It's been fun...

Well, the project is now over for me.  My last site was Cleveland, and I feel like the last site took the most out of me.  A ton of issues - from user issues preventing us from refreshing their computers, to contractor issues, to flooding issues - I was just exhausted after every day. 

As for the project...I have to say that I enjoyed this project more than any other project that I can remember.  I enjoyed the mix of leadership and technical that is lacking in my regular day to day.  It was a new challenge that I think I needed.  It felt good after a hard day of issues to look back and see what was accomplished.  I was lead to the contractors, so I had to deal with the people issues.  However, when they had a technical problem, I was the person they would come to.  It felt good that most times, I could take care of the technical problem without the need of the help desk.  I have to admit that my morale at work has been continually dropping, and I think this was a good change of pace to put me back where I needed to be.  In all honesty...I'm going to miss the project.  However, I'm NOT going to miss being away from my family so much.  It's good to be home and back to some sort of normal schedule. 

I'm also going to try to maintain my positive attitude towards my regular duties as they return on Monday.  I feel as though I'm going through the motions at work.  There is no challenge at all, and I feel that some of the work is trivial at best.  (Those work requests suck the life out of me like no other)  Without going into too many details, there are other things going on that have been draining.  So, I'm not looking forward to going back to any of those things. 

However, since working with some of these contractors, I'm very thankful that I have a job.  Some of these guys were good at what they do, and they deserve more than trying to come up with a small contract job here and there.  I remember when I got laid off from Barrister, and it was a terrible overwhelming feeling.  I had compassion for all of these guys - Especially for the ones I had to send home because they just weren't cutting it or lack of work.  So, I'm going to try my best to keep a positive attitude about my job.  It provides for my family, and that's the real reason we all work anyhow isn't it?  I've thought about looking for another job, but I feel pretty secure at CompuCom.  I feel like I'm recognized by most people for what I do, and I do work with some good people whom I count as friends. 

So, the project has taught me a few things...

1. Respect and be thankful for your job - Try to maintain a positive attitude
2. The customers at these locations were friendlier than no other - Try to be friendly to everyone you meet (be remembered for your kindness)
3. A change of pace may be just what the doctor ordered
4. Sometimes you need to make "Executive Decisions" (it's what I called them) - decisions that allow for forward movement when no one else could make them
5. ...and never eat a Burger King Jalapeno and Cheddar (spicy puke) Burger

So, signing off with a song dedicated to the working man...Thanks for following along

I needed a boat

Just a quick post to put up some pictures, and then I'll post again tomorrow to share my thoughts on the day and the project as a whole (as it's now over).  I had a hard time getting to the site today.  First I called Dunkin Donuts to order some donuts for the site, but when I tried getting there, the road was closed due to flooding.  So I couldn't get through.  I ended up calling them back and canceling the order because I couldn't get to them.  Then right outside the office there was a lake of water.  The road was closed, so I ended up walking through the woods behind the place to get into the office.  Then I found that if I drove through the parking lot of the neighboring company, I could get my car into the parking lot.  So, back through the woods and finally got my car into the place.  The office went into "emergency closed" status due to the flooding, so not much happened today.  I still had to stay until 5:00PM though.  Here are some pictures of the water in front of the office.

On up the street looking down at the water (before I walked through the woods)

 To the right side

 To the left side

I'll post again tomorrow - I'm very happy to be home!!! - Have a good night!

One more day

Here's the joke for the day:

Q.  Did you hear about the guy who ran through the screen door?

A.  He strained himself.

OK, one more day in the WHOLE project.  Today went pretty well.  We got done a little early, but instead of sending the guys home, I had them call the users and see if they could come in this afternoon to pick up their computers.  It turned out that quite a few came in, so we only have about 5-6 left to pick up for tomorrow.  Then we have a user that hasn't even brought her computer into us yet, so we'll need to do that one completely.  Anyhow, it should be a pretty easy day for tomorrow.  (should be..is the key word there)

I'm really looking forward to getting home.  I feel like there are some issues that have come up (or been coming up for some time) that need addressing.  Anyhow, I think it will be good to have the whole family together for awhile now.  

Went to lunch today at one of my favorite places - Steak N' Shake!  They don't have any in New York, and one was right around the corner from the office.

It was a decent day today weather wise.  It's supposed to be warm again tomorrow, but supposed to rain.  I took a picture on my way back from throwing out some boxes in the dumpster.

Anyhow, I'm definitely looking forward to going home tomorrow night.  Couple of days off for the "weekend", then Thursday conference call in the morning, expense report/paperwork, and then catch up on some training, then Friday I took off for a personal day.  Monday the 7th, I'm back in the field for regular day to day field service.

Can't wait to get home because I'm missing my family...

Cleveland - Take 2

Here's the joke:

Q.  Did you hear about the butcher who accidentally backed into the meat grinder?

A.  He got a little behind in his work.

That joke made me smile...

Today was a pretty good day.  I was a little worried at one point as the first contractor that showed up said the only projects he's done so far with computers was unboxing them.  The guy is a little slow, but not as slow as the guy I worked with yesterday, and he did get it done.  The other guy has worked this customer before, and he seemed like he was OK.  I did have to follow him around at one point because he just threw the user's computer stuff on their desks in a pile.  So, I went around and connected everything and made it somewhat presentable.  We got a decent amount done today, and I'd say we are a little ahead of schedule.  Which is where I like to be.

