While the Cat's Away...

You know how the saying goes. The moment the boss' back is turned the workers start slacking. While on a week's holiday, you would think the helpdesk team would make the most of it. The fact that other members of the hierarchy were also away, increased the opportunity for despondency. Yet, there is no fear for such things. I am focused and in control. Working hard, even with the absence of a heavy number of calls to the desk, meant we could focus on our mission, our target. By the time my first full month was over in this company, there were over 400 calls in the helpdesk call management system. (A tenth of which lay in my personal queue!) It seemed like a endless task, with a heavy influx of calls. Like being on the Titanic, with only a bucket of water to throw the water out, to stop or rather delay the inevitable.

Thankfully we had found a captain to turn this sinking ship around. For far too long the burden had fallen upon me to cut the number of calls pending. Management is a difficult role. There is a heavy expectation for results, while in the same vain, you do not wish to lose the motivation and banter of your team. What is my manager like? Probably the best manager I've ever worked for? Probably.

Unfortunately, having met our target of less than a hundred calls in the system, the goal posts have been moved. The job enters a new era, with a greater emphasis on closing calls in the required SLA. While I have nothing against such a system, I feel there will be additional pressure to make sure we reach a minimum standard, which in my case is 75 per cent. There is also going to be much more performance analysis beyond the simple numbers game, it will slowly move into a target driven exercise. The saying goes with great power comes great responsibility. I beg to differ, as I am living in the reality and not the world of a comic book hero. With great responsibility comes greater accountability. The next few months will be interesting. When is the next Bank Holiday, Trig?

Boys Will Be Boys

I have worked in quite a few offices, in the handful of years in the so called, 'real' world. None match the atmosphere of my current workplace. Everything has fallen into place, in such perfect fashion. The dynamic of an organisation is based more on the employees than purely the industry it operates in. Working for a small law firm with a predominately female makeup, ladies of a certain age, gives the impression of perhaps an organisation, rather stuck in the mud and reluctant to change. Then taking a contract role at one of the biggest law firms in the world, with over 600 employees, advising prestigious clients with household names, clinching multi-billion dollar deals. All while you replace their aging Compaq for a brand new HP d530.

So here I find myself, part of a fresh, up and coming help desk team. All of us, around the same age, recently departed the corridors of academia, filling in the time between weekends, answering the phone. A sense of camaraderie, has built up quickly over the past few months, as we learn to work with each other. Sure, we focus on the task at hand, but still have a laugh and a joke. As the saying goes, work and no play make Jack a very dull boy. The reason, boys will always be boys simple. The road less traveled is frightening and requires some intelligence and maturity (something we try to avoid for as long as possible).

While I do fancy myself as a bit of a smooth operator, when it comes to the crunch, I can rarely pull it off. Even today, when I got back into the office, beaming with a cheeky grin, which said everything it needed to. Sometimes, even I cannot believe the lucky hand the man upstairs deals me. Have I finally landed on my feet? The phrase perhaps befitting, is the motto of this log. Maybe I should be more grateful of the opportunities that have come my way, rather than forever consoling myself in those that got away.

The lesson of the day is simple. If you want something go for it, no matter who or what obstacle may stand in your way. You never know whom you may meet. You never know which door may suddenly open.

Say Cheese

This will come as a bit of a surprise, but I do not like having my photograph taken. Let me put this into context, a casual candid snap while on holiday is fair enough. Images captured in my work environment put me off balance. I hate the idea of being watched while at work. Someone wanting to record the moment is even worse. Yesterday we had a photographer in taking photographs of our division. This included a mixture of individual, team and then company photographs. Why, I am still quite unsure as to the reasons behind this, I'm informed my image will not be used on the company website. For this I am glad, for our company website, has cheesy photographs, which could have been taken in 1982. The last company I worked for, blue chip corporate, strongly focused on security, my photograph was taken for my identity card on the first day. I had to carry this with me while on the premises and it could be checked by security at anytime. While here, I do not have that big brother style eye watching over me, I do wonder what the purpose was of these photographs. Many companies, big and small, have opted the same approach as schools and colleges, to display a rogue's gallery in the reception area, with the names of at least the managers. Some companies include everyone, other companies only include those Employee of the Month. Stay tuned, I will keep you updated on the situation. You never know, I may even upload an odd photo on here.

This job is the one thing I have left, with myself in control. For the rest of the time, I have to compromise with others on what I want. Work does fill in the time between weekends, but as those weekends themselves are quite empty, what is left? I suppose having a focus, is not a bad thing. It can be the motivation, the springboard on to bigger and better things. Whatever happens, I will document it here, somehow.

Work has settled in the past few weeks, with the emphasis changing from quantity to quality. Closing calls within the agreed SLA rather than just a sheer numbers game. I do not see this as added pressure, just a need to keep all parties well informed and be aware of when to escalate calls to the relevant colleague. There is more of an urgency to follow the right procedure, than to get the job done as quickly as possible (which they expect you to do anyway!) The long term aim, I believe is to stamp a personal management style on the service desk function. So, no matter who the client is and which flavour of our software they are using they can expect the same level of service. While I feel this is an achievable objective, I feel it will only come about with a change of culture 'downstairs'. As a wise friend has often told me, cultures, in their very nature, are big monsters and can not be changed over night. It will be at the end of this process, this translation that I will know if this is a company I want to stay with or perhaps move elsewhere. Perhaps when that point in time comes, I will have the required experience under my belt, to move on without much fuss. Taking into account recent events, would London be the ideal destination for me? Andrew, enough of this defeatist talk, We Are Not Afraid!

