End of the first half of the Greek Olympic project...

Sick of it already:

With David, Jay and Vic gone, I was alone and the last of the original team. There were so many idiots running around that it was a full time job just controlling the mess they made. I was getting more despondent about the project, we worked so hard and it was a mess, everything we did was failing to work. I would walk home from the Police building, it was on the other side of Lykabettus and I could go through Kolonaki at least.

I took the metro to get there, but walking was better, I could relieve some of the stress by walking up and around the hill. I needed to relax some how. I would walk around and look at some of the stores; I would be in areas that no tourist would go so it was just local Greeks. I just walked, maybe a few hours, it would get dark and I would walk around. I found a few interesting spots to eat at least. There was no point in putting so much effort into the project; it was so screwed up at this point.

The new people they brought in were all company types, they knew nothing of emergency management or the project, to them it was just another job and they didn't care. I would have to deal with phone calls all the time, the contractors would call me since I knew the project and if the corporate idiots said something wrong I would get a call to sort it out for them. Contract issues would constantly crop up. Really stupid things the company would do, I could have just left. November was a hard month.

Snow:

One day before the IET, it snowed. Athens was covered with about 3 to 8 inches of snow and ice. Since most of the city was not prepared for this, the city had a few days off. I woke and went to the front room of the apartment, opened the shades and was greeted by snow on the patio and across on the building. I went out and took some pictures of the snow, then got ready for work. The night before I was at the annex having a drink and I noticed that it was snowing lightly. When I went out, the street was deserted and ice covered everything. I could hear the ice breaking and creaking. It was very quiet and no one was on the street. Very strange to not hear all the noise and commotion that one hears day to day.

Snow day.

When I went out of my apartment, I had to be careful of the ice on the sidewalk and since I was up on a hill the street went down at an angle. It was like sliding down a ski run, I was glad I didn't fall though it was only about one hundred feet. I slowly walked down the street where it was flat and was able to make it to the square, one or two cars only on the street. I saw a few people walking along the walls and rails trying not to fall or slip. I walked in the street where it wasnt as much snow and ice, I got to work on time. Of course no one else came in on time, and when I called in for the morning telecom, they said that the day was a snow day and no work would be done. Since I was there, I stayed and did a few things. I eventually left and walked around taking some pictures. Then I went to the annex of course, no one was there and it was boring actually. I met up with a few others and had dinner, but it was an early night. The next day the city was still digging out, but it was more normal.

IET2 and CPX1:

Finally IET2 was to take place a week before Christmas, the scenario was in constant change and they decided that Stavros would do the walk through with the government. Eric was there and he and Rick were doing their thing, they brought in a bunch of other people to help, some were just as bad as SAIC. I started to install the software and get CATS running on the machines, while also dealing with the video walls. I was just running around from EOC to EOC and trying to get the servers all configured with the same version of the maps. The CPX would be done at the same time since the exercise was in a command post.

For the IET, the shit heads brought in a bunch of what we called Fly-in/Fuck-off's, they were supposed to be there to lend their expertise in Olympic security during the exercise, but they basically screwed off and did little. When the schedule for the IET was set, they brought in 25 shit heads, but the IET was postponed and the fly off's just took off and spent the week on the islands.

Basically they had a two week paid vacation in Greece and did squat the whole time. They did this over and over, every time an exercise was scheduled they would fly these shits in, and every time the exercise was pushed back. So for IET 2, we had a parade of fly-off's for the month, since IET 2 was to have taken place in November, but didn't until mid December, they had about 75 of these shit come and go.

Naturally most of the fly-off's were from Utah, and David called it the Utah jobs program.  Some of the people had no experience in Olympic security except that they may have been in Utah when the Olympics happened. Park rangers, prison guards, and the like were what pasted for experienced SME's. Most of the people were rounded up by TJ and the crew of Mormons. I would have to deal with them, they mostly sat around and drank coffee and talked, I never saw them do anything like work. I wish I had a job in which I got paid to sit and drink coffee....

IET2 acceptance:

When IET 2 started, the company shitheads decided to have a Greek be the one to go over the contract requirements with the committee. Stavros was picked to be the person to do the walk through and of course Stavros was not prepared to deal with the committee. So when they started, he basically folded under the pressure, he had to go to the hospital because he was so terrified. I did my part and left because I didn't want to be part of the mess. Eric stepped up and did the walk through, I told him it wasn't his responsibility to do it, but he said he was doing it for Dave Tubbs.

