Back home . . . for a few days

I'm back home for the Memorial Day weekend (and Beth's and my Anniversary). A lot of things have gone on in the last couple of days, I'm having a hard time getting caught up. So, my whirlwind weekend has been spent trying to figure out what exactly is going on. On top of that, keeping up with RJ is a task in it's own right.

I had my meeting with my boss on Friday. It seemed to go well, but was a little cryptic. She agreed that the job description that I wrote up worked. I left the job title for her to complete, but she didn't. There was no discussion of money, either. In fact, I think that most of the conversation was about her getting comfortable with my ability to think strategically. I guess I'll wait and see what really happens.

My grandmother is in the hospital with fractures in her pelvic bone due to just going outside and gardening. RJ and I are heading up to see her today. (Beth needs a day off after having to keep up with RJ 24/7 for the last 3 weeks . . . and the next three weeks, so she's taking a needed day off).

My grandfather (other side of the family) has a new leg; a prosthetic one. I won't be able to make it up to see him this weekend. I'm going to try to make the trip up the next time I'm back in town (Father's Day Weekend).

Our neighbors had a memorial for their wife/mother who passed one year ago. (We miss you AOG!)

Enterprise rental car company appears to want to charge us $100 for the tolls we didn't pay in Ireland . . . which we did pay. That will be a nightmare trying to fight the Irish tolling authority through Enterprise - who doesn't really give a lick because they don't have any money at stake. The tolling authority bills them for the tolls (with penalties) and they charge my credit card.

RJ has done a couple of headers since I've been back has matching knots on both sides of his forehead. His forehead looks like we cut off a pair of horns.

Beth took me out to see a buyer's club that she wants to join that just opened in McHenry. We had some of their organic eggs and sausages for breakfast yesterday - good stuff. We'll probably end up joining, but I'm not so sure how long the business will last. The store was might empty.

We now have a landscaper. It is summer and I'm in Ireland. Beth shouldn't be doing heavy garden work, so she convinced me to hire a landscaper. It didn't take much convincing, I don't want Beth to throw her back out because then I'd only feel more guilty about being in Ireland. Additionally, we hire a company to cut the lawn . . . I could get used to that.

And that's getting you caught up with what I'm getting caught up with.

Have you ever been lucky enough . . .

. . . to write your own job description? Two weeks ago, upon my return from the IHRIM Conference where I was graciously awarded with an Excellence Award, I was given that task. I sat down with my VP and she informed me that my new boss who was hired in February had given notice that he was leaving our company. My question: "What does that mean for me?"

She dropped two scenarios in front of me and honestly I don't remember the first because it wasn't very appealing. However, the second idea seemed to make sense: manage the company's HR systems globally. Neither of us really understood what the responsibilities were, so she tasked me with writing the job description and a transition plan to the new position.

I considered including things like: "Responsible for leading corporate wide nap efforts" or "Required to work in chocolate production facility as taste-tester" (yes we do produce chocolate at some of our facilities) or "In charge of making others accountable for their actions." Yet, in the end I put together something a little more professional which required only 25-33% travel (as a global systems manager, it would be hard to drive that down to 0%) as opposed to my current 100%. That means more time at home with Beth and RJ.

Tomorrow morning we're going over the draft of the job description that I wrote. Hopefully she hasn't marked it up too much with her red pen.

What would you put in your job description if you got to write it?

Pelé, I'm not

Since last October, I've been playing off and on in the project team's Monday/Tuesday night soccer league. Actually it's more like a pick-up game than a real league. I've probably played in ten games out of the fifty available to play since last October. Last night I finally scored my first goal.

Actually I scored two. I haven't played competitive soccer since I was 6/7 years old. I've been vowing to score a goal since the second game I played (last October). I have noticed that as an American, I really don't have much to go on for foot skills. Our sports tend to be more hand-eye coordination sports (football, basketball, baseball and even hockey), so I'm not accustomed to all this foot control. So at soccer, I've sucked. I don't like to suck. I don't need to be great, I just don't want to suck. Last night, I felt like I was a level above sucking, so it made me feel a little better.

