Damnit Almost Forgot

Looking at the date from my last post I can see it has been sometime since I came here. You know when things are actively happening to you, or when you are in the middle one of life's little dramas, it can seem so hectic. Looking back always makes you feel like it was okay and you might even find yourself saying "That wasn't so bad." I mean it has been, as I have mentioned, sometime since I entered anything here, and I am sure the things that kept me away must have been important. It is just that, not for the life of me can I remember one that stands out as important or even good enough to have been documented.

So what is the point Rick? As usual there is no specific point. Only general reference to whatever? I have found that the moment I voice an opinion about anything specific someone will come along and prove to me just how wrong I can be.

Like the fact that I should be working now, not goofing around with this blog. What a momentous waste of time, blogging is. I am sure that some good comes from it, I know that the keeping a journal thing helps me straighten out my thoughts and it is good typing practice. And that is a great way to be because it shows that life is moving forward with no trouble and painlessly.

got to go back to work so that I can get out of here on time for lunch. Places to go things to do.

Not So Ambigous After All

52 years old today, shit, I remember as a child thinking how far off in the future this day seemed. That span of years was a concept beyond imagination. Anyone this old was so foreign to a child's reality. Now anyone much younger is somewhat of an annoyance. For that matter anyone is an annoyance most of the time, I guess that comes with age too. Or at least the tolerance level for other people's little quirks diminishes. I believe that is the political way of saying it anyway.

My father used to be so cantankerous that is was excellent entertainment. His view of the world was not real pleasant and at the same time his naivety was at such a level he was protected by it. But the point is that he would jump to point out how stupid someone looked doing what they were doing. Absolute truth about how he felt, no need to ask. As he became older his views and more specifically the methods he would use to express his views, became more and more bitter. For myself the more bitter the more entertaining.

I am sitting in my car again, only not on the way to work this time, funny how we say 'sitting in my car' thank god my car was not sitting still, any way so I am doing about 80 or so and people are just cranking by me like crazy. It is funny to watch them as they go fast and catch up to the car in front of them only to slow down.
I like to watch what is going on in front of me so while the idiots are paused behind a creeper I can see the hole and avoid the slow.
Have you ever been caught behind a merge stopper? That is someone who stops in the merge lane and waits for an opening. Usually a female oriental probably the worst category of drivers on the road. Andrew Dice Clay once said that it should be illegal to drive if you can be blind folded with dental floss. Soo True.
I guess my point is is that I was able to get to my off ramp before more than half of the people who were passing me, all it takes is a little bit of paying attention to the road and the cars around you. But then most drivers will pull up to a stop light behind 15 other cars and leave the other lane open for me.
I love stupid drivers it is like cheap entertainment the price of admission is $3.50 a gallon.

Gone and Back again

Out of service for about 30 days, feels like I have never left. Once I started back to work the same stuff is still there. Believe it or not the feeling is a good one.
Today was one co-workers last day in this office, he is chasing a dream now and I wish him the best. Due to the fact he was leaving the entire office went to the local pizza house and pub for lunch.
With the average age at 24 the impulse to party whatever the reason, is never resisted. Beer and pizza and beer, followed by more beer. Great way to have Friday afternoon at work become completely chaotic and fun.
It is sure nice to be back in the saddle again.

Don't be in such a hurry

"The phone is not working" .....she is telling me this over the phone. So that is my first thought and it clouds every other interaction I have with this user. " Can you explain in detail, just what is not working about your phone.....please" but I know what is coming, and sure enough..." how would I know, you're the 'tech guy". Man I can hardly believe that people say that sort of thing to the one who actually has the ability to make the phone not work.

Not that I would ever do such a thing mind you. Nope, would not even consider doing something that, in the long run, no matter how hard I laugh, would give me extra work.

"Okay, you are right, I will walk over there as soon as I can and have a look at your phone. I am sure I can find a fix for it". good reason to leave the office for lunch and maybe go to the range to hit a bucket of balls on my way to her cube..."Do you know when you will get here, I really need this phone for my work, so hurry if you will". CLICK.

I will be right there, right..

