![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
When the Help Desk Isn't, Part 439
Wednesday, October 23rd, 2013 09:07 amI hate calling the Help Desk at work. It's for all IT-related topics, including proprietary systems and cell phones. Today though, was the 2nd day in a row that while my VPN connection was in effect, I could not access 3rd party web sites. So if all I wanted to do was work, that wouldn't be a problem, right? Wrong. Because our company utilizes a variety of 3rd party web sites and programs. So, here I am trying to approve a vendor's invoice, but I can't get to the site, because my VPN won't let me. Sure, I could disconnect and reconnect through my own home server, but why should I have to do that? It worked perfectly fine on Monday, and every day prior. Why would it suddenly STOP?!
I call the Help Desk. The first time, I have to hang up because the agent, Carolina, says she can't hear me (on my cell phone). I ask if I'm too quiet or if the connection is breaking up. Her answer is neither. I'm making a WTF face. She finally decides that the issue is loud static. I'm not hearing it at all. I hang up and try again with a land line.
Now I'm speaking with Miguel. I explain my problem. He says, "so what you're saying is that when your VPN is connected, you can't access any of the company internet sites." Um. No. In fact, I said the opposite. "Oh, right, OK, please hold a moment." After awhile, and several more "please holds" he asks "Is it okay if I take over control of your computer?" Here we go. "Sure," I say.
M: go to your URL bar and type in www.rooms.hp.com
FG: you realize this won't work, right?
M: what do you mean?
FG: I am connected through the VPN, I won't be able to go to that site. If I disconnect from VPN to let you remote access my computer, you won't be able to see my problem, because it's related to the VPN connection.
M: Just a moment, please hold.
He comes back and starts walking me through the steps he'd have taken. We get to where he wants to use an automatic configuration script. He says the box should contain either of 2 options, and starts telling me them. However, my box is empty, so I ask what I should type in the box, because while his English is good, his accent is occasionally difficult to parse. He is surprised the box is empty. Another hold.
M: type http
M: type backslash
FG: should there be a colon after the "p"?
M: no
FG: Ok, http\
M: no, wait. put a colon (to my ear it rhymes with column, sounds like colum, it takes a couple tries to get on the same page)
FG: http:\
M: no, wait. make that a slash
FG: forward slash?
M: yes
we get that done, wipe all my temp files and browsing history, reduce my security from medium to "allow ALL cookies", reset defaults on a few other pages, and now it works. Except, now I have to deal with extra cookies, and I'm betting that at least one of my now default settings is going to bite me on the ass, so I'll be on the phone with the Help Desk soon, trying to get that fixed.
Seriously? If it was working 2 days ago, and I didn't do anything to change it, how did wiping my customizations resolve the issue? If anything, it was the automatic configuration script. Why they teach the front-line Help to automatically wipe everything every time they touch a machine is beyond me. It's a step above rebooting, but shouldn't they at least ask if I've made any changes or installed something new recently? BEFORE they start wiping stuff?
Secondly, why is it that every time I call, I end up catching/correcting at least one mistake? This time they were minor, but one time the dude nearly deleted my entire email archive when I gave him remote access. Maybe I can get that job when I "retire." Then I can spend my days wreaking havoc on people's systems, and giggling when I hang up the phone.
That's "DragonFlight" by Anne McCaffrey.
Catherine Asaro's "Alpha" 
1) good food - well, I grew up in the vegetable garden of the country, CA, and spent my childhood snitching perfectly ripened whatever off vines and trees and out of gardens that may or may not have belonged to me. So that was probably the start. Neither of my parents could cook when they got married (at 20 & 18) so they learned together, and kept learning and experimenting, so that when I got old enough to wield utensils, naturally I joined in the learning too. Food was just this huge adventure at our house, so when I moved out, I continued in that vein. Plus, it's not hard to make/serve food that is as nourishing to the eye and soul as it is to the body. So it seems a shame not to bring out its full potential.