Went to McDonald's again today for breakfast.  The hotel has breakfast, and it's not too bad.  However, I had McDonald's yesterday, and I realized how much better it tasted than the hotel's spread.  I'm usually no where near my allotment for meals for the day, so I might as well enjoy breakfast a little more.  It's nice that I'm figuring that out just as I'm about done with this project. (a little sarcasm there)  Sometimes I wonder why I try to save the company money... Anyhow, I'm thinking bacon, egg, and cheese on a biscuit for tomorrow (or maybe a sausage McGriddle?)

I've got the thermostat for the room turned up to 79 because I was freezing.  I don't think the thermostat works right because it doesn't feel like 79 in here.  I have been keeping it at 71, but that's when I was cold.  I'm used to keeping our house at 67, so sounds like a broken thermostat to me.

Sorry, no pictures today.  I'm looking forward to going to bed early. 

I AM...missing my family...

Hello? Anyone home?

What a day, what a day...

There's my joke for the day.  I was beat down today beyond words.  First, I get up and there's a huge snow storm.  Then the contractor supposed to arrive at 8:00, decides he's not coming in, but he doesn't call anyone to let them know.  Then the guy sent to relieve him (who shows up at 11:00) doesn't know how to use a mouse on a laptop.  (Hello...we're only working on laptops here)  So, I show him how, but then he's trying to get to the menus, and can't figure out how to click on Start properly.  So, I send him home.  I'm now by myself again here.  So, another guy gets sent in, and he shows up at 3:30PM and works with me until 10:00PM.  He completes a whole 1.5 computers.  The instructions say to put in the server name, so what does he type in?..."server name" - (Hello?...and he wonders why it's not working)  It's like telling you to put in your name, and you put in "your name".  Then the ability for my phone to connect the internet to my laptop suddenly stopped working.  So, I have no way of getting on line anymore unless I'm in the hotel which has lousy, lousy internet.

On the good side, I plugged my way through the day.  At one point I was doing 4 laptops at one time.  We ended up getting a third of the units done today, so we are pretty much on schedule.

I left early this morning due to the snow, and I had extra time, so I went to McDonald's for breakfast.  Here's a picture of the snow as I was coming back out to the car:

Thanks for letting me blow off some steam.   I'm heading off to bed.  Here's hoping for a better day tomorrow.  Hey, it could have been worse, as it's just work.  I sure do feel beat up though.

I'm absolutely missing my family...

Cleveland - Here we go!

Joke of the day:

Q.  What do you call a song sung in an automobile?

A.  A cartoon

Arrived OK today in Mentor, OH.  It was a good trip and it's kind of nice to be in Cleveland.  Sue and I lived in Cleveland for about 10 years, and it feels good to do some work here again.  Sue and I really liked going to Panini's Grill, so I checked them out on line when I arrived.  They used to have only 2 locations, but now have several, and there was one only a few miles from the hotel.  I stopped by there and grabbed a panini.  Here's a picture:

It was delicious.  The picture doesn't do it justice.  The fries and the coleslaw really make it a sandwich like no other.  On the way, I saw a Marc's store.  Sue used to work at a Marc's, and I wanted to pick up some drinks and microwave popcorn, so I stopped in.  At first, I thought it was cool shopping there, and then I remembered that they don't accept credit cards when I tried to check out.  I ended up leaving the store feeling frustrated, and found a Giant Eagle.  Got my stuff there, and ended up fixing their receipt printer on the register.  They couldn't get it to work, and I asked her if I could look at it.  Turned out to be jammed up, and got it fixed.  They should have given me my stuff for free, but I think CompuCom services them?  At least I've heard of Giant Eagle when talking with other CompuCom techs.  So, I may have just saved some CompuCom tech a service call. 

It looks like we're going to get a bunch of snow tonight and tomorrow morning.  The news says about 9 inches, so I'm going to get up early tomorrow and try to get a head start.  Buffalo is supposed to get a lot of snow too.  I think about the same (Accuweather said 10 inches).  Either way, it doesn't sound fun.  Both places too are talking about power outages due to high winds and heavy wet snow.  

Here's a picture of the hotel:

Well, wish me luck for tomorrow.  Friday's are always crazy...

I'm already missing my family...

Dunkirk Done!!

Howdy...Here the joke for the day:

Q.  How many babies does it take to paint a house red?

A.  It depends on how hard you throw them

No...I don't think it's OK to throw babies, but you have to admit, the joke is funny.  

Just a quick post...

Dunkirk is now done.  I have to say the site went pretty well.  However, I've come to the conclusion that 9 out of 10 contractors are unemployed for a reason.  I can think of really one contractor over the last couple of months, that I would have hired as a manager (or wanted to work with on a daily basis as an employee).  I guess that's all I'll say.

I'm glad the site is done.  One more to go.  I'm off to Mentor, OH next week.  I guess we will talk to you then...

Dunkirk Update

This joke courtesy of Jayna:

Q.  Why did Tigger look in the toilet?

A.  He was looking for Pooh

I just wanted to give a quick update on Dunkirk.  It's been OK.  Day 2 is now over, and the contractors I've been working with have been pretty good.  They actually told me that they would rather get done early and look good than puttering along just to collect a paycheck.  They've backed it up too, as we only have 3 more computers to refresh, and we've trained most of the users already and returned their laptops.  We've got some other stuff to do tomorrow like clean up some boxes, and inventory the disposal equipment, but these guys have been on the ball.

One guy however, has a car that broke down, so he took a bus the first day (Greyhound bus) to the site.  So, I've been giving him a ride to and from the site everyday since he lives about 10 minutes from my house.  The guy won't stop talking.  I get home and my ears are bleeding.

