The Point of it All

Sometimes in work something special comes along. Or at least different. Or at least in an exotic location.

This does not happen often, but it's happening now and it is happening to me.

We are currently working on a project to deliver a particular application to a particular client - on the grounds that discussing any aspect of this might come back to bite me (I'm not risking even a 1% chance of disciplinary action in a 'challenging' environment!) I'll say no more on what it is or who it is for, other than that many of you will hopefully benefit in some way from it in the future. My role on this project is essentially to learn the system backwards, forwards and sideways so we can support the client during the acceptance test stage of the project.

Not that exciting, one might say. Until one realises that we have partnered with a firm in Singapore to deliver this application, and I now have the opportunity to go there for 7 weeks to learn the system.

Singapore. 7 weeks. 5 Star Hotel. Weekends off (based on current plan anyway!). Cheap access to Indonesian islands. SG$2 to the euro. Japanese cosmetics. 30 degrees. Looking like a giant compared to the locals. Awesome.

There are issues of course - the humidity is one million percent. Broadband access is an issue. I may look more like an elephant than a giant (popular target weight is a US 00, or so I have read). It's not a holiday. Alcohol is ludicrously expensive. Small issues in the grand scheme of things, except for the broadband.

This blog is to be a diary of my experiences in the next two months. The aforementioned broadband access might be an issue. That, and the fact that I don't own a camera - it's not going to be much of a blog without photos. How else can I show you my Japanese cosmetics? Oh and endless beaches and enormous skyscrapers and so on... I'm still most excited about the cosmetics.

So let's all keep our fingers crossed on the broadband issue, and I hope I can make this blog interesting!