My Thursday Thus Far

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6:11am: I try three times to hit snooze on my phone.  Fourth time is the charm.  It’s too early, my sinuses hurt, and my eyes don’t want to open.  10 more minutes seems like the solution.

6:22am: Hit snooze again.
6:33am: Hit snooze again.
6:45am: Wonder if I can just stay home.  My eyes feel swollen like I had been crying or something – and I haven’t been.  My sinuses are killing me. And I’m tired.  
7:07am: Tell G that he cannot cuddle with me anymore or I’ll go back to sleep.  Ask if he’ll make me a coffee since I am going to be late to work at this rate.  Get up, throw on clothes, pull hair back, slip on shoes, grab coffee, kiss G and leave.
7:34am: Step into the elevator with a woman who looks like she needs an IV of coffee.  Why she is glaring at me is a mystery.  As she leaves, I tell her to have a good day. Figure I’d be polite as a way to thumb my nose at her.  
7:40am: Talking to the new guy who is making his oatmeal as I get my coffee.  I appreciate the amount of effort this guy goes to each morning making his oatmeal from scratch.  No insta-oatmeal for him.  Not too shabby given we don’t have a kitchen – just insta-hot and a microwave of questionable quality.
7:43am: Sipping coffee as I review my email.  Feel my blood pressure going up as I read that the QA team did not follow my recommendations from the night before.  They had reported an issue to my team – but did so while the system was having major issues that took them an hour to resolve.  Because this error came up during the issue, I had suggested strongly that they not log it until they can validate it in a fixed system – not one in the middle of crashing.  The “good idea” was apparently not followed.  Fuck.  
8:10am: Go to find my boss and his boss.  Time to escalate things since the real issue is that no one decided to test the system until two days before we are to go to production.  Also found email showing me that the system was working just fine when the people in Africa tested overnight.  Neither boss is in the office yet.  Get more coffee instead.
8:20am: Reschedule my team meeting for an hour – making sure that all parties including QA are present. It’s gonna be ugly.
9:06am: QA person confirms she ignored my recommendation.  And she has not retested.  My developer and I chastise her for reporting a defect during a system crash, then telling everyone it is our problem when it is a system one.  
9:13am: QA person is lecturing us about what testing WE should do.  I point out that all of that could have been done, and the issues would still exist given the system is broken.  She concurs, then resumes lecture.  
9:40am: QA person decides to accuse us of messing up the test schedule.  Claims we just gave them the system two days ago.  I point out that they have had it ready for their testing since the 10th.  She says that isn’t true. My developer who was the last piece in the puzzle for getting it live disputes it.  I declare the discussion pointless as it is not getting the system tested any faster.  I send them from the room.
9:50am: After venting to my boss about the issues, I start writing the dreaded email pointing out that we are going to have to call off this afternoon’s go-live due to all of these issues.  Feel like I’m writing a novel outlining the risks, how we got to this point, timelines, etc.  Trying to keep my pissed off feelings out of it, but can feel them slipping in as I type.  Decide to say fuck it – and send it without editing.  
10:10am: PM who manages the production deployments pings me on skype. “You at your desk?”  My response is “depends on the topic of your discussion.”  He comes over.
10:16am: We agree to call off the deployment for this afternoon.  And he let me vent a bit – all the while agreeing with me.  And laughing at me.  Apparently I’m entertaining when on a rant.
10:21am: My favorite data guy (read sarcastically) has decided to pay me a visit.  Since he is a temp, I have to create his change requests for him and make sure they are completed.  Turns out the data load last night failed, so I have to create a new one for tonight.  He doesn’t like hearing that he can’t just “have the guys in India do it” without getting permissions.  I explain it isn’t my process.  I explain you can’t do something behind the scenes in a production system without permission and wide understanding by all that it is happening.  He whines to try to get me to “bend the rules” – rules that are not my rules.  I shoo him away.
11:04am: Data guy comes back – with the PM that scares everyone except me.  She demands to know why I’m making him follow this stupid process. I explain – and she immediately realizes he is the idiot. I point out to both of them that if they want to do it without permission, they should do it manually.  They start debating it – I tell them to go away.  They keep talking.  I go get coffee.
