My Weekend WAH Report
Posted by Mom at 12:06pm in Work At HomeThis past weekend, I survived a brush with computer terrorism and a crazy Exchange 2007 e-mail migration. On 2:30am Saturday, while talking to a support engineer at our ISP (who was also working at home), it occured to me that I am not alone. I belong to a weird sub-culture of IT professionals who work behind the scenes to make technology appear seamless and friendly for our users. It is often a thankless profession…I mean who really cares about how systems are interconnected, as long as e-mail and the Internet are accessible? Thankfully, our CEO cares and sent a pleasant e-mail to my team thanking us for a job well done.
As I grumbled to myself about being up so late (and then having to wake up early again to test), Dad overheard, and reminded me that I was doing this in bed and to be grateful I didn’t have to drive anywhere. I quickly changed my attitude because I have been there and don’t care to do that again…just read #2 of my 5 Benefits of Working at Home.
90 minute commutes are just plain wrong. As are the “IT Overnighters”* I often had to pull off as a consultant. Thanks Dad for setting me straight when my attitude gets out of alignment.
I am feeling a bit burned out this morning, as the phone rang at 7:00am with a question that could have easily been answered by Microsoft Outlook help. I try to teach our support team and users that F1 is really their friend. I’m in for another long day, but relishing this break. Off to eat lunch with the kids.
*IT Overnighter = frantic attempt to get systems or equipment upgraded prior to business users coming back to work the next morning. Often requires 18+ hours of work, eating cold pizza from the night before, and drinking copious amounts of coffee and mountain dew to survive
