Got some sleep, woke around 10AM. This was the best hotel shower I ever had seen. No bending over to get under the water or squeezing close to the wall. The shower head was on the ceiling and it also had a shower wand – great refreshing shower! Got to the lobby around 12 noon, no time for breakfast but not hungry after late diner. I am craving idle and Sāmbhar though. Met Pranay at the lobby, drove to the office about 15 minutes. The new G Noida office stands out and is represented by the NIIT colours, - building looks very modern. Guards let us into the campus, then walked to the door, more guards, sign in to get badge – met Sona. Went to the 1st floor for SEI, past the clean room. I was shown around a bit – they have mural paintings and picures of the SEI office on the walls – going to my desk or meeting room ran into Hitesh. Had a meeting with Sachin, Pranay, Sona, Sachin, and Anwarul to review my travel plans, all is good. Then met with Rhonda, she got me up to speed with many SEI – NIIT projects. She recommended some travel changes which we will work out the details next week. Then the long awaited entrance to the clean room. It was just another room, nothing fancy. Just lots of people working hard. Was introduced to many team members from the RTM, RTO, SW, Mobius, ODR teams, it was nice to put a name to a face. Went to lunch, a couple pasta dishes, rice and fish, Suvrata attended, good to see him. Then back to the office and ran into many other old faces, Ashish, Sachin and Bala. Good time catching up. Back to the clean room to catch up on emails and as others came in I was introduced. Left office around 7PM, back to the hotel, I had a buffet dinner bottled water, roti and naan, pasta, okra, eggplant, Dal, lots of good food, had some old favourites and tried a couple new plates. Desert I had my favourite carrot dish! There was entertainment too, I was watching them cook the breads – it was very entertaining and educational for me……as I like making pizza dough from scratch…..this was an experience – then off to bed for a quick night of sleep as it will be an early morning to the office.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Thursday 5-9 Travel to India
Got up, finished packing for my second flight and trip to India. Checked out, got a taxi to the airport, pleasant trip and driver. He talked about not liking to fly – I too feel this way. Got to the airport stopped at the club, continental breakfast – had some muffins and asked when I should leave for the flight. They told me leave at 10AM for a 10:20 flight. At 10AM , I checked the board it indicated final call, so I got a little nervous, then walking to the plane, I say that the status was changed to closing – I panicked a bit more and started running – got to the terminal and they indicated I had plenty of time – it was a scare tactic which worked for me--- I think they were laughing at me too…so calmed down and had a long walk to the plane. Not looking forward to this as the last plane I could not relax and sleep. Got on the plane – it was different and bigger, I was happy! I was able to lay back and strech out a bit. Caption spoke a lot this time before takeoff, he was boasting that he hasn’t needed the emergency details yet and not planning till retirement – pretty confident.
Lunch was provided, salad, Indian chat, rice dish, with chocolate mousse – good a bit spicy – they provided samosa for dinner snack – very good –crust was very light! Watched a few movies – Argo, taken 2 and something else – to let the time go by – flight was very good. They had an update flight monitor, which was cool - we traveled through Europe above the middle east and thru russion to India. When we arrived it was only 40 degrees and hazy – I quickly learned to convert temp – double and add 30, so it was 110 – HOT! Got to the lobby – ears finally popped – used gum during the landing this time. Long walk to get to immigration and customs – started sweating a lot – not much AC at the airport. Got through Immigrations and customs no problem, got to the exit and saw Sachin waving. Got out of the Airport and got greeted with the heat – walked to the cab and started our tip to Greater Noida – about a 2 drive to go – saw the newer roads and infrastructure – in Noida an G Noida – lots of construction – residential and business – lots! Got to the hotel, security check before entrance, arrived around 1AM – very nice, got to the room , then went for dinner – 24/7 they opened it for me – got some Dal dish – lots of very good food, went to bed around 3AM after winding down a bit. – good day
Lunch was provided, salad, Indian chat, rice dish, with chocolate mousse – good a bit spicy – they provided samosa for dinner snack – very good –crust was very light! Watched a few movies – Argo, taken 2 and something else – to let the time go by – flight was very good. They had an update flight monitor, which was cool - we traveled through Europe above the middle east and thru russion to India. When we arrived it was only 40 degrees and hazy – I quickly learned to convert temp – double and add 30, so it was 110 – HOT! Got to the lobby – ears finally popped – used gum during the landing this time. Long walk to get to immigration and customs – started sweating a lot – not much AC at the airport. Got through Immigrations and customs no problem, got to the exit and saw Sachin waving. Got out of the Airport and got greeted with the heat – walked to the cab and started our tip to Greater Noida – about a 2 drive to go – saw the newer roads and infrastructure – in Noida an G Noida – lots of construction – residential and business – lots! Got to the hotel, security check before entrance, arrived around 1AM – very nice, got to the room , then went for dinner – 24/7 they opened it for me – got some Dal dish – lots of very good food, went to bed around 3AM after winding down a bit. – good day
Wednesday 5-8 UK Day 2
Another early day, but no team line was needed and no new issues were reported. The RTM release was going very well after lots of long, hard and good work by many people. Hopefully the rest of the week going well and the team can rest up and have some outside enjoyment. On the other side we are ramping up for the big semi-annual Trust release so another couple teams are putting in long hours to make this release very successful too.
