Work routine - a significant change

For the past eight years I had the opportunity to work out of my house in Eagan to perform my job with IBM. I supported IBM software teams across several states and I primarily did this via telephone and e-mail. Periodically, I traveled throughout the Midwest including Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Cleveland, Columbus and in between but when I was home I didn’t have to go into the office. Your imaginations of pictures of long phone calls, and sometimes long days, in my PJ’s is all too real. :-) This of course was supplemented with frequent trips to Caribou and Byerly’s to maintain my interface with the real world. The work environment was great and the job was interesting, challenging, and rewarding but it was also time for a change. It was time to expand my horizons and mix things up a bit.

Well, change I have. We now live in the City, with no car, and I am spending more time in an IBM office setting. So, it’s back to pressed shirts, sportcoats or suits, and a daily “commute” into the office. The “Metro” train system in Paris is nothing short of phenomenal. There are 3 different train systems with approximately 25 different train routes that criss-cross the City. There is also a bus system that compliments and fills in the very few gaps on the map not covered by the train system. There are 2 different trains within 2 blocks of our apartment that I can take to work. One transfer is required but it’s all easy and the system simply works. Trains run incredibly frequently. A wait of 3 – 4 minutes is long and not typical.

Timing the commute, however, is critical. Everybody rides the train. I work in an area just outside the city limits of Paris called La Defense. It’s a very large business community with several company headquarters, regional, or country offices located there. The IBM building is 40 stories and there are many others in the area significantly taller/larger. As you can imagine, there is a sea of people in the train stations at La Defense and those along the way. Everyone walks fast and it all “moves” – quickly. There is a rush hour – from about 8:30 to 9:30. Not the early birds that I’m used to for sure. The work day starts at about 9:30-10:00 and ends 6:30 or so. The trains get packed – and I mean packed – during rush hour. Most people are standing and frequently there are faces pressed to the train doors as they squeeze in to make it on board. It’s quite the scene. So, it didn’t take long to figure out that rush hour needs to be avoided. A new work from home environment has already been put in place to start the day and it’s off to the office at about 9:30. (Notice the empty station at 7:15 a.m. last Friday!)

After tomorrow, I’ll have my first quarter end completed… Overall, a decent one. A lot of change in the last 3 months. There is a lot of “commotion” here with conference calls to discuss items that seem to be routine and just need to be worked. I’ll have to figure out which are mandatory and which are not… Nonetheless, it’s been interesting so far. We’ll see more of Europe in 2Q. (posted by Lyle)