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1/06/2009

And the beat goes on ....

I remember Cher when she had those two teeth that stuck out and she was really skinny and Sonny - well, he was just butt ugly and couldn't sing if his life depended on it. Sonny, as it turned out, was an alright guy and Cher, well, she, over the years, has worn stuff in her shows that gives a whole new meaning to the concept of "Leaving it to the imagination". Or not.

You know, I don't usually whine much, here. From time to time I might detail a thing or two that happens - usually those things that interrupt the flow and prevent me from getting to the things I want to get to, like painting or writing. But lately, I have been having the worst run of luck with some hardware at work and it is going to make me crazy if it doesn't get straightened out soon. The problem is that this equipment is maintained by the vendor, under warranty and contract, so I can't get in there and fix it myself without voiding the contracts on some fairly expensive equipment. The fact that I COULD and WOULD fix it right the first time notwithstanding, I have to rely on others to fix this stuff. And they keep effing things up. And it isn't so much the days I spend at work when I should be home, or on vacation, or out drinking myself stupid on New Year's Eve - it's the friggin' STRESS. One of these days the database isn't going to come back up after I attempt recovery and it's going to take me two days to restore the system from tape - and the Company will be out of business for those two days - and everybody is going to be pissed off at ME. Hey, I guess if all this was easy, I wouldn't have a job - but still ....

Anyway, enough ranting. Two weeks and three days. And counting.

I do, by the way, have a Disaster Recovery System - but the recent issues have thrown it out of sync with the production database. So right now .. well, when I was in the Marines, we would call this "Going bald". Which was not recommended. If you know what I mean. Ahem.

Speaking of the Marines ...

In the summer of 1963 I left the United States for the first time. My Marine Corps unit went for a tour of duty in the Far East. Okinawa, Japan, The Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan. We made the Grand Tour. Although not virginal when I left, I was relatively inexperienced. By the time we got back, in the early Fall of 1964, I had learned a thing or two. Maybe, someday, if I'm really hard up for posting material, I'll tell you all about it. The only reason I mention this is because I was reminded of my time in 'The Corps' with the 'going bald' remark - which, if you haven't figured it out yet, has nothing to do with the hair on my head. And right now, there's at least one of you that's scratching your head saying "What on EARTH???"

Ndinombethe.

30 comments:

Suzanne said...

Almost sounds like you work for Sungard or Comdisco. (Right about now, I'm kicking myself that I insisted Ed quit his Mainframe Ops job and come to me in Maryland. My job was more portable than his.)

Hang in there, listening to some GOOD 70's music will get you through the night...

Jennifer said...

LOL

you can't and shouldn't go bald these days either. lol

hope work eases up soon and all this stuff gets worked out for you. that sucks.

hope you had a GREAT New Years Eve and day and I'm wishing you all the BEST in 09!!!

and I'm so glad to see you are still blogging regularly!!

xoxoxo

Ndinombethe said...

U know I'd love to hear your stories of marine days - perhaps over a glass of wine later this month!

Mrs F with 4 said...

We call it 'going commando'!

Unknown said...

Suzanne: 70's music? Well, maybe- although disco left me flat. I rather prefer Donovan, or Dylan or Arlo. I have ALWAYS been a folkie.

Jennifer: Thank you, Jennifer. But the reasons for prophylaxis are few and far between - being married and all.

Tash: Absolutely. Looking forward to it like a kid waiting on a new bike.

Mrs F with 4: Well, I guess in Canada going without underwear could be fatal, what with the cold and all. But around here, 'going commando' usually refers to the above - rarely does it refer to going without 'protection'. But it does. It's just not the first thing that comes to mind.

Shadow said...

i LOVE your rantings. you don't sound pissed at all. just very very funny... sorry....

Anonymous said...

I fought for 7 years to replace the hardware that one of our most important systems was sitting on - the answer was always, "Can't do it, and don't need to since we're replacing the software - it'll last until that's ready."

Yea. Then when all of the projects got cut, and that "most important system" was down for 36 hours - guess who got to say, "told you so, jerkwads."

;-)

It was bittersweet, because I got no sleep for those 36 hours either.

Michael said...

You sound like you have a really interesting job, I am (secretly) quite glad to get back to work after Christmas.
Being a alcoholic christmas isnt the best of times but its my 5th dry and you know I do feel proud.

hockeychic said...

ah the joys of contracts and waiting for vendors to fix things. It would be nice if it were done right and it is so frustrating when you know how to fix it but can't. Funny for you, we got new copiers/scanner/fax/printers here at work and they installed ours and then the fax machine didn't work. You would think they would have tested it but they didn't. So I had to put in a service request. Turns out they had plugged the phone line into the wrong port. Sigh.

calicobebop said...