Sounds Like A Maverick

Reserve judgment? Do we truly ever do that as human beings? No, I think not. I think we hide behind the pleasantness of social interaction, not wanting to offend. If we were more honest with each other life would be a much better place. Yet, this blog is not the place such things of great importance to the fabric of our society. No, this is just a simple trip into the professional (for the lack of a better word) world of my work.

Driving home this evening, I was pondering the comments made by the Development Manager. Could it ever be possible to create perfect software? Software that maintained itself, that was 100% idiot proof, safe from corruptions to the operating system or the installation of other software? If this ever came about, my position as a support person would be extinct. Defending myself, and the support function I argued that developers were not doing a good enough job, for the software still had around 150 outstanding calls, there was plenty of work to be done. The thought stemmed on toward a life beyond support (some would argue after). What do I want to do with my life? How did I find myself in IT? These are just some of the questions I have been asked this week. The honest answer to them all is I do not know. While most will know me as ultra control freak, when it comes to the unseen future, I have no idea of what I want to do and where I want life to take me. Suppose, I have been following this almost purposeless path since I left school. Is it such a bad thing? Some would argue, that without a goal, man has no need to breathe the air of this planet. You just need to appreciate than while some of us know from a very young age, what their mission in life is, for the rest of us, spent our entire lives trying to find our own.

A client contact made a surprising comment or rather judgment, before actually meeting me (which she did do several months later). It was the first time I had heard such a phrase, "Andrew is either really arrogant or extremely shy..." As she left to return to her office, she made up her mind, that I belonged firmly in the camp of the reserved individual. Never want to give the impression to anyone, particularly just over the phone that I'm a bit of a maverick.

My manager was trying his best to motivate the team, and was quick to remind us all that there is no 'I' in the word. Sure enough, cheeky alec over here had to say, but there is 'me'. Having said that, I feel a sense of relief, a small burden lifted off my shoulders, with a second line analyst starting this week. While the majority of the time I was able to deal with the support calls, occasionally I was stretched. New blood brings with it new energy and the desire to continue to build on the achievements of the past. So, after a four month wait, the support desk, is back to the number to the level of man power, it should be. The numbers game continues for a few more weeks, but my focus now moves to providing the high quality service. I know that I am capable of delivery.

The Numbers Game

Sometimes, I sit back and wonder, if I am more than a mere statistic in the office. My manager continues to praise me for the number of calls I have closed, almost like a football commentator giving on the fly vital facts, of calls closed, opened, ratios and best performance of the day, week, month. This month has seen my most successfully to date, as these graph below, clearly demonstrates. [Larger version available over at FlickR]

I hate targets and performance related pay and anything associated with having to reach a certain point before you can even whisper that you have achieved anything. I cannot think of another job, that so much of the administration is done by the person who is also expected to come up with the majority of the answers. So you are drawn into a vicious circle whereby you continuously increase the workload, with the finish line nowhere in sight. Yet I must not grumble, at the turn of the year, there were some four hundred calls in the backlog and we were logging calls to a close ratio of over 8:1. Things have improved and we are constantly hitting the targets as placed upon us by senior management.

My competition, if I can be as harsh to label it so, previously was almost non-existent. When a young man has images of sandy beaches on his mind, he will never truly focus on work, and I was able to capitalise on this by consistently closing more calls than him. Now, with only twenty one days on his 'time served' sheet, I find myself coming up against someone who is up for some healthy rivalry.

To spice things up further, my Manager decided to offer some beer, to the member of the help desk team that closed the most number of calls on a given day this week. There was no doubt in my mind, that I was going to win. You were afterall, talking to the guy that had closed down eighteen calls in half a day, last Wednesday (in the absence of any major encouragement from my line manager.) Of course, I won, but not my any considerable margin (one call). This was a warning, that the days of sitting back and letting things just sort themselves out, in their own accord, were well and truly over. Perhaps, this is just what I needed, a fresh challenge. Someone who is going to fight, in the least confrontational way, for each phone call, PC install, PDA rebuild and voicemail return. I will not flounder.

As always, I will meet each upcoming trial with ambitious dedication. Sometimes I need to keep reminding myself that there are thousands of worse products I could be supporting. There are also millions more of dead end, meaningless jobs I could find myself in (contracting anyone?) I must learn to be more grateful for the hand I have dealt, rather than hoping the next deck will prove more worthwhile

Six Month's Graft

Today is a milestone in my career. Exactly six months ago, I started this new job, in unfamiliar surroundings, trying to get my head around the concept of a sales based industry. Those first few months, proved the most volatile, with personnel changes and a major learning curve to overcome. Now, looking back, I can only find some lyrics from Blue, to summarize, how I feel right now. "And we made a lot of sacrifice, Undid a lot of ties, Fought a lot of fights, To get where we are now, Just don't ask me how". It is never important to look back at where we have been, but to look forward at what we have yet to become. This thinking always brings out the best in me.

My job is not perfect, I am happy to admit, to anyone who may ask or care to listen for that matter. Yet it is the willingness to make an effort to be that catalyst for change, which keeps me going. My motivation? On my desk there is a photograph of my family, standing before the Taj Mahal. Need I say any more?

Last night was my first 'official' work outing with my division or should that be office family? You never know exactly how to play the game here. Once a few of your coworkers have tasted a drop of the amber nectar, they change. Most people just start talking to you more as their friend, rather than a manager, with some authority over you. Others tend to use the opportunity to melt into themselves and let the others do the talking. Role reversal, if you will. You discover that the quiet, focused individuals, suddenly have a life outside of work and tell you in detail their adventures rock climbing last September in Australia.

