Have you seen the commercials where the cell phone companies tout their 3G networks? A few of the market leaders are making plans to upgrade their networks to 4G. Guess who works for a company that is a major player in the development of the equipment that makes 4G possible? Did you know that 3G is short for third generation while 4G is short for fourth generation?
Archive for April, 2009
4G
Posted in work on April 30, 2009| 3 Comments »
Trading One Dream For Another
Posted in friends on April 29, 2009| 2 Comments »
Carlos told me that he has given notice to his band. He is giving up the dream of becoming a rock star. The band has achieved success on a regional level but they haven’t managed to secure a record deal or a national tour. Since he will be father in a few months he realized that his priorities needed to change. He would no longer be able to spend three nights a week at band practice. I applaud his decision to put his family ahead of his dreams. It must have been a hard decision to make.
Patty Called
Posted in friends on April 28, 2009| 1 Comment »
Patty finally called me last night. I had left her three messages over the past week or so. Patty’s best girlfriend was in town so she was busy entertaining and having some fun. She finally moved back into the master bedroom suite. She hadn’t been sleeping in there since Steve died. He didn’t die in the master bedroom as his hospital bed was set up in the dinning room. I can’t remember why she was sleeping in the guest bedroom since Steve’s death but I didn’t want to bring it up. From our conversation it is clear that she still misses Steve. She started crying when she told me she is not ready to let Steve’s spirit go. I reassured her than his spirit will leave when she is ready and not to worry about it. That seemed to cheer her up. Patty then told me about the three different therapy sessions she attends (two groups and a one on one) and how it is helping. I feel her pain. In time the fun loving Patting I know and love will return. Until that happens I plan to be there for her.
Miscellaneous Post
Posted in my life, neighborhood on April 27, 2009| 2 Comments »
K left today for another three week stint in Missouri. He was home for the weekend and we had a good time together. We finally finished up the spring yard clean up just in time before the rain started falling. The rain has now turned into snow.
This weekend our neighbors invited us over to check out the progress on their kitchen remodel. The husband and his father are doing most of the work themselves. The husband showed us the new kitchen cabinets that were imported from Germany. They managed to get them at a 40% discount so they only paid $60,000 for the cabinets. I was shocked when I heard this. The husband was so proud of the fact that they saved $40k on the deal. I would have found less expensive cabinets and hired a contractor to do the work. But it’s not my kitchen.
I left two messages for Patty. I’m getting concerned. She usually calls back in a day or two. I may need to drive over to her house to make sure she is okay.
More Training
Posted in work on April 24, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Yesterday my mentor, T, then tells me there is an internal website that has information that is vital to the job. She sends me the web address for the site. I go to the site only to find out I need to download the program. However, in order to download the program I need to have a login and password. I follow the procedures to request a login and password only to find out I need to take two National Security Agency (NSA) training courses before I can apply for a login and password. The NSA courses are required because the company is not American owned and the site contains proprietary information about communication systems that the company maintains for its customers that could be used to disrupt these vital communication systems. I locate the courses on the company’s training site only to find out that one course is three hours long and the other is one hour. I throw up my hands in disgust and call it a day.
Today I spent the morning taking the boring online courses so I can get my login and download the program. After completing the courses I requested my login and password and downloaded the program. That’s when I found out that there are no checks in the system to verify that I took the classes. This is another wonderful example of life in the corporate world.
Hermès is Here!
Posted in my life, neighborhood on April 23, 2009| 1 Comment »
There’s an article in the Denver Post this morning about the opening of the Hermès store in Cherry Creek North. The store is across the street from Neiman-Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue in a new high end mixed use development (condos and retail). Hermès is now the crown jewel in the Cherry Creek shopping district. I’m sure that the planning for this store was well underway before the recession hit. It’s a good thing that the store is in close proximity to the Country Club neighborhood where housing prices actual rose last year (prices in our neighborhood dropped 5% last year). The Hermès store is donating a percentage of sales from the opening weekend to the Denver Art Museum.
The Hermès story was contrasted in the Post by an article about a woman who posted a garage sale notice on Craig’s list offering the contents of her house. The woman sold everything. The house has been stripped down to the drywall. The only problem is that the house was in foreclosure. The woman claims she has done nothing wrong because she owned all the items. The bank is now considering its legal options. There’s a good chance that this woman will end up in jail.
The articles show a wide contrast of events that are happening in the Denver area. The well heeled fashionistas are celebrating the Hermès store opening while other people in the community are loosing their homes. Does Hermès really need to support the Denver Art Museum that has a roster of some of the richest people in the area on its board? Why couldn’t Hermès donate money to the homeless or other people in need?
Another Revenue Request
Posted in work on April 21, 2009| 1 Comment »
This morning I received another urgent email requesting any unreported revenue opportunities. It seems there is a big gap between the forecast and the booked revenue for a particular revenue stream so far this year. Do they think we are sandbagging our revenue numbers? The numbers were updated yesterday. Our next revenue report is due on Thursday. That’s only two days away. Do you think I will get a request for an update tomorrow? Oh, how I love life in the corporate world!
Revenue, Revenue, Revenue
Posted in work on April 20, 2009| 2 Comments »
My new job is all about revenue generation. There are eleven people on my team and we are responsible for generation $241 million this fiscal year from the North American market. This is small potatoes compared the company’s overall revenue of $23 billion.
There is a revenue report that is updated on a weekly basis for my director. The report is an excel spreadsheet with many columns and lines. My director holds a weekly call to discuss the report. There is another revenue report that is discussed by the area Vice President on a bi-weekly call. This report is a massive spreadsheet with about fifty-five columns and 2,700 lines. This company loves spreadsheets. Every project has one or more to track different items. I am quickly becoming trapped in spreadsheet hell.
While I understand the importance of tracking revenue and opportunities in the sales funnel I don’t understand why it has to be done on almost a daily basis. My team’s revenue report was completed last Thursday and discussed on a call on Friday. This morning the director sent an urgent request for the biggest deals that will close this quarter. This confused me because we discussed the biggest opportunities on the Friday call and the report shows what will close this quarter. What could have possibly changed over the weekend that would alter the data? When I questioned T about the director’s request she informed me that a deal could have gone bust over the weekend or a new opportunity could have come in. I find this rather ridiculous since I very rarely get any email on the weekend and the sales force only seems to function on a Monday to Friday basis. Not wanting to rock the boat I complied with the request and reported my data to my director. It was the same information I reported last Thursday.
Gone Again
Posted in my life on April 19, 2009| 4 Comments »
K flew to Boston to today. He’ll come home on Friday night. He leaves again next Sunday for a three week stint in Festus, MO. Even though he came home Tuesday evening from Albuquerque it seems like he was only home for a day. Sigh!
Since K will be away when I have the skin cancer surgery I’m considering taking the bus to my appointment. The literature the doctor sent suggests having a companion drive you to and from the doctor’s office. I have a hard time asking a friend to get up a the crack of dawn and spend six hours at doctor’s office while I have surgery. The number 40 bus runs up and down Colorado Blvd about every fifteen minutes. It stops about two blocks from our house just across from the BMW/Mercedes dealership. The doctor’s office is only a few blocks east of Colorado so it will be a short walk that way too. I would consider taking a cab but my cab experiences in Denver have been horrific. I would rather take a bus.
Momsomniac’s Blog
Posted in friends on April 17, 2009| 1 Comment »
My friend, D, has started a blog. She is a wonderful person, a hardworking professional, a great mom and loving wife. She’s got a handsome husband too! Check her out.
The Corporate Slave 