Today was a rather slow day for me. The morning started with our first check-in with the project steering committee, which went well, and the rest of my day was spent reviewing documents for my next project (implementing the Indonesia Contract Adminstration System in Phoenix) so I am ready for the meetings that start a few weeks after my return. We had some further discussions regarding the documentation challenges we're having on this project, but that was it. Spending my whole day reading user documentation is tiring on the eyes - and it isn't the most compelling reading, either.
We did have a break for lunch with the usual suspects. Not wanting to wait another 90 minutes for our meals, we went to the other restaurant at the mall across from the office. This restaurant served more general fare and I went the American food route and had my first cheeseburger in months. I had actually been hoping to return to the golf club as it is the only place I've seen out since I've been here this trip that had ice cream as an option - and a banana split, no less! Those of you that know my ice cream habits an imagine that going 10 days without ice cream had me going through withdrawal. Though I am down to 1.5 gallons a month (from 3 gallons a month), I still crave ice cream if I go too long without it. In Jakarta, I was able to supplement with cold milk and/or yogurt. In Timika, dairy products in general have been hard to come by. So, you can imagine my elation when I saw ice cream on the menu!
After my cheese burger (and a banana smoothie), I ordered one of my favorite ice cream flavors - mint chocolate chip. Although here, they called it "spearmint chocolate chip". The brought me the familiar green ice cream with dark brown specks...but it didn't taste or feel right. Based on appearance, I was expecting a rough texture, similar to homemade ice cream where the milk freezes more slowly and crystallizes instead of freezing smooth. However, it was more like cream cheese in texture. The mint was more like peppermint - and I saw streaks of pink in the green that confirmed that theory for me. The chocolate, however, was not what I was expecting. It had the texture of cake, and I don't know what the flavor was. It may have been unsweetened baking chocolate, or some type of chocolate substitute, but it was not the rich, dark chocolate I was expecting. Whatever it was, I enjoyed it, but I'll be looking for some of my favorite ice cream in the freezer when I get home (hopefully my wife sees this and stocks it for me).
Over lunch, we tend to talk about the differences in American and Indonesian life. Today's topic, as it often is, was food. One of our comrades mentioned that dog - yes, canine domesticus - was a common meal in the town where he grew up. He mentioned that people in his town would eat anything they could catch. He jokingly said that if they built a zoo in his town, on the same card that explained the animal and its habitat, there would be a recipe describing the best way to cook it. We didn't want to talk about eating our pets, so we changed the subject and asked how many of them would permanently move to the US if given the opportunity. Many of them said they would not, which I was both glad to hear and surprised to hear. One always likes to believe that everyone wants to move to their home country because it is the best in the world - especially Americans - but it is always nice to hear someone who is content with where they are at in life.
Tomorrow is our mine tour. We received our PPE - Personal Protective Equipment - today, including the steel toed shoes. We are advised to dress warmly and be prepared for high-altitude conditions. There is a glacier on top of the mountains of Papua, and our mine is close to it. I'm not sure I have warm enough clothes, so I'm dressing in layers and hoping for the best. I'm sure I'll have great pictures to load tomorrow.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Mar 4
My project grows increasingly challenging by the day. The main plot of the effort - modify and deploy a global help desk application - is increasingly diminished by the power of the multiple subplots:
1) Use the new, standardized architecture. This required a significant revamp of the baselined application.
2) Help define the process for how we will work internationally moving forward. This project has not been the model of success on this front. I am still confident in project success, but we will be learning more from our challenges than we will be from our successes on this effort. The silver lining, of course, is that we are learning from it and the next projects will be the better for it.
3) Change the culture of the organization. This phrase keeps coming up, but we haven't quite determined what is meant by it. Hopefully we will shortly as I am sure it will impact our testing and training cycles.
4) Keep it simple. The more simple we make it, the more manual work we are creating by not adding system complexity. This is likely to have the biggest impact on the level of the "gripe factor".
I would say that the biggest issue we've had to this point is misunderstanding the documentation requirements. Our PMO (Project Management Office) group did an excellent job last year defining a standardized process for implementing technology projects. They interviewed the key players in both organization, took direction from our CIO, and held a pilot class with key managers and project managers - myself included - to get input on both the class and the process before deploying globally. Over the last few months, they've been touring the globe providing PMO training to all of our offices. This is exactly the process you would want the PMO to use.
The PMO rolled out what I like to call "little m" methodology instead of "Methodology". The difference being "methodology" defines stages, milestones, and project requirements, but permits flexibility for the project team to add and remove tasks and define deliverable templates based on the needs of the project. "Methodology" tries to define a specific set of rules, and a specific set of templates for every potential project and all parties must strictly adhere to all facets of the "Methodology". I've always preferred "methodology", so I've been very supportive of everything the PMO is trying to accomplish.
As part of the rollout and the training, the PMO provided templates for what document deliverables could look like. They took a best-of-breed approach to project documentation, but, with it being a "methodology" approach, fully expected that each project could and would modify the templates to fit the needs of the project. Here is where it gets interesting. In the training performed in Indonesia, the whole team left with the impression that they must follow the documentation templates explicitly. What's worse, no one knows where the document templates came from., and no one likes them. I know we didn't have them pre-merger, the Indonesia team said they weren't using them, and I swear the PMO had told me they adopted what the Indonesia team had provided. My guess is that one of our former colleagues, who was then manager of development in Indonesia, provided the templates to the PMO shortly before he left to "pursue other opportunities" (code for - got fired).
