January 11 - Thanks and I'm off again

I can't believe it's all over. This weekend I'll start the task of consolidating my experience and pulling together some presentations to share internally and externally. If any of you have a group that you think would like to hear about this program let me know. I'll probably send the presentation out to all you hard-core readers regardless.

I'm back in the swing of work and heading off to Toronto on Monday (yes I love my job!) for my next project as..you guessed it...Test Manager. Apparently my reputation preceeds me. Serves me right for doing such good work in the past. Doh! I will be in the T-dot Monday to Thursday so if anyone is around and hungry let me know. :-) No, I don't know how long I'll be there yet but at least through the summer.

On other news I have also found a flat in Ottawa which is great. I'll be a Glebe-ite as of Feb 1st living 1/2 a block from a Running Room and a Beer Store...ah Canadian Glory!

It's a crazy snowy day here and there's much to do to prepare for Monday so I'll wrap this up. Thanks so much for reading and I hope you learned a thing or two and laughed once or twice.

Take Care All!
me

January 2 - Back Home :-)

So sorry this took me so long but guess what...I'm home!

I'm glad to be back in Canada and it honestly feels like I never left (aside from the subtle differences like the Golden Turtle being crap and a few zillion more potholes).

The journey home was bitter-sweet and the last couple of days in Woking lovely including home-made kitchen twister:

And many delightful meals (scrumptious breakies, amazing dinners and traditional yummy tea!)

The flight home was a long one when our tvs shorted and I realized the fellow beside me didn't even bring a book. He also ended up sitting next to me between Toronto and London, ON too. We chatted for hours about absolutely nothing...crazy.

It was so nice to see my whole family again and Christmas was delightful. I wish I could have stayed longer but headed to Toronto to see the gals (Sarena, Elena and Jess avec baby) and see Jess' new house (beautiful!). Breakfast with Phil, Sarena and Jacs and then off home with a quick stop in Belleville to meet Jen's new baby Catriona (beautiful!). I got to Ottawa to find Christie and Leslie waiting for me at Christies...yay!

This was the snow-insanity that greeted me Christmas morning when my jetlag woke me at 4am. It certainly was a winter wonderland! Dark and snowy :-)

I have been asked a few times what it feels like to be back. It's hard to describe. Somewhat anti-climactic and partially manic.

I am still trying to sort out work and where I am going to live but my fabulous friends have been amazing support. It has been so fabulous to see them all and find out what they have been up to (even though they claim 'nothing's new'). I've been snowshoeing and to my bike-run class so am getting back in the swing. Had a great New Years Eve (if you get a chance to try the game Rock Band DO IT!) and tomorrow will head into the office and the dentist. Not sure which one will be more painful.

I'll send an update on my transition back to non-ADP Accenture and contact details for my Ottawa life.

Thanks for reading all this time. I appreciate your support and care. It's been a great help in my sometimes very difficult path through the last 9 months.

Happy New Year to All!

December 14 - Last day at Plan :(

Well this is it. My last day at Plan. Sad but happy...

The people here keep asking me one thing...are you sad to go? Sure I am. I'll miss the day to day interaction. The chatting at tea time in the kitchen, the jacket potatoe lunches and the mandatory 10 mins of social talk when you nip up to someone's desk with a question. The folks here are amazing (I believe I said that yesterday) and I'll miss them but I know they have made a contribution to my life and I theirs. Somewhat cliche again but true.

Having been in and out of the country I don't have a desk here so there's no box of acquired 'stuff' to lug home with me. There's no name plate to add to my collection and I don't even think I'll take a single extra piece of paper with me (trust me, when you are in Sierra Leone you learn quickly to print less).

I know this won't be the last I hear of these people. I've made some truly great friends here and have promised to visit again. I've also invited everyone to Canada...I think I have convinced Nana...just need to get rid of some of that snow!

Time to finish 'transitioning' then head off to the pub for a couple of Guinni. It's been a slice!

I'll be here for another week so expect one or two more updates and few more photos.

Cheers!

December 13 - No Go...Talk about anti-climactic

It's been a few days since the chaos of last Friday and all of the panic-ed preparation for the decision on whether or not the full ChildData system would go live in all 67 countries so I thought I would take a moment to reflect on the decision.