On my way out of the office I run into a couple of projects that I had been trying to get finished now for about 3 weeks. I stop and take care of both issues in less than a minute. Sometimes things just seem to fit and the key to doing the tech type job is having the knack to know when that is. If it feels right then everything works and I won't have to go back to fix the fix.
After pizza and beer for lunch I go to the course and I hit those little devils probably better than I have in weeks. I question myself, very briefly, as to wether or not it is in part because the annoyance factor I am causing. NO not me. When I do get to the phone ladies desk, she is talking on it. What the $%# am I doing here, she called me on the phone she says is not working and she is still on the phone some time later. She did not see me walk in to the work area and she is over there yakking away about .......You guessed it. "It was over an hour ago, and I told him that I need this phone for my job. I just don't know why he could be taking so long getting here". Suddenly I recall that I have another phone that was returned as not working some time ago. I run back to my office and grab it push it in a box and take it to her
She is so happy to see me that she won't even get off the phone long enough to let me change it out for the other one, the 'new' one.
I want to share something with her," did you know that your department is charged $185. per hour for my services and that I looked before I got here your department's budget is shot for the next 5 weeks, you can not afford to make me stand around, considering I am required to report to your manager why I charged 6 hours to change out the phone". "So please get off the phone and let me fix it".
If looks could scar I would look like a burn victim. 30 seconds later I am walking away old phone under my arm she is trying to make a call and yells to me." hey now I don't have a dial tone".
"And you don't have the money for me to come back and look at it. I am sorry that this phone broke when it did, and I hate it when the replacement works ever worse"
"Call me in a couple of days after you get the okay to go over budget"

Just Can't Find the Consistancy

One day it is like everyone you know is doing something to make you smile, it's like a plot to work on changing how you feel and act towards everybody and everything.

What the hell is that all about. I like not feeling good about what everyone is doing, and who they are doing it to. One person is complaining about the wife another is joyous about life, another hates the neighbor down the hill and still another seems like he is impervious to anything.

This guy can sleep 24/7 for weeks at a time, now that is what I call a monumental waste of life. What the hell can you get out of that besides maybe a few bed sores. Might as well be dead. On the other side of the coin a friend has so many projects going it is hard to imagine how he ever gets any rest. Guess who is the happiest of the two.

With all the different ways that each of us spend our days doing all the things we do. One thing stays constant. That is each of us, in my opinion, don't spend enough time giving to others a little help. I watched a show the other night, the title is 'The Secret' and it is proof that everything I am saying here is true.

All the things I have previously felt and said about everything and everyone is now being reprocessed.

The secret is that it is all in your attitude. Think positive and receive positive. Think the other way and get that. Now don't confuse this with a little applied sarcasm, it still has a very prominent place in my world. Just did not have a ready victim just now. I am confident one will come around soon enough. That is the other constant in life.

Another day closer

So I got up this morning early could not sleep, days are going by pretty fast about now. Did not feel like eating so I got my golf clubs and went to the range before work. That was okay not hardly any other people there that time of the day. And I hit them pretty good.

So far today I can think of nothing much worth saying so I will try again later.

First Things ........

Tuesday morning, forgot to punch out last night, did not quite finish the boss's laptop and probably won't have it for him this AM, need to do some follow-up on a couple of tasks here in the server room. But to hell with all of that. I need to find a way out of here for a hour or two today to get to the range and hit some balls. As long as the network is running and there are no specific troubles preventing folks from getting their work done, why not go and enjoy myself.

I know for a fact that retirement is a ways off and if I even make it I probably will not be able to afford the stuff I want, so I will do as much of it as I can now.

Biggest project is to document the entire system infrastructure, need to have that for the next guy, or at least for recovery reasons. But what is more important that I do paper work for the man or I go do something I enjoy.

Not hard to figure out what I will do. First things first take care of me then the rest will be okay.

Taking Charge

In the field of sales people are, for the most part, very positive. They will work hard and smile doing so. It is understood that goals are met only if you work for them and if you don't well you will still get what you have worked for.
In the information arena I have control, so I claim, over the network and computers of the people who occupy the sales force for the company I am currently employed by. Most of them are half my age, all of them are very bright and extremely energetic. The office is always buzzing with music and voices, people helping others and making a living doing so.