For as long as I can remember, I have taken great pride in meeting new and exciting people. Yet, in their professional guise, they lack that reality, that sense that they are actually one of us. Nights out like this, brings everyone down to same level and you enjoy each other company. You would not take it to the level that you are suddenly great friends with these people, that just would not work. Yet, you slowly come to the realisation of some home truths. I was trying to be clever and quite the final words of Tim, from the Office Christmas Special, 2003, but cannot find the exact words used. Anything less, will be criminal offence. Perhaps someone will be kind enough to add it as a comment and finish this posting as elegantly as I have started it.

I am one of the lucky ones, ladies and gentlemen. I have been blessed to be in full employment almost from the moment I left university, with only a total of fifty three days unemployment, which includes a three week search when I arrived home June last year. To this day, there are people with first class degrees from world class universities, still hunting for jobs, two sometimes three years after graduation. Pity those souls, for I lost my motivation within a few weeks. Life becomes a spiral and you slowly find yourself falling into a world of self pity and low, very low self esteem. That story, however, can wait for another day. For I am sure there are many more 'in between' job days to be clocked onto my speedometer. Plus, the experience of being made redundant, don't want to miss that off my 'to do' list! ;)

I Will Survive

So, I survived the four days on my own. To be honest, I was perhaps exaggerating the task and there was only one moment when I thought I could not cope. It was Tuesday afternoon, the phones were busy, I had several jobs to get done and could feel a headache coming on. Yet this was not the moment to pass out, this was the moment to prove myself. Slowly the heavy throbbing in my head subsided and I was able to come back and focus on work. Did I prove myself? Well I still feel that this was not the greatest of obstacles to be put ahead of me. I met the challenge, yet there is much more to come.

Without wanting to reveal too much, there have been a major background change to the other division of the company. Unexpected, the news took me by surprise, for at first it went against everything I thought the company I worked for, represented. While new to the industry, I am in the dark to the big hitters, but that is not to say, I feel a rash unconsidered decision has been made. While there is no noticeable change to operations, perhaps over time the climate will change. Having witness similar events for companies my Dad worked for, I do, on this occasion hold some hope. For once, this will be a change for the better, opening up a whole new group of opportunities. I will try my best to keep you posted on events, but do to the commercially sensitive nature of proceedings, I may have to keep my insight brief and hypothetical.

What do you think of recruitment agencies? Well, I expect your opinion will be on the whole negative and I tend to agree. Several have suddenly come out of the woodwork, so to speak. One, as recent as this week. Funny how they were silent, before Christmas when I was desperately hunting high and low for job. What suddenly makes them think that I will decide to jump into bed and take any of the positions they have to offer. While I am the first to admit my job is not perfect, there is nothing, right now that can take me away. Sure, there are days when I wish I was doing something more productive, challenging, less client facing and with greater responsibility but I have to appreciate where I am on the rung of the ladder. While the top looks far far away, looking down, I see a long way to the ground. Why would I leave a job after six months and start all over again? Why destroy all the progress you have made? My mind is set. Experience is crucial and I have more to gain here, than eyeing up some dream job in the City. As uncertain the future is, I have to focus on the present and what there is to gain, to achieve here.

All my life, people have asked me, Andrew what do you want to do? What do you want to become? In the years since I have left school, the answer to that question has become more vague and ambiguous. The honest answer is I do not know. I have always been an opportunitist and tried to make the most of the position that has landed in my lap. For example, back in the dizzy heights of 2002, when I was looking for a placement, I was offered a job I did not really want and was holding on for another job, while more suitable for me, never came through. Despondent, I was, yes. Though by the time July came around, I knew I had to take this challenge on and show those doubters wrong. The stage was set and my second big break came and went. Working in London for one of the biggest law firms in the world, was a dream come true. The reality that hit home, eventually, last June. At the height of Euro 2004, I came to discover the harsh truth of working in our capital. Inflated prices, expensive travel costs and long days. Looking back, I do not know how I coped for those five months and kept on smiling. Then again, even now, I do not know how I drove 600 miles a week during my placement year. Why the opportunity never bore fruition, the experience alone was a God send. Note to self, never contract again!

For My Next Trick

A posting at last, and well overdue. How has work been? Each week appears to blend into the next. The working week has never passed by so quickly, and it is not as if the job is repetitive in any sense. Weekly tasks can be rather tedious but they do not bother me. Work is the one constant that consumes all my energy at the moment and I remain focused to the cause. If I keep plugging away, I may eventually get the breakthrough that I have long for. Until then, it is simply a case of binding my time and meeting each challenge with unnerved ambitious dedication.

My next test is as soon as Tuesday next week. Four days covering the help desk on my own. While this should not pose a major problem for a man of my ability, there are many things to consider. Firstly this is my first official opportunity to prove myself. In early January, I had to work two consecutive days on my own, due to the ill health of my colleagues, but that was more of a case of playing on my ignorance as a new member of staff. This time around the goalposts have moved, drastically. While measures have been put in place to help me cope during the busier periods of the day, I sense that the job will, for the first time become almost unbearable. What I fear the most is not being able to deal with all the calls I receive. The burden of expectations falls heavily upon my shoulders, as does, for once the responsibility.

I hear Ron Grainer's original theme tune to Tales of the Unexpected playing in the background as I write this. I may not know what Tuesday will bring but I will be sure to report back everything in seven days time. There is nothing more to say, apart from wish me luck. Not sure if I can seriously pull this one out of the hat! Even I have limits to my powers!

