The systems we use at work are fairly antiquated, in computer terms. They are the same systems that were in use when the call centre was opened, and I don’t even know how long ago that was – someone said 1974 to me once. They are frustrating, telnet-based, glitchy, and require you to memorize codes in order to move around the customer database. So, since this is the 21st century and all, we are developing new systems.

For months I’ve been thinking about the people developing the systems. They must be sitting in their little cubicles typing away, computer code trailing out of their fingers like ticker tape in the st paddy’s day parade. They have the power to make the new systems either a dream come true or a nightmarish hell of angry customers and disappearing data. “How I would love to be on the team developing the new systems!” I would say wistfully, gazing out the window. “If only I had better programming skills.”

Then one day the boss came up to my desk and leaned down and said, “This may sound off the wall to you, but we would like you to be on the project developing the new systems. We need people from the call centre who will be using it every day to help us design the interface and the buttons. You would come up to dublin on the 7am train monday morning and back down to cork on friday afternoon. Have a chat with your husband over the weekend and let us know on monday.”

What does it feel like to have something you have wished for come true? It’s a bit overwhelming. My heartbeat doubled instantly and stayed that way for the rest of the day. I was afraid I might actually get palpitations or something. I couldn’t concentrate; I kept fidgeting and getting up to go to the loo and then coming back and writing emails. It’s a bit like falling into a deep, fast river of fate. You have to just go with it, cause there’s no other option, and that’s a bit intimidating.

So, February 9th (my husband’s 30th birthday!) I will get up at 5:30am and take my suitcase and catch the 7am train to dublin for training. I don’t know where I am going to stay yet, I don’t know how to apply for my expenses, I don’t know what I am going to be doing exactly, and I don’t know who is going with me. But I do know I’ve committed myself to weekly travel for the next six months, and I also know that this is not the sort of opportunity that knocks twice…

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