Illusions and Peace of Mind

Creating an image of what it'll be like
Today I attended two planning meetings about the work ahead in France, and I find myself feeling excited and confident. It occurs to me that I didn't learn all that much -- but by the end of the day I could conjure up a picture of where I'll be working, what I'll be doing and where we'll live. And having that picture is quite comforting.

I attended a meeting of another team heading to a different supplier in Rochefort, France. Their team is complete, including a team leader -- a manager with loads of relevant experience designing and building seats -- so they're heading out on July 24th. One my my goals while in France is to ensure communication and support between the three teams (one will be in Italy), so I introduced myself to them as a well-meaning interloper. We heard a presentation by a guy who had lived in France for many years -- it was lots of the same stuff I'd read in books, and again, because there was a real, live, in-the-flesh person to talk with, I left feeling more confident that I knew what to expect.

After that session, I spent a couple of hours with a guy who works in a group that does process improvement consutling for suppliers and has worked with the company I'll be visiting for about 18-months. Alex walked me through a presentation summarizing the improvement activities the supplier has made during that time, and listing off about a dozen key team members and managers.

Here too, simply seeing photographs and hearing names (of people I've never met) was very comforting. I committed to Alex that I my work will be an extension and continuation of his -- it would be very typical for us to parachute in for six months, call for a new program and a change of course, and then disappear, leaving Alex to pick up the pieces. I want none of that. So given that we haven't had much direction thus far, we're going to move out and begin planning, getting me introduced to the team at the supplier and including me in the weekly teleconferences.

Alex and I spent an hour or so discussing the details of flying to France, getting from Paris to Issoudun, and the best places to stay. Alex identified two or three supplier team members who are fluent in English and would be willing to help -- I look forward to being in contact with them soon, and soliciting their input on a hundred questions.

Where things stand right now -- 8:47pm July 12
Our first prospect for renting the house fell through... the family decided to move their stuff into an empty house owned by a friend. I think part of the problem may have been their anxiety about their young kids damaging our stuff. Too bad. In talking to them on Sunday, I realized how un-attached I am to most of our things -- the only item I'm even remotely concerned about is the leather couch -- the pots and pans, plates and silver, books and bookcases, even the wine... who cares?

We've got one other interested person, but she'll only need the house for a few months. We've posted our place at the UW office for visiting faculty, and I've given a few folks around town permission to mention our place to their HR or employee relocation offices.

We're going for passports on Monday morning. Still to do: talk with the kids' school here in Seattle, apply for an international driver's license, see about getting my current group to provide me with a laptop and international cel-phone before I go. And about a hundred other things...