Since last October, however, I have taken solace in my ability to play goalkeeper in a not-so-bad fashion (more of a hand-eye coordination job). It appears that the Europeans think it a shit job and rarely know how to play effective in front of the net. In fact, it's the place people go to "take a break." Thus, I'll often volunteered to play keeper anytime I can. Otherwise, I mostly play defense and throw my full-figured, American body around to get people off the ball.

Also, with the World Cup around the corner, I thought I'd also throw out a heads up for everybody to throw their support behind the American team. We've drawn into a group that we should be able to advance out of. England is the favorite to win our group, but the top two teams can advance out. So, we just need to beat Slovenia and Algeria to make it to the elimination round. Should be a doable task. Heck, we might just win our group.

We kickoff against England on June 12th. Good luck guys!

Knocking Off a Few Counties

I’m one of those people who make checklists. A few months ago, I made a checklist of counties that I’d visited in Ireland. At the time, I decided that I would like to do something touristy in each county to be able to say that I’d been there. In other words, I
can’t check off a county by just driving through it.

There are 32 counties on the island (i.e. Republic of Island & Northern Ireland combined). Before this weekend, I had checked-off 13 counties. After this weekend, I now have 15 counties checked off . . . I’m almost halfway there. This weekend, I visited County Carlow and County Kildare.

Neither county can be considered to have high tourist value. Kildare ranks slightly higher than Carlow - specifically if you are into horse racing. It is the home of the Irish National Stud – a museum about horse racing and breeding. Additionally the Irish National Stud has two garden areas that children appear to love (RJ was not here to enjoy). However, from a standpoint of value, skip it. It’s 11 Euro a head (children are about half that) and it’s nothing more than gardens and horses. The museum is anemic and the guided tour is a let down. It might be a grand day out with children, but if you’re aren’t with any, head over to The Curragh and wager on some horses instead.

A Mare and Foal at the Irish National Stud

What can I say about Carlow town? Nothing really, except that they have a fleet of swans living in the Barrow River. Seriously, there are like 25-30 of them swimming around next to the park. There is an interesting story about a doctor who dynamited the walls of Carlow Castle to make it a more suitable insane asylum and ruined the entire castle in so doing. I’d recommend that you drive on past and head for Kilkenny instead.

Carlow's Fleet of Swans on the Barrow

List of Counties Visited: Antrim, Carlow, Clare, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Roscommon, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow.

List of Counties Not Visited: Armagh, Cavan, Cork, Derry (Londonderry), Donnegal, Down, Fermanagh, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Monaghan, Offaly, Sligo, Tipperary, Tyrone, Waterford.

Completion: 47%

Snowdonia

". . . when you are on your own you start to look at nature, and to love it." - Erich Maria Remarque

In an earlier blog where I reviewed All Quiet on the Western Front I pulled this quote from the book. It's a true statement and has a lot of meaning to me. During the many weekends that I spend alone in Ireland, I try to get out and see something - nature specifically. It's a way to distract me from thinking about how much I miss Beth and RJ. Last weekend, I was very distracted by the beauty of North Wales. It was gorgeous. I don't think I can properly describe how magical and beautiful the area is, so I'll just show you pictures.

The Roman Fortress at Caernafon


Swallow Falls near Betws-y-Coed


The Snowdonia Mountain Railroad
It takes you to the peak of Mount Snowdon (1085 meters)
A wonderful view if there aren't any clouds. I got clouds.


Some Perspective - That's Mount Snowdon in the clouds at the top right of the picture below.


Sunset over Mount Snowdon after hiking halfway up it along The Miner's Track.


Castle Dolbadarn

I love Irish culture, but it just may kill me

I'm kidding . . . but I'm not. Tonight marks the third consecutive night that I've been out drinking with my project team. Last night was a rough one, but Tuesday night and tonight, not so bad.