These documents have done nothing but muddle the issues and keep me jumping through hoops trying to follow the business requirements through to our design documents. Every version of the documents I see only poses more questions, but the developers always have thoughtful and detailed answers, which tells me they know what we are trying to accomplish, but we just aren't documenting it properly...or clearly, depending on your perspective. In any event, I'm cautiously optimistic that we are on track. I'll know for sure when I'm back in Jakarta next week and can really go through the design with everyone. They were still finishing it at the end of last week, so my first real look at it has been while I'm in Timika.
So, part of subplot 2 for me now is to create the first set of NEW templates for how we want to do development projects as a global team to help clear the confusion. When complete, the new templates won't be that different from the existing templates, they'll just have a few additions, a few deletions, and a slight reorganization....much like the system we're working on for this project.
Okay, enough work talk. On to what you really like to read about - INDONESIA. As most of the day was spent at the office (nearly 12 hours), I'll just fill in some details I forgot or omitted in some prior posts:
1) The mine has 4 shifts that run 24/7/365. Why don't we just say 24/365? Isn't the "7" redundant?? I digress. The staff refer to the locals who mine the river (illegally) as "Shift 5".
2) I was thinking the other day that isn't blogging and posting vacation pictures on Flickr just the 21st century equivalent of inviting family and friends over for a slide show? I remember the sitcoms of my youth - especially "The Wonder Years" - making fun of people who would have dinner parties and break out the slide shows. People DREADED that slide-show-guy, and now we can't get enough of Reality TV, reading people's blogs, seeing their pictures, etc. Not making a statement, really, just something interesting to me.
3) One of my colleagues bought something in the store today and they were out of change. So, instead of giving her change, they gave her a vitamin C lozenge. Do you think that would work in the US? "I'm sorry, we're out of singles, but you can select a few of our candy bars instead".
4) For lunch today, we ate at the golf course club house. It took nearly 90 minutes to get our food because the chef was preparing a feast for an Embassy meeting later in the evening. They didn't have anything exotic on the menu, so I just ordered the lamb chops (which haven't done well for my GI). The golf course is beautiful and was designed by Ben Crenshaw (I think that's his name). Over lunch, our Indonesian colleagues told us about a fruit that hung from one of the trees on the course. Apparently, it is very high in antioxidants, so many of the locals use it as medicine. They also have ascribed it great medicinal powers saying it can cure cancer, HIV, and malaria. It can't, but it's always nice to have hope.
Side note: On our way home from work, we had to wait at an intersection while the ambassador entourage passed in front of us. I hope they enjoy their dinner. It, apparently, took a long time to prepare.
Sounds like Thursday we'll get our mine tour, and I'm very excited about it. The mines are why we have jobs, so the more we can understand about how they operate, and how our products help them operate, the better we can contribute to the organization. Plus, it's just absolutely fascinating stuff. There are some events that make you proud to be part of an organization - like when ARPA birthed the internet. There are events that make you proud to be part of a country - like when America landed a man on the moon. Building a mine of this magnitude, in an area so hostile it was inaccessible before we arrived, having to create the entire infrastructure from ports, to roads, to power, and potable water, makes you proud to be part of the human race. It's endeavors like this that truly demonstrate man's preeminent status on our planet and is a testament to our ingenuity. I can't wait to see it.
1) Use the new, standardized architecture. This required a significant revamp of the baselined application.
2) Help define the process for how we will work internationally moving forward. This project has not been the model of success on this front. I am still confident in project success, but we will be learning more from our challenges than we will be from our successes on this effort. The silver lining, of course, is that we are learning from it and the next projects will be the better for it.
3) Change the culture of the organization. This phrase keeps coming up, but we haven't quite determined what is meant by it. Hopefully we will shortly as I am sure it will impact our testing and training cycles.
4) Keep it simple. The more simple we make it, the more manual work we are creating by not adding system complexity. This is likely to have the biggest impact on the level of the "gripe factor".
I would say that the biggest issue we've had to this point is misunderstanding the documentation requirements. Our PMO (Project Management Office) group did an excellent job last year defining a standardized process for implementing technology projects. They interviewed the key players in both organization, took direction from our CIO, and held a pilot class with key managers and project managers - myself included - to get input on both the class and the process before deploying globally. Over the last few months, they've been touring the globe providing PMO training to all of our offices. This is exactly the process you would want the PMO to use.
The PMO rolled out what I like to call "little m" methodology instead of "Methodology". The difference being "methodology" defines stages, milestones, and project requirements, but permits flexibility for the project team to add and remove tasks and define deliverable templates based on the needs of the project. "Methodology" tries to define a specific set of rules, and a specific set of templates for every potential project and all parties must strictly adhere to all facets of the "Methodology". I've always preferred "methodology", so I've been very supportive of everything the PMO is trying to accomplish.