Manic Monday

Coming into the office, there is the realisation that yet another long working day and week lie ahead. The first thing I do is switch on my PC. Taking a few seconds to boot, I usually login and within a few minutes am catching up on e-mail, looking at my call backlog and putting on my headset. This morning was different, for I was confronted with this screen.

Never before had I seen any PC boot up, with Wingdings font to replace the standard system font, Tahoma. After a discussion with IT and my Manager, I finally got my PC working. Rebooting did not work, and attempting to switch the regional settings did not appear to work either. By going into the Control Panel and viewing the Fonts folder, legible text started to reappear. A final shut down and cold start did the job. Otherwise, I saw the patience of my colleague really being tested with me not helping out answering the phone. Online and oncall, I was back, as I should have been some fifteen minutes before. Later, I would have to get to the bottom of this problem, but that can wait until later in the week. For now, a quick spyware check with Adaware will suffice.

Mondays in their very nature are hectic. Even though I come into the office at a regular office hour, there is always an atmosphere of strong dedication around me. Fingers tapping away on keyboards and the phone being answered in a overtly heavy tone, with the caller trying to disguise the frustration in their voice. The Support mailbox had twelve unread messages waiting, yet there was also the tedious administrative tasks that involves creating various reports and charts. This morning felt as if it would last forever. Problems and major issues to resolve did not help ease the burden of the day. Thankfully, I had a special weapon to get me through the day. Firstly there were some e-mails bounced back and forth between myself and Nazma. Busy day, friends got me through. Then later in the morning, an e-mail from HP. I had been thinking of when she would find the time to reply to message, if ever. So, therefore was presently surprised to hear from her. Then, the early afternoon period after lunch, when you do tend to find yourself slacking, I catch up with another friend on MSN. Then again, perhaps I should not be admitting, some of my misdemeanors within the workplace, in such a public domain, even if I tend to disagree with some of the figures. Please give me some credit for my questionable work ethic.

Skype the Limit

A few weeks in, my then Manager handed me her Dell Axim X5 PDA, explaining that she had no real use for it. Delighted with this first major prize from the workplace, I tried to make the most of my new toy. Even purchasing a Compact Flash Wireless Card from eBuyer. Only one man could dent my dreams and it was only a matter of time before Hussein gave me his fifty pence of wisdom. Without bluetooth or built in wireless, "Andrew you have nothing more than a large glorified mp3 player." :(

While I cannot doubt the device was from a bygone age, it did still serve a purpose and was adequate with surfing simple web pages and using my MSN Mobile. There are times when even I, get bored of sitting on a desktop machine and want to switch to something more portable. :)

This Thursday, without warning one of the founding fathers of the company, came upstairs, a rare event, which meant something signficant was about to happen. He mentioned X30 and then, in the next instant, two boxes were bought up, with DELL in bright blue printed on the side. My face lit up. My birthday had come almost exactly eleven months early. with wireless built in, bluetooth, the possibilities were endless. The improvement from the X5, was clearly visible from the overall design, size, weight and packaging.

To describe our development team, as just a group of programmers, staring ot their PCs, and rummaging through line after line of code, would be disrespectful. Therefore, it is more fitting to refer to the whole downstairs team, minus a few managers, as our R&D section. Here, working with the cutting edge technologies, to roll out the next wave of mobile solutions of our product. I came down and saw some of the new software, currently in development and was amazed. GPRS would be utilised, as well as WiFi if within range of a hotspot. The killer features though, are the ability to transmit automatically, whenever either one of this transmission modes is available. If not, data is queued and sent as soon as connectivitiy is obtained. From a support perspective, a whole new architecture has been considered, which is unique for portable CRM solution. Self installing software, from standard media (such as CF or SD) which also include the data for the user. Should anything happen to the device, everything can be easily transfered to another device, with no need to have the software reinstalled on handheld by a member of the support team. Oh joy! Yet, before I get carried away, all these projects are pending and not near the finished article and everything I have mentioned is still very much a theory or concept. The reality, will be far from the beautiful plans in the minds of our R&D team.

On Friday morning, one of the directors came over to my desk and told me to download Skype for my new handheld. Explaining that he had been using it on his Dell laptop, but it was far from practically portable. Taking this advice, I downloaded the program, installed and ran it, creating myself an account. For some reason, I was not able to gain access to the wireless network in the office. So it would have to wait for me to get it sorted at home. Thankfully, it did not take me long to connect up to my wireless network, if with the guidance from the web. So, here I am, about to begin a new adventure, care to join me?

My Desktop

The original computer I was given, when I joined the company, was a rental. While I had no problem with this to begin with, it was an aging Compaq and I had been rolling out far superior d530 machines by HP in my previous contract roll. As time has gone by, the limitations of the computing resources before me, became quite clear. The specification was just not adequate for the demands of a frontline support role. My Windows XP kept freezing and crashing, with every byte squeezed from the available 384 mega bytes, and almost full 18 gigabyte drive. Every so often it would have a go slow moment, which you could compensate for but it was when it completely stopped responding that you found yourself hitting the reset button.

What I needed was a new PC, but what I needed first was a masterplan. Consulting IT, I decided to go for the rental replacement route. Within a few days, this was overruled by a member of senior management and the decision taken to purchase outright brand new equipment. My eyes lit up (as they often do in such circumstances) and I begin drawing up my dream specification. While I am not too keen on Dell they do make exceedingly solid laptops and their service is way above the rest of the industry. The difference in cost between the rental machine and the brand new Dell was noticeable, particularly when you took into account the removal of bundle software packages from Bill.

If you consider that this machine now takes up around a quarter of the space of my last machine and does not have the temptation to be showered under a mountain of paperwork. The case is unique, small quiet and discreet (apart from at boot up). It is also very cool (in comparison to the 83 degree plastic melting d530) and you hardly notice that it actually on.

