Minor Mayhem is no more

he's been replaced by a strapping young man. Having only had girls before, the evolution of my not-so-small son has been a bit of a shock. It started with phoning the house to say I was homeward bound only to have the phone answered by someone with a deep booming voice, the the delayed realisation the person on the other end of the line was what had previously been my little boy. In reality 'little' is no longer an appropriate adjective to use where he is concerned as at 14 he is already beginning to tower over his mother. Unfortunately it's not just me who's noticed these changes it would seem; his eldest sibling has commented that on reading his Facebook page "it scares me that girls think he is 'cute'". On the basis of these points I think that a rename is required....so 'Major Mayhem' it is henceforth.

The office move

has been what can only be described as a bit of a cluster f*ck... predictably given the track record of things with this particular organisation.

We arrived in our brand new shiny office first thing to discover 2 crates of files were missing and we'd got a load of guys deploying to Afghanistan the next day. No prizes for guess which info we needed? Yep...those that were disparu... The ladies toilets didn't work effectively (I'll spare you the details!), there was no loo roll in any convenience, the specially company branded cups & mugs they purchased were all chucked out as they weren't heat proof so a number of people burnt their hands (serious HSE incident methinks), there was no milk to be had 'til mid afternoon (not that it mattered as there was nothing to make a cup of tea in anyway), and to cap it all, the chilled water dispensers remained empty for the entire day...

After a thorough search of the building I managed to located the 2 crates secreted in the Board room (why I have no idea...) and got 2 burly removal men to deposit them next to my desk to unpack bright and early tomorrow.

Word's starting to leak

that I'm on my way... over the last few days I've had a series of emails from various geographical locations but also a number of photographs which people have taken along the way - mostly me in body armour looking dishevelled but a couple of more civilised looking snaps like this of dinner in Al Qadisiyah, Baghdad last November. We had a lovely night sampling local dishes, followed by a cinema night watching a bootleg copy of 'London Boulevard'.

I guess most people who read these posts probably think I'm barking mad or have masochistic tendencies, but I have truly enjoyed (almost) everything I've done; had some superb experiences and met some absolutely fabulous people along the way. I'm pretty sure that it's influenced my perspective on life for the better.

'Integrity'

seems to be one of the more favoured 'values' that major organisations like to bandy about. There's been a lot in the press recently due to the resignation of Greg Smith from Goldman Sachs. The press relating to his open letter to the New York Times has been mixed. Whilst many have applauded his stance, morals, and courage of his convictions; many others have said he was idealistic and naïve. Having worked in business which are predominantly about the delivery of skills/expertise through manpower for some 12+ years now, and my personal view is that staff are frequently no longer seen as an asset but simply a means to an end.

On a personal note, I'm currently viewing first hand how someone who has served a business for many years, with an exemplary record of performance, no absence, and obvious measurable results; recently praised by the CEO in front of their peers, their success cited on internal posters; has been turfed out on the quiet without any due consideration. A pretty damning indictment of one of that business' alleged core values. Shocking stuff!

PS. The 'values' pic is from Enron....tiny bit of irony....

It's like living in a revolving door!

so much change and stuff to get my head around at the moment.....

Some positive - Young Blood has been accepted on both a Masters course in Human Rights & Genocide Studies and a Law conversion course and is now trying to decide which to opt for from a future career perspective as well as work out the practicalities of funding, and moving from the Steel City etc.

Some not so positive - an issue which I am not permitted to blog about but will basically make me the sole provider for the Frosties in the very near future. Talk about shock to the system!

Just when you think things are stable...All change....

Being asked the impossible

is a pretty common occurrence in my current job. Today we heard we are the preferred bidders for a project in Libya. The bid was submitted quite some time ago and at that point I raised concerns about the feasibility of manning it should we be successful. As usual I was patted on the head and ignored....So here we are with contract mobilisation 2 weeks away and no real plan. I love our Business Development guys (not) :o/ Needless to say I envisage having to go out there to sort out the mess. Even if we are able to sort out a transfer from the existing incumbent we’ll have to screen and vet etc. To say it'll be a challenge is a bit of an understatement...the current provider is a Franco/Hungarian outfit which will make it a challenge in itself...never mind the backdrop of Libya itself.

Somehow people seem to reckon I'm capable of sorting this stuff out....Me with my grade B at 'O' level in French donkeys years ago, and my one word of Hungarian - 'Goulash'!

Anyone got a Babel Fish I can borrow?

The deed is done

I've handed in my notice!!

Much as am relieved to be able to have done so, I can't help feeling slightly bad as my leaving causes my boss a bit of a headache. He's a thoroughly decent chap and the working environment has been so much better since he came; but this is a good opportunity in so many ways; I feel I need to grab it, scared though I am of the step up, not to mention the possibility of failing.

My head's in a much better state than it's been for a while. It's been a horrible period of uncertainty/ambiguity for the last seven months...the work situation and my previous boss's behaviour meant I felt constantly culpable, vulnerable or both!!...it fried my brain, but now I can move on and draw a line under the whole thing.