As part of the rollout and the training, the PMO provided templates for what document deliverables could look like. They took a best-of-breed approach to project documentation, but, with it being a "methodology" approach, fully expected that each project could and would modify the templates to fit the needs of the project. Here is where it gets interesting. In the training performed in Indonesia, the whole team left with the impression that they must follow the documentation templates explicitly. What's worse, no one knows where the document templates came from., and no one likes them. I know we didn't have them pre-merger, the Indonesia team said they weren't using them, and I swear the PMO had told me they adopted what the Indonesia team had provided. My guess is that one of our former colleagues, who was then manager of development in Indonesia, provided the templates to the PMO shortly before he left to "pursue other opportunities" (code for - got fired).
These documents have done nothing but muddle the issues and keep me jumping through hoops trying to follow the business requirements through to our design documents. Every version of the documents I see only poses more questions, but the developers always have thoughtful and detailed answers, which tells me they know what we are trying to accomplish, but we just aren't documenting it properly...or clearly, depending on your perspective. In any event, I'm cautiously optimistic that we are on track. I'll know for sure when I'm back in Jakarta next week and can really go through the design with everyone. They were still finishing it at the end of last week, so my first real look at it has been while I'm in Timika.
So, part of subplot 2 for me now is to create the first set of NEW templates for how we want to do development projects as a global team to help clear the confusion. When complete, the new templates won't be that different from the existing templates, they'll just have a few additions, a few deletions, and a slight reorganization....much like the system we're working on for this project.
Okay, enough work talk. On to what you really like to read about - INDONESIA. As most of the day was spent at the office (nearly 12 hours), I'll just fill in some details I forgot or omitted in some prior posts:
1) The mine has 4 shifts that run 24/7/365. Why don't we just say 24/365? Isn't the "7" redundant?? I digress. The staff refer to the locals who mine the river (illegally) as "Shift 5".
2) I was thinking the other day that isn't blogging and posting vacation pictures on Flickr just the 21st century equivalent of inviting family and friends over for a slide show? I remember the sitcoms of my youth - especially "The Wonder Years" - making fun of people who would have dinner parties and break out the slide shows. People DREADED that slide-show-guy, and now we can't get enough of Reality TV, reading people's blogs, seeing their pictures, etc. Not making a statement, really, just something interesting to me.
3) One of my colleagues bought something in the store today and they were out of change. So, instead of giving her change, they gave her a vitamin C lozenge. Do you think that would work in the US? "I'm sorry, we're out of singles, but you can select a few of our candy bars instead".
4) For lunch today, we ate at the golf course club house. It took nearly 90 minutes to get our food because the chef was preparing a feast for an Embassy meeting later in the evening. They didn't have anything exotic on the menu, so I just ordered the lamb chops (which haven't done well for my GI). The golf course is beautiful and was designed by Ben Crenshaw (I think that's his name). Over lunch, our Indonesian colleagues told us about a fruit that hung from one of the trees on the course. Apparently, it is very high in antioxidants, so many of the locals use it as medicine. They also have ascribed it great medicinal powers saying it can cure cancer, HIV, and malaria. It can't, but it's always nice to have hope.
Side note: On our way home from work, we had to wait at an intersection while the ambassador entourage passed in front of us. I hope they enjoy their dinner. It, apparently, took a long time to prepare.
Sounds like Thursday we'll get our mine tour, and I'm very excited about it. The mines are why we have jobs, so the more we can understand about how they operate, and how our products help them operate, the better we can contribute to the organization. Plus, it's just absolutely fascinating stuff. There are some events that make you proud to be part of an organization - like when ARPA birthed the internet. There are events that make you proud to be part of a country - like when America landed a man on the moon. Building a mine of this magnitude, in an area so hostile it was inaccessible before we arrived, having to create the entire infrastructure from ports, to roads, to power, and potable water, makes you proud to be part of the human race. It's endeavors like this that truly demonstrate man's preeminent status on our planet and is a testament to our ingenuity. I can't wait to see it.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Mar 3
I write this at 7 PM in Timika while most of you are fast asleep - it's 3 AM in Phoenix.
Today was our first day at the office on Papua. The MIS offices are actually in Kuala Kencana, which is further up the mountain from Timika. Timika is where we land, heading up the mountain to Kuala Kencana is where we work, further up the hill is Tembagapura which is where the expats live, and then the mine is at the top of Grasburg. There are other small villages in the area - Kamoro, Banti - and they are REALLY small.
Yesterday, while I was relaxing, my two colleagues took a taxi into downtown Timika and had a good experience mingling with the locals - and some Aussie's that work at the mine. They were able to obtain some interesting information, as well. For example, in Timika, everyone just puts their trash on the side of the road. Vehicles come buy and push the trash into piles, and at night, someone comes by and lights the piles on fire. Efficient, but smelly. They also learned that the security around the hotel is, indeed, to keep out people, not animals. In fact, when there are riots on the island - like there were a few years ago - they rush all the expats to the security of the hotel. (Does the image of Jurassic Park sink in even more now?) Finally, we also learned that exchanging money here is difficult. If the US currency has a funny crease, or is to crisp or has any mark (like writing or www.wheresgeorge.com) then they won't exchange it.
