I really need the weekend to rest a bit as well as plan for my trip next Friday. I have not done anything yet to plan yet but that is not a major issue.
My wife and I met at the Hong Kong Palace last night for dinner. She had a coupon for 50% one entree so we were both able to get 2 large meals (which equates into lunch for both of us today) and drinks fro $20. Fits into the budget nicely. The food was pretty good although the Sesame Beef was a bit too sweet for my taste. My wife got her old stand by, combination lo mien and she was not disappointed.
We got home fat and happy (after a quick trip to Kroger to get milk, yogurt, bananas, cider, and some frozen stuff to keep on hand for quick meals) and after walking the dogs, we settled down to watch some TV. My wife watched the taped epi's of Tuesday's "Law and Order" (CI and SVU) while I watched an old episode of "Brimstone" Good show, in a creepy way.
Got done with that and hit the hay. I was sneezing horribly from allergies, so I took a Claritin and it seemed to help some. However, when I woke up this morning, my sinuses were killing me and with them draining, my stomach was very upset. It has calmed down now, but it is still a little woozy and my head still aches. Yes, I have taken some Tylenol Sinus, but it will take a while to work.
I received confirmation on what my group will be doing. I will still have to do "site specific" dispatch as well as escalation mgmt, incident mgmt, and support for a couple of tools. No one on the team is thrilled about this because it takes several non-related items and puts them in a group of three techs. The tool support is 8x5, incident mgmt is 8x5 with the three of us rotating on call after business hours, and the escalation mgmt is 8x5, with the three of us rotating on call after business hours. Now if we will either be on call ever 2 weeks or every 3 weeks, depending if we are going to do both incident and escalation mgmt at the same time. The guys I will be working with say they tried both ways in the past and it did not work well either way. The current escalation mgr is being laid off and my boss wants to integrate this into the incident mgmt group. Since no one will be taking over my current duties, I believe that I am supposed to continue doing them as well, PLUS doing project work. Needless to say, I am not very happy with this arrangement. However I will not complain about it. I will work to the best of my abilities. I forgot to add that our group will take over the problem mgmt reporting function for the America's. I think that we report to 4-5 different people when you take all these jobs and put them in one group. Also, a large part of what I do will be after hours, so on call becomes an issue. We are *required* to make many international calls and all I have is a mobile phone. Getting reimbursed may get tricky.
More later. I have things to do!
Friday, September 29, 2006
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Time to Play Catch Up
With the impact of those being laid off beginning to wane a bit, I have been trying to catch up on things so I can (sometime) transition to my new role, whatever that may be. The project I was working on has picked up some steam as I have been forced to do a portion of the work that was to be handled by others. I do not mind, but it keeps me from learning my new role. Maybe that is a good thing, since my boss has been kind of scarce lately.
With L1, L2 and part of L3 being transitioned to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia we have had less technical, day to day things to and more administrivia to handle. I have been updating some of the documentation we have been using and keeping our queue up to date, assigning tickets and making contact with customers as needed. It has not been too bad, but one snag has been the access that the KL guys need for our Latin America Servers. It would appear that they still do not have all the access they need.
We had care group last night at Jimmy and Collette's house. It was a simple meal of tacos, but it was pretty good. They have invited us over for Sunday brunch again...oh how I love that time. They are the nicest people. I like to talk technique and theory with Jimmy. He is a 6th degree black belt and knows a variety of martial arts styles. He is also very knowledgeable of Asian culture.
Vacation is 1 week away and I need to start packing and prepping things. I need a car cassette adapter for my CD player so I can listen to my MP3 CD's. I have a few things lined up to listen to during my trip up and need to make sure I have things to listen to on the way back. I also do not want to travel with too much stuff, but I need to take things I will need. I guess I need to start my list soon!
Jeff called and wants me to come over to work out tonight. We have not been able to get started ever since we agreed to do this. Something always seems to come up...
With L1, L2 and part of L3 being transitioned to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia we have had less technical, day to day things to and more administrivia to handle. I have been updating some of the documentation we have been using and keeping our queue up to date, assigning tickets and making contact with customers as needed. It has not been too bad, but one snag has been the access that the KL guys need for our Latin America Servers. It would appear that they still do not have all the access they need.
We had care group last night at Jimmy and Collette's house. It was a simple meal of tacos, but it was pretty good. They have invited us over for Sunday brunch again...oh how I love that time. They are the nicest people. I like to talk technique and theory with Jimmy. He is a 6th degree black belt and knows a variety of martial arts styles. He is also very knowledgeable of Asian culture.
Vacation is 1 week away and I need to start packing and prepping things. I need a car cassette adapter for my CD player so I can listen to my MP3 CD's. I have a few things lined up to listen to during my trip up and need to make sure I have things to listen to on the way back. I also do not want to travel with too much stuff, but I need to take things I will need. I guess I need to start my list soon!
Jeff called and wants me to come over to work out tonight. We have not been able to get started ever since we agreed to do this. Something always seems to come up...
Monday, September 25, 2006
Coolness / Travel
I know that this is just a brief break from the heat, but I enjoying it nonetheless. It has been cool the past few evenings and mornings...making it ideal for walking. Now of course my allergies are acting up...sneezing my head off most of the walk, but at least it is not hot :). Little man seems to enjoy the break from the heat as well, but that should not be a surprise. He has always liked the cool weather.
The forecast shows a return to the upper 80's low 90's the next couple of days, but cooler after that. My trip to visit my mom October 8th will be blessed with cooler weather and hopefully wonderful autumn colors. It will peak mid-October, but it still should look nice. I have 1 audio book and a series on tape that my wife thinks I will like. She has already listened to it so it is my turn.
I am contemplating taking a slightly different route and avoiding Kentucky all together. I will stay on I-40 and pick up I-81 in Bristol and go through the southern part of WV. I think it will only take about 1 hour longer. It is still up in the air... I had considered going to NC first bit that is going to add about 2-3 hours more to my trip and I am not looking forward to that!
The forecast shows a return to the upper 80's low 90's the next couple of days, but cooler after that. My trip to visit my mom October 8th will be blessed with cooler weather and hopefully wonderful autumn colors. It will peak mid-October, but it still should look nice. I have 1 audio book and a series on tape that my wife thinks I will like. She has already listened to it so it is my turn.
I am contemplating taking a slightly different route and avoiding Kentucky all together. I will stay on I-40 and pick up I-81 in Bristol and go through the southern part of WV. I think it will only take about 1 hour longer. It is still up in the air... I had considered going to NC first bit that is going to add about 2-3 hours more to my trip and I am not looking forward to that!
Friday, September 22, 2006
Bits and Bytes
Some news stories and personal comments:
* I just knew that my wife and I were not average.
* This headline needs work (I know, get my mind out of the gutter)
* So, are you trying to be more like Texas?
* It is a mater of respect.
* Wow, that was brave...or stupid.
* I think this happened to John Kerry's daughter once, but then is not as old as Babs.
Talk amongst yourselves.
* I just knew that my wife and I were not average.
* This headline needs work (I know, get my mind out of the gutter)
* So, are you trying to be more like Texas?
* It is a mater of respect.
* Wow, that was brave...or stupid.
* I think this happened to John Kerry's daughter once, but then is not as old as Babs.
Talk amongst yourselves.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
No More Home Alone
I am so glad my wife came back from San Antonio / Weslaco. She took my advice and took a 30 minute nap 1/2 way here (11 hour drive or so by her self, not counting the Golden) and came home mostly refreshed. She was in good spirits and we chatted for quite some time.
Work went pretty well yesterday, but I have not started my transition yet. I still have been doing Unix duties (ticket maintenance, customer calls, quick response dispatch, as well as helping one of the other techs with some cabling). It was enough to keep me mostly busy. The team I will be moving to told me not to be in a hurry to get transferred over to them any time soon. It is not going to be easy since they will be absorbing me and a new function. They already handle incident management and now they are being asked to handle escalation management as well. EM is a huge task when done properly and my boss wants it rotated between all three of us in addition to IM which is a job unto itself. I think we are going to have a pow-wow on Friday or Monday to discuss it. My boss is out of town right now and I do not want to burden him with this at the moment. I still do not know what needs to be done about my old job duties. No one has stated who will do what.
Work went pretty well yesterday, but I have not started my transition yet. I still have been doing Unix duties (ticket maintenance, customer calls, quick response dispatch, as well as helping one of the other techs with some cabling). It was enough to keep me mostly busy. The team I will be moving to told me not to be in a hurry to get transferred over to them any time soon. It is not going to be easy since they will be absorbing me and a new function. They already handle incident management and now they are being asked to handle escalation management as well. EM is a huge task when done properly and my boss wants it rotated between all three of us in addition to IM which is a job unto itself. I think we are going to have a pow-wow on Friday or Monday to discuss it. My boss is out of town right now and I do not want to burden him with this at the moment. I still do not know what needs to be done about my old job duties. No one has stated who will do what.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Addendum
I forgot to mention my wife comes home today. Yippee! I sure have missed her!
Also, I still have not heard back from the repair shop on my trimmer. It has been about a month since my wife dropped it off to have warranty work completed. If the repair does not work out, I will spend money on a new commerical grade trimmer. I do not like using junk.
The KL cutover has been ok for the most part, but they send things to us that are not L3...the things we get are "we do not know how to do this" requests. For example, I received one back asking to have a client jump started and several more asking us to update the licenses on software.
This is going to be a long 60 days for the Unix guys...
