this is the kind of shit that i just love about work
03.16.05 (2:09 pm) [edit]
my big claim to fame at work is my ability to develop databases. that's not saying a whole lot in this instance, because the databases i'm called upon to construct are pretty piddly. i'm the only one here who can do it, though, so i'm called upon frequently to create or fix or alter something. i actually enjoy working on them.
a couple of days ago, a co-worker (t.) called me to ask if i'd develop a separate database which would run inside of an existing database. basically it involved just creating a new series of automatically generated purchase order numbers within an existing purchase order system. i thought i understood what t. was looking for, but the woman who is responsible for input--let's call her k.--called me up right after i spoke with him, wanting to know if i understood what they wanted. uh yeah. duh. not that hard to understand. however, i was my unfailingly polite and professional self. "sure," i said.
after i started working in the database, i noticed that some of the scripts weren't functioning. i don't know whether no one wanted to mention it to me (highly unlikely) or no one needed those functions or (fill in the blank with whatever else could be going on). regardless of the reason for not hearing about the malfunctions, i went about repairing the scripts. that took a little while to complete because i kept trying to figure out how they'd gotten screwed up to begin with. eventually, i abandoned my investigation and just made the repairs. i then created the database they requested. as i left that afternoon, i told k. i'd finished the work. she said, "well, maybe tomorrow you could teach jordan and me how to use it." i started to tell her there was nothing to teach, but it was five o'clock and i wasn't in the mood to have a discussion about it.
a little while ago, she called me and wanted me to explain how to use it to her and jordan. i admit to being a big exasperated, but i told myself that it would only take a few minutes and i should just get over myself. i went into the reception area where jordan, our college student, was inputting data. i showed her how to switch between the two numbering systems. she got it immediately.
then k. started asking me how it was going to work. uh oh. she was supposed to be giving a block of restricted p.o. numbers to an offsite employee, while reserving the original p.o. numbers for the supervisor here. i detailed my understanding of it. she was in a quandary. "but i don't understand how it's going to work." about that time, j.p., the company accountant, came in and explained it to her, too. she was still puzzled. i tried one more time. nope. didn't get it.
i suggested that she think about it for a while and talk to me about it when she could formulate a clearer question or better define what was lacking in the database that was causing her so much consternation. "well, i just don't understand how it's going to work." okay, limit of patience reached and exceeded. "i don't know and i don't really care. i just tried to give you what you and t. asked for," i said with a smile on my face so as not to seem like the raging bitch i was on the inside. meanwhile, jordan is entering the information into the database with no problem.
it turns out that k. has a problem with the whole concept. she doesn't think the system that she and t. came up with will work. well, there's not much i can do about that, is there? again, i don't really care how it works. just tell me what you need and i'll do it. i suggested that she and t. get together and work it out amongst themselves and get back with me when consensus was reached.
this is exactly the kind of thing that happens all the time here. jesus fucking christ, if you don't know what you want, then leave me alone until you do. i have important personal matters to attend to. for one thing, i need to read my voluminous email. i might also wish to make a journal entry. there are any number of things i might need to do that i find infinitely more important than reinventing the wheel every hour or so.
i know that i have a problem with impatience. i work on it diligently. i require that people think. when they won't or don't think, i get annoyed. k. is exceptionally good at being so intellectually befuddled that it takes every fiber of my being not to be extremely confrontational about it.
i was proofreading some of her work yesterday and i noted something she had neglected to include. i pointed that out to her. she then spent a good 45 minutes telling me why she thought the error didn't matter. yesterday i was sane enough to move on and think about other things while she talked to me about it.
shortly after we (or rather, i) finished our database conversation, she started asking me why this particular client requires that every single thing we do be billed separately. here again, i don't know and i don't care. this is how they are. they are our client and our job is to meet their needs, not ours. i told her to stop thinking about it. "they've always been that way and they probably always will be," i said. she told me things like this keep her up at night. why?! here's a situation where understanding something is completely beside the point.
okay. i feel better now. sometimes if i can't talk about the things that go on here, i fear i might end up beating my head against some wall somewhere. we should all breathe a little easier that i don't own any firearms.
here's the quote of the day:
"If you have a job without aggravations, you don't have a job." ~ Malcolm Forbes (1919-1990) American editor & publisher of Forbes magazine
america held hostage day 1890
bushism of the day:
"Natural gas is hemispheric. I like to call it hemispheric in nature because it is a product that we can find in our neighborhoods."