What do you think of when you look at this desk? All the signs are there, of a conscientious, dedicated employee, taking pride in a clean, professional work area. Such a shame, that you all know the reality behind this illusion. Maybe it is time you asked too, some deep dark questions?

In other news, work bloggers (are they referring to me?) have been advised on some guidelines to protect their online journals and more importantly the subject they discuss - namely their job! Shame that I forgot that the first rule is to remain anonymous. You could not see me, leaving a piece of cyberspace I call my own, without placing my name somewhere on it. Although there has been less limelight on work blogs over the past few weeks, with other more pressing issues taking the headlines on our news networks. Fantastic to see even the BBC taking on the great ambition of a blog as part of their coverage of the Electon.

Don't Nobody Go Nowhere

Moving forward but building upon many of the issues raised in my previous posting, I found myself in a very strange world. Each morning I awake, looking forward to going into the office. Why is this? The people I work with are a crucial factor. In a very short space of time, I feel I have not only become a respected and valuable member of the team, but the technology division of the company. For as long as I can remember, I have enjoyed helping people, providing them with the assistance they require. There is nothing more reassuring that to hear the words, "Thank you" after spending an age speaking a frustrated user, trying to get their software to work. Job satisfaction comes two fold, in this arena, from your immediate colleagues but also the sales personnel, managers and head office contacts.

The week began with a site visit on Tuesday over in Oxfordshire. My time working away from the office, gave me the opportunity to come to terms with exactly how the industry operate. Of all our clients, this was one of the smallest teams with a handful of reps covering the whole of the United Kingdom. Size is not everything (no matter what your girlfriend/partner tells you) the experience of visiting a client and meeting representatives in the field, is always worthwhile. Luckily I was accompanied by a developer to ease some of the burden. The task was quite straight forward, installing V2 of our software onto a half a dozen laptops and two desktop machines. The most difficult task was obtaining the passwords to gain access to Windows. Although I had been hoping for a laid back day, the prospect of returning to the office as indeed we did for 3pm was a slight shock. My hopes of visiting a shopping village in the heart of the English countryside, where somewhat dampened.

My working hours have been extended, to provide some relief for a new client, who rolled out in the final week of February. Most of the companies I have worked for, I have gone the extra mile and mucked in with some extra hours. In my last position, this became, not a bone of contention, but barrier to perhaps permanent employment. Back then, my working hours were extended to ten hours and my door to door day was almost fifteen hours. The journey was the killing machine, grinding me down, on weekly basis, especially when there were delays. Now, I have nothing to worry about, with an average journey cost of £2 per day, covering seven miles. Although I will be carrying out detailed research on my exact mileage expense in the coming months. Tonight is a case in point, I came onto the dual carriageway, put my foot on the throttle and cruised at 70, all the way to a stop at Handy Cross. That just would never be the case when I left the office at 6pm on the dot, or if I was working the earlier shift and finished at 4.30pm. Although I have come to realise that as tempting the prospect sounds of an early shift, you never leave at 4.30pm, because the phones are just about to get melt. The late shift, just works for me at the moment. I get to drop off my Mum and sister at their respective schools, and cruise into work with plenty of time to allow for delays building up on the M4. Maybe in the summer, when the weather improves, I will want to make the most of the day. Then again, maybe I won't.

Today was an average day, if there is just a way to describe working on a help desk. Everyday is different and I learn new things almost with every call I take. At times I feel I am overwhelmed with calls, all at sea with no sign of a response to my distress signals. Then there are moments, when I feel confident, in control and actually know more than the people I'm speaking to (as always should be the case). With various technical glitches taking place, as would occur with any major move for a company, I found myself yesterday afternoon and for the best part of this afternoon taking calls on a company mobile. Not ideal, but at times I was frustrated with the situation, with every message I picked up, users explaining their problems, almost pleading for a return phone call. For every call I took or returned, there were another four to six voicemail message left. I only have two hands you know, I thought to myself, staring at the 6310i. Falling into a spell of despondency, I seriously considering, is this truly the job for me?

Instead of continued fire to fuel these negative vibes, I just got on with the job at hand and watched the final few minutes tick away on my Windows system tray. As I locked up and left for the day, the cool breeze hitting my face for the first time, since the morning, giving a small sigh of relief. One of the managers, was also heading for his car for the journey home. After asking how I was, he entered into a quick conversation of how I was finding this on the support desk. His final words, brought a smile to my face. "It's worth sticking it out Andrew, and several doors of opportunity will open for you." For a split second I tried to take in what had just been said, before giving my response, "Don't worry, I'm not going nowhere". Suddenly my meaningless pondering, just over an hour ago, melted away, to be replaced with a warm glow of what tomorrow may bring.

Less Swings More Roundabouts

It has been a while since I posted, finding the process of juggling two blogs extremely difficult. Particularly as my personal blog is the full on, unrestricted experience, therefore taking up much more of my time. Another reason, or rather excuse is the fact that little has been happening at work to warrant a posting. Although, let me give you a quick roundup.

Not only have there been changes in the office location. Personnel are also moving on and that is not a reference to the Human Resources department. It is a sad moment, when an employee decides for whatever reason to leave their job for another. While you always have to respect their decision, the sense of loss is evident from the first day, they are no longer on hand for support. As human beings, I think we tend t to rely on the experience, wisdom and even judgment of our colleagues. Although I am learning a vast amount about the software everyday, the knowledge that there was always a cheerful figure to turn to when the going got tough, was reassuring. Particularly when you have an angry, frustrated representative on the phone. However, we learn to cope without them and move on. With one departure, brings forth the arrival of another, although even I am beginning to believe in the curse of the Help Desk. In terms of the move, my office space, has only been beamed up a single storey, with a new larger desk, 15" TFT screen, new keyboard, and a workspace, in the form of a free desk next to me. Now all I need to do, is convince the IT department to sign me off a new desktop PC. Will keep you posted on these changes, as for it is not until the final week of March that move is finally completed.