Also, I still have not heard back from the repair shop on my trimmer. It has been about a month since my wife dropped it off to have warranty work completed. If the repair does not work out, I will spend money on a new commerical grade trimmer. I do not like using junk.
The KL cutover has been ok for the most part, but they send things to us that are not L3...the things we get are "we do not know how to do this" requests. For example, I received one back asking to have a client jump started and several more asking us to update the licenses on software.
This is going to be a long 60 days for the Unix guys...
Home Alone, Day 3
Day three of my "home aloneness" went rather well. Of course I was at work all day, but the morning, evening, and night time went well.
I woke up 30 minutes later than normal, but since I was home with only one dog and without my beautiful wife, there were less "little things" that needed done. I did my normal routine as planned (albeit 30 minutes behind my normal time) except for my coffee/internet period. I cut that down to 20 minutes (from 30) and took a shorter shower. That pretty much put me back on track time-wise.
I got home after stopping by the post office to pick up the certified letter. As suspected, it was for our son. I opened it as instructed and realized it was a duplicate of a letter sent to him a couple of days ago.
I let the dog out, checked the mail, fed the dog, and grabbed a bite to eat for myself while I waited for my student, "Mickey" whom I am taking through One to One Discipling. He has been a great student. He is very prepared and does 100% of his work. My only drawback to his style is that he never words things in his own way...he prefers to quote scripture. While this is admirable, it does not show he understands what it means. So I challenge him on some of his answers. I want him to think things through.
Once we were finished and Mickey headed home, I walked little man and he really enjoyed it. Once I got home I watched Law and Order: SVU. The new season started on Tuesday and I made sure I programmed the VCR to get all three episodes. Tuesday night airs two different epi's of Law and Order. One epi of SVU and one of CI. I will need to watch CI soon. I was too sleepy to do it last night.
After TV, I read for a bit and then slept all the way through the night...something my wife was unable to do, per our morning phone call. She asked me to pray for her and I did. I love my wife and want only blessings for her.
I woke up 30 minutes later than normal, but since I was home with only one dog and without my beautiful wife, there were less "little things" that needed done. I did my normal routine as planned (albeit 30 minutes behind my normal time) except for my coffee/internet period. I cut that down to 20 minutes (from 30) and took a shorter shower. That pretty much put me back on track time-wise.
I got home after stopping by the post office to pick up the certified letter. As suspected, it was for our son. I opened it as instructed and realized it was a duplicate of a letter sent to him a couple of days ago.
I let the dog out, checked the mail, fed the dog, and grabbed a bite to eat for myself while I waited for my student, "Mickey" whom I am taking through One to One Discipling. He has been a great student. He is very prepared and does 100% of his work. My only drawback to his style is that he never words things in his own way...he prefers to quote scripture. While this is admirable, it does not show he understands what it means. So I challenge him on some of his answers. I want him to think things through.
Once we were finished and Mickey headed home, I walked little man and he really enjoyed it. Once I got home I watched Law and Order: SVU. The new season started on Tuesday and I made sure I programmed the VCR to get all three episodes. Tuesday night airs two different epi's of Law and Order. One epi of SVU and one of CI. I will need to watch CI soon. I was too sleepy to do it last night.
After TV, I read for a bit and then slept all the way through the night...something my wife was unable to do, per our morning phone call. She asked me to pray for her and I did. I love my wife and want only blessings for her.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Great News!
My wife just called and told me that our son is going to Kuwait, not Iraq. He will be assigned to his Captain as a personal aide and driver. He will have a rather normal schedule and a will be able to attend college online while he is stationed in Kuwait. I got to talk to him for about 20 minutes before he went back to the hotel. He does not feel overly well and thinks some sleep will help. Here is his schedule:
Leaves Weslaco tomorrow at 3 AM...destination, Fort McCoy, WI. He will spend 4-6 weeks training there, then he gets 5 days off. He hopes to go to WV to visit his grandmother at that time.
He then heads to Kuwait and will be there 6 months before he gets any time off. After his time off he will return to finish his tour in Kuwait.
I am very relieved that he will not be in a combat zone.
Btw, the event was captured on local KRGV-TV in Weslaco. Here is the link.
He is behind the flag...you cannot see his face. Oh well, it is still nice to see the rest of him!
Thank you God!
Leaves Weslaco tomorrow at 3 AM...destination, Fort McCoy, WI. He will spend 4-6 weeks training there, then he gets 5 days off. He hopes to go to WV to visit his grandmother at that time.
He then heads to Kuwait and will be there 6 months before he gets any time off. After his time off he will return to finish his tour in Kuwait.
I am very relieved that he will not be in a combat zone.
Btw, the event was captured on local KRGV-TV in Weslaco. Here is the link.
He is behind the flag...you cannot see his face. Oh well, it is still nice to see the rest of him!
Thank you God!
Home Alone, Day 2
Yesterday was day 2 of my "home aloneness". I was not really alone...I had little man with me, but all he does is sleep, eat and enjoy his two, 30 minute walks per day.
After an odd day at work, I left and headed home. I needed to get home to let little man out since he had been inside for 9+ hours and would need to water the weeds. While he was doing that, I went to the mailbox. Over half of it was for our soldier, 2 pieces for my wife and 1 notice of a certified letter that I need to pick up from the post office. I have no idea who it is for, but most likely it will be for the soldier. I wonder who he owes money to now... :-)
I got in and fed the dog. for 12 years old he still has a good appetite. He eats quickly and with gusto. I grabbed a bite to eat and chatted with my wife for the 3 time that day. After I was done chatting with my beautiful wife, I watched a Battlestar Galactica summary that had been broadcast on NBC that I found online. It was ok, but poor quality. While I was watching that, I ate a left over baked potato with low fat / low calorie spread and a turkey-onion wrap. I washed it it down with some diet Cherry Coke.
Since I had not finished the vacuuming that I started on Saturday (I do not work on Sunday...personal rule) I decided to finish that. It was not hard...the worst had already been done on Saturday. I had the biggest rooms to do, but there is less to move. I got that done and figured I needed to take little man for a walk before I got too tired. The walk went well and after I got back, I decided to make a munchie run at Kroger's. I noticed that I had made the $100 minimum purchase to get my gas at .10 off per gallon and thought that the timing was great...I needed to fill up on my way to work on Tuesday.
I got home with the munchies and settled down to watch "V for Vendetta". I was about 20 minutes into it when the phone rang. When I looked at the caller ID, I thought, "OH NO, I forgot to go work out with Jeff!" I apologized and he said it was OK, he was tired anyway. We chatted for about 30 minutes and then I went back to my movie.
The movie was OK, but not great. After it was over I just went to bed.
After an odd day at work, I left and headed home. I needed to get home to let little man out since he had been inside for 9+ hours and would need to water the weeds. While he was doing that, I went to the mailbox. Over half of it was for our soldier, 2 pieces for my wife and 1 notice of a certified letter that I need to pick up from the post office. I have no idea who it is for, but most likely it will be for the soldier. I wonder who he owes money to now... :-)
I got in and fed the dog. for 12 years old he still has a good appetite. He eats quickly and with gusto. I grabbed a bite to eat and chatted with my wife for the 3 time that day. After I was done chatting with my beautiful wife, I watched a Battlestar Galactica summary that had been broadcast on NBC that I found online. It was ok, but poor quality. While I was watching that, I ate a left over baked potato with low fat / low calorie spread and a turkey-onion wrap. I washed it it down with some diet Cherry Coke.
Since I had not finished the vacuuming that I started on Saturday (I do not work on Sunday...personal rule) I decided to finish that. It was not hard...the worst had already been done on Saturday. I had the biggest rooms to do, but there is less to move. I got that done and figured I needed to take little man for a walk before I got too tired. The walk went well and after I got back, I decided to make a munchie run at Kroger's. I noticed that I had made the $100 minimum purchase to get my gas at .10 off per gallon and thought that the timing was great...I needed to fill up on my way to work on Tuesday.
I got home with the munchies and settled down to watch "V for Vendetta". I was about 20 minutes into it when the phone rang. When I looked at the caller ID, I thought, "OH NO, I forgot to go work out with Jeff!" I apologized and he said it was OK, he was tired anyway. We chatted for about 30 minutes and then I went back to my movie.
The movie was OK, but not great. After it was over I just went to bed.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Update (Work, Home, Life)
The biggie first: Quote from my boss, "El, you are part of the retained organization. You begin integrating with the $new_group tomorrow."
I am not getting laid off and I am getting new responsibilities. The bad news is that I have to be on call this week for my old group. Joy.
The KL group appears to be keeping up with the tickets so far. The queue is below where it was last week. I hope that they are a good team when all is said and done. We will need stability in the upcoming days.
My wife went drove south to San Antonio to visit with her brother for a bit before driving to Weslaco to watch the deployment ceremony for my son's National Guard group. They leave Texas on September 20. The final destination is Iraq, but they will have at least to stops before they get there. I am a bit upset that I could not participate, but I was told that *everyone* had to be at work this week, no exceptions. Couple that with the layoffs and the fact I did not sleep well and this is going to be a *fun* day.
My wife called me last night but my cell phone battery was dying quickly, so I had to cut the call short. She took the home charger with her and I did not have the other (it was in the office) on so I waited until I got to work to charge mine. being on call this week, I may as well take this one home in case I need it.
It has rained quite a bit the past 24+ hours. We have had 3 inches of rain so far this month, which should help the plant life, although it will not do much for the lake levels. I have not watered my lawn in 2 weeks since the rain has been plentiful, at least by Texas standards.
More later.
I am not getting laid off and I am getting new responsibilities. The bad news is that I have to be on call this week for my old group. Joy.
