Recap of a Week
I'd like to recap my whole week as it truly has been a week from hell. Jessica and the children were wonderfully and unbelievably supportive of me during the week and I'm truly thankful for having such a wonderful wife and family. Where to begin? I think I'll start with the technical and work my way to the non-technical more family oriented happenings.
A little over a week ago I was asked to create a new mail relay server for my company. Though I've done this before on countless occasions I was asked to ensure that it was extremely robust, reliable, and could take over the needs of our other primary mail relays. I started off with Solaris, realized Solaris was horrible for what I needed it for, then migrated to Debian. The only history I have with Debian was through some of its ports and working with it a lot on my web hosting provider MediaTemple. Technically Linux is Linux and even though there are many different versions and ports out there they are all inherently the same. I've historically used RedHat but their licensing model is horrible ($1,499 for software updates and telephone support) especially when you get into more than two physical processors. If you don't call support what's the point in paying that kind of money for one year of nothing.
Anyway, after fighting my way through Solaris then moving to Debian I finished my part of the project and asked a coworker of mine to provide me a set of scripts he wrote which imports my company's address book into a database format which would allow for improved routing of mail. This is the response I got:
You do not need to have the scripts. I will be building the service on the new server because I have the experience and knowledge. Please provide the server name and address as well as a login.
After reading this message and getting a little fumed at the lack of professionalism and courtesy I decided that I would locate the scripts, figure out the logic (or lack of), import them onto my new server, and not ask for his assistance under any circumstances. Six hours later I was in business. I'll never understand why people are unwilling to share or at least provide the means to an end. He's busy, I'm busy, five or ten minutes of his work and we're done. Nope, it didn't happen that way. I'm still debating whether or not to forward the email to his boss. A part of me is willing to blow it off while there's another part of me that wants to ensure he realizes he can't continue to act the way he did. If someone came up to me and asked, "Brian, how do you run VMware?" or "Brian, can you show me around one of your Linux servers?" I'd immediately say yes, offer them the $5 tour, and if they really want to get involved I'd get them involved.
On Tuesday I had a five hour conference call with our counterparts in Canada who decided to go off on a tangent without discussing their plans with my group. Next thing we know everything in Canada stopped working and one person is calling another person and my boss calls me, "Brian, get together all your resources and get on the phone with Canada." Ten minutes later we're on the phone and five hours later we're finally finishing. At that point my brain was numb and it would get more numb as the day continued.
My Tuesday continued with a meeting between my parent company's technology auditors whose intent was to determine whether or not various systems were managed properly, documented, and accurately depicted in documentation and other databases used within our company. Two hours and thirty minutes later my brain was going limp. A coworker later told me that he walked by the conference room as I was meeting with the auditors and heard me describing patching regiments, documented processes, etc., and how he felt sorry for me. Honestly, my brain was limp. When I left the office at 6:30 I was anticipating a quick ten minute drive home. I was wrong. Forty-five minutes later I made it home. My brain was officially numb and if I had to deal with any more problems it'd liquefy.
Wednesday and Thursday were spent finishing up my Linux solution for message routing, testing, and eventually moving into production. Thursday evening Jessica was ready to depart for New York, she was all packed, the only thing we needed to do was drive the forty minutes to the airport. I opted to stay awake throughout the night as if I were to have fallen asleep there would've been no possible way I'd wake up at 3:30am to get everyone out of the house and to the airport by 4:45. Jessica's and Rylin's flight was at 6:15 and Denver International Airport is a long and boring drive from my house.
Friday morning we departed the house at 4:15. We were pulling out and Jessica mentioned, "I forgot my jerky." Completely around the block, back to the house, she got her jerky. I got onto the freeway (which turns into a normal street about four miles from where I got on) near the house and headed towards the airport. You'd think I'd hit every green light; I didn't. What usually takes me ten minutes to drive took twenty. I'd run every red light but I like my insurance rates to stay low and I just know I'd get a ticket causing us to be even later. We finally made it to the airport at 4:58. I got Ayden out, Tyler and Kylea jumped out, and Jessica wore Rylin. I grabbed Jessica's luggage, Tyler grabbed the camera bag for Jessica, and Kylea carried Ayden's blanket and Bob the Builder toy. We got to the elevator and a nice gentleman held the door for us. "Wait!" yelled Jessica. We forgot Rylin's carseat. Back to the car I went, grabbed the carseat, then back to the elevator. We walked a good thousand feet to the correct ticketing queue and instead of using one of those silly kiosks that never work right or require too much information for your brain to process at 5am I told the agent the necessary information, gave her the bag and carseat, and Jessica was all set to go. She went through the security queue pretty quickly which is amazing for DIA.
