Audio Blog 1031
Shownotes:
been a long time
work: good and bad
family
D’s PSP
Christmas wishlists
$2.29 a gallon
what I want
- iMac?
- Powerbook?
- more like Dell or Shuttle
time off during the holidays
Episode III DVD
Halloween and rain
hello again
Hey gang, it’s been a long time since I last blogged …
The Cardinals were defeated in Game 6 at Busch Stadium by Roy Oswalt and the Houston Astros. St Louis fans were happy to see the Chicago White Sox sweep the Astros in the World Series (despite the NL link).
Work is crazy. The biggest problem we’ve had is our email server. It’s crashed twice in the last week and a half. We’re lucky to have it back, but the server’s a mess and all the data needs to be migrated to a new one. I’m also learning about the power struggles that goes on in this dept. Politics and control play a huge role, and I’m doing my best to stay out of it. For the first time in my career, I love the work but the teamwork sucks.
CL’s parents were in town last week; it’s always good to see them. We also hooked up with her brother and his family. Will post pics when I find the time.
I’ve been dealing with pain in my right ear. It’s similar to pain I feel when I’m sick and on a plane. The problem is I’m not sick and I’m not on a plane. If it continues this week, I may need to seek medical attention; super.
D celebrated his 13th b-day with friends last night at our house. We all ate pizza, then I took the boys to see The Legend of Zorro. Very entertaining; I liked it (as did the boys). They in turn stayed up all night, so they’re lacking in the energy dept.
Christmas is just around the corner. To my family – we need wishlists! I’ll probably post mine here. I’d really like cash towards a new PC. But I’ll have a list nonetheless.
Happy Birthday Daniel!!
D turns 13 today!! Happy Birthday Buddy 
Cardinals and Busch Stadium shut down
Houston 5, St. Louis 1
“A dramatic National League Championship Series, a remarkable Cardinals season and beloved Busch Stadium all deserved better, but Roy Oswalt was all business and in no mood for sentiment.”
turning point
Last night, everyone at Minute Maid Park had already assumed what Astros’ fans have been craving – their beloved team will finally play in the World Series. Even the commentators on Fox believed the deal was sealed after Berkman hit a line drive 3-run homer against Carpenter in the bottom of the 7th. Fox picked Berkman as Chevy’s Player of the Game in the 8th. The crowd was loud, the Houston dugout was giddy.
But the St Louis Cardinals were not done. They’ve stated time and time again – they play 9 innings, 27 outs. And when they were down to their final out, their final strike, Eckstein got a base hit. Then Lidge, the best closer in the National League, walked Edmonds. The winning run was at the plate. Albert Pujols cemented his status in baseball lore by smashing a monstrous home run over the train tracks in left field. And the silence was deafening.
Was Pujols’ homer a turning point in this series? The Cards no doubt needed this. The fans in St Louis get to watch them play at least one more time in Busch Stadium. And Houston, with 1 strike away from the Fall classic, saw their dreams slip away once more. It’s not over for them in any way; they still lead the series 3-2. But they led St Louis 3-2 in last season’s NLCS as well, only to have the Cards take it away from them in 7 games. What could hurt the Astros is their mental game. If they think about Game 5 and “what if”, they could be in trouble. The Cardinals are riding a wave, the 412 ft homer Pujols crushed, and it might be what the doctor ordered for St Louis.
Pujols' blast forces Game 6
St Louis 5, Houston 4
How Pujols changed the world (ESPN)
Oh my gosh, Astros lose (ESPN)
Pujols’ blast forces Game 6
St Louis 5, Houston 4
How Pujols changed the world (ESPN)
Oh my gosh, Astros lose (ESPN)
full moon
Today was the official first day of the IS help desk for our organization. On my way to work I saw the moon shine through the clouds. I noticed it was a full moon, but I didn’t put it all together. Saturday was downtime for the main system for maintenance, and usually, the Monday following downtime is hell. It started out surprisingly quiet. Problems that we would normally deal with after downtime didn’t really exist. Then the main corporate computer center pulled a fast one on us. The organization’s internet access was taken down with no notice at all. And everyone’s username and password (which is entered and saved by IS for security purposes) was erased. All hell broke loose. I probably handled on average 1 problem every 2 minutes for the last 2 hours of my shift (as did my partner). I was able to take care of everyone I spoke to right through 15 minutes past my clock-out time. What I wasn’t able to do was open every ticket and close them. I got my work cut out for me tomorrow morning.