Last night we had a project social event. I left at 11:30 pm before . . . before the singing started. If you know me, which many of you do, you know that I love to be everywhere and experience everything. I have a little regret about missing the singing, especially because I do love a good karaoke night (even if it's a capella).

However, I like to think that I've learned a few lessons while I'm here. The first of which is to not try to out-drink anybody. Have a few drinks, have a good time, quit while you're ahead and go to bed. I quit last night while I was ahead.

The second lesson is beware of free beer. I'm usually too cheap to get drunk. I mean, come on, a beer over here cost 5 Euro ($6.50 US). You buy a round or two and you're busted for the night. However, when the beer is free - as it was at last night's social event - I need to be careful. As cheap as I am, I love a free beer (or two, three, four, five).

So, even though, I have been enjoying the social life in Ireland, I have been much more responsible in my consumption habits. In fact, I was even the first into the office the next day.

I'm Tired, so here's more Liverpool pictures

Late night tonight, I'll post on Snowdonia tomorrow. In the meantime, here are some more pictures of Liverpool for you.

A bowl of Ma' Boyle's Scouse - the dish that Liverpuddlians get their nickname - Scousers. It tastes like stew. It is stew.

Interesting door handle

A remnant from 2008 when Liverpool was named the European Capital of Culture


The Ferris Wheel on Albert Dock at night


What I affectionately call the "Serve or Die" statue. The statue basically says that if you refuse to serve in the military, you will be locked up, or put to death. The statue came complete with what looked like prison cells (see the grates at the base of the statue).


A picture of a picture of the Fab 4


A tribute to John


Paul and Julian - The composer and the muse of "Hey Jude"


Speaking of "Hey Jude" how about a Gold Record?


Please yield to the Humped Zebras

Liverpool: Beatles, Soccer, Cathedral, and Nightlife

Wow, what a weekend! Once I got past the pain of Ryan Air's boarding policies, I settled in and started enjoying myself. I visited Beatles museums, a monstrous cathedral, the highest peak in Wales, a few football (soccer) stadiums, a castle or two, and a few bars along the way. In addition, I had another run-in with the evil volcano, Eyjafjallajökull. The story is long enough that I'm going to break it into two parts: Liverpool & Snowdonia.

Liverpool

After landing in Liverpool, my colleague took me to THE most important attraction in the city: Ansfield Stadium, the home of Liverpool FC. There is also a shrine to the Hillsborough 96, the unfortunate 96 people who died at Hillsborough stadium in a 1989 FA Cup semi-final match against Nottingham Forest FC. Often misunderstood as an event of hooliganism, the cause of this tragedy was in fact due to the police trying to control the crowd at the expense of their safety. The deaths all occurred prior to the match starting as the crush of fans tried to get into the stadium. All 96 people who died were Liverpool FC supporters. R.I.P - The Hillsborough 96


Now that we got that depressing bit out of the way. On to something a little more fun: Friday. I started Friday out with a trip to two Beatles museums. The Beatles Story and The Beatles Story - Pier Head. One admission gets you into both museums. I learned quite a bit about the Fab 4 that I didn't know, including that Stuart Sutcliffe was the fifth Beatle (who left the band early on to pursue his art career, but died shortly after. He was not alive to experience the regret of leaving the band. Additionally, I learned that Ringo Starr replaced Pete Best as the drummer. These may be known to your average Beatle-ologist, but it was unbeknown to me, your average Gen-Xer who barely remembers holding vigil for John Lennon in elementary school.