Tyler, Kylea, Ayden, and I left the airport after seeing Jessica off. Parking was $2. I swear that airport milks more money out of people than it should. Every other airport I've ever been to gives 40 to 60 minutes of free parking. Not DIA. Nope, why should they? Let's screw the little guy. Anyway, enough ranting, the drive back home was slow. No traffic to speak of just slow as I haven't slept in twenty-three hours and my body is starting to play games with my senses. I'm about a mile from the house and realize I'm driving on empty. $43.85 later I had a full tank and drove the remaining mile home. I asked the kids to get ready for school and let me sleep (what is now 7am) for thirty-five minutes. If I didn't get that sleep I'd never make it to their school. Kylea woke me up at 7:25. Why? She misread the clock. I never knew 2's and 3's looked alike. Anyway, they woke me up at 7:40 as a kind way of saying "I'm sorry daddy." Murphy's Law struck though, Ayden had a full diaper and needed to be changed. It was my first official diaper (read: full of solid waste) I've done in God knows how many years. I'll admit: it wasn't a big deal but killed five minutes off the time I needed to get Tyler and Kylea to school. They were late by three minutes. Sue me!
When Ayden and I got back home after stopping at Lowes we watched a little television. We both fell asleep on the couch and we sure did sleep well. Kylea's class ends at 11 and it was 11. We needed the sleep. We got in the car, picked her up twenty minutes late, and made a line for Home Depot. We were getting our front door installed [Friday] but we didn't have the door and the other supplies for the installer. I could have paid the additional $50 to have the installer pick up the door and supplies but I'm cheap. Putting a door in the back of the van with the other supplies is no big deal--except when you've got three carseats (instead of four) and two children that have to be with you. After measuring the door and finding that it would fit if I took the older kids seats out (Tyler rides in a booster when he's in the van) and dropped the rear bench seat it'd fit. I called the neighbor to see if she could watch Kylea and Ayden for fifteen minutes. She couldn't. I was pissed. Here comes another rant:
Seriously, how many times have we watched your children when you've needed to run to the grocery store for ten minutes yet come home two hours later? Giving me an excuse that you need to run to Boulder to take your kids to the dentist is ridiculous, then again your husband can't find a job that has dental insurance, and are leaving in just a minute may be true or not but when I say fifteen minutes I mean fifteen minutes. Then, when I get home, fourteen minutes later, you're van is still parked in your garage and none of your children are in it, it just irritates the crap out of me. Come on, be considerate. I'm sorry I'm not a bible-thumping moron who believes that the only purpose in life is to die and be with Jesus and shove that belief down my children's throats. Worse, I'm sorry I don't walk all over my wife like your husband does to you. Get a clue!
I pulled up in front of my house, popped the trunk of the van and pulled the door out and carried it to the porch. Kylea carried the supplies and placed them behind the door so they wouldn't blow over in the wind. Ayden stayed in the van as Kylea and I picked up the porch, weeded the front yard, and placed all the weeds, branches, and other front yard items into trash cans. It was approaching 1pm and the installer was scheduled to be there between 2 and 4. Kylea, Ayden, and I turned on the television and started watching. I started dozing. Next thing I know the installer is at my front door. A little over two hours later the installation is finished and I've got a beautiful door all properly hung that closes beautifully, locks cleanly, and lets no air in or out. Now all I need to do is replace some blinds around the house, get some painting done, replace the backyard fence, and I've got a house that'll stop sucking all the money out of my pocket.
Yesterday and today have been wonderful. Tyler, Kylea, and Ayden have been wonderful children with the older two being extremely helpful. I never realized this before but being a single parent is a pain in the butt, wears you out, and the only time you get to yourself is when the children are in bed (or at the neighbors). We've had lunch at Country Buffet twice, I made dinner last night, and tonight we had Del Taco as it was getting late and I didn't feel like cooking. Tomorrow night I'm making something special for the kids and after dinner we'll begin the process of making bread from scratch thanks to Jaden's Steamy Kitchen. I've never made bread before without Jessica's help so this'll be an experience and no, I'm not taking pictures of the experience.