It was decided that due to:

> Several outstanding system stability issues

> Lack of readiness from several field and sponsorship offices and,

> Issues with support coverage over the holidays

that we would not add any new offices (we are live in 9 countries now) until January 7th and have an additional wave January 28th (anyone from STSI reading this and cringing?).

So, that's that. I have redone the deployment plan around those dates and the team is busy gathering readiness of the offices to see who can go on the 7th and who will get the extra three weeks.

It really is sad for me as I won't be around to see the system go truly global. It's also a resourcing nightmare as the two new folks replacing us will only start Jan 14th and so will be of little help with the additional work in January.

All in all I think it was the right decision. This was definitely the most interesting go/no-go decision I have ever been apart of as every single person in this organization feels they should have their individual say into the decision and it boggles my mind how all that input can be managed.

Susan did a fabulous job in wading through the politics and whinging and making a very smart recommendation.

I wish the team all the luck in the world and can't wait to get the email that the system is global. Tomorrow is my last day at Plan and it will be a sad one. So cliche to say but the people here are fabulous and I will miss them a lot. It really does feel good to work for an organization that is doing good and with people who sacrafice a lot to work here. Amazing folks!

I'll be in the UK for an extra week and look forward to touring about a bit and just relaxing. I am also super pumped for my journey home on the 22nd. I can't wait to jump in the snow and hug my family and friends and pat Franklin!

Here's a couple more shots of the folks around here from our Plan Christmas Party last week. Yes, it's actually called a Christmas party and not a Holiday party and, at last count there are 4 Christmas trees in the office...and one of them is real! woohoo!

(Me and Kate; Jon and Jamie (who were drinking rose...seriously); Milton, Mark and Jaime (the first person from Plan I ever met aside from Susan); Paul and Bruce (who's dog I am going to try to pack in my suitcase); David, Simon, Dave and me)

December 13 - Conor's Article

Howdy! The following article came out today in the Accenture online journal. Those of you who are Accenturites can see the full thing here:
https://portal.accenture.com/News/operatinggroups/government/adp_sheehy.htm

For the rest of you lucky folks here's the cut and paste:

Conor Sheehy raises awareness of children rights through Accenture Development Partnerships program

Conor Sheehy, consultant - Public Service, applies his Accenture consulting skills far from his London office in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Sheehy, in partnership with Accenture Development Partnerships, is working with Plan International – a non-profit a humanitarian, development organization that works with families and their communities to meet the needs of children around the world.

“Plan International’s child sponsorship program aims to make global communities aware of and involved in the needs and rights of children,” Sheehy explained. “My role involves working from three continents to support the rollout of the initial release of the new, cost-effective solution for ChildData – a system and associated processes designed to manage global sponsorship information.”

Sheehy continued, “In early October (2007), I presented the training rollout for ChildData to 20 representatives from West Africa, with the help of a French interpreter, in Ghana. The system is currently scheduled to go live globally on December 10.”

“When Plan International’s operations were pioneered in Sierra Leone, a lack of trust among local communities existed,” Sheehy said. “Superstition permeated the minds of people who believed a legendary genie, Kasila, had appeared in human form to take their children away to the underworld.”

Sheehy continued, “Since my arrival in Freetown, I have heard tales of supernatural cats, human teleporting and witchdoctors controlling thunderbolts from the sky. I have witnessed only some of these firsthand but can confirm that suspicion has been eradicated and visitors are now greeted with open arms.”

After spending his time providing training sessions to the local people of Sierra Leone, Sheehy explained “it is perhaps I who should be saying 'tєnki' (the local Krio expression to give thanks) as I have learned how people can be so resilient in the face of abject poverty. I am optimistic about Sierra Leone’s bright future following the 10-year war.”

“Working with Accenture Development Partnerships and Plan International has been a great experience,” Sheehy said. “I am helping to make a difference for children’s rights and, in the process, I have traveled to three countries to do so—I spent two months in Sierra Leone, a month in Kenya and a month in Mumbai, India. I am now back in the United Kingdom where Plan’s International Headquarters is based and I will be wrapping up my project at the end of the year.”

