CH86: Work Is What It Is

After two weeks of working on a project, you know whether it will work or not.
Bill Budge
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_work.html#PtcaarOMBijy7zxt.99
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So, by tomorrow EOB, I will have worked for IBM Singapore under the BHP Billiton for 2 weeks.
Here's a quickie information about BHP from Wiki.


"BHP Billiton is an Anglo-Australian multinational mining, oil and gas company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and with a major management office in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mining company measured by 2011 revenues and as of February 2011 was the world's third-largest company measured by market capitalisation.


I've only worked for 2 weeks, but there's already work piling up. I didn't even get to experience some adjustment period. Since my second day at work, I was assigned to perform some patching, post configurations and add-on installations on a system that's under the Build Phase. The work for it is not finished yet as there are documentations to be performed after. The work landed on my plate as the person assigned is on leave in India and I've worked with the one who assigned it before for a different project (also under IBM).

Just this week, I was assigned to work on an Oracle upgrade. I'm halfway through the 130 page document. I had to put it on hold because the "root" access to the server is not yet provided.




Also this week, I officially started going to meetings for some Solman's ChaRM (Change Request Management) implementation activities. It's a bit overwhelming because the project phase is on "Release 4" or 4th release of the still-to-be-determined-number-of-releases. It's overwhelming in the sense that the expectation is high because of course, they want the same capability as whatwas performed for the later parts of the 3rd release.

It was a stressful day earlier and I needed a smoke badly.
At first I thought I could just ignore the temptation, but I decided to give in. Since there's no one to ask a ciggie from, I had to buy a pack and just asked a light from someone. I left the office close to 8pm and missed the training session for dragonboat.

Now, I've been demoted to an occassional smoker. I used to be a stress smoker so I guess that's one habit I hope won't reemerge given how successful I've fared so far into reducing (almost quitting) cigarette consumption.

Don't mistake the entry though as a rant or complaint. Believe me when I say, I'm still enjoying myself. This is the corporate life I've always envisioned myself in. It's the kind of stressful environment I know I thrive in. I also know I can adapt well and quickly. It's just a matter of whether there will be any comprises along the way. At the rate I'm going, I believe it is a great experience in terms of overall exposure to SAP implementation and projects and a great opportunity to experience project management.

Right now, I'm just accepting any work that's thrown to me (even though I'm a resource for the Release 4 but the work coming is for Release 3), but soon, once I become settled and work and life is balanced, I'm pretty sure I'll start pushing back and saying "No" when I'm overloaded already.

A lot is at stake with the project and not only the technical aspects of work will be developed - but also the communication skills. One thing I should note is that, it seems I've become comfortable with meeting new people. Before (like early first year of working) I noted that I'm not very sociable and quite shy in approaching people. But now, there's this aggression. You have to act to get things done or otherwise, in the end, you will be on the losing end. You need to learn how to voice out.

After 4 years of working, there's a noticeable growth and maturity. I feel proud of myself for that feat. It only means that I'm moving forward. Learning. Achieving.

Work is what it is.

Work is what pays the bills.
Work is the catalyst for growth.
Work is the cure for the idle mind.
Work is what gets us organized.
Work is what enables us to socialize and grow our network.
Work provides us direction.

IMO, believe it or not, the right work gives us "life."