Well back at work today finally! My first day at my new job was a little slow, what with the mountain of paperwork and documentation to surmount first, but by the end of the day I've got project work to do, and I'm ready to get into it tomorrow. What a change it is to work for a proper professional outfit, instead of the circus I was with before. These guys document, follow procedures, and have some actual structure. Once I wrap my head around it all, it'll be nice to have some order for a change, instead of the instability and chaos that previously ruled. It's also nice to be in the city with lots of people and things going on. I had a nice walk at lunchtime, and it was good to get out and see the world (especially after 7 weeks stuck at home). Overall, I'm feeling pretty optimistic about things. It's going to be a lot of hard work for a little while till I get settled in and understand fully what I'm supposed to be doing, but I think it's going to be a good move in the long run.
Our work move has degenerated into a sideshow - I keep waiting for the clown car to pull up outside the office and disgorge a collection of brightly colored loons. We've been planning for weeks, but Telstra has seen fit to turn our finely orchestrated plans into a mess of catastrophic proportions. They had two weeks to get the phones on, but decided they didn't need to send out an engineer to check that the lines actually worked. Internet got switched off, so the move commenced. Then we discovered that nothing actually worked. Requesting an engineer results in a four day delay (the same delay whether we request a priority callout or not), and even then it's vague as to when the engineer may appear. They then offered to transfer incoming calls to a mobile, which they screwed up cutting off the office phones. Then at about 3 they cut off the internet, so we're now totally shafted since we're an internet-based company. And they wonder why people are unhappy with their service? So now we're stretched between two locations, with the maximum amount of disruption possible.
By the Maker, this week has dragged on something chronic. It's only Thursday, but it feels like this week has been about a century too long. Roll on Friday! We've been flat out changing templates, constantly shunting priorities because she-whose-name-is-not-mentioned keeps changing her mind (woman's perogative I suppose), trying to find somewhere to move, and dealing with Rob's recovery from her 'special project' last week. Incidentally she is doing well, and should be back to full power soon if the return of her usual demeanour is any indication. I can't wait for the end of the week... i'm so tired....
Dammmmnnn! At the 11th hour, the freakin estate agent is mucking us around. Now we may have no office, and nowhere to go. As it is, we're already looking at a weeks delay to get phones and data switched on, and every further delay now will push that out further and further. Now we're trying to come up with Plan Z, but with the local papers commenting today on a severe property shortage in Brisbane, skyrocketing costs for commercial space (it's as high as $600 per square metre now), it's not looking good. Might be a case of working from home for awhile, but even that has logistical problems.
We've finally settled on new premises (after a lot of searching), coupled with an increased workload now we're a 2-man team, it's been a really busy time. At least my relationship with difficult co-worker has improved - he's been a bit more patient and reasonable lately. I was surprised to hear him object to my offer to leave the other day - I thought he'd be glad to be rid of me. Perhaps once you get past the territorially pissing he actually likes having me around?
The new office is small, but for what we're paying for it (ie: bugger all), and given its in the heart of the city, it's pretty good. It certainly has character, growing in the crack between two buildings, featuring polished wood floors and actual opening windows, something that feels a bit more like a design studio. It's definitely more interesting than the space we're in now, which looks like a converted 80's cafeteria.
We need some kind of time machine right now - we're close to running out of time to move, but we still have to organise furniture, moving phones, DSL, and servers. Service providers require a minimum of 2 weeks which doesn't help, and it's a struggle to move without having any service disruption. It looks like we're going to have to make a run to IKEA for some of that crazy furniture that they make so well. I don't think we're going to have much chance of getting a lot of our larger items into the building. The boardroom table might have to stay at the foot of the winding stairwell.
The new office is small, but for what we're paying for it (ie: bugger all), and given its in the heart of the city, it's pretty good. It certainly has character, growing in the crack between two buildings, featuring polished wood floors and actual opening windows, something that feels a bit more like a design studio. It's definitely more interesting than the space we're in now, which looks like a converted 80's cafeteria.
