2-Fer Tuesday post #1

Well, it's Tuesday again, and I'm going to write and ramble like it's nobody's business today.

Last week, I was swapmed with work, thanks to the idiocy and ineptitude of a manager.

Why is it that when folks have to use a computer for work, they will automatically assume that they can treat the machine like it's their home computer, and not one for work?

There are certain guidelines that need to be followed when you're using a work computer.

1) NEVER open personal emails or email attachments while at work. Just don't do it. You never know what attachments could be potential viruses or trojans, and it's best to leave that stuff at home, instead of bringing it to the worklplace.

2) Limit how often you're on random internet sites. Net usage gets monitored, and it's expected that you're going to have times when you'll be on sites outside of the "work approved" places. However, you should ALWAYS try to take these in moderation. Spending 8 hours of your 10 hour workday on EBAY isn't the best way to keep the surfing potential open!

3) When in doubt, leave it alone. Never go to a site or agree to an Active-X control unless you know EXACTLY what it's going to do or install. This goes especially for folks who have weekly internet updates. You never know when that Google Browser Toolbar is going to cause some kind of resource conflict because corporate is assuming that your system is configured like everyone else's in the network.

These three things could mean the difference between a happy use, and potential termination for abuse of policy.

Anyway, I rant, and rave, but I need to get finished.

Happy Holidays!

2-fer Tuesday

Here's the second thing I need to talk about today:

Somehow, and I'm not sure where it started, but somehow this blog of mine has become a type of blackmail against my wife.

Honestly, I don't try to use this in any form to influence her thinking at all.

I just use this like an empty canvas before a painter, and spill out the ideas and words that are jumbled in my head, and hope that something meaningful is conveyed once the stuff is put down.

I don't write this to belittle her, or chastise her, or critique her.

I blog because it helps me to sort out who _I_ am, and what I'm thinking and where I'm going.

It helps me to figure out were I might have gone wrong.

It helps to use my overactive imagination, and tell stories and anecdotes.

It helps to give me the release I need for pent-up frustration and anger at times as well.

Needless to say, I'm on PMS watch at my home. I'm not saying that I know exactly what's going on with my wife and her body, but there are times where the signals are just too vivid to not notice.

I don't understand why, but PMS has always confused me.

I'm not trying to alienate you ladies, but I've gotta be honest here:

In my experience, women in general are hormonal creatures to begin with. I mean, you've got the "biological clock" ticking away, and it does strange and wonderful things to you.

You see the picture of a newborn baby, all snuggled against come fuzzy blanket, and you get the warm soft fuzzy feeling, say "Aww", and everything seems wonderful in the world.

You might see an overly suggestive scene on TV, or read about some racy idea in a magazine, and get all worked up only to bring that feeling home. This could be directly after an argument, or even after something good has happened. We guys can't really tell the difference, we're just happy to get some!

Then there's the temper. Oh lord above.. The TEMPER.

The toilet paper roll is on upside down. One dirty dish is left in the sink. There's visible dog hair on the carpet. There's water drops on the bathroom floor. The toilet seat's been left up. The bed's not made.... Need I go on??

Now, I'm not saying that it's all bad. However, for some reason, your clock seems to magnify all of this 1 BILLION percent. Yes, I said a BILLION.

(Well, not the horny part, since most of you think that's completely disgusting during that "time of the month" anyway!)

Yes, I'm a slob. I take my time, and do things MY WAY. Can that really be all that bad?

If the job gets done, is it really important when or how it got done?

I say, let me have my little quirks, and deal with it. I'm too old anymore to really change too much more about myself.

If you feel that I'm using this to get at you, my wife, it's really not.

I'm just thinking out loud, and airing my thoughts.

I kind of like it that way.

2-Fer Tuesday

Yup, it's Tuesday again, and I've gotta get some things off my chest, so here's posting number one:


I'm a selfish bastard.

Yup.

Lil' old me.

I don't know what it is about my mentality, but whenever I get something, I tend to think about how it is going to benefit me, and what I'd get out of it.

Cash, what I can get myself.

Food, how many meals I can make out of it.

The list could go on, and on, and on...

What is it about me that makes me have a knee-jerk reaction like this?

Why can't I act like other folks I know, and think about other people first, and myself AT LEAST second?

What has caused this seeming greed that I tend to show at the worst possible times?

I don't know..

I do know that it really bothers me at times.

Get this scenario:

I'm given a small amount of money. In my mind, I'm already divvying up the amount, and figuring out what I could get myself with it. Let's see, there's that book I've been wanting, and I could get a couple of cheesburgers for lunch.. I can budget the rest for a soda each day at work..