The Pier Head exhibition really hit me hard as it was sponsored by Cynthia Lennon (John Lennon's ex-wife) and Julian Lennon (John and Cynthia's son). In this exhibit were quite a few pieces of John Lennon memorabilia. What hit me hard were the correspondence displayed like love letters from John to Cynthia from the road and a postcard from Julian to his father which simply read: "Lover from Julian to Daddy." My eyes got a little wet as I thought dearly of my family at home. Here are a couple more pictures:



I then visited one of the largest cathedrals in the world: Liverpool Cathedral. This was an unexpected find for me. I had walked all around Liverpool taking pictures of the different buildings and enjoying the scenery. When my colleague met me, he didn't know what to show me because I'd walked all over town and seen it all. He finally walked me up to Liverpool Cathedral, which I passed on because it was a little of of the way (I also didn't know that it was one of the largest cathedrals in the world - I just thought it was closer than it looked). When we got there, I was in awe of the immensity of the building. The cafe and gift shop in the sanctuary is a nice touch.


Finally, I ended my first day with a night on the town, where I believe that a scouser (that is the nickname for people from Liverpool) was hitting on me. He kept coming over by me and putting his arm around me. I couldn't understand a freakin' thing he said over the music and through his scouser accent. I got out of there as quick as I could. I did see a good show at the Cavern Club, which is famous for being one of the Beatles favorite venues.


Next: On to Snowdonia!

Welcome to Liverpool

I made it to Liverpool last night, but my bag almost didn't make it. Let me rephrase, I almost had to pay for my carry-on bag. If you've never had the experience of flying Ryan Air, you may not understand. Let me explain.

Ryan Air has revolutionized air travel in Europe with low cost flights to most of Europe. There are a few ways that they have been able to accomplish this. First, they have 1 model of airplane. A few days after 9/11, the owner of Ryan Air made the single largest purchase of airplanes from Boeing . . . ever. Every model airplane he bought was the same. What does this mean? One set of maintenance parts, one set of training manuals for the crew, etc. He standardized his fleet.

Second, Ryan Air brokers deals with local municipalities/chambers of commerce to subsidize flights coming into their airports. For instance, Liverpool may pay Ryan Air 100,000 GBP annually to fly into Liverpool. I don't know offhand if Liverpool has a deal like this with Ryan Air, but it is how Ryan Air does business. Why would a city agree to do something like this? It brings in tourism dollars in excess of what they pay Ryan Air.

Finally, Ryan Air charges you a la carte for just about everything under the sun. Want to use a credit card to book? 5 Euro. Want to check a bag? 25 Euro. Forget to check-in online and bring your boarding pass? 25 Euro. Your carry-on bag is oversize? Check it for 25 Euro.

So back to my story . . . as I was boarding the airplane, one of the Ryan Air employees pulled me aside and asked me to check to see if my bag fit into their metal frame. On my first attempt, it didn't fit. I moved some things around. Still didn't fit. I sat there for about 5 minutes rearranging my bag stuffing, kicking, and pushing on my bag to get it into that damn metal frame. It was tight, but by God, I made it fit. Once I got it into the metal frame, it took me another minute or two to get it back out. Meanwhile, people with larger bags than mine walked right past because the frame was occupied by me and my bag.

So a lessons learned for me: 1) Pack light ; 2) Wear layers of clothing on Ryan Air flights so that your bag fits in the frame; 3) Make sure you don't have an odd-shaped bag.

A Magical Mystery Tour

I landed in Dublin yesterday and I am already packing to leave. About two months ago, I booked a Ryan Air flight to Liverpool for 26 Euros (about $30 US). It was such a good price that if I didn't use it, I wouldn't be too upset at losing $30.

As of yesterday morning, I was planning on not going to Liverpool. Being two days late into Dublin - I was a little self conscious about how much work I had to catch up on. However, after being back in town yesterday, getting caught up, and talking to my team members, I've decided to use the flight and have a weekend in Liverpool.

One of my main concerns was that I would not be able to get back to Dublin if the volcanic ash cloud shifted once again. My colleague from Liverpool has assured me if that happens, he'll pick me up from my hotel and we'll take the ferry back to Dublin.

