A little background...
I truly enjoy my job. I work for a great company. I'm challenged. I'm rewarded. I'm valued. And, I even like my boss. As a consultant, it's almost like I start a new job every year -- new project, new people, new experiences, and a new place. I travel to the wherever the client is located and get to work from home 40-50 percent of the time. I do project work and there is a general lifecycle to every project that ebbs and flows -- requirements gathering, blueprinting, realization, testing, training, data conversion, go-live (flip the switch). Sometimes I work 35 hours. Sometimes I work 50 hours. "Enjoy the valleys. Manage the peaks." These projects generally have defined boundaries, which prevents scope creep and allows us to deliver on time and within budget with the estimated resources. And, it's understood that during the conversion/go-live phase of the project, we work weekends and very long days. It's not that I don't have work/life balance. It just comes with the territory of the type of work I do. And, it's actually kind of fun for two weeks (because I get to see all my work come to fruition).
Over a year ago, I was placed on a project in Los Angeles. They are a government contractor (deep pockets despite strict budgets). Prior to this client, when people asked if I would do Ironman, I had thought about it, but figured that I would not be set up for success with the amount of traveling that comes with it. However, when this project started in LA, the possibility opened up -- short flight, only have to travel every other week, and an implementation in July. That would still give me four months until the event. So I drank the Koolaid.
Alas, nothing ever goes according to plan...
Enter government contractor. This project has turned into a snowball rolling down hill during a blizzard. It grew and it grew and it grew. A co-worker said it best, "It's like we bought a sideview mirror [the piece I'm responsible for], but now we need a car to put it on." So we went to the junkyard and found a bunch of pieces of a car to put together to hang this little sideview mirror on. Besides trying to attach a mirror to a car that doesn't exist, the customers get whatever they want. I have rarely heard "no" been said. Squeaky wheels get the grease. And, even I have succumbed. I said to someone recently, "I'm spending more time arguing with you why this isn't a good idea, then just doing it. So I'll just do it."
By April, we decided it would take until the beginning of October to get the car started. When September came, they decided Halloween would be better. I didn't know how I would handle all of the work that goes into a project and PEAK training month. There was an expectation that we would be in LA M-F, every week, and needed to support weekend work to make it happen. I asked for permission to go home on Thursdays and pushed back on the weekend work, due to training. Thankfully, they obliged (again, the project people are great).
Then they decided Nov 7 would be a better date. And, yesterday, it was determined that it would now be Nov. 14 (six days before Ironman). Imagine all the noise in my head right now....all the thoughts swirling around. Sure, we are tapering in November, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't be preparing in other ways. I have so much work to do to "quiet" my mind over the next few weeks. Yesterday, we discussed about me being there for the implementation and going home on Tuesday night (because we leave for Arizona on Wednesday). To an outsider, that sounds like a great plan. Sure, it's only an hour flight. But, I think any veteran would agree, it's not an ideal situation. Even Nick, a man not of many words, said to me last night, "I don't envy the position you're in right now." Agree. Neither do I.
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