I just got back home tonight, and I think Sue and I are going to go birthday shopping for Whitney.  Gotta go...Sue just got home, and I have to go and put away groceries.  Blah...

Quick Work on Sunday

Here's a cartoon for today:

I thought this one appropriate as I took a brand new keyboard out of the box at the site, and it didn't have a "C" key.  Instead of the "C" key, it had another "B" key.  So, two "B" keys.  I called the help desk, and they told me to ignore it and if the user has a problem with it, she can call in to get a replacement keyboard.  It types OK, as long as your not looking at the keys.

We got done early today.  We all left the site around 1:00PM as we got all the computers done.  I hope I get to leave a little early tomorrow too as I'm really looking forward to getting home.  I stopped by after I left the site today and picked up some lunch.  Then I came back to the hotel, did my paperwork, and was very tempted to take a nap.  Instead, I thought I'd write on the blog because I know I won't sleep tonight if I take a nap now.

It's a beautiful day outside.  Here's the temp showing on my car (picture kind of lousy)

Here's another looking out the window of my hotel (I just took this one)

So, for next week, I'm in Dunkirk, NY which is only about a 45 minute drive from my house.  So, I'm not even going to hotel it for next week.  It will be nice being able to be at home for a little over a week.  I'll try to post on here at least a couple of times, but I don't think it will be every day.

Wish me luck...

I'm missing my family...

Day 2 in Masontown

Joke for the day:

Q.  What kind of coffee was served on the Titanic?
A.  Sanka.

(I should have posted that joke yesterday because of the guy dumping his coffee into that laptop!!)

Well, it was a much better day than yesterday.  It was still very busy.  This site doesn't seem to have everything together as well as the last couple of sites.  It reminds me of the site in Atlanta when they weren't expecting us until the day before.  We're getting stuff done, it just seems to have a crazy feel about it, if that makes any sense.  For example, I was going nuts trying to figure out why we had leftover equipment, and the manager told me she ordered extras.  Which is nuts because the site is staffed for how many units are scheduled.  Now, we have these "extras" that don't need to be done.  OK - That was my rant for the day...

Otherwise, site is going good.  I told one contractor he didn't have to show up tomorrow (since...oh, never mind...I said I was done ranting about that).  We have about a half dozen left to do, and some inventory of disposal equipment, and I believe that is about it for tomorrow.  Oh, also I have to go back and find pictures on the manager's old computer because she didn't put them in the "My Documents" folder.  Even though she signed off that everything was in the "My Documents" folder before we started.  Oh, I forgot...I'm done ranting...

Anyhow, you can see what I mean by "just not feeling organized" and a little bit of a crazy feeling at this site.  This blog is really kind of therapeutic in a way, so thanks for listening.

I was thinking no pictures today, and then I remembered Sue sent me a picture of what Andrew got to do at home today, so here it is:

GO ANDREW!!!

So, I sent him this picture of a decoration I found at the site today:

 I hope he was feeling all those angel kisses!!

 

Thanks Andrew for snow blowing today.  If it makes you feel any better, it was about 40 degrees here today and no snow.  So, no angel kisses for me here (dang...)

 

Can't wait for Monday night because I'm...missing my family...

I'm Exhausted!

I really am...

Here's the joke:

Q: What does a proud computer call his little son?
A: A microchip off the old block.

(When I'm this tired, don't expect too much!)

Today we had a ton of little problems.  For example, a contractor dumping his coffee into someone's laptop.  So, on top of a long day, I've been on edge all day.  

Took this picture on my way to work this morning.  No one was behind me, so I could stop in the street:

The place really is less than a mile from the customer's site.  Maybe that was our problem today?  Who knows.  We still got quite a bit done, but I'm hoping for just a slightly easier day.

I really don't have much else to say.  I'm going to finish my sandwich I ordered, and I'm going to bed.  Good night!

I'm tired, but I'm still...missing my family...

 

Masontown, PA

Here's a joke that goes along with the wonderful internet I have here at this hotel:

Q.  What does WWW stand for?

A.  World Wide Wait...

I know...It was a terrible joke, but very appropriate.  I deem this hotel to have the WORST internet thus far...(and hopefully from now on)  It connects fine, but after that it just stops responding.  I've tried a few tweaks that I know of, but it's just garbage.

Well, the site in Scottdale finished up great, and I ended up getting home Monday night about 10:00PM.  I had my "weekend", and then left this morning for Masontown, PA.  Again, it's in the middle of nowhere.  Actually, I drove by the site this afternoon, and there is a huge nuclear power plant just about a mile from it.  That's really about it though except for a couple of restaurants and a gas station. (That I could see anyhow)  My hotel is actually in Waynesburg, PA which is about 20 minutes from the site. 

[I just switched the internet on my laptop from the hotel to my cell phone (Give me a break)]

It should be interesting tomorrow.  I've got two of the same guys from the last two sites, and a new guy as part of my team.  Hopefully the new guy knows his stuff.  

I walked to Bob Evans for dinner tonight.  (What is it with Comfort Inns having Bob Evans restaurants next door to them?)  I took a couple of pictures on my walk:

Looking down at Bob Evans

 Looking up at the hotel

Well, tomorrow is Friday, so you know what that means...I have to go to bed early tonight!

I'm really...missing my family...

Super Bowl Sunday

Joke for the day:

I bought a car that had a Steelers bumper sticker on it.
After a month, I peeled the sticker off.
Not only does it run better, it passes better, too.

