A surreal experience at the end of my day today. I had stayed late to take care of some things and, around 6:30, headed down to the lab to finish up. That late, the offices are mostly dark, and (since it's been raining most of the day) the hallways are kind of shadowy and vaguely creepy. As I was heading down the (also dark) staircase, I heard someone whistling the Harry Potter theme. Whoever it was actually had really good pitch, but the whistling faded away into the creepy empty offices and I never saw who it was.
It was an interesting if mildly surreal experience, and surprisingly good atmospherics to make it work. Since I'm 100% sure I'm a muggle, I guess I should start keeping an eye out for lurking Slytherins in the halls after hours.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Sharing the pain isn't always the right strategy
Why is it it that you're only a team player if you don't have a life?
The immediate back story - last year the company thought there might be a slowdown and they didn't want to have a bunch of people on overhead for a few months while they found new contracts because that would lower our profit margins and by extension, decrease the executive bonuses. So they laid people off, in weekly rolling waves. Fast forward a few months, and all the contracts we leads said were coming in have arrived. And we are short staffed at least 50 people in one particular area that was hardest hit by the layoffs. And, in an apparent shocker, no one is willing to work uncompensated overtime.
So, a multiple choice quesion. Does our fearless leader:
A. Put pressure on our HR people to speed up the hiring process
B. Allow paid overtime
C. Ask for voluntary transfers
D. Spread the pain around by pulling people off their assigned tasks to backfill the program she didn't think was worth the overhead money
If you chose A, B or C... I would really like to work where you do. But, alas, our brilliant automaton chose option D. Which leaves me in an impossible position - the other program asked for me specifically because of some work I had done for them in the past, but my current job takes up all of my time (including a sickening number of my days off) and Dr. Evil sees no reason why I can't be all things to all people and simply do both jobs. I vetoed that and got the "We need you to be a team player" speech. Shockingly, I remain unpersuaded. Seriously, I don't mind taking one for the team, but this is just too much to ask.
On a happier note - my new favorite cross stitch pattern place just had a big sale. Ok, I have more projects than I can finish in a lifetime - they're still really cool.
The immediate back story - last year the company thought there might be a slowdown and they didn't want to have a bunch of people on overhead for a few months while they found new contracts because that would lower our profit margins and by extension, decrease the executive bonuses. So they laid people off, in weekly rolling waves. Fast forward a few months, and all the contracts we leads said were coming in have arrived. And we are short staffed at least 50 people in one particular area that was hardest hit by the layoffs. And, in an apparent shocker, no one is willing to work uncompensated overtime.
So, a multiple choice quesion. Does our fearless leader:
A. Put pressure on our HR people to speed up the hiring process
B. Allow paid overtime
C. Ask for voluntary transfers
D. Spread the pain around by pulling people off their assigned tasks to backfill the program she didn't think was worth the overhead money
If you chose A, B or C... I would really like to work where you do. But, alas, our brilliant automaton chose option D. Which leaves me in an impossible position - the other program asked for me specifically because of some work I had done for them in the past, but my current job takes up all of my time (including a sickening number of my days off) and Dr. Evil sees no reason why I can't be all things to all people and simply do both jobs. I vetoed that and got the "We need you to be a team player" speech. Shockingly, I remain unpersuaded. Seriously, I don't mind taking one for the team, but this is just too much to ask.
On a happier note - my new favorite cross stitch pattern place just had a big sale. Ok, I have more projects than I can finish in a lifetime - they're still really cool.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Oh, Sudafed, How Do I Love Thee?
Let me count the ways:
1. Because with your help I can breathe through my nose. No one, no matter how sincerely they may try, can breathe through their mouth without looking rather like a trout, which honestly isn't my best look
2. Now the balloon in my head is smaller and more manageable (though I still think my head is at least the size of a large pumpkin)
3. No one wants to go to work and be "that" person snorfling and sneezing in their cube all day
4. While you make me sleepy, you don't make me so sleepy that I spontaneously pass out on the couch and wake up the next morning crackling like a bowl of rice crispies
In somewhat related news, I have found cross stitch nirvana (because nothing says I'm home and sick and feeling sorry for myself like an epic cross stitch project). The site is called Heaven and Earth Designs and if I live to be around 300, I can actually finish all the projects I want to do. A minor problem, I know... I'll have to work on that whole "live forever".
Catching up on vacation news. Chicago stopped only a very little short of being a total disaster. It was totally my fault, though. I had somehow managed to miss the fact that the one weekend I was free to go was also NATO conference weekend. Even after I found out, I thought it would be OK (the conference wasn't scheduled to start until the day I was leaving). But no. Most of the major museums were closed that Saturday. So, no famous Art Institute, no Field Museum, no great views of the city from the Aquarium. *muttering*
The Chicago City Museum was, very fortunately, quite nice and it was still possible to see a lot of the architecture. I also got to see Millennium Park (the bean is actually really, really cool) and the waterfront and do some shopping. A note on being a pedestrian in a city expecting the NATO apocalypse - when you see a platoon of mounted police heading to the place were all the helicopters are hovering, it's best to head the other way.
Stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel - the pool alone is worth a trip to this hotel. It's also right next door to the Tribune building. Chunks of stone from all over the world are embedded into the tribune building, so you can see pieces of the Great Wall, the Taj Mahal, I think I saw a plaque for the pyramids, etc in the facade of the building. I know, nerdy, but I love rocks.
Also loved, despite the New Yorker in me screaming bloody murder about my treachery - Chicago deep dish pizza. Ate at Gino's East (worth the wait, both standing outside for a table and inside waiting for the pizza) - as a hint, unless there are at least 3 of you (or two if one is a sumo wrestler), do not order an appetizer if you get even a small deep dish pizza.
1. Because with your help I can breathe through my nose. No one, no matter how sincerely they may try, can breathe through their mouth without looking rather like a trout, which honestly isn't my best look
2. Now the balloon in my head is smaller and more manageable (though I still think my head is at least the size of a large pumpkin)
3. No one wants to go to work and be "that" person snorfling and sneezing in their cube all day
4. While you make me sleepy, you don't make me so sleepy that I spontaneously pass out on the couch and wake up the next morning crackling like a bowl of rice crispies
In somewhat related news, I have found cross stitch nirvana (because nothing says I'm home and sick and feeling sorry for myself like an epic cross stitch project). The site is called Heaven and Earth Designs and if I live to be around 300, I can actually finish all the projects I want to do. A minor problem, I know... I'll have to work on that whole "live forever".
Catching up on vacation news. Chicago stopped only a very little short of being a total disaster. It was totally my fault, though. I had somehow managed to miss the fact that the one weekend I was free to go was also NATO conference weekend. Even after I found out, I thought it would be OK (the conference wasn't scheduled to start until the day I was leaving). But no. Most of the major museums were closed that Saturday. So, no famous Art Institute, no Field Museum, no great views of the city from the Aquarium. *muttering*
The Chicago City Museum was, very fortunately, quite nice and it was still possible to see a lot of the architecture. I also got to see Millennium Park (the bean is actually really, really cool) and the waterfront and do some shopping. A note on being a pedestrian in a city expecting the NATO apocalypse - when you see a platoon of mounted police heading to the place were all the helicopters are hovering, it's best to head the other way.
Stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel - the pool alone is worth a trip to this hotel. It's also right next door to the Tribune building. Chunks of stone from all over the world are embedded into the tribune building, so you can see pieces of the Great Wall, the Taj Mahal, I think I saw a plaque for the pyramids, etc in the facade of the building. I know, nerdy, but I love rocks.
Also loved, despite the New Yorker in me screaming bloody murder about my treachery - Chicago deep dish pizza. Ate at Gino's East (worth the wait, both standing outside for a table and inside waiting for the pizza) - as a hint, unless there are at least 3 of you (or two if one is a sumo wrestler), do not order an appetizer if you get even a small deep dish pizza.
Ultimately, it's not fair to compare Chicago and San Francisco. I saw one on a tough weekend, the other on a perfect weekend, though it was much easier to walk around Chicago... fewer hills. Here are some other good things about Chicago: the people are really, really friendly. The architecture is amazing, and there's a lot of variety, from sky scrapers (Sorry, Willis Co. it will always be the Sears tower to me) to Frank Lloyd Wright. It has great park spaces, and they're spread throughout the city so each one has a slightly different character. Public transit is efficient and convenient, so you can save your rental car money for a nicer hotel or shopping, etc. Pedestrian friendly and great downtown core.
Highlights: Millennium Park, deep dish pizza (I will deny everything if confronted about this back home), City Museum
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Adventures in Tires
Although it's been a wonderfully mild winter up here in the darkness of New Hampshire, I recently noticed my rear tires were getting decidedly worn...like, nearly bald worn. It's an all-wheel drive (a 2005 RAV-4) which means the tires must be replaced all together. It is marginally more expensive than a regular car, but being able to pull out of my driveway through 30+ inches of snow so that the plow guy can clear things is well worth the price (7/8 of the years I've lived here, we've had 30+ inch storms; I've only had to replace my tires once before).
Being just one person, I have just one car. This usually means that I get to sit around enjoying the best of last year's Car & Driver magazines for a few hours on a vinyl couch. Exciting! I decided to take an early morning appointment figuring there would be few people in front of me, so I'd wait a little bit less. As it turns out, I could have slept in... the dealership now offers a shuttle service for singles like me. You drop off your car, they drop you off at home (or the mall, or wherever) and then come get you when your car is done. Hanging out reading the paper with my 4th cup of coffee is pretty much what I'd do on a rainy day off anyway.
