Working at The Internet

I hate you, Internet.

Wednesday, May 21st, 2008

So I’m working on a post that actually requires a little thought from me. And I was chugging away on writing it until I got a call that there were 4 tickets from a customer that needed tending to (I’m on call this week). Apparently this customer has decided to go crazy and [...]

One year

Wednesday, April 30th, 2008

Today happens to be my one-year anniversary of working at The Internet. I was hoping for maybe balloons to fall from the ceiling or a banner that says “Your past as a biologist has slipped one year further away!” But instead I’ve already had troubleshoot a broken VPN for the one customer who [...]

NO, I do not want to play Rock Band. Sheesh.

Friday, April 11th, 2008

So yesterday through Sunday, I’m attending a Cisco network training class (specifically “Securing Networks with PIX and ASA,” sounds fascinating, doesn’t it?). Mostly I’m excited that it gets me away from the office for 2 days. It was supposed to start Wednesday, so I showed up at the training center only to have [...]

I’d like to go home now, please

Wednesday, February 6th, 2008

Only 44 more hours in my current position. Only 44 more hours until I get a cubicle and get out of here.
(I have to keep repeating this to myself so I don’t LOSE IT. Special thanks go out to that special customer who TURNED OFF THE POWER TO AN ENTIRE DATACENTER.)

Baby’s first maintenance window

Tuesday, January 29th, 2008

So it’s 1:40am, and I am at [The Internet]. Tonight is my first maintenance window as a fledgling network security engineer. In 20 minutes, I get to reboot a firewall. If all goes well, I get to go home after that. If not, I could be stuck here awhile. It’s [...]

Everything zen (mostly)

Tuesday, January 15th, 2008

I’ve been trying to avoid a topic on here: my job. I’m not in a very happy place with it right now, and I know I’m prone to whine about it. Nobody likes a whiner. I am not going to get into specifics on why I’m not happy with things because it [...]

Merry Christmas, from [The Internet]

Tuesday, December 25th, 2007

Merry Christmas! I’m spending my Christmas afternoon/evening here at [The Internet]. The actual internet itself gave us a great Christmas present: a virus that has wreaked havoc on our network. My workstation is completely hosed, along with several others. I’m currently having to borrow a coworker’s workstation, and it’s driving me [...]

You have to read the whole thing to get to the part with HEDGEHOGS

Tuesday, December 18th, 2007

So….I’ve avoided mentioning something on here because I didn’t want to jinx anything. I suppose the cat’s out of the bag and–NO I’M NOT PREGNANT, geez, I can already tell your minds were going there. Stop it. Anyway, instead of a new baby (I know you’re still thinking it, aren’t you), I [...]

Moving one rung up the ladder

Monday, September 24th, 2007

After an action-packed weekend that involved beer, a wedding, more beer, family, and one too many Irish car bombs, I am happy to be back at work. I have to say, though, that it’s one of those days when I wish people would stop talking to me and let me nurse my coffee in [...]

Savvy?

Monday, September 17th, 2007

Work has been a whole basket o’ drama in the wake of The Great Remedy Crash of 2007 (Remedy is the name of the software we use to keep track of customer data). Also we were short-handed again today so my brain is toast. I can’t summon the mental faculties to write much [...]

Black Wednesday

Wednesday, September 12th, 2007

Monday I wrote this lengthy post describing how we’re going back to Saba and I have to get a new passport and I nearly sent us to the poor house last week. But it was long and really boring, so I scrapped it in favor for something a little less well-constructed and eloquent. [...]

Greetings from [The Internet]

Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007

Well, hello there. Thought I’d forgotten about this blog, did you? I probably should start calling it a “blahg” instead. Clearly not the most exciting stop on the Information Superhighway.
Soooo how are you? Enjoying the heatwave? Read any good books lately? Me neither. Mostly I’ve been sitting here, [...]

An email I almost sent

Monday, July 2nd, 2007

In reply to a mis-sent email from one of our customers (after they received an over-bandwidth alarm). Because clearly I have the sense of humor of a 12 year-old.
From the customer…
—–Original Message—–
From: Bill ******
Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2007 2:04 PM
To: [The Internet's] Support
Subject: Re: [Bill's Company]: Severity 4 alarm notification from [The Internet]
What are [...]

Monday lessons

Monday, June 25th, 2007

Am short on time because work was long and I don’t want bedtime to be short. Every time I sit down to write something lately, I get distracted and end up writing half an entry and abandoning it in the “Your Drafts” pile. So high five for brevity today.
Things I have learned today:
(1) [...]

Geography: clearly not important at The Internet

Wednesday, June 13th, 2007

A conversation just overheard in the NOC (Network Operations Center, where I work):
Coworker #1: “Uh-oh. [Client's] server is down.”
My boss: “Call them, then.”
Coworker #1: “They’re in Portugal. What time is it in Portugal?”
My boss: “Portugal? Ha, should be the same time as here.”
Me: [Chuckles at boss's sarcasm and insinuation that everyone should [...]

Geese in diapers and other mundane tales

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007

You know, I always sit down here intending to write some deep, thought-provoking entry. But then that deep, thought-provoking entry turns out to be a listing of the non-events that make up my life. Oh well, profundity is overrated anyway.
I volunteered to fix a customer’s website yesterday, thinking it would be an easy [...]

It are Friday

Friday, May 18th, 2007

Finally! This site is worth looking at again. I found a theme that was much easier to edit. With a few clicks of the mouse and a few tweaks of the stylesheet, voila. My gnome-wrapped-in-CAT5 had to go, unfortunately. I couldn’t find a way to squeeze it in neatly. [...]

Thoughts about nothing

Monday, May 14th, 2007

I had a whole bunch of serious things I intended to write about today, but it’s Monday and I don’t quite have the energy for it. So here are some random thoughts instead:
I have lost 3 more pounds. Go me! I have never been so proud of myself in my whole life.
I [...]