Ha Ha!!  I'd better watch telling a joke like that around here...
I think I've heard this song too many times while down here:

We got done with work a little early today.  Finished the computers that needed done, so I sent the contractors home this morning.  As usual, they were not happy.  One guy was supposed to work next week, but he said it wasn't worth his time.  It's fine with me as I had nothing but problems with him the whole time, and I tried to not be too happy when he told me.  I let the project management team know not to replace him as we'll do fine without that extra person.  I stuck around and finished up getting rid of the boxes and finished up one more computer.

I plan on watching the Super Bowl tonight and ordering a pizza.  I'm not sure from where yet.   I'm going home tomorrow!!!  I can't wait.  At this point in the week,  I really start to look forward to going home for a couple of days.  So, tomorrow a couple of the contractors are coming in, and we'll get the computers passed back out to the users, do an overall cleanup and paperwork.  Then I head home.  It's about a 4 1/2 to 5 hour drive.  Then, on Thursday I head back down here again to Masontown, PA which is just a little further south from where I'm at now.  (Almost to West Virginia)

So, I'll post again on Thursday...

...missing my family...

Super Bowl Eve

Joke for the day:

Q: What do you get when you cross a highway with a bicycle?
A: Run over!

I talked to Sue tonight, and I guess it's snowing a lot.  Sorry Sue!  It rained all day here, and when I left the site my car temperature said it was 44 outside.  It looks like it's supposed to get colder here though, and get some snow and ice mix.  

Today at work went pretty well.  I had to put the guys back on track at one point.  At lunch time I asked each one of them how many computers they had gotten done, and then I explained that I understood they wanted to collect a paycheck, but they still had to do the work.  After that, we got quite a bit done today.  We really only have 5-6 left to do (depending on if one person shows up or not).

Went to Bob Evans for dinner tonight.  Had the southwestern omelet and cherry cobbler with ice cream for dessert.  Bob Evans is right next door to the hotel, so walked over after work.  I took a picture on my way over...

 I had to take the weekly picture of the hotel

The customer told me this afternoon that she was pleasantly surprised on how smoothly the project has been going.  It was nice to hear that.  That's about all I got for today.  Hope everyone has a good night!

I AM...missing my family...

Another Friday...Done!

Joke for the day:

Q. If you had three apples and four oranges in one hand and four apples and three oranges in the other hand, what would you have?

A. Very large hands. 

Yuck, yuck, yuck...

Welcome to Friday.  It's almost over (11:40 PM as I'm writing this).  Not a bad day, but I don't think we're going to get done early like last week.  I've got the same contractors from last week, and I've got two of them that are determined to get a full paycheck this week.  One of the guys I'm going to have to keep an eye on tomorrow because I think he only completed one computer today.  If that's the case again tomorrow, he can go home, and he doesn't have to come back.  I know...I'm a mean ole grouchy bugger, but if you're not going to work, I don't need you.  I am trying to be patient, as overall we have a "normal" amount done at this point, and I know they just want to get a full paycheck.  I still think the system is messed up when employees get rewarded for slacking off, and penalized for performance.  (Unless I decide the one guy can just go home because he's slower than Moses)

It seems a lot of these sites are out in the middle of nowhere.  Here's a picture out the front window of the site: (not much around)

I have to tell you...Hotel internet is the worst.  I did a speed test and I'm getting .91 MB download and .25 MB upload.  You can't do hardly anything with that!

I'm looking forward to tomorrow, and getting some more stuff done.  Goodnight!!!

...missing my family!!!

Scottdale, PA

Good Afternoon!!!
Here's an appropriate joke for the day:

Q.  Why was the computer so tired when it got home?

A.  Because it had a hard drive!

Yes, yes, I know - My jokes stink.  Anyhow, I arrived just about an hour ago.  I did my normal drive by the site to make sure I know where it's at routine and drove on into the hotel.  This hotel has the exact same layout as the last hotel I stayed at in Butler.  Last week I was in room 219 which has the elevator right on the other side of the wall.  I suffered through it for the week as every time someone got out, you heard this ding...ding.. and then hmmmmmm...ding.  So, when they wanted to give me the exact same room number here, I explained what happened last week.  They then switched my rooms to a room with a HOT TUB!  I'm not sure I'll use it, but it is a very nice room.  I'm glad I said something.

On the way here, I stopped by a service center/rest area on the PA turnpike near Pittsburgh.  I noticed reserved parking for my little Prius, so I took a picture...

I thought that was pretty cool.  I didn't park there as I didn't notice it until I was walking in, but I thought it was nice they are promoting fuel efficient cars.  There were 3 spots reserved.  Also, I had Burger King while I was there and tried their new cheddar and jalapeno burger...All I can say is "gross". - Don't even try it.  It's like a spicy puke burger.  I couldn't finish it.

So, tomorrow is the loooong day.  Hope everything goes well.  Wish me luck.

I'm already missing my family...

Movie Day in PA

Here's the joke of the day (this one's a classic):

Q.  What's the difference between roast beef and pea soup?

A.  Anyone can roast beef, but nobody can pea soup!

So, Happy Sunday!!  I had quite a day.  I went to the site this morning at 8:00 and helped two users in picking up their computers, and then I had to move a computer.  My site contact verified no one else was coming in today, so we left close to lunch time.  Since I had the whole afternoon, I drove over by the mall and ate lunch at an A&W and saw a movie.

