Through The Mist Darkly

Jules Renard

>“Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired.”


Since today is the first day of the Victoria Day long weekend, I’ll have to keep this in mind.

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Man Claims Firing Over Drinking Wrong Beer
I’ve already been called on the carpet for blogging, I’d better not push my luck by using another logistics company.

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So right now I’m supposed to be sitting in the bar at a resort North of Quebec City? Why the hell am I sitting in the basement???
I was scheduled to attend management meetings in La Belle Province but a new client is putting the screws to me so I had to cancel.
Jan’s happy that I’m still here and I should be keeping her happy because in 2 weeks I head to Montreal for almost 2 weeks which will be the longest we’ve ever been separated.
Have I mentioned lately how much I hate my job right now?

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I have VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) service with Vonage Canada. In theory, this allows me to make calls over the internet. That is, if I could get my phone adapter to work.
I’ve just spent an hour being bounced around the Indian countryside by their outsourced helpdesk. Working with computers every day and running a large IT group, I consider myself fairly savvy and make a point of telling helpdesks things like “I do understand how network connections work” and “Yes, I know how to ping a router”. Doesn’t matter - they have scripts that they’re going to follow and you just better hold your horses Mister while I work through them.
The original calltaker spent 20 minutes rhyming off steps that I’ve already taken before he decided it just might be a hardware issue. No shit Sherlock! The level 1 tech had me reconfigure my PC to directly connect to the phone adapter (did I mention that I know how to do that?) 15 scripts later, he gave up and sent me to level 2.
First thing they ask is for my account number. Hmmmm…. not a sophisticated helpdesk phone system we’re working with. The only problem is that my account information is accessed online. Remember that I’ve reconfigured my PC? No luck with the account number. Level 2 asks me to hold for a minute and promptly disconnects me.
I’m old enough and I’ve been in the IT business long enough to remember when helpdesks were staffed by experts. Now it’s outsourced minimum wage earners who’s only requirement is that they can read English. The service sucks and when I calm down I’ll try to find a Canadian rep and let them know that they can take their adapter back and cancel my account.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not bitching because the helpdesk is in India and the people have funny accents. I’ve had the same experience with local providers. You need some real knowledge to run level 1 and 2 support.
If my helpdesk worked like this, I’d fire the lot or quit. Users need to feel that they are speaking with people who have at least some hands-on knowledge.

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Another week without posting. Perhaps it’s time to give this thing up.
Supposedly I had a week of vacation last week but with business trips to Montreal (a 18 hour day), conference calls, emails and other interruptions it wasn’t much of a vacation.
I only got to play golf twice last week which is something of a record. With so much on my mind, the scores were terrible and I seriously considered giving the game up. Of course, I’ll forget about this on Sunday when I’m teeing off at a resort course in Quebec. I fly out Saturday for some managers meetings and we’re arriving a day early so we can get a round in.
Threw Jan onto a plane on Sunday. She’s in Edmonton until Thursday afternoon on one of her scheduled visits. Once she was safely off I traveled up to Wasaga Beach to spend some time with Maxine on Mother’s Day. We had a nice lunch at Blue Mountain and I did a few chores. She’s an amazing woman and I can only hope to be as active when I reach her age. Came home yesterday afternoon to find that one of the TVs decided to commit suicide so today it was off to Costco for a new one.
Last Friday, the boss called me to give me some horrible news. One of our coworkers, a young vibrant man of 31, passed away Thursday night. His brain exploded and I can only hope it was a quick, painless passing. This Wednesday, we make the long drive to Kingston for a memorial service. He was well liked and this will be an emotional day.
That’s it. For those who still read this stagnant journal, you’re all up to date.
Here’s hoping things calm down because this rat is getting awfully tired of spending all his time on the little wheel. I just want to stop for a while and enjoy life.

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A whole week between posts. If you ever wonder how busy I am, just check the frequency of addtions from EyeNo Central Command.
Spent all week in a training course that was continually interrupted by administrivia. By Friday I was ready to go postal on the next person that said “I need a minute of your time”.
Why should I care now? I’m on vacation. Sorta. Wednesday I have to fly to Montreal for a meeting and I don’t get back in until near midnight.
Yesterday morning (Saturday) I got early and hit the golf club around 6 a.m. Had a great 9 holes (shot a 44) and thought I had the world by the tail. This morning, went out again, endured a 3 hour frost delay and shot a 55. God, I hate this terrible and unfair game.
So this week I’ll get in a few more rounds, do some yardwork, fly to Montreal and get Jan ready for her trip to Edmonton next Sunday. She’ll be gone until Thursday and then I fly out on the Saturday to Quebec City to attend some meetings for the week. Is it any wonder that it feels like someone has increased the speed of all the clocks?

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