Returning the focus back to work. Yes, I do actually carry out some task while in the office. The situation I find myself in now, is difficult to explain. If I was a firefighter, my job would entail constantly putting out small scale fires, while the towering inferno burns in the background. At times, I feel I know less than that people I'm speaking to, which is frustrating. Adding to the difficulty of leavers, as noted above, it is not a simple of case of transferring the call to another member of the support team. On Thursday 17th March, I will not only be the longest serving member of the desk but with that label, the most experienced. Just do not ask me how, I find myself in this double edged sword scenario. While it is great to be at the focal point of such great responsibility, it may be a case of too much too soon. Time is what I need. Time to learn and understand. While this working on a helpdesk, is in itself a learning experience, sometimes I feel tied down to the red tape. Can you name another industry, which is as bureaucratic? Where you create the work for yourself, by physically logging the call on the computer and watching as your open calls, jump from a measly twenty, forty, then seventy, then over one hundred. There is no problem following standard procedure, but at times, there is no documentation, so you are discovering the rules as you go along. Is bureaucracy such a bad thing? Sure, systems need to be in place and the details need to be recorded. Yet, in my current circumstances, with an totally unmanageable call queue, I afford logging yet another call unless it is completely necessary, or I know it can easily be passed onto a colleague. When I try to go through systematically and try and close closes (should that be proactive in resolve the problems) I find the following dilemma occurs. I will close a handful, maybe five old calls on a good days, only to find myself logging at least double that number into my queue. In which Western civilization is that progress?

Virtual PC

Friday, came around, as it always does. Although today, the final day of the working week was different. The decision had been made to act, and I was going to follow through with my plans. Something had to be done and I was not alone in holding such a strong opinion. The alternative which had been suggested, even used at times was impractical and time consuming. Yet, I had a workable solution which could give both support and the testing element of development some much needed assistance.

Virtual PC is a Microsoft product, if by brand name only. The original technology was designed by the Connectix Corporation, which was then eaten by the Seattle computing giant. The software emulates multiple operating systems on one host PC. In essence you can have Windows 95, 98, ME and OS/2 running on a standard Windows XP system. (All dependent on available hard drive space). The beauty of the software is that it is completely independent of the host, and therefore gives you the freedom to manipulate the configuration with no risk of damaging other programs or settings of the host computer. If you are wondering what I could do a Virtual PC, let me explain.

Version three of our software is built on SQL architecture, leaving behind the world of Visual Basic and Access. A minor SQL database running locally on the user's laptop thanks to Microsoft Database Engine. The nature of the product means it can only be exist in one instance on the operating system. This would be fine, in an ideal world, if each client release was identical. Of course, this is not the case, and each client has a slightly different version customised of the product. Therefore, if customer A calls with a query on a report and I have customer Z software installed on my PC, there is no other option. I have to manually uninstall the product and then install the software for customer A, then look into their query. There had to be another way, an answer.

Well, until I find that answer, this will have to be patch. My plan is to create a base image of Windows 2000, updated with Service Pack 4 and then install a copy of v3 for each client into their own Virtual PC. This will take some time, but I the objective is to be able to load and access a working version of the software on my PC within minutes and be able to replicate exactly the issue the end user is experiencing. With some way to go, as this personal project takes place in the background, in between answering calls, reconfiguring Personal Digital Assistants, loading laptops, and beginning the laborious but nevertheless necessary task of documentation.

In my hunt around the web to discover more about Virtual PC and it's rivals of which there are many, I came across this blog by a member of the Microsoft development team. Useful resource to note the limitations and upgrades to the software. In time, I will stumble upon other sites that will aid me in my project, but for the time being, this journal is enough. If you think of anything, let me know.

Ready for a Sequel

Although I was more familiar with mySQL than it's older more sophisticated cousin, SQL I knew the potential potency of the technology. Apart from a basic trainer at University, today was the first time I gained some valuable hands on commercial experience with the back end of our software. My colleague, decided this morning was the ideal time to install SQL server, spending several hours installing and customising Enterprise Manager. Thankfully, the whole process, although time consuming is less complicated than it sounds, I was up and running with full administrative rights. Finally, I would be granted access, given the power and the ability to sound slightly more informed when it comes to the latest version of our market leading software.

Following on from my last entry, weblogs have suddenly once again, come back into the forefront of the media. Particularly online journals such as this, which give an insight into the life of an everyday office job. Now that more and more employers are becoming intuitive, to both the positive and negative consequence of such open, candid reporting from the frontline. Providing a motive for my blogging is difficult. I fell into the routine of updating my personal website, and then over time, emotions, views, personal thoughts and deep reflects started to come across in my writing. As a purely natural process, you can chart, quite visibly the move from a 'latest updates' page, to a comprehensive, roundup of recent events in my life.