I ended up watching The Rite.  It was pretty good.  I guess I would give it a 3 star rating out of 5 as it started off kind of slow.  Not bad though.  I had some time after lunch before the movie started, so I went to an Ollie's Outlet Store next door and looked around.  They were having a sale that I'm sure Andrew would have had a comment on, so I took a picture:

You have to know my son Andrew to know what I'm talking about.  He's really a funny kid.  

I guess that's really about all I got.  I'm thinking about Subway for dinner, or maybe ordering a pizza, but I'm really not that hungry.  I guess sometimes when you are alone sitting in a hotel, dinner is all you have to really look forward to for the night.  If that makes any sense.  Tomorrow should go smooth (knock on wood), and I'm heading back home tomorrow night after we're done.  Next Thursday I leave for Scottdale, PA which is also a suburb of Pittsburgh.  

Until then...May the force be with you.  

...and I'm missing my family!!!

Good Day

Joke of the day...

Q.  What is green, and if it falls out of a tree, can kill you?

A.  A pool table

 There has to be a better answer to that question besides a pool table.  I'm sure there are some other really big heavy things that are green.  Anyhow, that's the joke...sorry

It was a good day.  We actually finished the site this afternoon a little after lunch time.  All the computers are complete, disposal inventory is done, and the "majority" of the paperwork is done.  The only thing really left is the users picking up their computers.  We contacted a lot of them today, but no one really wants to come in on the weekend.  I stuck around this afternoon for one person to come in, and tomorrow a few people are coming in, but most are still Monday.  I sent the contractors home a little after 2:00PM, and I told them they didn't have to come in tomorrow at all.  They'll come in on Monday and help with the users coming in and final clean up.  It will be nice to be on my way back home Monday night.

I went and picked up a pizza tonight.  I ordered a "Buffalo Chicken" pizza.  It was good, but nothing like Buffalo.  I swear, I should open a pizza shop somewhere other than Buffalo and sell REAL buffalo wings.  The pizza was good, but not enough buffalo wing flavor (if you know what I mean).  On the way to pick up the pizza, there were some interesting signs.  So on the way back, I took some pictures.

In case you ever want to buy a planet...(or some gas)

Guy at work (on up the management ladder a ways) is Mike Kelly - I guess he's doing a little side business

Took this one earlier today

...I'M MISSING MY FAMILY!

The Dreaded Friday

Here's the joke of the day:

Q: Why is it dangerous to do math in the jungle?

A: If you add 4 and 4, you get 8!

Get it..."You get 8"! Ha ha....

Happy Friday!  It actually turned out to be not too bad of a day.  Everything went really smooth at work.  It was a long day for sure, but everything really fell into place nicely today.  We almost have half of the computers installed on day 1, which is unbelievable.  The only problem now is the contractors are all wanting to work slower because they're worried if we run out of things to do, they won't get paid for working as long.  It makes me think that there is something wrong with a system that rewards inefficiency.  I can understand where they're coming from, and I've been in their shoes before.  I don't have the solution, but I wish it didn't work that way.  Unfortunately though, it does. 

One of the people from the site was going on maternity leave after today, so everyone brought in a bunch of food.  They let us take part in the feast as there was a TON of food. (2 tables full)  So, that was nice, but I ate too much junk food throughout the day.  It's hard not to walk past a table of donuts, cookies, and treats not to just grab something small.  Here's a picture at the end of the day, after everyone had eaten all day.  You can still see almost a full dozen donuts on the back table.

Well, I'm tired and I'm going to bed.  Good night everyone!!

I'm still...missing my family...

Welcome to Butler, PA

It was a nice break, and I enjoyed spending time with my family.  It was hard to leave today.  Over the break, Jayna (in her 9 year old wisdom) told me that my blog was boring.  Now, I never claimed to be an entertaining writer or anything, but I'll try to do a little better.  I'm thinking probably too much work stuff and not enough day to day life stuff.  So, in the spirit of trying to be a little more entertaining, I'd like to start off with a joke:

Q: What did the police say to the crook?

A: We are police to meet you!

I feel like there should be some drum rim shot or something after that....

The drive here was OK.  At one point I got behind a dirty grimy truck that threw a bunch of junk on my car.  So, I stopped by the coin operated car wash, and gave it a bath.

Here's Before

 Here's After (much better)

I drove by the site before coming to the hotel.  Which was good, as it was terribly hard to find.  I sent out a quick e-mail to the contractors, so hopefully they'll get the info.  It turns out, there really isn't a street that exists with the address given.  It's a plaza off of another street next to a K-Mart.  Kind of tricky...

As there are no Sheetz gas stations in New York, I always enjoy stopping at my favorite gas station of all time whenever I'm in PA or Ohio.

They have EVERYTHING! 

I got to my hotel, and it sets on top of a hill.  It's really fairly hilly here.  

That's it up there by the water tower

Once I got to the top of the hill

 

Well, here's hoping for a smooth day tomorrow.  Fridays are always the hardest as it's 8:00AM-10:00PM.  This isn't a very big site, only about 27 computers to refresh and only 3 contractors. (I had 6 at my last site and almost 50 computers).  Wish me luck!

I'm really missing my family...

  

Goodbye Georgia!