Not to belabor the Jurassic Park analogy, but the trip out to the office reminded me of the scene where they took the jeep and were rushing through the jungle to get to the boat...only we were heading the opposite direction. When we left the hotel we followed a paved road to a security checkpoint, where our driver showed his credentials, and we turned on to a dirt road that ran parallel to the river. The river is one of hundreds on Papua, but happens to be the river that flows off our tailings. This means, the river has gold in it, and you'll see the natives panning for gold as you drive to the office. With gold hovering near $1,000 an ounce, and the GDP per person in Jakarta averaging around $1,000 per year, you can imagine how ecstatic they are when they find a single nugget.
Why isn't their a mad gold rush to Papua and the jungles of Irian Jaya? Well, first of all, it's illegal to pan for gold. Any gold they find, they sell for a substantial discount and someone very quickly makes it into some haphazard jewelry so they can sell it without many questions. It's less suspicious to sell gold jewelry than solid gold nuggets. Second, the rivers are full of large, hungy crocodiles. Gold panners often disappear under the water, never to surface. Of course, the native Papuans will also eat anything they can kill (including other humans if the stories are believed), so you'll also find crocodile meat in town and crocodile skin is an export of the island.
The dirt road finally ends on a divided highway that is our corporate campus and the local golf course (also operated by the Sheraton). The buildings themselves are squat, blue roofed buildings that stand out in the middle of the jungle. There is a mall in Kuala Kencana, directly across from the offices, with restaurants, a bank, and a grocery store. This used to be the center of the world for this area until Timika began to become a small town.
For lunch, we visited the Chinese restaurant. Trying to be adventurous, I once again ordered something that they had run out of - Deer, Kuala style. As most of the remainder of the menu was poultry, fish, or the ever ominous Jurassic pork (I know, bad pun), I chose the safe route and ordered sauteed bean sprouts with tofu. It was actually quite good and quite filling.
By mid afternoon the bright blue sky had become overcast, and shortly after 2 PM the rain came down hard. It continued raining until just a few minutes ago, though I expect it will start again before the night is over.
Before I forget the reason I'm here - my project - I have to say that this is the most challenging project I've worked on. The project objective itself is fairly straight forward - modify a help desk system in preparation for global deployment. The modifications are neither technically complex, numerous, or labor intensive. Where the challenge lies is with the people and the process. I'm sure we'll have the product fully tested and ready to deploy on the desired date. I am not so confident, however, that we will not have a mutiny (or at least muntinous grumbling) by every one who will now have to use the system as it is so vastly different in so many ways from what they are accustomed to.
Long term, the interconnectedness and simplicity it provides is absolutely the right move for the company. Short term, there is going to be a lot of pain and major culture shock. Adoption won't be difficult because there is only one option - use it. Getting through the training, rollout, policy and procedure changes, and system configuration will be a challenge. If I can just get us started on the development, I'll turn my attention to these more challenging aspects to see what can be done to mitigate so our project can be a success from the start. For now, those issues are a distant storm and I need to get the development team in gear so we can meet our delivery date.
Today was our first day at the office on Papua. The MIS offices are actually in Kuala Kencana, which is further up the mountain from Timika. Timika is where we land, heading up the mountain to Kuala Kencana is where we work, further up the hill is Tembagapura which is where the expats live, and then the mine is at the top of Grasburg. There are other small villages in the area - Kamoro, Banti - and they are REALLY small.
Yesterday, while I was relaxing, my two colleagues took a taxi into downtown Timika and had a good experience mingling with the locals - and some Aussie's that work at the mine. They were able to obtain some interesting information, as well. For example, in Timika, everyone just puts their trash on the side of the road. Vehicles come buy and push the trash into piles, and at night, someone comes by and lights the piles on fire. Efficient, but smelly. They also learned that the security around the hotel is, indeed, to keep out people, not animals. In fact, when there are riots on the island - like there were a few years ago - they rush all the expats to the security of the hotel. (Does the image of Jurassic Park sink in even more now?) Finally, we also learned that exchanging money here is difficult. If the US currency has a funny crease, or is to crisp or has any mark (like writing or www.wheresgeorge.com) then they won't exchange it.
Not to belabor the Jurassic Park analogy, but the trip out to the office reminded me of the scene where they took the jeep and were rushing through the jungle to get to the boat...only we were heading the opposite direction. When we left the hotel we followed a paved road to a security checkpoint, where our driver showed his credentials, and we turned on to a dirt road that ran parallel to the river. The river is one of hundreds on Papua, but happens to be the river that flows off our tailings. This means, the river has gold in it, and you'll see the natives panning for gold as you drive to the office. With gold hovering near $1,000 an ounce, and the GDP per person in Jakarta averaging around $1,000 per year, you can imagine how ecstatic they are when they find a single nugget.
Why isn't their a mad gold rush to Papua and the jungles of Irian Jaya? Well, first of all, it's illegal to pan for gold. Any gold they find, they sell for a substantial discount and someone very quickly makes it into some haphazard jewelry so they can sell it without many questions. It's less suspicious to sell gold jewelry than solid gold nuggets. Second, the rivers are full of large, hungy crocodiles. Gold panners often disappear under the water, never to surface. Of course, the native Papuans will also eat anything they can kill (including other humans if the stories are believed), so you'll also find crocodile meat in town and crocodile skin is an export of the island.