The KL group appears to be keeping up with the tickets so far. The queue is below where it was last week. I hope that they are a good team when all is said and done. We will need stability in the upcoming days.
My wife went drove south to San Antonio to visit with her brother for a bit before driving to Weslaco to watch the deployment ceremony for my son's National Guard group. They leave Texas on September 20. The final destination is Iraq, but they will have at least to stops before they get there. I am a bit upset that I could not participate, but I was told that *everyone* had to be at work this week, no exceptions. Couple that with the layoffs and the fact I did not sleep well and this is going to be a *fun* day.
My wife called me last night but my cell phone battery was dying quickly, so I had to cut the call short. She took the home charger with her and I did not have the other (it was in the office) on so I waited until I got to work to charge mine. being on call this week, I may as well take this one home in case I need it.
It has rained quite a bit the past 24+ hours. We have had 3 inches of rain so far this month, which should help the plant life, although it will not do much for the lake levels. I have not watered my lawn in 2 weeks since the rain has been plentiful, at least by Texas standards.
More later.
Friday, September 15, 2006
Almost One Week Into...The KL Zone, Projects, Layoffs
After almost one week of KL taking our Sev3 and Sev4 tickets, I am not overly impressed. While they are enthusiastic about taking ownership of the cases, they have not solved the numbers I had hoped. I have not pulled any reports so I have not hard data, but I watch what comes into our queue and what goes out. They still are not taking ownership of Brazil tickets (1/3 of our total cases come from Brazil) and Canada still grabs a number of them instead of doing what we were instructed to do and let KL handle the L1 and L2 cases. I guess it could be worse. The trainer comes back to Dallas Monday, so I will ask him what things were like. He could be very diplomatic and tell me they are functioning as expected, or he could be brutally honest. We shall see.
I have been working very hard this week on the project that I was assigned a while back. It is coming together and I want to say that it is about 80% complete. We have made great strides in getting the data that has been requested of us. I just checked and we are at 71.25% compliance, which will go up quite a bit once the teams in Europe do their part. Yeah!
The layoffs that I thought were coming today have not materialized yet. I thought I was going to get a package this morning since my boss was acting a but unusual before I walked in, but he was just commenting on his son's girlfriend. None of my business, really. I did find out that the layoffs would be Monday. They will start as soon as most people are in, I guess.
I really do not want to touch my pension, but since it is less than 10K, I think they are just cutting checks instead of letting us roll it into something. I could always open another IRA I guess :)
I got a call from the people who are repairing my failed Ryobi trimmer. The man said the clutch will only fail if it is used to much or an attachment has a bad bearing. It better be the latter, since I have a postage stamp for a yard and only use the thing for 1 hour or so a week.
I am no closer to figuring out what is wrong with the Linksys router. It works as a hub, but with an internet connection. I can honestly say that it worked and a few seconds later, it stopped. I can use it to hook up several PC's and they can communicate, but I cannot get any live internet. I could see if I was monkeying around with it, but all the settings are the same as the settings on my Netgear (well the ones that are similar, that is) and the Netgear works, the Linksys does not. I have been given some things to look for, but I do not think they are the answer. Power is not a problem since the power strip is the same one the Netgear is plugged into. Oh well. I will try when my wife goes to South Texas so I can work without her needing the internet access.
I also need to clarify that even though I am TWC, we still have all the Comcast settings, since TWC just came into town and took over. They have not switched anything yet. Other than a bill from TWC, I am still Comcast.
I have been working very hard this week on the project that I was assigned a while back. It is coming together and I want to say that it is about 80% complete. We have made great strides in getting the data that has been requested of us. I just checked and we are at 71.25% compliance, which will go up quite a bit once the teams in Europe do their part. Yeah!
The layoffs that I thought were coming today have not materialized yet. I thought I was going to get a package this morning since my boss was acting a but unusual before I walked in, but he was just commenting on his son's girlfriend. None of my business, really. I did find out that the layoffs would be Monday. They will start as soon as most people are in, I guess.
I really do not want to touch my pension, but since it is less than 10K, I think they are just cutting checks instead of letting us roll it into something. I could always open another IRA I guess :)
I got a call from the people who are repairing my failed Ryobi trimmer. The man said the clutch will only fail if it is used to much or an attachment has a bad bearing. It better be the latter, since I have a postage stamp for a yard and only use the thing for 1 hour or so a week.
I am no closer to figuring out what is wrong with the Linksys router. It works as a hub, but with an internet connection. I can honestly say that it worked and a few seconds later, it stopped. I can use it to hook up several PC's and they can communicate, but I cannot get any live internet. I could see if I was monkeying around with it, but all the settings are the same as the settings on my Netgear (well the ones that are similar, that is) and the Netgear works, the Linksys does not. I have been given some things to look for, but I do not think they are the answer. Power is not a problem since the power strip is the same one the Netgear is plugged into. Oh well. I will try when my wife goes to South Texas so I can work without her needing the internet access.
I also need to clarify that even though I am TWC, we still have all the Comcast settings, since TWC just came into town and took over. They have not switched anything yet. Other than a bill from TWC, I am still Comcast.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Not Exactly an Impressive Start
As previously posted we are transferring our job roles to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This week was the "pilot" of that transformation and I am not overly impressed with the results thus far. We started "allowing" the KL group to pick up our low severity tickets Monday, September 11th. While a couple of the tickets were picked up, they were dropped 2-3 techs later and some were assigned back to America's tech's. I informed my manager and he told me to let it ride until Tuesday.
I got to work Tuesday and things had not changed. We had one ticket that was dangerously close to missing service level, so I took it. I then informed my manager and the Account Delivery Manager of the situation. I cc'd the trainer (one of our own tech's) on the e-mail and to my surprise, he responded (13 hour time difference made me doubt he would be awake) . I guess he was not aware of the scope on this since he had informed the trainees that the tickets for Latin America (almost 1/2 of our total cases) were not in scope and to assign them to the local tech! A few e-mails later and we were all in synch with what was going on and the KL tech's were assigning themselves the cases.
All was going well from 10 AM to 1:30 PM central time when I noticed one of the KL tech's was sending back the Latin America tickets with notes saying "not in scope". I fired off another e-mail for the trainer to read when he got in, but to my surprise, he answered it within an our. KL is 12 hours ahead of us so for him to work at 2:30 AM his time is impressive!
The trainer let me know that the issue would be resolved and things would be "right as rain" today.
We shall see.
As of 4:30 PM last night, NONE of the cases assigned to KL had been resolved yet. Not a roaring success, eh?
I got to work Tuesday and things had not changed. We had one ticket that was dangerously close to missing service level, so I took it. I then informed my manager and the Account Delivery Manager of the situation. I cc'd the trainer (one of our own tech's) on the e-mail and to my surprise, he responded (13 hour time difference made me doubt he would be awake) . I guess he was not aware of the scope on this since he had informed the trainees that the tickets for Latin America (almost 1/2 of our total cases) were not in scope and to assign them to the local tech! A few e-mails later and we were all in synch with what was going on and the KL tech's were assigning themselves the cases.
All was going well from 10 AM to 1:30 PM central time when I noticed one of the KL tech's was sending back the Latin America tickets with notes saying "not in scope". I fired off another e-mail for the trainer to read when he got in, but to my surprise, he answered it within an our. KL is 12 hours ahead of us so for him to work at 2:30 AM his time is impressive!
The trainer let me know that the issue would be resolved and things would be "right as rain" today.
We shall see.
As of 4:30 PM last night, NONE of the cases assigned to KL had been resolved yet. Not a roaring success, eh?
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
God's Plan For Me
I am to be a good Samaritan. I am convinced of this. God puts too many people in my path that need help. An example of this happened last night.
I was driving home after the church trustee meeting when I noticed flashing lights ahead of me. I first thought it was a police car, but as I got closer, I saw that it was a paramedic or ambulance. It was turning off on one of the country back roads just as a car was pulling out. The car left the road and ended up half way in a deep (6+ feet) ditch with one wheel (the left rear) in the air, and the other three partially touching ditch and road. The car was at a pretty sharp angle and the passenger door was open. I turned off onto the side rode, left my truck running and ran over to see if I could help.
The passenger was a 8-10 year old boy and he was trying to climb DOWN into the ditch (which would put him in danger if the car slid off). I told him to get back in and I ran to the driver side where his mom was. Another child was in the back seat scared, but quiet. I asked the mom if she had called for help and she told me no. I called 911 and gave my number and personal info. A fire truck was there in about 3 minutes.
Before the truck came, I helped all three kids out of the car by pulling them up and out. The boy in the front had to climb over his mother and the boy in the back took the entire 3 minutes (or so it seemed) to unhook and climb out. Mom was the last one to get out and thankfully the car did not fall deeper into the ditch. Two police officers showed up a couple of minutes later and along with the fire truck, completely blocked me in so the only recourse I had was to drive 10 miles out of my way to get home. Oh well, at least the driver and her kids are safe.
Now while this is the most exciting assistance I have offered, it is not the first. I have helped a lot of people (come to think of it, they were mostly women and children). I was able to assist in a head on collision once and that was exciting...no one was seriously injured (airbags do save lives).
So God, if this is my lot in life, I need to make sure my truck has some things in it that will be helpful...water, tools, blankets, jumper cables, etc.
