Stuff That Really 'Grinds My Gears...'

I don’t know what that one line was, but (a) maybe they couldn’t understand that one line, or (b) maybe they couldn’t do that one thing.

I often preface emails, e.g. about trying to schedule an appointment, with an explanation that I have hyperacusis and can’t use phones, yet people instruct me to call a certain number, and when I explain that I can’t use phones, I may be switched to someone else who asks me to call a certain number.

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Maybe you should see about getting a TTY phone. You don’t have to be actually deaf to get one.

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“I’m getting an error in a script for the lab practical. No, I didn’t attach the script I’m using or the output, nor have I been following the instructions to make regular commits to a revision management system so you can track my progress. Why would you need to see any of those things?!?!”

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I grind my own gears…

Had an appointment yesterday so I left work early, the whole way to my appointment I’m thinking, "When I get home, I need to do these 3 or 4 things for work. All things that are easily doable while relaxing with Netflix. Just “stuff that needs to be done”

Of course from when I get home until 10:00 PM, none of it seemed worth doing, so of course I didn’t.

And now, I’m avoiding it for a few more minutes to bitch about not doing it last night.

Once more, Into the Breech

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I picked up a refill of my meds. They switched suppliers, so I check the list of ingredients to see if I’m going to be allergic to these ones. I check. I check. Where the fuck is the list of ingredients???

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I’ve been in labor for 24 hours. Someone will be by to break my water shortly, but not shortly enough. I still have like 6 hours left of this.

And I’m hungry.

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I was about to grumble that it’s been raining all morning. Now I just feel superficial.

Seriously, that sucks. Our firstborn took ten hours to finally make an appearance, and that was bad enough. I hope everything goes well for you.

Needless to say, we expect updates at 15 minute intervals. :wink:

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FWIW, they don’t HAVE to break your water. Also, you are allowed to eat small amounts of food, especially if you’ve been in labor for that long without eating.

I do not like your doctor.

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I’m VBAC and my contractions are slowing, though dilation is rolling. Got my epidural and things are looking and feeling much happier.

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I’d finally found a groomer for my schnauzer that I liked and was reasonably priced.

They ran their business out of a pet supply store in a strip mall. When the store went in it struck me that it was:

A) in a poor location
B) too big (for the amount of product)
C) priced a little high for the market

Well, looks like I was right.

After not having a phone call returned, I drove by and saw the three days of FedEx notices on the door and judging by the pearl-clutchers on NextDoor, the guy didn’t pay rent or vendors.

I just hope I can find where the groomer ends up and the rest of the employees find new jobs.

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"This podcast is supported by advertising outside the UK."

 

Is this really necessary, BBC?

Wasn’t subjecting us to neoliberal propaganda enough?

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Posting in “Stuff that Really Grinds My Gears” when you are in childbirth is like - wow. You are my hero.

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I never went into labor with my first. No one told me how boring it would be! Especially when my contractions slowed way down overnight.

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Stuff that really grinds my gears: freaking hic-ic-cups. Not least because they are often a sign of a sinus infection on its way.

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I just get hiccups from eating (if it goes down slower than usual) and drinking something cold (which I will give up when someone pries that soda away, etc.) Devil to get rid of; I have to hold my breath till one nanosecond before I pass out (and I’m sure that’s really good for me). Nothing else works.

I feel your hic.

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Major Software upgrade taking place at my work requires my team now be reasonably fluent in Technology X

No one on my team has any experience, but we have training vouchers, so find a course and get it booked. It’s a 300 level just due to needing to know how to work in the over all suite of products before taking this one. No Problem. We live and breath one of the other apps in the suite.

First, my preferred training company option, The course was cancelled as I was completing the sign up. Next time it is “scheduled” is too far in the future.

Onto my next training company. Only dates offered are online courses. Meh. At least I don’t have to wear pants.

Get myself and one other signed up. Three day course. Not ideal, but we’ll roll with it.

Monday night, I go through the whole “Verify you are ready for the course” checklist. This includes getting the Adobe Connect software installed, running through the tutorial, running through the lab tutorial. So, I’m set for 8:00 AM Tuesday morning.

The actual class login isn’t “live” until 7:45 so I log on at 7:45. Verify everything still is fine. Countdown timer says 15 Minutes. Cool. Go make another cup of coffee.

Comeback at 7:55 and only 35 minutes remain.

