the new guy

We've been hiring a number of new people to replace the ones who either left on their own accord because they were sick of working in a cut-throat environment or were let go because they couldn't handle a cut-throat environment.

Another new guy started yesterday. He's already made such a wonderful impression on me that I can certainly see how happy everyone else is in his department who think he's shaping up to be their savior.

When most people start a job on their very first day, usually politeness and a touch of easy going manners are in order. One doesn't want to push the wrong buttons with coworkers too soon. So, the new guy arrives, has his boss meeting, hr meeting, accounting meeting, and department introduction meeting. The IT department, (me) is at the bottom of the heap. No one wants to meet the IT department yet we're the ones that receive the most demanding calls in the day. So, shouldn't people be generally polite and easy going with the IT department? IT controls the servers, your link to the outside world, your mail, your printers, and your work system. Yet we receive the least amount of respect.

The new guy calls, wants a better keyboard; something not previously used. Fine, I say. I'll deliver another one. Nope, not good enough. He wants me to bring several different kinds so he can choose the one he likes best. Since we have a huge supply of every type of computer equipment in our larger than Costco warehouse, I bring up three keyboards to him. He fake types on each of them before choosing the best one that "feels good" on his fingers.

This morning, he calls to say the keyboard I delivered doesn't work. It's defective. He needs another keyboard that works. Well, the keyboard did work but the prima donna is not happy.

Honestly, people should know not to upset IT. You want something, you better be nice. You want your system to work, you better be pleasant. Our job is to make sure that your system is working smoothly so you can work efficiently. It's not our job to find you the most comfortable keyboard on the planet.

who else is at work today?

I'm researching for my future trip to Barcelona, shopping for deals, deciding what continuing education courses to take, and eating lots of truffles and holiday cookies lying around the office.

It's quiet and I should take the opportunity to get my work done but honestly, I can finish everything in an hour or two and I still have tomorrow in the office to look forward to.

Lunch in South Park

Seriously, there are way too many people working near and around South Park. It's like the invasion of 20-something web 2.0 conference members descending on the few worthy, and inexpensive lunch places in the area.

I remember the good ol' days right after the dotcom bust and all those startup companies lacking in real services to sell to the populous ran out of funding and folded. There were no lines in front of Mexico au Park stretching out into the sidewalk. You didn't have to wait 15 min for a table at the Butler and the Chef. Brickhouse actually didn't run out of soy milk. Now, all the kids have returned with new ideas and new funding from well-established companies like Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft.

In any case, I was patient today (cause it's my b-day and old age slows you down) and amused myself with guessing if the 15 or so guys standing in line with me were programmers, analysts, project managers or dba's.

I'm so blacklisted

What is going on?? Is my company trying to oust me or persuade me to get the hell out?

Two or so weeks ago, I gave up my crackberry to a new hire and downgraded myself to an older one. Then I get a call from Telecom about my phone service plan. Apparently, I texted way too much last month so they changed my service and knocked me off the Enterprise plan. In so doing, I wasn't getting my work email, my personal email nor was able to surf the web. They have since corrected that issue. And then today, I'm banished from helping myself to the vitamin water in the frig on the fifth floor. I'll surely dehydrate in this vacuum of an office within an office. What am I going to hydrate myself with now? Bacteria filled tap water?

I thought my company was this one big happy family where sharing resources goes a long way but I guess not.