I was driving home after the church trustee meeting when I noticed flashing lights ahead of me. I first thought it was a police car, but as I got closer, I saw that it was a paramedic or ambulance. It was turning off on one of the country back roads just as a car was pulling out. The car left the road and ended up half way in a deep (6+ feet) ditch with one wheel (the left rear) in the air, and the other three partially touching ditch and road. The car was at a pretty sharp angle and the passenger door was open. I turned off onto the side rode, left my truck running and ran over to see if I could help.
The passenger was a 8-10 year old boy and he was trying to climb DOWN into the ditch (which would put him in danger if the car slid off). I told him to get back in and I ran to the driver side where his mom was. Another child was in the back seat scared, but quiet. I asked the mom if she had called for help and she told me no. I called 911 and gave my number and personal info. A fire truck was there in about 3 minutes.
Before the truck came, I helped all three kids out of the car by pulling them up and out. The boy in the front had to climb over his mother and the boy in the back took the entire 3 minutes (or so it seemed) to unhook and climb out. Mom was the last one to get out and thankfully the car did not fall deeper into the ditch. Two police officers showed up a couple of minutes later and along with the fire truck, completely blocked me in so the only recourse I had was to drive 10 miles out of my way to get home. Oh well, at least the driver and her kids are safe.
Now while this is the most exciting assistance I have offered, it is not the first. I have helped a lot of people (come to think of it, they were mostly women and children). I was able to assist in a head on collision once and that was exciting...no one was seriously injured (airbags do save lives).
So God, if this is my lot in life, I need to make sure my truck has some things in it that will be helpful...water, tools, blankets, jumper cables, etc.
Monday, September 11, 2006
The Plans Have Been Announced
Last Friday we were told the WFR (Work Force Reduction) plans for the account I work on.
September 15th - 22nd Lay off notices are given
Septmeber 22nd - 29th - Transition duties to Kuala Lumpur
September 29th - October 20th - Internal job searches
October 23rd - December 22nd - WFR pay (paychecks every two weeks during this period)
December 29th - Lump sum severence pay (minus the WFR pay) + any company savings and/or pension earned.
If I am one that is being laid off, I will get a check for about 2 months pay + unused vacation on Dec 29th and that will be the end of me and my company. If I am one of the "lucky" ones who stays on board, I am not sure what I will be doing, although I have an idea. Under this model my wife and I are OK up until the end of March or so. If I get the lump sum of my pension money, I may just take the tax hit and pay off the van or one of the credit cards to lower the monthly bills some.
Just though I would post this for those who I chat with. I have not said a whole lot since there is not much to tell.
More to come.
September 15th - 22nd Lay off notices are given
Septmeber 22nd - 29th - Transition duties to Kuala Lumpur
September 29th - October 20th - Internal job searches
October 23rd - December 22nd - WFR pay (paychecks every two weeks during this period)
December 29th - Lump sum severence pay (minus the WFR pay) + any company savings and/or pension earned.
If I am one that is being laid off, I will get a check for about 2 months pay + unused vacation on Dec 29th and that will be the end of me and my company. If I am one of the "lucky" ones who stays on board, I am not sure what I will be doing, although I have an idea. Under this model my wife and I are OK up until the end of March or so. If I get the lump sum of my pension money, I may just take the tax hit and pay off the van or one of the credit cards to lower the monthly bills some.
Just though I would post this for those who I chat with. I have not said a whole lot since there is not much to tell.
More to come.
What Were You Doing?
Today will be a heavy blogging day remembering the tragedy that happened 5 years ago in New York City, Washington DC, and in a field in Pennsylvania. The terrorist attacks against the United States were the first foreign acts of terrorism carried out in the America. The world was shocked.
I will not post a detailed account of people and places or that "we will never forget". What I want to do is spur your memory of that day...what you were doing, when you found out, what you did. I am hoping that it will be different enough to keep people interested and thinking about the world we live in.
Since this evil act took place during the "information age", we all knew about it (or had the ability to) in real time. CNN, Fox News, the Internet (albeit it was slow due to EVERYONE wanting up to date info), etc kept us up to date. Had this happened 50-60 years ago, an air raid siren may have sounded and people would have taken cover in their homes and tuned in to local radio for up to date info.
No, this event, that will live in infamy along with Pearl Harbor and the attacking of Japan with nuclear bombs, was experienced in real time. Most of the images I saw I will never forget.
I was at work at my new job in Richardson, Texas...which is a couple of miles north of Dallas. I had been in my new job 2 months and was just learning the ins and outs of what I was required to do. I was logged on to AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) when a former colleague IM'ed me "A plane has just hit the WTC." I thought a small commuter plane had lost control and crashed. I tried to get news of this event from the web but all the major sites were being hit so hard they web servers could not keep up. I decided to go down to our Global Network Monitoring Room, which has satellite news and weather running 24X7, to see if I could get an update. I walked in and saw the room filled with people staring at the screen. Just about then I saw the second plane hit. I at first thought it was an instant replay, thinking that some poor soul had been recording this and got it by accident, but the people in room all gasped and said, "OMG, another plane hit!" I was numb.
My boss was standing next to me and I looked at him. I told him that we were at war. This was a terrorist act. He just hung his head and shook it slowly. We just stood there when the manager of the monitoring group told us we needed to leave. It was nothing personal, but they had work to do. We filed out...mostly quiet.
I made it back to my office and called my wife. She had heard the news but not all of it. She was not worried yet, but I convinced her that we needed to be careful. I had the feeling that "soft" targets (malls and other public gathering spots) would be next. I was happy to see that I was wrong.
All day long the events that unfolded in real time were coming in. Someone said a car bomb went off near the Pentagon and another report had the military shooting down an airliner over rural Pennsylvania. By the end of the day I was exhausted by the constant barrage of news.
The evening walk with our dogs was punctuated with the eerie stillness of a sky devoid of planes. We have several airports within 50 miles and the skies are usually very active with air traffic. At any given time you can see 5-10 commercial jets in the sky, but on Sept 11th and 12th, this was not the case. On the evening of September 12th we had a power outage in our neighborhood which caused some minor panic until the power was restored.
Over the next 30 days, things were a blur. I remember that a commercial airliner crashed into a neighborhood and the first reaction was that another attack had occurred. Thankfully (if one can say that about an airliner crash), it was mechanical failure and not a terrorist attack.
During the next couple of months, we began seeing many more military helicopters in the sky, which only added to the atmosphere of dread. In the span of just a few minutes, the world had changed.
It took a few months to finally get the story of what happened and it began to stir a patriotic movement that had not been seen in this country for quite some time.
Think about that day, September 11, 2001 and reflect what you were doing and how you felt when you heard the news. I encourage you to write down those thoughts. They will be valuable later in your life.
BtW, Michelle Malkin has a great series on this...very detailed.
I will not post a detailed account of people and places or that "we will never forget". What I want to do is spur your memory of that day...what you were doing, when you found out, what you did. I am hoping that it will be different enough to keep people interested and thinking about the world we live in.
Since this evil act took place during the "information age", we all knew about it (or had the ability to) in real time. CNN, Fox News, the Internet (albeit it was slow due to EVERYONE wanting up to date info), etc kept us up to date. Had this happened 50-60 years ago, an air raid siren may have sounded and people would have taken cover in their homes and tuned in to local radio for up to date info.
No, this event, that will live in infamy along with Pearl Harbor and the attacking of Japan with nuclear bombs, was experienced in real time. Most of the images I saw I will never forget.
I was at work at my new job in Richardson, Texas...which is a couple of miles north of Dallas. I had been in my new job 2 months and was just learning the ins and outs of what I was required to do. I was logged on to AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) when a former colleague IM'ed me "A plane has just hit the WTC." I thought a small commuter plane had lost control and crashed. I tried to get news of this event from the web but all the major sites were being hit so hard they web servers could not keep up. I decided to go down to our Global Network Monitoring Room, which has satellite news and weather running 24X7, to see if I could get an update. I walked in and saw the room filled with people staring at the screen. Just about then I saw the second plane hit. I at first thought it was an instant replay, thinking that some poor soul had been recording this and got it by accident, but the people in room all gasped and said, "OMG, another plane hit!" I was numb.
My boss was standing next to me and I looked at him. I told him that we were at war. This was a terrorist act. He just hung his head and shook it slowly. We just stood there when the manager of the monitoring group told us we needed to leave. It was nothing personal, but they had work to do. We filed out...mostly quiet.
I made it back to my office and called my wife. She had heard the news but not all of it. She was not worried yet, but I convinced her that we needed to be careful. I had the feeling that "soft" targets (malls and other public gathering spots) would be next. I was happy to see that I was wrong.
All day long the events that unfolded in real time were coming in. Someone said a car bomb went off near the Pentagon and another report had the military shooting down an airliner over rural Pennsylvania. By the end of the day I was exhausted by the constant barrage of news.
The evening walk with our dogs was punctuated with the eerie stillness of a sky devoid of planes. We have several airports within 50 miles and the skies are usually very active with air traffic. At any given time you can see 5-10 commercial jets in the sky, but on Sept 11th and 12th, this was not the case. On the evening of September 12th we had a power outage in our neighborhood which caused some minor panic until the power was restored.
Over the next 30 days, things were a blur. I remember that a commercial airliner crashed into a neighborhood and the first reaction was that another attack had occurred. Thankfully (if one can say that about an airliner crash), it was mechanical failure and not a terrorist attack.
During the next couple of months, we began seeing many more military helicopters in the sky, which only added to the atmosphere of dread. In the span of just a few minutes, the world had changed.
It took a few months to finally get the story of what happened and it began to stir a patriotic movement that had not been seen in this country for quite some time.
