Wow! It has been quite some time since I posted - my humble apologies . . . a lot has happened since I wrote to you last - I want to get back into the swing of writing / maintaining my Blog . . . this will start with a posting and may in fact instead of 1 massive posting may evolve into a series of postings . . . let us see how it evolves . . .
A quick update then - what have I been up to - working hard - I can tell you - but that was all for a specific goal and culminated in a night out with Kirsteen; Trish; Ian & Linda - this was followed shortly there after with my trip to Cape Town to celebrate my 50 years on this planet. Who all went along - My Mum & Cathie (her friend) Sam & Hud - we hired a house in Milnerton (near Centre Point . . . .) but as usual I am getting ahead of my self . . . .
So how did the work go - I hear you ask . . . well numerous Teams / different Processes and IT Systems - at times it was impossible to get everything to talk to each other . . . which made end to end examples and walk through's virtually impossible - it then became a case of explaining this is how it will work - with a few raised eyebrows as in 'so you say' but where is the proof. I ended up following UAT (user acceptance testing) scripts so that I could get a complete and integrated picture of how it all works - this enabled me to document the whole process including actual screen dumps / captures - so that we had step-by-step dummy guides . . .
How would I rate the Training - it was problematic because of integration problems and everything being so dynamic - IT were still developing and ironing things out whilst we approached launch date . . . . all very challenging but exciting times . . . right up my street - I love nothing better than being faced with the unknown - and diving in and sorting it out for myself and then attempting to impart that knowledge to others . . . I can be very critical of myself . . . I have been in the game long enough to know when I have done well and when I could have done better . . . . and on some occasions I could have done better . . . .
Well as I said everything worked itself up into a nice little frenzy - with even myself having to work 7 days a week towards those crucial deadlines . . . . everything - for me peeked t
he end of February - as I had come into the project with my South Africa trip booked - so it was non negotiable . . .The Friday 29 Feb - don't get them every year - lol - we went out for a few drinks - for me it was the beginning of my holiday - had spent the day in Edinburgh - met my SA mytjie - doing Training - in attempt to tick another few boxes - managed to do about 60 percent but just couldn't do it all - so somewhat frustrating - but we can only do what we can do . . . . not so? Anyway had a good night out . . . champagne right at the end of the evening - I think is worse than shooters - if you ask me . . . .Trish & I shared a taxi home - I got her home safe and I slept over at my Mum's - left my car at work and picked it up on the Sat morning . . .
So it was now all systems GO! for the South African tour . . . I ended up deciding to park my car at the airport - NCP - flightpath - cost a bit of money as it was almost 3 weeks - but benefit is it is right at the airport - could of got cheaper parking - but then its at least 20 minutes away and you have to give them your keys and they move the car - etc., and HEY! I only just bought my car (a Nissan Micra tjie) the middle of Feb - so I didn't like the idea of Tom Dick and Harry driving around in my car - and the difference over the 3 weeks was something like £4 ???? so it was really a no brainer which one I was going to opt for . . .
Well 3 March arrived - depart
ure date - and would we not have a blizzard . . . the worst weather we have had in the last year . . . I mean what is that about - the country throws a damn site more than a hissy fit . . . . what a confusing set up Maureen (my sister) stays just round the corner from my Mum - gets her own taxi - I drive by myself - leaving the two old yins ( my Mum & Cathie) both over 80 to see to themselves . . . quirky - to say the least - I got their first and booked everyone in (kind of) - woman told me they are old enough to look after themselves - but she did group everyone together - or so I thought . . .When I arrived at the flightpath (had to circle the airport twice before I found it) as I had said the weather was terrible - so the shuttle bus arrived just as I was parking so I kinda hurried to catch it . . .made it no problem - but as we drove off I realised that in my haste I had forgot to lock my car - what now - we were already driving away . . . took a chance and pressed the lock on my keys and in the distance saw the car indicators respond - just before we turned the corner . . . lol. Arrived in the departure hall - flying KLM - too early - desks not even open - what time was it you are saying - this was 03h45 - I t
hink - flight was 05h55 or something . . . my suitcase was overweight and had get a heavy tag - no problem though - I can vouch for it it was damn heavy - don't talk about hand luggage - it was dfficult to lift . . . anyway done and hauled out the names of the rest of my party . . . .and pre-booked them all in . . . they arrived in drips and drabs . . . .When we got on to the plane it was still snowing heavily - they ended up having to clear the runway (this is the first plane out in the morning) and hose the ice off the plane - to cut a long story short we only left somewhere around 06h30 . . . we were still in the air approaching Amsterdam when we were supposed to have boarded our plane for Cape Town . . . .
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