December 3 - One year older and clearly no smarter!

Happy Monday! Only 9.5 more work days left. Can you believe it!??!? It seems like just yesterday I was weepy-Tina-nearly-missing-her-flight and now I am frantic-Tina-trying-to-finish-her-work-and-enjoy-the-rest-of-her-time-here.

Wanted to say thanks to everyone who sent birthday greetings and everyone who has sent messages that make me more and more excited about coming home. I hear there is snow so that's great! The sun is shining here in the UK!

One more week until we go live around the world so keep your fingers and toes crossed for me. I'll be happy to see it in place but sad that all the work is done.

I had a couple of folks aske me about supporting Plan so here's the link to the Canadian site in case you want to take a look. I would be happy to chat off-line with anyone who has questions about how the money is used and my opinions on the efficiency of this (and other) NGOs which I think is a smart thing to have an insite into before you invest your money.

http://plancanada.ca/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=194&srcid=265

I also wanted to post some photos from my shindig on Thursday so you can all see some more of my amazing colleagues so when I tell you stories you have faces to names:

(photos: the chilly feast, Nicki and Susan post Sangria, Me and Mike the chef, Nicki demonstrating the power of Bailey's cake, Super Lyn and I)

November 30 - Interesting Comparison

So the other day when I got into the elevator in my flat the other day (I know, I usually take the stairs but I had a load of stuff for my party and wimped out) I noticed the max capacity sign and had a giggle.

In England the sign says:
Max Cap 8 persons/630kg

In India the sign said:
Max Cap 10 persons/630kg

Can someone check an American or Canadian elevator? I'm curious to see which country's lifts can hold the most folks.

Hosted a small but fab party last night. Many photos. Will post some on the weekend. Note: Sangria, although seeming like a great idea is WRONG.

Oh and we are now live in eight countries...wooohoooo! [UK, US, Australia, Spain, Ecuador, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and the Philippines!]

November 23 - Trip to Paris (oh and Pilot time)

Me again.

Last weekend I headed off to Paris to 1) see Sarena who is working there right now and 2) to hang out with my bro (Chris) and his wife (Cat) who were on vacay there.

I think my head may still be spinning from all the stuff I did (or maybe from the stomach nasty that I picked up) but I LOVED Paris. So jealous of Sas for living there!

Highlights included:

- Napoleans Tomb

- The Musee D'Orsay - The Pantheon (particularly the pendulum) - The food (aside from the barfing :$)

Boo on the Metro workers for being on strike but all in all a great time.

Busy week here at work as we prepare to go live in 8 countries on monday. Things are going well and I think we have a Go! decision so that's great. Will probably be working on the weekend but at least this time I'll have company...I know...that's cruel...but what can I say.

Happy Thanksgiving to the Americans!

November 10 - Woking Beer Festival?

Okay I know I am going back in time but bear with me. I need to give you all a couple of updates and catch up. I'll get back to the present soon enough promise.

On November 9th I witnessed quite a spectacle...the Woking Beer Festival. For those of you in the O-dot you may be thinking "that's like the Wine and Food Show isn't it?". Well, no.

Picture you local community centre gym filled along one side with scaffolding full of kegs of beer, on the other with a stage with a sad cover band, in the back with a man named Len playing the Whirlitzer Organ and filled with a sea of beer-bellied, greying men some in Hawaiian shirts. Seriously!
It was a totally stellar event! (my coat was the last one out of coat check)Tickets are sold out months in advance and the place was PACKED. I went with a bunch of folks from work who go every year so they showed me the ropes luckily. You enter and get a pint glass. You can go around to all the different stations and try 1/2 or full pints of beer for super cheap. I tried light and dark beers. Beers that tasted like banana bread and beers that tasted like beef jerky. Some great and some horrible.

Later on in the evening there was even a sing-song with the organ. There were even songsheets and tunes ranging from Abba to the Beatles and of course Rule Britannia.

I even met the mayor of Woking!

When asked if I would return next year ... I just giggled.

November 4 - Implementation...hmmm..