—Austin, Texas, Dec. 20, 2000
no website of the day.
a couple of days ago, a co-worker (t.) called me to ask if i'd develop a separate database which would run inside of an existing database. basically it involved just creating a new series of automatically generated purchase order numbers within an existing purchase order system. i thought i understood what t. was looking for, but the woman who is responsible for input--let's call her k.--called me up right after i spoke with him, wanting to know if i understood what they wanted. uh yeah. duh. not that hard to understand. however, i was my unfailingly polite and professional self. "sure," i said.
after i started working in the database, i noticed that some of the scripts weren't functioning. i don't know whether no one wanted to mention it to me (highly unlikely) or no one needed those functions or (fill in the blank with whatever else could be going on). regardless of the reason for not hearing about the malfunctions, i went about repairing the scripts. that took a little while to complete because i kept trying to figure out how they'd gotten screwed up to begin with. eventually, i abandoned my investigation and just made the repairs. i then created the database they requested. as i left that afternoon, i told k. i'd finished the work. she said, "well, maybe tomorrow you could teach jordan and me how to use it." i started to tell her there was nothing to teach, but it was five o'clock and i wasn't in the mood to have a discussion about it.
a little while ago, she called me and wanted me to explain how to use it to her and jordan. i admit to being a big exasperated, but i told myself that it would only take a few minutes and i should just get over myself. i went into the reception area where jordan, our college student, was inputting data. i showed her how to switch between the two numbering systems. she got it immediately.
then k. started asking me how it was going to work. uh oh. she was supposed to be giving a block of restricted p.o. numbers to an offsite employee, while reserving the original p.o. numbers for the supervisor here. i detailed my understanding of it. she was in a quandary. "but i don't understand how it's going to work." about that time, j.p., the company accountant, came in and explained it to her, too. she was still puzzled. i tried one more time. nope. didn't get it.
i suggested that she think about it for a while and talk to me about it when she could formulate a clearer question or better define what was lacking in the database that was causing her so much consternation. "well, i just don't understand how it's going to work." okay, limit of patience reached and exceeded. "i don't know and i don't really care. i just tried to give you what you and t. asked for," i said with a smile on my face so as not to seem like the raging bitch i was on the inside. meanwhile, jordan is entering the information into the database with no problem.
it turns out that k. has a problem with the whole concept. she doesn't think the system that she and t. came up with will work. well, there's not much i can do about that, is there? again, i don't really care how it works. just tell me what you need and i'll do it. i suggested that she and t. get together and work it out amongst themselves and get back with me when consensus was reached.
this is exactly the kind of thing that happens all the time here. jesus fucking christ, if you don't know what you want, then leave me alone until you do. i have important personal matters to attend to. for one thing, i need to read my voluminous email. i might also wish to make a journal entry. there are any number of things i might need to do that i find infinitely more important than reinventing the wheel every hour or so.
i know that i have a problem with impatience. i work on it diligently. i require that people think. when they won't or don't think, i get annoyed. k. is exceptionally good at being so intellectually befuddled that it takes every fiber of my being not to be extremely confrontational about it.
i was proofreading some of her work yesterday and i noted something she had neglected to include. i pointed that out to her. she then spent a good 45 minutes telling me why she thought the error didn't matter. yesterday i was sane enough to move on and think about other things while she talked to me about it.
shortly after we (or rather, i) finished our database conversation, she started asking me why this particular client requires that every single thing we do be billed separately. here again, i don't know and i don't care. this is how they are. they are our client and our job is to meet their needs, not ours. i told her to stop thinking about it. "they've always been that way and they probably always will be," i said. she told me things like this keep her up at night. why?! here's a situation where understanding something is completely beside the point.
okay. i feel better now. sometimes if i can't talk about the things that go on here, i fear i might end up beating my head against some wall somewhere. we should all breathe a little easier that i don't own any firearms.
here's the quote of the day:
"If you have a job without aggravations, you don't have a job." ~ Malcolm Forbes (1919-1990) American editor & publisher of Forbes magazine
america held hostage day 1890
bushism of the day:
"Natural gas is hemispheric. I like to call it hemispheric in nature because it is a product that we can find in our neighborhoods."
—Austin, Texas, Dec. 20, 2000
no website of the day.