Eric was there, along with the committee, arguing the contract and the system, no one from SAIC was there, not even Jesus or the Vampire. Eric calls me up and says he is with the committee and they are doing the acceptance, I told him not to do it and they should re-schedule the walk-through. He didn't and Eric was there for 7 hours arguing with the committee. The Greeks were never going to accept the system so going through the motions was of no use.

My IET2 demo:

I was to show the sub-systems 3, 4 and part of sub-system 6 software and demo the basic capabilities. We had been training the Greeks and we were to have a Greek run the system to show they could do it. I found a guy who was there and had never used a computer. I sat him down and with the committee looking over my shoulder I talked him through how to use the software. Since he didn't even know how to use a mouse, it was slow go, but I got him to do the basics. For the other parts, there was no one who showed up who was trained, so I had to just demo for those parts. It was easy to meet the expectations since there was nothing to do but show it out of the box, no integration.

I showed CATS doing the High Explosive and Nuclear weapon models, Chemical/Bio plumes, routing with Network Analyst and a few other things. The main concern was that it was all in English and the Greeks wanted it all in Greek. Also the operating system was the Greek version and that version didn't work right. So we had some problems running the system. My demo was just a small part of the over all IET. My part was passed on the spot and I was basically done with the demo.

The IET had a big scenario that was to show the system as a whole and how it worked. We spent days going over what was to be done and when. The committee would come to the MOC and go over things, but on the IET day everything fell apart since the Greeks didn't want to do anything and the system wasn't working on the Greek OS. The planned scenario was to long and didn't involve enough people so most got bored. Needless to stay, IET 2 was a total failure, only about 45% passed. Shocking when the whole IET was to demonstrate the system installed, not fully integrated.

After the IET and before going home for Christmas:

During the run up to the IET, I would spend time with some of the Greeks I worked with or committee members. One person I would meet was Sissy, who was from the Fire Brigade, and we would have a coffee and talk. We didn't talk too much about work, she would tell me about her village in the northern part of the country (Kastoria) and I would tell her about California and surfing. She was always interested in new music, so I would give her CD's with whatever music I could find, I would bring her a few CD's when I returned from home or people coming in would share what they had. She was a good source of info on the Fire Brigades ideas and what they though. We didn't dwell on the project much, I just wanted to relax and we enjoyed the others company.

One day Sissy asked if I would go out for a drink with her, I said yes and we planned to meet. She said to meet at Monastiraki metro station, so in the evening I walked there and I waited out front. Sissy came and she gave me the kiss on the check greeting then said we would go to Psiri. I didn't know where that was so I just followed. Psiri is a neighborhood just west of Monastiraki and if you didn't know what was down the dark streets, you never would go. We walked in a labyrinth of streets, Sissy was looking for a particular place, but she wasn't sure where it was.

We found the place, a small coffee shop type place, but they played music and had drinks as well. It was an interesting place and the name was something like butterfly in Greek. I don't remember the name exactly, but it was down one of the streets off the main "drag" area. We just hung out and talked about different things, she told me of the town she was from and about different places, and we talked about music. It was a nice time and I found a new place to hang out in. Since David and the rest were gone, I needed some place to escape to.

Bored with the annex:

I really got tired of the annex, after a while I wouldn't go there at all for days or weeks on end. I would go to Mie Tie more or some other place to eat and drink. The annex was limited and they had a lot of tourists all the time. I would go to the Souvlaki stand for food and avoid the annex all together. A few times we would go up into a new part of Plaka and drink or eat at a place we hadn't before. I didn't like to hang around George much anymore and Ron didn't go out, Rick was limited on what he wanted to do so I just would go by myself.

I would walk around the center or go up on the hill across from the Acropolis. I did lots of walking and just trying to forget the project. If I could have I would have left, but I didn't want to give up on the system. The annex always had a crowd of tourist so it was always the same conversations. The waiters would explain things and the tourist would make faces as they ate what they got. As a regular, I got special attention and could get anything I wanted and it was quick, but I was tired of the place and the same old stuff.

