some redemption and a new beginning (part 1)
I'm actually starting this entry about 35,000 feet up right now :-p I'm on my way home from SF.
Let's just say that for the first time in a long time, I actually walked around, standing tall, feeling damn proud of myself and really good about life.
ok... storytime :-p
Unfortunately, I wasn't thinking that last week. Starting last Wednesday, there was a re-org and my boss in FL was let go. Me and my supervisor in LA ended up getting split up, going our separate ways.
At first, we were told that we were going to be assigned to another website. Then, Thursday, I was notified that I was going to be the one assigned to that website. Basically, I was reporting to a new boss :) I found this out during a meeting with my new boss! It was basically sprung on me! My (now former) supervisor only found this out 10 minutes before the meeting thursday.
I will say this right now..... I was seriously thinking about looking for another job early last week. I was scared shitless when I heard that my boss in FL was let go!
So after that announcement (the re-org and my re-assignment) my new boss invited me to the SF office to get formally acquainted. I was scheduled to go tuesday, but with enough snafus i had to reschedule for today. Frustration to say the least!!! My new boss was very sympathetic and today, I found out that the people i was going to be working with were kind of bummed too since they wanted to meet me.
Fast forward to today :) no further snafus! I landed in SF and took that taxi to the office. Note to self, carry cash! Taxis only accept it for the most part. :-p
I get into the office and I get introduced to everybody that i'm going to be working with as well as some of the higher-ups. then my new boss shows me around the website, giving me a brief introduction of what i'm going to be testing/QA'ing.
Here's where I start feeling a bit weird.... when she introduces me to everybody, she refers to me as the QA Lead.....
That makes me feel pretty damn good but at the same time, i'm shitting in my pants!!! I'm now aware of how much pressure is being placed on my shoulders and i'm somewhat scared of all the fuck-ups that are bound to occur on my watch.
----- side story (thoughts) -----
When i was contracting at Disney, I was put into a lead role with about 8 months of QA experience under my belt. Now honestly, I wasn't a complete failure, but I had a good number of misses which killed my confidence in my abilities.
When I started at my current job/employer, there was no software process... just test and release asap. No structure at all, no documentation on what to test and how to test. Basic chaos. I was warned about this on the way in and was damn happy that I didnt have to deal with documentation! That unfortunately was the only good thing. The job started off good, and my supervisor was good up until 6 months in.... Then He started putting higher expectations on me and i just stopped caring about the product we were putting out because it just felt like the developers just didn't give a rat's ass about anything.
Also, finding out that my supervisor was talking shit behind my back did not help matters any!
To say the least, it made me appreciate having a semblance of a formal process in place!!! I thought i'd have to leave my current employer that would have something like that....
------- end side story---------
Right now, I feel like i've been given one hell of a second chance to prove that i've learned from my past mistakes and am ready to take on this responsibility!
this time around, i have a supportive boss (from what i've been told by other QA analysts that have worked with her) and a team that is supportive of the product.
- Developers are very motivated in putting out a bug free product and fixing major issues.
- We have meetings to discuss bugs/issues!
- We have some semblance of documentation letting us know what needs to be tested and what the site is supposed to have just in case there's some unwanted change!
I'm very impressed right now and i'm very happy to be working on this new site! At least so far, so good. :)
It's like I got a new job, but without all the hassles of the job search :)
I called my sis while i was at the airport waiting to go back to LA and and she noticed how much happier I was! I wanted to visit her before i went to the office, but unfortunately, scheduling just would not work :(
I hope that I'll be able to go up to SF for work a lil more often...
--- descending right now be back in a bit..-------
Let's just say that for the first time in a long time, I actually walked around, standing tall, feeling damn proud of myself and really good about life.
ok... storytime :-p
Unfortunately, I wasn't thinking that last week. Starting last Wednesday, there was a re-org and my boss in FL was let go. Me and my supervisor in LA ended up getting split up, going our separate ways.
At first, we were told that we were going to be assigned to another website. Then, Thursday, I was notified that I was going to be the one assigned to that website. Basically, I was reporting to a new boss :) I found this out during a meeting with my new boss! It was basically sprung on me! My (now former) supervisor only found this out 10 minutes before the meeting thursday.
I will say this right now..... I was seriously thinking about looking for another job early last week. I was scared shitless when I heard that my boss in FL was let go!
So after that announcement (the re-org and my re-assignment) my new boss invited me to the SF office to get formally acquainted. I was scheduled to go tuesday, but with enough snafus i had to reschedule for today. Frustration to say the least!!! My new boss was very sympathetic and today, I found out that the people i was going to be working with were kind of bummed too since they wanted to meet me.
Fast forward to today :) no further snafus! I landed in SF and took that taxi to the office. Note to self, carry cash! Taxis only accept it for the most part. :-p
I get into the office and I get introduced to everybody that i'm going to be working with as well as some of the higher-ups. then my new boss shows me around the website, giving me a brief introduction of what i'm going to be testing/QA'ing.
Here's where I start feeling a bit weird.... when she introduces me to everybody, she refers to me as the QA Lead.....
That makes me feel pretty damn good but at the same time, i'm shitting in my pants!!! I'm now aware of how much pressure is being placed on my shoulders and i'm somewhat scared of all the fuck-ups that are bound to occur on my watch.
----- side story (thoughts) -----
When i was contracting at Disney, I was put into a lead role with about 8 months of QA experience under my belt. Now honestly, I wasn't a complete failure, but I had a good number of misses which killed my confidence in my abilities.
When I started at my current job/employer, there was no software process... just test and release asap. No structure at all, no documentation on what to test and how to test. Basic chaos. I was warned about this on the way in and was damn happy that I didnt have to deal with documentation! That unfortunately was the only good thing. The job started off good, and my supervisor was good up until 6 months in.... Then He started putting higher expectations on me and i just stopped caring about the product we were putting out because it just felt like the developers just didn't give a rat's ass about anything.
Also, finding out that my supervisor was talking shit behind my back did not help matters any!
To say the least, it made me appreciate having a semblance of a formal process in place!!! I thought i'd have to leave my current employer that would have something like that....
------- end side story---------
Right now, I feel like i've been given one hell of a second chance to prove that i've learned from my past mistakes and am ready to take on this responsibility!
this time around, i have a supportive boss (from what i've been told by other QA analysts that have worked with her) and a team that is supportive of the product.
- Developers are very motivated in putting out a bug free product and fixing major issues.
- We have meetings to discuss bugs/issues!
- We have some semblance of documentation letting us know what needs to be tested and what the site is supposed to have just in case there's some unwanted change!
I'm very impressed right now and i'm very happy to be working on this new site! At least so far, so good. :)
It's like I got a new job, but without all the hassles of the job search :)
I called my sis while i was at the airport waiting to go back to LA and and she noticed how much happier I was! I wanted to visit her before i went to the office, but unfortunately, scheduling just would not work :(
I hope that I'll be able to go up to SF for work a lil more often...
--- descending right now be back in a bit..-------