We need some kind of time machine right now - we're close to running out of time to move, but we still have to organise furniture, moving phones, DSL, and servers. Service providers require a minimum of 2 weeks which doesn't help, and it's a struggle to move without having any service disruption. It looks like we're going to have to make a run to IKEA for some of that crazy furniture that they make so well. I don't think we're going to have much chance of getting a lot of our larger items into the building. The boardroom table might have to stay at the foot of the winding stairwell.
Things have been a bit stressful the last few days. Today's the first day I can feel my zen-like calm returning. My team-mate who started at the same time as me was made redundant on Friday, so I've had the whole weekend to stress and obsess about my job security. Talking it out with the boss on Monday did help to allay some of those fears, I just hope they realise that other people are taking risks along with them, and I hope they look after us. We did get some good news today though - we've managed to get out of our hugely expensive building lease, and we'll be moving in a month, so that's all good. Since it's just the four of us now, and usually it's just one or two in the office, I don't think we should bother getting another office. But obviously it's not my decision. I think we're eyeballing a space near the train station, so hopefully we won't be moving too far. A colleague is suggesting moving to the Tech Park which has some merits, but seems a bit far out of the way for everyone but him. I guess we'll find out soon what is happening.
We're going out to celebrate our achievements and hard work on our latest project today. It's really nice to finally work for someone that appreciates your efforts. I've never had a company treat me so well, even down to little things like checking that I'm doing okay. So I'm really looking forward to going out and socializing with my workmates (something pretty much unheard of in NZ), and then tomorrow is a long weekend for Easter. I'm hoping to squeeze in some mountain biking finally.
Rob finally got a job - she is now working with finding people apprenticeship's. She's very excited about the job, and I'm hoping that this will provide some challenge and room to grow in her life, instead of just dealing with daily stupidity like, who likes what boy at school, or who was playing with dog poo at lunchtime. I can understand why she goes a bit nuts at home with the kids sometimes, I had the same thing when she was away overseas last. Sometimes you just need to have some adult conversation.
Micky's triathlon is coming up soon. I took her down to the orientation for it the other day. It's going to be absolutely insane driving to the city, so we've decided we're going to take the train in instead. Shouldn't be a problem taking the bike on it since it's the weekend. Although lately people don't seem to be worrying about it much, and we're getting morons jamming their bikes into the carriages with the commuters during peak time. It's ridiculously cozy in there most of the time - people packed in tightly like sardines in a can.
Beeb is lacking focus at school, and the teacher is having a lot of trouble getting him to stay on task. Apparently he just wanders off and does his own thing. I wondered if he's bored, and they're not challenging him enough, since he comes home everyday with new facts that he's learned, so he's obviously taking things in. We're going to try to incentivize his performance now - Rob's holding a Lego Star Wars game that he wants, but he won't get it until he's earned enough stars on his chart at school.
Rob finally got a job - she is now working with finding people apprenticeship's. She's very excited about the job, and I'm hoping that this will provide some challenge and room to grow in her life, instead of just dealing with daily stupidity like, who likes what boy at school, or who was playing with dog poo at lunchtime. I can understand why she goes a bit nuts at home with the kids sometimes, I had the same thing when she was away overseas last. Sometimes you just need to have some adult conversation.
Micky's triathlon is coming up soon. I took her down to the orientation for it the other day. It's going to be absolutely insane driving to the city, so we've decided we're going to take the train in instead. Shouldn't be a problem taking the bike on it since it's the weekend. Although lately people don't seem to be worrying about it much, and we're getting morons jamming their bikes into the carriages with the commuters during peak time. It's ridiculously cozy in there most of the time - people packed in tightly like sardines in a can.
Beeb is lacking focus at school, and the teacher is having a lot of trouble getting him to stay on task. Apparently he just wanders off and does his own thing. I wondered if he's bored, and they're not challenging him enough, since he comes home everyday with new facts that he's learned, so he's obviously taking things in. We're going to try to incentivize his performance now - Rob's holding a Lego Star Wars game that he wants, but he won't get it until he's earned enough stars on his chart at school.
