In Memoriam...
Sitting here, and I can't get to sleep yet. Due to the events of the day, I have a number of things on my mind, and feel putting them into words may help.
So today, I picked up my last paycheck at QSI and made the rounds, saying 'Bye' to various folks I'll miss. Basically, the VP I was closest with told me the situation, that it was pretty much planned that the end of the year would be the end of my employment at QSI. Okay, that's all well and fine, I could certainly understand that, being that I've been looking for new jobs anyways.
Still, though, it would've been nice if someone had bloody well TOLD ME that little tidbit...
I also found out that my getting paid for the week of Christmas (a paid vacation for all employees) was due to her insistence (given that I was told on the Thursday before the Christmas break as it was, that means my manager -had- been heading towards not only informing me on Thurs., but letting me go on the very next day and right before the Christmas break). I thank her a lot for that, and it keeps my opinion of her in a positive light. I know even more that the vast majority of blame can be laid solidly on the shoulders of my manager. I figured it was such, and now it has been confirmed. There's always some relief in knowing the full truth behind such matters...
There are many people who asked for the 'off the record,' frank truth about things. Though I think I gave decent answers at the time, I feel there is more I should tell them, more that they deserve to know, that I tend to best express in writing. This I will be doing, Fri. and Sat.
It also touches my heart that the servers seem to be aware of my leaving as well. I went in briefly on Sat. for the last time, and Sun. they crashed (don't have details, but mail, internet and intranet web servers, and 'net connectivity), having serious problems well into Tuesday. I hand-crafted each of the Linux servers, and I'm glad that it would appear that my babies know that their daddy's gone. So here's my farewell to Asgard, in digital form as befits them.
Heimdall - You've been a rock. Of all the servers, you've been the quietest, and have asked the least of my attentions. Thank you for keeping the network secure, with the rulesets forged by my brother and constantly refined by myself over the years. No (known) break-ins in all the years you've been up, I give you my thanks.
Freya - With your harddrive failure those years back, you taught me the importance of creating and having Loki around. Though I've cursed your name for that, in the long run it was for the better for Asgard. A scrappy machine running that heat-prone Thunderbird CPU with no problems, you've been solid ever since that harddrive incident. No matter what weird shit the Marketing Department asked me to do with you, you always worked. A slut for the necessity of being a web-server, you're still a queen as well...
Hermod - For what you do, you're the most underpowered system. Though the new manager thinks his bloody 'spam appliance' does all the work, I know the truth about how much protection you still give behind the scenes. You work hard and long, and have only given me a few problems over time. And the last time seemed more an excuse to upgrade you and test out the latest install than a serious fault, something the new manager wouldn't let me do on my own. Keep chugging, and I hope QSI will call me when they finally retire you. Your first-gen Xenon processor would be a SWEET addition to my collection...
Yggdrasil - You've probably changed the most, in terms of hardware and roles. From humble routing machine and basic intranet server, to the souped-up intranet server and back-up server. I know it wasn't your fault for the last install being unstable, I should've double-checked Chad's work more. I'm sorry I wasn't able to protect you from the new manager, I only hope you find peace wherever he decides to place you.
Loki - With all the problems you gave me at first, I was never sure if it was karma from the name, or if we just found the right name to describe you. A little of both, I still think. As the mirrored backup server you have served well, giving me the convenience needed to upgrade/install/whatever whichever of the above 4 servers I needed to. I'm sorry that the new manager doesn't see your importance, and hope that you'll continue to serve well in Yggdrasil's place. For the sake of people I care about at QSI, I hope you're not needed in your intended role in the near future...
The above 5 servers I worked with the most, and have crafted with the most care over time. Now, for other inhabitants of Asgard.
Odin - Second only to Heimdall (and only by a narrow margin), you've been nice and reliable. Though your components have changed much over time, you've steadily chugged away as the file-server the whole time.
Vor - To be honest, I've always been fairly indifferent to you. The black sheep of Asgard, you've always been 'that one Windows server we HAVE to have.' You were always Chad's baby, and I was more than happy to let him deal with you. Visual Manufacturing is just one big PITA, so you can keep it.
Munin - I feel sorry for you being caught between the new manager and the security company and the way they broke you, but dem's the breaks, kiddo. Your security recordings are next to useless in a real situation, you've always been 'just another machine taking up space.' Being a Windows box never helped either, but at least you're not a real 'server,' so I really don't begrudge you that.
"Patrol" - You're in Asgard, but you're not of Asgard. You are an outsider, one of -his- "bright ideas." Though I pity you for being one of his creations, just slapped together with no customization and a generic install, that's about all I can say for you.
"BossHog" - Again, you're not part of Asgard. You're not even a real machine, you're just an "appliance," the first manifestation of the new manager's habit of throwing money at problems instead of knowing what the Hell he's doing. You and Patrol are only mentioned for the sake of completion, really.
And lastly, machines not in Asgard physically, but part of it nonetheless.
Fulla - I'm sorry your hardware has been so neglected over time. You still really hang in there though, and do what Stephen asks of you. I hope you'll be well in Stephen's hands from here out, at least feel lucky you're being considered his server instead of the new manager's...
Gugnir - You've been good to me all these years, especially when I converted you primarily to a Linux machine. Sorry that I always pushed your memory limits so hard, but that's what let me do what I needed to. I really don't know where you'll wind up, but I hope it's a better place than the other older desktops.