Not exactly sure, when or why I decided to create a work based blog. I opened this Blogger account in July 2003. This was promptly after I had finished my work placement and had a brief rest bite before beginning my final year at University in September 2003. At the time, my personal site was in dire need of a makeover and I was hoping to incorporate a dedicated journal, rather than hard coding my own HTML. In the end, I opted to go for the fully customised approach. So the site, http://tegala.blogspot.com (which no longer exists) was left neglected for over a year before the birth of this blog. Not sure why I started writing a second blog (who would really want to double their workload, when they can just about handle the original personal diary). [T3G:2] was getting filled with too many technical entries, alienating many of my readers. This way, I have a home for all my computer related thoughts, reviews and experiences. I think I just need to give this log the opportunity to develop, grow and gain popularity. Then I can judge what course it will take in the months, years ahead. As a great man, Abe Lincoln once said, "If there is anything that a man can do well, I say let him do it. Give him a chance".

Talking Telephone Numbers

I came into work this morning as usual. Checking the Support Mailbox and then turning my attention to the voicemail messages left over the weekend. Six had been left, with two standard calls looking to chase up support issues that had been logged in the previous week. Then the final four came as a shock. All reps usually leave messages with their full name, rather than a title and a surname. The voice of Mrs. Harris and Mrs. O'Donnell sounded unfamiliar, even to my fresh ears. The content of both calls bought some much needed humour to a dull, wet and windy Monday morning. Both women sounded elderly, possibly living alone. The calls originated from the Lancashire area and inquired as to when electricity would be returned to their homes. They were cold, and Mrs. Harris was sure the policeman had told her the power would return by 2pm. Her call had been made at 4.30pm.

How can this happen? Well apparently our freephone support line number is close to within a few digits to a BT support number. I do not recall my Manager mentioning anything about fuel suppliers. Just waiting for the next installment from the strange world that is the wrong telephone numbers. Stay tuned.

Life of Riley

I have been able to observe at first hand the life of a developer. In my previous employment, trips down to the software house were rare and mainly for training purposes. The developers were tucked away, in a dark room towards the back of the building. This came as quite a shock in the second week of my placement, when I was being introduced to all the people behind the office management software. Guided around the building, I was not even introduced to a single member of the development team. Their 'home' was pointed out, and in a extremely geeky attempt to be humorous, was told, "don't worry we feed them". This was my one brush with programmers until now.

The nature of the business I work in, does not allow for a similar approach, with defined roles and employees shoeboxed into their designated area. Support and Development are very much intertwined, heavily rely upon each other. As a consequence, we find ourselves in the same room. So, given an opportunity to observe the development team at close hand, I have deduced the following. Developers are overwhelmingly speaking male. Although this is changing, it is a slow process. They give the impression of independent thinkers, happy to be left alone to their own devices and to be quite honestly, just get the job done. Eyes transfixed upon their individual computer screens, with a few literally plugged in and listening to their CDs / MP3 collections. The business operates a smart come casual dress code, but even this is taken to the limit, with the team wearing to a degree whatever they like. This high level of concentration gives the aura of the untouchables and I was apprehensive to walk over and ask them questions. Preferring to jot down my query in an e-mail, knowing all to well that it would be a few hours before I received a reply and I needed an instant response. Putting a brave face, I headed over to one of them and asked my question, being over apologetic for disturbing them from pressing projects. To my surprise, they were very friendly helpful and gave me the time I needed to understand how to resolve the issue. This small episode proves many things to me not just as an employee but as a person. Never judge a book by it's cover and more importantly, looks and previous prejudice can cloud us from looking at each case entirely on merit.

Now my work blog is beginning to grow, although, I have yet to hear any response from readers, I think it is important to clearly give my writing a purpose. Just to reinterate, the obvious if need be. Mandatory in the wake of recent events, more closer to home. With unshaken determination, I will attempt to uphold the privacy of my employee, work colleagues, and associated employees. For this reason, no real names or locations are given. All observations are my own personal thoughts and not at all the views of my employer or fellow employees. Although giving any corporate style disclaimer on my blog feels so uncomfortable and unnatural, it is essential in the current climate. This blog is not a trade secret, but then again in the same vain is not open public knowledge. Unlike other job blogs, this is not written anonymously, mainly due to the fact that I am constantly craving some sort of publicity, even if in such a shameless self proclaiming fashion.

Let me know your thoughts on this blogging genre and of any blogs you recommend I should read.

Haunted by Insomnia

It was the night before New Years Eve and I could not sleep. Attempts to drift off casually with Up All Night from Five Live on the stereo was proving unsuccessful. So after a few minutes thought, reaching over for the remote, I switched on the television. At this small hour, BBC News 24 was broadcasting with the nightly slot from across the pond. Only a show from America could be called, World Nightly News but unfortunately the main anchor for the show, Peter Jennings was replaced by a female colleague. The final slot was regarding a subject very much close to my heart. Never have I consider myself to be part of an online revolution but it is amazing when you consider how far the media ecosystem or more commonly referred to blogosphere has come. There was a statistic that was mentioned, which opened my eyes to the significance of these online journals, they are much more than just a passing trend. All you need to do is look at some more detailed analysis.

Where as I feel my personal blogging has not changed the world and will never deliver some of the greater good, it is satisfying to know the power of my fellow band, referred to as citizen journalists. To understand the truly historic context of this blogging revolution you have to turn to Time Magazine. Would you believe that they named, President George W. Bush as their Person of the Year, the American Revolutionary. Second place may be the first loser, but for bloggers, the mere thought means some inroads are being made. Scrolling down the list, I personally noted several points which have proved over time to be genuine. If this is just the beginning of the revolution, just wait to see what the future has in store. As it becomes more apart of our daily lives rather than a separate chore.

