Author: DM Matthews

This is a strange holiday for me since moving to the UK.  Here, it is just another work day towards the end do a normal work week. I always try to take time out to remember what the day is all about for all Americans. A time for reflection and giving thanks for everything important in our lives. It also has it’s other side, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the football games and the food!  I can now get most of the football games on TV but the Thanksgiving dinner is another matter. I did try to take the day off in those early years but it is just got too hard to do that huge meal with work the following day.  So, here I am taking a few minutes away from work to stop and think about all of the Thanksgivings past and to think about what I am thankful for this year. Top of the list are my mom and dad. My dad has had a very rough year this year medically. In fact he just got out of a rehabilitation centre yesterday, after recovering from his latest surgery. Just knowing he is home with my mom today means so much. I have so much to be thankful for I could not possibly list everything and hopefully those close to me already know how thankful I am to have them in my life. There may not be any turkey or pumpkin pie today but it is still Thanksgiving in my heart.

I have the pleasure of taking the train today from Bristol to Barrow-in-Furness, for those of you in the US who are not familiar with our UK geography it is a very long trek up the country just shy of Scotland.  I always enjoy my train trips because you can gather so much information by just listening.  Sometimes however, I wish I could stop listening.  That is how it was for the first 2 hours of my journey.  I was sharing a table with two gentlemen travelling together and a young woman who did a great job of acting like the rest of us at the table were invisible, she actually looked through me a couple of times.  The two men of a mature age were re-telling stories of their working days.  Apparently this was a reunion of some sorts that they were on their way to.  I got to hear all about the various things they got up to “back in the day”.  They were heading for a week in Blackpool.  Again for those who have  not had the pleasure to visit Blackpool, I’ll try to explain.  Think of a city wearing more bling than a super model.  Then add the cheesiest carnival you have ever seen and multiply that by 10…you now have Blackpool.  It is all penny arcades, fair rides and lights.  To think that these two guys were going to spend a week there and they were very excited was almost too much for me.  They couldn’t wait to get a few pints on board and head for the rollercoaster! 

You never know what you will hear on a long train ride, I wonder what the next 4 hours will hold?

You are putting a large jigsaw puzzle together and when you finish you have a lovely picture.  Now, break the puzzle up again into pieces and put it back together but this time I want you to get a different and bigger picture.  Yes, using the same pieces….what, you can’t do it? 

No surprise really but to certain project managers this is the expectation.  You propose a plan to deliver a project and they accept it.  You start working (putting the puzzle together) and then they come back and say.  The plan needs to be revised because we have more to do and less time to do it in.  Can you give me a new plan and oh, you don’t get any more people to help you do it.  So, in essence they are saying using the same puzzle pieces I want you to produce a different and larger picture in less time.  Any rational, semi logical person on this planet can tell you that is not possible!! Yet, this is what we are faced with over and over again on projects.  Incredible!

A question for you. Why is it when you get a calf cramp during the night you lose all sense of dignity and relationship to time and you just want to scream out for your mommy? We all get cramps and they are never an enjoyable experience but why when they hit you in the middle of the night do they feel even worse? All you can do is grab your leg and cry out in pain. The leg grabbing doesn’t actually help it is just pure instinct and the crying out is primal? It feels as if a linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys has a hold of your toes and is trying to press them back far enough to meet you shin!
Why does this happen when you are safe in your bed sleeping? You are in a blissful dream one second and the next…agony. Then after it has finally passed and you fall back to sleep you forget it ever happened that is until you take that first step in the morning and bang the soreness in your calf hits you like a brick. This is one of life’s many mysteries I guess.

I’ve now been the US over a week and this is my first trip somewhere other than work! I came to a local mall to do shopping before flying home. As I was walking around I found an old style diner and I am sitting here having a chocolate malt! It is such treat. For the first time on this trip I feel comfortable. I have lived in UK for 13 years now and it amazes me how different things are. There pros and cons to everywhere you live.

Pro for the US – Chocolate malts

UK – Tea breaks

US- Space 

UK- Real Ale

The list can go on but I’m happy with my choices and I am ready to go back to the UK and my home

Today is my last day in the Go-Live room.  It is obvious that it is a Saturday.  All ties and suits are gone along with any sense of formality.  The room is dominated by hoodies, tennis shoes and stubble (not mine of course).  Four different people brought in doughnuts today and we actually had Danishs that individually could feed a family of five!  The canteen may be closed but there is enough sugar in this room to sink a battleship.  Thank goodness Dunkin Donuts do these awesome boxes of coffee.  Yes, I’ve seen boxes of wine but never coffee.  They have been an invaluable source of energy when the hours have dragged on. The Comic is in rare form today and others have now followed in his silly footsteps so we are on the verge of giddiness.  When I finally get released tonight I will organise a trip to the mall tomorrow just to be among normal society.  So when I return to the UK on Monday morning the men in the white jackets might not be waiting for me. 

It is day 6 and we have some new arrivals to the Go-Live room.  It is interesting how the dynamic of the room has changed with the departures of several key individuals and the arrival of our new residents.  We went from a calming influence in the face of challenges to a more…how should I say this…Chicken Little approach. 

I have come to know these people and their habits so well.  We have the Pepsi Addict the Coffee Feind, the Gum Chewer, the Voice and the Comic to describe just a few of the residents.  The first three are failry self explanatory. The Voice is that person who no matter where you are, what you are doing or how hard you are trying to concentrate The Voice is always there.  Loud, droning and supremely annoying!  The Voice wil not be dismissed, if the room begins to go a bit quiet The Voice will fill the space.  Most of the time I could not tell you what The Voice is talking about because it has become like Tinnitus…it is everpresent.  The Comic however, is always a good laugh.  It is his place to find the humour in all situations.  His role is vital in this room and I can only hope that when it comes his time to return to normal society that someone of a similar ilk takes his place. 

I only have 2 more days in the Go-Live room before my release.  This experience has refreshed my memory in terms of what Go-Lives are all about.  They are not so much about the technology or systems that are being deployed it is about the people behind those systems that make it work.  Around the clock if necessary, normal everyday routines suspended.  Things like showers, eating proper meals and other personal hygeine are sacrificed all for the greater good.  So, when your systems are running slowly and you are cursing your technology remember those who suffered to bring us the systems we have come to rely on.