Not the way I'd imagine myself spending the weekend...

Still reeling over the departure of my friend Bobomans (from the office), my schoolmate/good friend KJ and I decided that paying a visit to good ol' Uncle Lim up the hill would be a great idea to spend a Saturday evening. The initial plan was to grab a bite, make our way up the hill, make a quick buck and dash down the hill in time for the big game between Man Utd and Arsenal. Here's what went wrong with the night...

1. we went to a noodle shop in SS2 where the food was decent but the price tag was not... We basically had noodles and half a crispy chicken that went up to RM60.50 in total. Mind you... We only had green tea for drinks. To top it off... The bird looks malnourished!!!
2. At the hill... good ol' uncle robbed us blind of a combined total of RM700. A 16 round progression on the same number rendered no hits at all!!! Talk about bad luck!!!
3. Going down the hill, KJ informs me that his fuel indicator was flashing... WTF??? We literally had to 'glide' down the hill at speeds that even a jogging grandmother would out paced us... =.="'
4. When we finally got down the hill... The gas station we were so looking forward to go to was on the opposite side of the highway!!! Arrgh!!! WTF man!!! We parked at the Gombak R&R area and made a dash across the highway...
5. After buying RM2 worth of petrol filled in a 1.5L mineral water bottle we made another "death-defying" run across the highway to get to the car only to find that ... We DIDN'T have a funnel to fill the petrol!!! We tried using a plastic spoon to keep the petrol chamber open but as the petrol went in... So did part of the plastic spoon. Finally, we found a thin metal rod that could be used to keep the petrol chamber open while the tank if filled.

After all that trouble we went through, we did eventually reached my house to catch the Man Utd v Arsenal. Missed the opening 10 minutes of the game or so... But it was a happy ending... Man Utd beat Arsenal, 2 - 1. Yay!!! Finally... something good happened.

We'll be back Uncle Lim... Just you wait!!!

I Had A Sad Day....

Approximately 2 hours ago, I said goodbye to the best friend I ever had in the company. My friend, Bobomans has left for another place where life is "great". The funny thing about this feeling I have right now is... I've never missed her so much before and it's only been 2 freaking hours... Today, unlike my other posts where the anger is diverted towards others... This one's especially for me...

Get over it!!! She's only changed jobs for goodness sake!!!

Burnley... You got lucky this time!!!

Today is a catastrophic day for Man United... They LOST 1 - 0 away to Burnley... I'm lost alright... lost for words...

WTF just happened???

L2... Losers X 2

It's been a couple of weeks since my last post. The week was rather peaceful... That was until I got a mail from some retard in the Level 2 (L2) team supporting my account this morning. The doofus basically decided to point the finger at me for something which he or his team overlooked to perform like a good 2 weeks ago... They basically had to down several servers and were given specific instructions by a unix guru to inform him when the servers were up and running so that he may proceed to attach the console to the next server that required to be booted up. Doofus... And the rest of the team however... decided that this issue was no longer theirs once the ticket was dispatched over to my queue... And when there was a trigger from another team which was affected by the unavailability of the server... He conveniently referred them to me!! Whilst I understand that the ticket is in my queue and under my name... My question is... WHY did the moron not do as he was told?? Now... due to his incompetencies... I'll have to wait till tomorrow before I can look at the goddamn server!!!

If you want to dispatch tickets ONLY... Go back to L1!!! Freaking moron!!!

Is it ALWAYS the "smarter" choice???

Recently, an service provider that I subscribe to is believed to be having some kinda technical difficulties with their billing system. In fact, as I could recall... "recently" is an understatement when describing their technical "difficulties" as they seem to have endless list of it...

One such technical difficulty concerns their coverage area, which to my opinion... is really bad, considering that I'm located in the city center most of the time. At times, I question the existence of this service provider as it becomes apparent to me that quality of service is certainly NOT one of the things that they're concerned with.

The other more chronic "technical" difficulty is one that I'd really prefer to see as a PERMANENT disability as their customer service staff seem disinterested when it comes to serving their customers. Why, you may ask should I say so??? For starters, how would you feel when you were made to wait 3 months for a phone that is promised to you as a part of the subscription package??? To further compound matters, the phone was NOT free... And if that was not enough... I had to call the customer service and the Account Manager no lesser that half a dozen times before some service was provided from their end.

With the recent billing "fiasco", I really doubt that I'd be sticking with the same service provider once my service contract with them is over... There's really nothing "smart" about a service provider that could not even pull their act together even when it comes to matters concerning dollars and cents. As of now... I am still waiting for last month's bill in order to submit my claims and I do not forsee this matter being resolved anytime soon...

WTF??? Can you gimme my bill already???

What is wrong with this 'equation'???

Today, at breakfast, I was having a casual conversation with a colleague whom I have a 'love/hate' kinda friendship. You see... This colleague of mine, whom I shall refer to as PuddyCat is currently having a dillema at work. It all started about a month ago when she told her DL of what she perceives as the right work-life "balance"...

Me: "You know PuddyCat... You really shouldn't have said what you said to your DL."
PuddyCat: "But if I think something's wrong... I should voice out right???"
Me: "Yessss... But saying what you said to your DL is virtually a 'career-ender' move..."
PuddyCat: "Then what you expect me to do??? Keep quiet mer??"
Me: "If the current situation is not suitable for you... Have you considered doing TS work instead??"
PuddyCat: "But TS means I'm taking a demotion wor... How can??? I'm now a DTS"

The conversation continued for a little longer before we had to call it quits...

Basically, she told her DL that:

1. She's not signing the bond that comes along with a training that she's suppose to attend.
2. She's not willing to work extra hours
3. She needs her 'rest' on the grounds of maintaining her health.

As a result of that... She's currently feels:

1. Left out because while the rest of the team are attending training... She's stuck in the office "working".
2. She's being hard done by the DL due to her non-compliance to the bonding request.
3. That she's delivering well as a member in her team in spite of all the "difficulties" and "workload" she currently has.

Before I give you my take on the entire situation... Let's look at a very amusing equation that my friend PuddyCat has instilled upon herself... I call it... "The PuddyCat Work-Life Balance Equation"

DTS = (Less Work + More Pay) / Responsibility

Where:

DTS = Deep Technical Support

Understanding the equation:
The DTS, being the last... and HIGHEST level of technical support, should have little to do as all the work should be covered by the L1 and L2 teams. DTS should ONLY be engaged under the circumstances that the L1 and L2 teams fail to resolve a problem.

As DTS are constantly resolving difficult issues, the higher pay is most certainly warranted and that the number of years a DTS has served should also be taken into consideration when it comes to renumeration.

With the structure where there are 3 tiers of support, i.e. L1, L2 and DTS, the workload is more evenly distributed across the support platforms.

My take on the above 'statements':
Basically, the equation is somewhat correct... What's actually WRONG with it is when it is misused by certain quarters (*cough* PuddyCat *cough* *cough*) with the following criterion to gain leverage or sympathy from others:

1. Constantly refusing to take up responsibilities for his/her actions
2. Constantly delusional that he/she is over delivering to the customer
3. Under the impression that his/her age and years of service is a determinant factor in the renumeration package he/she should receive.
4. Constantly feels that whenever something screws over... It is always everyone else's fault.

To PuddyCat ... My ONE and ONLY advice is...

NOBODY owes YOU a living!!! Get a life!!!