A Post From A Friend..that i liked..NOT MINE!

Managing IT
This is half rant, half seriousness. The world, and particularly the company I work for need to catch up on the times and learn how to deal with technology professionals. I’m going to be making some generalizations here but don’t be offended. The first rule for management is this, understand your employees. IT professionals took charisma as a dump stat, we are not salesmen, and in general don’t communicate with non-tech people so well, one minor exception is those of us who chose tech support as a trade. We have the patience (most of the time) to deal w/ the computer illiterate and can usually come up with some easier to understand lingo. That being said, we still are not sales people and we don’t give a shit who you are or how important your term paper is or how much money you’re losing because your internet doesn’t work. IT people’s thinking is based on logic. We will take the path of least resistance and go to whomever we know will get the job done and beaurocracy be damned. Respect is earned, not based on your position in the company.Now what can you learn from those generalizations? First, to keep us happy all you have to do is have some simple recognition, a sincere pat on the back or some token pizza party can go a long way. Treat us like adults, don’t micromanage and restrict this and overrule that, just let us do our job unhindered and we will do it. Last, if you want to be respected and if you want us to come to you for help and whatnot you have to establish yourself as a person who will actually get things done. Just because you are a lead or a supervisor doesn’t mean you know shit about anything. If people are not coming up to you to ask questions, chances are this means that those people either know, or think, that you do not have the answers. If you don’t have the answers, you shouldn’t be in the position you are in.Now with respect to hiring IT, and I’m going to get specific to the company I work for. The art of the interview is outdated for IT. Once again we don’t have charisma, generally speaking, so we are not going to do well in your traditional view of an interview. Generic questions like “where do you think you’ll be in 5 years” or “what would you do in this hypothetical situation that would never happen” are bullshit and you know it. Stick to technical questions, weed out the posers and keep the knowledgeable. Not the other way around. Tech support and logic is something that an IT person just knows in the core of their being, it can’t be learned on the job to extent that we have. In other words, don’t hire someone just because they have a flashy smile and a sliver tongue and believe they will just learn as they go. If they don’t already know, then they will end up being mediocre at best. Don’t hire tech support reps, then treat them like customer service reps. Yes, we do talk to customers; but they are calling us to fix their shit, not sell them new services and doing so is annoying to the caller at best and insulting at worst. I understand the need to make sales, but you already have several sales-related departments that do specifically that, let them do their job and let us do ours. Now back to the interview process, specifically for internal positions. Stop the bullshit! You already hired us based on our original interview, so stop it with the bullshit hypothetical’s and generic “if you were a part of a bicycle what would it be” questions. We know its all a game, and the answers are made up anyway. You know it, I know it, everybody does it, so just get rid of it. Stick to tech-based questions, and given by other IT personnel who actually understand the lingo. The questions themselves should be directly related to the job, don’t make it a game or a big secret. Its not a quiz show people, it’s a career. If a person doesn’t get the position, then asks later what they could have done better, answer them so they can work on whatever it is they did wrong for the next time. Don’t make it some big secret, because that is going to lead to mistrust (and long blog posts, heh). When someone gets promoted who has been with the company for less than a year, over someone who has been here for years and is also fully qualified….one starts to wonder what exactly is going on behind the scenes. Rumors start, conspiracies fly and you add one more straw to the camels back, maybe the last one that causes your seasoned veteran to bail and go to another company. In the end, the customer is going to suffer.Anyway, that’s my rant. I know I’m preaching to the choir, but I needed to get it out of my system. Also, if anybody reads this and has recently been promoted *wink* its not directed at you or anybody else.
Posted by Kimpak at 6:50 AM

Life.