So, with all of my concerns addressed, I'm flying out to Liverpool tonight - returning early Monday morning. Of the many things to do in Liverpool, I do plan on taking the Magical Mystery Tour, taking in some Beatles history.

I'll also likely visit Snowdonia National Park in North Wales. The rest of my agenda for the weekend in wide open. I've rented a car - let's see where it takes me.

Three Things I Learned at the IHRIM Conference

IHRIM HRMStrategies Conference 2010, Las Vegas. I won an Excellence Award, a $100 American Express Gift Card, and $200 at the Chairman's Texas Hold 'em Tournament. I renewed old friendships and set the foundations for new ones. I received some good advice and shared some good advice. Mostly, I learned. I learned quite a bit and I'd like to share some of that knowledge with you lest I let it flutter from my head without being used.

1) Good leaders don't compromise their values. Most managers (when asked) will say that Family and Integrity are the values that are most important to them, but they are also the values that they feel they compromise the most as managers. I really need to stop this compromising of my family for my job. (Thanks to Stan Slap for this bit of information)

2) The top three things that give you a return on investment in HR are implementing a Shared Services model, outsourcing your application hosting, and implementing competency management. I'm still not sold on the hosting - as I believe it depends on company size. But I was surprised to see competency management in the top 3. (Thanks to Lexy Martin and Karen Beaman for this data)

3) Bring it up, talk it up, wrap it up. I have found that I don't often speak up when I see something wrong. I'm more a walk-away person. Instead of resolving issues, I'd wait until they piled up too high for me to bear then I'd walk away. That is why I Haven't spent more than 3.5 years at a company. This just in - I just passed the 3.5 year mark at my current company. I need to address issues when they come up instead of letting them fester, which will only lead to my own discomfort. (thanks to Helanie Scott for this advice)

Other conference attendees: What profound piece of wisdom did you pluck from the conference?

Eyjafjallajökull Strikes Back

You thought it was under control? Awww, hell no! The Icelandic volcano which threatened my family's return from the Emerald Isle is erupting en force once again. Tonight, Eyjafjallajökull got its revenge and grounded my flight. So now I'm not returning to Ireland until Tuesday evening.

Who said wishes don't come true? Although I'm a little disappointed that the flight didn't get out - since I have a ton of things to catch up with back in Ireland - I was secretly hoping to spend a little more time with my family before heading back. Beth tells me that her Mother's Day wish came true.

So perhaps it's an angry volcano, or perhaps it's the divine hand of God. Either way, I've got another two days with my family and I'm going to cherish it.

A Tardily Written Acceptance

This past week I was honored by IHRIM with an Excellence Award at their annual HRMStrategies Conference. I was genuinely surprised that IHRIM would honor me with such a reward. Though I have been known to be my own worst critic, I haven’t quite felt that I deserved the award. Let me rephrase: I feel that there are many more deserving people within the organization than I.


I didn’t quite understand it until this morning as I lay awake in bed pondering my next blog should be about. Somehow I got around to the idea of awards and I made a connection that may be even more far-fetched than me receiving the award:


Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize.


The award was considered by many, myself included, premature. Though there was controversy, President Obama accepted the award with “deep gratitude and great humility.” In his acceptance speech, he stated that he was at the beginning, and not at the end, of his labors.


And though I am no Barack Obama (and the IHRIM Excellence Award is no Nobel Peace Prize) I can still accept the IHRIM Excellence Award in the same spirit.


I am but at the beginning of promoting the use of social media for the benefit of IHRIM and its members (the reason for which I earned the award), not at the end. And thus it is with the deepest of gratitude and greatest of humilities that I can accept the award.


So I send out my heartfelt thanks to IHRIM and everyone who deems me worthy of the honors.


And finally for those of you wondering: Yes, "tardily" is an actual word and quite often reflects how I do things. ;)

Home Again for a Few Days

Just got back from the IHRIM Conference in Las Vegas. My Excellence Award made it home with me, though in two pieces. Nothing a little glue can't fix though. Delayed flight. Late arrival home. In limbo somewhere between GMT and PST. Tired.