Meeting Stavroula parents:

I was going to go out with Alex and Stavroula for dinner, Stavroula said I should meet her at her place since she was coming from work and it would be easier for her. She gave me directions, it sounded harder than it was. Her parents live in Kallithea, which is to the west of downtown Athens. I was to take the metro to Sygrou Fix and take a bus down Sygrou, get off at a certain stop (how would I know) and walk to her place. The metro was easy and I got the bus, but I had to count stops and I got off early. I had to walk a little more than I should have, but I could have taken a cab just as easily from the Metro.

I found her building and walked into the center courtyard, they were on the inside of the courtyard. I called Stavroula and she came down with one of her cats, Malacca, and her mother came down as well. I was introduced and we talked a bit, her father was going some where and I said hello. We got in a car and Stavroula was having trouble backing out, I made fun of her and she gave me one of her serious looks, we laughed and off we went. We met Alex at a place not far and in fact we could have walked there. Spaghetti was what Stavroula wanted and that was what she got. It was fun.

Christmas in Athens:

Athens was getting ready for Christmas, lots of decorations hung and some Christmas trees around. It wasn't quite the same as the US, but it was close. The one big thing was the sales at the stores, everyone would get a Christmas bonus and they would go out and spend it on clothes or other things. The stores stayed open later and lots of people would be out shopping.

Before I went home, SAIC was having a party at the Hilton (of course) and everyone was invited. I didn't really care to go, so I asked Stavroula if she wanted to go out for dinner. I went to meet her at the Sygrou metro stop, but she called to say she was late, no big surprise there. She drove up and apologized for being late, but I didn't care. She had some chestnuts and gave me one, they were good and hot.

We went to a place for spaghetti, Stavroula likes that. I just wanted to spend some time with her before I left, we talked about work some and all the things that happened, she couldn't believe an American company was run so badly. She said she was hoping to be transferred to another project, what she was doing wasn't what she wanted to do and she wasn't happy with how she was treated. She was an engineer and did system design work, this was a waste of time for her and I knew it as she did. I didn't want her to go, but it would be better for her.

Christmas in Plaka

She complained about her boy friend and we talked about life in general. She was always on the verge of dumping him, but she was feeling the 30 year itch to get married. In Greece if a woman is not married by 30, she is seen as an old maid so they all want to get married. Stavroula was no different and she wanted to get married, but the boy friend was not ready to, she eventually did marry him.

Greeks don't like to work on the weekends and they don't get paid overtime, so they only work the hours that they have to. She always asked why I was working so much. I shouldn't put in so many hours if I don't get paid for them, and at the end I didn't. We had a nice dinner and then she drove me back to my place. I said I hoped she would have a good holiday and she could resolve her issues with her boyfriend and I would be back in two weeks. I said goodnight and I crawled out of her small car, she wished me happy Christmas and said to recharge my batteries.

Party:

I got back early, so I decided to put in an appearance at the party, it was close so I walked over to the metro and took it to Syntagma, then got on the blue line to Evangelismos. It was a stuffy affair and everyone was standing around yakking and complaining about everything. The ETEAM guys were there and some of them were drunk. One guy walked up to the twig and called her a bitch and slapped her. He was taken out and some apologies were made, but she wasn't happy and neither were the corporate shits that looked out for her.

I walked around and said hello to many people, especially the Greeks. Vic, Jay and David were there along with Ari and Semos. It was pretty boring so I went with some of the others up to the bar on the roof. The drinks were expensive but we had several rounds anyway. The one good thing about the Hilton was the view, you could see all the way to the water and the Acropolis as well as Lykabettus. The next day I was flying out, had to get up at 4:00 am and Peter would drove me to the airport.

Flying:

4 am and the alarm goes off, way to early. I had only 20 minutes to shower and dress. Peter would be there at 4:30 and the drive would be 30 minutes even with no traffic. I grabbed my bag and made sure every thing was shut off, locked the door and I met Peter at the door. It was dark and Peter drove fast, we talked and he got me there on time. I had a business class ticket so I went to the lounge for a drink. It would take on this trip 27 hours to get home. The flight to Frankfurt, then a layover before the long flight to San Francisco. A short stop there then the hop to San Diego. I would be in the US for ten days, all I wanted was to get there......