Well I need to get this outta me... Right now life sucks. My job is going well, but the only time I am ever happy is when I am out on my bike riding. I miss Rusty to no end as we all do, I miss going on rides with him for no reason at all, just to go ride. I do want to say if I get snippy don't take it personally, its not you, I m just not a happy camper... hey speaking of which that sounds fun, ima go this weekend, if you wanna go you know how to get ahold of me. Maybe im just grieving still...im tryin to put up a good front, but I don't think its what I want...tho maybe its just because I miss all the things he did and took it all for granted. Rusty made life easier, when it was hectic for anyone he had the knowledge we were looking for, he had the smile and that laugh (you all know what im talking about) that made any bad situation funny. Rusty was a very intimidating person but had the heart of a child, you could walk up to him afraid of him and he would say/do something and u would know he was as harmless as a mouse. I miss playin rockband with him, i miss having our arguments over his motorcycle, i miss him complaining how bad his nuts hurt after a long ride and just pointing to my seat and saying how cushy and comfy mine are! i miss the goofy faces he makes out of nowhere or the walk up behind me and smack in the head or arm and look around and there he goes, i miss just walking up to him and running into him for shits and giggles then laughing about it after we have a "tussle". i miss going over to his apartment and he wouldnt care and sit with his stomach hanging out :-) or without a shirt at all, hell didnt bother me any...i just overall miss him and everything we did together, life is rough right now, i believe he must be with me when i ride, for its the only time i am at peace with myself, any other time im in a struggle with happiness, and just want to isolate myself, the littlest thing annoys me and I dont like that feeling, i just want to be a happy camper and be worry free again, i want to live life and enjoy things including the memory of my fine friend of whom i will greatly miss but look forward to seeing again someway down the road we call life. Rusty I miss u R.I.P. and see you later!

Sadness.

So this is the hardest thing I have had to blog and have been putting it off for fear of it all becoming all too real. On thursday April 23, 2009 at sometime around 8:40 pm my dear friend and riding partner hit a deer on a stretch of road and past away.

I was in my spare room and the tv was on in the living room and I heard the news come up saying two motorcyclist had been killed more details to follow. Didn't think much of it. When the story came on I heard a 38 year old from Norwalk hit a deer on the 1400 block of bla bla, let it drown out. Then it hit me, I knew someone around that age from Norwalk and that the certain block was also known as highway 63. Something told me to get up but I didn't move. My father said Josh come in here so I walked in saw the screen and saw the familiar back end of a yellow bike that I followed so many times on our rides. Immediately I knew and called a fellow friend and got the news. I will admit I broke down and lost it immediately my parents came to my ade to no good it was too much. The following monday I lost my father's best friend of 30 years and riding partner to pancriatic cancer and hadn't really found my release with that. Well this caused a whirlwind of everything hitting me in the chest and all hell broke loose. I ended up calling my best friend in Vegas and we talked for a few minutes then called his roomate and went up there to support his girl friend and roomates.

We all cried, we all laughed, we all just sat there quietly numb from it all. The next day I went back up, we had a good reminisce of how a great guy he was. It wasn't so bad, I thought ok maybe this wont be so bad. We ended up going to the scene of the accident and put a couple of crosses up with his name and picked up some pieces that were left over. It was hard but part of the closure we all needed. I went home that afternoon and wasn't feeling too bad. From there it was just a whirlwind of time, I thought I was holdin up okay, kept my mind busy. Spoke with Ray for a while, found out the visitation would be tuesday night from 6:00pm - 8:00pm.

Well today was my first day back to work. I thought it was going to be harder then it was. I got there at 7:30, snook in, sat down and started doing my job. 10:30 rolled around and I started looking around for Rusty...took me a few but then realised he wouldn't be coming in...it never felt real, just all seemed like a dream. I rode the bike to work thinking I was going to ride to the visitation but got to thinkin if its over at 8:00 I don't want to chance a deer on my way home. Especially knowing the certain stretch of road was VERY active with deer. So a fellow co-worker followed me home, we picked up my car and dropped it off at the highschool and he drove there. We kinda joked on the way, chit chatted, no big deal. We got there and it all hit me like a fist to the face. It all became so real and unchangable, so saddening and horrid. I stood with my co-workers and kept telling myself to go pay my respect but my feet wouldn't move. Continued this and just couldn't do it. I tried to keep telling myself no this didn't happen, wake up, its all a dream, he will be at work in the morning after you wake up. Finally my feet moved, got to the edge of the caskett and there was a lady in front of me. I couldn't see anything but his shirt, still kept saying to myself, nope not him, ur gonna wake up and this will all just be a nightmare. Then she moved and I saw his face, so peaceful, so relaxed, thats when I knew it was real. The emotion flooded me like a dam breaking back from a lake. My best friend/riding partner was gone. This is the hardest part to write, its so fresh in my memory but I don't know else what to do. I sat down and just thought, don't know what about but just sat in distraught. Someone then something about a video. We went over to watch it and soo many memories came to me, seeing him soo happy and laughing was nice but hard. Thats how I want to remember Rusty, for the great man he was. I don't know why I can't get over this...something is bugging me but I do not know what it is. So here I sit crying, not knowing what to do, I can't talk to anyone for it doesn't help. Everytime I look at his picture it gets me and gets worse but I don't want to not look at his picture...I miss him soo much, I wish I could turn back time and make it change but I can't and its sooo hard, I don't know what to do, i just wanna curl up in bed and sleep but I can't even do that, my body won't let me...so im at a loss no matter what....im just like a lost soul wondering. I wanna scream, I wanna cry, I wanna run, I wanna sleep, I wanna be happy, I just....dont know how.

