Saturday, August 18, 2007

Rounding The Corner

By the time the end of my work day had arrived, one of the issues had been resolved and the other was in pending since the app was quasi-stable and no one would be able to test it until Monday. I felt a sense of relief with that and completed the postmortem report required on all high severity cases then I went home.

I had a quiet night (no calls for work) but it stormed. I did not stay up late, but I did read some before I went to bed.

I woke at 5:30 AM (an hour early because I had a men's breakfast to attend then we were going to help some church members move) and walked Little Man and actually enjoyed a cup of coffee before getting a shower, reading my daily bible verses, and going to the breakfast.

I got to the breakfast and was disappointed at the small numbers of men attending. The youth were having a garage sale after our breakfast so people wore flitting around prepping for that. After breakfast, fellowship and cleanup, I came home to get ready to go help on the move. However before I got home I got a call from our customer's NOC in Sweden. They could not get in touch with the on call so they (again) called me. I told them I was not on call and that I was not home to give them the number of the guy who was. I told them they could call a group in Sweden and ask for the cell number of the guy on call, but I did not have it. I guess they did. All I know is when I got home I called the TL and left him a message regarding the situation. I cannot do it all and my week was busy enough.

My wife and I helped load and unload one large uhaul, three minivans, and three pickup trucks. Once done we were very tired. I get called on a lot to help people move. I very much enjoy the process. It reminds me of the good times I had in my warehouse days.

I have participated on very few moves where I did not enjoy myself, but what surprises me is how people define "moving". For me, moving someone means loading up all their stuff into boxes, driving it to the new location, and unloading it. Usually it includes setting up beds, dresser/mirrors, hooking up washers and dryers, and any other big item that needs more than one person. However, about 1/2 of the moves we have helped with here in Texas have included packing the person up THE SAME DAY AS THE MOVE. Professionals can do that, but they take all day and have a plan/team. When 10 of your church buddies come and do it and the results are less than spectacular. I ended up packing up a lot of PC, audio, and video equipment and while I do not mind (and am honored that the geeks trust me to do it), I was a bit surprised the geek we moved did not have it already done. We unhooked and moved fice PC's, two TV's and one large audio system...not to mention countless UPS/Surge protection units MOUNTED on walls, break down tables, beds, and PACK personal stuff. It was a lot of work and we finally got done unloading at 4 PM. Mind you we were not 100% because there were a ton of little things that needed to be in boxes (which they ran out of...word to the wise, get twice as many boxes as you think you need. Trust me), but all the big stuff had been moved and about 85% of the small stuff.

We came home and drank even more water (I think I had a total of four liters today) and rested. I fed the dogs and watched a bit of TV before signing on to check mail and blog. I would like to mow grass but the ground is still soggy from the storm. Cleaning house sounds like a good idea, but I I would not have the energy to finish it if I started.

Oh well, there is always Monday!

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