The dirt road finally ends on a divided highway that is our corporate campus and the local golf course (also operated by the Sheraton). The buildings themselves are squat, blue roofed buildings that stand out in the middle of the jungle. There is a mall in Kuala Kencana, directly across from the offices, with restaurants, a bank, and a grocery store. This used to be the center of the world for this area until Timika began to become a small town.
For lunch, we visited the Chinese restaurant. Trying to be adventurous, I once again ordered something that they had run out of - Deer, Kuala style. As most of the remainder of the menu was poultry, fish, or the ever ominous Jurassic pork (I know, bad pun), I chose the safe route and ordered sauteed bean sprouts with tofu. It was actually quite good and quite filling.
By mid afternoon the bright blue sky had become overcast, and shortly after 2 PM the rain came down hard. It continued raining until just a few minutes ago, though I expect it will start again before the night is over.
Before I forget the reason I'm here - my project - I have to say that this is the most challenging project I've worked on. The project objective itself is fairly straight forward - modify a help desk system in preparation for global deployment. The modifications are neither technically complex, numerous, or labor intensive. Where the challenge lies is with the people and the process. I'm sure we'll have the product fully tested and ready to deploy on the desired date. I am not so confident, however, that we will not have a mutiny (or at least muntinous grumbling) by every one who will now have to use the system as it is so vastly different in so many ways from what they are accustomed to.
Long term, the interconnectedness and simplicity it provides is absolutely the right move for the company. Short term, there is going to be a lot of pain and major culture shock. Adoption won't be difficult because there is only one option - use it. Getting through the training, rollout, policy and procedure changes, and system configuration will be a challenge. If I can just get us started on the development, I'll turn my attention to these more challenging aspects to see what can be done to mitigate so our project can be a success from the start. For now, those issues are a distant storm and I need to get the development team in gear so we can meet our delivery date.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Mar 2
Today was the first opportunity I've had for down time since arriving in Indonesia and I took full advantage of it leaving my room only twice - for a morning workout and for dinner. The rest of the day I spent in my room reading my back issues of Computerworld and trying to finish my book - The Watership Down.
On my walk back from the workout, I did a quick tour of the grounds around the hotel. It is actually quite nice and, if you don't consider "shopping" a vacation necessity (which I never have), it's actually a great place to visit as a vacation getaway. As you would expect, the hotel is lush with tropical foliage and has the feel of a south Florida vacation resort. The one caveat to that is the 8 foot high, barb wired security fence that surrounds the facility. I haven't decided if it is to keep out jungle animals - or jungle people. In either event, it does have a Jurassic Park feel to it, and it made me think of a prison story where the prisoner had every amenity available - but was never allowed to leave his room.
My room has a balcony contained by mosquito screens and I spent most of the day on it reading. The day started sunny, but by afternoon clouds drifted in and we had a nice downpour. The rain arrives in much the same way as applause in an auditorium. Because of the jungle, you hear it moving towards you in an ever increasing crescendo of sound until if finally reaches where you are. Preceding the storm, the jungle was alive with life as birds flew from tree to tree announcing the coming rains.
Tomorrow we will travel to the corporate offices. No word on when, or if, we will actually have a tour of the mine - which is a 2 hour drive from the offices. It would be a shame to travel all this way and not visit the mine. I would compare it to driving to Disney Land and never leaving the parking lot. I think the original plan was for us to have a tour on Saturday, but that was when we were arriving on Friday, so I don't know what the plan is now. With our original sponsor choosing to leave the company, our trip out has been somewhat haphazard with no clear contact at each location and no clear agenda. I've done my best to create an agenda so I can accomplish what needs to be done, but the whole trip was planned based on the plans of our original host, so there have been some gaps.
All in all, I'm excited to be part of this project and thrilled to be working with our Indonesian team again. They are truly remarkable people. I also can't wait to return home.
On my walk back from the workout, I did a quick tour of the grounds around the hotel. It is actually quite nice and, if you don't consider "shopping" a vacation necessity (which I never have), it's actually a great place to visit as a vacation getaway. As you would expect, the hotel is lush with tropical foliage and has the feel of a south Florida vacation resort. The one caveat to that is the 8 foot high, barb wired security fence that surrounds the facility. I haven't decided if it is to keep out jungle animals - or jungle people. In either event, it does have a Jurassic Park feel to it, and it made me think of a prison story where the prisoner had every amenity available - but was never allowed to leave his room.
My room has a balcony contained by mosquito screens and I spent most of the day on it reading. The day started sunny, but by afternoon clouds drifted in and we had a nice downpour. The rain arrives in much the same way as applause in an auditorium. Because of the jungle, you hear it moving towards you in an ever increasing crescendo of sound until if finally reaches where you are. Preceding the storm, the jungle was alive with life as birds flew from tree to tree announcing the coming rains.
Tomorrow we will travel to the corporate offices. No word on when, or if, we will actually have a tour of the mine - which is a 2 hour drive from the offices. It would be a shame to travel all this way and not visit the mine. I would compare it to driving to Disney Land and never leaving the parking lot. I think the original plan was for us to have a tour on Saturday, but that was when we were arriving on Friday, so I don't know what the plan is now. With our original sponsor choosing to leave the company, our trip out has been somewhat haphazard with no clear contact at each location and no clear agenda. I've done my best to create an agenda so I can accomplish what needs to be done, but the whole trip was planned based on the plans of our original host, so there have been some gaps.