Full conference overview for everybody next Monday.

Buzzword Bingo

How many "Lives" does your company have? What? I was asked this question once today at the IHRIM HRMStrategies Conference. Then I heard the term "Lives" in another educations session later that day. Let me put a stop to this now. Companies have employees, not "Lives."

If you are one of the people that is currently trying to promote the use of "Lives" as opposed to the terms "Employees" or "Headcount," you seriously need to stop trying to play buzzword bingo. You’re failing miserably.

Companies employ people to do work; that is why the terms "Employer" and "Employee" exist. Even though you may like to stake claim to our lives, please note that it is inappropriate to do so.

Stop it.

Now.

I mean it.

IHRIM HRMStrategies – Day One

The first day at the IHRIM Conference was a good day for HRputer. I received an IHRIM Excellence Award for my online presence in the IHRIM Core community. Additionally, I won a $100 AmEx gift certificate in a raffle. To top it off, I didn’t lose any money at the blackjack tables.

This year, the Expo Hall is quite lively. There are a plethora of old companies and new companies to talk to. Even though, I believe I’ve talked with almost every workforce solution vendor under the sun, I can always find a new system that surprises me. This year that company is Flextrack.

I stopped by Flextrack’s booth with little knowledge of who they were and even less knowledge of what they did. By the end of our conversation, I discovered that they have a workforce solution that helps you to manage your contingent workforce (temporary and contract workers). The market it as a Vendor Management Solution (VMS) and when the economy is tight, you find that your contingent workforce rises. This solution helps you to manage that contingent workforce by enacting spend control measures, achieving greater control and compliance of your vendor community and helps you secure more favorable pricing with your contractors and vendors. Excellent show, Flextrack!

I am a little miffed that there are a few noticeable names missing from the Expo Hall this year: SAP, Oracle (I know your user group has a booth, but that hardly counts), Lawson, and Kronos (Sorry Ed, I just calls ‘em as I sees ‘em). Each of these companies should be an anchor point in Expo Hall considering how big their names are in the industry. Perhaps next year, guys?

Last Row of the Plane

Flew into Las Vegas today and I had the pleasure of being in the very last row of the airplane. Now, with all the trans-Atlantic travel that I've been getting accustomed to, I don't remember what it's like to take a longer flight in a smaller plane.

Let's just say, it was a little turbulent. Near the end of the flight as we were landing in Vegas, I thought I was going to lose my lunch. That feeling was amplified in the last row of the plane. You really get thrown around back there. One lady a few rows ahead of me actually had to make a dash for the bathroom.

This makes me wonder if anybody actually uses the barf bags that the airlines so generously supply you with along with a copy of SkyMall and whatever passes for their own "in-flight" magazine. I've never actually used one or seen one used.

As I remember from previous flights into Vegas, McCarran airport has always had a bumpy landing. I guess there isn't much to block the winds from racing across the desert and throwing the airplane around. But this was a lesson learned for me. I'm going to try to stay out of the last row on a flight - particularly on flights into windy airports.

IHRIM, Here I Come!

Tomorrow, I'm catching a flight out of Chicago O'Hare bound for Las Vegas and the IHRIM HRMStrategies conference. IHRIM is the International Association for Human Resource Information Management - the professional organization I belong to.

I know that some people who read my blog will be there, so to those people: See you there! For those who don't know what it's about - it's for HR Systems (I think were moving to calling it (Workforce Solutions or something like that) professionals. I've been there many times and feel lucky that I was able to make it back this year as I've been working in Ireland. I missed last year's conference and missed seeing many of my HR Systems friends.

I really look forward to this conference as it's a great place to network with other HRIS professionals. The downside - as you might guess - is that it's another 4 days that I'm away from my family. I'm only home for two weeks and four of those days I'm out in Vegas.