with meandering alleys and side streets) which was bustling with people despite the light drizzle.

I departed from Fez very early on Saturday morning, arriving back home at approx 2:00am on a Sunday morning, and happy and ecstatic to be back home.

Trying Economic times ... Look for some positives

From a personal perspective this so-called bailout has the alarm bells ringing in my brain that I will have to continue to work till I am antique, decrepit and have pall-bearers carry me away from working. My hallucinations of retirement have been swept away with the  fast, ferocious speed of the financial "rapids" moving downstream ... i am gasping for air, and gulping water with every effort. Ahhh, it is being in a state of paralysis where one watches but unable to do anything.  

From a professional perspective ... the near term bleeds doom, however from the medium to long term, I am sanguine about what this turmoil may offer.

Selfishly, in the medium to long term, despite having fewer and fewer banks and/or financial services companies to be seen on and off financial streets around the world, there will be more work for IT.

Demands for greater transparency means more regulation and controls ... which means greater demand for IT ... at least for those still employed.  And for those unfortunate enough to be kept on the sidelines, there is still hope ... with the likes of us in the non-profit world. We will welcome you with open arms and offer plenty of interesting challenges. To help offset the financial losses, we can offer you something much more valuable, work that is personally rewarding, worthwhile, and satisfying ... with you offering a lending hand (lending does not have to have a bad connotation) to the poor to stand on their own two feet. 

In the meantime though keep your head high, breath-in and out ever so slowly, make belt-tightening moves, keep beavering away at work, and in case you do not have work then keep your self positively and constructively occupied ... volunteer at your child's school, start coaching your child's sports team, write a blog, and last but not least, contact me here to see if we can hook you up with us or someone else.

And do not give-up ... Best wishes and prayers to all of us in need for something.

Happy Diwali & Best Wishes for the New Year (yes, New Year comes early for those of us of Indian descent).

jiten

Trip to Azerbaijan

Lately I cannot seem to sleep on the plane. Not sure, why? Aaahhh ... must be something to do with my young age.
Had to find a hotel in London to get a good long nap. Flight to Baku was uneventful, the plane was not full, approx 70 passengers - probably more than 80% being oil workers / engineers.

Landed in Baku at midnight. Having previously got my visas for a year, it was a breeze going thru, and especially with just a carry-on.

Mr Aziz, the driver was patiently waiting. He was happy to see me, if for no other reason than at least now he could be home that much sooner instead of having to wait for the likes of me at the airport at midnight. He is a retired Russian army soldier, with an engaging smile, a warm friendly human being, and with all the patience in the world ... and I mean all the patience in the world. He drives at 25mph with or without traffic ... at midnight with not a soul in sight, there we were driving, well, ambling along at 25mph. Mr Aziz loves his music, his interests in music vary widely ... from Russian pop, to 70's / 80's rock, to hiphop, yes hiphop. He is my kinda of guy.

We eventually get to the hotel - seemed more like a large house than a hotel / inn. Walk up to the 1st floor, and with little fuss am given the keys to my room ... 3 steps away from the front-desk. A large spartan room, with high ceilings, a full-size bed, and a desk. Near to where the bed is located, there is an opening on the left, a little galley-like opening. At first I thought that it was just extra space that was leftover, that the architect did not know what to do with ... I was wrong, it led to the bathroom.

I quickly brushed my teeth, set the alarm for 7:00am, and hit the sack.

Next morning, got up, brushed, shaved, and about to take a shower. Hmmm ...where is the shampoo? No shampoo, which is not a huge problem for the likes of me ... but there is also no soap. Well, I improvised ... there was little liquid soap for hand-washing, which would have to do for my shower.

I get a call at 8:00am that breakfast is ready. Walking out of the room, into the lobby, there is no-one there. A few feet past the front-desk, to the left is a large opening, to the right is a corridor and a staircase. Walking up to the opening on the left I see a the dinning room, three tables, but only one with linen on the table, and with one place setting.

A middle-aged lady welcomes me and asks what I will have for breakfast ... cereal, do not have any; yogurt, do not have any; hmmm ... will have to make do with tea and toast, and yes, eggs.
Apparently I was the only resident in this inn.

At 8:45am Mr Aziz shows up to take me to the office, which is about 15 to 20 mins away. Baku has narrow side streets (with cars parked on the pavement on both sides, and only then can cars go thru - there is no such thing as "no parking"), and very limited major arteries connecting North to the South, and East to the West ... it is a town planner's worst nightmare.

The place is bustling with bars, Scottish and Irish bars, serving everything from vindaloo curry to Guinness on tap to real ale on tap. BP and other oil companies have huge number of people working offshore on the oil platforms, and these folks need a place to chill ... and the local economy, at least in Baku is booming.

For us poor folks from the US, the effect of the lower dollar can be felt with some pain.