Status: ✅ Initially all CSRs were hired as temps, which means they had their own timesheets. Some new people have been hired as full/part-time employees, so we need to handle their timesheets – plus, several people (including myself) are paid on an hourly basis. Perfect time to setup a Timesheet. Since we are still small, with no ERP, and I don’t have time or desire to write a timesheet app, I decided to do some research. I found a few on SourceForge, but I wanted something uber-simple to use and uber-simple to install. I settled upon TimesheetPHP. Luckily it even allowed LDAP support, which would be useful eventually for SSO. Installation was a breeze, and now everybody logs hours onto the an …

Status: ✅ Another line needing to be ported over: fax. Since time is very constrained, I quickly setup an extra server (OS X, actually) to act as a fax server. The fax line inserts immediately into the server, then from there any new faxes are printed on a normal printer and dropped into a central shared repository for the CSRs to access. Surely we will replace this setup sometime in the future, but for now it gets the job done.

Status: ✅ On a Friday I was told we might purchase a division from another company. Monday I heard that we purchased the division, and that we needed to have a website taking orders and a call center, capable of handling 500+/day (and not short calls); by the end of the month. Not to mention that the products wouldn’t even ship out of the same warehouse that held the call center, but a warehouse half-way across the country. And that a recall was occurring, which had additional requirements. On Tuesday the CEO, and my boss, left for Asia.

It was a long flight, but I slept for seven of the nine hours! Here is the recap. On the night of the 31st, we all left for Heidelberg. For those who do not know it, Heidelberg is the epitome of a cheerful little German town. We walked around for a few hours, but our ultimate destination was Frankfurt. Back on the train, we opened the wine we had bought earlier. The only way to describe it is:

Sorry about the post under Casey’s name. The people next to me bumped my arm, and my hand hit the Enter key. Anyhow, talk about culture shock! We are staying with Ben, who is living with a family whose hospitality seems rather transactional: warm when money is involved and less so when it is not. Regardless, it has been a good visit. Yesterday, we climbed the hill near the centre of the city and took in one of the most amazing views I have ever seen. We then rode the outdoor escalators down the hillside, yes, outdoor escalators, and walked around town for a while. We ate at an excellent seven-euro-per-plate restaurant and enjoyed a three-hour dinner, then went out for a drink. We need to look up a few …

I’m at an internet cafe, and it is roasting in here! I’m in London right now, after a pretty rough flight. We left Berlin late and, after a second taxi attempt on arrival, missed the last train. We then took several buses to our hostel, arriving at about 3 a.m. I collapsed into bed, woke at 9:10, had breakfast, and packed a lunch too. Since 10:00, I have been walking around and have seen almost everything in the central area, which was satisfying. I took a 15-minute bus ride without knowing where it was going (a little mission Casey sent me on before I left him this morning). I do not know how there are not more bus accidents here; the drivers are chaotic! I got on, he took one turn and I swear I …

Hi everybody! I did not quite realise it, but today is Christmas Eve. I hope my family will not be too upset with me. We are at an internet cafe that costs one euro a minute. Casey is doing something to my left, while the host to my right is listening to Ricky Martin. Too funny. Yesterday we woke up, packed, and left our bags in the main office. I made another wonderful breakfast: eggs, yoghurt, a chocolate cookie, and bacon. The eggs and bacon were especially good wrapped in a piece of flatbread.

That last post was on the 23rd, not the 24th.

We are now in Berlin, having followed several interesting paths since my last post. On our final morning in Bern, Fabienne, Sabina, Stefi, Leoni, Casey, and I took a long walk through the city. The lightly frosted houses created a picturesque winter scene. I could imagine raising children there. We walked down towards the river and stopped at a small cafe with large blue sofas and elaborate drinks. The coffee arrived with a glass of water, a welcome touch. After discussing the peculiarities of Bern, we returned to Fabienne’s home, collected our bags and a few remaining bottles of wine, and made our way to the station.

Once again, we had internet access and many stories to tell. We left Stockholm on good terms, feeling great about the people we had met and the city in general. On our final night, I stayed up fairly late talking with Malin, which was quite uplifting. Casey and I woke up, packed, and started our next journey. We made our way to the central station and then took the bus for an hour and a half to the airport. We boarded the plane to Milan and, as you can imagine, I slept the entire way, so it felt like a quick flight. We arrived in Milan and both agreed that, well, we wouldn’t want to live there. Being stubborn, we walked for about 30 minutes to find the hotel.