Cardinals. The defending National League champions. Led the league with 100 wins. MVP candidate Albert Pujols. Cy Young candidate Chris Carpenter. And they’re on the brink of elimination as they face Andy Pettite and the Astros in Houston tonight. St Louis lost the last 3 games to Houston on great pitching from Oswalt, Clemens, and Backe (not to mention closer Lidge). And the Cards lost their cool Sunday. Tonight, Carpenter will play the game of his career, and I hope (along with the rest of St Louis) he can handle the pressure. Or last Thursday’s game was the last to be played at Busch Stadium.
D has a PSP (aka PlayStation Portable for all you non-geeks). Combined with b-day gifts and his own cash, we bought it on Saturday. The kid is in heaven. It’s a nice gadget. Great for portable gaming (almost like having a portable PS2 with a widescreen tv). My computer will have to wait a little while longer, but I’m ok with that.
TGIF
What a week. So busy in our IS department. And words flew like bullets. I learned that my new department is like a powder keg, and all it will take is one bad spark and the place will blow. I think next week when I resume my normal position I’ll be away from the fireworks. For the time being, anyway.
overwhelmed
My second day with the techs was no better than the first. The tickets we received just added to the frustration we had been dealing with. I thought I could help them get caught up, but all I could really do was observe and learn from them as they fought with the problems that were given to them. A lot of these problems are time consuming, and more tickets get pushed back. And they don’t seem to get the support they need from up above. Sounds all too familiar.
On a lighter note, the Cards took game 1 against Houston 5-3. Reggie Sanders hit a 2-run homer in the first inning to get things started, and Chris Carpenter pitched 8 great innings.
update 1012
How’s it going?
Work is good. It’s very busy. My partner and I are starting to learn some of the other functions that will keep us busy when the phone calls don’t. This week I’m rounding with the other techs to see them handle the actual tickets we give them. Yesterday was pretty crazy. People want to know why their ticket hasn’t been worked on yet; it’s because there are too many open tickets. More people and more resources are needed for this department to function well and get caught up.
It’s October, and Christmas is roughly 2 months away. Ugh. Gifts will be less this year. And what do I want? A computer. Well, cash to go towards one. Oh, and polo shirts for work. The computer may have to wait until next spring since it seems a PSP may be looming in the next few days for me and D. More on that later.
It’s playoff time in the Major Leagues. Angels stole one in Chicago last night, beating the White Sox 3-2. Tonight Carpenter takes on Andy Pettitte and the Astros at Busch Stadium to open the NLCS. The bats need to be swinging and our bullpen needs to hold up in order for the Cards to return to the World Series.
Til the next time …
Cards sweep the Padres
St. Louis 7, San Diego 4
Cards return to the NLCS with a sweep; Sanders sets an NLDS record with 10 RBI’s for the series.
Audio Blog 1007
Shownotes:
1st audio blog in 2 weeks
First week in IT complete
blog/databases
busy Friday
$2.94 a gallon
Friday night plans
night out at Cutters
Salem’s nighttime adventures
weekend plans
Cards up 2 games to none
new beginning – update
I’m starting to enjoy the job a little bit more. I still don’t do a whole lot aside from open tickets and answer the phone. Tuesday was busy due to a problem off-site; I opened 15 tickets within an hour (27 total for the day). Wednesday was not as bad, but the rounds techs had over 50 open tickets and they were swamped. At times I felt helpless. Someone said I was “helpless at the help desk”.
I haven’t tried listening to music. I will note the other day when the Cards played the Padres, one of the analysts gave me score updates. I’ll have to find out how she was tracking the game.
The crappy desk is temporary. Not only will I get my own at some point, the dept is looking for “real estate” to centralize the group.