So tomorrow the ChildData system goes 'live' in five countries. As I sit here alone in the office trying to improve the setup of the system I wonder...who cares? If this were an Accenture project either 1) no one would have left the office on Friday until it was ready or 2) I would have a lot of over-tired giddy friends with me right now...perhaps a few take-out cartons and many empty Starbucks cups.



The people around here think I work too hard/much. I think they don't work enough. Acutally that's not fair. I think they are very good at letting work go. I am not. (ya, you can all laugh now...cause you know it's true).


Someone asked me why I work so hard/much. Especially those who know that I am getting only 50% of my salary. It's not the big bucks, that's clear. The money has never been much of a motivator for me mostly because I don't really have a good sense of it. I am horrible with money. I don't realize what I need it for and what having a lot of it around could do for me.

It's not the appreciation from my team/colleagues (there's very little of that aside from my boss who herself deserves millions more accolades). I think I work really hard for two reasons;

1. I am a perfectionist. It's clearly a personality flaw. I am one of those people who think the only way to do something right is to do it yourself. baaaaaaaaaaaad news
2. I have this odd sense of pride in my reputation.

I know if everything here on this project goes to pot the finger will be pointed in my direction. Clearly it won't be my fault but it's easier for people to blame the consultant. I suppose I am overly sensitive when people slag consultants. It makes me want to work harder to prove them wrong. Hence a viscious circle.

They will also blame my boss who has worked so hard to get this project to where it is (in my opinion the most successful development project Plan has ever had). She doesn't deserve any of the blame but she'll get and take it personally. And so I sit here on Sunday afternoon...



I was out with a friend on Friday who left the crazy project management world a few years back for many reasons. As we walked by his old office building he said he really misses it. That was quite shocking for me to hear but makes total sense.

Some days all I want to do is walk away from this stress and chaos but I never do and wonder why. It makes me stressed, exhausted, sick and often a sobbing mess so why not leave? Clearly that's the correct response. I think, like him, I would miss it. Glutton for punishment? maybe.



Okay I am babbling and need to get back to finding lost users and posting random documents so I can go and enjoy the fall colours before dark. Just wanted to get that out of my system.




I should also mention that I had a bit of a reunion with friends I met in Sierra Leone on friday. It was great to see Anna, Laura and Quirien again. Just like old times we did ridiculous things. There were no random glass-eating men nor beverage distribution little people but it was fun none-the-less. :-)

Back to work for me. Just over 40 days left. Only 100 or so more countries to go live in...should be exciting times! Keep the Christmas Starbucks cups and Festive Specials warm for me!

Congrats to Tim and Shannon and welcome to their weee one Thatcher (great name btw) and a Happy Happy B-day to Xenia-on-a-top (you know who you are!)!!!! Oh and welcome home Ms Parks! I hear you do a wicked Johnny W...can't wait to see it! :P

cheers!

October 24 - Visits, UAT and a Countdown

Hey folks!

Can you believe that in 59 days I will be back in good ol Canada!?!?!? I am both excited and sad about this adventure coming to an end but enough about that.

UAT went very well. I don't want to brag but I am positive that this is the best set of user testing this organization has ever been through. I'm proud of my team and the testers. Here's a pic:

(L-R: Front, Leonard (Ghana), Meike (Germany), Monica (Spain), Joan (Canada), Kabir (Bangladesh), Back, Helen (Ethiopia), Me, Nicki (ChildData Team) and Conor (doing the Blue Steel face as usual)

After my crazy visit from Sarena I was visited by Christie for nearly a week! It was amazing that everyone we saw (including the testers and the receptionist) all pointed out that we looked like sisters! We did the touristy thing up royally and I know feel satisfied that I could leave the UK satisfied with my site-seeing. Check out the photos:

Double-decker bus tour (seriously it was great!)

Haming it up at Buckingham Palace:

Nerds at the museum of Natural History:

What trip to London with Tina is complete without a musical?!?!?

And perhaps watching Rugby in a random pub?

And the addition of another 'world wonder' to my list for this trip...Stonehenge!

All with beautiful weather and great company! Thanks Christie!

October 16 - Sarena visit and GMT

Just a quick update that I had a terrific visit from Sarena this weekend. I showed her nightlife in Woking (I'll let her post her own judgement on that one) and we shopped up a storm. It was FANTASTIC. I think she took one or two photos so maybe I'll post one of those.