All in all, I'm excited to be part of this project and thrilled to be working with our Indonesian team again. They are truly remarkable people. I also can't wait to return home.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Mar 1
As expected, today's travel provided much fodder to write about, starting with leaving for the airport. Our flight was at 7 AM, which meant we needed to be at the airport at 6 AM, which meant leaving the hotel at 5:15 AM. I used last night to pack, so my alarm went off at 4:10 and I had a wake up call at 4:30 so I could shower, finish any remaining packing, grab a quick bite, check out, and be at the car by 5:15. I arrived first - at 5:05 AM, and a second colleague arrived right at 5:15. At 5:20, and still no sign of our third, we decided to call her. It was a good thing we did because it woke her up. So, at 5:40, we finally left the hotel. Thankfully, the traffic was light and our driver drove the car as fast as it would safely go and got us to the airport shortly after 6 AM.
Once at the airport, life got interesting. In my prior trip, I only saw the international terminal, and it was like any other major aiport complete with shops, restaurants and lounges. This time, we were flying domestic, and it's a whole different story. First, we couldn't quite figure out how to get in because they wanted us to show them a ticket and we had e-tickets. Our itinerary turned out to be sufficient. Second, the domestic terminal did not have any of the accoutrements you find in the internationl terminal. It was very spartan, and not busy at all. I think it had one shop.
Security was tight. To enter the domestic terminal, we had to show our tickets and have our bagged scanned. Once we checked in, we had to go through another checkpoint where we showed our boarding pass and our ID and paid a $30,000 Rupiah (about $4 USD) departure fee. From there, we proceeded up to a security check point where they scanned our bags before allowing us back to the area where the gates were. The walkway from security to the gate was outdoors, but covered. When we arrived at the gate, they scanned our bags again before allowing us in and verified our identity to our boarding pass. Then, we walked down three flights of stairs, across the tarmac, climbed aboard the plane as the last passengers to board, and the 7 AM flight left the airport at 6:30.
We flew an AirFast flight from Jakarta to Timika - with two stops on the way. We took off, and landed an hour later. Took off again, landed about 2 hours later. This time, even though we were taking the same plane to Timika, they made us get off the plane, walk through arrivals, back through security (scan, then hand check, then ID verification) and back on through departures. Even more interesting was that the reading material on the plane was the history of my company and information about the mine! It was almost as if AirFast was a company owned airline.
The view from the plan during take off, landing, and while in flight was spectacular. Indonesia, with over 10,000 islands, is the world's largest archipelago, so as we flew from island to island we would see hundreds more from the plane. The water went from dark blue to pale green as little islands dotted the ocean. The islands themselves were luxuriously verdant with tall trees and rich green vegetation covering every inch without man-made development.
When we finally arrived at Timika - 5 hours after we left Jakarta - it felt as if we were going to land in the middle of the jungle.
We kept getting closer and closer to the ground and all we could see for miles was thick vegetation and tall trees. When we could hear the countdown from the cockpit (500 ft, 400 ft, 300 ft - we were in the first row, so we heard the computerized messages as they were announced) we finally saw a runway and then we safely touched down and taxied to the end of the runway....where we proceeded to do a U-turn, travel the same runway in reverse, and park next to an air hanger.
We deplaned, walked a few dozen feet to board a bus that, when full, drove us a few hundred feet to the only terminal. The terminal was more like a walled pavillion. No chairs, no televisions - very remote. I asked a security guard where I could claim my baggage and he pointed to the open wall behind me. I looked, and the wall was open to the elements with a chain link fence coming down from the ceiling and stopping a few feet above what can only be described as a metal shelf. The baggage handlers then drove up from collecting the bags from the plane, and placed the luggage on the shelf where passengers would come and collect it. Nothing automated about that task.
Our company appointed greeters arrived and took us to one of two offices at the terminal. We went in there, received our company badges for while we are here, and watched a safety videon that discussed both mine safety and the cautions of malaria. From there, the hotel shuttle took us to the Sheraton Timika.
For those of you who don't work for my company, you probably are wondering why I would get a company badge at the airport. Well, it's a company island. The airport, the hotel, pretty much everything on the island we build and/or manage. The internet connection I am using from the hotel is on the company network. I logged on to my company network from my hotel room as if I were at my desk at work - not through a VPN connection.
The hotel itself, and the island for that matter (what we've seen of it) is beautiful. Lush vegetation everywhere, beautiful, hand-carved artwork and friendly people. Warnings on how to prevent malaria are everywhere and there is even a special DEET lotion they provided for you in the hotel room. The only issue at this point is my TV doesn't turn on, but there isn't much to watch, anyway, so it really isn't a loss. However, it is a good thing I didn't watch any of the 9 DVD's I bought in Jakarta, because I bet I'll watch them all while I'm here.