Think about that day, September 11, 2001 and reflect what you were doing and how you felt when you heard the news. I encourage you to write down those thoughts. They will be valuable later in your life.
BtW, Michelle Malkin has a great series on this...very detailed.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
I Need My Trimmer Back...Soon.
My yard (and the one I cut for my neighbor) is turning into a jungle. I have not bothered cutting it since my trimmer died since I hate "half doing" a job. It has been 2 weeks or so and I really need it back. It was under warranty, which is the only reason it went to the shop in the first place. It lasted about a year before it died. I do not use it all that much so the premature death of my beloved Ryobi is troubling.
I Am Beginning to HATE Linksys Routers
11 months ago I purchased a Linksys WRT54G wireless G router. About 8 months into using it, it dies. The lights stay lit the minute it is plugged in, which indicates a failed firmware flash. Odd thing is, I did not flash the firmware. It has been rumored that Comcast is in bed with Linksys, sending flash upgrades silently to the routers and modems.
After a week troubleshooting via e-mail, I am given an RMA and I have to ship this thing to them, which sets me back $8. A week later I get a new router. It works for 3 months and dies again. It does not have the same symptoms, but I cannot use it to access the internet. My spare router (an old wired Netgear) still works, so that is what I am using. I know the cable companies are not happy with people setting up their own home networks...TWC and others would rather you pay them to do it...but are they blocking some people from using self created home networks?
I still have some testing to do, but I am not 100% sure what the problem is. At least I have a spare until I can figure this mess out.
After a week troubleshooting via e-mail, I am given an RMA and I have to ship this thing to them, which sets me back $8. A week later I get a new router. It works for 3 months and dies again. It does not have the same symptoms, but I cannot use it to access the internet. My spare router (an old wired Netgear) still works, so that is what I am using. I know the cable companies are not happy with people setting up their own home networks...TWC and others would rather you pay them to do it...but are they blocking some people from using self created home networks?
I still have some testing to do, but I am not 100% sure what the problem is. At least I have a spare until I can figure this mess out.
Saturday, September 09, 2006
A Trip to Texas -- 5 Years Ago
The last day of June 2001, Mr. and Mrs El Gee boarded a plane bound for Dallas, Texas. The purpose of the trip was two-fold: Find a new home to relocate the family to (courtesy of Mr. El Gee's employer at the time, Ericsson) and to get Mr. El Gee settled in the corporate apartment so he could start work the following week. The trip started off on a rocky path with a cancelled flight to Atlanta (the first layover), a shuttle ride to the next closest airport (1 hour away) to catch the next available flight (6 hours later), a late arrival to Dallas (midnight instead of 5 PM), confusion regarding where we picked up our keys to the apartment, the inability to gain entry to the main gate of the apartment complex, and the difficulties finding our unit in the complex.
About 2 AM the following morning, after being up for about 23 hours, we were in the place I would be living in for about 4 weeks solo and 2 more weeks with my family. We did not even inspect the unit until the next day...we just unloaded our personal things from the car and crashed in the master bedroom...I am not even sure we brushed our teeth or took off our clothes.
That is how the first 23 hours went. The next five years were nearly as chaotic with so many things happening my head still spins when I think about.
We had a little trouble getting the house ready to be sold and it took a little longer than we thought (5 months) to get the house sold. While Ericsson and EDS (the company that handled my relo) made things as smooth as possible, it still was not perfect...but what is?
We were able to move into our new home on schedule, but move day we found that someone had vandalized our A/C unit, requiring a service call that the company almost did not accept on our insurance, but we talked them into it eventually. The movers in Texas (Allied Van Lines) were less than courteous, damaged 3 pieces of wood furniture, walked off with at least 3 tools of mine (they 'lost' theirs...that should have been a clue), and complained that the A/C was not running. Heck, we had water for them, had the house all ready for move in and stayed out of their way... a little Texas heat for some Texas men should have been a walk in the park (Okay, it was 100 degrees outside and there was no breeze...)
Then September 11th came around...just 2 months after I started my new job and just 1 month after we moved into our new house. We were wondering if the world would be the same after that day and we soon realized it would not. The day after the Twin Towers fell, the power went out in the neighborhood and several people freaked out. I remember looking into the sky and finding it odd that there were no planes visible for a couple of days. That is odd because where we live at least 5 planes in a 120 degree arc are visible at all times. It was eerie. 9/11 was my generation's Pearl Harbor. It was a date that will be remembered for a very long time. I plan to make a post later on this in greater detail.
Our house in NC finally sold and we were happy. I screwed up a bit on my taxes for 2001, but corrected it the following year. Our first tax return was huge by my standards and it allowed us to pay off most of our debt (sans car and home) and start all over.
Ericsson went through a round of nasty lay offs in March 2002. While I did not lose my job, I lose my office and my position. I ended up working the front line again, but with the same pay. This was an awakening for me. Moving down the ladder made me work a lot harder, with worse hours (nights, weekends, and holidays...something I had not done in years), and for a boss who did not understand customer service or IT.
My father died a month later in April. It was not a surprise, but it hit me hard initially. I grabbed a flight along with my son to Pennsylvania and drove from the airport in PA to my mom's house in WV 2 hours away. A connecting flight to the tiny local airport was out of the question. The funeral was punctuated with my half-brother's wife answering her cell phone during the service (turn it off, PLEASE!) and some revelations regarding my father's personal life (he had been married 3 times, not 2 as my mom and I had thought). I found that the "adopted" cousin I had was not really adopted...he was my blood cousin. I need to make contact again.
Ericsson went through another round of layoff's but it affected mostly management. My boss was let go (along with several of his cronies) and a new guy (who is my boss today) took over. Two of the guys on the team who had been given team lead duties were demoted back to crew and handled it about as poorly as I did. One of the guys (who is a good guy, he just is not supervisor material) and I had a run in with each other while he was my TL. I made a mistake and instead of taking me aside and correcting me properly, he ripped me apart in front of my peers. I tried several times to take the conversation into the War Room, but he insisted on being public. While what I did may have not be the Christian thing to do, I gave him an earful in front of everyone else. He was very upset and embarrassed. I was not given any reprimand for that...I had warned that if I was, I would go to HR and file a complaint for the way things were handled in the first place.
In September of 2003, Ericsson decided to outsource IT to $Major IT Service Company. The transition went well and while the benefits were not as good as Ericsson's, $Major IT Service Company made up for it by increasing our pay to make up for the amount lost. Most of us that were moved over (about half the IT force) figured this was a very short-term change. We figured once $Major IT Service Company got everything organized, we would be let go. My job remained the same for about a year and then I was given a big project to work on and that was something I enjoyed.
Also in 2003 we bought a van for my wife (she picked it out) and sold our Honda to our son. We traveled to WV and San Antonio in it and it was a great travel van.
In the Autumn of 2004, I attended Promise Keepers and rededicated my life to Christ. It was a huge moment for me...one that I will not forget. The event was held in Dallas and had some great speakers, music, and comedy. I began to take my faith very seriously and thus another major change in my life
2005 brought another major change with my son joining the National Guard. He finished Basic Training in the summer and went back to school in the fall to finish out his senior year. He did not do very well in school, but managed to graduate. He moved out the eve of his 18th birthday and we have seen him off and on.
2006 has been pretty eventful so with my wife and I and even one of our dogs having had surgery. Our son is in the process of being deployed to Kuwait and we are already beginning to worry.
A lot has happened in 5 years.
About 2 AM the following morning, after being up for about 23 hours, we were in the place I would be living in for about 4 weeks solo and 2 more weeks with my family. We did not even inspect the unit until the next day...we just unloaded our personal things from the car and crashed in the master bedroom...I am not even sure we brushed our teeth or took off our clothes.
That is how the first 23 hours went. The next five years were nearly as chaotic with so many things happening my head still spins when I think about.
We had a little trouble getting the house ready to be sold and it took a little longer than we thought (5 months) to get the house sold. While Ericsson and EDS (the company that handled my relo) made things as smooth as possible, it still was not perfect...but what is?
We were able to move into our new home on schedule, but move day we found that someone had vandalized our A/C unit, requiring a service call that the company almost did not accept on our insurance, but we talked them into it eventually. The movers in Texas (Allied Van Lines) were less than courteous, damaged 3 pieces of wood furniture, walked off with at least 3 tools of mine (they 'lost' theirs...that should have been a clue), and complained that the A/C was not running. Heck, we had water for them, had the house all ready for move in and stayed out of their way... a little Texas heat for some Texas men should have been a walk in the park (Okay, it was 100 degrees outside and there was no breeze...)
Then September 11th came around...just 2 months after I started my new job and just 1 month after we moved into our new house. We were wondering if the world would be the same after that day and we soon realized it would not. The day after the Twin Towers fell, the power went out in the neighborhood and several people freaked out. I remember looking into the sky and finding it odd that there were no planes visible for a couple of days. That is odd because where we live at least 5 planes in a 120 degree arc are visible at all times. It was eerie. 9/11 was my generation's Pearl Harbor. It was a date that will be remembered for a very long time. I plan to make a post later on this in greater detail.
Our house in NC finally sold and we were happy. I screwed up a bit on my taxes for 2001, but corrected it the following year. Our first tax return was huge by my standards and it allowed us to pay off most of our debt (sans car and home) and start all over.
Ericsson went through a round of nasty lay offs in March 2002. While I did not lose my job, I lose my office and my position. I ended up working the front line again, but with the same pay. This was an awakening for me. Moving down the ladder made me work a lot harder, with worse hours (nights, weekends, and holidays...something I had not done in years), and for a boss who did not understand customer service or IT.