I found that we do have a fridge and a microwave. I’ve started eating cereal at my desk, although it’s quiet in my area (you can probably hear me crunch).
Camaraderie is growing. I’m learning more about the people I work with, and that will continue in the next 3 weeks. I sat with my new partner yesterday, and she’s very friendly and personable.
The analyst training me this week is off Friday, so I’m kind of on my own. I’m sure I’ll be fine, but I’m anxious to see how I do.
databases
My databases are fixed!! Hopefully you are seeing the site the way it should be seen. Thanks to WP support, I figured out I needed to repair the tables. Now things seem to be back to normal.
Off to Cutters I go – hope to see some of you there
new beginning
New job. My first day. A lot of people have asked me: “how did it go?”
It was alright.
I’m not gonna shout out and say it was the best day of my working career. At times, it was boring and slow. But that’s only because I haven’t learned all there is to do in my new role at the IT help desk. When it was busy, it was nice. I still have a lot to learn, and hopefully after 2 weeks, I’ll be somewhat comfortable.
I will say that I do miss the gang. 
I realized a week or so ago that I would have to sacrifice some of the finer things in work that I have been accustomed to for the last 7 years. The reality of those sacrifices hit home today:
No music. Can’t listen to a radio since I’m in the basement (no reception) . And I’m almost certain it would be unprofessional for me to use my headphones. It sucks, but I’ll have to deal with it.
I have a pretty crappy desk. I’ll have to share it with my new partner. So it’s not really mine.
I haven’t seen a fridge, nor a microwave, and I’m sure we don’t have a sink. No more peanut butter on toast (unless I eat before I leave home). I miss the kitchen already.
I know it’s my first day, but there doesn’t seem to be any camaraderie. Not that no one likes each other; everyone is very nice. It’s just spread out a bit, and each person seems to keep to themselves (I’ll definitely need to give this more time; it should get better when I’m around the other techs).
It’s just the first day. I guess I just can’t wait to jump in the deep end in this particular pool.
On a side note, I’m still experiencing database errors with my website. It seems my databases are having trouble archiving my posts (if you’ll notice, every post I’ve published is listed on page 1). So please excuse the messages at the top of the page; I have Vizaweb working on it.
database errors
Here we go again. My database on my host’s server is not responding. That explains the errors you may see at the top of the page. I hate it when that happens, and all I can do is wait for my host to fix it.
other stuff
what else is going on?
Monday I start a new chapter in my life with the IT department. I’m nervous, excited, anxious, and happy. Everything changes now.
We went to the Chili Cook-off in Belleville last night. D hung out with his buddy Dil while CL and I sampled just about all of them (we missed the last 3 or 4). We were both chili’d out by that point. Good stuff tho!
Cards are 99 and 62 with 1 last game against Cincinnati. It will be the last regular season game @ Busch Stadium. They start the playoffs against San Diego on Tuesday.
Yankees clinched the AL East division today by beating the Red Sox. Red Sox can still make the playoffs if they defeat the Yanks on Sunday or if Cleveland loses to the White Sox.
I’m now using a new theme for my blog. I just want a simpler look. I will try tweaking it this week as time allows. If you prefer one of the older themes, click on Pages, and choose Switch Themes.
With this new job, I’ll need more computer time. I’m saving for my own computer. Not sure if I’ll get a Dell, a Shuttle, or a simple machine from the local Best Buy. Need to start thinking about what I’ll need versus what I want.
the end
I worked as an assistant/tech in UR for the last 7 years, and Friday was my last day. My emotions went crazy yesterday: I was sad, happy, pissed off, anxious, and scared (not all at the same time, thank goodness). It was a wild day, and as usual, I didn’t get a lot done. I certainly felt guilty, and I still do. I left a mess behind me, and I hope the group can forgive me since they will have to clean it up.
The gang bought me lunch, and I was roasted by each member of the department with moments that we’ll never forget. When it was my turn to speak, it was difficult to do so without feeling emotional. I loved working with these people, and I had to say farewell to that. They will always be my friends, and I will still see them from time to time. But I’m sure I’ll never get to work with another team as super as this one was.
To the gang – Thank You! For EVERYTHING!
