"What Is A Global Liaison?"
I've been asked this by so many friends and family that I decided this was worthy of a blog in and of itself. For those of you published writers, I apologize for my somewhat free-form style of writing, and understanding of English grammar - which has been slipping lately. Okay, yes I'm stalling a little.
First, I would say I have no clue, really, but since I am one that doesn't quite get me off the hook. I am sure a global liaison differs greatly by what job they are presently doing, for whom, and where they are located. All three of these play a big role in my understanding of my job. Here is the definition of liaison from
http://www.dictionary.com/ :
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) -
Cite This Sourceli·
ai·son
/ˌlieɪˈzɔ̃, ˈliəˌzɒn, -zən or, often, ˈleɪ-; liˈeɪzən, -zɒn; Fr. lyɛˈzɔ̃/
Pronunciation Key -
Show Spelled Pronunciation[lee-ey-zawn, lee-uh-zon, -zuhn or, often, ley-; lee-ey-zuhn, -zon; Fr. lye-zawn]
Pronunciation Key -
Show IPA Pronunciation–noun, plural -sons
/-ˈzɔ̃z, -ˌzɒnz, -zənz, -zɒnz; Fr. -ˈzɔ̃/
Pronunciation Key -
Show Spelled Pronunciation[-zawnz, -zonz, -zuhnz, -zonz; Fr. -zawn]
Pronunciation Key -
Show IPA Pronunciation.
1.
the contact or connection maintained by communications between units of the armed forces or of any other organization in order to ensure concerted action, cooperation, etc.
2.
a person who initiates and maintains such a contact or connection.
I was originally only going to use these first 2 definitions, but I think the third gets more to the point I'm making or the answer I'm clumsily eluding.
3.
an illicit sexual relationship. (Mom, sorry, but it's in the dictionary.) Here's the thing. See the grass is eternally always gruener an der anderen Seite. We, as humans, insist on seeing the other bipeds in the greatest light, and we leave ourselves in the light left over behind the steam on a mirror - trying to be clever - you know like you can barely see yourself behind the steam - okay never mind.
When you use a word like "liaison", it does envoke this kind of romantic(philosophically speaking), french film or something european. Actually, I like the word in german much better - Verbindung. This is their own word, and not a borrowed french word. For us, I think most of the readers are american, although I know there's a couple germans - please accept my apologies, using a french word is so intangible, and vague - ja? Well the same website, under encyclopedia, said,
Liaison job, a job that links two or more specialties. I think this better describes what I do.
I am the communicator, binding (Verbindung) between a global computer programing team, and all of the functional leaders in a large global firm. I would say more like a consultant. These functional leaders happen to be all over europe, so I have to travel, and train them, and communicate change. I really can't go into much detail here. So, sorry, to remain vague.
No, but actually in my job the liaison is more like the "whipping boy" - lol:] No, jk, I feel very blessed to have this opportunity. Basically, God and his son Jesus are the only reason someone like me ended up here. Ein Suender und Alkoholiker. Oh yeah so the pics above. I had to sneak a camera in to take those( in the words of Jim Carrey "breaking the law"), but that's the gate I go through everyday in Ruesselsheim Germany( I know it looks like a prison), and my building (the oldest in our company), and the walkway I go across twice a day. I know it's ugly, but I guess it's not the look of the building that counts - or at least I hope so - LOL!! Sorry for the long entry. I'll leave you with a verse that stood out for me this week. Hebrews 2:1-3, or auf deutsch, Hebraeer 2,1-3:
1We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
1 [
a]Deshalb müssen wir umso mehr auf das achten, was wir gehört haben. Sonst verfehlen wir noch das Ziel! 2 [
b]Denn schon das Gesetz, das die Engel Mose überbrachten, war für alle verbindlich; und jeder, der diese Gebote Gottes übertrat, erhielt seine gerechte Strafe. 3 [
c]Wie viel weniger werden wir der Strafe entkommen, wenn wir Gottes unvergleichliches Rettungsangebot ausschlagen! Jesus Christus selbst hat es zuerst bekannt gemacht, und es wurde uns von Zeugen bestätigt, die unseren Herrn mit eigenen Ohren gehört haben. 4 [
d]Darüber hinaus hat Gott diese Botschaft beglaubigt durch Zeichen und Wunder, durch seine machtvollen Taten und durch die Gaben des Heiligen Geistes, die er nach seinem Willen austeilt.
I like it because it encourages us to remember how great the our salvation is in Jesus and not to forget how TRUE it is. We must never forget because if we forget we drift away. And in verse 3, this was the salvation that was first announced by our Lord and confirmed by those who heard him. For me, it just kind of brings together the importance of spiritual disciplines: reading the Bible (the witness from these witnesses), going to church etc. Also in the german version you see the word "Verbindung" - das die Engel Mose überbrachten, war für alle verbindlich. Well thanks for letting me ramble. God bless you all! Lob Gott! Praise God!
Dein Bruder und Sohn