Well – that’s it for 2006 and now for 2007
Well, that was the year that was, and to give you a brief idea of how I spent it, and my plans for 2007.
Work
2006
The majority of the year saw the company I work for, EDS Australia (which is a child company of EDS based in Plano, Texas, and founded by Ross Perot), attempt to strengthen its relationship with sister company in India. It is hard to believe that it has been 2 years since we started the process of moving the majority of the work off to India. Although it has been a challenge, we still have some rough edges to sort out to have things running smoothly. The biggest challenge I am coping with is the time difference – being 4 ½ hours (or 5 ½ hours in Daylight savings). This means, that the support staff that interact with myself, and our client Telstra (Australia’s oldest telecommunication operator), are usually not at work until 1.30pm (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) time during summer, if all goes well. This does not usually give us a lot of time to coordinate work to be done and to set goals for the day – so this usually leaves me quiet worn out by the end of my day, and ready for a busy morning the following day answering emails from the support team, and resetting the goals for them as they didn’t achieve the previous days for various reasons.
2007
The year of 2007 will see it being 2 years since I was in India, Chennai to be exact (formerly known as Madras), to help with the transitioning of the work from Australia to India. It also marks the year that work will increase from our client, Telstra, as they transform their billing system from one system to another. To do this effectively, they will need to ensure that the old systems can cope as they migrate customer information from the old system to the new. As some of the systems that will need to be changed to accommodate this falls under my regime (still sounds strange that I have a number of staff members that report to me), it may mean another stint in Chennai, but possibly 2 months or more rather than 3 weeks. This will certainly be another adventure to look forward to. I may see if I can swing a side detour on my way home to the US to visit friends.
Family
2006
During 2006 my brother, who is in the Australian Army, was posted to Darwin (Northern Territory, Australia), for a 2 year posting. This move included a promotion to Sergeant. Within one month, he was told he was being sent to the Solomon Islands for 5 months as part of the rotation of peace keepers. As his career in the Army is in the Signal Corps, he was looking forward to the experience, and to put part of his training into practice. Four months into the tour, he was injured and sent back home. The injury occurred while playing sport, and he broke 2 fingers on his right hand, which was serious enough that it needed a specialist back in Australia to look at the injury.
My mother is still busy with her work to help the home based business sector, and to help make the various local, state and federal government bodies of Australia aware of what this sector needs in the way of resources and help that these various bodies can do to help them succeed.
2007
For the year to come will see my step-father look for a new position as the company he is working for is closing up shop. This may see Peter actually go into business for himself as a consultant to the home based business sector as well as the small business sector to ensure they have their finances in order, and to help restructure their operating expenses to ensure that the businesses are running more effectively with the finances available, and to ensure they do not get into difficulties.
Friends
2006
During this year, my friends Pauline and Rodney married in October which was a joyous day. My friend Sam Butler toured part of Australia again, and Holly Totten made the trip as well. I can now say that I made another friend, of which life is always enriched in making new friends. I was also saddened to hear that another friend that I had made through Sam, passed away from a sudden illness. Judy will be missed by all.
2007
Another friend of mine. Georgina, that I have known for some 17 odd years thereabouts, will be getting married in the middle of 2007. This is of great joy and celebration, as Georgina is a wonderful lady.