My father died a month later in April. It was not a surprise, but it hit me hard initially. I grabbed a flight along with my son to Pennsylvania and drove from the airport in PA to my mom's house in WV 2 hours away. A connecting flight to the tiny local airport was out of the question. The funeral was punctuated with my half-brother's wife answering her cell phone during the service (turn it off, PLEASE!) and some revelations regarding my father's personal life (he had been married 3 times, not 2 as my mom and I had thought). I found that the "adopted" cousin I had was not really adopted...he was my blood cousin. I need to make contact again.
Ericsson went through another round of layoff's but it affected mostly management. My boss was let go (along with several of his cronies) and a new guy (who is my boss today) took over. Two of the guys on the team who had been given team lead duties were demoted back to crew and handled it about as poorly as I did. One of the guys (who is a good guy, he just is not supervisor material) and I had a run in with each other while he was my TL. I made a mistake and instead of taking me aside and correcting me properly, he ripped me apart in front of my peers. I tried several times to take the conversation into the War Room, but he insisted on being public. While what I did may have not be the Christian thing to do, I gave him an earful in front of everyone else. He was very upset and embarrassed. I was not given any reprimand for that...I had warned that if I was, I would go to HR and file a complaint for the way things were handled in the first place.
In September of 2003, Ericsson decided to outsource IT to $Major IT Service Company. The transition went well and while the benefits were not as good as Ericsson's, $Major IT Service Company made up for it by increasing our pay to make up for the amount lost. Most of us that were moved over (about half the IT force) figured this was a very short-term change. We figured once $Major IT Service Company got everything organized, we would be let go. My job remained the same for about a year and then I was given a big project to work on and that was something I enjoyed.
Also in 2003 we bought a van for my wife (she picked it out) and sold our Honda to our son. We traveled to WV and San Antonio in it and it was a great travel van.
In the Autumn of 2004, I attended Promise Keepers and rededicated my life to Christ. It was a huge moment for me...one that I will not forget. The event was held in Dallas and had some great speakers, music, and comedy. I began to take my faith very seriously and thus another major change in my life
2005 brought another major change with my son joining the National Guard. He finished Basic Training in the summer and went back to school in the fall to finish out his senior year. He did not do very well in school, but managed to graduate. He moved out the eve of his 18th birthday and we have seen him off and on.
2006 has been pretty eventful so with my wife and I and even one of our dogs having had surgery. Our son is in the process of being deployed to Kuwait and we are already beginning to worry.
A lot has happened in 5 years.
Friday, September 08, 2006
People and Cars
I had dinner with my wife last night at Jason's Deli. We drove separate cars since we were coming from work and wanted to maximize time and minimize driving. On the way to Jason's, I spotted not one, but TWO BMW's with the local high school's parking sticker on it. Both cars were driven by teens, one a cheerleader (per the other sticker in the window). The other car did not have any identifying decals (band, color guard, volleyball, etc) so what her 'thing' was at school, I do not know (or care really). What grabbed me was that both of these kids were driving new BMW 3 series (not sure which model). What teen kid needs a new BMW worth more than both my vehicles combined (1999 Dodge Dakota and a 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan)? What purpose could be served by purchasing a 'status symbol' automobile for your teen who will most likely get into an accident (pdf file)? Do these parents have more money than brains?
Another interesting thing I noticed is that many 'large' people drive very small cars. over the years I have seen 300+ pound people cramming into subcompacts, small SUV's, and small trucks. I once knew a guy who was 6'5" and weighed about 275 lbs and he drove an old 3 series BMW with the see all the way back. Why he did not just get a bigger vehicle is something I most likely will never find out.
Speaking of automobiles, the price of gas has been steadily dropping over the past 30 days. Gas is below $2.40 a gallon...the lowest price in over a year. While it is still not cheap to fill up my V8 Dakota, it is a little easier to handle. A fill up used to cost about $60, now it is down to about $45. It is still a far cry from the $25 a tank full from 5 years ago, but I am not complaining too much. The truck has been rather dependable and at 7.5 years old and 80,000 miles it still runs well.
Another interesting thing I noticed is that many 'large' people drive very small cars. over the years I have seen 300+ pound people cramming into subcompacts, small SUV's, and small trucks. I once knew a guy who was 6'5" and weighed about 275 lbs and he drove an old 3 series BMW with the see all the way back. Why he did not just get a bigger vehicle is something I most likely will never find out.
Speaking of automobiles, the price of gas has been steadily dropping over the past 30 days. Gas is below $2.40 a gallon...the lowest price in over a year. While it is still not cheap to fill up my V8 Dakota, it is a little easier to handle. A fill up used to cost about $60, now it is down to about $45. It is still a far cry from the $25 a tank full from 5 years ago, but I am not complaining too much. The truck has been rather dependable and at 7.5 years old and 80,000 miles it still runs well.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Meeting / Cool(er) Weather / Walking in the Park
We have an all employee meeting tomorrow at 2 PM Central time. We were told that it will be partially about the WFR (work force reductions) our account is facing. The total number we will lose is around 20 out of 60. I do not think the meeting will go well...
On to better things...the weather. Hot enough for you? In good ol' north central Texas, it has gotten a bit cooler (mid 60's) at night and that makes for a great walk at 5 AM with the dogs. Brisk, but not too cool. Just about time to start drinking my morning coffee on the deck. 3 weeks ago it would be 85 degrees when I woke up at 5 AM. Now, it is 20 degrees cooler.
With the cooler weather, I have been able to walk the park at lunch time. 4 laps is approximately a mile and that is just about what I have time for during my lunch hour. It helps to get out of the office. I used to go to the mall, but all the shops are closing and I believe they are going to demolish it.
My walks at lunch time are nice and relaxing...usually. The other day as I was walking, the local junior high school had one of the girls phys ed classes out walking. I usually try to stay away from the packs of kids...for several reasons actually, but I was unable to because the ground was very soggy and I did not want to slip in the mud. As the girls passed, one said hello. She was near the back and did not say hello in the manner I expected...it was more "adult". She actually tried to carry on a conversation.
On my second lap, the girls had not moved very far (teen girls do not walk fast when in packs) and I had to go by them again. I passed all of them and the one who spoke tried to talk get my attention again. It was unnerving. She spoke like a grown woman trying to pick up a guy. I am sure she was just trying to get me to blush (we old married guys cannot handle attention very well) but it still bothered me. I guess I am just getting old.
On to better things...the weather. Hot enough for you? In good ol' north central Texas, it has gotten a bit cooler (mid 60's) at night and that makes for a great walk at 5 AM with the dogs. Brisk, but not too cool. Just about time to start drinking my morning coffee on the deck. 3 weeks ago it would be 85 degrees when I woke up at 5 AM. Now, it is 20 degrees cooler.
With the cooler weather, I have been able to walk the park at lunch time. 4 laps is approximately a mile and that is just about what I have time for during my lunch hour. It helps to get out of the office. I used to go to the mall, but all the shops are closing and I believe they are going to demolish it.
My walks at lunch time are nice and relaxing...usually. The other day as I was walking, the local junior high school had one of the girls phys ed classes out walking. I usually try to stay away from the packs of kids...for several reasons actually, but I was unable to because the ground was very soggy and I did not want to slip in the mud. As the girls passed, one said hello. She was near the back and did not say hello in the manner I expected...it was more "adult". She actually tried to carry on a conversation.
On my second lap, the girls had not moved very far (teen girls do not walk fast when in packs) and I had to go by them again. I passed all of them and the one who spoke tried to talk get my attention again. It was unnerving. She spoke like a grown woman trying to pick up a guy. I am sure she was just trying to get me to blush (we old married guys cannot handle attention very well) but it still bothered me. I guess I am just getting old.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Battle of the Bulge
Yes, I am...I am battling an ever increasing waistline. Most of my life I have been rather small framed. When my wife and I got married 12.5 years ago, I had a 30 inch waist and weighed 165 lbs. I had a swimmers build, lifted weights, walked, biked, and hiked. I got pretty heavy (for me) a few years ago when I tipped the scales at 205 lbs. I was motivated and was able to drop 20 lbs in 6 months or so.
I currently weigh about 190 lbs and have a 34 inch waist. I know a lot of guys who would kill for a 34 inch waist, but they have always been bigger. I have always been small framed so this is annoying. I want to work out, but I am not motivated to do this by myself. Enter my BiC, Jeffrey. Jeff has a used Bowflex (an older one) that he just purchased from another BiC, "Mickey". Jeffrey has not had a change to use it much and like me, needs a little motivation. He is going to talk to his wife and see if it is ok with her that we work out 2 days a week. He feels that she will go for the idea and I believe he is right. "Laney", his wife is a good woman and I think she will see the value in this.
I hope to drop about 20 lbs and get back to a 32 inch waist. I will keep you posted.
I currently weigh about 190 lbs and have a 34 inch waist. I know a lot of guys who would kill for a 34 inch waist, but they have always been bigger. I have always been small framed so this is annoying. I want to work out, but I am not motivated to do this by myself. Enter my BiC, Jeffrey. Jeff has a used Bowflex (an older one) that he just purchased from another BiC, "Mickey". Jeffrey has not had a change to use it much and like me, needs a little motivation. He is going to talk to his wife and see if it is ok with her that we work out 2 days a week. He feels that she will go for the idea and I believe he is right. "Laney", his wife is a good woman and I think she will see the value in this.