So, I'm done with the site here in Atlanta.  Everything went pretty good, and I think the site was happy with the results.  We ended up doing more computers than were scheduled due to employee transfers, but we got them all done but two users who refused to come into the office to let us upgrade their computers.  I have to say, if work told me I had to do something, and they would upgrade my computer, I would be the first one in line.  (especially if part of the upgrade was Verizon broadband service).  Anyhow, I took in donuts again this morning.  The site was a large site, so it cost me a little more than it did last week.  I get $50/day for food, and I spent $38 on "breakfast", so I grabbed a couple of granola bars and a banana from the hotel breakfast on my way out for lunch.  Then I had subway for dinner and ended up spending a total of $49.25 for the day.  It worked out though, and I'm going to continue doing it at all the my sites.  The sites seem to like the gesture, and if it happens to help when the customer satisfaction survey goes out, well...

I got to talk to the whole family tonight, so that was good.   I can't wait to see everyone.  Tomorrow my flight leaves at 7:15AM.  Since the Atlanta airport is a small city in itself, I plan on getting up at 3:30AM to get there.  I'd rather sit there for awhile and be early, than be stressed out and worried that I'll miss my flight.

So, I'd better get to bed as it's a little after 10:00PM now.  No sites next week, so probably won't post anything until the 27th of January, as that will be the day I'll be leaving for Butler, PA.  I'll be driving from now on...WooHoo!!

Can't wait to get home because I'm ...missing my family!!

One more day to go!

The weather here was beautiful again today.  The car said it was 54 degrees when I went to lunch and sunny.  The snow has pretty much melted, but there are some spots in the shade that are still icy.  I walk outside to go to lunch, and I'm tempted to just sit outside for an hour.  I think tomorrow and Tuesday it's supposed to rain, so probably the last day of sun was today. 

Work is going good. I'm feeling a lot more relaxed as the site is winding down.  We had some people bring in more equipment today, and we have 4 bringing in for tomorrow.  We have everything else pretty much wrapped up.  So, we have those 4 to do, help some users pickup their new stuff, and cleanup/paperwork for tomorrow.  I'm really looking forward to heading back home for awhile.  I'm not scheduled for a site next weekend, so I've got a week and a half or so before heading to Butler, PA.

Not much else happened today, and it was pretty uneventful.  I usually like going to local places to eat as I can always eat at "the chain" places at home.  I've been doing pretty good, but today I had Wendy's for lunch, and IHOP for dinner.  (I really do like their pancakes) ...and my opnion on Wendy's "fresh cut fries with sea salt" is that they are just as good as their fries were before.  They always had the best fries of all fast food, and they still do (just not much different than their old ones).

I got back to the hotel around 6:00 tonight, and took a picture:

There was a cool sunset tonight, but really can't see if from the picture.  It doesn't look much different than the hotel in Oklahoma.  I signed up for rewards with Choice Hotels, so my plan is to stay in a Choice Hotel for the entire project and collect at least one free night stay along the way.  We'll see how that plan works out.  I signed up for airline miles too, but I'm not flying anymore for any future sites scheduled as they are all within 5 hours drive from home.  I hate flying...

Anyhow...I'm MISSING MY FAMILY!

Saturday in Georgia

Today was a relatively easy day (especially compared to yesterday).  We should have had more to do, but most of the day we spent sitting around as the users weren't coming in to drop off their equipment for us to work on.  I escalated the issue, and we did what we could around the office.  The good thing is, is that everything is pretty much done except for the 20 or so computers we've yet to receive.  The weather here was wonderful today, as it was sunny in the mid 50's.  The car thermometer said 53 when I went to lunch today.

 My rental car outside of the office building I'm working in this week

I'm looking forward to watching the Atlanta Falcons/Green Bay game tonight.  Everybody is talking about it down here.  I don't really care too much who wins, maybe if Atlanta wins, people will bring in their computers tomorrow?  I just ordered a pizza, and I'm going to chill out in the room and watch the game tonight.

The hotel here serves a pretty nice breakfast: waffles, biscuits, sausage, eggs, and then all the other normal hotel breakfast stuff.  Last night, I didn't eat as I was too tired, and it was too late.  So, I was really looking forward to that breakfast this morning, but I timed it wrong.  I got down there and there was this guy that had 2 plates of waffles, and a HUGE plate of eggs and sausage.  He had pretty much cleaned out all the food.  So, I ended up with a danish and a bagel.  Oh well...

Here's a picture of the "art" in front of the office building.  The little gold sign says it's called "Blade with Tear Drop" - Very original

I took the "Blade with Tear Drop" picture when I was waiting for someone to come down and let me back into the building after lunch.  They lock up the office building on the weekend.  

Hope everyone is having fun...I can't wait to come home - ...missing my family...

Holy Cow!

OK - I'm declaring Fridays the hardest day of the week!  (At least until this project is over)  Working 13-14 hours for the day is hard enough, but dealing with all the issues on top of it is indescribable.  Part of me feels like so many things got changed in the project in one week, that I had to learn what needs to be done all over again.  Another issue was the office was closed all week due to the weather here, and the office manager just found out about the refresh yesterday.  So, we only had a small handful of computers dropped off today.  We have the majority coming in tomorrow, a couple for Sunday, and one for Monday.  At the end of the day though, we got a fair amount of computers done by doing the office computers, and we got pretty much all the computers done that were dropped off. 

Enough about that...I'm tired and going to bed.  Sorry no pictures today.  It was good talking to Sue, Andrew gave blood today at school (Yay! Andrew) - Whitney is watching Fame! as I write this - ...and Jayna is looking forward to going to the pancake breakfast tomorrow at school.  Jayna, eat a pancake for me!

...Missing my family...

