blog one another

Coworker sez

In response to an email about moths on our floor at work, one of my friends replied:

According to my CSI field manual, the moths found rampaging our hallways are of the flesh-eating zombie family -- Plodia interpunctella zombia. There must be a dead construction worker in the ceiling above one of our offices. Be careful to avoid being bitten by one of these zombie moths. I was bitten last night and now hunger for the brains of my coworkers and find that I now move even slower than before.

Bad day at the office?

The videos are staged (usually for ads). It doesn't matter. If you are an office drone, you owe yourself a cathartic experience.

(Hat tip to Mike Todd)

Things that hack me off at work

"Macintel" -- Google it. Do you see a single Apple page? No? Then stop saying it!
Stop using email as a calendaring system!
"Mac OS X" -- that's pronounced "ten", not "ex"!
People! "Ask" is not a frigging noun! (It's bad enough that I get this at work, but at church??)

Wiki Wiki

How long ago was it that I got turned on to the wiki way? Well, according to my entry in the original wiki, it was May 2001 -- six years ago. I distinctly remember talking about it with some excitement, and Jor said, "It'll never catch on. Maybe among a few geeks, but not in the corporate world."

Well, today I went to a presentation of the new company-wide wiki, intended to replace some thirty-odd wikis that have sprung up spontaneously (including the one I set up). The presenters encouraged everyone to "feel free to edit anything," even drafts of corporate policies!

So Jor, eat up! ;-)

Yellow + Green

Speaking of water-free urinals… here's the real thing.

Back to Adobe

My two weeks off between jobs is at an end. On Monday, it's back to Adobe! Back to water-free urinals and all the other things I've missed!

Although I don't start until Monday, I became an official employee this past Wednesday so that we could have insurance again. So that I could have dental coverage. So that I can get a root canal on this darn tooth that chose to act up during this brief time I didn't have coverage. Unfortunately, my plans were foiled because my dentist was out Thursday & Friday.

Since I had a badge, I took the opportunity to freely walk the old halls. It felt comfortable to be back, but I also experienced some buyer's remorse: Good grief, I turned down a better-paying job at Google! What was I thinking?

But then, in a few short minutes, I was hugged. By three different people. Not the "good to see you again" hearty handshake of a corporate environment, but hugs! (Remember, this is after suffering a job of social isolation.) And one of the people told me how she sometimes thinks of moving to a different job, but unless something big is going on, "I work my eight hours a day, then go home to my kids. And that is worth a lot to me!"

And that, gentle reader, is the biggest confirmation yet of the single most important reason I chose the old and familiar over the new and hip.

A couple of Sundays ago at The Journey, I was asked across the parking lot, "Hey Jon! Is this your dream job?"

"No!" I shouted back happily.

Stressed but not depressed

I have been overwhelmed! The inquiries and interviews are pouring in:
I've already turned down one offer.
Adobe will be interviewing me the first week of January.
Yahoo seems to be preparing an offer.
Google is calling in a few minutes.
I had to cancel an interview scheduled for today just because I don't have the time!

Dear Steve,

Thanks for the week off from work! It couldn't have come at a better time, because I have a lot of stress I need to release. I'm afraid my job just isn't working out well. You see, I am the only one on my team working from Cupertino! And if there's one thing I've learned about myself in the past year, it's that I am not suited for remote working.

I suppose that for an introverted geek, I'm pretty sociable. I place a high value on face-to-face relationships at work for two reasons: a) it's more efficient, and b) it's more fun.

Code Monkey

I think I may have made it past the point where I had to listen to this song at least once a day. I'm sure I could have figured out how to load it onto my iPod for free, but support musicians! I've gotten more than my $1 back in sheer, triumphal sing-along. Am I the only one who gets choked up? This isn't just a funny song, it's the friggin' national anthem!

I made a monk-e-mail to go with it. There is now a cafepress store as well.

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Kay sez

"Did you know that you start talking about planting a church when you are unhappy with your job?"

Ouch.

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