Trinity’s World

Figure that now that I have a real job that I am not on my blog as much as I was. I have survived two full weeks at my new job and I love it. I’m answering phone calls now, I’m help people install stuff, and I’m even learning SQL query. Next on my list of things to do once I get settled in and good with the query stuff, is to figure out how to set up a secure mail server that will also block spam coming in form the outside! I’m back in the world of geek, and I’m loving it. Bring on the pain! I can take it!!!

And speaking of pain, my life as I know it will be put on hold for twelve weeks starting tomorrow. Why, you may ask. The Southern California Renaissance Faire start’s it workshops for performers this weekend. I will be taking required workshops on everything form language usage, to vocal projection, to improve. Oh, and don’t forget that I’m also going to be in rehearsal because the Belles of Bedlam are the reason I’m able to perform at this faire. The sick thing about all this is…I’m so looking forward to it, and I don’t mean that in a sarcastic way.

So If I do not update my blog for about, lets say three months, that is way. No I did not die. No I did not give up on my wordpress blog. I just have a life that is going to end for a while, but I will get it back in the end. Just in time to sacrifice it to the next faire in September. If you’re lucky I’ll post some pictures.

I heard about this earlier this week at work and thought it was a hoax, but I found out its not.

For years human beings have been using things like dog whistles that will drive animals nuts but no so much with humans. We have finally figured out how to do this with humans too. But the application is a little scary. Imagine, teaching a class of jr. or sr. high school students, and telling them that if you hear their cell phone go off you will have to take it away. Well, kids today can now download ring tones to their phones that are ultrasonic in pitch, and are beyond the hearing range of a person who is approximately 30 years of age. So, those teachers who just got out of their credential program can still here it, but if you are in your 40’s forget it. Don’t believe me?

http://www.ultrasonic-ringtones.com/

It will scare you. I can only hear the first three test tones they have, the others I can not hear. They even boost that you can “fool your teachers”. As if I needed any more help, no I have cell phone companies reminding me that I’m so old I’m loosing my hearing.

OK, Need your opinion on this one everyone out there in the blog sphear. I think it was funny, but still kind of creepy.

View this video for yourself

Only click the link above if you are brave!

“You survived your first week,” my boss said to me today as the end of the day approached. And I looked at her and said, “Is this as bad as it gets?”

My first week at my new job has been really good. I’m working for a company that is different from every other work experience that I have to date. I work for Laser App, a company that sells a piece of software that fill out forms for Brokers, Investors, and various other people who have a lot of paperwork to do in a day. At first I was nervous that it would be really boring working in their product support department, but I have been proven wrong on so many levels. My first week has been exciting, empowering, enlightening, and lot of other words too.

Let’s start with the Owner of the company. All 20+ employees work for one man who owns the whole outfit. On my third day this man made a passing comment to me about how the company will take time every month to have some kind of a get together to acknowledge birthdays and such. He looked at me and said, “Your birthday is September 12th, right?” And was right. He knows the name of every employee’s spouse (if they have one). And he treats his employees with respect. I have not run into a sing person yet who has not told me some story about how he has worked with them when ever life has thrown them a curve and needed time off or even small raises. He has two mottos: 1) Everyday try to find a way to make what we do a little better, and 2) Its my company, and I don’t’ care what other people think I’m going to take care of my employees.

Moving on to my Boss. The head of our Support Department has an interesting list of credentials. She once held a license to sell the same kind of securities and stuff our software was designed to help with, so she had a unique experience with the content of our work that none of the support people have. She also has a BA in Information Systems, as well as other academic credentials. She was once a Nun. And every day I come into work she is excited and energetic about what we do. She truly believes in our product, and will take any opportunity she can to impress on you how much of a time saver it is for these people who are making their living on weather or not they fill out a form correctly. And she if fun, understanding, calm on the phone even when the customer is upset, and she encourages each of her techs to not just give ideas but to help them blossom into things that actually happen in the organization.