Today, I was catching up on emails over the last week and setup time with the teams to work with each of them. I had time with Ops team – Helen to resolve yesterday’s eroded message and show here how to triage in the future. I sat down and she reviewed and performed her day to day processes – very manual intensive and lots of information was with her and not documented, so I can see how this process takes a long time, very error prone and hard to train. We talked about GTX benefits, concerns and improvements, and the whole team provided some improvement suggestions, which I will review with the team onsite. This time provided me with lots of insight into the business users world which will help me support this in the future. Secondly I sat with the recon team to provide insight as Chris was training them on the GTX product so they could use to search and independently perform research. They asked many questions and I got some additional insight on how this app will be used. I have a few follows on user set and searching.
Today, I was catching up on emails over the last week and setup time with the teams to work with each of them. I had time with Ops team – Helen to resolve yesterday’s eroded message and show here how to triage in the future. I sat down and she reviewed and performed her day to day processes – very manual intensive and lots of information was with her and not documented, so I can see how this process takes a long time, very error prone and hard to train. We talked about GTX benefits, concerns and improvements, and the whole team provided some improvement suggestions, which I will review with the team onsite. This time provided me with lots of insight into the business users world which will help me support this in the future. Secondly I sat with the recon team to provide insight as Chris was training them on the GTX product so they could use to search and independently perform research. They asked many questions and I got some additional insight on how this app will be used. I have a few follows on user set and searching.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Tuesday 5-7 UK Day 1
I woke, got ready for the office, headed to the Pret store for breakfast, some drink and fruit, then headed to the office. As I got inside, I was escorted to the 4th floor then let out. It was 7:30AM and nobody was there, I roamed around and started yelling anyone here. I finally found someone, Steve, he indicated that I was very early and nobody shows up for an hour or so. I took me on a brief tour, kitchen area and to the conference room for my stay that day. Around 8ish more people rolled in, then was meet by Jason and he showed my around a bit. Later I got introduce to the ops tea, Roy, Helen, Mellissa and Nic, and Chris from GWP US arrived too. We were on the conference line all day working with the Ops, Mutual Fund team all day, a few minor issues, issues were identified and resolved in a timely manner. I was happy that I could contribute a little too. The Ops team was a little behind due to an issues that needed 20 message resubmitted, so I was pretty hectic during their cut-off times, only one eroded message that didn’t make it. Had a late lunch, again headed to the local convenience store, EAT and PRET. All in all a very successfully day. Left the office a bit late after talking to my onsite teams, so I returned to the hotel and took a trip to the Buckingham palace, it was a 10-15 minute walk from the hotel. You had to go through this park, and it was really nice out. Lots of picnickers, rugby, soccer, aerobic classes, lots of people enjoying the weather and having fun. I had to walk loops around the house and crossed many major roads but finally got in front of the palace, retro guards were in place and some doing some walking drills, changing of the guards happens at 11:30 AM. Then I found the real guars with automatic guards, well suited for some action. Walked back, hit some shops and dinner, then back to the hotel for an early night. It was a long day.
Walking the roads in UK was a bit different as the driving is on the opposite side as US, but each intersection, it was clearly marked on the road, look left, cars approaching from the right. This was extremely helpful to maneuverer the walking traffic and not getting hit by an oncoming car. This town and country is growing on me after a down day yesterday – not bad at all
Walking the roads in UK was a bit different as the driving is on the opposite side as US, but each intersection, it was clearly marked on the road, look left, cars approaching from the right. This was extremely helpful to maneuverer the walking traffic and not getting hit by an oncoming car. This town and country is growing on me after a down day yesterday – not bad at all
Monday 5-6 Travel to UK
Watched a movie, the new Die Hard movie - but could not sleep. Tried to lay down, but the seats are made for 5'10'' individuals. Having the seat in sleeping postition I had to bend my knees so I could not fit, not confortable. I tried this for a bit, but then just sat there. Took a trip to the front of the plane, talking to the pilot and stewardess, we talked about London and the purpose of my trip a bit, the pilot didnt seem interested in getting back to steer the plane. I had a packet of cherry infused rasins, they were OK. They had a monitor with a channel to view the flight patterns and proivded real time info, which was cool to keep track. Before landing we had breakfast - Fruit and a croissant
Plane landed all was good - I could not pop my ears and the tension was building. We left the plane, went through imigrations - fast track - no problems - guy told me to hold my nose and blow - worked a little bit but had lots of strange sounds coming from the head.....