2) family - heh. I was a princess for a long time (so much so that the entire family made the trek when I graduated from college). I was the middle grandkid of 11 (mom's side) with the next oldest and next youngest being 5 yrs away from me and male. My mom's side of the family was all nearby, so we had extended family get-togethers for all the major holidays and at least once each summer. My dad was the only visibly present male influence on my cousins, since grandpa lived 8 hrs away. All my older cousins took turns babysitting me, and I'd spend weeks of my summer at my grandparents house. Then they all took turns working for my dad (a landscaper) so that we saw each other daily. My DH had similar extended family experiences, so we decided to make sure our kids got the benefit of that as much as possible, even when we no longer lived so close to relatives. We've been "on our own" for 10 yrs now, but we truly do enjoy each other's company. I love my kids a lot, but I also like and respect them as people. I've always tried to encourage them to be the kind of people they want to be remembered as. Does that make sense? Anyway, our friends have always seemed to like our kids, and have their own relationships with them. I/we think it's important for people to have friends outside their immediate age group/obvious social group, and the kids seem to have embraced the spirit of that. We also have lots of chosen family, as all 4 of us seem to have inherited the trait of picking up strays.
3) SGA - Like! OMG! /valley girl. I love science fiction. And pretty, pretty boys. And pretty boys in luurrve. So, what's not to fangir about SGA?! LOL Plus, ALL the best writers have tried their hand at SGA to great effect. It's a huge and active fandom, so there's still something new everyday :)
4) Oktoberfest - see #1! Actually, this goes back to my northern CA college town (Chico!). There was an enclave of germanic folk who'd hold Oktoberfest every year, and even though they were in no way associated with the uni, they'd be invaded by the cool kids who were in-the-know, and had turned the polka into a contact sport. Yes, we participated in the "Slam Polka" - what? it was the 80s. So, there I was, in 1987, married to B, and feeling homesick, and looking at a gentrified Oktoberfest menu in Bon Appetit, when he and our good friend, the-strange-man-with-a-shopping-cart, said, "we should have an Oktoberfest Party!" A tradition was born, strange guy co-hosted with us for many years, and the smallest one we ever had was the first year we lived in WI - '99. That year, we just took ourselves down to the Essen Haus and ate and drank till we wanted to pop. The menu has morphed over time, but we've always tried to remain true to the spirit of the original harvest celebration. My shining memory is probably the year an actual native of Germany attended, the mom of some neighbors, and she said, "I didn't know you would have food like this. This is not usual Oktoberfest food - this is truly special event food. And it's authentic." It meant alot, because even though my Dad's side of the family is German, and he's from Up Nort, no one ever handed down any of those traditions to me. B's favorite (prior to the pig roast) was the year the DA, the Sheriff and the stoners were all standing around the bonfire together, socializing like they'd been fast friends for years, while the Wiccans were teaching the little kids how to talk the fire bigger. LOL. That was a sight.
5) construction management - listen, have you got about a year? Seriously, I love my career. I love my current job. I am always fascinated by building sites, techniques and materials. I'm thrilled about the lean toward "green" in the industry. There is not enough time in the day to keep up with it all. I have no idea what you want to hear here... I got bit by the bug when I was 3 or 4. My dad took me to see our tract house midway through construction. I still vividly remember that visit. I think it was my mom's gentle suggestion to pursue architecture (being more genteel than actual construction) but I found CM in my friendly school of industrial technology, looked at the course load and went, "huh. I'm interested in all these classes and half of this stuff I already know I'm good at." KISMET. I was the 6th woman to get a degree in CM at Chico, and I had the highest starting salary of my class at graduation. $27K was an unheard of offer in those days.
I know it happened mainly because there were only 2 women graduates that year, and large companies were just starting to try to hire more women. In some ways, I know it's been an unfair advantage, because I've always found work faster than the men I know. BUT. I've also put up with my share of unfair bullshit. And, I'm damn good at my job. I was born for this job, and I know it.
When I first started out, I was super mindful that my performance would have an impact on the women in line behind me. And I knew they were there. I also knew it wasn't just women in CM I was on point for. It was all women who were trying to get into male-dominated fields, everywhere. I really believe that. So, I'm really grateful that my interest, temperment and ability all melded so well. Because I've never been fired, or thrown off a site, or had my project handed to someone else to rescue. I had been a utility infielder for most of my career, which offers great job security, but about three years ago, I got promoted to closer. I'm pretty proud of that. Maybe even more proud than I am of finally being a starter in every sense of the word. (yeah, baseball metaphors. let me know if you need any translation). So now, I'm pretty sure that job offers come in for Goldy, instead of for that-woman-named-Goldy, if you know what I mean. The only thing that would make my career any better would be to finally fulfill my secret fantasy of being the PM for a space station. Not gonna happen, but I'm surprisingly OK with that.