Which side of the aisle do I walk on?

Another beautiful sunny afternoon in Mumbai.  I see the trees blowing in the wind slightly outside my living room window.  I hear the crows.  There was a crow on the railing outside my window cawing at me.

When I got back to my apartment this morning, I sparked Noor that I could see him across the way.  Shanawaz, Noor and the crew saw me in my apartment after I turned the lights on and off.  Ashish beware!  I can see you when you leave.  Ha! Ha! He! He! (Evil laugh)

While working onto the 7th floor going to my space I realized that everyone walks on the opposite side of the aisle.  Instead of walking on the right side they walk on the left side - the same as driving. It took me this long to realize this.  People were always moving over for me because I am walking on the wrong side of the aisle.  I have to remember to do the opposite.  The driving on the wrong side of the road does not bother me as much.  When the motorcycles swerve in front of us still scares me.  I don't want to have the cyclist get hurt.

Now writing about motorcyclists in Mumbai - I noticed many wear flip flops and sandals - on a motorcycle.  I could not believe it.  What if this have to stop quickly?  There is no protection for the feet.  Another odd site is women riding "side saddle" on the back of the motorcycle.  These women have great trust in the person driving the motorcycle.  Do they slide off?  How can the 2 wheel motorcycle maintain its balance? Oh yes - the women are in Sarees or other dresses.  It reminds me of an American Western Movie where the women rode a horse side saddle because it was "lady-like".  

At the office I met the most wonderful people.  When I am sitting next to Ananth, I stare (but I don't me to stare, but there is no place else to look) at Ritika.  She is always smiling and laughing.  Her eyes are always bright and happy.  I asked for her assistance to deal with copying a document from my RDP connection to my laptop.  She was very patient with me.  People who know me know I am not the technical person.  I give the people here credit for the amount of steps it takes to copy a document to the computer to send in an email.  It is crazy.  Wouldn't there be an easier way?  Time management!  I did the second one without any assistance.  Not bad.  She was mentored by Ananth who I mentored.  So - I will take credit for her knowledge of interfaces.  Gotcha - Ananth!

I sit next to the Interface trainers.  Imran sits across from me.  I have talked and email him for so many years.  I feel his job is very tough.  He has to attempt to schedule installs and training with the practices.  He is a great negotiator.  He is very quiet.

The Interface Trainers are amazing.  I hear them on the phone training the practices.  I love how they are asking the practices questions during the training.  I want to sit through some of the trainings, so I can pick up some tips.  Kavita, Shubro (SHOO - BRO) and Sharmeen (SHE is a beautiful young woman! Not a boy's name. Hush Ashish!) are some of the trainers.

For dinner, Amit (Hub Guy #2), Sameer (Hub Guy #1), Ashish, Siddhesh (yes Sophia - Sidd) bought some wonderful chicken dishes from a restaurant.  We sat on the terrace.  It was a beautiful night with no humidity.  When you walk onto the Terrace I noticed strips of green.  All I thought of was do they have PUTTING GREENS here to practice their golf swings.  No!  There is an outdoor amphitheater on the terrace.  The smoking area which I will not go to.  You know who should not be over there either.  I am watching!

The Admin person came with housekeeping.  Yeah!!!!  My trash will be gone.  I am so happy.  I could empty my own trash if they would tell me where to dump it.  The apartment is clean.

The Sunday is Family Day here.  This is a big deal.  The staff have been told to wear only Traditional Clothes.  They have to stop and take a picture with their family before going on the tour.  I have my 1 India outfit.  No Zareen - I have not bought another one.  I have your words in my head.  I will get another one before I leave.  I don't have any nice shoes for the outfit.  I may wear "traditional" America outfit - Not JEANS.

Hey it is FRIDAY - which means in eCW Land - It is JEANS day.  Comfortable and relaxing.

This Saturday a group of us are going to the Kala Ghoda "Black Horse" festival.  I am very excited.

I have a picture I took during my auto rickshaw ride.  You can see the driver in front.  The bump on my head still hurts.  Again - Remember to duck to get into the rickshaw.

Zooming around a corner.

Headlights NOT NEEDED! Watch your head when entering and exiting...

While it was snowing in Westboro, it was 75 F in Mumbai.  Nice! The sun is still up here.  I love watching the sun hit the Boomerang building when it begins to set.  The blue of the building and the orange reflecting off of it is beautiful.

