When it rains…

It frikkin’ pours…

So finally back of extended travel, into the second day of trying to get the ‘new’ computer to work (and figure out how to reconstruct three years of links, etc that mysteriously didn’t get migrated)… And get all the software to actually work…  And get my emails to reload from the server…

While still waiting on tech support to show up.  I called, they are “swamped”.  Gee, I ‘wonder’ why…

AND find all the drives (that never got remapped either), and find the printers…

I wander down for another cup of coffee and commiserate with a co-worker (who held on to his old computer, thanks for taking care of me there buddy)…

While I wait for another ‘fix’ to be pushed to my ‘new’ computer…

I go back to my desk only to be ‘confronted’ by one of the beancounters.  In the usual supercilious manner (why do they all come across like that?), drops a pile of paperwork and says, “Oh you have to have the rest of your FY budget in by tomorrow morning.  We’re going to sweep all extra money in two weeks.”

Say WHUT??? Tomorrow??? YGTBSM…

And then the fight started…

Sooooo  I look at the top form, and it’s dated THREE weeks ago!!!

“Errr, just how long have you had this?”

Airily, “Oh we got it three weeks ago, but since you weren’t here, we didn’t forward it to you.  But it’s STILL due tomorrow.”

I just looked at her and said, “Unpossible, I need at least two weeks to figure out what is going to happen with… X, Y, and Z…”

You’d have thought I slapped her upside the head (I might have ‘thought’ about it, but no I didn’t)…

Now snippy with anger, “No, you WILL have it in tomorrow or we’ll take your money.”

“Okay, fine… I’ll disburse ALL the money today, and you can go (I didn’t say it, just thought it) away now”

Now just pissed, “You CAN’T do that!”

“Hide and watch.” And I turned my back on her.  And she stomped off (well as loud as one can stomp on carpet anyway)…

I gave her 30 seconds to get out of sight, and ran over to my financial manager’s office, as I walked in she asked, “What did the wicked witch want?”

After I told her, she just shook her head…

But three hours later, I had no money left… 🙂

And went back to trying to get the computer to work, only to find out the encrypted external hard drive is now a paperweight since they changed encryption systems on the ‘new’ computer, and 11 years worth of data is now inaccessible unless we can go find my old computer and get it hooked back up to get the encryption migrated…

‘Something’ tells me I’ll probably be called on the carpet tomorrow… Again…

There are days when retirement gets REALLY attractive… Sigh…

Comments

When it rains… — 30 Comments

  1. Yessir. Been there, had that done to me far too often. I learned early in the game to back up all critical points and parts on an open, non-company server or machine. Just never told anyone. Saved my behind many times.

    *sigh* The arrogance of corporates never ceases to amaze me. Retirement looks downright blissful now.

  2. Played that game for too many years.
    Retirement IS bliss! I have time for my rifle practice regularly, work on the old car when I feel like it, sleep in when I feel like it and reload when I need it.

  3. Welcome home…

    The drones have a way of dumping things on the person who isn’t there, so that they can blame them. It’s a wicked pattern of that species of humanity who need to receive Darwin Awards.

  4. When you get to the point that you no longer consider mass graves a bad thing it’s time to retire.

  5. Sounds like your IMO needs a smack to the skull.

    The printers I can understand. But to ignore the encrypted HDD.. that just reeks of incompetence.
    Ask him to look for the bitlocker key in AD.

    And if its not there, then the IT Dept up there is doing something wrong. The backwater NEC here can do that =p

  6. Your firm doesn’t have a backup system that is down (or up)loaded every night? It helps in situations like this. Oh well, as long as you have access to all your pictures and jokes…

  7. I feel your pain. When what ever version of Windows was put to sleep the other day, a whole wad of former .gov customers field nets went dead. They were warned of the this for a couple of years.