A little over a week ago I was asked to create a new mail relay server for my company. Though I've done this before on countless occasions I was asked to ensure that it was extremely robust, reliable, and could take over the needs of our other primary mail relays. I started off with Solaris, realized Solaris was horrible for what I needed it for, then migrated to Debian. The only history I have with Debian was through some of its ports and working with it a lot on my web hosting provider MediaTemple. Technically Linux is Linux and even though there are many different versions and ports out there they are all inherently the same. I've historically used RedHat but their licensing model is horrible ($1,499 for software updates and telephone support) especially when you get into more than two physical processors. If you don't call support what's the point in paying that kind of money for one year of nothing.
Anyway, after fighting my way through Solaris then moving to Debian I finished my part of the project and asked a coworker of mine to provide me a set of scripts he wrote which imports my company's address book into a database format which would allow for improved routing of mail. This is the response I got:
You do not need to have the scripts. I will be building the service on the new server because I have the experience and knowledge. Please provide the server name and address as well as a login.
After reading this message and getting a little fumed at the lack of professionalism and courtesy I decided that I would locate the scripts, figure out the logic (or lack of), import them onto my new server, and not ask for his assistance under any circumstances. Six hours later I was in business. I'll never understand why people are unwilling to share or at least provide the means to an end. He's busy, I'm busy, five or ten minutes of his work and we're done. Nope, it didn't happen that way. I'm still debating whether or not to forward the email to his boss. A part of me is willing to blow it off while there's another part of me that wants to ensure he realizes he can't continue to act the way he did. If someone came up to me and asked, "Brian, how do you run VMware?" or "Brian, can you show me around one of your Linux servers?" I'd immediately say yes, offer them the $5 tour, and if they really want to get involved I'd get them involved.
On Tuesday I had a five hour conference call with our counterparts in Canada who decided to go off on a tangent without discussing their plans with my group. Next thing we know everything in Canada stopped working and one person is calling another person and my boss calls me, "Brian, get together all your resources and get on the phone with Canada." Ten minutes later we're on the phone and five hours later we're finally finishing. At that point my brain was numb and it would get more numb as the day continued.
My Tuesday continued with a meeting between my parent company's technology auditors whose intent was to determine whether or not various systems were managed properly, documented, and accurately depicted in documentation and other databases used within our company. Two hours and thirty minutes later my brain was going limp. A coworker later told me that he walked by the conference room as I was meeting with the auditors and heard me describing patching regiments, documented processes, etc., and how he felt sorry for me. Honestly, my brain was limp. When I left the office at 6:30 I was anticipating a quick ten minute drive home. I was wrong. Forty-five minutes later I made it home. My brain was officially numb and if I had to deal with any more problems it'd liquefy.
Wednesday and Thursday were spent finishing up my Linux solution for message routing, testing, and eventually moving into production. Thursday evening Jessica was ready to depart for New York, she was all packed, the only thing we needed to do was drive the forty minutes to the airport. I opted to stay awake throughout the night as if I were to have fallen asleep there would've been no possible way I'd wake up at 3:30am to get everyone out of the house and to the airport by 4:45. Jessica's and Rylin's flight was at 6:15 and Denver International Airport is a long and boring drive from my house.
Friday morning we departed the house at 4:15. We were pulling out and Jessica mentioned, "I forgot my jerky." Completely around the block, back to the house, she got her jerky. I got onto the freeway (which turns into a normal street about four miles from where I got on) near the house and headed towards the airport. You'd think I'd hit every green light; I didn't. What usually takes me ten minutes to drive took twenty. I'd run every red light but I like my insurance rates to stay low and I just know I'd get a ticket causing us to be even later. We finally made it to the airport at 4:58. I got Ayden out, Tyler and Kylea jumped out, and Jessica wore Rylin. I grabbed Jessica's luggage, Tyler grabbed the camera bag for Jessica, and Kylea carried Ayden's blanket and Bob the Builder toy. We got to the elevator and a nice gentleman held the door for us. "Wait!" yelled Jessica. We forgot Rylin's carseat. Back to the car I went, grabbed the carseat, then back to the elevator. We walked a good thousand feet to the correct ticketing queue and instead of using one of those silly kiosks that never work right or require too much information for your brain to process at 5am I told the agent the necessary information, gave her the bag and carseat, and Jessica was all set to go. She went through the security queue pretty quickly which is amazing for DIA.
