Storm Clouds On The Horizon
So, i get in and start getting my laptop set up and get ready for another fabulous, fun day on the PFH. i'm even early; i usually am. There are storm clouds brewing outside and thunder cracks over the tollplaza on the freeway below or window. i open up my company email and see this email from the manager of another project here at the CFH (Client From Hell):"Has anyone spoken to you about working with us on [our project] when you finish up on [the PFH]? I’ll try to stop by in the morning and we can talk through your experience and what our needs are on [our project].
. . . Cheers, ..."
Hmmm...i was wondering when this was coming. i had seen my name on org charts for that project (it's good to have friends...in this case, ex-roomie at the Corporate Condo) so it was just a matter of time when they came to shore up my place on that chart. A bit presumptuous of them, though, don't you think?
No sooner do i finish processing that little surprise when my supervisor pops by my cube. "Ummm...uh, i just got done talking to [PFH Senior Manager] and, uh, we're not going to be done with [this phase] on the 7th. ["No shit", i think] So, we're going to have to come to Philadelphia to finish it up. Not really sure how long...count on a couple weeks.
Well, ain't THAT just dandy? WTF?? i explained that i had a long weekend planned for the 12th of July, a week after the project, and that's locked in. Not to worry, it's a flexible thing...we just gotta figure out what we can get done and what they can take into the next phase.
She leaves me stunned and speechless.
i finally get started on my work and i'm off discussing part of it with a collegue and i see the Sr. Manager for "that other project" [TOP] trolling the area chatting up some of the other managers. i get back to my desk and soon he pops by. "Hey! How you doing?"
Let the games begin.
They have a need for people with my skills and we're going into an exciting period on the project (product testing) and they don't even have all of their technical designs done, but they're shoving what they have offshore to be built because the deadline is January 2 (first business day of the new year) and there's no way they can miss it, so we've got a lot of testing to do. Which is what i've been doing here. Which is what i did on the same phase of the last project. i explain that i don't want to get pigeon-holed working on this system (like i've been for the past year-and-a-half since i started with the BACC) and want to work on SAP systems. He goes on about how he started on this system, but he's supervised this system and that system and blah, blah, blah and they're pretty much all the same and while the technical knowledge is nice, that's why you bring in experienced people to work on your project. OK, so he's just validated my fears that i'm getting pigeon-holed on this system ("cornholed"?) and i would like to TRY some of those, plus i want to do more on the tech side and not on the business side. He says he could probably get me working with some of the build team a bit and we'll work on getting something in that vein when this project is over.
Yeah, i heard that before. Namely, when i came onto THIS project!! Thing is, as soon as this goes live, they've got another one lined up right behind it!! No, sorry, i'm out. i'll go off to Philly for a couple/three weeks (get ready flirtcub!!) and then "POOF!!"...i'm gone!
i applied for a couple of open roles last night to get myself used to the system. A really cool one coming open in Seattle already replied back and said "thanks, but we're looking locally". Fair enough; at least she replied. The other two, in St. Louis and Chicago have yet to respond. We shall see.
Fortunately, we're having a project cocktail party this evening!! And tomorrow night is Customer Appreciation Night at JJ's!! OK, so i'm on-call Friday night, but there's always Saturday. i gotta work Monday and am off Tuesday for he 4th then fly up Wednesday morning for three strange days.
Strange? Actually, the new industry-standard term that i have instituted is "wacky".