    We still support them under a different contract so we’ll get this fixed if it takes every penny they have. ;>

  8. I have come to the conclusion that one of the most valuable things IT does for an organization is lose their data permanently. Once it is lost like this, you get used to it being lost and you forget why you needed it in the first place. Losing it, save all the permanent storage costs and prevents nosy FOIA rooting around years later. Win-win-win.

  9. I had one of those moments the other day. Our Brigade S-2 is professionally competent, but she is ditzy as hell. During a briefing the other day, she drew out a very detailed threat assessment of something or other. Very well done, easy to follow diagram on a dry erase board. However, genius used a red Sharpie for most of it, including the confidential type stuff.

    Had to destroy the white board. lol

  10. I understand the desire to retire – and if I could afford it, I would. I also understand the desire to slap the (deleted) out of someone who desperately needs it.

    I’m proud of you for NOT doing so. 🙂

  11. Retirement, is boring. So if your IT folks give you challenges, and the financial folks are foolish, you would get bored to tears in retirement.

    You live life, and your work, is based on moving the immovable, resisting the floods, typhoons and quakes – so you can have a nice dinner and a drink and tell tales.

    Real life — never give up and retire.

  12. Sounds like the start of one tough day. 🙁
    Some of the best counsel I ever received was:
    “Beware of anger:
    1. It will cloud your judgement, and
    2. You will make mistakes.”
    So can the anger, focus on the problems, prioritize, and
    get it done 🙂

    When you’re done and turn in your work, apologize to the lady and thank her for trying to save your hide. Should settle any sore feelings 🙂

    Prayers sent your way, and hope your day goes very well henceforward.

  13. All- Thanks for the support! Currently waiting on Tier 2 IT support to show up…

    Posted from my iPhone.

  14. Sometimes I wish I had a job that was fulfilling, had meaning, could point to accomplishments, etc, then I read this and realize that I really don’t need/want all the hassles that go with it. Thanks for helping me realize how easy I have it.

  15. Heh. Forced NMCI migration to Windows 7. I know lots of folks in N89 lost entire archives like you did. Damn stupid of NMCI not having offline or server backups of users systems and home directories.
    Worst part of our world? We can’t brag about our accomplishments.
    I’ve run out of places to hide the bodies. Though there’s lots of desert in China Lake, Edwards, and more remote locations. Chin up!

  16. I don’t know what type of ADP/IS/IT you have on your ship/unit (whatever), but they need to be sent back to the pit from whence they came.

    Retired RMC,

    GCCS, CPF, C7F, C3f…
    You need any computer help..just ask.

    P.S. I had to deal with so monkeys who were assigned to be techs (especially when radiomen migrated to pick up the IT tab) that it makes you wonder if some people never did climb outta the tree.
    Crotch monkeys 🙂

  17. WN- Ding, ding, you win! AND throw in a new computer too… sigh… Now have one external hard drive that is ‘probably’ a paperweight…

    Fritz- What caliber for IT idjits??? And agreed! You ever spend any time at NCTAMS? If so I ‘might’ have talked to you.

  18. Put the bodies under the raised flooring as close to the air handlers as possible. That’ll keep them from smelling. Also dries them out making them lighter and easier to sneak out when the kerfuffle has died down.

    • Or find a suitably cold networking closet/server room that nobody goes into. Plant the bodies under the floor there. Not only dehydrated, but freeze-dried to boot.

  19. Yikes!
    I’ve been having techie issues at home (mostly of my own ignorance and making) but nothing like that!

    Maroon!

    gfa

  20. Stretch/WN- I ‘think’ there is already a stack in there, from talking to co-workers… sigh

    gfa- Yep, sucks to be me…

  21. Had the same experience with the same entity, they also managed to lose my entire email archive. Gave up on external hard drives a couple of tech refreshes ago.

  22. No wonder people go postal.

    Seems to me the fix would be to- in future -make backups frequently on a private external hard-drive and take the drive home.

    It’d be violating any of a hundred security rules, but I think we’ve established that your IT department isn’t capable of doing it themselves.

  23. Tell me you didn’t lose my book order.
    I’ll fly back there and clock her myself.