why we work -- journal

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Sunset Thursday night - 21 "feels like 7"

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Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Sunset Monday night - caught some movement from the Brown line El train.

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Monday, February 16, 2009

Monday morning sunrise

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Sunday, February 15, 2009

Back in February of 2008 I applied for the Corporate Service Corps, a program that is designed to help develop leadership skills while addressing socio-economic challenges in emerging markets (part of IBM's Global Citizen's Portfolio).

To apply, you needed to have worked for IBM for at least two years and be rated above average for two of the past three review cycles.

The relatively simple application included a brief description of your current role, skills, and any volunteer experience. Additionally, you had to submit a very short essay, indicate a time period preference (July - December or January - June), and rank regional preferences (Africa, Asia Pacific, and Eastern Europe). While I would be thrilled to be selected for any assignment, I ranked Africa first and due to a project launch I selected the January - June time frame.

I was heartbroken on "announcement day" in March when I didn't receive a congratulatory e-mail. My spirits brightened when I learned that applications for the January through June period had not been reviewed, so in complete optimism I joked that I hadn't been rejected, I just hadn't been selected, yet. Over 5,000 people applied so the odds were still pretty slim.

In September, those of us who applied back in February were able to update and resubmit our applications. And, after being off the grid for a week watching polar bears, I received the official news while using the wireless at the Seaport Inn in Churchill, Canada.

"Congratulations on being selected to the IBM Corporate Service Corps!"

A tag cloud of adjectves could not accurately capture the feeling - I was surprised, thrilled, honored, proud, excited, anxious, humbled, overwhelmed, elated, and the list goes on and on.

In January I learned that I was assigned to "South Africa 1," the first Corporate Service Corps team going to South Africa. Our team of 15 includes IBMers from 10 different countries and is scheduled to depart April 24th. As the westernmost team member, this means very early morning calls during our three months of pre-work where we will learn to work as a team, learn more about our assignment, and take care of logistics.

Initially we were going to be located in the Cape Town Area, but the current thought is that we will be somewhere in Mpumalanga, a province in the north that contains the southern half of the Kruger National Park. The main question on my mind now is: will there be reliable internet access of will I have to blog the entire experience via text message :)

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Friday, February 13, 2009

Kinzie Avenue Bridge Thursday night on the walk home - this time with a barge. Still need a tripod and one of the larger cameras...

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Wednesday, February 11, 2009

On the walk home from work last night, in all of its 58 degree glory, we passed this lovely twilight scene at the Kinzie Avenue bridge. We only had Andy's point and shoot camera, so next time there's a clear night we'll have to go back with one of the big dogs.

Then around 7:30 a nearly full waning gibbous moon rose, and because of the angle it was first completely eclipsed by the Hancock and then emerged from the southern side.