What an exciting dinner!  My Noon time call lasted only 30 minutes and my 1pm meeting was canceled, so I was able to eat dinner.
Ashish, Noor and Sameer came to my desk with no food, so I was wondering "Are we buying food from the Cafeteria?".  I brought my bottled water and Malaria pill with me.  They told me that we are going to eat at Papa John's Pizza.  We needed to flag an auto rickshaw.  Oh my goodness - I wanted to ride in one!!!!  I was so excited.  I told them about my concern with some of the rickshaws having no headlights.  Ashish told me it is a "virtual" headlight!  They flagged 2 rickshaws and off we went.  There are no shock absorbers and the roads in Mumbai are not always smooth and level.  Things to consider when riding in an auto rickshaw at night:
     Lesson #1 - Check if your auto rickshaw has the headlight ON.  I did not, but I say it did.  (Makes me happy!)
     Lesson #2 - Watch your head when entering the rickshaw.  Metal and my head had a fight. Now I have a bump.  It reminds me be careful next time.
     Lesson #3 - The auto rickshaw driver seems to find all the rough roads - or maybe that is all there is on the way to the restaurant. It was not that bad because I was so excited.
     Lesson #4 - The wind blowing through my hair cooled me down.  Keep in the back of my mind - This would be a great ride if it was really hot.
     Lesson #5 - Watch when exiting the vehicle.  Make sure the ground you are stepping on is level before stepping out.  Watch your head as well. I did on the way out.  Only 1 lump not 2.

When we got to the place, it was decided that Mainland China will be the restaurant of choice.  Ironic - we took a rickshaw to Mainland China!  I am laughing thinking about it.  The food was amazing.  The guys were wonderful company.  I convinced Sameer and Noor to use chopsticks, but Ashish did not try.  Next time - yes.

**I had to pause to make another cup of VIA Starbuck's coffee.**

I have been observing the tech group.  Noor comes in to work quietly.  I don't notice anyone at his "pod" (you can't call it a desk - there is a little room.).  Then he appears.  Quietly! He is sitting at is pod and the techs come to him for guidance. He knows his stuff.  His knowledge of interfaces is incredible. Also, how to reload "mapped compendium" for the third time.  Then the "other" Noor appears.  There are always 2 sides to every person.  He has a great sense of humor.  He is always laughing at Ashish when I am sitting next to him.   We spark back and forth.  He taught me to say Shukriya (SHOOK - RI - YA) instead of Thank you.  Now I know 2 Hindi words.  The other is Suno (SU - NO) - Listen.  I learned that word when Ananya would not focus in her early days when she was young.

Sameer (aka HUB GUY) is quiet as well.  Maybe I am not so quiet so everyone else around me I consider quiet.  He knows his hub stuff.  Ashish calls him over whenever there is a question about the hubs we work on.  He tried chopsticks as well.  He did a good job with it.  There is no HL7 language and tomcats to use chopsticks, so it is easier.

I was able to talk to Erika on her birthday.  There was nothing planned because of class assignments.  Baby Girl - don't worry.  I spent my 21st birthday in a dorm room alone. You had your roommates. I had graduated college prior to my 21st birthday and I stayed a few days before heading back to Wisconsin.  Our birthdays were spent the same way.

Manny and Max went to Buffalo Wild Wings last night.  I waited until 8pm ET to talked to them. They showed me all the changes in the kitchen and living room.  The old refrigerator is in the basement.  The new will be delivered once the wood floor is in and finished.  Max agrees the wall down makes the whole place brighter.  The fireplace heats the both rooms plus the hallway.
ANANTH - Max has come broken through the wall and agrees with Manny and I.
The project is delayed a day because of the snowstorm.  I am not concerned at this time.

It is Thursday.  Tomorrow is JEANS day.  I will begin training the IPMs on compendiums tomorrow.

To me it is 715am ET not 545pm ET.  No worries about adjusting to India.  I have had the best time since I landed.

I have asked the Admin people - "Where do I throw out the trash?".  Every morning I am told someone will be here at 5pm IST to clean up the apartment.  No one has come.  My trash bucket is small and I worried about "critters".  I will ask again today.  I need more bottled water.  I will have to ask where I can buy another case.

I still have NO TV.  I am listening to WKLB Country radio over the internet.  I love country music so it all good.

My second cup of coffee is almost finished.  I have to pack water in my bag plus protein bars.  I am ready for another day at work.  I can't wait!  (Check that thought...Let's see what the day brings first.)

A special Birthday and other thoughts

Today is Erika 21st birthday!  I still remember on 5 Feb at 1057pm ET she came into the world.  Manny and I were blessed with a beautiful daughter.  It has been an honor being her mother.  She is officially a woman today.  Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!!!