﴾͡๏̯͡๏﴿ O’RLY?

Instructor mentions he starts the first day a little later to let people get where they need to be.

¯_(ツ)_/¯

8:30 - Long winded introduction from Instructor, little one line text replies from 80% of the class as to who and where and why they are there.

9:00 - Introduction to the Adobe Connect software (that the tutorial handled) and the Labs (Again, the tutorial you had to check off as having completed, before you could click “Launch Class”)

9:45 - First Break

10:00 - History of the software suite. AKA - Stuff I already knew and if someone cared, could have been condensed into a 15 minute video and given to us with the other video links that were part of “Additional Resources”

11:00 - Lunch

12:15 - Start up again. More overview. How X interfaces with Y and Z and some whiteboarding that was actually good information on some common scenarios

The rest of the day blurred, but ended up with less than 20 minutes hands on with the labs and released at basically 3:00 PM, because Module 2 is very hands on and it wouldn’t be a good place to start since we wouldn’t finish it. But starting promptly at 8:00 AM on Wednesday.

ಠ╭╮ಠ

Fine. I’ll get “real work” done then.

Wednesday.

8:00 - Everyone is logged on ready to get to work.

10:00 - First break. What happened between 8:00 and 10:00 the Instructor read the help file. Not, brought up the help file and oriented us to it. No, he read the help file to us.

10:15 - We’re about to get into this Hands On Module. But first…

10:45 - I’m finished with the module, doing other things while I wait for the 11:30 Lunch to be called.

12:30 - Okay. Let’s get back to the Afternoon session.

I’m really not impressed. And the survey will reflect this.

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So course could of been replaced a link to the wiki?

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2 days tops.

Day 1

1 hour of familiarization with the UI of the application and the key things you need to know

followed by the first three modules of labs with the instructor/lab proctors available to answer questions.

End the day with some Whiteboarding and answer some infrastructure questions that may have come up while doing the Module.

Day 2

1 hour lecture of the advanced features and the extensible features.

Rest of the Labs.

after lunch, have another discussion period and then let everyone finish up the labs or if they are done, go enjoy the day. And a link to all the third party sites and utilities that the Instructor finds useful

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This is timely for me.

I’m on a giant project right now (giant. No, more giant than that). Am entire set of my deliverables is new user guides and new training docs. I’m also delivering training to some audiences.

I wrote and presented a training and artifact plan last February. Since then I have been chasing my tail creating spreadsheets, and reports, and looking up things for stakeholders who are all internal, but somehow don’t want to do this themselves.

Every freaking day at standup I say “the user guides are behind because of [this week’s so-called crisis]”. Every week the PM basically pats me on the head and says he knows I’m working hard. I keep saying the consequence of doing emergency (not really an emergency) task X is that on-plan tasks will suffer, and everyone just says something witty and moves on like it’s no big deal.

Well today I pointed out I may not even get the client-facing stuff done during the remaining timeline, and the light finally glimmered a little.

But surely I can delegate something? Nope, everything delegatable got delegated a long time ago.

Well we can sit down and figure something out… NO, we’ve already rejigged the project plan for these deliverables TWICE and the due dates just get blown through with endless “urgent” crap and nothing done on the actual artifacts.

So, it looks like I’ll be working the next four weekends and most weeknights. I expect I’ll show up here for brain breaks, but that’s about it. Good job I’m not a summer person. I just cancelled going to a concert with a friend of mine.

I am absolutely furious. Not just because of the work situation, but because it’s very clear the powers that be don’t listen to me until I’m practically yelling in their face.

What’s the one thing I’m supposed to improve on this fiscal year? Not getting visibly angry at work.

Fuuuuuuuuuck.

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Preach it.

I believe this project is on PMO 4 (5 if you count the interim one) and it wasn’t until the penultimate PMO scheduled my entire team for training (fortunately only 6 hours over three day) when I went to the primary stake holder and said, “you do realize, we have no background in this. None of us. I might be able to fake it, but I’m currently at (checks forecast) 230% allocated. Not gonna happen.”

So timelines slipped again and I don’t feel bad. This was also the same PMO who kept confusing the project’s database with “my” SCCM data base and telling me all these things that needed to be done to my DB and I keep going, “oh hell no!” And let my often overly helpful staff know that no one else was allowed access without my direct permission.

Power on!

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