This job we're doing is such a bear. For the last three days, it's been highly repetitive, and I'm probably well on the way to developing a repetitive strain injury. I'm currently uploading data files into our new system, and it's so highly manual, and repetitive, and boring. I thought computers and automation was supposed to make our lives easier? The person that developed this system should be shot. When I'm finished with this I'm going to sit down and write a tool to do this. I had to upload the same two files to 16 different places today, and reenter all the information for those files 16 times. I ended up cutting and pasting a lot of the data, but I can't understand why we can't just put the files on the server, enter it once, and duplicate the entries in the database 16 times. It shouldn't be that difficult! What some companies have the cheek to pass off as finished software!? grrrr.....
On the plus side, the new system is vastly better than the old system, so once it's all setup and in place life should be a lot easier. Hopefully we'll have some time to sit down and improve it then. The software developers for the product are coming to see us next month. I'll have to make sure I have a list of wishes and complaints ready for them.
On the plus side, the new system is vastly better than the old system, so once it's all setup and in place life should be a lot easier. Hopefully we'll have some time to sit down and improve it then. The software developers for the product are coming to see us next month. I'll have to make sure I have a list of wishes and complaints ready for them.
I haven't really been able to update my blog in some time now. Even as I write this now, we are still awaiting on our container of possessions to clear Australian Customs. The server with my blog is in there still, so I'm currently writing this on a product called viJournal in the meantime. It looks pretty good, and has integration with Blogger, so I may continue using it with our comics site later.
To update, I've been working now fulltime since arriving over in January. The work can be occasionally repetitive, but overall it can be quite challenging. Already it's been a big improvement actually receiving praise from an employer, something New Zealand employer's sorely need to learn. It certainly makes a big difference to your job satisfaction, when you don't feel like your pissing your life up the wall. Still we are working very hard at the moment to fulfill a client deadline by the end of the month. The client has been increasing the workload despite the deadline remaining frozen in place, and it's making things extremely difficult. Occasionally there can be a clash of personalities, but overall they've been a great bunch of people, and I'm hoping to have a long and happy tenure with them.
The children have settled into a nice quiet country school, and seem to be doing well. Micky has started training for a triathlon, and Beeb has come a long way with his swimming. He's finally started to learn how to do freestyle, and is getting quicker at swimming across the pool. Rob is busy trying to find a job, and sorting out the inevitable Government paperwork that seems to accompany overseas moves. It's been quite trying having to setup everything again, especially having to replace all your forms of identification, taxation info, drivers licenses etc.
Finally the house looks like it has sold. We have had more than enough dramas with this, so we'll be glad to see it done and dusted. We've already put a hold down on 3.8 acres in the country, and we're looking around at ideas for building a new home. This time we're hoping to not have to cut any corners, and have the home we want upfront. Last time we cut painting, landscaping, and floor furnishings, and it was a lot of work and time before those things were finished.
To update, I've been working now fulltime since arriving over in January. The work can be occasionally repetitive, but overall it can be quite challenging. Already it's been a big improvement actually receiving praise from an employer, something New Zealand employer's sorely need to learn. It certainly makes a big difference to your job satisfaction, when you don't feel like your pissing your life up the wall. Still we are working very hard at the moment to fulfill a client deadline by the end of the month. The client has been increasing the workload despite the deadline remaining frozen in place, and it's making things extremely difficult. Occasionally there can be a clash of personalities, but overall they've been a great bunch of people, and I'm hoping to have a long and happy tenure with them.
The children have settled into a nice quiet country school, and seem to be doing well. Micky has started training for a triathlon, and Beeb has come a long way with his swimming. He's finally started to learn how to do freestyle, and is getting quicker at swimming across the pool. Rob is busy trying to find a job, and sorting out the inevitable Government paperwork that seems to accompany overseas moves. It's been quite trying having to setup everything again, especially having to replace all your forms of identification, taxation info, drivers licenses etc.
Finally the house looks like it has sold. We have had more than enough dramas with this, so we'll be glad to see it done and dusted. We've already put a hold down on 3.8 acres in the country, and we're looking around at ideas for building a new home. This time we're hoping to not have to cut any corners, and have the home we want upfront. Last time we cut painting, landscaping, and floor furnishings, and it was a lot of work and time before those things were finished.