Speaking as a Squid, I would totally love to hear your Marine Corps stories. I'm assuming that was back before the "kindler gentler" military that we have now? :)

Christy said...

Oh no, you didn't just mildly insult Cher did you???? LOL

Them's fightin' words.

Did your "hair" rot off from all the experience? Eww!! LOL

Emily/Randomability said...

Hockeychic: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Anyway, yeah, it's very frustrating to not being able to fix what you know how to fix and having to go through the proper chain. Ugh...

Eve Grey said...

Yes! Tell us your Marine Corps sex stories! I'm very intrigued now...

Unknown said...

I havr no idea what going bald means other than losing your hair, but I do know what it means to not be able to make a repair because you'll void the warranty. A certain refrigerator comes to mind...

Anonymous said...

Hope you (they) will get things sorted out soon!

Tara R. said...

Never mind 'going bald'... I'm still trying to figure out where Cher fits into all of this. I must be terribly dense.

Unknown said...

Shadow: Nothing to be sorry about.

Ree: I have SO been there and done that - although not at my current job. But I did stay at a nearby hotel during a 4 day power outage, rather than go home, because no one could give us a firm estimate of a return to power.

Michael: And well you should, Sir. Well done you.

Hockeychic: Test it? They were supposed to test it? Oh, they didn't know.

Calicobebop: There was absolutely nothing kind and gentle about the Marine Corps I was in.

Christy: More like it WORE off. :P

Emily: Ugh. My feelings exactly.

Eve Grey: Somehow - just somehow - I get the feeling that YOU are a woman after my own heart.

Karen: See? I told you. What On Earth? Karen (*whispers*) without protection (*wink, wink*).

Nicole: It's fixed as of this moment. we'll see when I cut things back over to the system tonight.

Tara R: No. You're not dense. I guess I mishandled the segue from one subject to another, that's all. Sort of like an errant Payton Manning pass.

Joyce-Anne said...

I'm with Tara. Where does Cher fit into all of this? Maybe I'm dense too...

Unknown said...

Jibber Jabber: You're too fast for me - by the time I got the previous commnet (from me) up you had snuck your in there.

Bad pass from Payton Manning!!!!!

Colleen - Mommy Always Wins said...

Man can I relate with the hardware issues. I just got out of a meeting where a HUGE portion of work was cut out, a portion that would have probably caused me to "go bald" (whatever the hell that means, and whatever the hell the female version would be). I swear I heard angels singing in that conference room.

I feel yer pain!

Holly said...

Why does everyone love to hate the computer/techie guy?! My friend is such, and he works his butt off. I hope everything goes great and you keep all your hair.

Unknown said...

I'm having flashbacks! I can't do my job, because somebody else didn't do their job. Yuck. Maybe you have their techy guy on your speed dial so when all heck breaks loose on a Saturday night, you can call THEM to meet you at work at midnight to help out.

Going bald... does that have to do with friction rubbing the hair right off? Like those crystal embedded hair removal pads... only way more fun?!?

Unknown said...

Colleen: See the reply to Hyphen Mama - because I don't want to do this three times. You guys are going to hate me. Meantime, yay to hearing the angels sing.

HollyATOM: And i work mine off as well. See the next comment - because it has nothing to do with hair.

Hyphen Mama: This last time - I DID have his number. Now - 'going bald' refers to doing something without protection - what civilians would have called 'riding bareback'.
O.K. It's a crude manner of referring to the sex act without a condom. There. I said it.

Jientje said...

I hope they'll fix it the proper way.
Once and for all.
They don't expect you to come back from Trinidad when something happens, do they?
I'm quite curious to hear the Marine stories too I must say!

warriorwoman said...

For some reason the image of an American Bald Eagle keeps running through my head.

Unknown said...

Warriorwoman: Bald? Yes. But no wings. Drumsticks.

Vikki North said...

I'm not scratching my head. I like your post. And what about this fancy smancy new blog design. Wheweeeeeee! Very cool.
Vikki

Unknown said...

Redchair: You're not scratching your head? Why does that not surprise me - and where have you been all my life? And yes - it IS nice, isn't it?

Unknown said...

Whoa! AWESOME new layout!!

And about this post? You lost me at your shop talk. I think geeky-ish tech-ish shop talk is amazingly attractive! All that database and recovery stuff? Rawr.

Yes, I'm a strange cookie indeed!

Soge shirts said...

Lol at going bald Lou. Sorry to hear about the technical difficulties at work. If you are ever up for sharing your marine stories would be great to hear. Digging the new layout.