I hope to drop about 20 lbs and get back to a 32 inch waist. I will keep you posted.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Labor/Labour Day
Monday was a lot more laid back than I expected. Usually my wife spends days off in a whirlwind of activity, but yesterday was pretty low key. While we had a cookout to go to (even though it rained all day), I still expected to do a little work around the house. Other than some laundry, nothing was really accomplished.
As I previously stated, it rained all day...it was a long slow rain and according to the weather channel, we only received .57 of an inch. We may have gotten some last night as well, but we received a lot less than I had expected. Still, it was the kind of rain we needed. It worked into the ground without any major run-off.
The cookout was a very low key event. By the time we got there, most everyone had eaten. I wanted to show up earlier, but my wife was napping and I thought it better for her to rest. Stopped by the store to get some fruit and cookies to take and I had already grilled some chicken breasts that I wanted to take. Add that to two 2 liters of soft drinks and we came with almost a complete meal.
We played Scrabble and Farkle, watch some videos and a movie. Since it was raining we did nothing outside except grill the meat.
We got home and I walked little man in the rain. It was almost a pointless exercise, but I did it anyway. Little man has been digging and scratching quite a bit and it is beginning to get on my wife's nerves. He is tearing himself up and we do not know why. He is old (12 years) and we both know he has problems. Allergy issues are common in older dogs. He also has "tremors" several times a week. He does other odd things as well, such as staring at a blank wall and attacking inanimate objects while we walk.
I handed over the on-call pager to the other Unix admin who is here. I was glad to get rid of it. It feels like an anchor when you have it. You feel you cannot go far or do much. I get it again in a few weeks, just about the time we will know what is going on with layoffs.
As I previously stated, it rained all day...it was a long slow rain and according to the weather channel, we only received .57 of an inch. We may have gotten some last night as well, but we received a lot less than I had expected. Still, it was the kind of rain we needed. It worked into the ground without any major run-off.
The cookout was a very low key event. By the time we got there, most everyone had eaten. I wanted to show up earlier, but my wife was napping and I thought it better for her to rest. Stopped by the store to get some fruit and cookies to take and I had already grilled some chicken breasts that I wanted to take. Add that to two 2 liters of soft drinks and we came with almost a complete meal.
We played Scrabble and Farkle, watch some videos and a movie. Since it was raining we did nothing outside except grill the meat.
We got home and I walked little man in the rain. It was almost a pointless exercise, but I did it anyway. Little man has been digging and scratching quite a bit and it is beginning to get on my wife's nerves. He is tearing himself up and we do not know why. He is old (12 years) and we both know he has problems. Allergy issues are common in older dogs. He also has "tremors" several times a week. He does other odd things as well, such as staring at a blank wall and attacking inanimate objects while we walk.
I handed over the on-call pager to the other Unix admin who is here. I was glad to get rid of it. It feels like an anchor when you have it. You feel you cannot go far or do much. I get it again in a few weeks, just about the time we will know what is going on with layoffs.
Monday, September 04, 2006
More Rain
We are so blessed to have had rain last night and this morning. The ground was wet from a slow rain that is continuing on today. I did not even mind walking the dogs in the fine mist that was coming down at 7:30 AM (yes, I slept in!)
Last month we had about .5 inches of rain total and it was far from enough. We should easily go past that with the totals from this coming week.
Thank you God!
Last month we had about .5 inches of rain total and it was far from enough. We should easily go past that with the totals from this coming week.
Thank you God!
Saturday, September 02, 2006
It Has Happened
Our son has been shipped to Austin to prepare for deployment to Iraq. Now this is not quite as bad as I had feared. I appears he will be driving personnel in the southern region of Iraq as well as being a driver for the captain he serves under. He is expected to get a promotion soon.
I only saw him for a few minutes before he left, but we have traded e-mails a few times. I hope he does well. He has his issues (like we all do) and I am sure he will grow out of them. Maybe I am just being an optimistic dad...but then again he is my son. He can do *anything*.
I only saw him for a few minutes before he left, but we have traded e-mails a few times. I hope he does well. He has his issues (like we all do) and I am sure he will grow out of them. Maybe I am just being an optimistic dad...but then again he is my son. He can do *anything*.
Nice, Part 2
I got to sleep in until 7 AM...an eternity for me. I felt good when I got up, so I walked the dogs on a long walk. We got back and I started my coffee while my wife fed them.
A light breakfast for both my wife and I (cereal and fruit) then I did a quick check of e-mail and bill paying. Since there was not much to do there, I stepped up and washed the dishes and grabbed the vacuum cleaner.
My wife had already started a load of clothes so I dumped them in the dyer before I started up the Dyson vacuum. I like the Dyson. It does a good job and is lighter and quieter than the Hoover Wind Tunnel we used to have. Plus we do not have to by filters for it which saves us $100 a year. If we can keep this for 4 years, it will pay for itself.
With the vacuuming done, I grabbed lunch (cheese burritos, tomato slices, tea, yogurt, fruit and a Klondike bar) and grabbed watched a little UFC 59. I got a call before it was over from a BiC asking to help unload a truck of antique furniture that another BiC had inherited. I obliged since there would be enough people there to keep me from over doing it. A quick dinner (tamale pie, soda, and my vitamins) and a shower and I was ready to help.
The trip over lasted longer than the unload. We had six guys and we made short work of the unloading. One of the guys was our pastor and seeing him there gave me a chance to give him our old cell phones. His wife's is going bad and he needed a replacement.
I felt good most of the day. Energy and good spirits were high. My wife and I are continuing our communication improvements and I think that we are on the right track. No fights in a while and the disagreements have been very manageable.
My wife and I took some time to learn about our new mobile phones, (Samsung 407 and 507 respectively), programming names and numbers into them, customizing the looks and sounds, etc. They are not high end phones, but my wife's has Bluetooth and a camera. I gave her the one with all the features since I do not like the external display on it. It seems to be too dim for my tastes. Since it is her first external display phone, she is happy. She has been having fun with the camera feature.
My wife is at a rodeo this evening. I would have joined her but I am on call until Tuesday morning and I do not want to be too far from home if I get paged. That happened on Wednesday and things were not good. I do not want to relive that night ever again.
A light breakfast for both my wife and I (cereal and fruit) then I did a quick check of e-mail and bill paying. Since there was not much to do there, I stepped up and washed the dishes and grabbed the vacuum cleaner.
My wife had already started a load of clothes so I dumped them in the dyer before I started up the Dyson vacuum. I like the Dyson. It does a good job and is lighter and quieter than the Hoover Wind Tunnel we used to have. Plus we do not have to by filters for it which saves us $100 a year. If we can keep this for 4 years, it will pay for itself.
With the vacuuming done, I grabbed lunch (cheese burritos, tomato slices, tea, yogurt, fruit and a Klondike bar) and grabbed watched a little UFC 59. I got a call before it was over from a BiC asking to help unload a truck of antique furniture that another BiC had inherited. I obliged since there would be enough people there to keep me from over doing it. A quick dinner (tamale pie, soda, and my vitamins) and a shower and I was ready to help.
The trip over lasted longer than the unload. We had six guys and we made short work of the unloading. One of the guys was our pastor and seeing him there gave me a chance to give him our old cell phones. His wife's is going bad and he needed a replacement.
I felt good most of the day. Energy and good spirits were high. My wife and I are continuing our communication improvements and I think that we are on the right track. No fights in a while and the disagreements have been very manageable.
My wife and I took some time to learn about our new mobile phones, (Samsung 407 and 507 respectively), programming names and numbers into them, customizing the looks and sounds, etc. They are not high end phones, but my wife's has Bluetooth and a camera. I gave her the one with all the features since I do not like the external display on it. It seems to be too dim for my tastes. Since it is her first external display phone, she is happy. She has been having fun with the camera feature.
My wife is at a rodeo this evening. I would have joined her but I am on call until Tuesday morning and I do not want to be too far from home if I get paged. That happened on Wednesday and things were not good. I do not want to relive that night ever again.
Nice
Not long after I posted my last blog entry, my boss stopped by and told me I needed to attend a 9:30 meeting (that did not start until 10:00). I took care of a few things and headed off for the meeting in the account manager's office. During that meeting my boss told me I looked tired. I was. I had 3 hours sleep 2 nights before and 6 the previous night, working a total of 30 hours in 2 days. He smiled and told me to go home as soon as the meeting was over. I had to get my Canadian counterparts to watch the ticket queue, but I was able to get out. I sent an e-mail telling folks that I would be out of the office and then stopped by to tell my TL. He was sympathetic towards the situation since he had been up a few hours longer than I a couple of nights ago but he was able to take most of the next day off. He then told me that I should have quit work sooner that night I was up very late so I would be refreshed when I got to work the next day, since he was not going to be there. Ok, so I am stupid...sue me. I left at 11:30 AM.
I was on my way home and realized I was starved, so I called my wife and asked her if she wanted to grab lunch out...she was in the middle of cooking so she could not, but asked me to pick up a few things at the store. I stopped in to Kroger's and got what she needed and few other things for lunch. I got home, ate and then hit the sack.
I was doing well until my pager went off...it was the SIM (Strategic Incident Mgr) from work. He could not find any of my team and protocol says to page the on-call person. He had no idea I was home sleeping until just right after he paged me. That is when my TL told him I where I was.
I returned the page and the SIM said he was sorry...I told him not to worry. I managed to get about 3 hours sleep total then I puttered around the house. My wife took my truck to get it inspected and the oil changed (she is a trooper!) at Kwik Kar, the place where she normally gets inspections done. They are normally pretty quick, but she had to wait about 1.5 hours today. She then ran some errands and came back home. I helped her unload the truck, put things up and then we ate dinner.