Are you seeing this?

If my wife sees that I've gotten money, we'll talk, and then I do the more responsible thing, and take care of the necessities: Gas. Bills. Kids.

Why is it that I need to talk it over in order to do the "right" thing with my money? What has caused me to be so irresponsible?

Again, I don't know.

I don't know why I'm so greedy and selfish about things.

I do know that I'd like to change this behavior, I just don't really know where to start at right now with everything else personality-wise that I'm already trying to change..

Maybe I'll just shelf this for a time when I'm NOT working on another character flaw..

After all, looking out for myself got me to where I am today, didn't it?

Well, DIDN'T it?

2-Fer Tuesday secondary post..

Today I finally got a chance to let someone else know the pain I experience while dealing with "corporate" folks who are about 3,000 miles away.

I had to get on a conference call this morning, and go through a "refresher" course of how to enter in service requests.

Because of the nature of the beast, I had to also get my backup person in on the phone call as well.

So, before the call, I tidied up the office a bit, got some tea and soda, and one more chair.

Then, my "assistant" showed up, we entered the conference call..

Only to be met with complete silence.

Yup. We were on time, but the call hadn't started yet, and we were stuck in a no-man's land of "when is this show going to get started?"

So we made small talk, and idled about my office trying to patiently wait for the call to get started.

About ten minutes into the wait, the online presentation fired up, and we were able to see that everyone was there, just not able to get into the telephone part of the conference.

About ten minutes after that, the "moderator" for the call showed up, and we were able to get into the call.

So nearly a half hour was wasted on killing time for ONE person.

Now, there have been MANY problems with the way the service requests get done. Mainly the biggest problem for the group that were all in this meeting was dealing with setting up new hourly hires.

Not management, not salaried positions, nothing like that..

Just working grunt joes. Nothing fancy.

How did the conference start out? By telling us how to get things set up for Salaried employees.

Next? How to set up management.

Then, he tried to close, saying that everything had been covered.

Immediately there were 10 cries for explanations for hourly employees.

This is when we found out something I don't think the folks "back east" were wanting to admit to.

When they implemented this request plan, it was initially set up for ONLY salaried and management folks. Hourly associates weren't going to be needing anything from it.

However, when the company grew, it became necessary for them to implement changes in the request process, and hourly employees wound up needing things off the service request menus.

Just because this happened didn't mean that the company actually CHANGED anything, it just meant that we, as remote technicians, had to come up with new and interesting ways to request things.

Now, since the new audit, things have to change. Because of this, we can't request things for new hourly employees until the changes are made.

This means that any new hourly hires are effectively STUCK doing NOTHING worthwhile until the company changes their software and policies.

My "substitute" went NUTS when this bombshell was dropped.

"How are we going to get new folks set up if we can't get them access?"

The response?

"Have them do menial labor jobs until we can implement the change."

So, instead of being able to use the new folks to help with the work that they've been hired for, they're going to be pushing brooms, picking up wood particles, stacking pallets, and anything else that doesn't require some corporate security clearance.

When is this supposed to change?

Implement date is set for the beginning of next year. Tenative date that I was told about is February 10th for finalization.

Forgive me a second, but it's just now December, we've currently hired 12 folks, another 10 are on their way, and so I'm going to have 22 people doing crap jobs for THREE months while the changes that should have been made YEARS ago are finally done?

Yeah. My assistant was able to feel my pain today.

She's glad that she doesn't have to deal with this as much as I do.

Main reason? Because of the call, she went and ate a candy bar, and had three cups of coffee.

Me? I just tacked up yet one more note about things that need to get done once someone finished their job, and then sent off the required emails to my bosses.

Eventually, someone might get something right, and things will operate like they're supposed to.

Right now, I'm just having a tough time recalling who I've allowed to get away with what around here so that folks can actually work instead of play with dirt or pallets!

Anyway, I've got some new hires to fake credentials for, so I'm going to be busy the rest of the day.

You all have a great day, and I'll chit-chat with you at some point tomorrow!

Remember: WTF Wednesday, and I've got a doozy for ya!

(Tagged) 2-Fer Tuesday

Well, while I was out, I got tagged..

So, thanks to Bee at Bee's Musings, I'm going to try my hand at this.

The rules are simple.

First, Link the person who tagged you. Then post the rules on your blog.

Next, share seven random or weird facts about yourself

Then, tag 7 random people and include links to their blogs.

Finally, let each person you've tagged know about it by commenting on their blogs.


So now that this is all done, it's time for the facts.weirdness..