Of course, there's always a catch. Driving home from work two days later, the air pressure warning light came on. I take the next exit, find a nice empty parking lot and check my tire pressure... no problems. So I call the dealer, who tells me just to reset the indicator and go about my business, which I do. Light stays out the rest of the way home, problem solved. Or not. Today, the same thing happened. Same light, same pulling over, etc. This time, I took the car straight back to the dealer instead of calling. Oh, the fun. "Did you check the tire pressure?" Yup, 29-ish PSI in all four brand new tires. "29! It should be more like 32!" Um, the owners manual says 29. "Oh. Did you check your spare, it has a sensor too." *sigh* Eventually they agree to look at it.
About 30 minutes later, a very apologetic customer service agent comes out with my keys and tells me I'm good to go. The problem? They accidentally forgot to "properly reset" the pressure sensors for the new tires. I may wear high heels, but I have wicket PSI skills.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
How Much Does An Elliptical Machine Weigh?
The world really isn't built for single people. Case in point, my new elliptical machine. I've been waiting for over a year to buy this thing, and I love the machine I got, but the delivery was a comedy less of errors than of frustration. This isn't a complaint about the number of pieces, as this is one of those cases where a mechanical engineering degree comes in handy. This isn't a complaint about the features, the cost or quality of the machine. This is about how bloody heavy the thing is.
In general, it's great to have a solid, well constructed, durable machine. Until it's delivered 3 hours too early. Now, if I lived in a two income household, things like really early deliveries would be a simple negotiation of who stays home, but it's just me. If I don't work, I don't get paid and thus can't pay my bills, including paying for the new exercise toys. So, I have to be at the office regularly, and a certain shipping company doesn't seem to pay too much mind to the delivery windows that they set. The worst part of it all isn't that the machine came early, but rather that I wasn't home to let them in, so they just plunked it in my driveway. On a pallet. In the rain.
Given how well packed it is, none of the parts were damaged by the drizzle (indeed, I think some of the cardboard packaging is so dense that the Mythbusters should test it out to see if it's actually bullet proof). That's the good news. The bad news? The box weighs 300+ lbs. And it's in my driveway, not my house. Now, a reasonably fit couple could move this monstrosity into the house with some grunting, groaning and discomfort, but no real show stopping difficulties. One person alone and not a professional body builder? Just about impossible. First, I tried the "PUSH!!" method. No go (literally). Next I tried the divide and conquer technique. I did manage to pull a lot of heavy pieces out of the box, but the 200 lb base still remains. I next tried applying leverage, and did get it up one stair, but couldn't manage the next step.
Out of viable solo choices and somewhat tired, I leaned against my car to contemplate my options when my neighbor (bless him) shouts across the street to see if I need a hand. I flatter myself that the 100 lbs of assorted peddles and parts that I managed to haul in piece by piece helped a little, but the real truth is that with just me, I'd probably still be out there trying to get that thing through the door. With help, we had the base in the house in less than a minute. I am grateful for the assist, but really, it would have been so easy to deliver it on time (and I was home an hour before the delivery window was supposed to start) and avoid all the hauling and pushing and general frustration.
Oh, and as a coda - I checked the packing slip. The total weight was listed at 376 lbs. No wonder I could barely move the thing.
In general, it's great to have a solid, well constructed, durable machine. Until it's delivered 3 hours too early. Now, if I lived in a two income household, things like really early deliveries would be a simple negotiation of who stays home, but it's just me. If I don't work, I don't get paid and thus can't pay my bills, including paying for the new exercise toys. So, I have to be at the office regularly, and a certain shipping company doesn't seem to pay too much mind to the delivery windows that they set. The worst part of it all isn't that the machine came early, but rather that I wasn't home to let them in, so they just plunked it in my driveway. On a pallet. In the rain.
Given how well packed it is, none of the parts were damaged by the drizzle (indeed, I think some of the cardboard packaging is so dense that the Mythbusters should test it out to see if it's actually bullet proof). That's the good news. The bad news? The box weighs 300+ lbs. And it's in my driveway, not my house. Now, a reasonably fit couple could move this monstrosity into the house with some grunting, groaning and discomfort, but no real show stopping difficulties. One person alone and not a professional body builder? Just about impossible. First, I tried the "PUSH!!" method. No go (literally). Next I tried the divide and conquer technique. I did manage to pull a lot of heavy pieces out of the box, but the 200 lb base still remains. I next tried applying leverage, and did get it up one stair, but couldn't manage the next step.
Out of viable solo choices and somewhat tired, I leaned against my car to contemplate my options when my neighbor (bless him) shouts across the street to see if I need a hand. I flatter myself that the 100 lbs of assorted peddles and parts that I managed to haul in piece by piece helped a little, but the real truth is that with just me, I'd probably still be out there trying to get that thing through the door. With help, we had the base in the house in less than a minute. I am grateful for the assist, but really, it would have been so easy to deliver it on time (and I was home an hour before the delivery window was supposed to start) and avoid all the hauling and pushing and general frustration.
Oh, and as a coda - I checked the packing slip. The total weight was listed at 376 lbs. No wonder I could barely move the thing.
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