Ugh!

All I want to blog today is complaints about work. And I hate that. Suffice it to say, work is not very enjoyable right now.

Just as an example...

During a one-hour training session that I was providing via phone and a Net Meeting type program, I was interrupted THREE TIMES by co-workers that just HAD to speak to me RIGHT NOW. Okay, one of them was letting me know that it was raining and my windows were down. I told her where my keys were and she rolled up my windows. And I thanked her.

Another one made arrangements for me to meet with someone else to get five monitors delivered. I'm like, 'handle it! I'm in the middle of something here. And don't obligate my time without looking at my calendar first.' But he wouldn't stop. He wanted to know where I wanted each one of the monitors delivered. Like I personally ordered them. I'm a non-supervisory contractor, for heaven's sake! I just put in the paperwork because someone told me to. If you want to know where they really go, ask the boss. And let me get back to my training course! Not only was this now getting disruptive, it was embarrassing in front of our trainees.

The third one wanted to know if I'd finished a document that goes out with our monthly sub-release. No, I haven't! And do you have to know this second?! Apparently, they wanted to push the sub-release 24 hours early. On whose authority? No, I don't have the document done. And if you want me (need me) to have this document done one whole day early, you're going to have to tell me at least one day before I normally start the darn thing...and preferably NOT while I'm trying to provide training. It takes me a good five days (with regular interruptions) to finish this document. This week is already short because of the holiday. No, even if I worked until midnight tonight, there was no possible way I was going to get it done 24 hours early. (BTW, I worked 11+ hours today and didn't get home until close to 9pm.)

And that was just one hour of my day.

I also found out for the SECOND time this week, that paperwork that I was ASKED/TOLD to do for high-dollar purchases wasn't necessary and that I now need to do a different detailed document in order for those orders to go through. AND I need to do them right now! I'm like, you've got to be kidding me. I worked six hours on a Saturday a couple of weeks ago just to get all of the sole source justifications and non-compete requests and 508 compliance worksheets done for these orders. And now, I find out it's all somewhat useless and they need a statement of work for these two orders. And with the end of the fiscal year only 27 days away, they want it all done post haste. Lovely.

So, which comes first? The sub-release document or the statements of work?

I also had one of my customers call me and tell me that one of their invoices didn't get paid because they need a tax ID number from the vendor that's supposed to receive the payment. She wanted to know why our application didn't send the TIN along with the rest of the info. I told her...when the vendor information was entered, someone failed to include the TIN. She asked how she should go about getting that TIN so that she could enter it. I'm like, 'you need to call the vendor and ask them for it.' She said, 'but they are located in England.' Uhhh, I don't care. If they want to receive payment, I assure you, they'll provide it. She insisted she couldn't make an international call to find out what this number is. I'm like, I don't know what you want me to do about it. (no I didn't say it like that.)

Let me clarify something here...I support the application...JUST the application. I have no control over any of the sites' business practices or their data. By the way, this customer is in Maryland. I don't have any idea what their policy is on making international business calls. And honestly, I don't even care that they do their jobs. (I mean, I do...but it's not my responsibility to ensure they do.) I just have to ensure that the application is available to them in working order. If our application didn't send the TIN that WAS entered, I can fix that. If our application wouldn't allow her to ENTER the TIN, I can fix that. But the fact that she didn't know what to enter for the TIN, I can't fix that. Call the vendor and ask them for it. But what she wanted me to do was akin to me calling directory assistance and asking for a phone number for Bob. Any Bob. I don't care which Bob. You decide. I told her the closest that I personally could get to helping her was to make up a 9-digit number...of course that wouldn't get the vendor paid any faster. She was simply going to have to find a way to contact the vendor to get that piece of information.

I'm venting. I know I'm venting. But I had one of those days. And after spending more than 11 hours at the office, I get home to find that I have a letter from the school. Jeff is failing two classes. Why? Because he's not doing his homework. So, I got to have THAT conversation with him again. I'm feeling like a broken record there. I should really get some sleep as I'm going to need all the rest I can get in order for tomorrow to be more positive (and productive) than today. But here it is after midnight and my brain is still running a mile a minute. I wonder how many calories that burns.

Tomorrow, I don't care what I have to do...I'm working on the sub-release document ALL DAY LONG. I'll probably have to find an office WITH A DOOR THAT LOCKS and let everyone think I've called in sick just to keep from being interrupted. This is definitely something that I wish I could do from home, but dialing in (which is what I'd have to do in order to get through the firewall), would be WAY too slow to allow me to make good time. I'll find some place to work tomorrow that will allow me to make some uninterrupted progress. I will. I have no training to provide. No meetings to attend. I probably have a statement of work (or two) to write, but I'm going to try to put those off until Friday. Wish me luck!

Oh, and I haven't even mentioned the whole reorg and changing branch managers and the feeling of uncertainty throughout the office. The mood there right now is less than ideal for productive work. I know, this too shall pass. I just hope it passes quickly. Change is inevitable. It's just that being in the midst of the transition is a bit painful.