Working with all of my techs in Mumbai has been wonderful.  They are amazing group of men and women.  I am always amazed at the magic they do to have the software work correctly.  I have so much to learn from all of them.

The IPMs in Mumbai are so quiet when working.  I will begin training by the end of the week.  I want teach them, but I want to learn from them as well.  There is always a new and better way of doing the same tasks.  I am very excited.

I sit next to Ananth.  Ananth and I were put together as a team when I picked his name out of a hat.  I said a little prayer before reaching in because I was so impressed with him during the training sessions.  We were partners working together on LabCorp interfaces at the beginning.  My deal with him was whatever I learned he will have the same knowledge.  I assigned him many projects from simple point to point interfaces to hub and spoke.  He always took on the challenges with great success!  I am so proud of the level he has achieved in the 4 years he has been at eCW.  He moved to the Mumbai office and became Team Lead.

My sleep is on track.  I have not changed my thought process.  It is evening in Mumbai and morning in North Grafton.  I am still talking Eastern Time Zone.  This helps me keep on track.  My sleep is been great.  I have WKLB playing over the internet while I am sleeping.  This stops me from hearing all the sounds of morning.  Someone in the apartment next to me leaves around 8am IST and the small child cries every morning.  This morning I did not hear it.

When I am ready for bed at 7am IST I hear the roosters crowing to let people know it is time to get up.  This is my signal to go to sleep.  Ironic!!!  I remember as a little girl on my grandparents farm in Nebraska the roosters waking me up to begin the day.  Now why would there be roosters in the city of Mumbai?  That is the important question.

The crows are cawing all the time.  They are the bottom of the food chain eating all the trash and other things.  There are a lot of them flying everywhere.  They are so noisy but I have gotten used to them.

The children playing outside makes me smile.  I hear them laughing in the afternoon.  There is a playground at the apartment.  I would love to go down the slide.  I remember the fun I had as a child and when Erika and Max were small and I would play on the equipment with them.
A child's laughter always makes me smile.

I still have no TV in the apartment.  Thank goodness for the radio.  The silence would be deafening!

Time to get ready for work.

Have a wonderful day!!!!

First Day of Work completed..now waiting to be picked up for day 2

Well after sleeping for 22 hours (I woke up during this time for an hour or 2 but went back to sleep.) my first day at work began as the sun was setting in Mumbai.

I finally got up at 3pm IST and got ready for work.  I heated up the leftovers from Rohit and my Via coffee.  It was delicious.

I packed up all of the goodies for the IPM and techs and waited for my taxi.  The ride took less than 10 minutes, but it was terrifying.  I am not used to the driving yet.  All different types of vehicles weaving in and out of the unmarked lanes.  Of course, they drive on the opposite side of the road which is very difficult to remember.  The motorcycles try to go around all the of the cars and trucks.  Most cyclist do not wear helmets.  I got to the office and made it to the 7th floor.

Everyone was coming to me with their badges turned around so I had to try to remember their names for the introductions on Saturday after being awake for more than 30 hours.  I am sitting with the IPM group, but the techs are right there.  I am able to see Ashish by turning my head slightly to the right.

Who is Ashish?  He is an amazing person.  He is my Interface Tech.  Yes - my tech.  He has a great amount of knowledge.  He works very hard on all the tasks I assign him daily.  He does get a lot of work from me.  He seems a little afraid of me.  Maybe intimidated by me.  Now I can show him the issues I see.  It is so much easier than calling and sending screenshots to describe everything.

There are cleaning people all of over the place.  They are sweeping the floors and carpets all the time.  I have not found the wash room (when in India), but today I will ask.

At dinner I sat with Rohit, Shanawaz, Nitin and others.  They shared their food with me.  I tried everything and like all of it.  I really enjoyed this.  The cafeteria is lit with blue lights.  It is dark and very noisy with everyone talking.

Everyone enjoyed the Kringles I brought with me.  We had this on the outside terrace.  I got bitten by mosquitoes.

I have to get ready for work....more later.

Can't watch the Super Bowl - so I will blog instead

In India they drove on the opposite side of the wrong from USA.  I am a backseat driver with everyone at home, but nothing to compared to here.  Every type of vehicle just driving. There are no lines.  The traffic lights are just lights.  If someone drives through a red light everyone else does. It is crazy.  (Manila was the same way, but they drive on the right side of the road.)
People are selling anything when you are stopped in traffic.
Honking your horn in India means "watch out here I come", but in USA it means "Get out of the way you idiot!"  The trucks have painted on the back "Horn Please".

I thought there would be cows walking all over Mumbai streets.  I finally saw 5 standing on the side of a major road coming into Mumbai yesterday when Rohit drove me back to the apartment. They are not anywhere.  I am going to ask about this.  Where are the cows?