And if you're still reading this, yes, I anthropomorphize my machines a lot, and yes, the servers of QSI were named after the Norse pantheon (by my brother and I). So sue me... :p
So today, I picked up my last paycheck at QSI and made the rounds, saying 'Bye' to various folks I'll miss. Basically, the VP I was closest with told me the situation, that it was pretty much planned that the end of the year would be the end of my employment at QSI. Okay, that's all well and fine, I could certainly understand that, being that I've been looking for new jobs anyways.
Still, though, it would've been nice if someone had bloody well TOLD ME that little tidbit...
I also found out that my getting paid for the week of Christmas (a paid vacation for all employees) was due to her insistence (given that I was told on the Thursday before the Christmas break as it was, that means my manager -had- been heading towards not only informing me on Thurs., but letting me go on the very next day and right before the Christmas break). I thank her a lot for that, and it keeps my opinion of her in a positive light. I know even more that the vast majority of blame can be laid solidly on the shoulders of my manager. I figured it was such, and now it has been confirmed. There's always some relief in knowing the full truth behind such matters...
There are many people who asked for the 'off the record,' frank truth about things. Though I think I gave decent answers at the time, I feel there is more I should tell them, more that they deserve to know, that I tend to best express in writing. This I will be doing, Fri. and Sat.
It also touches my heart that the servers seem to be aware of my leaving as well. I went in briefly on Sat. for the last time, and Sun. they crashed (don't have details, but mail, internet and intranet web servers, and 'net connectivity), having serious problems well into Tuesday. I hand-crafted each of the Linux servers, and I'm glad that it would appear that my babies know that their daddy's gone. So here's my farewell to Asgard, in digital form as befits them.
Heimdall - You've been a rock. Of all the servers, you've been the quietest, and have asked the least of my attentions. Thank you for keeping the network secure, with the rulesets forged by my brother and constantly refined by myself over the years. No (known) break-ins in all the years you've been up, I give you my thanks.
Freya - With your harddrive failure those years back, you taught me the importance of creating and having Loki around. Though I've cursed your name for that, in the long run it was for the better for Asgard. A scrappy machine running that heat-prone Thunderbird CPU with no problems, you've been solid ever since that harddrive incident. No matter what weird shit the Marketing Department asked me to do with you, you always worked. A slut for the necessity of being a web-server, you're still a queen as well...
Hermod - For what you do, you're the most underpowered system. Though the new manager thinks his bloody 'spam appliance' does all the work, I know the truth about how much protection you still give behind the scenes. You work hard and long, and have only given me a few problems over time. And the last time seemed more an excuse to upgrade you and test out the latest install than a serious fault, something the new manager wouldn't let me do on my own. Keep chugging, and I hope QSI will call me when they finally retire you. Your first-gen Xenon processor would be a SWEET addition to my collection...
Yggdrasil - You've probably changed the most, in terms of hardware and roles. From humble routing machine and basic intranet server, to the souped-up intranet server and back-up server. I know it wasn't your fault for the last install being unstable, I should've double-checked Chad's work more. I'm sorry I wasn't able to protect you from the new manager, I only hope you find peace wherever he decides to place you.
Loki - With all the problems you gave me at first, I was never sure if it was karma from the name, or if we just found the right name to describe you. A little of both, I still think. As the mirrored backup server you have served well, giving me the convenience needed to upgrade/install/whatever whichever of the above 4 servers I needed to. I'm sorry that the new manager doesn't see your importance, and hope that you'll continue to serve well in Yggdrasil's place. For the sake of people I care about at QSI, I hope you're not needed in your intended role in the near future...
The above 5 servers I worked with the most, and have crafted with the most care over time. Now, for other inhabitants of Asgard.
Odin - Second only to Heimdall (and only by a narrow margin), you've been nice and reliable. Though your components have changed much over time, you've steadily chugged away as the file-server the whole time.
Vor - To be honest, I've always been fairly indifferent to you. The black sheep of Asgard, you've always been 'that one Windows server we HAVE to have.' You were always Chad's baby, and I was more than happy to let him deal with you. Visual Manufacturing is just one big PITA, so you can keep it.
Munin - I feel sorry for you being caught between the new manager and the security company and the way they broke you, but dem's the breaks, kiddo. Your security recordings are next to useless in a real situation, you've always been 'just another machine taking up space.' Being a Windows box never helped either, but at least you're not a real 'server,' so I really don't begrudge you that.
"Patrol" - You're in Asgard, but you're not of Asgard. You are an outsider, one of -his- "bright ideas." Though I pity you for being one of his creations, just slapped together with no customization and a generic install, that's about all I can say for you.
"BossHog" - Again, you're not part of Asgard. You're not even a real machine, you're just an "appliance," the first manifestation of the new manager's habit of throwing money at problems instead of knowing what the Hell he's doing. You and Patrol are only mentioned for the sake of completion, really.
And lastly, machines not in Asgard physically, but part of it nonetheless.
Fulla - I'm sorry your hardware has been so neglected over time. You still really hang in there though, and do what Stephen asks of you. I hope you'll be well in Stephen's hands from here out, at least feel lucky you're being considered his server instead of the new manager's...
Gugnir - You've been good to me all these years, especially when I converted you primarily to a Linux machine. Sorry that I always pushed your memory limits so hard, but that's what let me do what I needed to. I really don't know where you'll wind up, but I hope it's a better place than the other older desktops.
And if you're still reading this, yes, I anthropomorphize my machines a lot, and yes, the servers of QSI were named after the Norse pantheon (by my brother and I). So sue me... :p