11:15am: Come back to an email from a leader in Asia asking for a status of something.  Since she CC’d some one on my team, that someone decided to let me know she would let me answer the question.  Uhm…..you were CC’d on the email sent TO me.  Thanks for giving me permission to answer it.  I swear my team is full of morons.
11:45am: I realize I need food…..bad.  But I have a noon meeting. Fuck.
12:00pm: Realize my noon meeting is pointless. Why? Because the test system is down.  And no one knows why. Nothing they try to do to fix it is working.  
12:15pm: I am sent by my boss to the war room.  Make mental note to close skype next time so he can’t reach me.
12:16pm: Manager running the war room asks me what is going on with the test system.  Uhm…..I don’t fucking know  – it’s not working?  Yes, I say that outloud.  After digging through my emails, I find the issues (issues he also has in emails) – and we make a list so everyone knows.  Manager offers to buy lunch.  And we spend the next 10 minutes explaining to one of the foreign developers what kind of food is at Subway.  Finally I ask if he’s a vegetarian – he says yes, so I order for him.  
12:42pm: Food is good.  Text SB saying I’m sick of this day.  My project is impoloding.
1:12pm: Learn from my boss that he is fed up with shit landing in my lap.  I wonder if I should mention the fact he sent me to the war room as an example of how he does it too. Decide against it. He’s actually appreciating me these days.  Figure I shouldn’t upset that with a smart ass remark.  Find out that I have even MORE work to do now.  Fuck.
1:14pm: SB reminds me to “not give those oxygen stealers a chance!”  I kinda like that man – just a little.  I try not to grin too much at his encouragement as it will draw attention I don’t know how to explain as saying “my boyfriend makes me smile” won’t be understood at work when they know I’m married with kids.
1:30pm: Various restarts aren’t fixing shit. In fact, it appears to be getting worse. They decide to do something a bit more bold but not quite to the “restart everything” step.  
1:45pm: If I hear “just 5 min” one more time, I’m going to throw something at the guy working the issue.  If you don’t know how much longer it will be – stop fucking guessing!  I finally say, in front of him to the person checking on the progress that they don’t know – it’s being slow – should have been done 5 minutes ago – so just be patient and wait for an email.
2:06pm: Get an email from my boss’s boss saying he wants me to provide him a status update of all the issues by 3pm.  WTF??  Seriously, I am now reporting on everyone else’s shit.  Why does this even surprise me now.
2:26pm: FInally! It is back online.  Initial testing looks good.  Told by the technical guy that my team is in the test system doing shit. They shouldn’t be in the system.  They have been told a number of times not to do it. Skype the major offender and ask why they are in the system. She claims to be testing.  I point out she is not a tester and to get out of the system.  She says she is helping someone else.  I point out that the system is not validated yet – and that testing in it may not be valid.  Oh is her reply.  Yes folks, this is what a “highly experienced” person looks like.  I feel like I’m babysitting.
2:37pm: Get positive new.  Things are looking good so far.  Keep my fingers crossed they stay that way.  Write my status update and send it as I doubt it will get much better than what it is.
3:00pm: Get email from the junior guy on the team.  His account isn’t working so he doesn’t know how to research a problem.  I point out that his cohort has a working account and maybe they should do something crazy like “work together on it”.  HIs email reads like a kid saying he can’t do his homework because he doesn’t have a pencil.  I wish I was kidding.  I’m not.
3:05pm: We are kicked out of the war room.  I leave happily.  I get good news on the way out that things are still looking good.  One of the issues – the one that I claimed was the environment last night – has magically gone away without me doing anything.  23 hours later, and what I told them was the issue is finally acknowledged as being the true issue.  
Yes, this is my work day so far.  I say so far because I have close to 2hrs left.  And I have a beer at home with my name on it.  I understand completely why everyone drinks at this place.

One Comment Add yours

  1. pondering says:

    Ha ha ha, so true so true, different organization same issues!

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