I exchanged some money, got my luggage, went through customs and found a taxi, the driver did not say a word. We found a hotel, but I thought it was the wrong one, so went in and checked. I was right, he drove me to the wrong hotel. The driver blamed it on me,but he was wrong. We got to the correct mayfair hotel and they driver did not take credit cards, so I went into the hotel and they indicated they would pay for the trip and add it to the hotel bill. Checked in, got my luggage and relaxed for a bit.
I went for lunch - EAT was the name - real original - kind of a Wawa - got some food and drink, then walked, walked, got lost, walked, got lost and walked, found a park, then finally found the SEI office and walked and got lost more. Lots of upscale car dealers and retail stores, Rolls Royce, Porsche, Hugo Boss. etc.......
Went back to the room for a break, caught up on some emails and bagage.
Went to dinner a Lebanese restraurant. Never had this food before, they provided bread and pickles - olives. The pickled turnips were great. Food was spicy but not hot. Had some spicey peppers too, not too bad. The meal was good but I dont remember want any of it was called. They also gave me 3 pieces of desert all very good, sweet and tasty - no names.
Went back to the hotel for bed.
Plane landed all was good - I could not pop my ears and the tension was building. We left the plane, went through imigrations - fast track - no problems - guy told me to hold my nose and blow - worked a little bit but had lots of strange sounds coming from the head.....
I exchanged some money, got my luggage, went through customs and found a taxi, the driver did not say a word. We found a hotel, but I thought it was the wrong one, so went in and checked. I was right, he drove me to the wrong hotel. The driver blamed it on me,but he was wrong. We got to the correct mayfair hotel and they driver did not take credit cards, so I went into the hotel and they indicated they would pay for the trip and add it to the hotel bill. Checked in, got my luggage and relaxed for a bit.
I went for lunch - EAT was the name - real original - kind of a Wawa - got some food and drink, then walked, walked, got lost, walked, got lost and walked, found a park, then finally found the SEI office and walked and got lost more. Lots of upscale car dealers and retail stores, Rolls Royce, Porsche, Hugo Boss. etc.......
Went back to the room for a break, caught up on some emails and bagage.
Went to dinner a Lebanese restraurant. Never had this food before, they provided bread and pickles - olives. The pickled turnips were great. Food was spicy but not hot. Had some spicey peppers too, not too bad. The meal was good but I dont remember want any of it was called. They also gave me 3 pieces of desert all very good, sweet and tasty - no names.
Went back to the hotel for bed.
Sunday 5-5 Travel to UK
Got up early to pack and clean the house as I have a 2PM birthday party for my oldest niece. Leaving my house a little late, getting to my sister’s place, I got an email that my flight has been cancelled. I had to call the emergency airline travel company and they moved me to a 10:50 flight out of Newark, still will be picked up at work at 6:30. Had a great time at my nieces party and telling everyone goodbye, I headed to Oaks. Some of my team members were finishing up on a weekend RTM release, then I got another email about my flight being delayed, till 2AM. I called and had my tavel to the airport delayed till 10:30. I went out for dinner and then went home to get a few last minute items.
Got to work, Joydeep was there to take my keys, they road the car to the Newark ariport. The driver was a talkative guy, so the ride went fast. Got to Newark airport, signed in, dropped off the luggage, then stopped at the club for a meal - buffet with India dosa, with plenty of water. Boarded the flight on time, seats were odd as the had some facing the front, others facing the rear of the plane.
Got to work, Joydeep was there to take my keys, they road the car to the Newark ariport. The driver was a talkative guy, so the ride went fast. Got to Newark airport, signed in, dropped off the luggage, then stopped at the club for a meal - buffet with India dosa, with plenty of water. Boarded the flight on time, seats were odd as the had some facing the front, others facing the rear of the plane.
Second Trip to India May 2013
Going to UK, India and UK, to support RTM release and business users in UK and see my team in Greater Nodia Indai.
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