So the new year brings me back down to earth with a bump. Reality check. Back to work on Tuesday. The holiday is over and with it, any extension to my honeymoon period in the office. Nothing more than I expected, if I am honest with myself. I intend to bury myself in my work, keep myself busy, make friends and ultimately prove myself. I have been here before and cannot under estimate the scale of the task that lies before me. I will do my utmost best and all the trials and tribulations will be documented here (if somewhat edited to save any unnecessary embarrassment). My original aim of creating this new log was to have a professional outlet for my career aspirations and personal development. Leaving the path free for all personal ramblings to be posted on my personal blog.

Do you make New Year Resolutions? I never bother, but I want to set some targets or goals for the coming year, which I will be able to provide evidence for on this blog. If you have any serious worthwhile suggestions, feel free to leave your comments.

Real World Real Christmas

Several years ago, during a Christmas now anything but a distant memory, my cousin Susan said something. It was one of those moments, when the words spoken meant little at the time, but ring so true now, several years later. Unable to recall her exact words, her train of thought headed in the direction of the fact that, "when your working, you'll only get two days off at Christmas". I ignored this comment, well maybe ignore is too strong an objection. I allowed the comment to drift above and beyond my apprehension. At the time I still had major mileage left in the old excuse for Christmas in the form of two weeks away from school. Then of course there was college and University. No need to think about Christmas holiday beyond those simple two words. A celebration of a birth and time away from teachers, books, PE and dreaded exams.

Now look where I find myself. This is my first official 'real world' Christmas experience. Lucky for me, being in the private sector and working for a generous enterprise, I do not have to return to work during the 'in between period' before the New Year. If you discount my experience on placement, which thankfully followed a similar pattern.

Christmas has changed. Nolonger can I reside in the knowledge that I am guaranteed a set number of days away from work. The real world waits for no man and for once I find myself eager to join the Rat Race. Maybe because now finally after hunting high and low, the dream job lands comfortably on my lap. Some people are lucky, they land the perfect position within a few weeks. For the rest of us it takes time, trials and many tribulations.

This discussion took me to along another train of thought. What does Christmas mean to business? Ultimate the work still has to be done, regardless of the time of year. The atmosphere around the office does change, although I have only had limited exposure to this. Colleagues, whom usually appear to be set in their grouchy ways, have an air of excitement even charisma about them. (Shame it only lasts three weeks before the holiday). Sending Christmas cards, an annual tradition which would appear at face value, to be the most simple of tasks. Yet it becomes a battle to see who can send the most elaborate or most expensive. Then we move onto the final element, the Christmas party. Hmmm. The less said about that the better. However, I would like to point out that my firm has taken a fresh approach of making this social event for employees only. Not sure if this from a financial or the ugly result of a feud during a round of office politics.

With the new year, days away I have a few wishes. That 2005 brings with it success and hope for the future. Life has changed but for good reason, so let us make this final transition as simple as possible. Allowing the focus instead to be on the job the lies ahead, full of challenges and uncertainty. All the best to you and yours as the final few hours of 2004 pass us by.

Some People

So work begins to quicken to a heavy pace and I find a collective of my colleagues neatly lined up on my MSN list. Strange. What will be stranger, when I am having conversations with employees based at the other side, rather than those sitting across from my desk.

Moving into a new industry brings with it many pitfalls. An unknown territory always feels insecure. Regardless of the context, we always feel uneasy when driving on a new stretch of road, or walking through a new shopping centre. Particularly when everyone else seems so well at home. Comfortable is the world I would use but when you realise that the office itself has just been converted from a barn and technology thrown in with the people fending for themselves. They refer to the real world as a being a "jungle" out there.

Along with coming to the terms with the striking way the business operates who also have to understand the various aspects of the business. By 'business' I am referring to clients, the very people I will be supporting over the coming few months. Over the past week I have only started to realise the grave importance of my role. By taking the calls, I would be the bridge between the business and the client. Unlike before, when all my customers (such an inappropriate description) were internally based, now I would rarely make face to face contact. Although I will miss this aspect of my previous position, I know that I have to make the most of the opportunity before me here. I see a long hard road ahead and there is only one person able to meet the challenge with not just ambitious dedication but to surpass all expectation. Above all, one crucial element is key to aid me achieve my goals. Positive Mental Attitude. No matter how bad and inreversable a situation becomes, I will have to tell myself. Look where I've been and just look where I'm heading. For once, the future is bright, if not orange, then of course, maruno blue. Always hold dear to your heart the thought that, "Some people dream of success while others wake up and work hard at it".

I began answering the telephones today. Starting anything is always a daunting prospect, particularly when you are still trying to find your feet with the product. Users asking me questions about the product? How do I cope, when I know so little about the product. Then my manager departed the office at 4.30pm and I was left very much to my own devices. For a while, all was quiet and I hoped that the phone wouldn't ring, anxiously watching the clock to tick over to 6pm. Then, it rang. Within a split second my mind switched into over drive. Hot out sheer nerves but seeing an window to prove myself rather than continue to doubt my own ability. This was an opportunity for me to prove myself. The more I spoke to clients on the phone, the more my confidence would grow, as would my speed and exposure to dealing with various support calls. Not sure why I was so apprenhensive about this to begin with. Yet I notice the same reaction surface once again, as it did some six months earlier (to the day!). There is something about being new that puts you in an extremely difficult situation. You want to develop your skills and product knowledge knowing your barrier is only time. You are also cautious to the fact that you want to do things by the book and more importantly correctly.

Just as I am finding my feet and learning many things, not specific to the job but more general to the life in a new position. I stumble upon some very useful advice. Plenty more were that came from, even if hunting down the home grown material is a little more tiresome. Just my luck that such priceless reading is never close to hand the day I need it most. I don't know, some people, just don't have the luck.