After dinner I was still feeling a bit weird...sorta like a caffeine buzz, but I had not had but 1 cup of coffee all day and I knew that was not it. I think my blood sugar was low, but I am not sure. Since I was not up to much, I walked the dogs and then my wife and I settled in with a copy of UFC 15. Old School, but entertaining.
Tomorrow I plan on cleaning as best as I can an helping unload some furniture with my brothers in Christ later that evening. My wife will be at a rodeo and I cannot be too far from home since I am on call. It would be my luck that I would get a call while at a busy, crowded rodeo.
Well, I am starting to get tired, so maybe a few hours sleep will help. I am off Monday, although I will still be on call. That will suck, but maybe things will be OK. Our customer is off that day, too...at least in the US and Canada.
I was on my way home and realized I was starved, so I called my wife and asked her if she wanted to grab lunch out...she was in the middle of cooking so she could not, but asked me to pick up a few things at the store. I stopped in to Kroger's and got what she needed and few other things for lunch. I got home, ate and then hit the sack.
I was doing well until my pager went off...it was the SIM (Strategic Incident Mgr) from work. He could not find any of my team and protocol says to page the on-call person. He had no idea I was home sleeping until just right after he paged me. That is when my TL told him I where I was.
I returned the page and the SIM said he was sorry...I told him not to worry. I managed to get about 3 hours sleep total then I puttered around the house. My wife took my truck to get it inspected and the oil changed (she is a trooper!) at Kwik Kar, the place where she normally gets inspections done. They are normally pretty quick, but she had to wait about 1.5 hours today. She then ran some errands and came back home. I helped her unload the truck, put things up and then we ate dinner.
After dinner I was still feeling a bit weird...sorta like a caffeine buzz, but I had not had but 1 cup of coffee all day and I knew that was not it. I think my blood sugar was low, but I am not sure. Since I was not up to much, I walked the dogs and then my wife and I settled in with a copy of UFC 15. Old School, but entertaining.
Tomorrow I plan on cleaning as best as I can an helping unload some furniture with my brothers in Christ later that evening. My wife will be at a rodeo and I cannot be too far from home since I am on call. It would be my luck that I would get a call while at a busy, crowded rodeo.
Well, I am starting to get tired, so maybe a few hours sleep will help. I am off Monday, although I will still be on call. That will suck, but maybe things will be OK. Our customer is off that day, too...at least in the US and Canada.
Friday, September 01, 2006
I Am Not Sure Where To Begin (Ramble On)
*** Warning. I am very tired and this post may ramble and stray. You have been warned. ***
The world is racing by at a 1000 miles per hour (people outside the US will have to convert this...I do not have the desire to at this time) and I feel like I am barely hanging on. I have had 9 hours sleep in the past 2 days and worked 30 hours those same 2 days. Today looks like a 10 hour day, so I will have put in a weeks work in just 3 days. That is one way to burn out quickly.
I am on-call this week and all went fine until Wednesday. I was up until 2 AM helping work an issue that my TL finished. It was beyond my skillset (we had an entire site down and the local person was not a UNIX tech) so I had to bow out. My TL worked until 5 AM to get it resolved. He is a real trooper. I went to bed at 2 AM and got back up at 5 AM. I was slow getting started, but I made it to work at 8 AM. I stayed until 7 PM to work on phase II of the remove site issue. I had to come in at 5:30 AM today to finalize that site and will not leave until at least 4 PM. All that and I am still on call and I will be until Monday morning. Major sigh.
The next day my wife and I tried to get our new Cingular phones activated but ran into issues. We had AT&T and then AT&T merged with Cingular. When we needed new phones, we had to get Cingular phones on Cingular rate plans. The activation process was not smooth and I was out of a phone for a big part of yesterday. My wife likes her new Samsung 407 (I have the 507 ..no camera but it is a quad band (world) phone) and was busy making it her own. The worst part is programming all the numbers back into it. We could not use the old SIM's so we have to manually add the numbers to the new SIM.
My oldest dog (little man) is have severe allergy problems. He has been digging all the time and is really beginning to hurt himself. We are going to have to put him on meds, so that is another expense for us. Sigh.
My wife got a speeding ticket the other day. Her first in 20 years. I jokingly say that she was going light speed in a sub-light zone, but she does not find that amusing. She was going 18 mph over the posted speed and the fine is $185...not that we need any more bills.
I failed to get my truck inspected in time but my wife is going to be a trooper and get it done for me today. While I need a lot of little things, we cannot afford them all yet, so I need to get them done a few at a time. I thought we were doing well until I did the checkbook last night and noticed I failed to enter a few things and we still have an electricity bill coming. With the high heat we had most of August, it is going to be high.
I still have a Sunday School lesson to prepare for church, but outside of house cleaning I do not have anything else planned. I need to mow grass but since my trimmer is in the shop (warranty repair, I hope!) I cannot complete the job until I get it back.
I have been watching a match or two of the old UFC martial arts fights. The oldest ones (UFC 1-5) are kinda amusing because of the lack of rules. They look like school yard brawls at times. Pulling hair, kicks to the groin, big men versus small men...no holds barred. I have a copy of UFC 15 that I want to watch when I get time. I hope to rest and veg out this weekend.
Work (outside of putting out fires) has been busy and I have now begun to force myself to take breaks. I never used to but when things are as hectic as they are now, you have to. I am working on a "spider web" project (it seems to connect to everything) and I have more mail in my mailbox than I have had in a long time. I like project work, but trying to be an L1 tech, doing project work, and performing adminstrivia for my group is taking a toll on me. Vacation is not scheduled until October (a little over a month) *IF* I am still here. Yeah, we still have that layoff thing to think about as well. And to add insult to injury, the people who are left will be majorly busy with trying to keep the SLO's in check since we are offloading that to KL. I am concerned that KL will not do as much as they say they will and the people who are left will be the clean-up crew. It may get ugly.
OK, I have rambled and consumed 1 breakroom mocha (nasty office coffee mixed with powdered hot chocolate) so I have a caffeine buzz, but my body is very tired. Time to take care of a few things.
The world is racing by at a 1000 miles per hour (people outside the US will have to convert this...I do not have the desire to at this time) and I feel like I am barely hanging on. I have had 9 hours sleep in the past 2 days and worked 30 hours those same 2 days. Today looks like a 10 hour day, so I will have put in a weeks work in just 3 days. That is one way to burn out quickly.
I am on-call this week and all went fine until Wednesday. I was up until 2 AM helping work an issue that my TL finished. It was beyond my skillset (we had an entire site down and the local person was not a UNIX tech) so I had to bow out. My TL worked until 5 AM to get it resolved. He is a real trooper. I went to bed at 2 AM and got back up at 5 AM. I was slow getting started, but I made it to work at 8 AM. I stayed until 7 PM to work on phase II of the remove site issue. I had to come in at 5:30 AM today to finalize that site and will not leave until at least 4 PM. All that and I am still on call and I will be until Monday morning. Major sigh.
The next day my wife and I tried to get our new Cingular phones activated but ran into issues. We had AT&T and then AT&T merged with Cingular. When we needed new phones, we had to get Cingular phones on Cingular rate plans. The activation process was not smooth and I was out of a phone for a big part of yesterday. My wife likes her new Samsung 407 (I have the 507 ..no camera but it is a quad band (world) phone) and was busy making it her own. The worst part is programming all the numbers back into it. We could not use the old SIM's so we have to manually add the numbers to the new SIM.
My oldest dog (little man) is have severe allergy problems. He has been digging all the time and is really beginning to hurt himself. We are going to have to put him on meds, so that is another expense for us. Sigh.
My wife got a speeding ticket the other day. Her first in 20 years. I jokingly say that she was going light speed in a sub-light zone, but she does not find that amusing. She was going 18 mph over the posted speed and the fine is $185...not that we need any more bills.
I failed to get my truck inspected in time but my wife is going to be a trooper and get it done for me today. While I need a lot of little things, we cannot afford them all yet, so I need to get them done a few at a time. I thought we were doing well until I did the checkbook last night and noticed I failed to enter a few things and we still have an electricity bill coming. With the high heat we had most of August, it is going to be high.
I still have a Sunday School lesson to prepare for church, but outside of house cleaning I do not have anything else planned. I need to mow grass but since my trimmer is in the shop (warranty repair, I hope!) I cannot complete the job until I get it back.
I have been watching a match or two of the old UFC martial arts fights. The oldest ones (UFC 1-5) are kinda amusing because of the lack of rules. They look like school yard brawls at times. Pulling hair, kicks to the groin, big men versus small men...no holds barred. I have a copy of UFC 15 that I want to watch when I get time. I hope to rest and veg out this weekend.
Work (outside of putting out fires) has been busy and I have now begun to force myself to take breaks. I never used to but when things are as hectic as they are now, you have to. I am working on a "spider web" project (it seems to connect to everything) and I have more mail in my mailbox than I have had in a long time. I like project work, but trying to be an L1 tech, doing project work, and performing adminstrivia for my group is taking a toll on me. Vacation is not scheduled until October (a little over a month) *IF* I am still here. Yeah, we still have that layoff thing to think about as well. And to add insult to injury, the people who are left will be majorly busy with trying to keep the SLO's in check since we are offloading that to KL. I am concerned that KL will not do as much as they say they will and the people who are left will be the clean-up crew. It may get ugly.
OK, I have rambled and consumed 1 breakroom mocha (nasty office coffee mixed with powdered hot chocolate) so I have a caffeine buzz, but my body is very tired. Time to take care of a few things.
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