Once at the airport, life got interesting. In my prior trip, I only saw the international terminal, and it was like any other major aiport complete with shops, restaurants and lounges. This time, we were flying domestic, and it's a whole different story. First, we couldn't quite figure out how to get in because they wanted us to show them a ticket and we had e-tickets. Our itinerary turned out to be sufficient. Second, the domestic terminal did not have any of the accoutrements you find in the internationl terminal. It was very spartan, and not busy at all. I think it had one shop.
Security was tight. To enter the domestic terminal, we had to show our tickets and have our bagged scanned. Once we checked in, we had to go through another checkpoint where we showed our boarding pass and our ID and paid a $30,000 Rupiah (about $4 USD) departure fee. From there, we proceeded up to a security check point where they scanned our bags before allowing us back to the area where the gates were. The walkway from security to the gate was outdoors, but covered. When we arrived at the gate, they scanned our bags again before allowing us in and verified our identity to our boarding pass. Then, we walked down three flights of stairs, across the tarmac, climbed aboard the plane as the last passengers to board, and the 7 AM flight left the airport at 6:30.
We flew an AirFast flight from Jakarta to Timika - with two stops on the way. We took off, and landed an hour later. Took off again, landed about 2 hours later. This time, even though we were taking the same plane to Timika, they made us get off the plane, walk through arrivals, back through security (scan, then hand check, then ID verification) and back on through departures. Even more interesting was that the reading material on the plane was the history of my company and information about the mine! It was almost as if AirFast was a company owned airline.
The view from the plan during take off, landing, and while in flight was spectacular. Indonesia, with over 10,000 islands, is the world's largest archipelago, so as we flew from island to island we would see hundreds more from the plane. The water went from dark blue to pale green as little islands dotted the ocean. The islands themselves were luxuriously verdant with tall trees and rich green vegetation covering every inch without man-made development.
When we finally arrived at Timika - 5 hours after we left Jakarta - it felt as if we were going to land in the middle of the jungle.
We kept getting closer and closer to the ground and all we could see for miles was thick vegetation and tall trees. When we could hear the countdown from the cockpit (500 ft, 400 ft, 300 ft - we were in the first row, so we heard the computerized messages as they were announced) we finally saw a runway and then we safely touched down and taxied to the end of the runway....where we proceeded to do a U-turn, travel the same runway in reverse, and park next to an air hanger.
We deplaned, walked a few dozen feet to board a bus that, when full, drove us a few hundred feet to the only terminal. The terminal was more like a walled pavillion. No chairs, no televisions - very remote. I asked a security guard where I could claim my baggage and he pointed to the open wall behind me. I looked, and the wall was open to the elements with a chain link fence coming down from the ceiling and stopping a few feet above what can only be described as a metal shelf. The baggage handlers then drove up from collecting the bags from the plane, and placed the luggage on the shelf where passengers would come and collect it. Nothing automated about that task.
Our company appointed greeters arrived and took us to one of two offices at the terminal. We went in there, received our company badges for while we are here, and watched a safety videon that discussed both mine safety and the cautions of malaria. From there, the hotel shuttle took us to the Sheraton Timika.
For those of you who don't work for my company, you probably are wondering why I would get a company badge at the airport. Well, it's a company island. The airport, the hotel, pretty much everything on the island we build and/or manage. The internet connection I am using from the hotel is on the company network. I logged on to my company network from my hotel room as if I were at my desk at work - not through a VPN connection.
The hotel itself, and the island for that matter (what we've seen of it) is beautiful. Lush vegetation everywhere, beautiful, hand-carved artwork and friendly people. Warnings on how to prevent malaria are everywhere and there is even a special DEET lotion they provided for you in the hotel room. The only issue at this point is my TV doesn't turn on, but there isn't much to watch, anyway, so it really isn't a loss. However, it is a good thing I didn't watch any of the 9 DVD's I bought in Jakarta, because I bet I'll watch them all while I'm here.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Feb 29
We were originally scheduled to leave Jakarta today and head to the mine site - well, more specifically, the offices at the base of the mountain where we have our mine. However, we realized we would accomplish more by delaying our trip a day and we spent today in Jakarta. Tomorrow we will leave for Timika.
It turned out to be a very wise decision as we accomplished a lot. We started the morning with a deep-dive into the design. After discussing the application "rewrite", we realized that's not an accurate term for what we are really planning to do - which is enhance some of the key components, but not rewrite the entire application from scratch. For most of the rest of the day, I did the administrative tasks required of me each week back in Phoenix as well as having a fun discussion regarding the merits of project documentation.
When we returned from lunch, we were greeted by an ominous looking sky that, anywhere in the US would have meant a terrible thunderstorm. Though this one came through with much rain, but no wind or lightening.
View from window in the AM:
View from window after lunch:
View from window once the rain started:
At the end of the day, I returned to the hotel for the evening as we will need to leave for the airport at 5:15 AM and I wanted to pack and be ready to go to bed quite early. My colleagues - who will not return to Jakarta after our trip to the mine - wanted to spend an evening out on the town. I'll have more than enough opportunity for nightlife my final two weeks in Jakarta.
That's it from Jakarta for now. Tomorrow I'll be at Timika, Papua.