Tyler, Kylea, Ayden, and I left the airport after seeing Jessica off. Parking was $2. I swear that airport milks more money out of people than it should. Every other airport I've ever been to gives 40 to 60 minutes of free parking. Not DIA. Nope, why should they? Let's screw the little guy. Anyway, enough ranting, the drive back home was slow. No traffic to speak of just slow as I haven't slept in twenty-three hours and my body is starting to play games with my senses. I'm about a mile from the house and realize I'm driving on empty. $43.85 later I had a full tank and drove the remaining mile home. I asked the kids to get ready for school and let me sleep (what is now 7am) for thirty-five minutes. If I didn't get that sleep I'd never make it to their school. Kylea woke me up at 7:25. Why? She misread the clock. I never knew 2's and 3's looked alike. Anyway, they woke me up at 7:40 as a kind way of saying "I'm sorry daddy." Murphy's Law struck though, Ayden had a full diaper and needed to be changed. It was my first official diaper (read: full of solid waste) I've done in God knows how many years. I'll admit: it wasn't a big deal but killed five minutes off the time I needed to get Tyler and Kylea to school. They were late by three minutes. Sue me!
When Ayden and I got back home after stopping at Lowes we watched a little television. We both fell asleep on the couch and we sure did sleep well. Kylea's class ends at 11 and it was 11. We needed the sleep. We got in the car, picked her up twenty minutes late, and made a line for Home Depot. We were getting our front door installed [Friday] but we didn't have the door and the other supplies for the installer. I could have paid the additional $50 to have the installer pick up the door and supplies but I'm cheap. Putting a door in the back of the van with the other supplies is no big deal--except when you've got three carseats (instead of four) and two children that have to be with you. After measuring the door and finding that it would fit if I took the older kids seats out (Tyler rides in a booster when he's in the van) and dropped the rear bench seat it'd fit. I called the neighbor to see if she could watch Kylea and Ayden for fifteen minutes. She couldn't. I was pissed. Here comes another rant:
Seriously, how many times have we watched your children when you've needed to run to the grocery store for ten minutes yet come home two hours later? Giving me an excuse that you need to run to Boulder to take your kids to the dentist is ridiculous, then again your husband can't find a job that has dental insurance, and are leaving in just a minute may be true or not but when I say fifteen minutes I mean fifteen minutes. Then, when I get home, fourteen minutes later, you're van is still parked in your garage and none of your children are in it, it just irritates the crap out of me. Come on, be considerate. I'm sorry I'm not a bible-thumping moron who believes that the only purpose in life is to die and be with Jesus and shove that belief down my children's throats. Worse, I'm sorry I don't walk all over my wife like your husband does to you. Get a clue!
I pulled up in front of my house, popped the trunk of the van and pulled the door out and carried it to the porch. Kylea carried the supplies and placed them behind the door so they wouldn't blow over in the wind. Ayden stayed in the van as Kylea and I picked up the porch, weeded the front yard, and placed all the weeds, branches, and other front yard items into trash cans. It was approaching 1pm and the installer was scheduled to be there between 2 and 4. Kylea, Ayden, and I turned on the television and started watching. I started dozing. Next thing I know the installer is at my front door. A little over two hours later the installation is finished and I've got a beautiful door all properly hung that closes beautifully, locks cleanly, and lets no air in or out. Now all I need to do is replace some blinds around the house, get some painting done, replace the backyard fence, and I've got a house that'll stop sucking all the money out of my pocket.
Yesterday and today have been wonderful. Tyler, Kylea, and Ayden have been wonderful children with the older two being extremely helpful. I never realized this before but being a single parent is a pain in the butt, wears you out, and the only time you get to yourself is when the children are in bed (or at the neighbors). We've had lunch at Country Buffet twice, I made dinner last night, and tonight we had Del Taco as it was getting late and I didn't feel like cooking. Tomorrow night I'm making something special for the kids and after dinner we'll begin the process of making bread from scratch thanks to Jaden's Steamy Kitchen. I've never made bread before without Jessica's help so this'll be an experience and no, I'm not taking pictures of the experience.