"Georgia On My Mind"

I'll start off by saying it was nice being home for a couple of evenings and seeing Sue and the kids.  It was hard leaving this morning.  I got back home Tuesday night about 6:30-7:00PM.  On the way, there was a lot of snow in Chicago, but I was only delayed a couple of hours overall.  I was glad to be home.


I'm now in Atlanta, GA.  It was kind of a crazy trip here.  The flights weren't too bad, but I had some crazy work stuff going on.  One of the contractors for the site down here said he wouldn't be able to make it because of the snow (more on that in a minute), so I was finally informed of a replacement for him.  I called him and got all the contractors in line.  Then I tried calling the customer site, and was told by the director of operations at the site, that they weren't informed of any computer work this weekend, and they would have to reschedule.  At this point I was 3/4 the way here!  I escalated the issue, and I got an e-mail back pretty much saying I didn't know what I was talking about.  So, I called the site again only to be told the same thing.  That's when I started asking more questions and found out that when they gave me my work order, they also gave me a phone number for a different office.  Once I got the correct number, and called the correct office, everything was fine and dandy.  


The plane landed in Atlanta around 1:00PM, but I didn't even get to my rental car until about 2:30.  The Atlanta airport is HUGE.  Part of it was my fault...Once I got off the plane, I started following signs pointing towards baggage pickup...and I walked...and I walked.  I think I walked a couple of miles before I noticed there was a train system headed towards baggage pickup.  I got on the train, and the rest of the trip to baggage didn't take quite as long.  Then I'm standing there at the belt thingy waiting on my luggage, and it doesn't show.  I go over to the claim area with my ticket, and they told me it was scanned in, so they start calling around looking for it.  (I'm standing there at this point trying to figure out why the customer was saying they weren't willing to do it this weekend while waiting for a response from the baggage person)  I happen to be looking towards the chute for baggage, when BLAMO! - My bag pops out of nowhere.  I have figured out the customer issue at this point, I grab my bag, and thank the "nice" lady in the baggage area.  I now have to get on ANOTHER train to get to the car rental area.  (...and people wonder why I don't like flying)

Here's looking out the front window of the train going towards the car rental area (why the windshield wiper? - It's not like I'm driving the thing)

 

The snow here is not much to be honest.  The problem is that there are areas where it hasn't been cleaned off the streets at all.  99.8% of it is clear and dry.  .1% is wet from melting snow, and .1% is actually snow covered.  It's not really anything to fret about, but I was listening to the radio, and they already canceled a ton of schools tomorrow because they are afraid that the wet areas will freeze overnight.   I plan on leaving early tomorrow morning just in case.

That's about it.  I got into the hotel room, went and got something to eat (very delicious Mexican place), and I don't plan on going anywhere else tonight.  

Looking out my hotel balcony

I'm already...missing my family...

Done here in OK

Finished up the project here today, and it all went pretty well.  It will be interesting next week, as I'll be more on my own, but it should be good.  It was a busy day.  Everyone came in this morning to pick up their computers, so it was kind of crazy.  Then we think that the customer did something to their network last night, because there were a lot of people who were having the same problem.  One lady was having the problem, and we didn't even touch her computer.  Anyhow, we got them all taken care of, and the customer seemed genuinely happy at the end...(Maybe they were just glad that we were leaving)  

Anyhow, I'm already getting nervous for next week, and worried about all the things that could go wrong.  I'll be leaving for Atlanta, GA on Thursday.  I must say I'm looking forward to going home for a day or so.  My flight back home is tomorrow morning 9:09AM.  I'm worried about the snow.  I don't think it'll be a problem here in Oklahoma City, but Chicago is where my connecting flight is.  It appears that right when I'm supposed to be there, the snow is going to hit the city. 

The big blue area should be right over Chicago when I'm supposed to be there

Well, can't worry about it now.  I'll check the flight in the morning before I head to the airport.  Cross you fingers.

Ordered Domino's for dinner tonight.  I love ordering online.  It's so cool...You get to pick out your food, then it lets you know when they are making it, baking it, and when it goes out for delivery.  They make it fun.

I enjoyed talking to my kiddos tonight.  Whitney even talked with me tonight!!  Can't wait to come home tomorrow!

...Missing my family...

Fairly Easy Day

So, I had a fairly easy day today.  We spent most of the morning just finishing up some small issues here and there, and configuring a laptop that a user brought in.  Then went to lunch at a Mexican place, came back, and organized the place to get ready for when all the users come and pick up their equipment tomorrow.  I have some inventory stuff to do tomorrow and clean up after all the equipment gets picked up, but it shouldn't be too bad (as I knock on my fake wood desk here in the hotel).  

I plan on taking in some donuts for the site tomorrow morning, so I Googled donut places around the hotel, and came up with four different places.  None of them were too far, so I thought I'd take a drive and check them out.  Good thing I did, because they were ALL out of business.  The guy at the hotel told me that Walmart was the closest for donuts.  So, I guess it's Walmart for donuts in the morning.  

If you have a Booze & Bait store in your town...You might be a redneck

 

Anyhow, I thought it was funny that I have to go to Walmart to buy donuts!  I posted about how friendly the people are here earlier.  We went to lunch today, and the site employee that was staying on site for the day, made us a plate of cookies for desert while we were at lunch.  We came back from lunch to fresh out of the oven cranberry/chocolate chip cookies.  They were AWESOME!  

Anyhow, that's about it for the day.  Here's my rental car and my hotel...It's the nicest rental car I think I've ever received for work (Honda Accord).  Usually I end up with a Hyundai Accent or something.