...

Well the update i got that afternoon was affirmative with the cancer. He has been in good spirits this whole time, we have gone to visit him damn near daily which helps him. This is hard to say but he ended giving me a 1984 Honda Nighthawk 700s which will be my new baby that I will remember him with for the rest of my life. My father and I have also been helping him get his other motorcycles and parts in order so he can sell them. All was going well untill three nights ago he complained of a pain in his leg, so he scheduled a doc appt to get it looked at... Well they readmitted him into the hospital because of a blood clot he has that goes to a returning artery. As of last night they did a scan and his head and lungs didnt have any bleeding so they started the blood thinners and i believe it to be passed...the only thing now is i learned last night just before i went into my sleepless night that the pancriatic cancer is spreading and getting worse...

Bad News for me.

Well my new years started out pretty good, really same shit different day...Untill a few days ago. Come to find out a VERY close family friend of ours may have pancriatic cancer which is terminal and there is no cure for it. The worst part about it, its my father's best friend and almost like second father to me... Now im not looking for sympathy just needing to get this off my chest.. we find out today for sure if he has it or not.. so the last few days have been rocky and depending on the phone call i get this afternoon will determine the next few months of my life...so bear with me please if i m non social, crabby, pissy whatever, im not in my normal state of mind, its just hard to go thru. one plus out of it is i now know how one of my friends feels now since her brother went thru the same thing but with a tumor on his eye, she is about the only friend i can speak with that i know she knows what im going thru and how i feel...so again just be patient with me if you read this and realise im not intentionally being an asshat to you...

Hockey

So I went to my first hockey game last week. Was kind of skeptical of going, thought it would be a boring time. Boy am i glad i went, it was the best time ive had in a while, go sit on bench's, drink beer, and watch guys all decked out in pads skate around hitting a little rubber puck, and beating the hell out of each other! Cant wait to go back this weekend! There was one individual that got on my buddies nerves, his name was Handley, every time someone would come up to slam him against the glass, he would back away and puss out... Well my buddy starts yelling at him right calling him a few different things.. He was louder then the crowd so you know that Handley heard him. Well anyway he is giving Handley shit all night, then finally towards the end of the 3rd period Handley mans up and hits someone. Funny part is after he hit him he looked in our direction and my buddy was looking for his beer and didnt see shit!! PRICLESS! i was laughing pretty good at it. All in all ended up being a good time, cant wait to go this weekend again, well thats all i got for now...so...untill next time...

withdrawals

So here i am folks, been since friday and no caffeine, im so tired i dont know what to do...i thought no caffeine would make me feel a lot better, well so far i feel better but im tired ALL THE TIME! the withdrawals this weekend and past few days have gotten easier to stand, i tried to keep myself busy enough not to think of them....yeah right...its been total hell, the headaches are bad enough i feel my head is splitting, i dont dare take any pain killers cause i already know they wont work. well i was also bad today, i currently have a welch's strawberry pop sitting next to me...oh well better then something loaded with caffeine, and this whole having no energy sucks nuts also, i dont have the energy to go work out properly. it seems this last week i have been a walking zombie. speaking of which, i was talking with a friend of mine and an issue she is having and will always have (very unfortunate) when all of the sudden i knew so much about what was going on and asked her about it, which freaked us both out cause i was telling her things even her bestest and closest friends dont even know...so yeah, thats an issue i dont know how to explain, it was the wierdest feeling in the world and kinda freaked me out...needed to get it off my chest so think what you want, idgas! well i feel a lil better, feel like sleeping still...so untill next time...