I also learned a new international phrase this week. Feel free to borrow it: GMT, meaning Ghana Maybe Time. It's an indicator that something might get done eventually if someone feels like doing it...just like most things in Ghana. hee hee

I'm still at work at 9:30 so should just finish my stinkin work and go home but I had to be a bit distracted don't I?

October 9 - Let the User Acceptance Begin!

Day two of User Acceptance Testing and so far so good. The team looks like they will do well and we have quite the international bunch including:
- Joan from Canada (clearly my favourite)
- Monica from Spain
- Meike from Germany
- Leonard from Ghana
- Hasinil from Bangladesh
- Helen from Ethiopia, and
- Amy from the UK
Looks like the system is ready to go so it should be a busy two weeks. Looking forward to Sarena's visit on the weekend to break it up.

A couple of congrats are due to Jen and Darren on wee baby Catriona and to Dave and Megan on their engagement. :-) So much happy news for my favourite Smiths!

October 6 - Everybody's workin for the weekend...nope just me

Hello all!

Just a quick hi from the office on this glorious Saturday morning. It's rugby-mania as England takes on the Aussies today in the World Cup but I am in the office with my Indian developers getting ready for User Acceptance Testing to start on Monday. YAY!

I wanted to post a couple more photos from India and the Taj trip as I have collected them from the others:

1) The team at the Taj (Paulina -Ecuador, Conor - ADP, Khalila - Kenya, Susan- Woking, Me and Marte - Norway)

2) The view of the Taj from the Red Fort in Agra

3) The train station in Mumbai

4) Conor on a camel...seriously!

Okay I should stop procrastinating now. I managed to get a replacement battery charger for my phone so more photos of my fun times to come.

Hope you all have a happy Turkey Day (for the Canadians of course). One of our testers is from the Canadian National Office. I can't wait to take her 'out and about' in Woking!

Go Australia!

September 27 - UK TV

I was thinking the other day that these blogs won't be so super exciting anymore (pretend with me that they were exciting before) now that I am back in the boring UK but then I realized that there are so many differences between here and there (insert your location here) that I may be able to keep up the fun for at least a little while longer.

I was thinking of this as I watched TV the other night. Much like with my bunny ears at home I only get 5 channels here so there's limited selection but there always seems to be something interesting on.

They love their investigative journalism and the other day I watched a program that tested several different alternative diets and their effect on health. Boring you think. Well one of the diets involved ranchers and probiotics (I won't go into details but there was pooh involved) and the other was an 'ancestral diet' where folks ate like baboons for two weeks to see what it did. Very interesting.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/humanbody/truthaboutfood/

They also love real-estate shows. There's always something on about renos or finding your dream home/vacation home. It's a neat way to see how people live not only in the UK but all over europe. The prices are mostly shocking (the cheapest place around here is about 200,000 GBP = $400,000) but the places are always so full of character. There is a lot of original architecture around which makes for personality abound.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/homes/tv_and_radio/tbontb_index.shtml

The third big one is talent competition. It seems they cast most of the West End musicals using TV shows with Danny and Sandy (Grease), Joseph (Joseph) and Maria (Sound of Music) all having been selected by the public (and of course Andrew Lloyd Weber) on tv. I'll have to check out one or two of them live I think.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/joseph/

As for me right now...work is hectic. We are training the 'super users' right now and they are a demanding bunch which is causing us to change all kinds of plans and we are getting ready for User Acceptance Testing so it's going to be a full couple of weeks which is fine with me. Work, gym, sleep, work. I think that will keep me busy until the visitors start. YAY!

Enjoying a cappacino and thinking of all my coffee buddies (Gege, Phil, Martin). Have a great weekend everyone!

September 24 - Photos from India!

A day in Mumbai...

(sorry Mom!) Conor and the cobra (I was VERY far away at the time).
A typical Mumbai taxi...note: not a tuk tuk...

Trip to Agra...the team at the taj..

I'm not sure what was worse for traffic...cows everywhere or Conor driving a tuk tuk!

September 24 - Brushing my teeth with tap water!