...MISSING MY FAMILY!

Oklahoma - ...What day is it?

Today was another long day, but not as long as yesterday.  Everything went pretty good, but had a few issues with some wireless card activations the last part of the day.  I finally had to call it quits for the day, and I'll start again tomorrow.  Sue always says I need to walk away from problems sometimes and then come back fresh, so I figured after working over 9 hours I needed to walk away for awhile and take my wife's advice.  


The place we're working is located on Main St. in Stroud, OK.  Main St. is old route 66, and for lunch today we all went to a cafe that has been around since the route 66 days.  It as pretty good, but I thought a little overpriced for what you got.  Stroud is a very small town, but one of the bigger towns in the area.  Here's a picture I took when walking back down Main St. after lunch.

Hopefully not much to do tomorrow.  Once I get the wireless cards working, we just have a few things to do on those computers, then another computer to set up and configure, and that's pretty much it.  I'm hoping for an easy day tomorrow, and then Monday the users show up for some training and to pick up their new laptops.  


Not much else happened today.  It was good talking with some of my kiddos tonight...missing my family...

Oklahoma - "What a long day"

I know my goal is to write something every day.  Well, so far I'm good as it's 11:20PM Central Time, so I'm still good for about another 40 minutes.  Today I worked from 8:00AM-10:00PM.  I took an hour for lunch and about 1/2 hour for dinner, but my butt is dragging right now.  I think I'm going to bed after I write this, and I still have to get up and be on site at 8:00AM tomorrow.


Everything went good today though.  We got a lot done, and we're ahead of schedule.  The picture is of our work area.  We have this HUGE conference room.  You can see the laptops everywhere.

I have to say that the people down here are super friendly.  From the customer I'm working with to the guy at the gas station.  They are genuinely friendly.  I've found that when you constantly come across friendly people, it makes you feel friendlier yourself.  When I come back home, I'm going to try to be an overall friendlier person.  It really is amazing.


I also found something out today.  Before I left, I went through my computer bag and tried removing all the tools and everything that would get flagged during checking in through security at the airport.  I was keeping it with me as a carry on, and I didn't want to have any problems.  I did remove all the tools, but I found I left my cleaning supplies in my bag which included a rather large spray bottle of window cleaner.  I'm surprised it didn't get noticed.  I'm going to put it into my checked luggage on the way home though.


OK - I'm going to bed - Good night everyone!!! - ...missing my family...

Day 1 of Oklahoma

Well, I left home this morning and the taxi picked me up around 6:00AM and shipped me off to the airport.  I have to admit, for flying...things went smoothly enough.  All my flights were on time, and I even had a seat all to myself from Chicago to Oklahoma City.  I had given myself plenty of time for my connecting flight in Chicago, but I didn't need it, as my flight from Buffalo to Chicago was 30 minutes early!  The pilot must have had somewhere to be or something.  So, I spent a lot of time in Chicago just sitting there watching people go by.  There was a young boy about 6-7 who had those roller skate shoes on, and he was just going everywhere.  (Why can't adults use those? - It looked like a fun way to get around)  What drove me nuts were the carts the airport people drive around to transport people to their gates.  They have this constant annoying beeping to let people know they are there.  Then every once in awhile the driver would actually beep the horn on the cart to get somebody to move.  I started calling them "beeping carts" and "beeping drivers".   Here's a picture of the Chicago airport...

 

I still had to do some work while traveling.  The site was calling me to ask questions, then I had to call someone else to get the answers, contractors were calling me, customer project managers were calling me, etc...Finally stopped working just a few minutes ago.  I did order one of the best dang calzones I've had in a long time.  There's a BBQ place down the street I'd like to try some night too.

The weather here is beautiful (at least it was today).  Very sunny and about 55 degrees.  I even drove for awhile with the window down.  As you can see from the above picture how sunny it was...and the speed limit was great too!!


Anyhow, that's about it for the day...Missing my family...

"The Beginning"

I've started a new project for work starting this week.  I've been tasked with traveling to different customer sites over the next couple of months to manage teams of technicians as they install new computers.  I'll be leaving for my first site on Thursday of this week (Jan 6th), and should be finishing the first week of March.  Now, I know the project "officially" goes to the end of March, but my schedule ends March 1st.  We'll see as it goes if they need me to go to other locations.  I also don't have a site scheduled for the 3 weekend in January, so I'm not sure what's going to happen there yet.  What I do know is that I'll miss my family a ton.  So, I've started this blog in hopes to have another way to keep in touch.  I should be able to be home at least a day or two every week as the sites run from Friday through Monday with some travel time before and after.  So, my weekends during the project should be Tuesday/Wednesday. (Which will be a little different).


I only have 2 sites where I'll need to fly. (I hate flying by the way...It's not the flying itself, it's the constant hassle from beginning to end).  Here's my schedule:

Kendrick (Stroud)	OK
Northlake	GA
Butler	PA
Scottdale (Connellsville)	PA
Masontown	PA
Fredonia	NY
Mentor	OH

I'm flying to Oklahoma this week and Georgia next week.  The rest of the sites, I should be able to drive.  The Fredonia, NY site, I should be able to even stay at home as it's 45 minutes from home.  Which works out great as it's during Whitney's Birthday. 


I'm getting a "small" bonus at work for taking this on.  Honestly, it's probably a wash as they really aren't giving me any more than I would make for other tasks I would do that I'm missing out on now.  But, it is a good opportunity.  We'll see how it goes, but I'm going to miss my family.