1. I never knew how tall I was while in the service. The main reason for this was because one doctor that measured me was quite a bit shorter than I was, and after his physical I was listed as being 6'5" tall. A year later, I had a doctor that was taller than me give me yet another physical, and according to that one, I'd shrunk, as I was only 6'2" tall afterwards. Because of this, I tend to tell folks that I'm somewhere between 6'3 and 6'4. I let them decide, it's easier that way!

2. I completely adore the cheesy Kung-Fu shows that used to be on TV. Especially when they weren't able to sync up the mouth movements with the dialogue. I also loved the snap/crack of the punches and kicks. It reminded me of the times when I used to cut wood in the winter.

3. I am a voracious sci-fi fantasy book reader. Right now my favorite series is by Jim Butcher called The Dresden Files. I love the mix of reality and fantasy that he's able to combine in these novels. It's like having cake and eating it too!

4. I adore music. Not just one specific type of music. I love it all. Opera, muzak, classical, rock, pop, reggae, soul, r&b, hip-hop.. I have to be honest, I don't like much rap, but there are some good ones there as well, I just have to look harder to find them.

5. I've been able to get places because of my singing. Yes, I actually won a trip to Las Vegas because of my voice. No, it didn't get anywhere after that, but I really enjoyed the trip, and I loved that I was able to bring my wife with me!

6. I hope to one day own a beach house. This has been a dream of mine for a while. Deciding to just pack things up, and head for the beach, and not have to worry about where you're going to stay, because your house is RIGHT THERE. It'll happen, some day..

7. I still have dreams of being in a band. Yes, I don't think the dream will ever die. I'm able to fulfill this dream every so often because of the wonder of the video game systems.. Yes, I play Rock Band avidly when I can, and I live vicariously through my gamer self!

OK. That's it.

Now.. who to tag??

Since I've got _SO MANY_ readers, I'll tag a couple, and see what happens..

I'll first tag my WIFE - gottaluvme3 - at A New Day.

Next, I'll tag Real Live Lesbian, just because I'd love some of her thoughts!

I'll also tag Dana, at Amid Life's Crisis, just because I know how much my wife will love that one!

I'll also tag Brad at Diaries of the Professor, because I haven't sent off his Swapfest gift, so I gotta give him something!

I'll also tag Just A Girl, because I think she got me into the whole truth thing about myself!

I'll also tag Amorous Rocker, because I love her take on things, and would LOVE to see what she's got to say..

Lastly, I tag Siren at Idiot Girl in Action just to see what she'll come up with.

Hope you all have fun, and I'll talk with you later!

2-fer Tuesday.. Confession #1

Here's #1..

I'm a gamer.

Sue me.

Yes, I enjoy playing my stupid video games.

For me, it's a way to relax, escape, and just not think or worry about the things that went on in my day. When I play during the weekend, it's my way of unwinding from the stress of the week, and getting myself back to that "happy place" that I need to be in so that I can subject myself to the stress and chaos that invades my life while at work.

Yes, I know that there are things I could do that are more constructive. There's stuff around the house that needs fixing, there are dishes in the sink that should be rinsed and put into the dishwasher, there's a dog that loves the attention...

To be honest, I don't mind doing those things. However, I'd much more enjoy doing those things once I'm better set mentally, you know?

I'm not saying that what I'm doing is really acceptible. What I'm saying is that I've found a way to cope with the stresses that come at me, and that until I can find some other effective way for me to deal with it, I don't think it's going to change much.

Next.

I'm also a liar.

Yes, I lie.

The sad part is, that I've gotten GOOD at it.

Because of my situation when I was growing up, I learned to make things up in a hurry, with no preparation whatsoever. This made me able to juggle quite a few stories, and keep them all fairly feasible.

This also destroyed any kind of accountability that I had for myself, and basically had me wondering WHO I really was. I was one kind of person for this one, and a different kind for this next one, etc..

Thanks to the tough love and support of my wife, I've been able to fight this habit. I still stumble from time to time, but for the most part I'd say that I'm recovering very nicely.

I'd kind of equate my lying to an alcoholic. For me, even telling the "little white lies" was the same as taking a drink while trying to stop. It doesn't just stop at that "one little lie".

No, it blossoms.

How?

Because then I rationalize with myself. "That wasn't too bad, you can handle this" then becomes "well, that was a bit much, but still not bad.." to "Where am I going with this, and when did it get out of control?"

You see?

I have to remind myself DAILY about not making things up on the fly.

There are times where I really don't want to deal with things, and I'm sorely tempted to just say something in order to get that person off my case, and away from me.

Usually, I am able to beat the urge.

However, there are times when I become human, and I fail.

Anyway, just a little taste of my life for you.. More to come later!