I could walk to work.  It is down the alley, but crossing the street to get to the building would be so dangerous.  I would have to remember to look the opposite way.

The taxi service will be picking me up at 615pm IST.  I have to sleep a little today, so I can survive the first night of work.  I feel it will be a rough couple of days of work.

I have to get to a store to purchase some items for the apartment. I will have to see today if I can.

Now - what happened to the Denver Broncos?  I am a fan but slightly embarrassed.  I could not watch it online, but watching the scoring updates was enough.

I will turn the WKLB radio on and try to get some sleep.  I have the alarm set for 1pm IST.

First Sunday in Mumbai

I had a difficult time sleeping, so I woke up very tired.  This happens every time I travel.  I did take a nap later in the afternoon.

I had coffee (Starbuck's Via) and blueberry oatmeal before going to Mass at http://www.holycrosschurch.co.in.  It was one of the first Catholic parishes in Mumbai.  The Jesuits from Portugal built the church in the 1600's.  Rohit and I attended the Mass 915am was in English.  The church was beautiful.  The Catholic Mass across the world has the same readings and prayer, so you don't feel lost.  The priest said all the prayers so fast I barely kept up.  There was great music.

After Mass I went to Rohit's home.  I met his mother, 2 grandmothers and sister, Rachna.  Before I walked into their home, I was given a blessing.  I was truly honored.

His mom and grandmother made wonderful food.  I had different breads and  chicken.  It was all delicious.  Rachna is going to give me some vegetarian dish recipes.  I am very happy.

Rachna is a beautiful young woman.  She is 22 years old in her 3rd year in the university studying Computer/IT.  We talked a lot about everything.

Rohit's uncle, aunt and cousin came over to meet me.  All of the neighbors stopped by to greet me. It was a great time.

I was so tired that Rohit, his mother and uncle drove me back to the apartment.  I laid down for 2 hours to sleep.  I am waiting for 12 midnight to take my Malaria pill to go back to sleep.  I will get up at 6am IST to watch some of the Super Bowl.

I have to be at work at 630pm IST tomorrow.  I will be taking naps throughout Monday so I can be awake for the 8 hours of work.  I have over 200 unread emails waiting for me.

I have to try and remember everyone's names from Saturday introduction.

From my window at my apartment I see the 7th floor lit up.  This is the floor eCW works on.  I will be on the 7th floor tomorrow night looking at my apartment.

I need to get something to eat.  I will be back tomorrow.

Mumbai, India - Here I am!

What a wonderful 24 hours!

I landed in Mumbai at 0005 IST.  I am not ashamed to say I used the airport assistance to get to the Immigration desk.  It took less than 10 minutes.  The luggage came very quickly. I was outside waiting for Ananth, Royson, Ashish, Rohit and Abhishek.  They did not realize how quickly I would be done.

Rohit and Ashish bought a chocolate cake that had "Welcome to India" on it.  We cut the cake on the hood of Rohit's car in the street.  Tradition is for them to feed me a piece of cake.  This was done.

We headed to the office. YES!!!!  The office after 20 hours of travelling and being up for more than 30 hours.  I slept a little on the planes.  I met many people but I don't remember their names.  I will be re-meeting them on Monday.

I am working from 630pm-3am IST or 8-5 EST.  This will be tough the first few days.  I will have a great time.  I will need to ignore the time on the clocks in the office.  I am not switching my clock on the computer.

I finally got to the apartment at 230am IST.  Umesh showed me around the place. He left and I began to unpack me bags.  I finally went to bed around 4am IST.  I woke up at 8am to dogs barking and roosters crowing.  Not something I hear normally.  I finally woke up at 12 noon.  My friend and coworker Khatija, her 2 daughters and cousin came to visit.  We stayed in the apartment the whole time.  It was so nice.  Her daughter made Maggi Noodles.  She helped with the internet access.  I am so glad.

Later Ashish, Rohit and Shahbaaz came over.  I needed to eat some type of protein, so we drove to the The Yellow Chili (Indian restaurant).  It was delicious.  The company was great.

I am not used to driving on the WRONG side of the road and the steering wheel on the WRONG side of the car.  It is very scary.  There are no lines or traffic signals.  Everyone honks and you have to move or get hit.  The roads are always busy.  There are vehicles with NO HEADLIGHTS on in the night.  What is that?

Tomorrow Rohit and Ashish will come with me to Catholic Mass.  I am so excited about that.

I have talked to Manny and Erika on Skype.  Everything is good.

More tomorrow....