It turned out to be a very wise decision as we accomplished a lot. We started the morning with a deep-dive into the design. After discussing the application "rewrite", we realized that's not an accurate term for what we are really planning to do - which is enhance some of the key components, but not rewrite the entire application from scratch. For most of the rest of the day, I did the administrative tasks required of me each week back in Phoenix as well as having a fun discussion regarding the merits of project documentation.
When we returned from lunch, we were greeted by an ominous looking sky that, anywhere in the US would have meant a terrible thunderstorm. Though this one came through with much rain, but no wind or lightening.
View from window in the AM:
View from window after lunch:
View from window once the rain started:
At the end of the day, I returned to the hotel for the evening as we will need to leave for the airport at 5:15 AM and I wanted to pack and be ready to go to bed quite early. My colleagues - who will not return to Jakarta after our trip to the mine - wanted to spend an evening out on the town. I'll have more than enough opportunity for nightlife my final two weeks in Jakarta.
That's it from Jakarta for now. Tomorrow I'll be at Timika, Papua.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Feb 28
Today is the first day since we've been here that it isn't raining. Unlike my last trip, this time the rain actually cleaned the pollution from the sky. The sky is clearer than I've ever seen it (though the sidewalks are slick with a grime I can only assume came from the sky). This has made for some great pictures of the skyline. From the office, I also saw a mountain in the distance I did not know even existed.
I woke up before my alarm again (at 5:30) and hit the gym for an hour before breakfast. I find that when I travel I actually eat and live healthier than when I am at home. I eat a hearty breakfast of oatmeal, yogurt, bowl of all bran cereal, an omelette, bacon and two glasses of Guava juice.
Today I spend the whole day reviewing and discussing the design. There are key features that do not appear in the draft of the design documents I am seeing, but upon deeper discussions with the design team, they understand the requirements and have accounted for them, they just have not completed the documentation just yet. This is the best news I've heard so far, but we still have to have the discussion regarding whether we do a complete rewrite or if we modify the existing application. I still vote for the latter but I see the merits of the first.
For dinner, our Indonesian host takes us to another traditional Indonesian restaurant. Among 12 pages of options, I find three that I can eat and select the most adventurous one - Balinese Seaweed with fried coconut. The waiter informs me they are sold out for the day, so I settle for "beaten beef" with coconut sauce on a bed of coconut rice. It's very good and I am indeed, as the menu advertised, "addicted of it".
In addition to great food, the restaurant had tremendous atmosphere. Each room had a slightly different decoration, but all were traditional Indonesian. From traditional artifacts like gongs and wooden idols to Zen gardens, each room is a new surprise. The hostess gives us a tour of the restaurant before seating us in the "haunted room" - a room that is supposedly haunted by the spirits of the many artifacts hanging in the room.
Today was a busy day that flew by and I'm exhausted at only 9 PM. Tomorrow is our last day in Jakarta before heading off to the mine site. I started taking my malaria pills today, and I'll need to take them for the next 16 days. Saturday will be our first day on the island that varies from a tropical beach at the base of the mountain to a glacier at the top. Should be an exciting time.
I've heard from my Phoenix colleagues that the blog is blocked from the corporate network there, but my Indonesian colleagues are able to access it from the office. In any event, I believe I can configure my blog to post based on an email I send it, so I should be fine either way.
I've uploaded the pictures from the trip here.
I woke up before my alarm again (at 5:30) and hit the gym for an hour before breakfast. I find that when I travel I actually eat and live healthier than when I am at home. I eat a hearty breakfast of oatmeal, yogurt, bowl of all bran cereal, an omelette, bacon and two glasses of Guava juice.
Today I spend the whole day reviewing and discussing the design. There are key features that do not appear in the draft of the design documents I am seeing, but upon deeper discussions with the design team, they understand the requirements and have accounted for them, they just have not completed the documentation just yet. This is the best news I've heard so far, but we still have to have the discussion regarding whether we do a complete rewrite or if we modify the existing application. I still vote for the latter but I see the merits of the first.
For dinner, our Indonesian host takes us to another traditional Indonesian restaurant. Among 12 pages of options, I find three that I can eat and select the most adventurous one - Balinese Seaweed with fried coconut. The waiter informs me they are sold out for the day, so I settle for "beaten beef" with coconut sauce on a bed of coconut rice. It's very good and I am indeed, as the menu advertised, "addicted of it".
In addition to great food, the restaurant had tremendous atmosphere. Each room had a slightly different decoration, but all were traditional Indonesian. From traditional artifacts like gongs and wooden idols to Zen gardens, each room is a new surprise. The hostess gives us a tour of the restaurant before seating us in the "haunted room" - a room that is supposedly haunted by the spirits of the many artifacts hanging in the room.
Today was a busy day that flew by and I'm exhausted at only 9 PM. Tomorrow is our last day in Jakarta before heading off to the mine site. I started taking my malaria pills today, and I'll need to take them for the next 16 days. Saturday will be our first day on the island that varies from a tropical beach at the base of the mountain to a glacier at the top. Should be an exciting time.
I've heard from my Phoenix colleagues that the blog is blocked from the corporate network there, but my Indonesian colleagues are able to access it from the office. In any event, I believe I can configure my blog to post based on an email I send it, so I should be fine either way.
I've uploaded the pictures from the trip here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