In my case, I make a living making sure that the computer systems are always up and working.
I often respond to requests by claiming to be on my way..."I'll be right there". My idea of " right there" is a little different than most. For example, if the user is seated on the other side of the office(no more than 40 - 50 feet away), I usually wait until 1. I have more than one reason to travel that far or, 2. I just happen to be in the vicinity and remember to stop and take a look at the problem they are experiencing.
Some users don't get it at all. Today I was sitting in a cubicle and on the other side of the partition two users were discussing the fact that the network is slow and that there have been a few problems with e-mail recently. I listened quietly for a moment, then to save them any further embarrassment, just after I heard one of them quote me and the other responded with "is that what he said is the problem" I spoke up and said...
"that is the problem"
it was real quiet for a moment and then I mentioned that "with all the people in the office using Instant Messenger and MySpace and YouTube running streaming audio and video well there is no bandwidth left over for the work to get done".
The recoil was visible yet not damaging the response was the entire array of thoughts from disbelief to reluctant agreement. One even offered to use less open windows to help the situation. I'm thinking that is real generous considering you are the one to benifiet if you increase your ablilty to perform. But as I have said before I really don't use scarcasim on others too often, I find it is pretty much a waste of good wit.
As the day now draws to an end, looking back at that moment, which was around 9:00AM, I have not done much else since then. I hope they don't mind that it will be Tuesday before I look into the email problem.
With a quarter hour to go, I finish this post and notice that the afternoon would be perfect to go to the golf range and kick the shit out of a bucket of little white balls.
There is bound to be more, so come on back and check it out.

Chaos in concert

Holiday afternoon, the weekend is winding down been sleeping most of the weekend and now the people begin to show up. It is like that around our house, our friends come and go frequently. Normally it is all good but recently I have noticed a tolerance deficiency in myself.

Let me explain, here is the scenario, 2 small boys ages 7 and 12 one roommate age 45 one roommate age 53 one wife and me. Add two friends then add in an extremely drunk neighbor and friend of 40 years plus her husband. There is how it starts soon another good friend shows up and just after that the father of the two boys shows up too.

I am sitting at my desk and can tell that the barbque is just about ready and if I don't get it the wife will. Out to the kitchen to cut up the ribs, all the while the drunk neighbor is rattling off some thing I can not understand, nor do I want to. Her husband is standing quietly alone on the patio he is always quiet and intoxicated. Another friend is questioning everyone on why is there a memorial day and a veterans days. He asks everyone at least 4 times why this is so, he is also very loud about it.

The drunk rambles on.
The coals are too hot, the ribs are cut, the potatoe salad is on the table and the corn is done.
The table is set with paper plates and platic ware there is a fire going in pot belly stove out side. Kids are running around roommates are busy, wife is running around playing with the kids.
Friend has expectations of playing music. Others want drinks kids want koolaid, one of the kids has his hands inside the aquairium and is playing with the fish.

I can not find a plate large enough for the ribs, need two, can't find the wife, the drunk rambles on.
I am thinking about my nice quiet office.
Ribs on the barbque then onto the table everyone is quiet, except the drunk, for the meal moment. The drunk, love her, makes so much noise while eating it drives me from the table.

The homeless pair eat and leave the roommates eat and go hide, the drunk and the hubby eat and go home the boys thier dad and my wife sit in front of the TV. I leave.

When I get back the place is quiet and the holiday is over. I am sure thankful for holidays and paydays.

Virtually everything, really.

Friday before the three day'er, is that a word 'dayer'. People running around finiallizing plans for the weekend, some already gone having taken an extra day to extend the joy out to four days. I want to be really sarcasict here commenting on the joy of spending time away from work with the special people in life but I will restrain myself.

I like to group people into categories by what they do and in my little group of peers there are the 'desert rats', this is probably the most populas of all groups and the most gregarious and fun. Then we have the home folks, the hard working family oriented TV watching americans. Good people really just not a lot of anything going on.

The last section of the population really fit no common mold, they can be students, or managers, the are the custodians of the wild side. Now these folks are fun but a bit unstable and possibly even dangerous to your sanity.

Half way into the morning before the 'big' weekend and chaos has got its claws into virtually everything. I believe that with as much effort as most workers put in on the day before a holiday would be reason to make the holiday one day longer. Business would save money and it would be a great contribution to the carbon footprint. Think how much energy is consumed on the Friday before a weekend in comparison to the normal eight hour ROI the difference would justify the time off.

Myself, well I most likely will get a little more of nothing done. I mean I don't suppose I have more than 20 years left on this rock so if I could just get nothing done before I go I would go happy.

On the way

On the way to work, as the multitudes of people in their fast cars zipped by me, I thought that it all seems so undoing. That is as a child we grow, and look to the future with the thought that we have so much time before us. That certainly prooved to be a falsehood. Then for a period of time we believe that we have no regrets for the time gone by and once again we are saddly mistaken.

Before we know it we are upon a cusp where most of our years are spent and we have less left than we have had already. It can be difficult to find the joy in that fact so I believe that I will find joy in the fact that I just made some idiot miss his light and he is still back there flipping me the bird as I drive away.