13
13 is today's date, an album by The Doors, and as Phil G decided at lunchtime, my personal cycle of doom. Phil knew me in 1993 which was another annis horribilis to quote Queenie, or "arse of a year" to quote Mr G, in which I ended up losing my job, my home, getting dumped, and my body decided to hate me with a vengeance ...
Today has been a succession of cockups that would have been hysterical under different circumstanaces. I overslept for a start. I was supposed to be going through a call I'd logged incorrectly with DD and his edict was that this would happen as soon as I arrived at the office. I got in just after 8.00am and he kept me waiting an hour and half. Thankfully it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
Then I discovered that we can't actually re-image the PC's used by the OED. We don't have a ghost image. We have a .psi image but it points to a server which has been scrapped. No one thought to copy over the image, or back it up ... So, George and I are going to have to nab a PC in one of the OED meeting rooms and hope that Gavin's hand written notes from 15 months ago still make sense to George. I was n't involved in imagingthe OED PC's when they configured and rolled out so I have no idea. Of, course I've pointed out another procedural inadequacy that is I can't workaround and is holding me up. So DD is even more dis-enchanted with me than ever ...
The other piece of work lunacy occurred when I went to set up a PC for a new employee starting tomorrow.
The office I had to go to was in that part of E block which you can't push a trolley into because the corridor is up three stairs at one end and down three at the other. The office was at the end of the raised corridor, so you have to lug the kit the length of the corridor it is a long corridor.
I got to the office, which is large and open-plan, and read George's instructions as to how to find the right desk (they aren't numbered or anything sensible like that). Um ... The desk indicated had no power or ethernet cables. In fact there was a hole in the floor where the data and voice ports should have been with bits of multi-coloured multi-ply cable poking out. And the phone was disconnected. It had this unfinished air ... So I checked the phone extention on the call sheet with the phone on the desk. Hmmm ... They're different. So the lone soul in the office who was working late dialled the extension I had on my call sheet.
And it rang. Somewhere. But not where it was supposed to. In the end I found the ringing phone on a desk which was home to four telephones assorted paperwork, keyboards, mice, monitors and an abondoned PC ... In other words, the communal dumping ground. What's the betting this PC is on the "missing presumed stolen" list in the inventory? Anyhow, having finally tracked down the person who raised the call originally, we decided to set up the PC on the desk designated in the call and sort out the wiring and networking tomorrow. Pity the poor sod who is starting tomorrow ...
I fled the building shortly after 6.00pm ...
This evening at 8.00pm the appointments administrator from the JR2 phoned "Could I come for an ultrasound this Friday at 10.00am?" Eh? I queried this I was told I was having a biopsy by my doctor. And I can't go this Friday because of giving work adequate notice. The administrator is adamant I'm down for an ultrsound but has changed the appointment for the following Friday when I'm on leave. they've advised me to contact my doctor if I think the ultrasound decision is wrong ... Oh! And for the ultrasound I have to drink a pint-and-a-half of water an hour before the appointment ... And not go the loo until after I've been done. Let's just hope they aren't running late !!!
In other news, it was Mum's 79th birthday yesterday ... Dad was completely oblivious to it. That is so sad
Today has been a succession of cockups that would have been hysterical under different circumstanaces. I overslept for a start. I was supposed to be going through a call I'd logged incorrectly with DD and his edict was that this would happen as soon as I arrived at the office. I got in just after 8.00am and he kept me waiting an hour and half. Thankfully it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
Then I discovered that we can't actually re-image the PC's used by the OED. We don't have a ghost image. We have a .psi image but it points to a server which has been scrapped. No one thought to copy over the image, or back it up ... So, George and I are going to have to nab a PC in one of the OED meeting rooms and hope that Gavin's hand written notes from 15 months ago still make sense to George. I was n't involved in imagingthe OED PC's when they configured and rolled out so I have no idea. Of, course I've pointed out another procedural inadequacy that is I can't workaround and is holding me up. So DD is even more dis-enchanted with me than ever ...
The other piece of work lunacy occurred when I went to set up a PC for a new employee starting tomorrow.
The office I had to go to was in that part of E block which you can't push a trolley into because the corridor is up three stairs at one end and down three at the other. The office was at the end of the raised corridor, so you have to lug the kit the length of the corridor it is a long corridor.
I got to the office, which is large and open-plan, and read George's instructions as to how to find the right desk (they aren't numbered or anything sensible like that). Um ... The desk indicated had no power or ethernet cables. In fact there was a hole in the floor where the data and voice ports should have been with bits of multi-coloured multi-ply cable poking out. And the phone was disconnected. It had this unfinished air ... So I checked the phone extention on the call sheet with the phone on the desk. Hmmm ... They're different. So the lone soul in the office who was working late dialled the extension I had on my call sheet.
And it rang. Somewhere. But not where it was supposed to. In the end I found the ringing phone on a desk which was home to four telephones assorted paperwork, keyboards, mice, monitors and an abondoned PC ... In other words, the communal dumping ground. What's the betting this PC is on the "missing presumed stolen" list in the inventory? Anyhow, having finally tracked down the person who raised the call originally, we decided to set up the PC on the desk designated in the call and sort out the wiring and networking tomorrow. Pity the poor sod who is starting tomorrow ...
I fled the building shortly after 6.00pm ...
This evening at 8.00pm the appointments administrator from the JR2 phoned "Could I come for an ultrasound this Friday at 10.00am?" Eh? I queried this I was told I was having a biopsy by my doctor. And I can't go this Friday because of giving work adequate notice. The administrator is adamant I'm down for an ultrsound but has changed the appointment for the following Friday when I'm on leave. they've advised me to contact my doctor if I think the ultrasound decision is wrong ... Oh! And for the ultrasound I have to drink a pint-and-a-half of water an hour before the appointment ... And not go the loo until after I've been done. Let's just hope they aren't running late !!!
In other news, it was Mum's 79th birthday yesterday ... Dad was completely oblivious to it. That is so sad