The Johnsons' Journal

This week I’ve been back on “The Bench” as they say about people at my company who are between projects. I passed the time by the suggested tasks of updating my internal CV with my previous project, playing around a bit with Google’s App Engine (nerd!), and going out for leisurely coffees with others in the office to pass the time. By the end of the week I was quite bored with the office and antsy to get back out to a client site.

As luck would have it, I got a call from one of the directors Thursday evening on my walk home from the office starting with “How would you like to go to Brisbane… for 3 months?” The hesitation must have been obvious in my response so he suggested I think about it overnight and talk it over with Courtney. Upon doing so we decided 3 months away from our newly settled home, book clubs, soccer team and friends was a bit too much.

In the morning when I was queried with “How long would be acceptable?” I responded with what Court and I had agreed upon the evening before which was 6 weeks. This satisfied him and he went to make the necessary calls to verify with the client. I was pleasantly surprised a little while later when I received the tail end of a few email chains in my inbox mentioning getting flights and accommodations booked. Turns out a new hire starts in 4 weeks who can replace me on the project so I can return to Melbourne.

After a few calls and a few more emails in the afternoon I had myself booked on a 6am flight Monday morning for Brisbane. The speed with which the arrangement was executed was impressive.

After discussing it further, Courtney decided to meet me there later in the week and stay for the two upcoming long weekends ANZAC Day and Labour Day in Queensland (Victoria had Labour Day in early March.)

I’m excited about having a bit of time to explore a bit more of the country, especially on the company dime!