It's true...I am actually brushing my teeth with tap water again and if feels soooo good. In 6 more days I will stop taking anti-malarials and the world will be a happier place (those things make you c-r-a-z-y)!

My journey from Mumbai to Woking was an uneventful one and I spent yesterday getting sorted and relaxing.

I have cried on two runs during this trip. The first was the day Jay left to go home when we broke up and the second was yesterday. This time I was happy. I love fall runs and I was so happy to be out in the sunshine and free to run where I pleased. Perhaps that's why I ran 10km which I was clearly not ready to do as my quads are telling me today.

I am settled into my new flat which is super nice (no bugs or little men sleeping in my kitchen) and have an address so if anyone wants to write let me know.

I'll post some more India pics now. Enjoy!

September 21 - Last day at work in Mumbai

So it is finally coming to the end of my 'round the world tour' as tomorrow I head back to the UK. I of course have mixed feelings. The adventure is slowing down (no doubt the european leg will still hold fun times) so I can settle and get comfortable again and into a routine. You all know that routine is my middle name and I think that's be the biggest stress for me these last few months.

India has been interesting. The culture and food are amazing. The infrastructure and poverty are shocking. There is such a dicodomy here it is truely in your face. Indian people are proud and humble at the same time. It's a delicately plesant balance that I'll miss.

One thing I won't miss is everyone hurrying to help me with everything. I know, that sounds harsh but I really can carry my own suitcase and pour my own waterglass. I don't need help from four people as I look around in a store either. I'll be happy when I am back in the UK where everyone ignores you. I am sure I'll miss the attentiveness eventually....or not.

I realized yesterday that I can use our countdown to the system go-live date to count my days until my return. We go live on December 10th and I return December 18th....89 days. I both want it to come fast and hope it never comes. Returning will be strange and wonderful all at the same time.

Okay no more philosophical stuff. We wrap up our first pass of testing today and I think the team is sick of me. It will be good for folks to get home and to move on to focusing on deploying this puppy. In contrast to other systems I have tested this has gone particularly well especially considering the quality/details of the design. I am very happy with my team's work these last two weeks.

Time to get to work. More reflections on India and photos on Monday. Have a wonderful weekend!

September 18 - Taj and a countdown

Hello again.

After a peaceful night's rest back in the guest house (yes, the little man is again living in my kitchen and this time I get to share a bathroom with him) I am recovered enough to write a bit about our trip to the Taj. Here are the stats:

- departure 2pm Friday

- 17 hour train ride in second class where everyone stared at us but we managed to sleep and the food wasnt bad

- 5 hour car ride from Delhi to Agra

Total Travel time = 24 hours

Total Time in Agra = 12 hours (this included visits to the Taj and the Red Fort (both amazing) and lunch and dinner out)

Journey home = 24 more hours this time with super snore man on the train so no sleep.

It was definitely an adventure. My camera is hooped so I have to nik some photos from the others but here's a photo to show you how beautiful the place is:

The king built it for his dying wife and it took 22 years and 20,000 workers to complete. Needless to say she died long before it was done. This king was later arrested by his son and put under house arrest in the Red Fort (just down the river from the Taj so he could see it) because he was spending all his time and money building ridiculous things (he planned to build a black Taj on the other side of the river). Very cool story.

Everything at the Taj is symmetrical but the two graves inside. There are actually four graves; two upstairs for show and the two real graves downstairs that you can't see. The place is truely breath-taking. Check out the Wiki link on the right for more details.

I'll try to get some actual pics of us at the Taj and on the train today and post them.

Four more sleeps until I am back in the UK!!!!

September 13 - Some India Photos

For your enjoyment! The living room of my thrid home here in the 'dumpster in paradise' which we now refer to as 'Palm Springs'. The 'Wave Pool' at Palm Springs.
The washing machine has a Saree setting!
View across the bay in Mumbai from Nairman point. That's the Indian ocean and a few weeks ago I was on the other side in Mombassa Kenya.
The Gateway of India. Sort of impressive but really just an empty structure our on a pier.
The Taj Hotel in Mumbai.
Our $6 lunch at Leopolds on Colaba.

Mumbai 'Idols' singing at the shopping mall in Malad.