The co-workers. My fellow support techs are really cool. They are a bit quarky, but they do not fit the stereo-typical geek profile because they actually have social skills. We spend the day talking trash about Windows, and how Microsoft is really exerting too much control over stuff. But one thing that no-one in my department has done yet is go off on how frustrating and stupid some of our users can be. Granted, we work with people who are generally more “intelligent” then the average person by virtue of the fact that they are either licensed (or being licensed) by state and federal agencies to do all kinds of complicated investing stuff. But that means they are really good at what they do, but sometimes not so good at figuring out computer issues. Since we offer free tech support, we end up talking to people who are very computer illiterate and can be frustrating. But (and I know its only been a week) I have never heard a single person hang up after a call, and go off about how retarded or stupid the customer is. In fact, the comment is usually something like “I’m glad they called, they feel so much better now.” Which brings me to the next cool thing about where I work.

The Application. The company has been around for 12 years. They have had 12 years to perfect and improve what their product does. Basically the need is this: If I am dealer who manages investments I’m locked into a certain group of investors I’m associated with, and therefore must use their forms to do all my business with. Well If I change associations, I have a new set of paperwork to use, and I have transition all of my clients over in order to continue to invest their money in the new association and make my commission (ie, my pay-check). Enter our application. A broker can buy our software, tell us what group he/she is associated with, and we will not only provide him with most of their forms, we provide them with the means of filling them out with just a few clicks. So a client who needs to have 7 forms (some with as many as 6 pages per form) filled out for each of their 300 clients, can simply select the client’s name from a database (our built in one or something else like Act or Goldmine), and from that database they fill out all the forms in a few minuets. They then call the client in to sign the forms and they are in business. Our boss started this company when he tried to do this same thing with 700 clients, it took him almost 3 years to completely transition all his clients over to the new association. He is about to do it again at the end of this year, and we’ve already proven it will take him 2 days to print out the files, and then he just has to wait for the clients to sign on the line. And the thing works. I’ve tried for 5 days now to break the beta that will come out soon, and I couldn’t do it. The thing is almost bullet proof, excepting the fact that windows get’s in the way of doing some advanced networking stuff for share information to other people on our network. I’ve never worked for a support desk that actually has a good product.

I predict I will be answering phones and in full swing by the end of next week. I have to learn two versions of the product right now, because the release of Windows Vista forced us to release our next version in beta till we work the bug out of Vista. I also have to learn what a lot these forms mean. Some of the companies we store forms for update their from ever week, others every quarter, and most only once a year or so. So I have to learn how the whole update server stuff works on the back end of things in order to make sure each customer has the most up-to-date forms for what they are doing. Its impressive, but a lot of stuff to jump into at once. I’m so excited!

So that’s that. I’m sure there will be more to come latter.

I heard this song for the first time this last October at the Northern California Ren Faire, and could not stop laughing. I found it on a website today while I was looking for some new songs. I thought I would share.

The Exuse Note

Dear Sir I write this note to inform you of my plight
And at the time of writing I am not a pretty sight
My body is all black and blue, my face a deathly gray
I write this note to tell why Paddy’s not at work today

While working on the fourteenth floor, some bricks I had to clear
And to throw them down from off the top seemed quite a good idea
But the gaffer wasn’t very pleased, he was an awful sod
He said I had to cart them down the ladder in me hod.

Well clearing all those bricks by hand, it seemed so very slow
So I hoisted up a barrel and secured the rope below
But in my haste to do the job, I was too blind to see
That a barrel full of building bricks is heavier than me.

So when I had untied the rope, the barrel fell like lead
And clinging tightly to the rope I started up instead
I took off like a rocket and to my dismay I found
That half way up I met the bloody barrel coming down.

Well the barrel broke my shoulder as on to the ground it sped
And when I reached the top I banged the pulley with me head
I held on tight, though numb with shock from this almighty blow
And the barrel spilled out half its load fourteen floors below

Now when those building bricks fell from the barrel to the floor
I then outweighed the barrel so I started down once more
I held on tightly to the rope as I flew to the ground
And I landed on those building bricks that were scattered all
around.

Now as I lay there on the deck I thought I’d passed the worst
But when the barrel reached the top, that’s when the bottom burst
A shower of bricks came down on me, I knew I had no hope
In all of this confusion, I let go the bloody rope.

The barrel being heavier, it started down once more
And landed right on top of me as I lay on the floor
It broke three ribs and my left arm, and I can only say
That I hope you’ll understand why Paddy’s not at work today.